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These were originally gonna be part of a biiiiiiiiiig sketch dump, but I started my new job this week and I’ve had less free time than I’d like, so I’ll be working on/uploading all my Toffee stuff in chunks instead of a big compilation. I hope you enjoy!

Merry remarries when Toffee is in his early 20s. Having grown tired of his too-opinionated wife Eleanor, Merry instead takes a shine to his young office assistant Maple, who is Toffee’s school friend and kinda-sorta-but not-really girlfriend. Merry divorces his wife and two children and trades them out for a girl half his age, and within a year they produce baby Honey, the tiny and bright apple of Merry’s eye.

Eleanor, Topher, and Toffee feel quite abandoned by all this, but while Ellie and Toph are happy to never speak to Merry again, Toffee can’t help but crave his father’s attention and guidance. He’s more than willing to turn a blind eye to his pop’s fault if it means the slightest chance of earning Merry’s praises- but Merry is entirely infatuated with his new family and entirely annoyed with his old one. Particularly with his soft-spoken, soft-hearted sissy of a son, who despite hitting adulthood has failed entirely to sprout into a real man. Hmph. What a miserable disappointment….

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Comments

Angsty Ram

Never clicked on something so quick Im just glad seeing wee baby Honey is slightly covering just the pure horrors of what’s going on. Because OOO the feeling of your stomach dropping after what Merry said is something I am far too familiar with

Queenie

THE BIGGEST VILLAINS ARE THE ONES WHO STEAL THEIR CHILDRENS LOVE INTERESTS!!! Its why I despise one of the Warrior Cats villains, that bastard can suck my nonexistent nuts and so can Merry.

Melody Williamson

I really like how you draw toffee, he might even be one of my favorite in terms of looks. Does Merry have any likable qualities?

Lammergayier

Tangentially related question. In the post where you revealed Future!Honey, you mentioned in a reply to one of my other comments that Honey and Maple are semi-estranged. Does it stay that way even after Merry eventually dies? Or is Maple able to dig herself out of the hole? I'd love to see more of her at some point tbh

Queenie

That pisses me off so much and its a great way to make me hate a character (you do such a good job I love it)

Dean

i will become a religious convert just to see more baby honey tbh. that is the smallest marshmallow i have ever seen.

AsTheJayFlies

nice touch how merry doesnt like carrying honey around for the sake of bonding with his daughter, but rather for how it makes him look to his churchgoers. just another little detail that tells all

CardstockBroth

MERRY! MERRY, WHEN I CATCH YOU! WHEN I CATCH YOU MERRY!!!!!!

Nette Marie

I want to know more about Eleanor. Like once Honey came out did she fully claim Honey as her kid? Like did she go to her ex "You already F'd up my sons. It'll be a cold day in your hell I let you do that to Honey" the promptly tells Honey to pack her stuff up and that she's staying with her till she's ready to move forward. Overall what is Eleanor like? I'm sure she had a lot to say when Merry told her he was divorcing her for another woman who was practically still a child herself.

Emily Lemur

The expression on Toffee’s face in the last part is earth shattering. I love the updated lore on this family! (Side note: awww lookit puppy honey!)

Must Love Frogs

My ass is currently a-fire, but that's just because I'm hot chicken. Anyway, I'm often told by people who didn't grow up surrounded by people like that old doggo that I'm really hard on the church, gosh you queer writers, who hurt you?

FloweryFruitFangs

I love how Merry still sees himself as a “family man” even though he got a divorce just so he could groom a young woman in the hopes she’ll give him a kid who isn’t queer. Even viewing someone who’s in the same age range as your son as a potential romance option is so disgusting. I enjoy Merry as a character, but I hate that men like this exist in real life. I’m also curious how much Toffee interacts with Maple now that his father is married to her. That must be a very awkward and uncomfortable situation overall.

mirarevias

Huzzah to the new job! You and me both, I start next week (technically it's still at the same place but a different department with a higher possibility of advancement 💕). I feel Toffee, here. I had... Uncomfortable conversations with my devoutly Catholic grandmother when I was in my teens, which was only made worse because she was schizophrenic with manic episodes, so, uh-- Yeah. Not details to get into here, but I absolutely empathize with Toffee, I can't imagine if either if my parents were this way, I'm so very privileged they're so accepting (or blindly tolerant, in my dad's case lol). Excited to see the rest of the dump, I love Toffee and his whole family dynamic is frankly addicting, so hell yeah to broken up dumps!!!

