#because that's true. also he kind of is in love with her theyre just not fucking about it because i get bored.

[stellar-jay]

i think the real victim of the ending of fool's fate is molly, who is inevitably going to have her husband of however many years, stepfather to her 8 children, break it to her that he needs to leave for an indeterminate amount of time to go save the world with his best friend that she has never met and doesnt know that much about who it turns out is his literal soulmate

[crimeronan]

very pleased that i haven't gotten any comment pushback on ao3 about AU camila referring to hunter as being in love with luz / being her wolfmate. i know it's because 99% of the readership follows me here and has seen me talk about their dynamic ten thousand times already but. i also like the idea of the average reader being like "honestly..... it would be weird if camila DIDN'T think he's in love with her."

[malwaredykes]

well. here she is. miss Leigh Stasik.

trans woman. stubborn, incorrigible, eccentric. communist; she has leftist in-fighting with herself on the regular. a cannibal; she has no moral qualms about this, and its both a bit of a spiritual thing and a bit of a pragmatic thing. medic (not a doctor. no medical license). she knows for sure she had some kind of significant personality change from being shot in the head, but she doesn't remember what she was like exactly before it happened, it all became this kind of distant memory soup. shes originally from west new cali, but she grew very attached to the mojave. and has a lot of contempt for the ncr. She Will Serve Crack Before She Serves This Country. thank god the army discriminates against transsexuals etc. zero tolerance for the legion, obviously.

she firmly believes she is not nice, or kind, or compassionate, but instead her actions and her general sense of justice stem from her simply doing whats the most logical and objectively beneficial. it may be true to some extent, but she might also have a wee bit of ocd of the "i am a horrible person whos at all times like 2 seconds away from committing atrocities" variety.

shes a SCIENTIST. unofficially. she doesnt have a degree nor a chosen field of study. she makes her own hrt and other mysterious concoctions, including designer chems. which she claims she ingests injects etc not for recreational purposes, but to Enhance Her Powers And Possibilities. she reads old world books about psychology so she can manipulate people better. and makes weird contraptions and doohickeys while high. shes a HACKER of course and hacks terminals and systems for fun and just to see if she can.

her stats are out there due to implants and intense training, originally they were rather average. in-game she wears combat armor mk 2, but i see her having spruced it up like this. her main weapon is the ycs/186, the unique gauss rifle, but before that she used a modded plasma pistol. which she very much enjoyed the silly appearance of. because it was so small and with so much shit tacked on and she could just hold it in one hand like a mutated revolver like Hands up motherfucker bang bang bang lol. her melee weapon of choice is the machete gladius, but she's been training to be able to wield a thermic lance.

in my head the trajectory of her actions and the fate of the mojave that follows is different from what you can do with the game, because leigh could only go for The Secret Leftist Route Which Was Supposed To Be In The Game But We Were Robbed Of It.

boone was the first friend she made after leaving goodsprings and their relationship is particularly notable. they are Comrades, Siblings-In-Arms, Worsties (like besties but fucked up). theyve seen each other at their worst. they annoy each other on purpose. theyve had serious ideological clashes with each other and some ways in which boone perceives the world drive leigh absolutely nuts. they're ride or die for each other. theyre the kind of comfortable around each other where she'll be on the toilet and smoking a cig with the door open and talking to him, while he's naked sitting on the floor removing stitches from his leg. she's done surgery without anesthesia on him. he's projectile vomited blood on her from being poisoned by cazadores. she strongly encourages him to become a traitor to the ncr and to take part in the revolution and the formation of the new independent mojave alliance. somehow, it works on him in the end. shamefully they kinda like snuggling... boone bro come to bed man its nighty night man its beddy bye time.

shes in love with lily bowen. i havent decided yet whether she actually makes a move. but she thinks lily is sooooo dreamy. and shes right. if you dont think the enormous 203 year old blue mutant woman is dreamy thats your problem. outta her way

[smoshyourheadin]

Sunshine and Soda Cans

Part 1 - Fizzes

you’d joined smosh in summer last year, just after anthony’s return. you’d watched smosh with your brother as a kid, so getting this editing job was a dream come true. although you hadn't watched their stuff in years, you quickly adapted to the quick thinking environment.

you got the job from your roommate angela, who was a cast member. you guys are super close, so when she mentioned that they had an editing vacancy, you jumped at the opportunity to leave your job at a marketing company to go work woth her. living with angela proved useful, because after your first day, you asked her about spencer, and oh did she have stuff to tell you.

“hey hey, whats the deal with the uh, spencer guy at work?” you said to her at dinner.

“(Y/N) ITS THE FIRST DAY AND YOU ALREADY HAVE THE HOTS FOR SPENCER?? I MEAN I’D UNDERSTAND IF IT WAS SOMEONE LIKE-” she began shouting, laughing at your face as you blushed

“jelly i- please, just- okay yeah, he’s cute but i don't want to make a move, he’s basically my boss!”

“this is also true. okay so…” she begins to ramble to this spencer guy you, as you eat your spaghetti. he’s so totally your type, but would you make a move? you can't decide.

the days passed, and soon enough you’d been at smosh for a month now. angela, being angela, had one day let slip to amanda of your small crush on spencer

“(y/n)!! get your butt over here!” she beamed at you, so you obliged, because who wouldn't listen to amanda? she's 6 feet of pure love, you listen to everything she says

“a little birdie, who cant keep her mouth shut after two glasses of wine, told me that you like spencer?” she looks at you, a certain glint in her eye

“okay, maybe, JUST maybe, i have a teeny, tiny crush on him. BUT i don't think im going to make a move.” you looked into her eyes, feeling dejected, because you felt he would never like you back.

the events that ensued, you couldn't even keep up with. every day on set, amanda would rake you into a conversation she was having with spencer, or angela would ask you to go to his desk give him something off her. you weren't nescaserily complaining, but it was less than ideal, because you became a stuttering mess around him.

“hey spence, um- angela wanted me to give you this, i mean i dont know why she didnt bring it herself, its kind of lazy, she is, i mean- she isnt but she has me running around for her, but thats friendship right? i mean i’d make her do that, but not if-”

he gazes up into your eyes and gently places a hand on your arm, sending small jolts through your body.

“dude, it’s just me, relax!” he smiles at you, as you give him the mt dew kickstart angela sent you over to give him.

“tell angela thanks by the way!” he said, as you walked over to angela, who was trying not to break out into a big smirk

“oh spencer! angela is making me do things for her! oh woe is me! hold me incase i fall!” she placed the back of her palm to her forehead, dramatically falling into amanda’s arms

“hey! thats not what i sounded like! right? i didn't. right.” you said, becoming increasingly concerned if it was that obvious. courtney, erin d, and arasha walked over to you guys

“hey dudes,” courtney began “whats up with you guys?”

“oh, i bet theyre taking about how (y/n) is totally into spencer” arasha said, stifling a giggle.

you stood with your mouth slightly agape, gawking at her remark.

“is it really that obvious!?” you whined, slumping into a chair.

“i mean,” erin looked at you, as you tried folding into the air to disappear, “we’re the only ones who’ve noticed so far, but i don't think the boys have caught on! i think you're good”

“maybe minus josh,” courtney added, “i was sat with him and he asked me about why (y/n) was ‘oogling at spencer’ on that board af video. but he wont tell, he’s too nice”

a few days pass, and your crush on spencer had become slightly bigger. taking advantage of this, courtney decided to make you, angela, and spencer (the ‘golden trio’ as the fans called you) do an episode of who meme'd it.

