#The dramatic British people would also be upset

[deadforsevenyears]

Why are regency romance novels the only thing between me and fully wanting to kms

[spywhitney]

Thoughts on ships in The Bear

Sydcarmy (Sydney x Carmy)

I filtered out the tag weeks ago and I haven't undone it yet 💀.

98% of posts on my page in the last 6 months or so is to do with this ship- I've had a lot of thoughts about it.

S3 soured my opinion on it, and I've seen some eyebrow raising opinions emerge after s3 that are kind of wild, but sobering I guess?

But unfortunately I've hyperfixated on this ship now so I won't let go until it's over. So yikes for me I guess.

Like I've invested so much attention to it and the odds are looking terrible, but I hope it works out anyway?!?!

Sydrichie (Sydney x Richie)

It's the older man/younger woman trope. That's all it takes for me lol.

I read these fics when I'm tired of the above ship lowkey.

Their dynamic is so interesting to me.

If there weren't so many ****** **** ball sucking/suit licking on Richie while simultaneously trashing on Syd I'd like it a lot more (probably).

I was going to say how Richie treated Syd in s1 is what turns me off too, but I ship Syd with Carmen so, welp.

If they got together it would piss so many people off. Like the hater in me is cry-laughing thinking about how upset certain people would be lmao.

Wish we saw more of them in s3, it would've made so much sense too.

Sydmarcus (Sydney x Marcus)

Um, are the sydmarcus shippers even alive?

Y'all were done dirty. Y'all didn't deserve that man.

I never got the impression Syd liked Marcus however, but still.

If she did, they would've been so cute, like omg.

Marcus has had Syd's back the most and is arguably the only friend she has.

He treats her like a friend/overtly asked her out as more than a friend too etc etc.

The fact Syd didn't even acknowledge the fact Marcus made a dessert and named it after her is wild though.

Their dynamic has a healthy balance of reciprocation, exercised respect and care.

Obviously there are some that insist they should('ve) got together because they don't want sydcarmy which is ridiculous.

Then there's the "Syd deserves better" crowd which while I understand and somewhat agree, I also believe people choose what they deserve, so that's her business lowkey.

Saying all that I'd be all over Marcus. He's passionate, fine as hell and he's super chill?! Already climbing that man personally.

Claircarmy (Claire x Carmy)

I don't care about Claire, so it's hard to care about the relationship.

As much as the Claire hate is entertaining to me (and very valid points have been made about her), I'm pretty neutral on her for the most part.

I will say, the fact that their relationship has been shown to be perfect up until the s2 finale and Carmy calling her a waste of time was all it took for her to walk away is hilarious.

Like, if you can't deal with Carmy saying one mean thing about you, you're not ready to be with him girl lol (especially when compared with--)

The show pushes this a lot so if they're endgame fine, I just want that plot point to be done my goodness.

Carmrich (Carmy x Richie)

I've read a couple of fics and woah?

I like this quite a bit.

Their dynamic is so engaging in the fics I've read.

I almost feel like I don't appreciate their relationship enough in the show.

Sydluca (Sydney x Luca)

Kind of yummy if it was endgame, eh if otherwise.

I'm being dramatic, see my post here for more context.

The actor is british so maybe my bias is showing with this ship ngl.

He's one of the few actors I recognised also.

They look kind of cute, or whatever.

Fak x Richie

They have moments for sure.

I get it.

Marcus x Luca

I never saw this honestly.

To me, it was feel-good to just see a black man eagerly learning in a healthy environment.

I want Marcus for me though, like I said so lol.

Nat x Pete

They're canon.

They go well together, though I will say I don't have a strong opinion on them.

I guess since we don't see any significant conflict with them/they're very stable there's not a lot of emotional weight?

Nat x Richie

I felt some vibes here and there, you know?

They're sweet.

Richie x Jess

It would make sense as a part of Richie's arc.

Funny how some people that ship them based on a couple of looks hate sydcarmy with 3 seasons worth of interactions though.

Michael x Richie

I feel like I'd like this like camrich, but also it might break my heart, so idk if I want to see what's up.

Marcus x Chester

Chester was chill, shame he only got two seconds in s3.

Knowing Marcus had someone outside the restaurant who's supportive was comforting.

Tina x David

They were adorable in "napkins".

Makes sense they're married irl.

Tina x Michael

Felt a vibe for a split second when she talked about him in s1 ngl.

If she didn't have a husband atp--

Sydney x Claire

I think I saw a fic with this on ao3. Don't care about Claire, so you know.

Richie x Tiff

Clearly there's still love there, shame with what happened to them.

Carmy x Luca

I don't see why not.

Carmy x Chef David

😳 I mean, I get the appeal but in the context of the show, yikes. (Not that I haven't shipping something "worse").

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

So regarding A-Town, how do the people working on it feel about it? Everyone has to make a living, but are any of them uncomfortable making a low budget show that somewhat trivializes the people who save the human race?

I think they would say that the history of comedy has always been the history of mocking the unacceptable and exposing the taboo. All in the Family responded to the Civil Rights era by creating the world's most bigoted bigot and then inviting everyone to laugh at him, even knowing a nonzero percent of viewers were going to agree with him. The Chair and Abbott Elementary are 2020s efforts to point and laugh and cry at terrible current events. There's specifically a tradition of "war is absurd" as a comedy premise: Catch-22 for World War II, Blackadder Goes Forth for World War I, Dr. Strangelove for the Cold War, so on.

So part of why Marco appears on A-Town, why Tom doesn't mind the show, why some Santa Barbara residents watch it, is that it's letting you laugh at something that would otherwise make you scream in horror. Blackadder Goes Forth has a scene where a WWI general sets a 12"x12" square of sod on a table and says "took a lot of turf today"; the conversation reveals that the square foot of grass on the table is the entirety of the ground taken that day. It's mocking a horrific reality — that the British regularly sacrificed 1000s of lives for a few yards of battlefield, and that "winners" of WWI battles often had to be determined with a yardstick — but it's making a sharp critique of the powerful, and it's a solid bit of shock comedy.

Most people watching A-Town know that Daisy A. fixing her manicure in line to be reinfested, only to be sent home due to a paperwork error, is not an accurate depiction of being a controller. But its point, about the yeerks' kidnappings being arbitrary and their leadership being incompetent, would land well with a lot of ex-hosts. And the fact that the show takes the time to distinguish that Daisy and Zeptron 420 are two completely different people — something that I suspect some other postwar movies would neglect — is at least part of the reason for Tom's tolerance for the show. It's not great that the show chooses to convey that point with the Girly = Evil; Goth = Good trope, but at least the dramatic costume changes convey that Daisy's personality is not Zeptron's.

That said, Jean and Jake and everyone else who hates the show also has a point. Jean especially finds it so upsetting because half the jokes rest on an enthymeme of "Obviously Jake Berenson's parents are the most clueless idiots ever to breathe air." A-Town aspires to, like The Americans, show the hollowness of the suburban American ideal — that's why its sets look straight out of Leave It to Beaver — but that leaves Dr. and Mr. A mostly being the butt of the joke for their negligent and incompetent parenting. For Jean, that hits a little too close to home, in a way it wouldn't for Marco watching his fake-self fight taxxon puppets by holding up a stuffed skunk, or Tom watching his fake-self swap lipstick colors every time someone new controls her body.

So if A-Town aspires to be Blackadder Goes Forth, it lands closer to being South Park: sometimes funny and pointed, sometimes lending support to the bigoted views it tries to critique. Like South Park, the conversation about it will probably acknowledge its real social contributions (exposing Scientology, excoriating nationalism) while also showing the real harms to vulnerable people from the show's brand of comedy (turning "gay" into a catchall insult, resurrecting antisemetic myths). Like South Park, A-Town tries to mock things that need mocking, but it also spends almost as much time punching down as it does punching up.