Scyllarus

Good luck with work! You can do it, whatever it is! Also, I love the way Toffee's design has evolved. His first pass was very cute but kind of gave yappy dog energy (nothing against yappy dogs, but it didn't feel like what you were going for), his second pass was gorgeous but maybe a little too glamorous for a down-to-earth religious community leader...I love that he now gives off sweet dorky dad vibes. And 20's Toffee has surprisingly fitting anime hair.

lopoddity

Merry is very kind and likeable to his church followers! He does a good job keeping up with their personal lives, weddings, funerals, graduations and whatnot, and is known to sit with his flock one-on-one to distribute rousing speeches/blessings/comforting gospel as needed. Much of this is superficial, but there's no way he isn't genuinely fond of at least of couple people within his church. He also loves baby Honey, I guess. She's going to grow up very spoiled, and he'll give her all the attention and praise he doesn't lend to Toffee and Topher. Merry was also a semi-decent parent for the times, somewhat attentive to Toffee and Topher's needs and disciplining through stern speeches, never violence. Had Toffee grown up to be a respectable manly leader, and Topher and Honey grown up to be happy little housewives, Merry would probably still be in all their lives and spoiling all his hypothetical grandchildren. Merry will treat you with perfect respect, kindness, and dignity, so long as you mold yourself to his expectations. :)

lopoddity

Oh yes. He also likes carrying her around because she's tiny and cute and has new baby smell, even Merry is not immune. He may not do things like change her diapers or clean up her messes or other women's work, but Honey is still pretty high up on Merry's list of favorite people. Plus it helps that she makes for a convenient prop to make him look more kindly and paternal to his followers.

Corinne Stephenson

Asking your son to join you for lunch and then giving him hell for wanting to spend time with his old man. Merry, you gaslighting bitch.

lopoddity

Aaaaugh, Eleanor. She's one of my favorite characters and I've barely scratched the surface with her here! I have at least ten Eleanor sketches- showing how she handled the divorce, how she met Maple, how she feels about her, etc. Eleanor is a very tender, warm, and affable woman, and in the future she has a habit of adopting gay strays, such as Mal and Honey. She is powerful, opinionated, and very stubborn, which meant she butted heads with Merry a LOT, and usually got her way! Merry enjoyed what a graceful first lady she presented to his church, but resented how difficult she was to control. His affair with Maple was partly a gamble, a subtle bid to show Eleanor that he could in fact leave her for a younger woman if she didn't keep in line. He wasn't ACTUALLY all that interested in Maple (not romantically, anyway). But the gamble fails because Eleanor files for divorce. While Eleanor eventually becomes a beacon of compassion, I'm afraid she's not very nice at this point in the story, least of all to Toffee. Hurt and humiliated by the affair and resulting divorce, Ellie refuses to take on further social shame by accepting an openly gay son. While she doesn't disown Toffee, she makes it clear she does NOT approve of his lifestyle choice, which contributes to Toffee's slow spiral into self-destruction. :/ She'll learn from this mistake, but her son does suffer from her (and Merry's) behavior.

lopoddity

I worry sometimes my work like this may seem melodramatic or unrealistic, but also....everything Merry says here is a mash-up of things that have been directly said to ME, a queer kid growing up in the south. Some by my own parents. :/ Merry himself is inspired by my own childhood pastor, who was caught multiple times stealing from the church and having affairs underneath his wife's nose. Sometimes people who didn't grow up in fundamentalist religious circles may not grasp how someone can tell you how viciously they hate you, then preach love and acceptance in the very next breath. But then again, to be fair, I don't entirely understand it myself.

