#I also think it’s very funny that the joke in Kurt and rams death is that they were gay but ive never seen a gayer group than the heathers

[paperstarzz]

Real Heathers ending

[the-resurrection-3d]

so heathers eps 2-3

it's a few days late but I just woke up from a dream about my TomTord Roommate and I don't want to be actually productive. I had to go back and copy-paste this from Word because Tumblr’s new text post editor has a woefully small character limit. Gotta love how Wordpress of all fucking places is going out of their way to make their new pet project hostile to writers. 

Anyway.

Good things:

the pacing feels like an actual show now

it took them three whole episodes but they finally managed to make JD/Veronica interesting and actually dark. Think the ending of Gone Girl if both characters viewed it as a happy ending.

I love Heather Duke's peacock motif. It's very fitting with her personality and is incorporated tastefully.

Changing “Teenage Suicide (Don’t Do It)” by Big Fun into a musical produced in-universe is a fun idea... I think? It gives me a lot of similar vibes to Riverdale having to justify performing Heathers the Musical in-universe , though that only lasted an episode, whereas this looks like it’s going to be an overarching plot. I honestly think they should just pull a Riverdale and have a full-on musical episode -- at least that would give musical fans something to enjoy. I guess this isn’t a good thing so much as a thing that didn’t annoy me. It’s not conceptually poisoned like a lot of other things here. 

Anything else? No...? Well then, moving on. 

Several new problems have emerged:

Veronica's bug motif is absolutely heinous and I don't have any clue what it's supposed to represent, especially when they keep changing what exact bug she's wearing.

Also you don’t have to vomit blue all over every Veronica scene. It’s very weird because they don’t usually throw red or green or yellow lighting all over everyone’s else scenes. Sure, it’ll feature prominently, such as the shot of Heather M sitting on her bed surrounded by yellow stuffed animals, but that’s at least a characterization detail. I’m talking solely about lightning choices here.

Removing the death of Heather Chandler has destroyed any sense of direction the show could have had. I asked TTR what the characters wanted and what goals they were working towards and she just said, "I have no idea." They had Heather Chandler blackmailing JDonica and Heather M. getting gaslit and victim-blamed by everyone around her, but both of these things were done by the end of the episode.

This is a problem a lot of teen dramas have, but I think it’s worth noting that the pop music choices rang from “okay” to “.... but why though.” Like in the scene where Heather C. reveals she’s still alive, it plays “Halo” by Beyoncé, get it, because they thought she was dead! Except it doesn’t fit the tone of the scene nor Heather C’s intentionality, and there’s nothing funny about the contrast, either. What? 

 Heathers looked at the controversy around 13 Reasons Why's suicide scene and said "bet." Except it's not even done well because the entire point of 13RW s1 was getting to know Hannah and understand why she kermited. We always know she's killed herself, sure, but the series utilizes the tapes and frequent flashbacks to characterize Hannah, especially by the time we actually see the suicide. This episode just dumps trauma on Heather M. and has her kill herself at the end. Of episode 2.

After the funeral scene, the rest of ep3 is just pointless generic teen drama, only half of which was made interesting by that Gone Girl twist at the end (where JD kills Ram because Veronica is going out with him and Veronica finds this thrilling and romantic).

The other plot, about Heathers D and C fighting for power, culminates in Heather C forcing D to break-up with Kurt and then bouncing D off the stage during play auditions. Problem one: this is all drama I could get in any teen show. Problem two: you could have easily set up Duke/Kurt in episode one by having a scene where Kurt asks why Duke just she let Chandler humiliate him in front of everyone, allowing us to see that Duke's subservience to Chandler has actual personal costs to her (since the eating disorder angle is out). Problem three: having Duke constantly just back down whenever Chandler challenges her is boring and lame. Why not have a sing-off between the two Heathers? Why not have Heather D. gain the self-confidence her movie self did after C's "death" and then not be fully willing to play nice anymore, especially after Chandler forced Duke to publicly break up with and denounce Kurt for no real reason?

But we can't have the sing-off, because it's getting pretty clear that this show has the same problem RWBY does, where the writers/directors care more about the characters they made than the actual main characters. Characters like the teachers, Betty Finn, and whoever tf this new black girl is get to be major players because their personalities were not as previously well-defined as JD's, Veronica's, or any of the Heathers'. This is also pretty apparent in how Kurt and Ram have both been rewritten to not be douchebros at all (racism aside, because remember, the show doesn't think racism is that bad), despite the episode's title, “Date Rape and AIDS Jokes,” referencing their movie characterization. The show is so obviously uninterested in its supposed main characters that JD and Veronica have only had two real romantic moments together in over two hours of content. Heather M. has gotten the most development... only because the show realized it hadn't given any reason for anyone to care about her before she killed herself off.