[lokielly]

just saw someone say that izzy getting shot wasn’t on camera (it was) and that his death had no reason to happen narratively (it did have a purpose).

izzy’s death scene existed as a way to tell ed it was okay to let go of blackbeard, and it was more powerful than anything izzy could have just told him. izzy used his last words to tell ed that it was okay to be himself and that he was loved. that has a massive impact.

“but that makes izzy just a plot device for ed!”

well yes. while this show does allow secondary characters to be their own characters (which it REALLY did with izzy this season, his arc was amazing), you have to keep in mind the protagonist is stede, and also ed as his love interest. they are the main focus of this show, and the characters around them exist to push their story forward.

of course that doesn’t mean they can’t have their own things going on, because they absolutely do. they’re their own people. but saying that reducing a character into “just a plot device” really isn’t the terrible thing people are making it out to be.

it’s fine to have loved izzy. it’s fine to be upset that your favorite character died. but throwing hate at david jenkin’s and turning against a show about a very unique, underrepresented queer love story just isn’t right.

more on the david jenkin’s thing here because this is the point where i lose the main plot of the post.

i’ve seen people just blatantly missing or misunderstanding information or even sensationalizing things and blaming it on david jenkins.

i saw someone say that izzy’s final words were him telling ed “sorry for making you abuse me.” that wasn’t it at all. it was “sorry for encouraging you to be someone you’re not. but you don’t have to be that way anymore.” that has a completely different tone.

even this person saying izzy wasn’t even shot on camera. he was. ricky turned around, fired a shot, and izzy took it. but he wasn’t going to dramatically fall to the floor because why would the guy that goes “i’m fine fuck off” whenever he’s not fine show that he���s not fine.

i saw someone say that he wasn’t given proper respect at his funeral and that stede bitchy remark was cruel and ungrateful. stede’s “bitchy” remark in question: “he was a good one. bit intense.” like first of all, that’s not mean at all, and honestly, if i were stede i wouldn’t have forgiven him for, ya know, teaming up with the british to kill me. but clearly stede has.

and everyone’s pinning this on david jenkins. and i know this because as soon as i finished the episode i went and checked his twitter mentions. and even if i hadn’t him turning replies off on his post was enough to show me that.

i even saw someone trying to DEFEND david jenkins by saying “guys he probably just didn’t know how big the izzy fandom would become when he wrote this.”

writers. don’t. have. to. write. around. fandoms.

[ineffablelunatic]

Ghosts pirate AU

Captain - the captain of the ship, obviously. There is a small mutiny in the equivalent of the episode "Getting Out" but they make him Captain again when they realise they're useless without him. He's a good and fair captain and once they get past the initial intimidation, he's actually very loveable.

Thomas - the ship's (very dramatic) scribe. He's very in love with Alison and he tries to add poetry to the ship's notes. It doesn't work out well. He had a sweetheart back on land at one point, but after receiving the news that she had married his cousin in his absence, he first tried to walk the plank and then swiftly moved on to Alison.

Kitty - stowed away on the ship as a young child and is now an essential member of the crew for moral support. Her own family were bad to her and as such the Captain treats her as his daughter. She takes in injured animals, meaning that the ship now has a small zoo in its hold. Nobody knows how she finds them, but they would die for her.

Pat - the first mate. He seconds Captain's points but would never actually want to lead the ship on his own. He has a pet parrot called Goldie who overheard Carol and Daley mocking him and now occasionally mocks him too (allowing for a Season 4 Christmas Special arc). He frequently teaches the other crew members important life lessons, and his sunny outlook brightens everyone's day. He gets seasick sometimes.

Robin - the ship's navigator. He was the original owner of the ship and nobody quite knows how long he's been around, but he's surprisingly wise. He navigates using the stars and even though they frequently get lost, he says the resulting adventure makes up for it. Everyone agrees.

Julian - the ship drunk. He was once a high ranking nobleman, but ran away from his family and responsibilities for a life on the sea. He spends most of his time drinking and playing chess with Robin, although he has his occasional moments of depth. He teaches the parrot to swear.

Humphrey - the lookout. He's afraid of heights but doesn't mention it because he doesn't want to be a bother. He was taken into custody due to the actions of his wife, the pirate queen, and was saved from imminent execution by Captain and his crew.

Mary - the cook. She burns all of the food but nobody ever complains because they don't want to upset her. She writes a lot of letters to an old friend back on land, but the friend doesn't seem to know that she's a pirate. It's implied that she was chased out of her hometown and ended up on the ship, but nobody knows why.

Fanny - the disgruntled hostage. She was taken from a cruise ship by the pirates, and they were planning on leaving her on a desert island because of all her complaining. However, their ship was almost hijacked by rival pirates, and through some combination of extreme complaining and entitlement, she scared them away. They keep her around just in case.

Annie - Mary's childhood friend. They grew up together and were incredibly close, with Annie helping Mary find her voice. However, when Mary had to leave her hometown, she also had to leave Annie, and so Annie waits at a cliff edge to watch the incoming ships, hoping one of them will bring Mary back. Most of the people in her town think she's waiting for the return of some lover or husband.

Havers - once Captain's first mate. The crew speculates about the precise nature of their relationship, but Captain is private enough that he would never tell anyone. However, Havers left the pirate life to join the British Navy in a clemency programme. After he left, Captain was heartbroken. He still hopes that Havers will return some day, and often crew members catch him staring off across the sea as if he'll see Havers' ship coming towards him across the horizon.

Plague Ghosts - the lesser crew. They mainly keep to themselves in the hold of the ship, and most of the main crew try and avoid them because they have scurvy. They all stick together, though, and they keep the ship running, although they get little recognition for it.

Jemima - the child of one of the lesser crew. She was raised on the ship and will one day make a strong pirate - possibly even a pirate queen. She isn't seen around the ship much, but she can sometimes be heard singing haunting old sea shanties from the stern of the ship. Other passing ships assume she's a siren.

Humphrey's wife - the pirate queen. She's wanted in at least 10 countries for extreme piracy, and her actions almost got Humphrey killed. There was always a barrier between them, of both language and culture, and yet Humphrey still tried to take the fall for her treachery. It's unknown how she feels about him, but every so often the ship gets a delivery of a large number of coins. They assume this is a thank you.

Alison and Mike - new hostages. The crew jokes about Alison being related to Fanny because they're both hostages, but due to her far nicer temperament and friendly nature, she soon becomes a staple of the ship. Mike does handiwork around the ship, and although still very unnerved by the pirates, tries his best to live with them. Alison makes negotiations when the ship makes landfall because her social skills are far better than the rest of the crew, and she's probably the only one who wouldn't be arrested on sight. Alison knows full well about Thomas's affections but refutes them at every turn.

The boat - The Button. It used to be called The Rogue Rider when Robin owned it, but when Kitty joined the crew, she would only call it the Button (for reasons unknown), and the name stuck. The ship has been around for who knows how long, and carries secrets that few could even guess at. Sometimes it even seems to have its own sentience, although nobody understands how. What they do know is that when a new crew member comes aboard, there's already a room waiting for them, and sometimes they'll enter their room only to find it has rearranged itself. The ship always seems to know what the crew need at any given time.

[othcrside]

❀ *◦ rachel zegler. nonbinary. they/she. panromantic pansexual. ⇝ hey, isn’t that hermione salazar-blood ? i think that the ( 26 ) year old from vancouver, british columbia works as an actor at single carrot theatre, but outside of that people describe them as the song the sweet escape by gwen stefani, a sense of the dramatics in everything, roaming empty streets late at night + singing to yourself. i hear they are argumentative & meddlesome, but they are also known to be captivating & forthright. consider giving them a visit at their home in their family’s cabin outside the city and get to know why they’re called the tell-tale heart.