“hello and welcome everyone to a brand spankin’ new episode of who memed it!” shayne began, earning a small round of applause from the crew.

“today, we have everyone’s favourite roommates and spencer!”

you were leant on angela’s shoulder, but perked up to smile at the camera

“hi guys!” angela grins at the camera, waving aggressively

“dude!” spencer yelled at shayne “why cant i be the favourite roommate!” he looked dejected

“spencer, we lived together and i have never slept worse, the only thing in our apartment was mt dew and granola bars!!”

“okay, you got me”

you look over at him and giggle, feeling your cheeks begin to warm up

as the rounds go on, angela is on 5 points, you’re on 4, and spencer is on 8.

“okay, next meme!” shayne boasts

the next thing on screen made everyone cackle.

immediately, shayne starts giggling, and puts his fists against the wall, not being able to look at any of you. angela is crying with laughter, and even spencer is giggling. you just stare into the camera in shock.

through tears, shayne manages “oh my- all- alright who memed it, was it tommy, josh, was it courtney, or was it erin, our lovely producer”

you each place your guesses, and its revealed to be a secret shayne meme. you swear you could burn holes through him.

after wrap, you went off with angela giggling about some of the things, your mind still racing from being so close to spencer. for so long. it was cringey, yes, but you felt so exited when you were around him, you couldn't help it!

but little did anyone know, spencer was just as infatuated with you, and he was waiting for the day be mustered up the courage to ask you out

[cometcrystal]

guys. let's be real. phinabella is 10000% wish fulfillment. i say this as someone who casually ships them. phinabella is the comforting thought that every first love is Reciprocated. it's the comforting thought that every first love is True Love For Life and supercedes all that come after it. it's the comforting thought that things will ALWAYS work out in the end.

and this wasn't the original point of my post. i was just kind of being a hater. but i started wondering... why wasn't canderemy nearly as popular? it's ALSO kinda wish fulfillment. despite candace's astronomical bad luck, she got one thing right. she has a boyfriend who loves her unconditionally, who respects her, actively shows his interest in her, has fun spending time with her... and candace has this one thing in her life that she can rely on. one thing that never goes wrong for her. and their relationship lasts as they grow into adulthood because they have that foundation of respect, admiration, and unconditional love. doesn't everyone want that?? doesn't everyone want such a great partner??

phinabella never has that!! phineas might harbor a crush on isabella, too, but, if he's even considered it at all, he is just more occupied with other things, because they're kids! they're just 10! they've got the rest of their lives to worry about that; this should be a time for building rollercoasters. but isabella is very in-tune with her emotions. she is also just a kid, but one who is very emotion-driven. and that's fine! she knows what she wants. different people put different weight on different things.

and even with these two characters, that could STILL work out in the end, provided they both tried their best to use good communication skills (and i think they could). but AYA ruins everything. it ruins fucking everything. you're telling me ISABELLA GARCIA SHAPIRO stopped going to phineas and ferb's house for an ENTIRE SUMMER????? WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!!!!!!! THAT'S HER BEST FRIENDS!!!!!!!!! THEYRE INSEPARABLE!!!! IN WHAT UNIVERSE WOULD THIS HAPPEN????

AND THEN THE FRIENDZONE LINE HAPPENS

[milliebugydementia]

I completely missed the parallels in s4 between el and max, especially in episode 1

- theyre both struggling with grief and loss of a family member who they had mixed feelings about. billy had been paralleled to max's stepdad, and hopper had been compared to brenner. they're both girls who have grown up in violent and controlling environments, but we see them bond in season 3 as each others' only female friends amongst the nerds. they get to have fun being girls together and el grows massively as a person for it

then in season 4 she's immediately tossed into the deep end as soon as she was trying to find a sense of self. we don't see max's mom, but we hear that she drinks, and we see joyce also having wine and being sad, not that this is ever shown to affect her parenting. but max and el are both incredibly lost at this point in the absence of each others' only true friend, and they both become withdrawn from the people around them in trying to act like everything is fine - el trying not to show will when she's upset, and max trying not to show lucas that she's seeing things, and being defensive to the rest of the party.

in s4e1 we see el getting mocked in her presentation while max is walking out of the counsellor's, both in positions of vulnerability trying to move very fast and get away from the past which is clearly haunting them (and they're both talking about the past and the specific trauma they're dealing with in the scenes prior) and failing to.

they're also both being pursued by vecna, which i feel is likely intentional on his part because he can read max's mind and knows he can use killing her to break down eleven.

and max is also so relieved when el finally comes to save her, from vecna but also from everything he is bringing up - el's intervention is as a hero but also as emotional support after max has been so isolated and alone in her feelings for so long, and we never really get to see her and el bond over their mutual grief before she moves away, nor exchange letters about feeling each others' absence.

it would be nice if in season 5 we get a reunion from them that explores some of that in their relationship as it develops, if they decide to bring max back.

i also think it's noteworthy that el and will and max and mike are also kind of parallel characters? mike and max have a lot of sassiness & sark and strength in character for standing up for the people they love & their friends, and a lot of their feud comes from being the same kind of defensive bitch (especially of eleven) and bickering cos they're just the same person? and even in terms of like gender nonconformity, max is a masculine girl while mike is not necessarily effeminate but by being the weedy gay autistic phenotype is kind of inherently gnc.

and el and will are both the sensitive, impressionable counterpart who they fight for, who've also both come from violent backgrounds, experienced a load of trauma pertaining to the same one guy, have the same terrible fringe and cry and have ptsd episodes a lot.

which i think is relevant because for both will and mike and el and max, that separation really strains on all of them, and when they come back together they realise just how much they missed each other.

in conclusion elmax byler supremacy

[padfootswhiskers]

Hi hello tell me more about one-sided Lupin/Lily (and also if Sirius realizes it lol)

hiii imp.

i was thinking recently that fanon always has lupin and lily being besties and that's a trope that's permeated a lot of good canon-based fic too and i was wondering why---the biggest reason obviously is the poa movie and that weird made up monologue david thewlis delivers about recognising harry by his eyes (which is sooo ?!?!?!) but most of the fandom knows that's a movie only thing. so then i was like alright, theyre both kind people, lily defends his "secret" to snape before she even really knows him, she likes all of james' other friends etc etc--it doesn't not make sense--

except lupin is really...oddly silent on lily in the books. not that we get sirius professing his love for her or anything but we get the letter in DH, at least. lily clearly loves him. he's in the wedding photos and lily obviously agreed to name him godfather. he reassures harry that lily loved james in ootp. the letter from lily also has her calling peter 'wormy' and being concerned about his emotional state.

nowhere in the 7 books do we actually get a hint of lily&lupin friendship. in poa, harry tells lupin he heard his dead parents when the dementors attacked and lupin simply goes 'you heard JAMES?'

which makes me think...they just weren't that close, lol. so i did some digging and it turns out jkr once implied that lupin sort of had feelings for lily, which would serve as a great hc for why he mightve been distant and generally awkward around her. because no way is he going to contest james on this particular matter---1. he LOVES james and 2. this is remus lupin we're talking about.

so the end result is...he just never got that close to her.

james would never notice this, imo. SIRIUS realising it? more likely .i feel like he would, and he'd probably be the type of guy to take the piss out of lupin for it, lmao. and maybe, like @casquecest said, it would build up the case in his mind for why lupin might be the spy later in their lives (some latent resentment towards james; this is ofc not true, lupin resents sirius xD)

SORRY FOR THIS NOVEL

[the-s1lly-corner]

Hello! Merry Chirtmas ! İ just love your blog and can't stop thinking about it ! So, how would tadc react to a female kid reader ? That little girl is cheerful elegant little lady and wear nice Pink dress with bows! She comforted Gangle by saying "don't be sad ! İ love you !" And put some sticker on her mask ! Oh and saying i love you to them before leaving. When Jax is doing something bad she says "Don't be mean! you silly rabbit!"

