#My knowledge on actors in general is pretty small (like really small - even with actors I really like)

[joyful-downer]

I've never really had much interest in superhero movies - until the first Deadpool came along. And ever since then, that was the only (anti)hero I cared about and liked.

(Any other comics characters I liked were villains like Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy and the Joker)

Now, after watching Deadpool and Wolverine twice, I can't believe how much I missed out on. I'm actually kinda embarrassed I've just realized how cool (and HOT) not only Logan/Wolverine is, but also how absolutely wholesome and adorable Hugh Jackman himself is in real life. He is SUCH a sweetheart and I wish I had known earlier because OH MAN did I miss out-

[freshmangojuice]

In 1993, Danny John-Jules wore this iconic costume in the Red Dwarf episode 'Gunmen of the Apocalypse'

It's such a beautiful costume, I wanted to know where it came from. So I did some digging. This is what I found out... (long post)

To preface, this post is about Mexican cultural dress and design. I am not Mexican and I have no Mexican connections so my existing knowledge is very limited. So although this stuff is new to me, it might be really obvious in general. If you happen to have more insight, please share!

Firstly, there is no information about the Riviera Kid costume itself other than the fact it was thought to be too small for Danny (it was, but luckily he looks good in tight clothes), and was rented for the shoot, which means it was not the work of our beloved Howard Burden.

But whoever made it must have gotten the idea from somewhere, the costume is clearly Mexican-inspired. But do we get that sense because of Hollywood, or is it legitimate cultural dress appropriate for the time period the episode was trying to represent? WELL! Let's see!

To start with, the image below is a gorgeous mariachi suit designed by contemporary Los Angeles tailor Jorge Tello.

Note the four symmetrical faux pockets with embellishment surrounding them, and the same continuous pattern bordering the edges of the jacket as well as patches on the upper arms and going down the side of the pants. And of course the big floppy bow tie. Excepting the details in colour, fasteners, and the decoration, this is the same as the Riviera Kid in terms of shape and style. Okay so it's mariachi dress!

I also found out that this specific suit is called traje de charro and is the traditional dress for horsemen in Mexico, now worn mostly by mariachi performers but also anyone for heritage events like festivals. And its origins come from Salamanca in Spain, though the evolution has brought it a long way from the 16th century. More on that later.

To back this up there are also a lot of results for cheaper costumes that actually have similar designs to the Riviera Kid with the squiggle appliqué.

But these are recent designs, with Tello's from around 2013. Gunmen of the Apocalypse was supposed to represent the 1880s (or thereabouts), is there anything older? Where does the squiggle design actually come from? WELL! (again)

Tracing back the decades, I managed to find some strikingly similar pieces. Including this jacket made in Mexico and worn by Alice Cooper in the 1970s. Yes, the rockstar Alice Cooper.

This jacket is VERY similar to the Riviera kid, down to the four corner knot motif on the arms, the squiggles, and even the fasteners are done in the same braiding technique. Clearly this is the jacket that inspired the one worn in Red Dwarf. Or was it...?

This one was worn by the actor Guy Williams in 1958 and was likely designed by Hollywood costumer Chuck Keehne. It is exactly the same as the one from the 70s. Like, exactly the same. Which leads me to believe the Alice Cooper one was copied from this design.

However, we have to look at the context. The jacket above was made for an actor in a movie (The Sign of Zorro) in the 1950s, and if it was indeed Chuck Keehne behind it, that guy was born in Missouri. Not much there to legitimise the design as Mexican. Nor is there much to suggest historical accuracy since the movie is meant to take place in the 1820s and they looked like this in it.

(Guy Williams and Britt Lomond in The Sign of Zorro)

I can tell you right now that yes the military uniform is pretty 1820s. The details are off, but the silhouette is there, the cut of the jacket is there, the right buttons are there, the right pistol is there. We are in the 1820s. So I have reason to believe that the military uniform, for which I have many references for, is just as historically accurate as the flashy charro. Surely, right?

Eh, not quite. Because after digging some more I'm sorry to say I doubt the squiggle design and sharp cut of the jacket is as old as the 1820s. That just isn't realistic for how fashion changed over time, and I have also found things like this photograph.

Taken in the 1860s, the two men look fabulous, but the man on the left is wearing what appears to be a suit that will eventually evolve into what we see later on. The decorated legs, the length of the jacket and gap in the closure is about all the similarities I can find. So obviously 1820s is very optimistic for what we're talking about.

Which are suits like this!

These lovely ladies were photographed in Mexico c. 1918–29 and they're wearing the squiggles! The jacket of the lady on the right has vertical pockets which is so fascinating to me, but the lady on the left has exactly what I've been looking for all this time. She has the squiggles, the four pockets, the round decorated collar. It's stunning. And it's the earliest version of the design that I can confirm. All that's missing is the four cornered knots, but I'm assuming that comes in 1950s and may even be a celtic reference.

Unfortunately, that's the end of the 'I'm pretty sure this is accurate information' thread, but I've also found other vintage jackets that have been sold online.

The two on the left are listed as being from the 1940s, and the one of the right is listed as a women's matador jacket from the 1920s. How true those claims are I cannot know, their provenance is not given.

Though it would seem that the design that inspired the Riviera Kid is definitely more 20th century. And it's surprising to me how common it actually is! So although it may be a fabrication for the time period, it is very true to life for actual traditional dress and it's not completely made up!

TL;DR

The Riviera Kid costume took inspiration, along with other costume work, from actual Mexican fashion that originate no earlier than the 1910s, although those fashions can trace its roots to around the 1860s, which can trace its roots to Spain in the 1500s.

[4th-make-quail]

Hello!

This is the anon who came to you about reading rpf and being embarrassed about it in general a few weeks ago.

I wanted to say a couple things. (All positive!)

Thank you for answering my ask, it meant a lot. You brought up a couple of points I hadn't considered but now do.

As per usual I am obsessed with your writing and eat it up pretty much every time you drop a new update

I love that we can all collectively agree what Eric and Assad have going on is pretty entertaining to watch, but I wanted to bring something up.

I can 100% see it if in some way, Eric is kinda like his mentor. Yes, they are besties, AND YES they are definitely feeding into the fandom, but I bet you Assad is learning so much from someone who's been doing what they do for a long long time. Have you SEEN the hype that Eric has been giving him on insta and Twitter? It just makes my chest hurt because Assad 100% deserves all the hype he gets. And I think Eric is the person to lead the charge. Im hoping that with everything going on, he gets the ego boost he soo deserves.

Anyways, thanks for reading my ramblings if you made it all the way to the bottom. Hope your feeling better!!

AW nonny, I'm so glad it helped you! It came shortly after I'd actually been thinking about some of your points actually, so it was a very well-timed ask! And thank you so much!! I'm definitely feeling better than I was haha 💚💚💚

Big agree with you here, I love to think about their mentor/mentee relationship too - especially since they're both super into theatre! Knowing that even Rolin said he was fanboyish about Eric's casting makes me feel like he's probably really respected as an actor and source of all these stories and knowledge of his craft, you know?

I absolutely love the hype Eric's been giving him too, it's just so SWEET!!! I'm unsure if it's as a response to that thread on twitter where one person was talking about the humility of UK POC actors, but even if it was it's still just too fucking cute.

All of this makes me think about a small scene where they're talking about acting techniques, maybe directing techniques too since I know Assad was doing that thing The Fox and the Grapes. I can always picture them super clearly getting into real intense discussions about their craft (I'm showing my lack of research/knowledge about acting stuff here I feel lol) and about different ways of approaching roles, learning lines etc etc. I just like to think about them hanging out and interacting and having so much fun together (in Prague!!!)!

Thank you for the ramblings nonny, it made my day that my answer before helped you! I love to receive any and all ramblings, so please do feel welcome to drop in my inbox any time (and that goes for anyone!)! 💚

[lavendelhummel]

Last week I saw Sophie Okonedo in Medea. It was very exiting!! Two (2) people asked me to share the experience, and one of them I have already told all this, but maybe someone else, who can’t go there, wants to read my random thoughts. For me it was a spontaneous, lucky chance, that I had, just now as it is playing, a little more time and someone to offer me a spot in their bed for the first few nights and one on their floor for the remaining ones, so I could go to England/London ;)

These are just my personal thoughts, in a weird order, and I really don’t know if they have any value for anyone, and this is full of spoilers of course!! Actually, it’s just one giant spoiler.

First of all: Needless to say, all above, that Sophie Okonedo was amazing and so good I forgot I came to see her, because there was only Medea and I was sad afterwards not having seen Sophie, even if I technically did. And I had goosebumps.

•        I really liked the Sunglasses, she wore in the beginning (it was a modern element in a not particular modern setting, the other clothes were pretty neutral and they used very few accessories (something I always like in plays) and this was so useless, only used for her first sentences and then sitting there for the rest of the play! So really a statement and very fitting to her performance, the scene and the way her emotions got dealt with. Also looked very good on her.)

•           There was a disabled actress in a wheelchair, something I had never seen before in theater. She was good, too, everyone was.

•           The women of Corinth were portrayed in a cool way. It had already said on the internet, when booking that the audience would be the women of Corinth, and I thought, this would either be very good, because it can (and was!) be done very well, but audience interaction etc. can also be very weird and not work out. This was not weird and even if I had read it, I was surprised, and it created a very nice atmosphere. I liked how the three different women were not empty chorus characters as in the book, they each had a different personality. I liked especially the one that seemed a bit like Medea’s therapist.

•           Her emotions get explained (but not in a boring monolog way, well in a monolog, but a well made one) better in the beginning. It could also be that I just didn’t understand the book as well, but I found her situation and her character and way of dealing with everything much clearer here, even if I hadn’t thought it unclear in the book, but this was… better? It set the scene and the character very well.  

•           Same with her reasoning throughout the whole thing, I didn’t always follow on every thought of hers while reading, but when Sophie played her in this version all her motivations were understandable.

•           I liked that they brought up the fact that she is in a foreign country + that she can’t go back (because of all the normal things that happened already) a lot. It made sense and was important for her character and the whole conflict, but didn’t get touched on as much by Euripides originally

•           It was cool, how her having certain medical knowledge and having helped people with it, was considered dangerous and dark and evil by certain characters, well Creon (that stinky Whitecloak), the Middle Ages are saying hi ;) especially nice, because she does use this knowledge for evil later, muhhahahah.

•           In general I liked most/all changes made. Which is a high compliment, because I usually find something to complain about.

•           Except: The guy walking in circles around everyone (stage is round and surrounded by the audience, pretty cool!). I liked that there was only one actor playing all the male characters, as they never appear at the same time, because I like it when there are small casts and he did it really well, the differences in the characters and you could see hm preparing for the changes, impressive! Because he was constantly on stage. Because when his characters were not in scene, he was walking creepily around everyone the stage, which was weird and annoying. But the friend I went with had a cool interpretation for this afterwards: He, as in all the men, were watching her and circling her, like birds watching their prey, as they cast her, the powerful woman out.

•           I didn’t even mind the use of the fog machine, something I usually hate and complain about a lot in plays. I don’t like it, but here it fit! It was good. The scene was good and the fog was not just to have weird, fancy something’s, but was just nice. I don’t know. I didn’t mind it.

•           I liked Medea’s outfit. In the beginning a sweater and a skirt, neutral, but very casual like pajamas, as she was wallowing

•           Then she changed into the black dress, again neutral, but looked very good ;))) Because she in this dress… well there are photos. Looks good.

•           Then there was one more change to er appearance in the end and that was the blood. All over her hands and face and it did have a certain something. I liked it. Yep.

•           The way she portrayed the deep satisfaction as the nurse tells what happened at the palace! The way she enjoys it! Her fascination at her own crimes! Delicious.

•           I liked how they were addressing the justice question in the whole story. They were really talking about how this is unjust, and it is, and since those plays are so much about morality, it was very important. Also having grown up with complicated siblings, justice is my favorite topic.

•           I also liked that they addressed the practicality of it all. Of really practically, where can she go, what is her backup plan now, how does she feed her children??  

•           And the reality of the history of a fallen out relationship. The relationship between Medea and Jason was not just on paper, you could sense that there was something, that they once had something and that they were in the process of redefining it. That was great.

•           The best moment for me was without doubt when it was over. I mean that was the worst, because then it was over :(. But to watch Sophie switch from Medea to herself, the way she couldn’t smile and looked shocked at the applause for a moment. Like she came up from diving. And then she did smile and (omg, she smiled!!!!) you could see she had to force herself at first, because she was still a little in the killing-mindset, but then once she started it turned to her own genuine smile and it was as if a switch had been turned. Immersive. I mean, obviously that’s how acting works, but it was so deep with her. And you could see it in her face and there were those acting feelings on her face and it was a small but powerful moment.