MiyaLaFlorDorada

It hurts my heart that Toffee just wanted to spend a little of time with his dad and this old man just... Though about it as annoying and not need it. And the way he say it, is so poisonous and vile. Sadly I have see many people like this claiming that they are doing it a place of love and waiting the best for their kids, that's bullshit, is never the kids is about them, and their legacy and how these "ungrateful brats" robe them what was rightfully their, whatever that means, so disgusting display. I wonder what is going to happen when he is his lasts days, his kids happy with their lifes away from him, he, all alone rotting in his miserable prideful self, I hope he choke on it. Also I'm kinda surprised that no one in the church gossip about Merry's life, since usually an affair, divorce, a new marriage with a MUCH younger spouse who was also part of the church, that all this "relationship" was in problematic circumstances, and queer kids, SCREAMS CHISME TIME! Especially in such conservative social circle. Is a thing of let's talk close doors because is an important aka doble standard? Or more like they are afraid of getting in Merry's bad side?

lopoddity

Congrats on the new job! 💗 I'm very happy to be at mine. I've been working temporary positions since January in my quest to transition out of teaching for good. I'm pretty happy with my new position, but I'm hoping I can earn my Master's while I'm there and make my career change permanent.

lopoddity

"gave yappy dog energy" I actually modeled him off my own chihuahua-terrier mix Daisy, who is extremely yappy XD I'm glad you like his new design!

knickknacks

NOT THE WARRIOR CATS god don't remind me

lopoddity

Oh I've got more Maple planned! Sitting on sketches of her tentative friendship with Biscuit and her very-much-not-friendship with Eleanor. Godddd I wish I had more hours in the day

lopoddity

Well actually, he's not really gaslighting, I should've made it more clear what's happening. Toffee has been pressing Merry to spend time together, Merry finally capitulates and suggests a lunch date, but brings the new baby along. He's unhappy and annoyed Toffee objected to this. Why does Toffee want to spend time alone with him anyway? What have they even got to talk about? The longer he spends with Toffee, the more he's reminded of the gross failure that was his old family, so Merry goes on the offensive. He feels comfortable being particularly confrontational with Toffee now that he's got a shiny new child waiting in the wings.

Queenie

YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHO IM TALKING ABOUT DONT YOU LOL FROM DOTC

knickknacks

oh god he's the "i know what you are" dog but not in a silly way

knickknacks

gosh, every Merry post fills me with such intense revulsion- and I say that as testament to your ability to write realistic and loathable characters. He's just so. terrible. in so many ways! Do Toffee and Maple have any sort of relationship in the present day? It is. horrifying to me that they were friends (the SAME AGE. AGH. skin crawling) before Merry took notice of her. I would imagine Toff is pretty unsettled by this- but does he not dare speak to Merry or Maple about it, for fear of burning that bridge entirely?

mailebird

Oh I'm excited about this. I am deeply curious about Maple. I know she's an adult when this whole affair goes down and definitely able to make her own decisions but... is she? Poor things gotta be a victim in all this too, at least in her way. Can't wait!

Bigsmile

Yknow, you gotta a real talent for making me appreciate my parents more.

lopoddity

YOU HAVE NO IDEA how bad I wanted to make a shitpost doodle of Merry making the "I know what you are" dog face, but I felt it would clash with the anxiety and dread I was going for with that last Toffee panel

Kenzie Leong

My Chinese grandmother once said that men will love the children of the woman they are currently in love more than any other children they might have, clearly Merry's the kind of man she was thinking about when she said that.

SketchyBug

So bro knew Maple was into Toffee (whether he was attracted to her or not) and still got with her and gave her a child? Dastardly work.

MEllegoo

Screw Clearsky he sucked

MEllegoo

Is Merry referring to Toffee being gay by saying “I know what you are” or meaning more like a wimp?

Scyllarus

I remember! Alas, Daisy Dukes probably wouldn't make it as a pastor. It's not even that she's a Lil gremlin dog, it's just hard to convey the majesty of the Lord and all His creations with "rrrryap rrrryAp yAP YAP YAP YAP"

lopoddity

It's actually worse. Merry knew Maple had a crush on Toffee and used that as an opening to get to her. :/

lopoddity

I mean he's definitely annoyed that his son is a wimp in his eyes, but he's referring to Toffee being gay here

SketchyBug

We just went from dastardly to diabolical.

lopoddity

Was it stealing though, Merry would ask. Or did he swoop in to rescue the poor attention-staved girl his son would've never had the nerve to claim himself?