Caine, Gangle, Zooble, Pomni w/ sweet!kid!reader (platonic)

doing these characters since the wheel chose it (ominously) not sure how much i'll write today but i got a little more in the inbox compared to these past few days so i plan on working that down

CAINE:

basically treats you like his own kid but hes never been a dad before so hes still learning; torn between him being over protective of you or thinking you're indestructible (which... technically you are as long as youre in the digital world). i think he finds your sweetness adorable, though if theres someone in the circus being mean to you (surprisingly i dont think jax would be too mean. a little bit of a butt? yeah but its not much different than an older brother picking on their younger sibling) i think he would pipe up and not shut up until you get an apology. starts watching IHAs more now that you're here, both to see how youre doing but also to make sure its not too crazy for you.. cant help but let the big scary monster/trial pass when you run up to it being nice. literally just snaps the thing out of existence/away/wherever. loves seeing the look of triumph on your face afterwards

POMNI:

nice towards you and probably over time keeps a closer eye on you but in the beginning i think its more like. you following her like a duckling since shes busy trying to find an exit. honestly i think pomni would have a hard time when it sinks in that theres a little kid here in the circus. how did you get here? when did you get here? i think thats what would prompt her in trying to connect with you, thus you gain another guardian figure! sticking true my idea of pomni being uneasy around kids because they can be gross and have no filter and be unpredictable i think at first she would be a little... tense around you, but overtime becomes more comfortable when she realizes youre not like that. definitely going to take a while, though.. shrugs

GANGLE:

definitely finds you sweet, lets you hang around in her room and mess with her art supplies. probably cries harder when you try to make her feel better after jax does something, usually something that leaves her with a broken comedy mask. i dont think she would let you confront jax about it, though... she appreciates the sentiment but shes not about to make it look like she sent a little kid to defend her, thats only going to give jax even more ammo even if you stood up for her on your own. sometimes lets you put stickers on her mask or glitter... ponders.. i think she reads stories to you too, every night

ZOOBLE:

i think ive already said this before but zooble gives off such older sibling energy, and i cant really explain it other than its just the personality and looks... but i guess that doesnt explain much. shrugs. sweet younger sibling, cool but indifferent older sibling. or at least you think theyre cool. and you tell them every chance you guy. i think they would just give a weird "thaaanks.." the first few times before fully leaning into the older sibling role. dont get me wrong like before they wouldnt just leave you wandering around alone during an IHA, hell i dont think they would there wasnt one going on.. but they wouldnt go out of their way to hang out with you.. but eventually they just kind of keep a closer eye on you. check in on you. ask what youre up to. theyre not attached to you by the hip but theyre definitely present in your life as a role model. tries to make you be less nice, gives you the talk that not everyone is nice and sometimes some people fake being nice in order to get what they want. but in kid terms, obviously... well not little kid terms i still think zooble would be blunt but they wouldnt be harsh

[cryptidghostgirl]

heyhey! You said you had a request but couldn’t see it and in case it was mine here i am once again humbling asking you to feed my delusions. I am the same person who asked for the one with the fake dating trope and the one where reader spawns into the lobby :))

But i am here now going for a more angsty route! >:) Granted, this is more of an OC x Alastor but im describing it more generic for the populace BUT HERE GOES

right before “Cover me” reader kept silently glancing over at Alastor which was on the dance floor, subconsciously making him approach her. He goes of course they have a (Important for later) conversation like “I havent seen you around here. Are you new around town?” “Just moved in actually~” “Well, Id love to give you a tour someday, the names Alastor” and he kisses her hand “Ah a charmer, ill have to be careful around you” (OR A MORE ELEGANT CONVERSATION THEN THAT I SUCK AT DIALOGUE) then theres the knife and gun scene and the team up

And then they get together after about a year or two and I dont wanna say theyre legally married but eventually use wife and husband terms because its more fancy and gives them more respect in eyes of others but they have been together for around 5 years at this point.

but then the events of 1925 happen where readers twin brother dies because some bastards set fire to his house and Reader has an argument with Alastor before eventually going alone to avenge her brother (theyre like “theres too many, youll die” “so be it!”)

Reader kills them all (duh) but because it was January and extremely cold she eventually gets hypothermia and during the delusions it gives she stumbles and gets impaled on an abandoned rusty fence spike and dies :3

Alastor find her and gives her a proper burial and 8 years later in 1933 while visiting readers grave he gets shot canonically

But these 8 years gave reader enoigh time in hell to establish her own dominance and due to the life she lived and the death of hypothermia- she gets turned into a sort of blizzard demon. Around 180 cm with black limbs, white fluffy hair and fluffy ears and a white tail as a sinner form and for the demon form im thinking of the faceless Room Guardians by Anyaboz on Instagram (incredible artist btw) with ice powers like summoning weapons and ice spikes and ice touches and moving freely (like Kindred’s wolf in League) in her blizzard. Taking over half the pentagram like this-

Until 1933 when Alastor pops up in hell, does his demon business and eventually wants to check out these frozen parts and goes into a bar very similar to the one they met and sees reader at the table and then THEY HAVE THE EXACT SAME CONVERSATION THEY HAD WHEN THEY FIRST MET (maybe with the knife and gun scene too hehe) and theyre both like “i forgive you” or smth idk maybe they just have a silent agreement- either way.

After they met the blizzard stops and no one knows why or who did it :>, readers identity as the blizzard demon remaining a secret

BTW I LOVE YOU FOR MAKING MY DREAMS COME TRUE- if you want more i have a ton of ideas because brain rot- (also lil side note i kind of imagine reader as albino because it would fit my ocs lore a bit more- but keeping it basic would fit everyones ideas of their own reader so! do what you please you already made my day better by reading my ideas come to life :3))

yes!! i did see yours and it is currently in third place for requests i need to fill so ill probably get it done by this weekend, early next week at the latest. it’s just taking me a bit because i’m in midterms rn and also i want to make sure i get in all the details :) i think it might’ve been a request for alastor’s mom reader x lucifer?? i recall getting one about that but can’t seem to find it anywhere. long story short,, your request is in progress and i will post it as soon as i have the time to finish it up :)

UPDATE: This piece has officially been posted as of Friday February 23rd, 2024.