JD’s dialogue is fucking horrendous. Imagine if every single word out of Jughead’s mouth was the “I’m a weirdo” speech but five times as long. And you know what, in defense of Jughead, at least Lean Jesus has things going on in his life outside of plowing Betty and wallowing in his own melodrama. He has hobbies, goals, and complicated relationships with other characters. The only things JD has are Veronica and bitching at his dad/his dad’s new girlfriend about how love is a wound and all this other nihilistic shit he got off r/im14andthisisdeep. I’m honestly surprised he didn’t counter Veronica talking about how she wanted to be normal with “Normal is just a setting on the washing machine.” Another missed characterization moment: JD bringing a sword from his katana collection (that’s only seen once in episode three) to school and threatening Kurt and Ram with that instead of the gun. I think that would have been fun.

The show also hates black women. And Native Americans. In such a way that it actively contradicts itself (the pilot established that Heather C. actually isn't just a keyboard warrior and goes to irl protests, so why would Heather C. not say a word about Westerburg's school statue being a Confederate soldier holding an Indigenous person's decapitated head?)

[dodgefred]

peathers isn’t terrible. yeah the plot is bad and yeah some of the jokes are offensive but overall it’s not bad. i have seen the original movie and a few productions of the musical in addition to peathers and i have a few thoughts in response to the backlash i’ve seen. if you want to have a debate with me on this, please do so civilly. thank you.

“it’s a bad adaptation”

then watch the version you like. you don’t have to associate with this version if you don’t want to. the existence of this adaptation doesn’t mean that the original movie has suddenly poofed out of existence. it doesn’t mean that the musical is closing everywhere and the rights are never going to be sold ever again. support whatever incarnation of the story you like. adaptations aren’t meant to be carbon copies of the original. the heathers movie didn’t include pop-rock music, so why didn’t anyone complain about the musical not being exactly the same as the movie?

“it’s bad to demonize minorities”

i’d be lying if i said i haven’t met awful human beings who just happen to be lgbt or poc or fat people or of a certain religion. yeah of course awful stereotypes do exist and of course it hurts to have a stereotype pinned onto you when you’re not that. however, minorities can still be bad people. even if they weren’t, i doubt someone will use a tv show to judge all gay people. and if there’s some idiot who watches this series and thinks all trans people are power hungry assholes when they lay their eyes on heather duke, then i’ll eat my hat, but i genuinely doubt people are that ignorant- and if they are, then they probably don’t want to be watching a show that so prominently features minorities in the first place.

“veronica and jd are thin cisgender straight white kids who kill minorities...”

there’s some spoilers for the show in this one so if you actually want to watch this show, skip to the next point or something. in the context of the show, jd and veronica only physically kill about four people: kurt, ram, the pedophilic ex-teacher named mr waters, and when veronica was a child, she killed one of her best friends with a croquet mallet. oh, and the whole bombing prom in the finale thing. the other deaths may have been provoked but the intent was not to kill these characters (heather macnamara, slit her wrists in the bathroom at a roller skate rink; heather duke, was running away from jd and ran into a barbed wire, thus cutting their own throat) and jd did attempt to kill betty finn, but it failed because she was able to stand up for herself and beat his ass. everyone they succeeded in murdering (not counting prom) was white. kurt was the only minority out of them all, being gay. heather chandler did not die in the first episode, her throat was just blocked by a corn nut and she was unconscious. they intended to kill her, but they did not succeed.

“...and don’t face any serious repercussions”

more spoilers; skip ahead if you actually care. that’s the point. a big theme in this show is adults not paying attention, and it’s very relevant in today’s world. this theme is established very early on; in the first few episodes, veronica’s parents don’t look up from their tablets. veronica’s dad allows her to call him an idiot because he isn’t paying attention. and at first, it’s just that. it’s just the passing joke. but then, there’s a scene in the fifth episode where even though jd had instigated the fight between betty by forcibly kissing her and then trying to kill her, the police do not believe betty, despite her having exact times and jd not saying a word the entire inquiry. the theme of adults not listening once again comes up in the finale, when a boy overhears jd’s plan to bomb prom and goes to tell the teachers, who are preoccupied by telling heather chandler that her dress is too short. they accuse him of being high when he yells about the plan, and when he says fuck out of fear, they scold him for swearing. at the end of the episode, the teachers come to the revelation that maybe they should have listened to the kids. maybe no one would have died if they’d just opened their eyes. it’s played off as a joke within the circle of adults but from the point of view of a high schooler in america, that’s exactly how i would portray adults discussing that sort of thing: careless.