Lammergayier

JAIL FR (I cannot even IMAGINE the guilt that Toff must feel over that holy shit this poor man)

FloweryFruitFangs

I’m now wondering if Toffee ever expected his dad was capable of doing something this rotten. I’m sort of doubting it. Either way, I hope someone tells him that his dad being a cheater and a cradle robber isn’t his fault.

SketchyBug

Considering how he was blindsided by his dad knowing he was gay, I doubt it.

Callihan

The more I think about how Toffee and Maple were really close friends, the more I'm horrified (but in the best way possible)! Like imagining how stressful it would be to have a close friend dating your emotionally neglectful father, how all the things you said or did in confidence with your friend likely being told to the parent who doesn't care enough to understand you. It's so tense! I know in the past you said that Toffee feels a bit guilty for introducing Maple to Merry and I wonder how much that informs Toffee's relationship with Honey. Like Honey's his sister, but she's also the daughter of a former friend. I love the way you set up character conflicts because you truly could take them in a thousand different directions! I'm really excited to see what you end up doing!!!

lopoddity

Mean. >:( Y'all are being so mean to my poor senior doggie. What was he supposed to do, exercise restraint? That's for women and commies! >:C I am tucking Merry in for his 4pm bedtime and ordering him old country buffet as we speak

SketchyBug

Make sure he eats the pudding. No particular reason. It's just been made with care.

Biscuit

*Offers Merry the driest Popeyes biscuit known to man under the guise of good intentions, smiling.*

Res Hound

Is Merry the type to think being gay is a choice?

lopoddity

Sort of. Merry believes homosexuality is like a demon, a temptation that must be fought and overcome, like gambling or alcoholism. Nobody is truly "gay" to him, but rather they are lost souls giving in to sin and debauchery. Queerness is simply a moral failing to him, which is why he views Toffee as weak for giving in. Much of his anger at his children's queerness is because he believes he knows their "real" selves, their uncorrupted selves, where Toffee is a real man and Topher is a real woman. To him, his dogged refusal to acknowledge/accept his children as they are is actually extremely gracious, loving, and charitable of him, because what kind of father would he be if he smiled and sang kumbaya while his children led lives of sin?

Ren

I really hope Maple one day realizes how she was manipulated and taken advantage of. I hope she breaks away gets therapy and apologizes to Eleanor and finds her own actual healthy happiness. Hope she breaks the cycle then choosing to stay stuck in it. God she was Toffees friend first? Pls don't tell me Merry knew her as a kid. I can't imagine how Toffee had to navigate the feelings of his father betraying his family and taking advantage of his close friend. Absolutely disgusting. Hope merry stubs his toe every day for the rest of how miserable old life

lopoddity

Maple was indeed manipulated and taken advantage of, but she refuses to see it that way. She's no victim, she CHOSE this life! She chose to marry the most revered man in the congregation, and she chose to have his child. For quite some time, she actually struggles with feelings of guilt and fear over having been the "temptress" that shattered Merry and Eleanor's marriage. At the same time, having been a "homewrecker" is secretly quite empowering. She looked up to Eleanor, so for Merry to have chosen her instead....must mean something, right? That she's good enough? Smart enough, attractive enough? And that she and Toffee could've been happy together...?

Ren

Damn so she took Toffee being gay personally. Or at least him rejecting her. Going along with Merry who was definitely taking advantage of her rejection and feelings for Toffee. Ugh you are ripping my gay little heart to shreds with these stories 😭 I'm so excited to see all these stories and characters connect. I'm looking forward to seeing Honey wake up and get her happy ending. I know Toffee finds his happiness and so does Skye and Sunny. I can't wait to see more all your stories and characters coming together

AsTheJayFlies

I keep coming back to the comments section of all your uploads for more delicious crumbs like a dog begging for table scraps. thank u for the pain i am loving this drama

Doglover502

Don’t have much to say about the pic aside from how Toffee’s about to straight up not have a good time, but I wanted to say congrats on the new job!

Morghann Patterson

Now, when Honey fully separated from him. Does his image with his church ever suffer? Like sure, one set of children with one woman- that can come from her set of genes, improper breeding. But two? Two sets of children who would have nothing to do with him, two former sets of children the church watched grow up? I feel like some of his pedestal (while not necessarily crumbling) would begin to teeter.

Doglover502

Ok I actually did have a question, was Merry also this distant and critical to his sons growing up? Like even before they started rubbing against Merry’s headcanons of them and becoming their own people?