•           But speaking of that I had a little theater culture shock. First of all, I wasn’t aware how big the theater culture is in England/London. It’s just a mainstream thing, people talk about it, there are lots of theaters in the streets. That is so cool! I was so impressed and liked talking about theater with my friend (who does it professionally, ok) but also random people so much! Here it’s a rather niche old people/nerd thing. So cool!!! I miss doing more theater a lot and seeing this was great. But along with it being more mainstream came also that you apparently don’t dress up? Here you dress up for theater, so I did even after my friend told me I didn’t have to, but I did bring my dress, so. And then there was the ending. I’ve only ever experienced long rounds of applause, the actors coming out many times, again and again and people clasping for a long time if they liked it. But this was at most a minute? Like a little clasping. They bowed, went and came out just one single time to bow again. I had never seen it this short even in far worse plays and it made the whole thing pretty abrupt for me because I was expecting it to go on for longer. I was also disappointed, because I wanted to see Sophie for longer, than a few seconds as before she hadn’t been herself but Medea. Then again, we were in the afternoon show, maybe that’s one reason for it to be shorter.

•           Speaking of afternoon show, obviously there were only old people in the audience (and us and I was sitting very far away from my friends). But the old lady next to me more or less also came for Sophie. Well, at least she said to me, this actress was very good, she had seen her in Cleopatra (!!!!!! Omg, I wish! That must have been amazing!!!). And I was like… I know. I came a pretty long way just to see this play. Because she’s in it. The old man in front of me was reading a book while the play had already started. Rude?? I mean, I had a book on my lap as well, obviously, but that was my emergency book and for before /after the play, because I sat really far away from my friends and there is usually a waiting period and it stayed closed the whole time, and most certainly during the play. Why??

•           It was of course a little sad that she didn’t have a sword. In the book she does. It’s not on scene, but it’s said. And I would have liked to see Sophie Okonedo with a sword. I did go to the UK for this, so could have at least given her a sword. Hm.

•           Aigeus is somewhat gay coded. And obviously stupid. Which could be a dangerous mix, but was hilarious (I thought), because I felt it was implied as if his childlessness is because of hid gayness and he just doesn’t know that there are two different set of genitalia needed to make a child happen and was genuinely confused that he was sill childless edit all the gay sex he might have had.  And when Medea promised to cure him, it did have the vibe of her then later just planning on educating him, which I thought was funny and also better than in the book where it sounded as if she was going to sleep with him.  

•           My friend liked how much we were made to hate Jason. He really felt it and I know what he was talking about. It was the general vibe and then there were two things he said that were just such asshole moves. But yeah, I was so clear, that while Medea is the one to do the most evil thing ever, Jason gets the hate from the audience on purpose. Because none of those two are good people.

•           My friends, who, again, I did not sit with, and again the stage was round, said, Sophie was looking directly, very intensely at them, into their eyes very often, that’s so cool. I am jealous, she did not look intensely in my direction :(.

•           Oh, and the children themselves! They did appear early on, which made the weird objectification vibe from the book nonexistent. And the way they were incorporated was good too! I personally could also have imagined it with them not appearing at all until as dead corpses. But I also had wild theories while reading, that the theater-academia friend I went with said weren’t even that bad, about the whole play actually being about abortion (there were a few quotes, that make it not that far off!) or maybe the kids being newborn babies, twins, and she having postpartum psychosis/depression and hormones in general and thus going on a killing spree. Because in the book her mood swings are quite something! This was better in this play, as I said, her emotions and revoking were better to be followed. This doesn’t add up, because she has killed before the story already starts, but would be interesting. Anyways, the kids do appear multiple times and are more involved and it wasn’t bad, actually worked quite well!

So, it was a good play, a great play. I felt as if I couldn’t remember much afterwards and was terribly disappointed it was over, but that’s on me. Sophie was amazing and I love theater.

My friends, who are a little better equipped for reviewing (one is as I said in theater research, and the other has lots of smart thoughts usually), said they would tell me their thoughts after more processing, so maybe in a few weeks. If that happens, I can add it to this list.

[donnerpartyofone]

More notes on beauty:

1) I started feeling ugly from a very early age, really as far back as I can remember. There is something deeply revealing about being told you're pretty only by blood relatives, friends of the family who are trying to flatter your parents, and platonic friends who are not sexually attracted to your demographic; all those people are trying to make you feel better in some way, even though they might be accidentally pointing out a problem you didn't necessarily think you had.* But anyway, my parents never interfered with my sense of ugliness--even though I was extremely vocal about how worried and sad it made me. On one single occasion when I was probably around 12 and bemoaning how gross I felt, my father stoically offered up that beauty standards are just reflections of reproductive instincts, that the qualities men find attractive in women are markers of high quality breeding stock essentially. I now know that this is only true to a limited degree, and even at the time it wasn't hard to see that the average sex symbol wasn't necessarily "fertile-looking". Besides which, this knowledge wouldn't exempt me from continued rejection and alienation! It was just another way of viewing my natural reject-ness. But still, this shut me up somehow. It was like Oh OK, so even if I'm like exiled from society, at least there's a scientific reason. It's not "unfair", it's just rational.

2) My best friend is ugly. This is her own assessment based on her own experience of just being in society, dealing with strangers, trying to find a partner, etc. I don't know that she ENJOYS being ugly, but I don't think she's offended by the diagnosis; it just is what it is on some level, and it makes her incredibly enlightened about the complexities of embodied existence, but ANYWAY. I was talking one day with another friend about the general concept of looks, and when I mentioned this fact about my closest friend, my interlocutor got very prickly. She said something like "ugliness is a really important concept to me, I've seen pictures of your friend online and she's not it." To be clear this person was being more defensive of ugliness than of the stranger I was describing--but it put me in this corner where I had to go, "OK fine, her skin is like this, her hair is like this," etc, until it was like I had her whole physical person disarticulated on an operating table. Finally the person I was talking to conceded that she understood me, but it was an unpleasant experience and I wished I hadn't taken the bait. This person just had a fetishized version of what it means to be "ugly"; she meant, for instance, character actors with uniquely extreme appearances that amount to their own special aesthetic. She didn't want to include just general people who are routinely ignored and rejected in any circumstance where the key thing is visual attractiveness. And there I was, so desperate to defend my friend's inalienable right to be ugly (which is just one small feature of hers within an absolute treasure trove of amazingly great human qualities), that I carved her up into parts for this other person--I made myself think about my friend in a way that I absolutely never would do naturally, all because of my obsessive resistance of judging people by aesthetics, even the "ugliness" aesthetic. It left me feeling pretty awful.

*Actually I wonder if people, let's just say women who are very attractive are very often TOLD that they are attractive out loud by people other than sexual partners (and suitors who can't control themselves). I feel like people are so threatened by attractive women, in various ways, that they don't necessarily come right out and acknowledge this attractiveness in words. I think maybe people are more likely to express "you're extremely hot/beautiful" through behavior and action, than to be so vulnerable as to say the obvious to a beautiful woman. In fact I theorize that you might know if you face more challenges re: appearance from the fact that people TELL you you're attractive more often than they act like it. But this is all speculation about other people's lives, I really wouldn't know!

[altruistic-meme]

twenty questions for fic writers

i got tagged by @irregularcollapse thank you!

How many works do you have on AO3?

currently, I'm at 33 on my main account and another 3 that are under a pseud :)

What’s your total AO3 word count?

166,992 in total!

What fandoms do you write for?

as of right now, i'd say i write for All For The Game, Captive Prince, and Young Royals. i have kind of written a little for Good Omens, but i'm not really counting it bc i'm not sure i'll ever finish it or post it. and i used to write for Yuri!!! On Ice and Hetalia as well, but i don't anymore (and likely never will again).

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

oh man, i was actually kind of surprised about the last two!

the beginnings just another end (Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov, Yuri!!! On Ice) Victor Nikiforov has friends. He's four time world champion, figure skating god, beloved by most. He's won more medals than he knows what to do with, has more fans than anyone could count, and more money than he could ever possibly spend all of. Only one problem; Victor Nikiforov has no friends. So, he searches for some. And he finds them in a group chat room titled "crazy people talk about figure skating".

(why is there) joy in this poison (Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard, All For the Game) Because for as much as Kevin would talk to Andrew about the Ravens, whine about Riko, warn him about Tetsuji, explain to him why he trusted Jean… he had never really mentioned Nathaniel. In a story, once or twice. In passing, perhaps a few times. And Andrew found that he trusted Nathaniel less each and every time he heard the name. Andrew is propositioned at a summer exy banquet, and a deal is proposed.

The Bet (Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard, All For the Game) Andrew decides it's finally time to introduce his partner Neil to the Foxes on a summer weekend vacation, but Nicky has a better plan.

running from my heart (Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov, Yuri!!! On Ice) When Victor arrives the night before the men's short programs at the Grand Prix Final, he's not expecting to run into another skater. Or run into him again. Or again.

Vicchan's Pet Café (Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov, Yuri!!! On Ice) "It's alright, really. It allowed me to get a closer look at your gorgeous brown eyes." Wow. Wow Victor. Victor Nikiforov, five time Emmy Award winner, actor in countless romances, well-known playboy, just made the most ridiculous pick-up line that could have possibly come from that moment. In which Victor is an actor, Yuuri owns a café, and their dogs just want them to be together.

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

i try to, but i am incredibly bad at it :') i always want to reply, even if it's something small like just a "<3" or "thanks!" but i often forget to reply for a long time. or at all.

but i always try my absolute best to reply to comments with questions or any that really touch me in some way

What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

in general, i do try not to write angsty endings (although i know i've had some ideas for some, just never written the)

however, that said, swaying as the room burned down is still the worst i've written! it does come with the knowledge that things get better, having been written as a missing scene from yr2 which ends better than the fic leaves off, but the fic itself still ends in a pretty sad place.

What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

honestly? Where There is Love, There is Life. the entire fic was meant to be pure fluff and sweetness. most of my fics have happy endings (when i actually. ended them.) and i do have some other fics that were meant to just be fluff, but i think this one takes the cake.

Do you get hate on fics?

no, i haven't! i've gotten some... sort of mean-spirited comments or comments that come across that way, but i don't think they were really meant as hate so much as the tone fell flat.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

i have not. yet. i have one WIP that will have smut at some point in it, but that's the only one i have planned and i haven't gotten to that point in writing it yet!

Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

not really. i think i did, a very long time ago, but i can't remember it at all.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that i know of, and also i sure hope not.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

not that i'm really aware of, but i think it'd be cool!

What’s your all-time favorite ship?

that's tough. it's probably Andreil, though. just everything about their relationship, from beginning to end of the series, is so so good and they've always meant so much to me as characters.

What’s a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

the beginnings just another end. i really wish i could've finished it sooner. it was my first long fic, and it kept the status as my longest fic for years. i still remember how it was meant to end, too. ultimately, if i ever even write YOI again, i think i'd rather rewrite the entire story than just finish it as is. but i really don't think i'll ever complete it.

What are your writing strengths?

Cliffhangers. Dialogue. Humor, at least in my opinion. Ideas galore.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Consistency. i have terrible memory and will often write something in, planning to make use of it later in the story, and then completely forget about it.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

ouhhhh it depends. my opinion on it has changed from when i was younger. i think it can add to the story, like if it's used because the POV character doesn't know the language, but in general i'd prefer not to do it (especially since i'm monolingual rip ;;;)

First fandom you wrote for?

ahhhhhhh Hetalia

Favorite fic you’ve written?

without a doubt, (why is there) joy in this poison. it means so much to me i cannot even begin to explain it. and even aside from that, the story itself is something i LOVE rereading since it was written to my own tastes, and every time i look back in the story to fact-check myself, i end up getting lost in the story again and again. it also makes me feel so good about my writing, it's such a confidence boost and rereading it helps me realize why people actually like my writing!

i'm going to tag @daylightsimon @zee-has-commitment-issues and @spaghett-onaplate for this if you guys want to <3

[maplewoodstreet]

Super Mario Bros. Wonder First Impressions

I'm fairly far into the game and I have some opinions (⁠・⁠o⁠・⁠)

Kevin Afghani as Mario and Luigi

On the bright side of things, people online seem to be receiving the new VA for Mario fairly well! His name is Kevin Afghani. I want to give my opinion on his Mario and Luigi, but first I want to address the harassment he has received since it's more important than the work itself.

Kevin has his pronouns in his Twitter bio. I don't know if he has ever publicly expressed leftist/left-leaning views or queerness or solidarity beyond the simple act of letting people know how to address himself, but that was more than enough to spark hate from right-wingers!

They spout the usual:

"They're putting politics in my game" despite the game being largely apolitical. The only politics here I can see are the existence of highly watered down kings and princesses and dictators, which are par for the course in Mario and children's fantasy in general. I think they mean that they're upset people with political opinions are making the games, but "people with political opinions" describes virtually every person (yes, even centrists, too). Widdle it down more and it's clear what they want is for leftist and queer people to at best hide their politics even outside of work or at worst not make video games. I wonder if it goes even deeper than that...

"Charles Martinet was better!" despite Charles Martinet being more vocally leftist or at least liberal than Kevin (to my knowledge and as of writing this). Either they simply weren't aware of this or they don't care and are using selective outrage to fit their goal of harassing Kevin.

With that said, I don't want to contribute to that harassment and I hope that simplifying expressing my opinion online doesn't add to it.

I don't like his Mario. His staccato noises, grunts, and such? Great! His speaking lines? Not so great. If the goal was to recreate Charles Martinet's (which sounds like the goal in practice), there are a million Mario impressionists and voice actors out there in the world--many bad, but many good! I know a few incredible ones. But of all of them they ended up choosing Kevin and it's just not hitting the same. Could it be because of directing? Him just being new? Nintendo just preferring Afghani's new take on Mario over Charles'? I don't know; Nintendo tends to not publicly talk about these things.