Frostbite (Alastor x Reader)

[roseworth]

You are both an Arrowfamily and Jason Todd fan account so I thought you would be the best person to ask this but: What do you think the Arrowfamily members opinion on Jason are?

ooooh i love this question.. i think a lot of people jump straight to "they would hate him" because of his fight with mia but!!! i don't think thats entirely true!!!!! some of them would hate him but not all of them </3 i feel like the people that claim they would all hate him have a fundamental misunderstanding of the arrows and what they stand for, not to mention deliberately misconstruing what the the jason & mia fight actually was and pretending it was a lot worse than what actually happened. but thats just my opinion

ollie absolutely would hate him though lmao. he would never get over the fact that jason kidnapped, fought, & tried to blow up his daughter. no forgiveness ever. if jason HADNT fought mia though i think ollie would like him or at the very least tolerate him. ollie very clearly has no issue with murdering bad guys (as seen in ga88) and would be completely on board with anyone who goes out of his way to fuck with batman constantly <3 also in my humble opinion ollie shouldve been a cosmic mistake in countdown due to him coming back to life because parallax put him back together, which would have been hilarious and would absolutely have ended in them getting along (until jason goes through like his fifth breakdown in that book, because he would absolutely lash out at ollie after watching that one version of bruce die. but thats a whole separate tangent)

dinah also would hate him for trying to kill mia, but probably not as intensely as ollie. but even without that issue i dont think dinah would like him, mostly because hes the worst and i dont think dinah would have the patience to put up with him. she wouldnt have a huge problem with the killing (she wouldnt NOT have a problem with it but i really dont think it would be an unforgivable issue for her), but she would just think hes kind of an asshole about it and she wouldnt like him at all. i also think theres a panel somewhere where jason says that dinah told him she hates him personally?? idk ive only seen screenshots of it but i think its funny so im incorporating it into my belief system

with roy... i feel like there are so many people that see rhato and swing to the opposite side of the pendulum and say that roy would hate jason but i dont think thats true at all. im a rhato hater because that is Not Roy so we're disregarding that, but i still think they would get along tbh! given that roy is deeply in love with a serial killer i think that the people who say he would hate jason are misunderstanding who roy is. i think when theyre both in character they actually have personalities that would mesh well together and they COULD get along really well. i dont see roy having a Big Problem with jason killing people (he would try to stop him from doing it but murder wouldnt be a dealbreaker for roy) so i think its fair to say they would actually get along!!! but i bitch and complain every time they show up in the same panel because now the damage has been done from rhato so i dont want them to interact in canon. only in the secret world in my head. in regards to jason fighting mia, i dont know how to say it but,,, i dont think roy would have a huge issue with it. he certainly wouldnt be happy about it but also he wasnt there so i feel like all he would know about it was that jason kidnapped mia one time but mia was fine. honestly i think that he would be more interested in brothers in blood bc dick would def mention that jason murdered people in a nightwing costume then turned into a tentacle monster and tried to eat someone but dick forgave him anyway. and once he hears that suddenly the mia thing seems inconsequential in comparison

with connor... i cant lie im a little biased because connor is a member of my dream outlaws team but i really think they would at least kind of get along! connor is not the type of person to hold a grudge at all so once mia forgives him (which ill get into in a sec) connor wouldnt have a problem with him. he WOULD have a problem with jason killing people but he's close with eddie so clearly he doesnt have that much of an issue with working with people who have killed before as long as they dont kill in front of him. and i think that jason has a healthy respect for anyone who can beat him in a fight and because of that he would not kill anyone when hes around connor. i also think that connor and jason would never fight because connor would never throw the first punch and jason would never start a fight that he knows he cant win (but thats once again a whole separate tangent). basically i dont think they'd be besties or anything, i dont think theres a world where they'd ever even consider themselves friends. but i do think they'd get along well enough to not hate each other

okay now finally mia. kind of a controversial take but i really think she'd forgive him for kidnapping her! she absolutely would not forgive him IMMEDIATELY because it fucked her up so she would be pissed about it for a while, but also? i think she completely understood what he was trying to do. he wasnt really hurting her specifically (like yeah he hurt her but he made it a fair fight and he wasnt beating down on her or anything. she also hit him so it evens out) and he was actually trying to talk TO her and relate to her. and it was working!!! he didnt force her to do anything except fight (in a fight where he untied her and gave her her weapons), so once she got some distance from the event i think she'd forgive him. it would take a while for her to actually forgive him enough for them to actually get along, but i genuinely think they would. theyre extremely similar people and i think they would really be good friends if given the chance, but it would take a looooong time for mia to be comfortable enough to be around him enough to consider him a friend since the fight definitely fucked her up. but it is possible for them to eventually be close, and i think they could be really good friends

honorable mentions: - i dont know emiko well enough to know for sure (i havent read new52 or rebirth green arrow so i havent read much with her </3) but from what i know i think they would get along - lian would have no opinion of him whatsoever. at most she sees him as her uncle's brother. i truly dont think she'd care enough about him to form a positive or negative opinion about him - i dont like sienna so i dont want to acknowledge her but for the sake of the post. she doesnt like jason because dinah doesnt like jason and she says "i hate everyone that black canary hates <3" - cissie is not a member of the arrowfamily but she wouldnt like him because she absolutely would have an issue with any murderous vigilante given that she almost killed someone one time and had a huge breakdown, so anyone that kills people for the Greater Good and continues to do so would not sit right with her - i have absolutely no basis for this but shado would hate him for no reason. no specific beef with him about his morals or his actions, she just wouldnt like his vibes. sorry to talk about rose (no im not) but she would see rose hanging out with jason and go "im so happy for you and your ugly fucking boyfriend im serious" - eddie and jason would get along like a housefire. there is not a doubt in my mind that they would bond instantly (ok not instantly because they both hate everyone and would probably start with trying fight each other. THEN they would bond) and it would be catastrophic for everyone involved 🫶

ok i think thats everyone. or at least everyone that matters. never forget that all my opinions are 100% correct at all times

[captainmera]

I'm reading your Caleb fic and actually losing my mind over how good and fitting his characterization feels, how well you put the seeds of becoming a bad person in Philip without making him Evil Child and instead make it feel like a natural progression, how everyone's so NUANCED, the historical accuracy, EVELYNS CHARACTERIZATION!!! God!!! I love all of this!!!! (Also the closeted bi Caleb.)

Thank you! :D

Yes, I'm having fun crafting Caleb specifically with Philip turning into the guy Luz meets in canon, and eventually Belos, in mind.

I asked myself: Who the hell raised this dude!? :l And out came my version of Caleb, lol.

And yes, I don't think Philip was a bad kid. I think he became a bad person. Like most people who grow up, things happen and.. You know.

When you look at an adult who is angry, cruel and hateful, you seldom see their whole story. You see them for who they are right now and their unjustifiable actions and behaviours.

Caleb isn't a great parent. He's a good brother, not a half-bad provider, but parent? Not really. He was a kid when he raised his brother, and nobody taught him how to do it right. His outlet for frustrations and feeling helpless allowed him to cognitively dissonance himself from his cruel actions as a witch hunter.

We have no control. There is both freedom and imprisonment in knowing we are powerless to the chaos of hindsight. The endless human toiling of reminiscing in the "what ifs" of life will curse us all to an early doom.

The acceptance of no control, strangely, gives you more control and peace of mind. Sometimes, you can do everything right and it still goes wrong. Sometimes you do everything wrong and things turn out fine!

Doesn't mean people are blameless. Knowing the cause of something doesn't excuse the action or the choices you made.

But recognising that you made choices at the time based on what you knew and believed to be right - does give insight to things. What to do with that insight is up to each and every person.