Gleeman and Artist

"Merry will treat you with perfect respect, kindness, and dignity, so long as you mold yourself to his expectation." You just summed up my entire church experience

mirarevias

I'm glad you're happy where you're at currently, it's so important to have a job you enjoy, especially these days. My hopes are with you with earning your Master's and finding a more permanent position that you're happy with! I'm hoping to go back to school one day for my Doctorate, but hell knows when that'll be, especially when I'm moving in with my aunt next year or the following to help her around the house 😩

Doglover502

For some reason this just made me think of Merry, sometime after Honey’s separation moving on with a new baby (either with Maple or a third wife even younger than Maple) to try to bring people back as the same “family man of god”, though something that gets a lot more double takes when newer members learn that baby is not a grandchild

lopoddity

Hmmm....nah. Not at first? Topher was actually a pretty shy, meek kid growing up that kept to himself, while Toffee was the more outgoing and gregarious one. They both did well in school and generally did every thing asked of them without much complaining, so Merry treated them about as well as he's able to treat anybody. They got toys and games and camping trips and big annual vacations, and Merry would brag about Topher's violin playing and Toffee's chess prowess to the congregation. Their childhood was honestly pretty idyllic, right up until they developed personalities and wants and aspirations of their own (which Merry took personally)

AsTheJayFlies

ive got a few questions about the meadowsweets! how did honey get in touch with topher and toffee? if merry cut them off so thoroughly and refuses to acknowledge them unless absolutely necessary, then how much did honey know about them? did toffee reach out? has he been keeping an ear out for her? also, does merry ever miss his other kids? does he reminisce about the happy moments for even a second, before the 'theyre disappointments and im glad to be rid of them' kicks in? what about maple? how often does the guilt over being a homewrecker come back before she shoves it down? or does it come up at all anymore?

knickknacks

coming back to this with a big ol extra 'fuck you Merry' for having the NERVE to talk about being a "family man" to part of the family he happily ditched? what the hell. I'm not surprised but what a loathsome extra little bit of hypocrisy from him. eugh