╰ * STATS.

tw: injury

even in utero, hermione was destined for greatness — hence their given name, penned for the shakespearean character from the winter’s tale, the virtuous and beautiful queen of sicily. this was meant to denote the importance that they would one day hold on the world’s stage, and for as long as they could remember all they ever felt drawn to, like a moth to a flame, was the limelight. they would construct props in their youth out of tattered blankets and pillows and make the living room and backyard their set, darn old costumes of their mother’s by hand and wear them like they were brand new, and put on plays they’d written in a night for their whole family.

it became clear that hermione would embody their name to the fullest extent, so their parents enrolled them in drama, dance and even gymnastics classes from the time the were five years old. their intense passion for theater was chalked up to youthful enthusiasm and left to rest; meanwhile during school hours hermione found themself in multiple compromising situations with other students, even going so far once as to engage in a physical fight.

their behavior was closely monitored by their teachers before their parents were called for a conference. they were presented with evidence that displayed their child’s unusual nature; how they exhibited repetitive habits during play time and recess, which often resulted in scrimmages with other children who didn’t follow their rules, being easily upset by minor changes in the classroom without warning, and not to mention their refusal to speak or even look at their teacher at times.

they were officially diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at age 8. in response, their parents made the necessary accommodations all the while putting in the extra effort to educate hermione on what they had and what they could do to remain calm when feeling distressed. they let them seek comfort in theater, where they knew they had always belonged, and only found a deeper appreciation for the art as they grew.

at 15, hermione had learned how to adapt and cope with their disability, though all of that would change during theater camp one summer. they were brought into the office and put on the phone with their mother — who would then tell them that their father had suffered a work injury and was now paraplegic.

once they returned home, it seemed their once warm, loving family was shattered into hardened fragments. their mother had fallen into a deep depression as their father grew embittered and nihilistic. nothing was the same as they left it. the medical bills piled up and, to make things worse, it seemed all the dreams hermione had of attending an expensive art school were ruined.

after a period of blaming themselves until they were utterly mad with grief over their familial situation, they fled their home, reaching seattle and following all the signs that led to madame irene’s circus, where they were hired as a contortionist thanks to their lengthy background in gymnastics and dance. they traveled across the states until very recently when they were contacted again by one of their aunts who offered to lend them their family cabin in anchorage, where they’ve lived for the past few months after securing a new job as an actor at the single carrot theatre.

—— tidbits !!

an avid collector of vintage items, though holds precedence for older editions of plays, vinyl records, and mary janes over all else.

a cat lover through - and - through. has to carry a lint roller in their bag whenever they leave the house because they spend so much time cuddling and pampering their beloved cat purebred cat veronica.

obsessed with soap operas, namely general hospital, which they've been watching since 2004. may or may not be where they developed their predilection for melodrama.

wears over - sized glasses due to the fact they are legally blind. they cycle through a few different pairs, but their favorite pair are crystal purple and square - shaped.

experiments with makeup and has a fondness for stage makeup, tends to stick to soft palettes and must look like a fairy at all times.

uses their contortionist skills from the circus as party tricks.

quiet (and slightly ashamed) star wars fanatic and feels very passionately about padme amidala and her pristine fashion sense.

"i want to be great, or nothing" in its purest form.

speaking of, has a terrible fear of being forgotten and leaving no noticeable mark on the world. working through this in therapy.

[thatscarletflycatcher]

Because De Gaulle seemed really upset about Wendell Willkie's portrayal of his person in One World (1942), I give you, for your amusement, Willkie's account with De Gaulle's comments/corrections interpolated [in red] and my comments (in green):

"I shall, however, never forget my visit with General de Gaulle [regarding my own person, in the book he published upon his return, he did not dispense with the mocking conformism of malevolence]. I was met at the airport at Beirut, received by an elaborately uniformed color guard and band, and whisked several miles to the house where the general was living -a great white structure, surrounded by elaborate and formal gardens, where guards saluted at every turn. We talked for hours in the general's private room, where every corner, every wall, held busts, statues, and pictures of Napoleon [as our conversation took place at the study of the high commissioner (which Mr. Martel had furnished on the Imperial style) Wendell Willkie presented me as mimicking Napoleon's manners. As I was wearing the white uniform -mandatory in summer for French officers- he saw in that an ostentation resembling that of Louis XIV]. The conversation continued through an elaborate dinner and went on late into the night, as we sat out on a beautiful starlit lawn. (de Gaulle's account here seems more realistic than Willkie's, and is therefore more likely -imperial style vs REPRESENTATIONS OF NAPOLEON EVERYWHERE. But I do wonder where does he take from the Louis XIV thing. Exaggeration of how Willkie represents his reception and the place he was hosted at? Did he read the thing in translation and the translation did some peppering in? Is this coming from some other speech/comment or is a deliberate untruth?)

Frequently the general, in describing his struggle of the moment with the British as to whether he or they should dominate Syria and the Lebanon, would declare dramatically, "I cannot sacrifice or compromise my principles." "Like Joan of Arc," his aide added [as some of my collaborators had spoken of "general de Gaulle's mission", Mr. Willkie insinuated that I mimicked Joan of Arc. In this way of seeing things, Roosevelt 's opponent was also his imitator.].

(I have reached the point where I just... NEED to know where this whole running gag of Joan of Arc originated. So far I've seen it attributed to de Gaulle himself, to Churchill, to Roosevelt, and now to this aide. Everyone attributes it to everyone but apparently no one wants to actually acknowledge it XD Willkie's account does sound highly dramatized; de Gaulle doesn't flatly deny it happened, but changes the wording -and he himself says several times, from the very beginning of his memoirs, that he felt he was destined to do something great for France, that he had gotten a very important mission in its History. So I guess it's anyone's guess if it went as far as the Joan of Arc mention.)

When I referred to my great interest in the Fighting French movement, he corrected me sharply. "The Fighting French are not a movement. The Fighting French are France itself. We are the residuary legatees of all of France and its possessions." When I reminded him that Syria was but a mandated area under the League of Nations (this phrasing is interesting when you know what went down in the British invasion of Syria that led to the protectorate), he said, "Yes, I know. But I hold it in trust. I cannot close out that mandate or let anyone else do so. That can be done only when there is a government again in France. In no place in this world can I yield a single French right, though I am perfectly willing to sit with Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt and consider ways and means by which French rights and French territories can be momentarily and temporarily used in order to help drive the Germans and the collaborators from the control of France.

"Mr Willkie," he continued, "some people forget that I and my associates represent France. They apparently do not have in mind France's glorious history. They are thinking in terms of its momentary eclipse."

(The insistence does sound like De Gaulle, but it is interesting how Willkie tries to draw in the Napoleon symbology and the "we are France" thing while on the same breath recounting that De Gaulle claims the authority over Syria but refuses to decide over it because he thinks no one but the French people through democracy could legitimately do so. In this way de Gaulle is at the same time represented as a sort of crazy fascist danger as a future totalitarian ruler of France... who thinks sovereignty lies on the French people? Maybe Willkie is implying it's all an excuse?)

[mywingsareonwheels]

In which Clem Talleyfer deserves to be a Tumblr Man(TM)

One of so many reasons why more people on tumblr need to know about K.J. Charles' books:

Clem Talleyfer and Rowley Green, the heroes of An Unseen Attraction. (The first of a deliberately potboilery Victorian murder mystery trilogy, though there's nothing potboilery about the romances.) It's set in the early 1870s in London.

Clem: gay, dyspraxic, brown (father a white (and horrifying) aristocrat; mother working-class and Indian and oh Gods the backstory is upsetting, warning about that) lodging house keeper. Kind and compassionate and friendly (when he feels safe) and tall and devastatingly gorgeous. Literal and anxious and very neurodivergent generally and with a wonderful dry humour and not enough confidence. Attends poetry lectures at the working men's club, is beginning to learn Hindi, goes to a wonderful secret queer pub and has friends there and also to another rather lovely-sounding pub mostly frequented by Indian immigrants and other brown British people.