Evelyn I'm enjoying quite a lot. Because she's not mentally ill like Caleb, who's depressed and suicidal. A character doesn't have to be unwell to be interesting. People have emotions and struggles anyhow. She's a nice person, she means well; she's a perfect example of someone who is just benefit-of-doubt enough to walk into dangerous spaces in good faith. Which puts her in situations Caleb must interfere with, lest she gets found out as a witch.

They save each other, in a way. :)

Caleb closeted bisexuality is a source of great delight to write a sub-plot for. Caleb, v.s. his ideas of what makes a man, is a fun field to dance on. He has been fed a lot of self-destructive ideas that he tries to live up to.

And Evelyn's nonchalant self-expression is also a great delight to write. She's carefree to the point people mistake her for an airhead and kind of stupid. Which isn't true, she just trust in that there is good in people until proven otherwise, and she tries her best to not let those experiences discourage her from new relationships. I like exploring that strange box that often occurs with her personality type - as though being kind and gentle is somehow dumb or naive.

BUT YEAH, Theyre very fun to write! :)

[ranticore]

i love cain and des and tua and marilyn... do they have any art 👉👈 or any more character description than what is given in the books... theyre so excellent i love cursed weapons and their weary wielders (bowman and esk are also very cool)

i KNOW i have art of young cain and michel hanging around somewhere but i can't find it i'm so sorry... i will say that the 'true' hanged man card for my inver tarot series is actually cain (the scene from the end of tvm u know the one) but i haven't drawn it because it's spoilery. the other hanged man i did was just a placeholder and doesn't even make sense for the meaning of the card.

as for marilyn and tua i have not drawn them (except, of course, the poleaxe on the book cover).

anyway here's some more description for u as an apology for losing my art (tvm spoilers??)

Cain is about 5'8". He has short grey hair and sideburns but is otherwise clean-shaven. He's in his fifties but appears older because stress will age ya. He has an aquiline nose and his build is bearish, he's very strong after an entire lifetime of dragging Des around but he's slowing down with age a little, and his back hurts all the time. His family was formerly noble but they lost their peerage and became lower class. Cain was born after this happened and his family had chosen to stay on inside the citadel as wall guards instead, as they had always been a pretty martial type of family. In his youth he'd hang out with Michel a lot but found Michel to be subtly aggravating, since Michel could just get Esk and LEAVE and it wouldn't even be that big a deal, the longbow is so easy to carry, but Michel just waffled about it forever until Cain had to stop hanging out with him, and eventually his frustration turned to jealousy, and then outright anger. They fought, and Michel died shortly after, making reconciliation impossible and a constant 'what if' floating at the back of Cain's mind that torments him every single day of his life. It's why he jumps at the chance to try to reconnect with other weapon wielders.

Cain has never married and has no kids but he feels fondly about the younger wall guards and thinks of them as his sons in a way. Cain's name has been a placeholder for long enough that I forgot to pick a real name when I publicly released stbh (oops), because 'Cain' is heavy-handed even for me.

Des is a common kingfisher or a big harpoon gun, depending on who you ask. The cradle with wheels is not actually part of the weapon and can be removed without damaging it, they're just there to make transport easier. It can be further apart from Cain than the other weapons can be from their wielders without causing them harm, because the gun is just so inconvenient. You can't even take it up stairs. Imagine. Des is the only weapon name that isn't a shortened form of a more significant word, because I thought it was kinda fun to give it the name of some old fella you'd meet at the back of a pub. Des is the second eldest of the weapons and has a kind of lackadaisical way of looking at the world, mostly born of its own confidence in its power. Very little is capable of breaking Des, so why worry? The last time it bothered to care about the overall destiny/conflict/etc of the weapons was when Cain's family lost their titles, and that was when Des accepted that it was never gonna change anything about the system around itself, so it was best to focus its efforts on keeping its wielders safe instead.

Marilyn is younger than she seems. She has a deep well of knowledge in a very narrow band of subjects (dancing, some bartending, performance arts, and her own family history), but is profoundly ignorant about pretty much everything else. And she knows it. It's why she goes along with things and accepts them at face value, as best she can, because she knows that she's at a disadvantage and doesn't want to seem childish or stupid. She was not aware that Tua was exerting far more influence on her than it should have been doing (Tua, for example, was the one VERY POINTEDLY asking Bowman how much he trusted and relied on Félix, how much he might miss his friend's absence, even...). She was, ultimately, a little abandoned by the people around her who should have looked out for her - Bowman did his best but he was distracted by all that other shit, and Carmen, despite becoming her best friend, struggled to make herself understood at the Pangur household and couldn't get them to show Marilyn more respect. Marilyn accepted, eventually, that she had to learn fast or simply remain unremarkable and unwanted.

Tua is the third eldest of the weapons and largely considered The Boss due to the Pangur family status, and has always been very proud, sure of its privileged position in the grand scheme of things. The Pangur family never truly surrendered to the Aquitanian werewolves, but kept their customs and language alive, and this contributed to Tua's sense of hope - it always hoped, even right up until the death of Síofra Pangur, that they would win. It hoped far more fiercely than Des ever could, more than Esk for sure, and this made the loss of Síofra more devastating than it could handle. It hates everything and everyone, it even hates Marilyn (at the start. it warms up to her), and sees every other living thing as a tool to be manipulated to its own ends. It has a deep sense of disgrace, it's a temporarily embarrassed millionaire, a noble, not a part of the common rabble, and it'll make em pay. With Cormac deal with, it could perhaps find a way to heal, but only if Marilyn is treated with some semblance of respect.

[randomsufff]

Ok fuck it- I keep seeing the Great Gatsby pop up (thanks Gravity Falls lmao) and recently saw The Great Gatsby on Broadway and I need to spill out my thoughts on this musical

I’ll hold off my grips with it compared to the book till the very end- since I know a lot of argument around this musical is that it’s an adaptation and the adaptors are liable for taking creative liberties. Which- yeah! That’s valid! But I’d argue that in order to adapt something successfully, if you’re gonna make huge (and I mean HUGE) changes to the source material, it’s gotta somewhat follow some reason that makes sense for the characters and/or adds some layer or depth to the story or else you get something like HBOs Velma. But more on that in either an entirely other post or later depending on how long this gets

Read bellow if you want a really fucking long, detailed description of the show and what I think it did right and very, very wrong.

I will say- as a TLDR rn- I thought the show was just…ok. Like- “yeah that show sure was a musical.” kind of ok. The good songs and amazing spectacle of a few of the numbers kinda cancel out the bad pacing and really questionable narrative choices the show made. Also- hearing Eva Noblezada sing live changed my life.

OK- so I’ll start out by saying- I believe we had basically all the original current cast except for Jordan Baker was played by Traci Elaine Lee (who was absolutely phenomenal so I’m not too sad about missing Samantha Pauly)

I really thought the show was ok. Like I don’t hate it vehemently but I don’t love it either. I feel like the only reason it’s so famous is because of its two powerhouse leads (Hot take? Maybe.) Anyways, I don’t know how to go about this so we’ll go list form

1) PACING WAS ATROCIOUS

Again, not even comparing it to the novel- the pacing felt really off and didn’t even make much sense story wise. Like we would rush past certain information and then linger on scenes that didn’t really need to be lingered on? At least to me, I felt like there was other stuff the show should have prioritized showing- CAUSE THATS THE THING WITH THIS SHOW- is that they TELL not SHOW a LOT of information- so it kinda just feels like you’re being tossed plot without experiencing it.