I'm sure at some point someone will put together a Martinet VA replacement hack. There's decades of voice clips to choose from, so it's totally possible for those who prefer Charles to customize the game to their liking.

It does make me wonder if things were reversed. If Kevin Afghani was the original VA and Charles Martinet took over, would I say the same thing? Maybe the change is perfectly fine and I simply have to adjust.

Also! I want to point out that Kevin has a remarkably small filmography for playing such a high-profile character. Good on Nintendo for giving the role to an underdog. (⁠.⁠ ⁠❛⁠ ⁠ᴗ⁠ ⁠❛⁠.⁠)

Game

They don't scratch the same itch that Super Mario Bros., Lost Levels, 2, 3, and World do. It’s a similar feeling to how Odyssey didn't scratch the same itch as 64 or Sunshine or Sonic Superstars not scratching the same itch as the Genesis games, despite it all being "returns to form".

The game's really easy. I've seen an article titled something like Is Mario Wonder the Dark Souls of Mario??????? and, uh, no it isn't (and it's insincere to play it up like it could be to farm clicks). I understand it's modern Mario and modern Mario is pretty chill difficulty wise, but the discourse around Wonder's hard difficulty made me wonder if it was true. Even the 5-star difficulty levels are pretty easy. Or maybe I'm just so seasoned with Mario games that the only thing that could challenge me anymore is a (very easy) kaizo ROM hack. I’m not trying to humble brag, I've just been playing these games since I was a wee lad, so I have lots of experience (⁠ ⁠˘⁠ ⁠³⁠˘⁠)

Also Castle Bowser sparks a fear of Pickle Rick and, like, “vore fetish” in me, I dunno. I can't help but think there’s someone out there jerking off to Castle Bowser. Thanks, NINTENDO!

Powerups and Badges

Super Mushroom - yup

Fire Flower - based as usual

Starman - mostly relegated to a gimmick where you run thru a distinct section of the level with a bunch of enemies in a row instead of a neat little surprise to help thru the level

Bubble Flower - eh, it's ok! As a weapon, it's mostly useless except for spiked enemies, but it has its uses for creating platforms to bounce from

Elephant Fruit - wasn't a fan at the reveal, not a fan now. It's pretty much just normal Mario, but you can press Y to melee attack. Also Elephant Peach scares me.

Drill Mushroom - Very neat! Drilling underground or into the ceiling opens up level designs in moderately interesting ways. I also like that the drill hat protects you from spiked enemies attacking from above.

Wonder Flower - Sometimes neat, sometimes eh! They can spark some life to the level and some of them are pretty fun!

And now the badges. They're neat! I like ’em :) Not all of them are super useful, but some are! They spice things up a bit.

Direction

The game is a lot more creative! The level art is nice, not perfectly new and exciting imo, but it is a moderately nice breath of fresh air compared to the New series. I love the new enemy designs! They're so cute! (⁠◍⁠•⁠ᴗ⁠•⁠◍⁠)⁠❤ The only one I don't like are the Whomp-like enemies. I cannot make heads or tails of what it is.

Despite the game generally being more creative, the new inhabitants of the Flower Kingdom, the Poplins, have the same problem as modern Paper Mario where some Poplins have distinct personalities, but their designs are the same as every other generic Poplin. There's a kungfu Poplin named Master Poplin and he looks the exact same as the rest of them except I think he has a permanent >:) face. Wonderful 😵‍💫

The sound design is a little odd and some decisions I'm not thrilled about. I don't like the jump SFX and I really do not like the warp pipe SFX. It just sounds muffled and it didn't need to be muffled. I think the idea was that it's the classic sound, but it's coming from inside the pipe so it's all reverb-y and muffled? I dunno. Don't like it. Bad game!!!!! (⁠╯⁠°⁠□⁠°⁠）⁠╯⁠︵⁠ ⁠┻⁠━⁠┻

Online Review Scores

EVERY game reviewer outlet is giving Mario Wonder 10/10s. The game is not a 10/10. It's fun! It's a bit humdrum, but it's fun! If you're thinking about getting it, it won't be revolutionary, but it will be a good time, especially with friends ｡⁠◕⁠‿⁠◕⁠｡

[its-elvie-innit]

oh we're putting dsmp on stage? sweet my stage craft knowledge finally comes in handy for a fan project <33 (<- i do costumes mostly and a little bit of lights + set/props) (i haven't interacted with this fandom in months)

so first things first. storytelling through costumes is fucking imperative here. also rip to the actors in advance they're gonna have so many layers

early dsmp we need pristine clothing. armour is perfectly shiny with minimal to no scratches. any form of white clothing is white. wrinkles do not exist. hair is styled to perfection. etc etc. any make-up should be very subtle; this is the very beginning of... everything. there hasn't been any time for people to make pretty much any sort of mark on this world. (or it back) hand in hand with this, set pieces should be minimal. there should be a general idea of wide open space, without (m)any buildings just yet. lighting should be simple but bright, cheerful.

when l'manberg is created, things have settled in a bit more. set should still be minimal (stage split somewhere for van? rotating set piece?), lighting still bright. i would keep costumes pristine too, but things like 'dirt smudges' or small rips should/can be incorporated. (excluding dream. he needs to stay as unaffected as possible for as long as possible.)

l'manberg war this all goes out the window. rips, tears, hasty patches, fake injuries, the white spots on the uniforms should be still recognisable but like... not really white anymore. (again, not on the dream team really.) when we enter the control room, i want no set. the lighting here can really be used to emphasise how claustrophobic the whole thing is. honestly, the whole war should have stark, dramatic lighting. the duel especially.

post-war, we have this shift. costumes should be... slightly to the left of what they were before. whites are off-whites, patches are trying their hardest not to be there but aren't quite fitting in, shoes are caked with dirt. there's a sense of... fakeness about how neat everything is trying to appear. this should be the most obvious on wilbur. make-up-wise, we're looking at slightly more accentuated eyebags, cheekbones. everyone looks just a little more tired. sets are minimal.

until. (except.) the election. (schlatt.)

the election podium should be tall. imposing. larger than life. a single spotlight hovers on wilbur when he's up there. when schlatt is elected, it's backlit. casting his shadow across the stage. (when tubbo is up there, the lights are almost blinding. and then the lights goes dark. and on stage there is an explosion of colour.)

pogtopia still minimal set, but lighting and positioning of props and what set there is are what should convey scale. tommy and wilbur's costumes should be rough. techno should look Out Of Place, glittering and shiny and still new. tubbo even more so for very different reasons.

manberg should be suffocating in the complete opposite sense. set pieces should be large and swallow up the characters.

when wilbur gives monologues the stage around him (lights) should shrink more and more each time until his world is just him. and the button. (when philza arrives, he should bring light with him. not a lot. but more. the lights widen to reveal the signs on the walls. when wilbur hits the button, the lights should blast open to the whole stage. this part with the set is all about the levels. no one should be standing on equal ground when/after the explosions go off.)

and i'm leaving this ask here because it's stupidly long and also the 16th should be the end of act 1 peace and love <33

OH my gosh, progressing from a simple set with no marks, the bright lighting, I never thought about the space on the stage. Like, yeah, duh, nothings been done yet. It's all green pastures and sunsets of course there's open air. I love dream being unaffected because yeah. And the immediacy of everything breaking down!!!!! All of a sudden they become torn and shallow, still people, still coiffed to perfection, but like, a little bit less so. And The Injuries hshhshhsh.

Schlatts podium..I absolutely agree, tall and imposing, I also think it should have a cartoon-ish curve to it though so there's forced perspective. At the very tippy top there should be that yellow concrete box, I feel like the shadows would be very imposing. I adore the lights-away thing for tubbo- and I feel like to keep in with techno killing so many people there should be little bursts of light accompanied with screams of everyone he killed. Tommy and wilbur could be on short buildings to the side, hiding! Then he winds the enderpearl back and the lights go out during technos shoot. That's suuuuch a good idea it's so perfect...

You've done so much with the set I have no comments...mwah mwah so perfect..tubbo w the bandages seeing techno in his pristine costume..owy

But the wilbur light thing!!! Yes!!!!!!! I don't think you understand how much I love this, murmuring about the presidency fading out above him, the circular spotlight in a pitch black theater, slowing, growing smaller and closed in around wilbur where hes hunkered over, nearly hitting the button against his wrist until BAM! A circle around phil!!!!! Wilbur is awestruck, and the circles start to merge when they talk, wilburs fluctuating back and forth, back and forth, smaller-bigger-smaller-bigger and then BAM. MY UNFINISHED SYMPJONY PHIL! You hear a scream, SCREAMS, Phil's light goes off with wilburs, his world is gone, you hear a sudden fizz of Redstone right before, a gunshot (ITS CHEKOVS) then the curtain shoots open in the pitch black where we had done the button scene opens and the lights go back on to reveal the destroyed lmanburg, tnt explosion sounds still reigning over the scene, niki and tommy across the gaping chasm, wilbur kneeling before it with a boisterous smile on his face, wild eyes, he grabs the hilt of his dads sword (kill me phil!!!!! Kill me!) And we get a front row seat to the lights turning red as soon as it hits him, blurring into that same world-owning circle. The last scene before you see the stage go dark is philza kneeling to gather up his son in his arms, burying his face into wilburs bloody jacket.

So valid and real with the 16th ending act one.imagine intermission that shit is gonna be CRANKED

[nellynee]

The makings of greatness, or why, as a ride or die Treasure Planet stan, I’m glad there’s no Treasure Plant 2

You ever see somethings that makes you unreasonably angry? Yes I understand exactly what I’m saying, and how that indicates that my emotions and opinions on this are exactly that. Opinions. There’s a good chance I have some objective truths mixed in, but that does not make my opinions based on those truths truth. If you disagree or have different tastes or opinions or interpretations, cool, let me know! maybe you’ll change my mind. That being said.

The plot synopsis for the Treasure Planet sequel makes me angry. Not like, actively so, just annoyed enough to be in a bad mood. And now you guys all have to be in one as well. Why?

Reason 1, and probably least important: Disney sequel syndrome.

Ok so Disney sequels aren’t inherently bad. I’ll stan the Aladdin sequels to my grave, who knew Cinderella could world build, obligatory Rescuers Down Under (the first one was better) blah blah blah.

But there is an inherit problem with sequels in general, and that usually has to do with cast and crew. An original piece of fiction has to grab the audience yes, but there’s also freedom in that. Media touches people in different way. The worldbuilding can mean more to some than others. Some are in it for the animation, or the character developments, or relationships. What connects with one person won’t connect with another. The problem with sequels is that different people who worked out the original material might and usually do not work on the new. And those new people are already working on that new material with their own personal lenses and experiences and interpretations coloring the old. The reason sequels (and remakes, and big budget presentations of other materials like books into movies) tend to bomb hard is because you are essentially being forced to accept someone’s fanfiction into the canon material. Usually, there’s a pretty strong correlation between more successful franchises/extension material, works staying true to the core material, original crew working on the material, and the enjoyment of the audience.

And sources say very few of the original crew remained. Some yes, but mostly voice cast. Even worse, TP2 was a DisneyToon production, not even a mainline feature. Now I’m not saying the new people weren’t talented, or passionate about the project, or were lacking in experience. It doesn’t really matter if any of those things are true or not. It’s the warping of their personal lenses I don’t trust. Fanfic I can disregard, meta I can disregard. This would have been canon.

And reading the Artbook makes is abundantly clear that the parts that touched me personally would have been missing. The very core of Treasure Planet for me was the relationship between Jim and Silver (and their exquisite animation budget). However you choose to interpret that relationship, you can not deny that Treasure Planet is a powerfully emotionally romantic movie. It’s quiet moments and emotional resonance shaped my views of intimacy with a sharp and fine touch. Silver and Jim’s bond is as undeniable and powerful as it is compelling and awe inspiring to witness unfold.

And a lot of that is owed not only to  the voice acting of Joseph Gorden-Levitt (Jim) and Brian Murray (Silver), But to animators Glen Keane and John Ripa, who were the head animators of Silver and Jim respectively. Not only did Gorden-Levitt and Brian Murray deliver stunning performances, but made sure to work together and jointly play off each other in ways most voice actors don’t have the opportunity to do. And the Masters Keane and Ripa took an already stellar and carefully crafted vocal rapport and took it one step further. I highly recommend the Artbook as a good read, both Keane and Ripa talk about the journey of discovering who Jim and Silver were with delight, acting out entire scenes together using their own body language to build the characters together, using the same animation reals to animate, tag teaming in and out of the program rather than do it separately, becoming so attuned with their characters attitudes and mannerisms that you can tell they poured entire pieces of themselves into Jim and Silver.

I’m not saying the Sequel would have been inherently bad because it’s a sequel, or because a new crew worked on it, but I am saying I wouldn’t trust it with a ten foot pole.

Reason 2: Thanks I hate it (I’m saying it’s inherently bad because the plot is bad and I hate it)

I’m sorry for the length, but for you to really understand just how bad this is, I actually have to pick through every single line and tell you why it fails critically at some junctures and where it would be so simple to fix. For those of you who were unaware that there was a sequel in the works at some point, I’m pulling these quotes pretty much wholesale from the AnimateVeiws article Buried Treasure: The ill-fated voyage to Treasure Planet 2, specifically the interview with Jun Falkenstein who was set to direct the now canceled sequel. Spoiler warning, I guess?