Rowley: gay, small, extremely short-sighted, thinks he's ordinary-looking, working-class, very PTSD-ridden (his childhood was appalling, again content warnings there), conflict-averse, extremely neat-fingered, animal-loving taxidermist (yes really) and abuse survivor. Solitary and polite and considerate and peaceful and warm-hearted and very intelligent. Also lacks confidence, though in different ways. One of the paying guests at the lodging house (with his shop being the neighbouring one). Big Dickens fan; quotes Mr Venus from Our Mutual Friend in dramatic moments.

They're both in their mid-30s, older than some of KJ Charles' heroes (who are usually in their early to late 20s) and I adore that.

And omg the love that forms between them is just... oh my heart. I relate to both pretty heavily in different ways (in particular Clem's sensory overwhelm and way of talking and difficulty with ordered tasks and objects is all just... oh my, I've rarely felt so represented in any fiction when it comes to the way my brain works) and I want to protect them both from all harm. They see each other as neither has ever been seen before. Also the sex scenes are gorgeous (containing *extremely* soft and to my mind very hot kink in some cases), and also skippable if that's not your cup of tea, though you do get some character development etc. through them.

I have loved all of KJ Charles' books that I've read so far but this is my favourite because Clem and Rowley are my favourites. And honestly they deserve a wealth of fanart and adoration. <3

Content warning for violence, murder, taxidermy, accounts of past child abuse and past school bullying, reference to past sexual violence, and representation of homophobia, ableism, classism, and racism (no racial slurs are used and it's kept low-key, but it's there). I note that KJ Charles has a list of content warnings on her website which is partly why I love her. So to say this is an outright recommendation would be overstating things, there is some hard stuff here. Also Charles is white and so am I, so though she seems to have done her research very thoroughly and to have taken very great and deeply sympathetic care over the portrayal of Clem, I can't guarantee I've not missed something flawed in the representation in terms of his being a MOC. But I think a lot of people on here would love this book and especially this relationship, and oh my do Clem and Rowley deserve a lot of love. :-)

(Also I know the person the book is dedicated to and she's awesome. :D )

[wasp-coffee]

TMI (2013) live rant (continued at 35:23)

This movie is Two Hours Long... TWO

I'm only a quarter in....

#notmyhodgestarkweather

Again, British

The "all the legends are true" line is jace's

Why... Is there a spoils room in the institute?

Considering they're... Y'know... Illegal? And have been for like at least a hundred and ten years

Izzy... My dear, why is your hair brown???? Brown????

Are their eyes even blue??? ARE THE DISTINCT FAMILY TRAITS FROM THE BOOKS NOT SACRED?

... Izzy's eyes are grey

History lessons with Hodge - i mean he is a tutor but this is just boring exposition

Boring valentine flashbacks

Oh so we do go to the silent city!

"some say its a spell" shut the fuck up Jace we know why hodge can't leave the fucking institute

Why is there a random silent brother walking through the gravestones??? Was he going on a morning stroll????

Speaking of said silent brother - where are the runes carved into his face???

Where's the statue of jonathan Shadowhunter? "Looking better in black than the widows of our enemies"?? Hm? EH JACE????

Roll credits

Why are the silent brothers seven feet tall? Do they have a basketball team or something?

Where's my G brother Enoch?

Calling bullshit that Joycelyns runes didn't fade until after Clary was old enough to remember

Isn't magnus supposed to be here?

WHAT?

Why is the silent brother's hood down what the fuck????

Again what the fuck is jace wearing - is that alecs hideous shirt from earlier??? WHERE IS THEIR TRAINING GEAR

Oh jaces jacket has a skirt cute

No way Jace would have got into magnus' that easily - this is also supposed to be an apartment

Love that Jace hasn't poured holy water into the demon bike yet so going to the Du Mort seems unlikely

Magnus sweetheart <3

Blue eye callout yay

Too much exposition though

This is a lot of information by dialogue... Im so bored and this is too dramatic

Oh love the church weapons raid very nice

That's a gun... Why the fuck would there be a gun in a nephilim armoury considering NONE OF THEM CAN USE THEM

Oh a "vampire gun" of course

Oh we are going to the du mort! Lovely

Without the help of raphael... Interesting

(52:30)

An hour in and I'm bored as fuck not much has happened

Oh nice! A witchlight!! So why is jace using a torch

Why is Simon strewn up like jesus? He's supposed to be a rat, no?

Oh yeah that would mean going back to magnus'

There is no tension here im bored and where is camille?

Ridiculous fight sequence...fine

Oh good jace does have some faded runes

I hate that the institute is a ghost town it's ridiculous

Alecs eyes... Not recognizably blue and the brown hair... Yeah no

Why is he speaking so softly? Alec (and izzy) were rude AF in the book (justifiably so, seeing clary as an outsider) they're tame in an annoying way here

There's no tension in this argument I don't believe this man is upset - he's bored, im bored

Why is Jace wearing white?

MOURING COLOURS

Omg this stupid bach conversation is so unnecessarily stupid

Where is training room and the armoury?

Natural portal? Fuck off. Not without a warlock or clave permission into Alicante

I'm not only bored, but upset considering they obviously wanted a sequel and by setting this up they shot themselves in the foot

okay im glad for the greenhouse I'll admit it

Where's the story about the falcon? The spaghetti

Oh there it is, good.

Greenhouse transformation moment that's kinda dumb. Aren't they supposed to be on the roof?

HUGGIN OR MUGGIN OMG HI

I don't care they're kissing you can't just put a pop ballad behind two bland people and expect me to care

There wasn't enough build up for me to care

Why is it raining??? Its a greenhouse, not a swimming pool!

Why would the sprinklers turn on at midnight?

Its nice to hear some of the lines from the book but i just... Don't believe JCB as Jace

Why is this simon confession here???? Here?

Oh good alec and izzy are in something resembling gear that's something

Haha love the shedding of a ridiculous amount of weapons trope - that got me ill admit

I can't remember why izzy and alec are here or what this magnetic dust is

Love that what he's playing clearly isn't what his hands are doing

Why is he playing???

Oh yeah the bach shit

(1:24:52)

I distinctly remember the whole point of Hodges betrayal is that its behind everyone's back

Why is valentine shirtless

WHAT IS THAT RAT TAIL PONYTAIL

Are those... Dreads?

Come ON

This whole Jonathan monologue is boring and stupid and i don't give a shit because we haven't spent enough time with Clary or Luke to sympathize - also seeing as it's spliced between the whole Jace/Valentine schtick

Considering that Jace, Clary, Joycelyn and Valentine share absolutely no features in common this is an absolute circus

Valentine looks like a rejected Captain Hook

This whole thing is supposed to be on an island, no?

Roosevelt Island!

Yeah, no, lets just stage it in the institute it'll be fine! (Sarcasm)

For all everyone was fawning over this movie for being "book accurate" im very disappointed

[ladyluscinia]

Pettiest, most unprovable thing that I still scoff and roll my eyes at like they just failed a freebie question on a test is when people headcanon Spanish Jackie doesn't like Izzy.

Izzy makes a quip about hating her bar yet Geraldo, a husband who doesn't seem to get out much and comes from a gang - not pirate - background knows him by sight. And is surprised he's been away so long. Jackie is about to add Stede's nose to the jar and a hesitant interjection that Izzy was in there looking for him stops it instantly.

"But wait," you ask, thinking that somehow I've not already thought of this, "Doesn't it make more sense that she stopped because of Blackbeard aka most intimidating guy around???"

You would think, maybe, except minutes later Geraldo is dispatched to lure Stede to the Spanish Navy to die. If she actually cared about Edward's opinion then nothing has changed. I guess the Geraldo trap is trying to be covert but it's not terribly effective? Edward literally follows them. She still very pointedly avoided interfering in Blackbeard's business and then turned around to immediately interfere. However. Something that could have changed the moment the door hit Stede on the way out is Jackie asking what exactly Izzy and Stede discussed... and realizing "Ohhhh wait Izzy wants this dude dead. We're cool. Kill him."

