The ficlet below is an extended version of the one that went with “Wendy Wyler – Revamped Notesheet”, originally posted to DA on October 24, 2022.
[a Spring Cosmoses location on the borderlands of cartoon universes, 2022 in the sliding timeline. Wendy Wyler is having her fuchsia streak painted indigo by Stella Svampsson]
Stella: “So why are you doing this again?”
Wendy: “I found out I look like somebody named Juniper Lee. I don’t want Cartoon Network to sue me before Zaslav kills them off.”
Stella: “Ah, Zaslav. That guy is bad news. Did you know he’s the reason the Hub, of course now Discovery Family, went from being Saturday morning cartoons the channel, to the blandest white-bread shit on cable?”
Wendy: “He is?”
Stella: “Probably, I don’t know, I just think he is. It sounds like something he’d do. He was the CEO of Discovery at the time, after all.” [paints over the last of the fuchsia, before handing a mirror to Wendy] “Alright, tell me what you think.”
Wendy: “Hey, it looks cool! Now there’s no way I’ll be called a sciurine Juniper Lee! Not with this longer hair and indigo streak!”
Stella: “Out of curiosity, Wendy, what made you want to grow your hair out? Aside from not wanting to look like Juniper Lee?”
Wendy: “I went to Molly McGee’s dimensions once. She has a friend named Libby Stein-Torres who was having her bat mitzvah. Uh… it was one of those non-canon dimensions. Apparently the version of Libby whose story is told to the realm of the hue-mans, the Phoenix’s dimension, is a real introvert that likes and compares herself to turtles, and doesn’t like having a lot of guests. Anyways, she had a cool hairstyle and I wanted to try my own version of it out for myself.”
Stella: “Libby Stein-Torres? Hey, funny you should say that. A chelonian version of her is a client of mine.”
[said chelonian Libby walks in, with hair overgrown more than her usual]
Libby: “Hi, Stella. Um… I’m doing a musical number about anxiety for some of the anthropomorphic animal universes. Can you give me the usual?” [sees Wendy] “Oh, hi, Wendy. I see you’re going for a less Juniper Lee look.”
Wendy: “Yeah. Trying to avoid being accused of copying her look.” [pause] “Hey, I just realized, you kind of sound like her.”
Libby: “I do?” [chuckles] “Well, to be fair, there’s only so many ways a voice can sound. Some are bound to sound similar.”
Wendy: “Hey, wait a minute, isn’t there a segment of your show that’s all about how you’re a terrible singer and Molly tries to keep you from singing?”
Libby: [beat] “Can I let you in on something, Wendy?”
Wendy: “Sure.”
Libby: “Now, don’t go saying this to anyone. And you don’t say anything either, Stella, okay?”
Stella: “Your secret’s safe with me.”
Libby: [breathes deeply] “It’s different Libbys from me that are on the show, Libbys that are more shy about their singing. The Libbys that aren’t as shy about it, like me, we’re the ones that end up on Broken Karaoke and Theme Song Takeover and the other interstitials. That involve music.”
Stella: “Inter… stitial? What’s an interstitial?”
[Dr. Ticktock of ‘Ticktock Minutes’ is revealed to have been sitting nearby, he spins his chair around to reveal himself to the others. The clock noise sounds as he spins]
Dr. Ticktock: “Hello, Dr. Ticktock here. You ever notice those little programs that air during commercial breaks on TV, like School House Rock, and my own show, Ticktock Minutes? Well, those are called ‘interstitials’.”
[Wendy, Stella, and Libby stare silently at Dr. Ticktock, dumbfounded by his sudden appearance]
Wendy: “Who the hell are you, some knockoff Muppet?”
Dr. Ticktock: [chuckles] “I get that a lot. Truth of the matter is, most of my work is lost. So I mostly lay low and act as that thing only the Phoenix remembered, until he got a few of his friends to help find some of my lost episodes. I’m also a singer, you know.”
Stella: “Do you have a song about interstitials?”