For example, literally as soon as the show starts, Nick and party goers just throw all the information about Gatsbys party and being mysterious at the beginning by telling us and not showing, like he never shown to be cryptically hanging around in the first like 20 minutes of the show (at least that I remember- there was a lot happening in the opening number 😭) . Which sucks because they did this REALLY COOL thing right before the show started where Gatsby was standing there and was immediately gone as soon as a screen passed. LIKE YOU COULDN’T HAVE THAT HAPPEN AGAIN WHEN THEYRE ACTUALLY TALKING ABOUT HIM???

(Also- recently saw a rehearsal (?) video where Gatsby like actually opened the opening song “Roaring On”, and that would have been great if they kept that! Because looking back, I felt like Gatsby had the least amount of stage time. Which probably I sn’t actually true, but it really felt like it. Like where is the main guy??? His first appearance (after his little disappearing act) is like, 20 minutes into the show. Idk for something that’s called “The Great Gatsby” he sure wasn’t on stage a lot. )

Then a couple scene later, Gatsby reveals to Nick- a man he JUST MET FACE TO FACE- that he’s in deep love with his married cousin and asks him TO HIS FACE that he wants him to set up a meeting with her. And then they move on. Like???

If you watched the show, maybe this’ll make sence to you, maybe this won’t, but it feel like they rushed past everything in the original source material, and only expanded and talked at length the aspects they wrote in.

Also the ending was so. Incredibly. Rushed. Like we don’t even get to see Daisys reaction to killing/hitting Myrtle. As soon as the fight at the Plaza ends everything else happens in like 15 minutes. Are you kidding me. WE DONT GET TO SEE DAISY ACTUALLY HIT MYRTLE. They did the ol’ “Bright lights get shined at the audience as character pretends to get hit” but that’s it! Literally THE REASON why Gatsby is killed and we don’t get to see it or their reactions in the moment. They just… tell us what happened instead of showing it to us. (“Daisy tried to swerve to the next lane but there was a car coming- and then… she just peeled off. She’s packing now…” YOU COULDN’T SHOW THIS TO US???) No idea of how Daisy or Gatsby reacted immediately after, only the next day. No rambled and frightened dialogue of their game plan, no glimpse into Daisys psyche where it’s shown she’s not going to choose Gatsby after all. Nothing.

Oh! And guess how long Gatsbys funeral was? Like a minute long. Just Nick sitting next to a casket in the background while party goers, Jordan and Wolfsheim dismiss Gatsby with a throwaway line. Like bro… that’s your main lead character… shouldn’t you give him, idk , at least more than a minute on stage when he dies? And like yeah I get that that’s the point that he’s forgotten, but I thought it was going to be more prominent than that! Give me Nick standing solemnly next to a casket thats dead center on a completely empty stage while he narrates how no one showed up. How despite the riches and infamy, no one, not even Jays own father (cause literally no one was by the casket on stage but Nick) showed up for his funeral. Instead of weirdly dismissing it like it’s not important?

2) NICK AND JORDENS “RELATIONSHIP”

Nah this actually pisses me off because there’s literally no point in this being so highlighted when it literally goes fucking nowhere.

So their relationship arc goes like this: Jorden says relationships sucks because she wants to be an independent woman in the 20s. Nicks like, I am not looking for a relationship but if we were in one I’d let you do all those things. They flirt, almost kiss, flirt more, do kiss, Nick says “let’s get married /j” Jorden says “yeah let’s get married /srs”, they get ENGAGED, they fight after discussing if they inadvertently caused Myrtle’s death (Jorden intentionally let Myrtle know where they were going that night), break up, and never speak to each other the rest of the show.

HELLO? What the actual fuck was the point of this then? If you wanted to expand Jorden to be the independent, feminist, girlboss *cough lesbian cough* that she is, just let her stay single?? She doesn’t need to be with Nick if you want her to be a part of the main cast.

The main problem I have with this is that the musical put wayyyy too much emphasis on it. And it’s so funny because there’s this big, dramatic, movie-esc pause Nick does after he says “I don’t want to marry you”, and sorry to the people who genuinely gasped, but be fr, are we surprised??? Jordan has been saying from literally her first line that men/marriage sucks, and that she would never do that willingly- then when she get married to a guy she knows for, at most? 1-2 weeks (idk how long the musical take place over), I’m supposed to take that relationship seriously????

In fact, I felt like their relationship often overshadowed Gatsby and Daisys, which shouldn’t happen, because the whole fucking shows about Gatsby.

For example, they steamrolled Gatsby and Daisys reunion with a budding Jordan and Nick plotline, for some reason??? Like they literally show Gatsby and Daisy seeing each other, have them say a few sentences wistfully reminiscing their first meeting, then have them go inside the house while their silhouettes are shown talking while the audience stays with Nick and Jorden OUTSIDE as they joke and almost kiss each other. HUH??? How are you going to literally push your years-long, slow burn yearning MAIN ROMANCE reunion to the side for a budding relationship that came out of nowhere and frankly dosent need to exist? And since we’re not going book accurate, you can actually SHOW how Gatsby and Daisy fall back into each others orbit, how their conversation went. But no.

It got so bad that I honestly can’t tell if one of the themes of this musical is something about marriage because of how much they pushed the “married/ people in a relationship” dynamic. Like what are you trying to tell me? All marriages are doomed??? I don’t even know (mayhaps just me being aroace)

What grips me the most is that they don’t even get any closure. Like they literally never speak to each other after that night Myrtle is killed. (Mostly cause the show ends literally 5 minutes later). The whole show they put these two together, build up their romance, show them having cute and funny moments together… all for what? For nothing?

AND I DID LIKE THEM. They were a cute couple, and their chemistry and jokes together were funny and charming. Their dynamic was interesting too, with Jordan wearing the pants, so to speak, and insisting she maintain her freedom while in marriage/ a relationship which wasn’t heard of in the 20s. But for all that to end because Jorden didn’t want to tell the cops Gatsby and Daisy possible ran her over/they’re partially responsible??? Like they INVESTED. SO. MUCH. in this relationship (to the point where they got ENGAGED???) that it feels so stupid and dumb for it to end like “wow you’re heartless :c I don’t want to marry you anymore :ccc” “well too bad, L, you’re guilty too asshole. Bye.”

AND what really grinds my gears is that if they cut this whole shit out, or at least made it more in the background, it would give more time to flesh out the few other problems I have with this show

3) SONG… EFFICIENCY (?)

Ok last point that’s not as much of a complaint as the others, but it was still something that bothered me. Some of the songs just say nothing/ repeat stuff we already know. Mainly thinking of (and sorry to people who like these songs- I’m not saying they’re bad! They’re just not a lot of info there) “For Her”, “Go”, or “Shady”

Like “For Her”, he’s just saying “I did [list of things involved with his fame/money] for her” for 4 minutes and you don’t even know who “her” is until like, the last line. Like this could have been a perfect opportunity to deep dive into Gastbys upbringing/ past, but the most the musical goes into Gatsby’s past is that he was in the war. Like you don’t get the sense that this man worked his way literally from the ground up for this woman. It’s just so repetitive that, even though it was Jeremy Jordon, I was getting bored halfway through.