So, from the begining

“The sequel was to pick up where the first film left off, with Jim Hawkins going to the Royal Interstellar Academy. At the Academy, he is a hotshot “natural,” but he doesn’t follow the rules very well.” - Strong start but then dropped the finish. I think the interstellar academy would be a very compelling starting point. I see no fault in it at least, it’s a good opportunity to world build. Clemence and Musket like to make a point that Jim was crafted to connect with the emotionally wounded and distant youth in a age of divorce, so showing what happens when that youth hikes up their britches and gets to work can extend on that theme aaaaaaand you dropped it. Dropped that strong start. Yes, Jim was more than a bit of a bite back rebel in the film, but that was a reactionary response to the bad place he started in. Jim was abandoned, and tied his self worth into that abandonment. His kickback against society was a reaction stemming from an inability to see his personal worth and any sort of future he could craft from it. He outgrew this, his very character development was about this in the film. His character arc was about realizing his inherent worth, embracing a sense of confidence and learning what he could do. Even disregarding that, bonus material outside of the film shows that Jim has a very strong sense of respect for Captain Amelia, her military career, and the hard work she put into it, and he’s there on her recommendation. Why would he act out in this? He is a natural yes, but the film shows he’s incredibly sharp and intelligent, if unlearned, and more than ready to learn given opportunity.

“Hence, he gets off to a shaky start – especially with his classmate Kate, who is very smart and has a type A personality. Kate’s father is Admiral Blake, the Commander of the Navy. Jim and Kate vie for top of the class but have very different skills.” - So building off this to fix the problem before. I guess the dynamic they are going for is something like “the kind of a jerk hotshit hotshot who’s got it all figured out and the straight laced rule fallowing stick in the ass rival”? I’m not apposed to to a rivalry, but lets tweak this, given how “hot shot natural jerk” isn’t really where Jim settles at the end of the film. Jim is a natural talent, who excels under tutelage, but more importantly, he has practical experience. While the time period spent on the RLS Legacy is not defined, they do sail to a deep and unexplored part of the galaxy, probably well outside of regular settlements, so no small distance, though Jim is young enough that a very long period of time would be noted in physical growth. Given comparisons to classic nautical sailing of the source time, months, perhaps up to a year? That’s a long time to spend, learning the rough and tumble basics, tying knots, experiencing food and water rations, extreme temperatures, playing with the rigging and mechanical aspects of the boat. Jim knows what it’s like to actually sail. Meanwhile, this is the Royal Academy, who probably takes in upper class second born children and pumps out military accolades for well learned mathematicians and strategists. Jim doesn’t fit in because he can visualize, he can think outside of the box, he can weld a damn engine to a hunk of shrapnel and ignite it freefalling against a metal hellscape and outrace a boat in a high adrenaline situation. He adapts where the other’s frantically look through their notes for the answer. Worse yet, he’s poor and not classically educated. Make it a class issue. In this aspect I do like Kate. Being the Daughter of the Commander of the Navy, she probably has a very technical and far more expansive understanding of navel ships, particularly the running of them. In this way Jim and Kate are perfect foils. Jim representing the poor, instinctually and practically knowledgeable crew, and Kate the upper-class, technically knowledgeable command, a dichotomy representing the haves and have nots in their skills, experiences, an class.

I don’t want to post a picture and break the post, but I do love Kate’s design. I do recommend looking up the article and checking it out. that being said, being a feline species, they messed up not spelling it Cate.

“Captain Amelia is dean of the Academy, which has a brand-new vessel: the Centurion.” - I… why, why is Amelia the dean? Additional material shows that Amelia broke ties with the military because she didn’t like their rule stickling ways and red tape. Why would she want a red tape position? She helped with a war and then bailed first opportunity to become a freelance captain so she could fallow her own rules. Even if you don’t know any of that additional material, you do know that she is a freelance captain. Why is she dean? what happened to the old one? Are they dead? Did DisneyToon kill them? Did Disneytoon kill the old dean?

“Designed by Doctor Doppler, the Centurion is the fastest ship in the galaxy.” - HE’S NOT THAT KIND OF DOCTOR!

“B.E.N. is its pilot”. - NO

In all seriousness all three of those statements show a serious problem, in that none of those characters are in fact those things. Amelia I’ve already explained. But Doppler was a debatably youngish bachelor with too much money who was fascinated by astronomy specifically and who suffered from ennui. And BEN was a navigational unit, so maybe it makes sense for him to be a pilot, but why is a robot who was functioning under a galaxy feared pirate for who knows how long given any kind of agency over a brand new incredibly important ship? These decisions were probably made to incorporate as much of the old cast as possible, to not exclude fan faves. But any decision that makes BEN a prominent part of the plot and thus gets more screen time is a BAD one.

“The pirate Ironbeard desires to commandeer the Centurion. This ruthless villain is relatively all iron – almost nothing of whom he originally was, inside and out, is left.” - On the one hand, I have a weird feeling that this would somehow violate the 30-70 rule. Buuuuut on the other hand, the Artbook does describe the decision making process of what and how was mechanical on Silver (my favorite tidbit was the wheel on his head representing his constant thinking and assessing) and states that that they in a way represent the pieces of humanity he gave up looking for Flint’s Trove. Extending that to a pirate who has given up everything could be a powerful thematic tool if used right (or intentionally)

“He leads a group of pirates to hijack the Centurion while Jim and Kate are aboard.” - ok, yeah, I’ll buy that. If they are butting heads constantly, I could see them sneaking off to the new piece of hardware to one up each other on who knows their stuff, or maybe bond over wanting to learn about the said new tech and being frustrated with restrictions.

“The Navy can’t catch the Centurion, due to the vessel’s speed and armor.”- sure

“Jim and Kate escape the Centurion. Jim decides he needs a pirate to help catch pirates. They find his old buddy Long John Silver in the Lagoon Nebula, where he is running a smuggling ring. “ - So what Jim just goes “I know just the pirate to help us” and then finds him? That journey of itself deserves it’s own movie, anything less is a disappointment. Alternative. Jim and Kate escape onto a particularly lawless planet. Jim has some tricks to keep them safe and fed, maybe he even excels in ways he’s been straight up stop gapped at the academy. Maybe his knowhow is appreciated by others who society also rejects. But Kate is a frustrating fish out of water, getting offended and worked up over things that are big deals to an average citizen but not criminals and pirates. But such reactions are putting them in danger and she needs to get perspective fast. It’s plausible maybe that Silver tracks them down through interesting rumors, but more than that, let it be fate. Neither having any idea the other is there till the second they see each other. Bonus points if Jim and Kate get in a bind and Silver is the leader of the harassers. Better yet lets add some thematic mirroring not only to the scene where Silver saved Jim from Scroop, but directly contrast it to the scene where Silver doubled back and down against the notion of caring for Jim when called out before the mutiny. *kisses finger* Touching and hilarious.

“ Silver agrees to help when he hears about the Centurion. “ -  Silver agrees to help when he hears about the Centurion without Jim even having to ask. Storywise, lets make some kind of deal over how Jim, an upstanding enrollee of the academy, apparently is chummy with a pirate. Tension doesn’t just have to be external, and Kate is the daughter of the Commander of the Army. Maybe she’s recognized and this gets them in trouble. Maybe Kate has issues with her identity outside of her father’s career and need to learn a lesson about being outside of a rigid social structure?

“Jim and Kate receive a tracking signal from B.E.N. – who is currently hostage aboard the Centurion – and follow via Silver’s creaky vessel. They discover the Centurion docked near the Botany Bay Prison Asteroid. “ - While being the fastest ship yet is a good excuse for wanting it to get stolen, my suspension of disbelief breaks a little at any ship, let alone a creaky little pirate vessel, catching up to the fastest ship yet, or the tracking signal being the only way to track it to a guarded prison. Seeing as how I’ve written BEN out of this scenario lets fix it. After the events of the movie, the Royal Military swoops in after to confiscate the debris of Treasure Planet. For those in the know, canon lore states that the Planet was a giant computer, and it and the map were the byproducts of an ancient and advanced civilization. Studying the debris led to the Centurion, notable not for it’s speed, but for it’s stealth. It can cloak itself. Which is why no-one can find it. Meanwhile Silver lets it slip that he snagged the map from it’s pedestal as they escaped the planet as a souvenir. (handwave why the portal was still open with a “the whole thing was exploding, the computer froze). The map is able to track the remnants of said planet, aka the Centurion, meaning Silver has the only means of tracking the cloaked ship

“Ironbeard is using the Centurion to disable Botany Bay’s security systems. Jim, Kate and Silver sneak aboard the Centurion, where Silver reveals to Jim that he wants to take the Centurion for himself. He asks Jim to join him.“ YES. YES YES YES YES YES YES! Understanding that  Jim’s decision to not go with Silver in the first movie is key here. He rejected Silver’s offer the first time because Silver had shown him he had intrinsic value, and Jim finally felt that the natural gifts he had were worth cultivating, that he did have the chance to explore who he could be on his own terms. Jim was comfortable being on his own, because he felt capable. Now, Jim and Silver bring out the best in each other, and the time apart has done them harm. Jim’s strings of social rejections are starting to fell like a glass ceiling he can’t overcome, and is finding more and more comfort in being a big fish in a pirates small pond, and the emotions of of being wanted that come with Silver is a powerful drug. But it’s a one way ticket away from any opportunities he could work towards, not to mention his barely repaired relationship with his mother. Meanwhile Silver has been slowly slipping back into the colder, more selfish self he was, a necessity for his lifestyle, and doesn’t want to loose his connection to Jim and what Jim brings out in him, but is still far enough gone to make the offer and try for the boat anyways, even if he knows it’s not what’s best. It’s an emotionally compelling decision. You want them to say yes, you know they shouldn’t

“Kate overhears this and is horrified, especially since the two have, of course, started falling for each other during the adventure.” - Hate. this I hate. Leaving shipping to they way side, what’s that “of course”? why do they have to fall for each other? Why the Disneytoon sequel love interest? I have a feeling her characterization would come at the cost of it. Why can’t they be rivals? why can’t they develop a mutual respect outside of attraction? Why can’t they both learn an individualized lesson about finding their own place in the world outside of social constraints as foils without macking? I hate this concept. Kate overhears, and is horrified, because Silver is a Pirate which is actually in universe get yourself hanged offense, and Jim is considering this, and they are going to steal a VERY IMPORTANT BOAT and and leave her stranded in a dagerous prison, and are making an objectively morally bad decision.

“Ironbeard discovers the intruders, charging into a fight in which Silver is injured. Meanwhile, the other pirates throw down ladders to the prison below, allowing swarms of elated prisoners to climb up into the ship. Silver, Jim, and Kate exit the Centurion amidst all the confusion. However, Ironbeard shoots down Silver’s ship. They plummet to the prison asteroid below, crash-landing” - cool. Drama. But for my purposes, lets tweak it so Silver isn’t injured yet. But I really want to emphasize that this attack does not interrupt before Jim can react to Silver’s offer. Even something as tentative as “I’m not sure” has consequences. None of this “misunderstanding” BS.

“ Kate is angry at Jim and storms off. “- again, make it clear that Jim showed a real chance of agreeing to steal the ship. if she’s angry before he had a chance to answer that’s contrivance for drama’s sake. Give her a reason to be mad

“ Jim is about to blow her off as well when Silver tells him to give her a chance. He reveals a part of his past through a flashback, when a young (non-cyborg) Silver screwed up a relationship with the love of his life – a decision which directly led to his life of piracy. “ - nope. nope nope nope . I’m gonna put a big old * here because this is reason number 3 why I hate this potential movie, and I will get to that believe me, but here’s me, putting a pin in it. That being said, have Silver selfishly try to double down on getting Jim to join him in a three way argument instead. This is the conflict of the film. Kate, who was learning to grow outside of the strict restrictions of her life and do her own work, make her own way, is being rejected. She is as morally repulsed as she is hurt that she wasn’t included, and hates herself for that hurt as well. Jim is torn between the freedom of what he could be after the academy paired with the strict social constructs around it, and the freedom of a life “full of himself and no ties to anyone” but running from the law and the two friends they represent. Silver is the aggressor here. He likes Kate, he does, but he loves Jim and only has one place in his heart, and has spent his life being selfish. There’s already a crew on board, and Iron beard is hooked into the Centurion. With having the only other means to navigate, they take down ironbeard, the rest will surely fall in line. This is paydirt. A fantastic ship, a bloodthirsty crew, and Jim.