“it doesn’t show the original themes of heathers”

see the first point. but also, it doesn’t have to address the popularity themes that the original and its musical adaptation portrayed. it already addresses other issues, like how too much of a good thing can be bad, or the theme discussed above about how adults are doing nothing for youth in this country. it also shows a little bit of the dark side of popularity, and what people would do for just a moment of glory. and of course, the classic “i’m literally a child, so how am i meant to know who i am?” i honestly related to these themes more than i did the ones portrayed in the original movie and the musical.

“people don’t really talk like that or dress like that”

the impression i got from the original heathers was that no one looked or spoke like they did because they were on another level. it was deliberate. they wore what they wore and said what they said because they want everyone to know that they’re different. no one in the eighties said “fuck me gently with a chainsaw” before heathers came out. it’s the same with the modern version. the heathers want to be different. they want to stand out. their clothes are ugly and they talk weird. deal with it.

“the humor is problematic”

unfortunately, yes, some of it was problematic. the stuff that wasn’t, though, was actually lowkey funny. (spoiler) in the finale, there was a car chase between duke in an uber and jd and it was genuinely comedic gold. there are things that shouldn’t have been said, of course, but that’s with every piece of media. west side story makes a transphobic / sexist joke (something like, the teacher says “you kids get into two circles: boys on the outside, girls on the inside” and diesel says “where are you?”) but do you see people boycotting it because of that? i actually really had fun watching this series and while some of the jokes made me cringe, they didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the show. also remember that this is a satire and so some of the jokes they use contribute to that aspect of the narrative.

“the pilot is terrible”

yeah, i agree with you on that one. the pilot sucks. but once you get into it, the awkwardness becomes bearable.

listen it isn’t great. it’s not like some of the most venerated titles on modern tv like orange is the new black or stranger things. it’s got a weird plot and pacing and some things are kind of awkward. some of the humor is offensive and the characters aren’t exactly like their original incarnations. but it’s entertaining. it’s trashy and fun and it genuinely has some really important morals. despite it being pushed back for ages because of so many shootings, i wish it had been premiered earlier anyway. it opens up a discussion about what more we can do in the chaos of a new shooting every week in such a smart way. i’m surprised that there isn’t a single positive post about it in the tag. yeah it’s bad, but it isn’t the worst show i’ve ever seen.

[blownoffsa]

meant to be yours.

small drabble, mainly from veronica’s pov based around yo girl and meant to be yours. 

please ask before reblogging!

Keep it together. Keep it together.   Feet kissed the ground for a split second as she carried herself further and further away from Westerberg, advancing near her own home.Martha was probably dying. Martha could have died, and this one would be all her fault. No one else, no boyfriend with poisoned intentions or cruel friends – her. She wasn’t just becoming a Heather. She was becoming a murderer. The ghosts of her past, literal and figurative, took form while taunting her. Telling her to keep her shit together, to hold it together like she had so desperately tried to before. 

She had admittedly done a remarkable job at pretending to be okay when it came to people she hardly cared about, while she was under the influence of those who towered above her. But now that she had grown from the very foundation that the one she swore she would never become she had crashed back down.

Electric, red, pulsating beams seemed to hold her back, shackle her arms behind as she struggled. No Escape, No Escape.Veronica’s running on fumes, now. Veronica’s totally fried.Exhaustion didn’t begin to cover the feelings running themselves to death in a crowded mind. Heather, Kurt, Ram, Martha, everyone who has died in might die... She needed to get away from the one climbing up her ladder. Climbing up her ladder, holy shit, he was going into her room. He was going to be there, probably armed, and she would die. He would kill her, there is no one that he wouldn’t or couldn’t kill. Heather grew a wicked smile and laughed, cackles roaring in her mind as Kurt and Ram hovered expectantly, commentating unnecessarily about the happenings. The closet, the closet, the CLOSET. Her legs picked up faster as she ran to the only place she could think of for safety. Back collided against the wall, a single light hanging from the ceiling. She brought a blanket up close to her chest, his voice ringing outside the door.

         “KNOCK KNOCK! So sorry to burst in through the window... Dreadful etiquette, I know.”  She could practically taste the bitterness in his voice. It was palpable. Then again, Jason Dean always loved his irony. She thought back to the night of the party, before all seemed lost. Before anyone had died. It was a brash decision, one that she would be unable to truly get over. But the night was heaven in a Hellhole. It was magical. It was just the two of them. No world, no pain. Bodies intertwined, free. What a slam back to reality his arm was against her door.

“Get OUT of my HOUSE.”            Her voice tried to be strong but it came out as scared, broken. The very dark tone that she had loved not even weeks ago was now corrupted, turned into something that she would never be able to get out of her mind. He spoke again, knowing that she was hiding in the closet. Slyly telling her to open the door. Poison. He was poison. A wolf in Wolf’s clothing, one that would act like a sheep to the Sheep. She knew what he was now. She was sure of it.   “I’ll scream, and my parents will call the police.”   