AGAIN, this is not slandering Jeremy Jordan (JJ stans please spare me), you could have the most amazing Broadway singer sing with the best technique, but if it’s a dull, repetitive song, PERSONALLY, I’d be bored. They could have just combined this with another song, or as I suggested, add more purpose to the song and maybe put it later in the musical.

Similarly, “Go” (and, AGAIN, love Jeremy and Eva) was super repetitive and could have just been reduced to dialogue.

And “Shady”, though also a really good song, frankly could have been cut out. For some reason the musical really wanted Wolfsheim to be a main antagonist/prominent character and gave him this song- but there’s nothing in it that wasn’t already implied in the first Act and it really has nothing to do with any of the other characters, other then a vague “Jay and Daisy” gotta keep their affair secret (which… yeah I think we know that, but also to compare that to… hiding dead bodies and minding your own business- it’s???? Idk what they were going for)

(Tbh- I conversed with my dad who also mainly wanted to see the show for Jermey Jordan and Eva Noblezada and he said that none of JJ songs were that memorable, which I kinda agree with. He’s a great singer, a very talented man, but the songs he was made to sing in this show were not it. Just nothing of substance or catchiness. Which SUCKS. Because how are you going to get someone like Jeremy Jordan and not have him sing an absolute banger? But weirdly, none of his songs (maybe except “Only Tea” which I really liked) stood out which I’m so disappointed about.)

—————————

Ok that’s all just as it’s own thing (mostly) NOW MY FUCKING PROBLEMS WITH IT COMPARED TO THE BOOK

1.B) NICK AND GATSBY’S FRIENDSHIP

THIS IS THE BIGGEST ONE- Nick and Gatsby friendship is so fucking integral to the original, and it feels like it didn’t even exist in the musical.

Like regardless on whether you ship them or see them as friends- Nick was Jays only fucking friend. He was the ONLY ONE who truly cared about him and went to his funeral when no one else did. In the book, Nick did So. Much. just because he wanted to for Gatsby. Gatsby had to ask Jorden to ask Nick to set up his tea meeting, he attempts to charm and lavish him in trips, and even tries to pay the man to get him to agree. But Nick refuses and is even offended that Gatsby would pay him money for such a thing and immediately accepts the night he finds out. And they actually hung out! Like a lot! At least before Jay asks him for the tea request. And though it could been because he wanted to make it easier for Nick to say yes, they were friendly with each other, and felt like actual pals. Nick genuinely was worried about Gatsby at the end, and even tried to warn him about what he was attempting to do multiple times.

In the musical that bond is just… not there. They rush past meeting each other, they never hang out one on one, and any interaction between them seemed slightly aggressive or politely concerned, like one would be to a stranger, which they technically are!!! The only reason he agrees to Gatsbys plan is basically petty revenge against Tom for punching Myrtle and being an asshole to Daisy/ in general. (Which- I feel like a move thats so out of character for Book!Nick cause he also dislikes Daisy.) Like Nick never learns Gatsbys backstory here (I don’t think he ever tells it, not even to the audience).

The “ you can’t repeat the past” line seemed more aggressively exasperated in delivery then the more soft concern for a close friend I initially read it as. And the “you’re worth more then whole rotten crowd put together” line didn’t really hit as hard because they don’t feel like close friends and nowhere in the show has Nick expresses this pedestal he puts Gatsby on like in the book.

Literally the only times they’re together alone is their initial meeting, and setting up for tea at Nicks. Every other time either Gatsby is with Daisy or Nicks with Jorden. They could have at least put together a cool ass montage of them hanging together, using those moving panels, going through diffrent activities as Jay introduces himself with his Oxford and army line, instead of dumping it all on him on their literal first meeting in his study.

(Also noted that they made it so Gastby owns the property Nick lives on and is renting it out for the man. Idk why they did this- to make it so Nick is indebted to Gatsby??? Also Gatsby vaguely threatens/ says something with a condescending/threatening aura (???) before Nick leaves after Jay ASKS A MAN .5 SECONDS AFTER MEETING HIM FOR THE FIRST TIME FACE TO FACE for the tea set up. Like there was a moment where he held onto Nicks hand as they shake goodbye, held his eye and said a line (I forgor) and kinda stood there staring him down before Nick awkwardly left. LIKE WHAT WAS THAT???? WHO ARE YOU???? WHY??? Literally doing everything to make sure no one can ship them)

2.B) THEY STRAIGHT-IFIED MY BOY.

NICK WHAT DID THEY DO TO YOU. It felt like they wanted to take away any whiff of an implication that this man is gay. Like literally no build up to Jay and Nicks friendship, no meaningful scenes between the two, going head first and completely committing to Jordan, AND THE MR MCKEE SCENE BEING LIKE THAT.

AND MR MCKEE, IM SO, SO SORRY WHAT THEY’VE DONE TO YOU. They made him to be some predator who harasses Nick the whole party scene. And this could have been so. easy. to fit into the queer lens if the actor who plays Nick (Noah J Ricketts, fucking what a talented man) acted interested in Mr.McKee but was actively restraining himself and trying not to engage in order to save face in front of Tom and Co. (Please, please, please- making a prayer circle and manifesting that one of the later actors does this down the line) But noooooo, Nick is shown to be mildly uncomfortable while McKee follows him around (in an unfortunately a banger of a song) EVEN THOUGH IN THE BOOK NICK ACTIVELY ENGAGES WITH HIM IN HOMOEROTIC DIALOGUE AND EVEN GOES TO BED WITHBNANJSBSJB

3.B) Jordan’s Purpose

Already touch this before but what the hell was the point of Jordan here. I love the “cool independent woman in the 20s” angle they were going for, but then why the hell would you immediately shackle her to a romantic relationship with Nick when that goes against literally everything she stands for. And I’m not saying she can’t get in relationships, but the speed in which SHE of ALL PEOPLE, was like “Yes I want to get married to you for real” make me…

Sure it was said in the novel that Nick and Jorden were together, but he was always flighty about her; saying he was attracted to her but also hated some of her qualities (dishonesty and heartlessness). It wasn’t the main focus like it was here (I can’t even remember much of their relationship in the book tbh) and they didn’t invest so much in it as they did in the musical that it didn’t feel out of nowhere or too much of a big deal when they broke up. Like it fr felt like the musical held up a “Gasp Now” sign when Nick said he doesn’t want to get married to her cause they wanted that moment to hit so hard for some reason???

AND. There was an ACTUAL PURPOSE to Jordan relationship with Nick in the book (a representation of the wealth he was attracted to then repulsed by [*cough* also contributing the “Nick is Queer” lens *cough*]) they… kinda? did it in the musical? And it would have been boosted by Nicks new naivety in the musical, but it falls short because they never speak again, or really explain Jordan’s value on wealth and herself is why it went wrong other then a “you’re heartless” line that feels out of nowhere. (Idk maybe I was too focused on how pointless that relationship felt that I failed to noticed if Nick had a Big RevelationTM here on Wealth and Jordan)

4.B) Character Differences

Some of them are great, like there’s more dimensions to some, but some character choices, I’m like- that goes against everything they’re supposed to represent in the book.

Like I found it so weird how willing Daisy was to run away with Gatsby in the musical when in the book it was more obvious, at least I read it so, that she was holding back a bit and was never going to run with Gatsby that far. Like wdym Gatsby could have had it all if he just ran with Daisy then, WDYM HE SAID NO BECAUSE OF HIS PRIDE???? HUH? WHERE did this priority of PRIDE come from???? When Daisy’s RIGHT. THERE. Like she was sobbing, begging him to run with her. In what universe would Gatsby turn that down???