"Well maybe Jackie is just doing her own thing," you suggest. "Playing whatever side. Trying not to directly antagonize Blackbeard but she doesn't actually give a shit?"

Well that would be plausible, EXCEPT! Skip ahead! Izzy goes straight to Jackie after getting kicked off the boat. She's ordering him a drink and ready to hear his proposition immediately. They talk offscreen. They summon Badminton to her bar. So two things to point out here:

If Jackie was taking a "play nice with Blackbeard in public" stance then what the hell is she doing this for? I maintain the plan was under the table and had minimal risk from the British, but I think there was fairly high risk of Edward finding out. She doesn't get much out of this besides Stede dead, and while she bears a grudge idk if it was a "kill Blackbeard's new boyfriend and hope he doesn't get pissed about it" grudge. But if Izzy being all upset about this is a genuine point in the plan's favor on its own...?

Izzy spends his whole goddamn visit bemoaning his relationship woes. And Jackie sits there and listens! Do we think she can't shut Izzy up? Or make a quip about it to poke fun at Izzy? Nah, Jackie is fulfilling the sacred and time-honored role of bestie who listens to everything Stede has done and solemnly declares "That bitch" even when Izzy is being objectively way too dramatic about this. She also probably advocates for dumping Edward.

I lied. 3 things. Jackie invites Badminton and his navy guys to her bar. She doesn't like them, she's probably only doing this because she gets to hold something over them... again, this is so much just for Stede since she has the least investment in his death. But if Izzy needs her to do him a solid and she actually likes him enough to care? Makes sense.

Izzy obviously gets Jackie in the divorce and she's the one supplying both a steady stream of breakup booze and alternating grounded and truly unhinged advice. She's the shoulder of solidarity. The Evelyn to his Mary. I will be taking zero notes on this because I'm right 😌

[yarpharp]

I had this insanely long conversation with a dear friend about how the Batfamily would probably be the most bizarre collection of accents ever. This was the verdict:

Bruce is a Gothamite, but he was raised/primarily around Alfred, with his classic British accent. He'd sound out a lot of his vowels with a bit of a Jersey drawl, but he'd annunciate with the kind of precision you expect from an Englishman. He also probably calls the bathroom the Loo in private and a few other little slang terms. BUT oh, it gets even more confusing as he gets older, because he spent a good chunk of his formative years after basically quitting college being trained by the League... Where the dialect is somewhere between archaic forms of Arabic and some Mandarin (because Ra's is old as dirt and obviously refused to adapt his language habits)? The comics were never very clear, but Arabic was a generally agreed thing. So ultimately? Bruce has this generally soft Gothamite accent with careful English annunciation but some words end up lilting because of League influences. The paparazzi claim it's his "international accent" from traveling all over so much, but in reality? He's Batman. He got that accent from being around Alfred and Ra's when he was young.

Yet then this leaves us to analyze others! I mean, what would Jason's actual accent be? He's a Crime Alley kid at the core, so an insanely aggressive Jersey accent. But then he died and came back, and who raised/trained him in his formative years? Oh yeah, ALSO THE LEAGUE. So now you got this pissed off anti-hero with a voice modulator with an accent that drags at vowels but lilts at random. None of the other criminal kingpins in Crime Alley can pin down if he's actually a local or some upstart from out of town trying to assimilate to the local vernacular.

Dick Grayson is the one with the most Frankenstein accent. Why? He grew up in the Circus, and when his Romani parent was not around to babysit him, it was a diverse mix of individuals with all sorts of accents and verbal ticks. Some lilting, some drawl, a bit of everything. Sometimes he just pronounces one word in a very specific way and it baffles Bruce and Alfred. What's worse? He's just one of those people who picks up accents from friends and family, so he ends up coming home one day after hanging out with Superman pronouncing shit like a Kansas hick out of the blue. Bruce is beside himself.

Duke and Tim are immune. Tim sounds like a Gotham rich kid with good pronunciation but a few nasal vowels and Duke just has a mid-level Jersey accent that any average Gotham kid would have.

Stephanie is the wild card. She's got the Gothamite accent but she's ADHD beyond words. And if you have ADHD, you might understand the feel when you subconsciously start picking up accents for certain words and phrases. As a result, Stephanie will randomly tone-shift into an accent she picked up from a Batfam member. Or her favorite barista at Starbucks. Or Harley Quinn's dramatic Jersey accent that outstrips Jason's.

Cass is stuck in accent/pronunciation hell. She's trying to learn to verbally speak English but everyone around her pronounces shit differently. ASL is great, it's neutral language everyone in the family knows, but when she finally speaks it's a mess of accents that reminds everyone in the family that WOW WE ARE A LANGUAGE SALAD.

Damian just sounds like a rich Arab kid. Perfect English clearly trained into him via a UK-born tutor but plenty of the lilt. He gets subconscious about it privately and tries to lose the accent for the sake of "blending in" to Gotham but he's surrounded by family with non-standard Gotham accents.

And finally: Alfred. He has his British accent but he's surrounded by people who have hybrid accents. When he is extremely upset, he loses a lot of his British posh and sounds a lot like Jason. He blames Jason for cursing wildly and repeatedly in his kitchen over the years for causing this.

[hisui-dreamer]

YESS THEY ALL SPOIL HER AND TEASE HER LIKE A BUNCH OF OLD BROTHERS LIKE FR I WOULD WATCH A SHOW WITH JUST PLATONIC FAMILY INTERACTIONS ABOUT THEIR DAILY LIFE😭

i really liked his route!! very dramatic, but as expected from the drama author haha. that moment when he realised comte bought MC a dress once and immediately wanted to one-up him was so cute🥺💕

also also arthur had that really great line that authors are supposed to make people happy🥺💕 i felt that so hard particularly cuz irl conan doyle hated sherlock holmes and killed him off to stop writing but bc the fans were really upset he actually started writing again man even in stillsword shakespeare's route my mind is on the OTHER British author

but yeah, it was really sweet! i really loved how MC fell for shakespeare after seeing his aspirations and kindness, and chose to believe him even when he tried pushing her away haha, just the trust she had in him🥹

i just finished shakespeare's route and started charles', but i love love love how the mansion just always becomes family with MC. like, even mozart was smiling and being sweet despite not being in love??? found family troupe hits so hard in this game😭💕

OMG im watching a stream one of my moots made playing through his route SO I KNOW WHAT YOURE TALKING ABOUT AND. IT WAS SO SWEET. I LOVE HOW KIND THEY ALL ARE TO MC :((( ITS ADORABLE AAAAA!!!!!!

what!! did you think about shakespeares route??? :o

[docholligay]

Eight Days of Content 2021 Nominations!

Hello my little chickadee-dee-dees! I know it seems early, but Hanukkah is at the end of November this year, so we have to get on it ASAP! 

This is your chance to nominate the things you’d like to see for Eight Days of Content! These will be voted on later, with a chance for a drawing for some of the nominations!

For each category, you may nominate up to three things! But remember, you're playing against yourself here. When you nominate, please nominate with the full name of the thing. If there is more than one thing (Like if you just say "Precure") and I can't figure out what you mean easily, it goes into the bin.

For Misc, if you are nominating something like a book or webcomic, and don't say (webcomic) or something after, it's knocked out. I'm not going to chase this stuff. For Misc stuff that's a cooking stream, or booze stream or whatever, you can just tell me what you're thinking and I'll come up with a clever name for it.

Remember, to get into the Shamash Day drawing, I'm picking my favorite answers from every bonus question! Lots of chances to enter!

THE CATEGORIES ARE:

The Children’s Corner: THIS IS THE SPACE WHERE CHILDREN’S SHOWS CAN BE NOMINATED THIS IS THE ONLY PLACE A SHOW THAT IS INTENDED FOR CHILDREN CAN BE NOMINATED. THIS IS THE PLACE WE WILL DO A SHOW THAT IS INTENDED FOR CHILDREN.