“Silver has a very dangerous cargo with him that he had been trying to smuggle and sell for a fortune, which has the power of a neutron bomb. Jim, Kate and Silver reconcile and work together to fix Silver’s ship and prevent the Centurion, filled with the most evil pirates in the galaxy, from going on an insane robbing-and-killing spree. At the last second, Silver reluctantly gives up his “retirement fund” in order to destroy the Centurion, with Ironbeard and all the pirates on board.” - this entire section needs rewritten. That’s a mcguffin Silver put it away. I have retconned the mcguffin to be the old map, so that is now moot. Now to not blow up the ship. Afterall, Silver and Jim have both already overcome what Treasure Planet represented with it’s destruction. Rather, B plot

If we are that desperate to have past characters in, let’s have Amelia and Delbert back home. When the Centurion is captured, Amelia immediately volunteers to fallow, feeling responsible for Jim and secretly pining for some adventure. Delbert feels the same, and he to a bit of an adrenaline junkie after the events of the first movie, but they have the children to think about and only one can leave. Delbert is the one chosen to help by the navy officials searching for the Centurion. While Amelia bickers with the Admiral Blake over his pragmatic but emotionally distant decisions over the situation of his missing daughter, Delbert is an astronomer, and is blah blah blah science meta, fallow the flashing  and bending lights around the cloaked ship to find it. As in Delbert is helpful. Amelia in a reflation to Admiral Blake, is torn between her family and commandeering her own ship to help. Blake is frustratingly headstrong in his decisions, and the script makes it seem like that emotional distance is disinterests, but reveals to the audience that it incorporates a great deal of suppression of his anxieties and worries over his daughter, and trust in her abilities, though he has issues expressing this pride to Kate herself. Amelia, Delbert and fam make what is probably a poor decision in commandeering a ship and leaving on their own to track the Centurion, the navy hot on their heels.

Back to A plot, the navy is approaching. Jim has to make a decision. He is the only one who knows how to unmask the ship using the old ones tech without training, as it’s based off the map. While Kate and Silver are distracting iron beard, he has to either steal the ship and sail off, or uncloak it for the navy. Iron beard is taken down, but not without Silver getting injured. Jim decides that Silver’s life is worth more than anything, and after agreeing with Kate that she’ll commandeer a doctor and wont let Silver die, uncloaks the ship. The Centurion is retaken in a blaze of naval glory that is the action climax. The pirates fight back up are over run. Maybe Kate gets taken hostage as the Admirals daughter, as an opportunity for a resolution with her arc as Blake’s distant daughter, though obviously said resolution comes at her showing her abilities in taking care of herself and the practical skills she has learned.

“Silver again parts from Jim and Kate, telling them to take care of each other. A few years later, Jim and Kate graduate with honors, while a proud Silver secretly watches from the shadows, smiling” - Boooooo. Kate and her dad make up, and she challenges him that she’s going to one day Captain the Centurion, with him understanding that she needs less a mentor and more an emotional support while she works her way up the ranks. She invites Jim to be her first mate, to which Jim accepts as a navigator, (a thing I’ve pointed out to be his real strength in another post). But to Silver, who has been “pardoned” for his part in retaking the Centurion, the movie hinting that he to would be on the eventual crew there I fixed it fic to come I s2g.

yeah there’s a lot of good there, but it’s so easy to fix the bad it’s frustrating. which brings me to

Reason 3: that little pin

“ Jim is about to blow her off as well when Silver tells him to give her a chance. He reveals a part of his past through a flashback, when a young (non-cyborg) Silver screwed up a relationship with the love of his life – a decision which directly led to his life of piracy. “

Nope nope nope I’ll tell you why.

First of all, sources like the artbook say that Jim is so Important to Silver because he’s the first person Silver has ever let become important. he’s specifically stated to have no family, never married, no children. And that’s something he cultivated actively. His life of piracy, his metal limbs, his loneliness and moral failings were all gleefully accumulated for one reason and one reason only

Treasure Planet.

Treasure Planet was the great love of Silver’s life. It was a lifelong obsession. It destroyed his body, took his youth, his opportunities and nearly his life. He broke Jim’s heart over it.

And he let it go. For Jim.

And Jim understood this

This is the crux of treasure planet’s very themes. This is where Jim found self worth. Another person finally looked at him and said “you matter, you matter more than anything. I like being around you and I choose you first.” and it made Jim realize he’s someone worth choosing.

The treasure was EVERYTHING to Silver, and Silver let it go, for Jim.

That one line there, attributing the start of Silver’s fall to a girl? that actively retcons the entire theme of the previous movie. IT rewrite the emotional linchpin of Silver’s sacrifice of the gold. And actually fuck that. right into the ground. I do not accept. I do not pass go. I refuse. Fuck you non existent movie. That makes me mad. every single time. Hate I shall never let go.

No

[djemsostylist]

The first trailer for the new Lord of the Rings trailer is set to drop tonight, and I'm weirdly excited. Not because the show is going to be any good (spoilers, it's not) but because I think maybe, finally, we are seeing pushback against giant corporations churning out the same endless array of movies and tv shows that look and feel virtually indistinguishable from one another.

Ever since Game of Thrones, there's this idea that somehow fantasy sells, which I don't necessarily think it true. Popularity sells, and really what studios are counting on is fomo. People want to be a part of the conversation, they want to have something to talk about. It's understandable, and I certainly don't begrudge anyone that. Things are far, far more enjoyable when you can talk to people about them. And an easy line of small talk is "hey, you catch the latest [insert current random 'popular' show here].

My chief issue with this is that not all fantasy world's are cut and pastes of each other. Sure, they might hold certain similarities--species, powers, magical jewelry, quests--but they aren't identical. Stories, all stories, are a product of their time, their creator, and in general, I think different stories have different things to say.

If you would have shown me the promo images Amazon's LOTR and asked what I thought I was seeing without telling me it was LOTR, I would have either guessed the Witcher season 3 promo or some kind of new fantasy YA series I'd never heard of. The characters have the same sort of deeply modern, slickly polished look of pretty much all modern fantasy adaptations--they don't feel real, they feel like characters that exist in a made up fantasy world.

Tolkien was telling a story that was supposed to tell the story of the world as it was before our time. He was crafting not just narratives, but themes and stories of a world that was supposed to be grounded--a world that could have realistically existed. Say what you will of Jackson (and please note that I find the trilogy to be a terribly awful adaptation of LOTR and disagree almost entirely with all of his story choices), he succeeded in creating a world that felt real. And not only did it feel real, it felt believable. The elves in Jackson's trilogy (Hugo Weaving aside) felt and acted with an air of grace and nobility that made you feel the weight of their years and wisdom and experience. The costuming and hair styling made each culture unique, distinct, and real--they seemed like cultures that could actually exist, like these were clothes people might actually wear.

This latest batch of actors feel like something the CW scrounged up. It looks like Dave and Elmer got together to run a D&D session and decided to dress up like their characters, so they ordered their costumes off Etsy and then Dave invited his gym buddy Steve along, and Steve went bc he heard their were hot girls and Dave's girlfriend Jenn came with her armor she bought off Wish and they just rolled with it. And the character descriptions back this up--Dave is an elf who hangs out with humans and goes ranging, Elmer is a young architect/politician and Steve is--a dude who like, got shipwrecked or something. Jenn is a badass girlboss who commands armies and stuff. None of these people, from their looks to their descriptions, bare even a passing resemblance to anything I'd ever mistake for Tolkien.

To say that the entirety of this show is going to be a fanfic mess is an understatement. If what was said in the Vanity Fair interview was true, and they truly can only use LOTR and the Appendices, then their knowledge of what what on in the 2nd Age is extremely limited.

Tbh, I find it weird they chose to double down on a 2nd Age story when they could have taken the longest and easiest tale to adapt, the Tale of Aragorn and Arwen, and simply made a Young Aragorn show, as some early rumors had suggested. It still would have been shit, but at least it would have been less insulting. I mean, they didn't, bc a young Aragorn story isn't GOT enough, and they wanted politics and giant battles.

Which is also very weird bc then they go and include like, hobbits and a bunch of random humans and it's like ?????? "A band of unlikely heroes" except it misses the entire point of the 2nd Age AND then the 3rd Age which is that the 2nd Age is full of exactly the heroes you'd expect? Like, the entire point of the 1st and 2nd Age is that it's full of larger than life, world destroying figures of legend and myth, and they bring Middle Earth to it's knees. It's in the 3rd Age, when the heroes of the past are waning and the prominence of the more mundane is on the rise, that they are able to achieve a level of peace. Being like "it's just not Middle Earth without hobbits!" is just about the most infuriating statement, bc what they really mean is "a bunch of people will be like "hey I vaguely remember a movie about hobbits, let's watch this thing" and not "we really understand this universe we are playing in."

I mean, ultimately I guess I shouldn't care. Other than completely butchering both Elrond and Galadriel looks and character wise, everything else is gonna be a made of fanfic mess which doesn't really affect the actual stories at all. (Seriously, the casting for Elrond is consistently bizarre. He's the offspring of Luthien and we get Hugo Weaving and a dude who's closest approximation is real life Keebler elf, someone explain this to me). And it doesn't even look like the love of my life, Celeborn, will even be involved in this mess so I truly shouldn't care. Except that I will care, bc it's going to infuriate me, and idk. It'd be nice if just once, something I loved didn't get fucking ruined by corporate greed and incompetent creators.

The point of all this though, is that it finally looks like people are starting to go "hey wait a minute" and realize that studios and megacorportations do not give a single fuck about their viewers other than to create a product that will sell well and get eyes on it. Doesn't matter how. They aren't trying to make quality, they are trying to make something that will catch the average viewer who goes "hey wait that thing sounds vaguely familiar" or will generate enough fake or real controversy to have articles written about it that make people think it matters enough to watch.

This by no means means this show is going to crash and burn. But lately, people are being slightly more critical of the crap continuously churned out, and it gives me hope that this thing might actually, maybe, just maybe fail. That it might possibly suck enough to make even the average viewer not care. That actual fans will say "pass" instead of "but I watch everything even if it's garbage bc I'm a fan". That even the people who passively consume things will be like, "meh". And that's all I really want. For us to stop the parade of utter, boring mediocrity and ugliness that is so pervasive in Hollywood, where shows look like they can just borrow each other's crappy costumes and sets and it doesn't matter. (I mean, seriously, Elrond could be a damn Marvel character in that look.)

[sunaswife]

The baby series ✨🍼

Baby Talk pt. 4

Ft. Sakusa Kiyoomi and Akaashi Keiji

⚠️: Fluff, angst..?, suggestive nsfw lmao

Pt.3 ft. Suna & Osamu | Pt.2 ft. Oikawa & Atsumu | Pt.1 ft. Sugawara & Ushijima

🔪: why are their stage actors so fucking hot tho

Sakusa

In reality you never really discussed the topic of children with your husband. You both married rather young and it was a surprise you guys lasted this long, you honestly didn’t think you’d marry a guy like Sakusa. But here you are happy as ever. Even though he may have a mean exterior, he’s pretty soft and easy going inside. He’s very direct as well and he doesn’t beat around the bush. If he doesn’t like something he tells you straight up and you’re the exact same way.

And to him, babies are disgusting. Straight up. They’re dirty and noisy. And Sakusa can’t help but be entranced with your niece. Surprisingly she’s a rather calm baby, you welcomed sakusa back home with a small kiss and immediately went back to the kitchen to serve his dinner. He saw the little demon baby in her high chair eagerly waiting for her dinner as well. He sat next to her much to his dismay. It’s not that he hates her, he hates her filthyness. He knows she can’t help it since she’s a baby but I mean. Why weren’t babies born with the knowledge of right and wrong already?

Soon enough you returned with two plates and a small baby plate as well. You handed your niece her plate and she looked at the spaghetti in awe. It was her favorite dish. You both saw how she twirled the spaghetti with her little fork and she opened her mouth to eat it. She smiled and chewed with her eyes closed and kicked her little feet in delight. “I guess you’re not the only one who likes my cooking.” You joked and Sakusa shook his head lightly and began to eat. “You made a mess! You gotta clean your face baby.” You told your niece and moved your hand to her bib. “Kween?” She asked and you nodded.

“Clean.” You said again. She moved your hand away and shook her head. “Me kween!” She said and you scrunched your brows confused. She held her bib and she cleaned her own face and Sakusa dropped his fork.

“I want one.” He said. “A bib?” You asked, “A baby.” He replied and your cheeks heated up. “If a baby can do that I don’t mind having twenty kids.” He said and you began laughing. When you all finished dinner, you expected Sakusa to go to rest on the couch and watch a volleyball game but he kidnapped your niece and you found her at the bathroom sink. He was teaching her how to wash her hands and dry them properly. She loved the bubbles Sakusa made.

You finished washing the dishes with ease knowing Sakusa was watching her and you found them on the couch after with Sakusa reading Harry Potter out loud to her. She was already asleep. You smiled softly at the scene and you neared them both. You kissed Sakusa’s head and grabbed your niece carefully to put her to bed until your sibling or their partner came over, but she woke up and began crying.

You immediately apologized and tried calming her down, “Here let’s see if she’ll calm down with you.” You handed her to your husband. “But she’s crying and drooling.” He said. “Then wipe it off.” You replied. He made a face of disgust and held her under her armpits as she faced him. “Stop crying.” He simply said and she stopped.

You grabbed a rag and wiped her face and mouth and Sakusa rested her on his chest again. You sat on the couch and Sakusa followed. “I guess she likes you more than me.” You sighed as he rested his head on your thighs. “Jealous?” He looked up from his spot. “Maybe.” You crossed your arms over your chest.