lopoddity

Great questions! Honey didn't know much about her brothers besides what her father had mentioned in passing about them being miserable degenerate ingrates. Merry made it out like he slaved away building a life for his kids, but they never appreciated it and abandoned him to live lives of sin and frivolity and that all he could do as their loving father was keep them in his prayers and try to pick up the pieces. Honey always thought she and her mother were her poor father's attempt at rebuilding after his first family abandoned him. It isn't until she's older that she begins to understand her father's habit of ahh....possibly misrepresenting situations. Incensed by Merry's habit of belittling her opinions and hard work in school (and his insistence that her lesbianism is just a phase), Honey starts doing some snooping. And she discovers that her brothers were still dependent-aged when Merry left...and that, well...she can't help but note that her mother was half the age of Merry's ex-wife. It all feels a little...off. Honey feels increasingly unheard and unsupported at home. Her father is dismissive and her mother keeps trying to set her up with "proper young men"- and bursting into tears whenever Honey reminds her she's gay ("Where did I go wrong??!"). She also struggles to make friends and is quite lonely. Eventually, desperate for any morsel of meaningful connection, Honey figures maybe it couldn't hurt to reach out to her mysterious older brothers (behind Merry's back of course). If they're ungrateful sinners, well, she can just walk away. But maybe, just maybe.... Honey is surprised and delighted to discover Toffee is a church leader. She reaches out to ask him for a lunch date. Toffee is startled but of course accepts, and though his approach to Honey is awkward and wary, he treats her with a genuine warmth and kindness that makes Honey quickly feel she can trust him. Then Topher appears and calls her a rotten grifter bitch, aaaand Honey immediately understands why her father ditched him, haha Toffee and Honey's relationship is not instantly wholesome and perfect, however....Honey doesn't like it when Toffee implies one of the reason her father bailed on the family is because he's a gay man (Daddy would never do that!), nor that Merry pursued the young and vulnerable Maple as a direct means of hurting Toffee, Topher, and their mother (Daddy wouldn't do THAT either!!), nor that Merry abandoned his children when they were young and vulnerable because they had the nerve to be queer, and that if Honey isn't careful he'll do the same to her (Daddy especially wouldn't do that!!!.....Wouldn't he?") Merry does miss his kids, and though he'll never admit it, he misses Eleanor too. When Maple makes some young pop-culture reference he doesn't understand, or wants him to take her out dancing (with his bad back??), he misses sitting on his back porch sipping lemonade with Ellie, watching the kids play in the backyard. When baby Honey manages to roll over or chew on her foot, he thinks about Toffee's first baby milestones, and how he HAD to record everything on his big clunky camcorder. When he watches Maple brush Honey's hair and help her into her little dresses, he thinks about how he did the same for Topher, thinks about how Topher used to let him tie pretty ribbons in his hair, back when he was Merry's sweet baby girl instead of a broody nihilistic adult man. How Topher used to be small enough to lift onto his shoulders, how he could toss him in the air and make him squeal, how Topher used to smile and laugh and run to hug Merry when he came home. He thinks about how he and Toffee used to talk late into the night, how bright and inquisitive his son was, how he'd have to go to the library to find answers to "Daddy, why is the sky blue?" and "How come some people are left-handed?". He thinks about how Toffee and Topher used to play little piano duets for the congregation and get all the old folk clapping Merry's shoulder and praising him for being such a good father to such talented children. Then he remembers the people his children have become, and a great sadness bubbles up, the thought that his sweet little children are gone now and all that's left are their rotten, defiant adult selves- and Merry feels angry, sickeningly angry. Maple felt a lot of guilt over being a "homewrecker" at first. She knew how badly it hurt Toffee and Topher and how the community looked at her as a whore. At the same time, she was angry that she had to bear the blame. She didn't twist Merry's arm into sleeping with her, he made a move on HER! She never would've gotten involved with a married man had she been in her right mind. But she was broken up about Toffee, and then she and Toffee had that hideous fight when he learned about the affair, and their friendship imploded and Eleanor demanddd a divorce and Maple had to double down lest all the betrayal and suffering be for nothing. Nowadays she shields herself from guilt by believing that Eleanor should've worked harder to save her marriage, and that if she hadn't been so stubborn and independent in the first place, Merry wouldn't have gone sniffing after another woman. She doesn't actually believe this, mind you. But she's tried her damndest to.

lopoddity

But his kids are grown-up now! Toffee's college aged, and Topher is a bratty teenager. They don't need him anymore! Not like that fresh new little cutie does. She's perfect and pure and at worst her only troubles are a wet diaper or need for a nap- not like his other kids, who are far more complex in their needs, and also just kinda annoying to be around. Merry doesn't want to deal with Toffee's absurd queer identity crisis or Topher's awful teen girl moods, he liked them better when they were simple and uncomplicated and ran to hug his leg after work and tell him how he was the best daddy in the whole wide world. Honey is his chance to experience that all over again, except SHE won't grow up into a freak like her siblings. It's nice to feel like a family man again, rather than the begrudging father of two ungrateful failures.

PrairieGhosted

(I am so mad bc my inconsistent internet connection deleted my old comment mid post so I am way later than I original intended to be replying to this hbdajhbdds. anyway!) I just wanted to say as someone who has had family just like...Out me , regardless of my attempts to stay closeted, to conform, to not disrupt the balance for the sake of others, I appreciate seeing it as a narrative ur exploring bc I just never see it even in Coming Out stories (which I understand why- that was traumatizing and I had no control or consent and not what Coming Out should be like, modeled as in media for a general audience ig) I feel so bad for Toffee, being rejected in full like that for something you pushed away from urself to conform in the world of his family and still being punished and abandoned for it bc even if you tried to hide it, they could TELL and they dont want you bc of it.... :^( I resonate a lot w the paticular set of wounds. I look forward to seeing more abt Toffee's journey , I think thats a narrative I dont see a lot and I consistently am rlly appreciative of the care and nuance u approach writing with for a lot of diff relationships other media has rlly struggled to bring empathy to the ppl in. Additionally, in the timeline is this before or after Topher leaving ? Just curious !!

Scorp

Man, Merry treating his role as a pastor like an act or mascot to sell a brand makes my stomach turn. I'm guessing he brought Honey along to lunch with his son to try and get some attention too. Though I guess megachurch pastors are in some way selling a brand...