Holligay Hates: You know it, You love it, I hate everything. This is where we specifically nominate a show for me to brutalize. I reserve the right to remove any show I don’t want to brutalize for one reason or another, but the only thing I’ve ever had to remove was  people started gettin weird about it, not because my feefees got hurt, I love stupid shit. (also I lied you can also nominate a children’s show for this)

Writing Day: Exactly what it sounds like! We’ll nominate topics/styles etc. For example: Prompt day, noted English major Holligay, Holligay loves food, etc.

Television Show: Just what’s on the tin, as Jetty would say. Nominate a television show for me to do!

Other: This is where all the weird shit goes! Me doing a cooking stream, dramatic readings, inane video rants about Eurovision, webcomic (I have no idea how one would liveblog a webcomic), like the one time I read that old British cookbook and laugh-cried the whole way through it, basically, whatever your imagination can hold, nominate it! I can always say no and it’s so unlikely as to be impossible that you’ll upset me just by nominating. Even if you nominate like, “unearth your dead grandfather and read his bones for filth” I’d be like, “Yeah Dallas would be into that”

If you want to discuss what you’ve nominated, get advice, or just chat about what a bitch I am, the Discord is Here! 

THhis is open until 11:59 pm on Halloween! 

Any other questions, let me know! 

THE NOMINATION FORM IS HERE

[unmaskedagain]

Remember You Young

I answered this ask because I thought it was adorable. I loved the show they wanted me to do, and I want to see who could guess it before it became obvious. Its a one-shot . 

She was being followed. At first it had been daunting when she realized it, and Marinette had done everything she could to shake them off her trail. Then she realized she was being stalked by kids. Literally kids. None older than ten or eleven at best.

           They had been terrible at hiding, rarely ever whispered, argued constantly, had the most outrageous costumes but somehow managed to keep up with Marinette’s every move... most of the time. They ran around with toy guns and pretend walky talkies.

           It either said the best thing about the kids’ skills, or the worst thing about Marinette’s.

           There was a husky boy who ran around in a blue shirt and goggles. He never took off the old pilot’s hat he wore. He was also… always eating cheese. Or candy. He liked puns that caused his friends to groan constantly.

           There was an Asian little girl who wore an adorable green sweater that was too big for her and the arms of the sweater went well past her hands. She was girly and seemed to be the sweetest of the bunch. Honestly, she was the happiest girl Marinette had ever seen in her entire life. The only time the kid had gotten upset was when she had cried when couldn’t find the stuffed animal she wanted in any of the stores. Marinette had been heartbroken for her. The bluenette didn’t know what a “Rainbow Monkey” was or why it had to be French but she was going to get it for the girl if it was the last thing she did it.

           A bald British boy seemed to be the leader as everyone took direction from him. Marinette had never seen his eyes due to the black glasses he wore. The kid seemed to believe himself to be some sort of superspy. He had a fierce take-charge attitude and barked orders like a pro and preferred to a treehouse their hung out at as headquarters. He didn’t smile often.

           A pretty black girl seemed to be the one with the most sense of the much, and the most style. She wore her hair in a long braid, a blue shirt-dress and an old red cap. The girl had a natural charisma and coolness to her that made Marinette feel awkward in comparison. She seemed to second-in-command .

           The smallest of the bunch was a blond boy with an unfortunate bowl cut and a bright orange hoody. He was loud, brash, and was the “tough guy” of the bunch. He picked a fight with nearly everyone. A fierce little guy that called Marinette a “Ruddy Teenager.”

           However all the kids seemed to dislike adults and teens to some degree. They cast suspicious glances at everyone thirteen and older no matter how nice they were. None of them ever called each other by their names, always opting to follow the rules of whatever game they were playing and called each other by numbers. And always mispronounced the word: number.

           Numbuh 1. Numbuh 2. Numbuh 3. Numbuh 4. Numbuh 5. Marinette hadn’t gotten close enough to figure out who was who but she did suspect the numbers were ranking order or anything. They were probably just random.

           After over two weeks of being stalked, Marinette still hadn’t been able to figure out what they wanted from her. Only that they didn’t know she was Ladybug. It was frustrating.

           She finally got answers one day while walking home from school when she got attacked by an evil cat lady who weaponized her pets, a deranged dentist who put braces on everyone, and a man dressed like toilet. They attempted to kidnap Marinette and raise all out heck on everyone around them. They weren’t Akumas. They were just crazy people.

           The kids fought them back. They saved the day. They saved Marinette. The villains ran with their tails between their legs.

           …Suddenly everything the kids had been doing didn’t seem like a game anymore.

           …Then the kids kidnapped Marinette. The kids jumped her, hogtied her, gagged her, and carried her back to their tree house… which Marinette now realized was way more advanced than any tree house should be. EVER.

           As soon as they got to there, and Marinette was uncharitably tossed on to the couch, the kids panicked.

“We shouldn’tve done this!” Goggles boy chimed. “We weren’t supposed to make contact. Moonbase will decommission us for sure.”

“And let the adults have her, Numbah 2,” The bald boy said. “I think not! We can never let the adults win. Its against everything the Kids Next Door stand for.”

The black girl nodded, “Numbah One’s right, we can’t let Father have what’s in her brain,” She said. “It could destroy the KND!”

“But that’s not possible, Numbah five, we all know that!” The girl in green said. “She got decommissioned. Her brain got all wishy-washy. Right, Numbah Four?”

           The blond boy huffed, “Yeah! Numbah Three’s got a point. And what’s so important about some ruddy teenager anyway? Tell you what! We should drop her artic ocean and never look back.”

           Numbah five groaned, “Are you stupid, boy? They sent Numbuh 274, I mean Chad, after her. And CREE! They wouldn’t have done that if she wasn’t important. The supreme leader wouldn’tve sent us to stop them from getting her! Ya moron.”

           Marinette frowned at that. Chad, the handsome foreign exchange student that came to Marinette’s class a few weeks ago. All the girls in school thought he was so dreamy. Even Marinette, even though she had been perplexed at the sad, almost wistful looks he would shoot her when he thought he wasn’t looking. And at the stories he told about his childhood, and woud look at Marinette like he was waiting for her to jump in and finish them. Almost like he knew her. Or expected her to suddenly remember him.

           The same with Cree, a foreign exchange student in a grade above Marinette’s, but to a lesser extent than Chad. The older girl liked to make sly remarks about what being a teen meant where she came from. She cracked what seemed to be inside jokes at Marinette and looked crestfallen when it was clear the bluenette didn’t understand what she meant. Then Cree would grumble about stupid kids ruining everything.

“But WHHHHYYY?” Numbah Four whined. “We got sent a like bajillion miles away to         a city where they force kids to eat bugs and smelly cheese all to protect a teenager. A TEENAGER! And they don’t even tell us why.”

           Numbah Two frowned, “It is kind of strange. I mean we hate teenagers! They’re the worse. Why save this one?” He looked at Marinette like she was specimen in a jar.

“Because team,” Numbah One announced loudly, pausing for, what Marinette knew was, dramatic effect.  “She is Numbah Seventy-Two.”

           Gasps rang through the room. The kids reared back as if struck. Their eyes went wide and they started at Marinette in awe.

“…Or at least she used to be,” Numbah One added.

“Woah,” Numbah Four said, looking at Marinette with newfound respect.

           Numbah Two sqeauled, “This is the best day ever. You have to sign my Yipper card.” He told Marinette. “It’s an ultra-rare collectable. Only three still exists. The rest were destroyed.”

“But, but, but how?” Numbah Five asked, removing her hat. “All records of Numbah Seventy-Two was struck from the history of the KND. Only the supreme leader and her team ever knew what happened to her.”

“They pinky-swore not to tell anyone what happened!” Numbah Three added. “No one would ever break a pinky promise.”