He reached to put some hair behind your ear so he could see your beautiful face better. “Don’t worry, love. We’ll make our own soon enough.” He assured. “For real?” You asked. “Yeah I wouldn’t mind trying to make one right now. But we need to wait until she leaves.” He said as he referred to the sleeping baby on his chest. All of a sudden the bell rang and you giggled.

“Guess we don’t have to wait that long.”

Akaashi

“Mom please stop pressuring me. We’ll have a baby when we’re ready.”

“Well don’t you want a baby already?” She replied, “Yeah but Keiji just started a new job so I’m sure he’s stressed. I wouldn’t want to give him even more stress with asking for a baby.” You answered. “But I want a grandkid, I’m sure you’ll be fine. He’s a very patient and understanding man.” She replied smoothly.

“Clearly you haven’t seen him when he’s stressed.” You bit back and she sighed. You eventually hung up after a bickering match and you finished making some onigiri for Keiji to snack on. He’s been working hard in the home office. He’s glad he can work from home four times out of the week and show up to the company for just two. But that means he’s always on the phone as well.

You served some lemonade and made you way to his work space. As always he was on the phone while typing on his laptop. So you found an empty place on his desk and he saw as you placed two onigiri’s there as well as the lemonade. He smiled in appreciation and you smiled back and quickly tried to make you way out of his office to get out of his hair. But he could clearly see that your smile wasn’t as bright and he immediately motioned you over. You shook your head and tried to leave but he quickly finished his call and hung up.

“Angel.” He called and you turned, “Come here, love.” He motioned you over once more, you obeyed. He sat you on his lap side ways and held on to your waist and thigh so you wouldn’t fall. “What’s wrong?” He asked. “It’s just..my mom again.” You mumbled and he frowned. “What happened this time?” He asked, “She wants grandkids and she’s been pressuring me for a while. I’m just tired of it.” You sighed and rested your head on his chest.

His heart swelled and he kissed your head. “Do you not want kids?” He asked and you realized it made you seem like you didn’t want any. “Oh no! I want kids more than anything, I just don’t think it’s wise to have some right now. Since you started your new job and all. I wouldn’t want to place more stress on you.” You exclaimed. “Oh, love.” He chuckled at your silliness, “You could have told me. I’m more than happy to start planning. Yeah it’s a bit stressful right now but baby making might decrease my stress, don’t you think?” He whispered in your ear and began to kiss down your neck. Your thighs clenched, “Keiji..” you mumbled softly. “Yes love?” He asked as his lips pressed softly against your jaw.

“Are you sure you’re ready?” You asked meekly, “Don’t tell me you’re having second thoughts.” He held your chin with his large hand, his thumb rubbed your bottom lip softly. “Course’ not, it’s just a lot and I want to make sure you’re ready.” You pouted. “I’m more than ready, love.” His lips met yours and you kissed back. “Okay.” You smiled, “I’ll go shower and meet you in the bedroom.” You gave him another kiss and stood up.

“How bout’ I just join you in the shower instead?”

🔪: pspsps Kita and Hirugami are next 👀

General 🏷: @softiebadbitch @denkissparkplug @aoi-turtle @yumeneji @bakuhoetoedoroki @tsukkisfatsimp @toworuu @micheleinumaki @pinoyrella

[gedankenspaziergang]

Diversmagazin Interview  Translation

Diversmagazin released an interview with director Sarah Blaßkiewitz and Head-Writer Jasmina Wesolowski today. Read it here in German.

Jasmina (she/her), DRUCK writer since season four and head writer since season six together with Jonas Lindt. In a writers Room with Paulina Lorenz and Raquel Kishori Dukpa (Jünglinge)

Sarah (she/her) director of the last four episodes from season six

I’m leaving out the general introductory questions.

Alicia: Can you talk about the writing process? And what’s the most important thing for you while writing and telling stories?

Jasmina: We especially wanted the profound exchange with young adults who represent our protagonists. For season six we had the challenge that we wanted to tell the lovestory of a Gambian-German girl and a Vietnamese-German girl, perspectives that aren’t represented in the writer’s room. That’s why we talked a lot to research partners, to make up for our lack of knowledge/ experience, but we also talked to the actors and actresses.

Alicia: Why do different directors work on DRUCK?

Sarah: We try to produce as much in real-time as possible. And of course, we have to pre-produce but still have to work [overlappingly]. While one director is already in the editing phase, the next one already starts to shoot. Another reason is of course, that this way, also in the writer’s room, there’s more space for diversity.

 Alicia: It’s similar to the writer’s room. You’re also dividing the writing of scenes between different people. … Are you working together with racism and LGBTQIA+ experts?

Jasmina: I think we all have blind spots and that it’s absolutely impossible to end up with a perfect result. It was an important first step, that the Jünglinge collective joined. They are big advocates for queer BIPoc representation in German media. They were always present for feedback loops and made all of us, crew, actors and actresses, participate in an anti-racism workshop. We were lucky to have the brilliant author and anti-racism trainer Arpana Berndt, who advised us on these topics. On top of that, we did a lot of research on different topics. I think now it should be the only way to produce movies and shows this way, with an intensive research phase. This way you don’t appropriate the stories of others and also don’t tell inauthentic stories or, in the worst case, use hurtful clichés/stereotypes. It was helpful and needed that Black perspectives were present also behind the camera – Sara as a director, but also in the social media team, make-up department or costume design. But we are also aware that more can be done.

Sarah: It’s important to me to highlight the make-up and costume design department. When I, an afro-German person, joined this project and met other afro-German women in those departments, who can relate to me, the character of Fatou and Ava, I was really glad. I can say from many years of experience that that’s not a given.

 Alicia: How about experts on LGBTQIA+ issues?

Jasmina: To talk a bit about the process: We were set on Fatou being a lesbian pretty early on, and that was already discussed in the earlier writer’s room, where that perspective wasn’t present yet. In the beginning, those were loose ideas, and we had to implement them with the casting. The casting team Raquel Kishori Dupka, Melek Yaparak and Angelika Buschina worked closely with the directors and contacted different institutions and specifically asked for actors and actresses who could be queer. At this age this is of course a super sensitive topic. You don’t want to force young people to [define themselves/come out]. It’s a huge challenge to handle that with care and it was extremely important that the Jünglinge collective was part of the casting process.

But also, apart from the casting process, we profited a lot from the queer people in the writer’s room in the cast.

Sarah: For my part I asked the authors and queer people “What would you like? What is nice? What hurts? What’s important? Or what have I never seen before?” And then I put those different experiences into the different scenes. On top you of course need common sense (?) to portray something that you haven’t experienced yourself.

 Jasmin: I just thought of a small really beautiful example: How Fatou was given these rainbow socks as a Christmas present. You immediately notice, that was the idea of a queer person who knows what non-queer parents give to their kids as gifts. The fans notice: Queer people were in the writer’s room. Or “Ah, these actresses know, what they’re doing.“ And those are the small things that make a difference.

 Alicia: For sure! In DRUCK you notice that queer people were part of this in really subtle ways, and that [resulted] in really nice fan-moments. I can confirm that.

Right now, the community is discussing the conflict between Mailin and Ava a lot. What role does that conflict play for you and what does it teach us?

 Sarah: I’m editing the last episodes right now, so I really feel it, also because you already see the reactions online.

For me, the conflict is important because it shows over a long period of time, that not everything is always only good or only bad. That it takes a lot of time, patience and confrontation to understand all nuances of that kind of conflict.

That Ava could be prevented to outright say what’s bothering her, because we’re talking about a really serious trauma of exclusion. How do you even tell people really personal stuff when you were bullied for years? And now we have that conflict, that seemingly takes forever, and you’re always asking yourself: “Why aren’t they talking to each other?” But it’s only in real time that you realize how hurtful this conflict is. How hurtful it is what they experience. What racism means, and also what it means to [deal] with that topic as a white  German girl. And I think it’s really important that everyone is going through that with this season. That takes time and sometimes hurts. And you don’t always understand Ava and you don’t always understand Mailin. When we really [dedicate ourselves to understand this conflict] then I think, we can experience what for example a person like me experienced their whole adolescence. I’m not saying I was bullied my whole adolescence, and maybe it wasn’t because of the color of my skin, but because of something else. But that went on for half a year. After being bullied in school for half a year you’re not up for school and your classmates anymore. And you don’t talk to them anymore. And if people realize that because of this season then I’m glad. I think it’s really touching that this conflict takes up so much space.

 Jasmina: I found it really interesting what you said about the nuances, because it was a real process for me to learn how many facets this conflict has. And especially that us white people, who grow up in a society with structural racism, have a particular idea about what racism means. And that’s not a detailed and uncritical perspective of that topic: As soon as you call me racist, I feel attacked and start defending myself.

The role that this conflict played for us was to show how incredibly exhausting it is as a Person of Color, to always have to deal with these problems and that there’s a kind of fatigue, that you don’t want to talk (or should want to talk) about certain topics anymore, especially if you have other things going on in your life on top of it.

On the other hand, we have Mailin, who has a strong desire to understand. She’s not aware of her privileges as a white girl. We want to take this journey together, when she starts to realize things and when she goes through different stages; until she understands, what it is really about. We also have an arc there that isn’t finished. Because in real life, you have to deal with some topics over and over again. We think it’s especially important to show that it’s not the job of Black people to explain racism to their white  friends. By now, they have all the resources to educate themselves and to talk with other white people about this topic, to unburden Black people.

 Alicia: That’s really interesting! The lovestory of Kieu My and Fatou is an important part of season six, which many queer young adults love. How is the relationship between Fatou and Kieu My representative for a generation?

Sarah: I can actually also see it in an older generation. When I send the cuddle clip of Kieu My and Fatou to my grandpa, he says “Wow, how amazing that a Viet-German and a Afro-German girl are lying in bed together, talk in German and are in a relationship.” This generation hopefully isn’t alone anymore, for example in the sense of: being the only Afro-German person in a small city. That changed and now we see it in that second and third generation. And that’s why it shows me something very real and beautiful.

 Alicia: Which scene are you really proud of and why?

Sarah: My favorite scene, and one I’m really proud of and that was really important concerning the pressure of school, was with the main character Fatou. It’s about a path of finding yourself from Fatou and a [Reinigungsmoment] with her brother. Two people, who know each other from the moment of their birth, are sitting together. When I read that scene I thought yes, I can relate, I can feel that, and when we shot that, a world opened for me. And that was partly because of the music, which was decided before we shot this scene. Then we shot it and it was fucking cold, but we shot it again and again but every time we really felt it like the first time. And when I now watch that scene while editing, it really is the perfect moment. Every facial expression is perfect, every reaction. And that’s that kind of truthful (?) moment you’re looking for as an actor, actress, director or author. When everything fits.

 (There’s a script for every social media part, What’s App Chats and ideas for social media stories. )

 Alicia: When can we expect the next season and what will it be about?

Jasmina: For now, DRUCK is finished and we have to wait how it will continue. Fingers are crossed and of course we’re hoping for a new season.

[Note by me: We‘re not gonna spiral, Jünglinge looked for more writers, Black writers, on facebook a while ago. Nothing is safe but they probably don’t want to make any promises]

[jupitermelichios]

So I decided to try watching Riverdale, and I have... thoughts. And also the words ‘holy homoeroticism batman’ written several times in increasingly large letters.

I started on season 2, because everything i read suggested that was when the show went off the rails, and i am here exclusively for the batshit weirdness. but it’s fine, because the show decided to fill me in on what i missed during the two consecutive 'previously on' sequences. was one not enough? was there an ad break between them? did they think people would forget what show they were watching if there wasn’t a little break and a logo splash halfway through?

we open on archie rushing his dad into the worlds most empty emergency room. there’s no one, no patients, no doctors, not even a receptionist, just a big empty room, right until the extras smell the blood of a protagonist and all converge. i assume they’re just desperate for something to do, working in the world’s least used hospital.

does snake pliskin exist in this universe? betty makes a reference that doesn’t really make any sense otherwise and given what i know about where the show goes eventually, it feels like a very real possibility. is this the escape from new york universe?

jingle jangle. they called the drug jingle jangle. honestly no criticism, amazing job everyone on the writing team, keep it up!

“dropping vintage bon-mot like vintage bon-bons” is a hell of a line that only works if you have no idea how bon-mot is said (and no idea what one does with a bon-bon. why are you dropping your candy on the floor veronica). fortunately neither the writers or the actress delivering it do, so it’s fine.

getting into the shower with someone without asking is a risky proposition. You have to be really sure they want it. there’s normal ‘i thought you were into it but you’re not’ awkwardness, and then there’s ‘i thought you were into it but you’re not and also i’m standing here wet and naked now’ awkwardness.

how many gangs are opperating in riverdale? I count three so far. riverdale is not that big, is it?