           ...Maybe jail would help him. Maybe it would change the things she tried to change. Or maybe he was too damaged to be changed because he never learned how. That was when she heard a lighter tone, something reassuring, forgiving.  “All is forgiven, baby! Come on. Get dressed, you’re my date for the pep rally tonight!”

Date? He was coming up there to kill her. She was next, she was very aware that she was next. Veronica was confused, scared, and acted out of impulse.  “What--? WHY?”

“Our classmates thought they were going to sign a petition... you gotta come out here and see what they really signed!” 

           All of the color previously in her face drained. She knew it. He wouldn’t change, and he was proud of this fact. He was over the fucking Moon he had almost succeeded in whatever act of heroism he would claim. He began to make her feel guilty, telling her that she treated him like trash, that she should be dead. But now he claimed to blame it on high school. Not the fact that he was a God damned murderer. Not the fact that he was not sane. He pushed the blame. Anyone other than he. JD went on, talked about how he hit the wall and started to cry, and she could feel her heart break. Not for herself, but her him. For the boy that never got a chance. He knew how to play her, even now.     AND SO I BUILT A BOMB—

           ...Bomb. He was going to blow up the fucking school. All of that exposition for this reveal. She was desperate for a chance to change him one last time, to convince him. Grasping at imaginary straws. He began to plead. Telling her that they were meant to be. “Don’t give up on me now, finish what we have begun. I was meant to be yours.” A command, softened by a broken tone. 

Her hand reached for the knob. One last shot. He was softening up, right? She could possibly convince herself of it one last time. That is, until he went right back to where he started. Quickly.                             Well. So much for that bitter fantasy.

Her hand retracted its reach from the door, partially thankful for her being able to snap back into this harsh reality, those sadness did creep in through cracks. She wished she could open the door and convince him that all would be okay, that all would be truly forgotten. But she also knew where she stood. On top of the chair, tying a blanket – makeshift noose with a grip on her waist – around her. If she could convince him that she was dead, she would have some freedom to plan what she needed to plan, to mull over in her head the past couple of weeks and the repercussions.

“YOU WERE MEANT TO BE MINE.”   Came the possessive yell from the other side of the door, a slam to the closet where she stood. “I AM ALL THAT YOU NEED. YOU – YOU CARVED OPEN MY HEART. YOU CAN’T JUST LEAVE ME HERE TO BLEED... VERONICA.”    The name ripped through the house, it’s a wonder that her parents hadn’t been alarmed sooner. His voice must be hoarse, and her parents didn’t truly seem to care. If something would go wrong, something too tight, she could die. 

                             She was ready.

A bang through what she could only assume to be a fist to the door.   “Open the door, please. Veronica, open the door. Veronica, can we, can we not fight anymore? Please? Can we not fight anymore? Listen, listen.” His voice became soft, and she felt her heart melt again, bleed again. She would not budge.  “I know you’re scared. I’ve been there!”   Had he truly been in her position? What had his father done to him before? She felt awful about the things she couldn't fix, it ate up her insides. Guilt for things she had never done.   “I’m your ticket. I can set you free.”   Something akin to a whine became his voice, losing it quickly. Quickly fading.   “Veronica, don’t make me come in there.”    He’s counting to three. She had three more seconds to make this right. Three seconds – or, if she knew JD –which she did... less. 

One. 

Two. 

FUCK IT.

Gun shot at the knob of the door as he kicked it down, the same moment the stool left from underneath her feet. She dangled from the light fixture above,, holding her breath. Not a sound. Not a move. The noise was met with a cold silence that hung in the air with the ghosts that taunted her. JD seemed... worried. Sad, upset? Something other than angry. He was always so angry but this, this wasn’t what he was.   ...Had it worked?. She desperately tried to ignore the rest of the time he was in the room, ignore the feeling of his hands grabbing her face, the feeling of his tears as they stained her blazer, him begging for her not to leave him alone. Claiming that she was the only one he could trust. She was the only one he could trust, and her dangling from a rope and a closet threatened sabotage against it all. His trust, quite literally hanging from a string. Would he ever be able to trust anyone again after he found out that she was lying? It wouldn’t necessarily matter. She wouldn’t be alive to tell.

       When JD left, Veronica's mom came back and seemed to care for her for the first time in her life, yelling and telling her that her ‘joke’ wasn’t funny. She seemed to care, to question, and for the first time... It seemed GENUINE.

                               She was about 17 years too late. 

Admittedly, Veronica could have had it worse, her parents could be Big Bud Dean or dead... but they still didn’t fully care. Or care to understand. She shrugged her mother off, grabbing her croquet mallet. 

The hour of truth was fast approaching, either one, or neither would come out alive.