Shaping Up (Tessa's Shape-eria)
"Shaping Up"
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Episode Information
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"Shaping Up" is the series premiere of the YouTube mascot horror series Tessa's Shape-eria. The episode was produced by Damn! Steal, a YouTube channel previously responsible for series such as "NERPA VS. ??? RAP BATTLES" and "Pop Sicklestick's Horrible Capitalism Nightmare World with Pop Sicklestick." This episode was the first series produced by Damn! Steal to achieve more than 2,000 views as of 2024. It premiered on the Damn! Steal YouTube channel on August 23, 2024 after its promotional ARG went unsolved for 3 years and 11 months.
In the episode, protagonist Teebee Deebee (Arlo), a triangle with two misplaced eyes, a metal texture, and no other facial features explores their colorful room, opening various gifts containing stim toys and finger puppets. Teebee Deebee then climbs into a briefcase and discovers the dark secrets hiding within. The episode begins with an opening monologue from Tessa Triangle (Vriska Serket), the series antagonist. Teebee Deebee also meets two friends: Idey Kay (Michael Bloomberg) and Mr. Snrub the Shape (Spike).
The episode reached 1 million views on YouTube on August 23, 2024, earning the director and writer each a Mr. Snrub Honorary Degree and Medal of Honor for Outstanding YouTube Achievement. Mr. Snrub also funded the show's creation.
Plot
Tessa Triangle greets the audience, explaining that they're working on a 8IG SURPRISE, refusing to say for whom. They do, however, point repeatedly at themself while constantly glancing back at the viewer. After six minutes of this, the perspective changes to that of Teebee Deebee in its room. Teebee Deebee excitedly discusses the continuity present in Metroid: Dread before, in a clearly sentence-mixed voiceline, announces he's going to open some presents. The next twenty minutes are a montage of Teebee opening gifts while Kevin Macleod's "Sneaky Snitch" plays. After this sequence, Teebee opens a briefcase, falling in, and encounters a faded mural of Tessa Triangle's previous snake-oil businesses. Teebee says "awful." in a voice clip taken from Arlo's episode about Ubisoft, and then turns and storms away.
In the post-credits sequence, a rectangle says "I'm Idey Kay..." and Mr. Snrub the Shape explains that the viewer can purchase crude oil by the barrel by calling the number on the screen. They each take a sip, the voice actors gag and cough, Mr. Snrub the Shape audibly spits out a spikeball, and then the two both say "MatPat?" and disappear.
Soundtrack
In addition to songs created by Kevin Macleod, the following pieces appear in this episode:
Tessa's Shape-eria! Theme
Tessa Talks
Teebee's Room
Into the Briefcase
Production
After the modest success of Pop Sicklestick's Horrible Capitalism Nightmare World with Pop Sicklestick, Damn! Steal committed to focusing on mascot horror, a highly lucrative YouTube business. After seeking funding from several sources (of variable reputation), they eventually settled on an agreement with Mr. Snrub, who committed to funding the show in exchange for a percentage of the future profits, a full merchandising license, and promotion of his other products and businesses in the show.
Controversially, the guest voice actors were not notified what show they would actually be guesting in. Arlo allegedly believed he was filming an episode of his own YouTube channel, Serket thought she was the main character of "Homestuck 3," Michael Bloomberg thought the show was his presidential campaign, and Spike thought the show was Bloomberg's presidential Homestuck reading on YouTube. Damn! Steal sealed the exits to the voice acting booth until each performer had provided a sufficient amount of lines to cover the 30 episodes Snrub approved for the show's first season. A representative from Damn! Steal later commented that they "hope the actors are thrilled to return for Season 2 next week," and that their "method acting" would contribute to the show's "spooky energy."
The soundtrack for the show was commissioned from an anonymous solo artist, who was credited in the original version of the show but later chose to go uncredited after receiving backlash on Twitter.