Actually for real, how big is riverdale? I have absolutely no idea. it’s a local small town with exactly one place to eat but it supports two highschools and three gangs. do we know where riverdale is, and is it anywhere near smallville?

cheryl sure knows how to dress for maximum drama. in general i’m basically neutral on the costumes, but everything cheryl has worn has been a Look and i am here for it. sexy runway victorian ghost aesthetic, yes, amazing, no criticisms.

define hood, because i’m not sure you know what it means. that’s a mask. i get that the comics character is called the black hood, but the costume team could have put him in a hood, why was their solution ‘ski mask but no one in town will admit it’s a ski mask’

half the high school is in this fucking hospital to support archie’s dad, good thing there’s zero other patients or staff or it would be getting crazy crowded

what riots, pop? you can’t just drop in ‘someone threw a brick through our window during the riots’ with no further explanation. what fucking riots?!

wise old spiritual black man, but he's just some dude is a take honestly. does he have some kind of special knowledge or divine connection? nope, he’s just a dude who likes being extremely cryptic in service of absolutely nothing

is cheryl magic? does she think she's magic? what does she think the kiss of life is?  i was under the impression that magic wasn’t going to be real in this show for another season or two, but cheryl apparently does not agree!

the problem with every actor playing a kid in this show being in their mid twenties (insert KennieJD ‘brooding hot 25 year old teenager’ jingle) is that then they show a music teacher kissing a student and i have absolutely no context for how creepy it’s supposed to be. like, she’s twenty, he’s twenty, we’re not in a school setting, I have no idea how i’m supposed to be reacting. he might be an adult who’s decided to take up piano, or she might be a straight up paedophile, and i have literally no idea which. am i supposed to be sad she’s dead?

headmaster is weirdly supportive of his students becoming armed vigilantes. i feel like every teacher i’ve ever had would have had more questions than that.

as the grandchild of a silversmith, i have to say, veronica polishing the silver cutlery as one of her chores is a weirdly believable detail for a show this unhinged. that was one of my chores as a teenager, and still is when i stay with my mum for more than a couple of days. pros of your grandad knowing how to silver-plate: pretty. cons: absolutely everything that stood still long enough eventually got silver plated and it all needs polishing.

Love that everyone still has archie comics names. the mob lawyer is called penny peabody. amazing.

maybe it's the fact that i'm in my 30s but archie's dad is the only attractive person on this show

ebony dark'ness dementia raven way would be very disappointed by how milktoast the goths in this show are. try harder, CW wardrobe department.

oh man, the lighting team absolutely went off for this show, and i kind of love that it's in service of absolutely nothing

holy homoeroticism batman

i’m in this weird place where objectively bonkers things have happened, but not as much or in the way that i want them to, and i can’t decide if it’s worth sticking with it to get to the later more bonkers seasons.

on an unrelated note though, this is the creative team i would choose for a nailbiter adaptation. the weird lighting and colour pallettes, the time displaced americana vibe, honestly even some of the writing, exactly what i would want from a nailbiter tv show.

[inmyarmswrappedin]

i didnt know abt skam at all until druck new gen, but have done a retrospective deep dive and was just wondering if u know how popular the remakes have been in their countries of origin? obvi theres SOME popularity, and from an international audience thanks to og skam, but did people in skam countries connect with it without the context of the og? (ik its kinda a loaded question but all ur answers are somehow entertaining and informative so figured i'd ask)

Hi anon 💐 Flattery will get you everywhere, haha. But seriously though, thanks for the note in parenthesis, I know I’m long winded, so I try to be interesting at least!

Of course I can’t really get a feel for how popular a Skam is in their home country, because I only live in Spain and I’m not part of the target demo anyway.

I will say though, that Norway has the smallest population of all countries with a Skam, and their ig accounts are the most followed across the board. There are some cases like the Eskild, the Elias Bakkoush or the Yousef characters, that didn’t really have active igs, so their remake counterparts have more followers, but that’s about it.

There’s also that NRK advised the remake teams not to promote their shows, and instead let the existing fandom and teens discover it on their own. That was the strategy NRK followed with Skam, but the issue is that Norwegian teens already had knowledge of shows like these. They’d even grown up with the Jenter characters and had aged out of that age bracket, so of course they found Skam easily and were interested in it. Some remake teams chose to follow the instructions and other teams didn’t. In general, the teams that promoted early and heavily had larger viewerships that those that didn’t. (I can discussion promotion strategies but it’s kind of beside the point in this ask lol.)

My impression about the popularity of the remakes in their own countries, and again this is just my impression and I could be wrong, since I don’t live there:

Skam NL is largely unknown in the Netherlands, mostly because it wasn’t promoted at all. I’d even say NL was pretty much viewed only by existing Skams fans.

Skam Austin had something of a following, but it averaged 300K people per episode, in a country of 328 million people. I will say FB did try to promote the show in its own way. The problem is that there’s so much scripted TV in the US market already competing for teens’ attention, and they should’ve promoted the shit out of the show. Austin wasn’t well known at all in the US.

My impression is that Skam Italia was both really well known in Italy and highly profitable. I feel like it was cancelled because timvision didn’t want to pay for a season about a Muslim girl, or didn’t think people would watch it. Once people protested and Netflix Italia reiterated their willingness to produce the season, they were happy to “uncancel” the show and afaik, their Sana season got good views.

Otoh, my impression is that Skam France does have a small local following, but it’s mostly (highly) popular abroad. And I’m really just talking about Lucas L’s season, which was so popular in South Korea that an event organizer actually held a con with the Skam France cast over there. I’m basing this on the fact that Lucas and Eliott have well over 100K followers, but every other character hasn’t reached 50K.

People have written a lot about wtFOCK being very popular with Flemish teens. It seems to be popular enough (wtfock was the most popular google search in Belgium in 2019? I think??), and I think it’s telling that Zoë is still the most followed character on ig. I would say it pretty much means that evak fandom turned its back on wtfock, because generally the Isak becomes the most followed character after his season airs. So based on this, I would say wtfock is more popular in Belgium than outside of Belgium... But not like such a hit that it would make the actors household names or anything (none of the actors are verified on ig).

IN MY OPINION... Skam España did the best out of any Skam remake locally. Their igs have the most followers overall, and not just Cris and Joana. Several characters, including Eva, Lucas R, Nora and Alejandro all broke 100k followers. A furniture store put out an ad with Cris and Joana lookalikes. A good amount of the actors are verified on ig, and many have already gone on to be cast in other projects (unlike the Austin or NL casts). I do have a couple buts. 1) Spanish is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, and I think eskam benefited from a Latin American audience, which can’t be considered local. 2) Even though it did fairly well on youtube as a free show, I think ultimately eskam was an underperformer for Movistar. The goal was obviously to get people to subscribe to the service and access the extra content, and my guess is that this didn’t happen, because the seasons only got shorter and shorter as time went on. So, it was popular locally and internationally, but it wasn’t profitable like Skam Italia was. 

As for Druck. Imo Druck isn’t all that popular locally (though BRAVO, a teen magazine, has given them some attention here and there, suggesting it’s on teens’ radars kind of? idk). But I also think that, at this point, it’s by design. Funk didn’t really promote Hanna’s season, and as such it didn’t have a lot of views. But then they chose not just to promote Mia’s season on youtube and instagram, but to drop the weekly episode on TV. I think that’s the reason Mia’s season is still the most watched to this day tbh. The thing is, if the Druck team wanted, they could do seasons upon seasons of cis white blonde blue-eyed girls falling in love with the resident cis white bad boy, enemies to lovers, and several scenes of the leads making out, being naked in a bathtub, and so on and so forth. It would clearly do well. However, they chose to focus on underrepresented minorities and narratives, and at this point it seems like they’re okay with not being really well known locally, as long as they get enough viewers to justify making more seasons. Druck is one show where I feel like they could be more popular if they wanted, but they have decided they’re good like this.

[echoghost1]

The Group Project From Hell

Word Count: 3396

For: @ghostgothgeek

Summary: Danny and Tucker get stuck working with someone that they really don't want to

My final contribution to Phic Phight during the time limit (and just barely at that)!

*throws confetti and then cries*

Anywho....

You can read the fic on AO3 or down below the cut as per usual!

“Alright class, I need you to break up into groups of three,” the teacher started and immediately the room broke into chaos as everyone started to gather up with their friends. Most could just share a look and nod or point to each other. Others decided they needed to push their desks together now. And a few had to cross the room because they had been separated for talking too much.

Danny and Tucker just reached out across the small aisle between them and held hands with each other without even needing to look. They would have reached for Sam too, but she didn’t have this class with them.

Once most of the class had reached their favorite people, and a couple of larger groups had finished debating over how they would break up, the teacher spoke up again.

“Is anyone not in a group?” the teacher asked as they looked around the room for any stragglers.

One lone hand made itself known.

“Ah, well let’s see,” the teacher pondered aloud as they scanned the room for the perfect place to put them.

It was then that Danny realized that his group was the only option. He slowly sunk into his seat and was torn between actually making himself and Tucker invisible or just letting this happen.

His only hope was that maybe the teacher would just not perceive them like usual.

He was not that lucky.

“Ah, perfect!” the teacher said with a single clap, “Why don’t you join Mr. Fenton and Mr. Foley.”

Knowing there was no way out of it, Danny just huffed and tried not to glare at the unwanted addition to his team.

The odd man out looked between the two with a wince and turned back towards the teacher, “Can’t I just work alone instead?”

The teacher rolled their eyes with a scoff, “The project is too large for one person. Unless of course there’s a problem?”

The way they asked sounded a lot more threatening than any of them liked, so they all just agreed to work together for fear of the consequences.

“Excellent! Now here is the rubric and let’s go over the project,” they said with a smile as if they hadn’t just vaguely threatened their students into forced cooperation.

“So,” Danny started crossing his arms with a frown as their third member slowly walked his desk over to join them, “who are we working with?”

He sighed, knowing full well what he was referring to, “Elliot.”

“You sure it isn’t, oh what was it?” Danny asked, pretending to remember the fake name the other boy had used.

“I believe it was Gregor,” Tucker supplied helpfully and with just as much annoyance in his voice that Danny felt. “From Hungry.”

Elliot threw his head back with a sigh, “I said I was sorry about that.”

“Yeah, whatever.” Danny spat and redirected his anger at the rubric instead.

The project was way too big for one person. It seemed a little daunting for three.

Tucker, the organized blessing that he was, already started to break down the project into much more manageable pieces. “Okay, I think if we can decide on a topic today, share contact info and after-school schedules, we can have an easier time lining up any group meetups and get this thing done in no time.”

Danny smiled and pulled out his notebook and flipped open to a blank page, “okay here’s my number and address and this is Tuck’s,” he finished and tore off the written section and handed it over and then slid his notebook over with his pencil, “you can just write your info there.”

Just because the guy irritated him, didn’t mean he couldn’t be civil. Besides he was willing to give him another chance, he just had to get his annoyance out of the way first.

“I don’t give my number out to just anyone,” Elliot said as he leaned back and refused to take the offering.

Danny just blinked.

Did he really just say that?

“Dude how are we going to contact you outside of class?” Tucker asked, shocked by the blatant disrespect.

Danny was doing his very best not to let the anger bleed into his eyes.

“I’ll text you if I need you,” he said as he snatched the note Danny wrote for him.

“Okay,” Danny said with as much restraint as possible as he slapped his hand on his notebook and slid it back onto his desk. “Fine.”

Tucker flipped the page of their packet and skimmed the page, “So, topics?” he said, clearly doing his best to just keep the ball rolling.

“I don’t care.” Elliot shrugged and pulled his phone out pointedly not participating.

Danny turned in his chair so he only looked at Tucker, “What are our options?”

“I’m glad you asked,” Tucker responded, also locking eyes with Danny and joining him in aggressively ignoring Elliot.

Tucker then read through the list as if it was just the two of them. He shared the page and pointed out the topics that he liked or that he thought Danny would like. Once they had marked the ones they liked the best they looked back to Elliot to see if he had any opinions at all.

“I don’t know if I really like any of those ones.”

“Which ones didn’t you like? The ones we pointed out or just the whole list?” Danny asked and if this guy said the whole list he was going to throw him out the window.

He shrugged, “I don’t know, all of them?”

This boy better get ready to be defenestrated.

Ha, see he could use that word in his everyday life! It wasn’t useless knowledge. Suck on that, Jazz!

Tucker had to forcibly push Danny back into his seat. “I know, buddy, I know.”

“We’re on the first floor. He’ll be fine.” Danny said through clenched teeth.

Tucker turned to just stare at him, stopping his calming shoulder pats due to his confusion. “I’m still not a telepath Danny.”

“Oh yeah.” sometimes he forgot that just because he was thinking it didn’t mean that anyone else was. But so often it seemed like everyone else knew what he was thinking before he even said anything.

Luckily his friends were always gentle with the reminder. They didn’t make him feel stupid or laugh at him when he did.

“I was just thinking how nice it would be to defenestrate him.”

Tucker snickered but shook his head all the same, “Dude, no. You haven’t gotten detention in like three weeks now, don’t ruin your streak.”

“Come on!”

“No! You would just get expelled or whatever.” he said, still chuckling at the idea of Danny yeeting that jerk with no hesitation, “Totally not worth it,” he reassured.

Danny huffed but relented all the same, “Fine. I won’t.” he locked eyes with Elliot, “This time.”

“Are you threatening me?” the blonde asked, finally reacting properly to his current situation.

“I don’t know? Am I?” Danny retorted back sarcastically.

“God, what did I ever do to you?”

“You lied to my best friend.”

“I said sorry. Besides she’s the only one who should be mad, and she forgave me already.”

“I know,” Danny mumbled.

And it was true. Sam had forgiven him. She said that sometimes people do silly things when they think they’re in love. Or just in high school in general.