Dr. Ticktock: “Sadly, no. And even if I did, I have more fun being an elusive figure, trolling the multiverse with my existence. This has been Dr. Ticktock, bye-bye for now.”
[the clock noise sounds again as he gets up and leaves the salon. He drops his pocket watch as he steps out; he quickly grabs it before leaving for good. The clock noise goes silent as soon as the door closes]
Wendy: “That was weird. But, I hope the rest of his show gets found.” [to Libby] “So, uh… are there hue-man Libbys that aren’t shy about singing?”
Libby: “Why, yes, Wendy. I just saw one of them on the way in. And I know another one who’s booked a performance in her own universe. For a different talent show that’s not part of the segment you alluded to earlier.”
Wendy: “Oh, really? What’s she singing?”
Libby: “‘Terrapin Station’. It’s a Grateful Dead song.”
Wendy: “Huh. Well, I wish her slash you good luck. Sounds right up her slash your alley.”
Entry number six in the National [thing] Day series! For June, we have World Sea Turtle Day. And I decided to do something a little different this time around; instead of setting it in the Grunvaliverse, I decided to make it be fanart of The Ghost and Molly McGee, starring the show’s breakout character Libby Stein-Torres. This is based on the climatic scene from her Theme Song Takeover, where she sings in the outfit depicted in the artwork above as a chorus line of turtles, her favorite animal, dances behind her.
I knew I wanted to have Libby singing a song relating to turtles, but… well, you know me. It’s not like me, or my characters for that matter, to just take the easy way out. In this case, having her sing “Happy Together” by the Turtles. I decided, instead, to have her sing another turtle-related classic rock song, “Terrapin Station”, the 16-minute suite by the Grateful Dead. Which marks the second time I’ve drawn a DTVA character singing a double-digit-minute prog song. Do not say that 🦭ing Doofenschmirtz quote, it’s an obnoxious meme that needs to die.
Oh, and I had Dr. Ticktock of Ticktock Minutes make a cameo in this extended version of a nearly year-old ficlet. Partially to advertise a lost media search that I’ve been on since December. For those that aren’t aware, Ticktock Minutes is an interstitial series that aired on PBS way back when, and was produced from 1994 to 2001. Dr. Ticktock himself was voiced by the late Michael Earl, who also has a connection to one of the most sought-after pieces of lost media, the original 1997 test footage for Shrek, in which he served as the mocap actor for the titular ogre. In fact, this connection part of why I think this search is so important, the search for Ticktock Minutes could potentially lead to the Shrek test footage being completely found, if we can get ahold of the right people.
The search has thankfully turned up results; I managed to find three of the episodes on Michael Earl’s old YouTube, and the efforts of @WesleyHunt2 and @jemibuni have uncovered twelve others on further corners of the internet, including the “Compass Rose” episode whose memory of mine started the search. And it turns out all 40 of the songs made for the show have been found. This leaves 25 of the specific episodes they belong to still missing. If anyone remembers Ticktock Minutes, or has connections to Earl or someone who knew him, please contact me, Wesley, or Jenna on Twitter, and tell us what you know.
And that’ll be all for now. If you liked this artwork and the ficlet, then follow this blog for updates, and drop me a follow on my socials linked below. Until next time, take care, stay safe, support an Asimovian amendment for AI, and have a good one.
Twitter (Main): https://twitter.com/StormyAdlerPoG
Twitter (Art): https://twitter.com/TheOfficialOTOG
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Grunvale/OTOG is owned by me. You’re free to draw fanart or write fanfics of it, as long as you credit me as the creator of the series.
The Ghost and Molly McGee is owned by Disney through Disney Television Animation.
Ticktock Minutes is owned by… uh… I assume the Mississippi Authority for Educational Television, because that’s who’s credited in the episodes.
“Terrapin Station” was written by Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter for the Grateful Dead’s album of the same name, owned by Sony Music Entertainment through Arista Records.
This artwork was made at a resolution of 3996×2160 (aspect ratio 1.85:1).
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