“That’s true,” Numbah five nodded. “No kid ever would. Expecially not her team. She saved us. She saved the KND. She saved the world and made it better for kids everywhere.”

           Numbah One nodded. “Exactly. No kid would ever break the solemn oath. But do you remember just who was one her team?”

           Looks of realization appeared on the kids’ faces, and then anger.

“Numbah Two Hundred and Seventy-Four,” Numbah Five said bitterly. “He was Number Seventy-Two’s second in command for years. And He betrayed her. Why am I not surprised?”

“But why?” Numbah Two asked. “I mean if she was still Numbah Seventy-Two I’d understand. She stopped Principle Boutface from ending summer vacation forever. She stopped Father from making Halloween adults only forever and ever. Name a bad guy, and I can guarantee she kicked their butts! And most importantly she even beat…” Numbah Two paused, clearly afraid. “well you know. She’s done loads of cool things. But She can’t remember anything. So why? Why come get her now?”

“She beat who?” Numbah Four asked. “I don’t know. Who’d she else did she beat? Why were they so important?”

           Numbah One and Five looked away. Both remembered but neither wanted to say anything.

“We were still just little babies when it happened,” Numbah Three answered seriously. “Still finishing training. We never really knew what was going on. Too little for anyone to tell us. We just knew it was bad. Kids were always scared, always hurting…”

“It was a dark time,” Numbah One agreed. “Before Father took over, there was another in charge of the evil adults in the world. But he worse than Father could’ve ever dreamed of being. Kids were scared to go to sleep. They were afraid of their closets and what was under their beds. OF every shadow. No kid would be caught out after dark. They were too scared. Nowhere was safe. No one was safe. Not from him. Not from…”

“The Boogieguy,” Numbah Five finished. “The most powerful leader the adults ever had. The strongest, most evil villain you can imagine. But Numbah Seventy-Two refused to back down. She was the only who could stand up to him. The only one to ever beat him.”

           Numbah Two nodded, “Legend says the Boogieguy had a nasty plan to open a portal to unleash meanest, nastiest monsters another world to get kids to behave better. But Numbah Seventy-Two heard and went to beat him once and for all. And she did too. She trapped him in his own trap. He’s been there ever since!”

Numbah Three added, “Numbah Seventy-Two finally defeated the Boogieguy, she locked him away in a place so scary, so terrifying not even the adults would be willing to go near it. Which it means it has to be really, really, REALLY, scary. Only she knew how to get him out. She used a super-secret password that only she knew. And then, and then she, she!” Numbah Three burst into tears.

Numbah One placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her down, “To stop the Boogieguy for good, and to make sure no kid ever had to suffer his wrath again, she decommissioned herself. She was only eleven.”

“It was a hard sacrifice, but one kids everywhere will never forget,” Numbah One vowed. “And the Global KND didn’t let it be in vain. We fought back harder than ever before. Her team-”

“But, but,” Numbah Four look around, “She wasn’t even a teenager, why’d she go and do a stupid thing like that for?”

“To save us,” Numbah Five answered, and put her hat back on. She looked at Marinette with hard eyes. “To save the KND, and protect kids everywhere. Because of her, the KND finally turned the tables on adults. We weren’t scared of the dark anymore.”

“Was never the same!” Numbah Five snapped at him. “None of them were ever the same after fighting Boogieguy, after what happened to Numbah Seventy-Two. They couldn’t handle being around each other anymore. They are transferred to different teams. Their entire sector was retired. Number Three Hundred and Sixty-Two. Numbuh Sixty. My sister- Cree! Numbah Two Hundred and Seventy-Four, UGH! Look what they became. Ya don’t need to be decommissioned to not recognize them anymore.”

           It went quiet. The kids not knowing what to say. Marinette had never been so confused in her life. Had she been some sort of Spy kid? Had her memories been erased? What was going on?

           And if everything, the kids were saying was real, and Marinette decided that it was, then she was a little peeved at Chad and Cree, her old teammates apparently, for going against everything this KND had accomplished… That Marinette had apparently sacrificed herself for. And what for? To side with some evil adults?

“…The KND have figured out a way to destroy Boogieguy forever,” Numbah one said. “Unfortunately the adults have also become aware of the Boogieguy’s location and want release him. In order for either side to succeed in their mission, we need Numbah Seventy-Two.”

           All eyes turned back to Marinette.

Numbah Five cast a sad look at Numbah Seventy-Two, Marinette, “Chad and Cree will come for her.” Of that Numbah five was certain. The lone picture of ABC that sat next to Cree’s bedside nightstand was proof enough of that. It was the only thing her big sister ever kept of her KND days, apart from her memories. The only “little kid” thing she didn’t scorn. “They won’t stop until they get her. I don’t think Cree or Chad ever forgave the KND agreeing that Numbah Seventy-Two should erase her memories.”

           They never forgave themselves for letting her, Abby didn’t add.

“She was decommissioned, hello!” Numbah Two reminded them. “She can’t remember anything.”

           Number One took off his glasses and looked at the teenager who, in another life, had been everything he ever dreamed of being in the KND. She was a legend. A hero. She had, once, been the best of them all. “She will.”

[amuhseen2003]

SANDERS SIDES KARAOKE: GOTHIC LITERATURE MUSICALS EDITION

Okay, so after four years of being in the Sanders Sides fandom, I’m going to attempt to write some headcanons. Here we go.

Since it’s well-known in fanon that the sides do have karaoke sessions, imagine what would happen if they sang musicals based on gothic literature.

Roman’s happy because broadway, duh, Logan is happy because it’s canon that he enjoys gothic literature since he dressed up as Frankenstein’s monster for Halloween, same reason for Virgil and Patton’s happy that his family is bonding. He made extra cookies for the occasion. He’s dangerous like that. 

(I headcanon that when Thomas had to write analyses of gothic literature novels for school, Virgil, Roman and Logan would work together to come up with stuff and write the best essays in class and Patton would be so proud of them)

I’m not going to count Les Mis because I’m not too sure if that counts as gothic literature and whilst the Hunchback of Notre Dame is indeed gothic (trust me I read that in a plane once. An entire, like, ten pages is dedicated to describing the scenery) I don’t think it became a broadway show.

Now this isn’t like their usual karaoke nights, no sir. Just idly remaining in the living room won’t do. Where is the gusto? The pizazz? The accolade winning extravaganza? The-

“We get it Princey, can you just get on with it?” - Virgil

No, this type of singing can only be accompanied with an atmosphere that will do it justice. To the imagination they go and with Logan’s (who has practically memorised every single one of these books and is not geeking out at all) input on how the novels describe each setting, Roman creates very intricate landscapes for each song.

When they sing ‘Alive’ from ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ Roman thought that it would be really cool for Patton to play Mr Edward Hyde since Hyde is literally the human id and Patton, being the embodiment of morality, is literally the superego (although to be fair, Patton is also shown to be quite childish and impulsive since he’s also the base of Thomas’ emotions and Hyde is impulsive because he’s a way for Jekyll to act on his own emotions - especially since the only crime that Hyde does in the book are him over-reacting with his anger by beating a man to death. And in the novella, Jekyll writes that he and Hyde are like father and son and that Hyde is actually younger than Jekyll is, he does have that sense of childishness that Patton has only instead of that childishness being good and helpful, it’s bad and hurtful. Plus in the soundtrack of Alive, whilst Anthony Warlow does sing about how good being evil feels like, he also sounds like he is crying tears of joy of being able to be himself, the first words post-transformation being freedom and anyways these are supposed to be fun headcanons not analytical headcanons so I digress…)

Anyways Patton is happy to play the villain because “look kiddos, Roman conjured up this really swell cape” “the correct term is cloak” “and check out this top hat and cane!” and he’s just belting out the words and froliking around Victorian London without a care in the world, making his cape swoosh in the wind.

“Patton I would advise you not to take your shoes off. This is nineteenth-century London with people dying of cholera by the dozens, your feet could catch a myriad of infections.”