“And I was willing to give you a second chance but you rejected my peace offering, so screw you.”

“What peace offering? You glared daggers when the teacher forced us together.”

“And then I was trying to get past that, and then you were difficult and didn’t just give your info. It’s not like we’re ever going to contact you after this project is over? Heck, I’ll probably just delete your number the second we’re done!”

Elliot rolled his eyes, “Oh my god you are so dramatic.”

“Says the guy who took that ‘world’s a stage’ line a bit too literal.”

“Well I am a thespian,” he said with too much emphasis as he pressed a hand to his chest as he peacocked.

“TMI?” Danny had no idea what thespian meant and couldn’t help but notice how it rhymed with lesbian. He was pretty sure the two words had nothing to do with each other, and even if they did it really didn’t make any sense given what they had been talking about.

Elliot’s stupid vocabulary just made Danny annoyed all over again.

“It means I’m an actor.” Elliot deadpanned. “I mean honestly you throw around the word defenestrate like you know what it means.” he laughed to himself before giving Danny a condescending smirk, “Do you even know what it means?”

Danny felt his jaw tighten so much that his dentist was probably wincing, “Defenestrate. The act of throwing someone out a window.” He stood up to his full height and loomed over Elliot as best he could while the blonde was still sitting down, “Would you like me to use it in a sentence?”

“Code green!” Tucker shouted as he shot up out of his seat and pulled Danny down so they were both squatting behind their chairs, “You need a minute?”

“Yes,” Danny said resting his chin on his knees and doing his best to relax.

Despite that his parents seemed to think that all ghost’s emotions were fake, Danny had found that the more he had gotten used to his ghost side, the stronger he reacted to things. He never used to get so angry. Or to do so, so quickly.

Of course, his parents attributed his outbursts to teen hormones. He really wanted them to be right, but just knew that they weren’t. One look at the crazed-up fruit loop pretty much blew that theory out of the water.

His fingers threaded their way into his hair as he tried to block out the bad thoughts and focus on the mantra Jazz had taught him when he finally admitted to having emotional control issues.

“I control my emotions. They don’t control me. I control my emotions. They don’t control me. I control my emotions. They don’t control me. They don’t control me. They don’t control me.”

Danny took a breath and finally relaxed. This might not be ideal, but he was getting better at calming himself down again.

He stood up and took his seat. "Sorry about that."

Elliot scoffed as he scrolled on his phone.

"I'm sorry about earlier. You're right," he sighed, "I was being dramatic. I shouldn't have taken my anger out on you."

Elliot just stared at him for a bit. Blinked. Then shrugged and looked back at his phone, "Yeah, whatever freak. Let's just get this project over with."

Danny stopped listening. He was honestly surprised he got past the word. The word. Why did he have to call him the one thing that hurt the most?

Stupid heightened ghost emotions and stupid Elliot for poking at his insecurities. He took a breath and tried to focus on the conversation.

He pointed lazily at the packet on Tucker's desk, "We picked a topic already. Let's just divide up the-”

Before Elliot could finish his sentence Tucker interrupted, “Stop.” he said in such a serious tone that both boys looked over at him.

“I’m going to need you to apologize to Danny, right now.”

Elliot scoffed and opened his mouth to say something, probably rude based on his expression, but Tucker just held up his finger.

“I wasn’t done yet,” he said and Danny could almost taste the simmering anger that radiated off of Tucker like the heat waves that made mirages in the desert.

But why was he mad? Why? Did Danny do something wrong? Why did he always ruin everything he touched?

“Hey, I’m not mad at you,” Tucker reassured softly before returning his ire back on Elliot. “Now I know you don’t know us very well, so I’m willing to give you a warning. Danny is like a post-credits grinch. There are just certain things we don’t do. Now, if you would kindly apologize for your rude remark we can get back to work.”

“What are you even talking about?”

“Tucker, it’s fine,” Danny muttered because he really just wanted this whole day to be over already.

Tucker sighed before turning to look at Danny directly, “Is it?”

Danny couldn’t meet his eye. Of course, it wasn’t actually fine. He just didn’t want to make it a big deal. Elliot clearly didn’t do it on purpose so it was fine. He was fine.

If he told himself he was fine enough times maybe it would be true.

It was quiet for a few seconds before Tucker refocused on their project.

Danny did his best to contribute even though he was still feeling a little down. Elliot kept being the worst and only actively worked on anything when the teacher was looking.

Tucker wrote down a few things for them all to work on for the week and suggested they meet up in the library on Wednesday after school to go over what they had done up to that point.

Elliot gave a very lazy and barely committal agreement to be there before the bell rang and they were finally able to leave.

It wasn’t until they were at Danny’s locker, did it feel like he could breathe properly.

“You sure you’re okay?” Tucker asked as he leaned against the locker next to Danny’s so when he opened the door, he’d still be in view.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

Tucker was quiet and Danny didn’t need to see it to know he was making that face. The one where he knows Danny is lying and he should just come clean already.

“Why’d you have to call me a Post-Credits Grinch?!” he whined and hated every second of it. “You know I hate that movie!”

Tucker bit his lip as he tried not to laugh at Danny’s reaction, “It’s just because you’ve got a big heart? And it’s kind of like it grew three sizes recently, right?” he shrugged and added, “It was either that or reference that one vine and say you’re sensitive. But I knew you wouldn’t like that.”

“Oh well, thanks for the save, Aubrey.”

Tucker snapped into double finger guns, “Anytime, D-man!”

Danny snorted and shoved his textbook into his locker a little harder than he meant to, “Don’t,” he shook his head and couldn’t hold back his laugh, “Don’t ever do that again.”

“Not gonna happen.” Tucker playfully punched his shoulder, “Besides, it got you to laugh, didn’t it?”

Danny rolled his eyes, but he did have a point. Tucker always knew how to make him feel better. More like himself.

Less like a freak.

===============================================

It was Wednesday. School had ended about ten minutes ago.

Tucker and Danny had come in about two to three minutes later than they had intended, thanks to the Box Ghost and the unfortunate delivery man that had crossed his path.

Tucker sent Elliot a text once they got there apologizing for being a few minutes late and asking where he had set up.

There was a slight delay before Elliot texted back. First to ask how Tucker had gotten his number, to which Tucker simply said “A magician never reveals his secrets.”

Then Elliot finally admitted that he wasn’t at the library. He said he had something he needed to do first but he would be there soon.

Then it was radio silence.

Danny found a nice table in the back corner that was partially hidden behind the old reference textbooks. He liked it because it was secluded and quiet.

Tucker teased him and said he actually liked it because it was the darkest and spookiest corner.

Danny just blew a raspberry at him.

The pair got out everything they needed and took over the large wooden table. Each of them taking turns to go over their respective progress and discussing what they still needed to do.

It wasn’t until the librarian came around told them that she needed to close up for the night, did they realize that Elliot never came.

“What are the odds he hasn’t done anything yet?” Danny asked as he packed his things back into his backpack.

“Happy thoughts, Danny. Let’s just focus on our own work.”

Danny just nodded and made sure to securely zip his bag shut while also maintaining the structural integrity of it. It wouldn’t do him any good if he broke the zipper.

Sure he’d still be able to get in if he needed to, thanks to his ghost powers, but it would have been because of his ghost powers that the bag was broken. Also, it would be hard to explain why, or how, he was still using a broken bag to those who didn’t know his secret.

Which would be pretty much everyone.

“So you wanna go to my place and continue? Mom’s making lasagna tonight and it’ll probably be ready by the time we get there!” he said as he fidgeted with excitement.

He did love Mrs. Foley’s double meat lasagna. “Yeah alright, I just gotta call home first.”

“Yes!” Tucker fist pumped and sent a quick text to his mom.

===============================================

Danny didn’t mean to fall asleep at Tucker’s on a school night, he really didn’t.

On one hand, they ended up getting a lot done on their project. He got to eat so much yummy food that never once had a chance at coming back to life and trying to eat him, which is his favorite quality in food. His second favorite quality is, being not poison.

Also, Tucker’s house was always way warmer than his house ever was, and it was nice to just curl up in a pile of pillows and relax, because nothing in that house was designed specifically to kill him. It was a lovely little vacation.

The only downside was he hadn’t packed any clothes so all he had to wear was what he had come in. And wearing the same outfit two days in a row in the middle of the week, wasn’t exactly a good look.

Tucker was nice enough to offer his closet, which Danny happily accepted. Only Tucker had grown a few inches in the last year or so and was now taller than Danny. Also a little wider in the shoulders.

Good thing Danny liked to wear baggy clothes!

Of course, Dash made fun of him for his ill-fitting outfit almost immediately. It was like the guy had some sort of sixth sense that always picked up Danny no matter where he was.

When they got to their group project class, Tucker mentioned that they had gotten a lot done and if Elliot could type up what he had and send it to Tucker he could add it to the slide show they had started.

Elliot just shrugged and said he’d send it.

Tucker cleared his throat and added, “Please do so before midnight on Friday.” then he texted him his email address so he had no excuse not to.

“Yeah okay, whatever.”

===============================================

It was Saturday night. Danny was lounging on Tucker’s bed while he waited for Tucker to come back from the bathroom.

The notification ding went off on Tucker’s phone but Danny knew better than to touch the phone without Tucker’s permission. That didn’t stop him from floating over the phone a few inches and just looking at the screen while it was still lit.

Elliot had finally emailed his portion of the project.

Well wasn’t that nice of him to do so at, Danny looked at the time and saw it was past ten.

Lovely.

It was even better when Tucker got to open the email and the file he sent was just a text file.

“Why would you do that?” Tucker asked as he just stared at the icon, “In what world is that necessary?”

They were both glued to the screen and held their breath as Tucker clicked download and opened the file.

It was the most barebones weak excuse of his share that he could have possibly given.

“We aren’t sleeping this weekend, are we?” Danny asked knowing full well what the answer was.

“I should have let you throw him out of the window when I had the chance.”

[mayasdeluca]

Acting coach anon here: my 2 cents on straight actor playing LGBTQ+ characters and why we still don’t have bigger representation especially in higher budget projects.

-Acting is literally becoming someone else, so it’s part of their job to do so. Do I think queer people should have the same chance of straight actors, absofuckinglutely, but unfortunately isn’t like that, so that’s also why no many actors are out, at the end it’s rare that the best actors take the part especially in big budget projects, it’s the most popular that get casted, it’s not always about talent, but how much they sell, how much audience they bring in, how much online interaction they create, it’s a money industry after all…so money it’s the first goal, and that’s simply the truth.

-Coming out as an actor is still not a great career move, Hollywood pretend they are open about it, but they are not as much as it looks like.

-Many projects with queer stories and characters do not make the light of day because a lot of A/B list actors refuse to play LGBT+ roles, for a bunch or reasons: the backlash of audience especially the LGBTQ+ one and how abrasive they become toward them and the fact that they are not part of the community and so on.(obviously not all fans, but just look how much drama small shows as S19, The100, Dickinson and so on created and how people become nasty or obsessed towards some actresses, especially when they are not gay).

Yes it’s amazing how actresses discover their queerness by playing these characters, but it’s their own journey, and people should chill out and stay out of their personal life and avoid speculating and such, be respectful and happy they even share some of it, we queer people know how hard is to come to term with out identity, imagine and actor doing so publicly or on TV and social media, it’s fucking scary, and it could be dangerous for their career as well.

-A production company will not approve a big project without big name to carry it, its not a smart move….they won’t do it.

-Few out/trans actor/actress get big roles and mostly because their talent it’s unbelievable and undeniable and most got famous before coming out( Sarah Paulson, Jodie Foster, Elliot Page, Kristen Stewart, even less gay men actor)

-A lot of actresses that previously played gay characters, because of the online comments harassment and whatnot, refuse now to play more queer roles, and as I stated, one of the main reason it’s the backlash they received for not being really part of the community, I could name names but it’s pretty clear if you look online at the biggest iconic lesbian character in the last 5/10 years.

So what I’m saying: acting it’s THEIR job let them do it, it would be awesome if people got casted for their talent, queer or not, but unfortunately isn’t always like this.

I could write lots about it and there are some Tumblr accounts in here of ppl that work in the industry and they have a wider knowledge about the production part of the industry, my observations come from personal interaction with queer actresses and talking with my producer friends and some from reading from other queer industry blogger, so I do not want to say it’s always 100% like this but general audience and fans only know 5% of what’s going on behind a production.

My point is to always be respectful of other people life, job and personal journey.

Hi acting coach anon!

All very good points and I agree, it's their journey and their privacy when it comes to their personal life and we all have to be respectful of that. And you're right that a lot of the time it comes down to the most popular actor getting the role because they want that drawn in audience from the start. Money is always their first priority. And I'm sure it's not easy to come out in the industry which makes it even more important when actors are comfortable enough to do so and share with fans publicly and it shouldn't be scrutinized by the public.

As others have also mentioned and I agree with too, I think the focus should more be about the lgbtq+ rep in the writer's room and behind the scenes as opposed to the actors. All they can do is act, like you said, that's their job. So while I'm sure the people BTS face some of the same struggles as actors would with coming out or feeling comfortable to express their true identity, I feel like that representation is most important so that we get the best positive representation on screen as possible.