“Worry not, specs, the scenery is merely an illusion. I would never allow for our dear padre to succumb to the villain of illness”

“Aww, thanks kiddo (cue Patton’s sunshine smile) now where was I? IT’S THE FEELING OF BEING ALIVE! FILLED WITH EVIL AND TRULY ALIVE!”

They have Logan sing ‘I Need To Know’ because a doctor of science singing about wanting to expand his knowledge and having that thirst to do whatever it takes to get said knowledge. That is a Logan Sanders song right there. At first he’s like “why do I have to sing. I was happy enough giving directions and helping you with the scenery” but Roman creates this big scientific library that could rival the one from Beauty and the Beast/ laboratory from that’s practically the identical to Jekyll’s lab in the book and he’s like “Fine” like he isn’t enjoying himself. He is. They all know it. He’s not fooling anyone

Patton and Roman sing ‘Bring on the men’ together (yes, whilst wearing dresses) whilst Virgil and Logan drink apple juice from those big british beer glasses in the mind-scape created Red Rat (which Logan is quick to point out doesn’t exist and is vocally upset at how the musical adaptation added unnecessary romantic subplots with Lisa and Lucy when the book itself only had three background female characters who were only there for like one paragraph. He’s even more upset at the other inaccuracies with the book like how in the play Jekyll creates his formula as a cure for mental illness and Hyde was accidental whilst in the book he did it because he wanted to indulge in sin without fearing the consequences and Hyde, whilst not being exactly what he wanted, was actually created on purpose or how in the book Hyde only kills one man and in the musical he kills practically everyone except for the one person he did kill. Virgil pats him on the back with sympathy). Roman and Virgil are sniggering at the sexual euphemisms at the end of the song whilst Patton’s confused. She just seems really enthusiastic about food.

Roman sings both parts of ‘Confrontation’ by himself. He gets a standing ovation.

He also does ‘Transformation’. The problem is that he was so good at sounding like he was in complete agony and near death that they had to stop the song prematurely because Patton was getting upset. Don’t worry, Pat gets lots of cuddles by Roman afterwords.

(You know what I might do some sides reacting to The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde later because 1. It’s my favourite book and 2. All four of them would have very interesting takes on it)

From the Frankenstein musical Virgil plays the criminal from ‘Say Amen’ because he wants to (seriously, the guy’s first words in the song are ‘I curse the day that I was born into a world so black with hate’) and Logan plays Victor Frankenstein but Patton refuses for his son to even pretend to be executed by the noose so they have Roman play a man wearing a british executioner outfit with a foam sword and the creative side just bonks the anxious side on the neck with it. Logan despairs about the historical inaccuracy from his place in the stands whilst Patton is cheering next to him. Patton also hands him an extra jumper to keep him warm in the Switzerland cold. 

“Patton, I am grateful that you are thinking of my health but no one in eighteenth century Switzerland wore bright blue jumpers with cartoon kittens on them”

“Really, Logan, are you paw-sitive?”

“I would like to change places with Virgil. Immediately” 

Roman and Logan turn ‘Birth to my creation’ into a duet because Logan enjoys the scientific aspect of it and Roman can’t resist the drama (of course). He goes all out. He makes Victor’s lab perfect to the smallest detail (and cheers when Logan’s eyes start lighting up and he does that cute clappy thing when he’s excited), he conjures a storm and makes lightning strike at the best moments of the song. He even creates a ‘wretch’ (what Victor calls the monster in the book. I’ve heard that it’s name is Adam but all I remember from the novel is Victor calling himself god and the creature his Adam) to lie on the table. 

“And we didn’t even have to go grave-robbing for it. Or drop out of University.” - Roman

“No matter how many times I wanted to.” - Virgil

Roman and Virgil do most of the songs from Dracula. The creative side creates this huge, expensive-looking window-balcony thing with glass double doors and billowing silk curtains so that he could dramatically sing ‘the longer I live’ whilst the wind blows through his hair and he dramatically drapes himself on the balustrade so that the light from the full moon hits his figure just right. Patton’s close to crying.

Logan is very eager to give as many facts as he can about nineteenth-century mental institutions for ‘The Master’s Song’. He gets really into the history behind certain treatments and different cases. Roman plays Renfield and the others play doctors. 

Virgil is super into Dracula’s castle during ‘Life after life’. He and Roman duet that song wearing all-black. Logan tries to help Patton’s slight fear by telling him the history behind different pieces of architecture.

Patton plays Christine during Phantom of the Opera

Roman, Virgil and Logan sing ‘A story told’ from The Count of Monte Cristo around a circular table in a dimly lit tavern. Patton takes pictures and drinks hot chocolate in the sidelines.

[inawickedlittletown]

People are actually blaming Oliver saying that he’s a pussy for being upset over some dumb 18 year old brat and what she “jokingly” said. But people need to realize that if he weren’t Oliver Stark, actor on Fox’s 911, and he were just Oliver Jones, random British dude who’s hot, somebody calling for him to be “destroyed” would be read as a death threat by authorities. Yes it’s funny to be over dramatic on Twitter/tumblr. “I’m dying” “I cannot” “LITERALLY” slowly turns into “I’m gonna burn someone’s house down” “he better watch his back” “let’s all just utterly destroy him” and those idioms are NOT THE SAME!!! Playful jokes about your ability to exist because of a made up universe that you can’t separate from reality versus calling for the destruction of an actual human because you’re mad about their ACTING JOB is not the same. And yeah she’s some stupid kid saying something stupid. But eventually every stupid kid needs to turn into an educated adult and Oliver was doing that by calling her out and any other fan that is taking this TELEVISION SHOW too seriously. I also left the buddie fandom not too long ago because these girls (and some guys) are literally mentally ill. I feel bad for him. He tried to give them what they claim they wanted but the moment he opened the door they ripped him to shreds and he’s being called too sensitive. He has 450k Instagram followers- I don’t know how many he had on Twitter but if it was anywhere close to that, imagine even HALF (225k) coming at you with “jokes” that call for your demise from so called “number one fans”... I can’t even imagine how he feels right now.

I got caught up on everything yesterday and still reading everything you wrote up there just makes me so angry.

It's insane. Twitter is just a cesspool of people that think anything they say on the bird app is perfectly okay. They don't realize that there is someone on the other end reading everything and seeing everything. There's this lack of humanization for celebrities especially and it's just such a shame because it ruins something good for everyone, but it also straight up hurts people.

And the thing is Oliver has always been active within the fandom. More so than many other actors from other shows and from the 9-1-1 cast. And it was always nice to see how excited he's been about the show and about Buck and even about Buddie, but enough is enough. He used to be a lot more active and cut back for a reason and then every single time he's attempted to interact with fans he just gets attacked.

He needs that break from the vitriol thrown at him for saying anything at all. And anyone that is upset at him for deactivating needs to remember that he is a person with feelings and who has been pretty open about having anxiety and who cares so much about his work and the fans and shouldn't have to then deal with people coming at him over a ship that whether it happens or not is not up to him.

The buddie fandom was not this when I first started being active in it. The lack of respect that is shown to the writers/creators/actors has been insane as well as the way that some fans have been with each other. The thing with Ryan last year and just the way that a lot of these fans are not watching the show for the show but for the ship alone has made it an environment that is frustrating to be around.

But things are toxic and some fans are toxic and this talk about queerbaiting (which this show is not doing...people need to look up their definitions) and obsession over buddie needing to become canon is unhealthy. It is also unfair to the rest of the show and to the actors. It's made me step back quite a bit. There's meta I wanted to write that I just don't even feel inspired to touch. I rather just enjoy the show and keep to my blog and do liveblogs when I watch new episodes because anything else is just tiring.

And I'm so glad that Oliver is taking care of himself and leaving Twitter (for as long as he needs to) because the treatment he's faced is just horrible and not something he needs to see or be around. He's an actor, but a person first and foremost.