Like many people say, this seems like it’s supposed to be a love story between Gatsby and Daisy, but in the book it’s pretty obvious how Daisy isn’t as committed to Gatsby then she is Tom cause of their Old vs New money.

And Myrtle? Why did she suddenly turn back to George? I felt like the only reason why that happened is cause the creators wanted shock and tragedy factor. Like “aw she finally found peace in where she is but oops now she’s dead”

And it would have been good if they actually showed why she thought this beyond the 3 minute song, cause that’s not enough time for someone who only chased after money to do a 180. Like, sure she figured Tom would just move on from her (YES EVERYONE CHEERED, GREAT CHARACTER MOMENT) but George isn’t shown to be that great either in his last moments with her. I mean he locked her in the house? Bathroom? and was pretty violent towards her. Sure we learn earlier that he’s doing a lot for her but we never SEE it. He sings to US the audience about his dream to move them out and live a nice life but not to HER which could have been a cute point of connection but nooooooo.

They also made Nick like, kinda naive. Like he really likes Daisy and Jorden and I guess Gastby (though it’s not shown) compared to his counterpart who know how money corrupts and kinda hates everyone (even Gatsby at points). Any I feel like they could have done well with making him naive to that fact, to really make this a tragedy (like Hadestown esc) but they fell short somehow. I think it’s cause the ending was so rushed. Like there wasn’t enough time to show the consequences of everyone’s actions and how hurt and changed he is. It all flys by in like 7 minutes.

—————————

Ok now we’re done being cynical- here are the good things I liked

1.C) The woman are 3-Dimensional yay/ Nicks also here

Myrtle’s song (Second-Hand Suit) is phenomenal. Great way to introduce more character and backstory to someone who originally had none.

Also, again, loved Jordan’s independence angle (if only they WENT SOMEWHERE WITH IT) and I lowkey loved the “well Tom cheats why can’t you” line and Daisy’s whole attitude as she one ups Tom in the dinner table scene. Also Daisy was already kinda complex in the book, but it really shows how turmoiled she is here and that’s interesting,

And despite how I kinda ragged on it, I really did like Nicks personality throughout the musical. He was sooo humorous in a way he wasn’t in the book. Also, thinking about it, his nativity is an interesting spin on his character that I really would have liked if it was executed properly.

2.C) The songs fucking slap

I can’t lie, most of these songs are bangers. I have half of the songs on loop. Not to mention the actors who sing them are absolutely incredible. I won’t lie, I was mostly interested in this musical cause of Jeremey and Eva; and Eva, holy shit, is an absolute powerhouse to witness live. I was So. Surprised by how effortlessly she sang notes and how clear and crisp they were (“Absolute Rose” was… idk what it was about that song, but I’m obsessed with how she sang that song, [except the “open” part? Idk it grates me for some reason???] even though it’s not my favorite song) Like she truly embodies Daisy Fay and it was incredible to see that in person.

However, the rest of the cast was so incredible too, ESPECIALLY MYRTLE (Chilina Kennedy). Holy Fuck is that woman amazing at singing. Her two songs she sang absolutely ate, like I’m obsessed with her voice. Wolfsheim (Eric Anderson) and George (Paul Whitty) also had amazing voices.

Also NICK??! Holy shit, I’m so sorry you’re not in like any promotional stuff cause you fucking killed it. The way I’m obsessed with how he sings “If only I’d knew then, that I would never be the same” in “Roaring On” and how he sings “The Met” is amazing

3.C) Visuals- kinda

Some of the visuals were ok tbh- kinda boring- but the ones that went big, WENT BIG. Of course “New Money”, “Roaring On” and “The Met” are the ones that stand out the most in my mind. “New Money” and “Roaring On” are exactly what you probably think it is, big dance numbers with sparks and huge lights. But I loved “The Met” cause the furniture slid around and literally moved around Nick while people drifted in and out of the room. It was just great to watch visually.

4.C) THE ENDING NUMBER HOLY SHIT

I. Love. Love. LOVE. How they brought back the opening number, and the theme of party goers going on from party to party to show how unimportant Gatsby was to the world, and how everyone moved on.

Like, Nick stood in the center of the stage, reciting the end of the book, in tears and voice cracking, as the ensemble in the back slowly get revealed and are just having a grand ol time looking for the next party. Just- chills. It was amazing conceptually and they pulled it off so well.

If the musical got nothing else in terms of structure going for it- at least they got the last minute right cause omg, I love when media has opposing moods in the same scene, and they did so well here.

—————————

Overall, yeah. Not horrible but I don’t love it. The lack in plot and nonsense relationships and complete disregard of the book didn’t totally ruin the musical cause I had a good time and liked the songs and such but I would not go back and re watch it.

I think of you know nothing about the book or anything about The Great Gatsby other then there’s a guy named Gatsby and he’s great and you just want a nice sounding show, you’ll probably like this, but people who are burdened by the knowledge of the book will be hung up on a lot of things I mentioned here.

Always, long ass post, congrats to anyone who actually read this real informal review. I haven’t gone into how this is a pretty bad adaptation, but I’ll have to do that in another post (if people want to see that) and another time cause this took my literal hours to type out.

(Tbh I might just do the adaptation essay anyways, cause I’ve written at least 4 papers on adaptation in media [and how Groundhog Day the musicals the best Movie to Musicals adaptation] and I love that shit)

[ottoslab]

(Shakes you) otto you've GOTTA tell me more about the freelance mystery solvers I GOTTA KNOW ABOUT EM WHAT ARE THEY DOIN !!! I love your designs sm btw your SO REAL FOR THIS AHH

HEEHEE ohhh ok cracks my knuckles. Im gonna be writing this right before passing Out for the night so apologies in advance if this isn’t very comprehensible but i will GLADLY explain the funny freelance mystery solvers o7

EDIT HI This got so long im putting it under a readmore KGJFNGKJSGK.

Also! I didn’t draw anything to go with this ask because i told myself id give my hand a break, but I do actually have some recent doodles of Vern and Kitty i was doing in between the lineup so I’ll put them here for a little display ^_^ theyre not in context of anything im about to mention, just some dynamic exploration stuff that are their own whole other rambles

Ok! Readmore time! Paragraphs of nonsense! For your viewing pleasure!

So!! Vernon and Kitty are both employed by True Psychic Tales independently of each other when theyre older. Vernon is an illustrator/interviewer for the graphic novel division and Kitty works in special effects makeup for the more-recent live action film division! They don’t end up crossing paths for a while until being assigned to work together to research stuff for an up-and-coming TPT film project or smth. They become work buddies after reconnecting (though they choose to mostly ignore the fact that they knew each other as kids due to How They Were back then. They’re both very embarrassed about it for numerous reasons)

It becomes commonplace for them to help each other out with projects, and eventually through their research (fact-checking and digging through old psychonauts mission archives) they start to come across old psychonauts files of unfinished or ‘suspicious’ looking missions, ones that normally didnt get the green light to be told in graphic novel form due to the fact that they were inconclusive and, as a result, don’t make for good stories.

Kitty and Vernon end up sort of… picking up on these old missions in their spare time. It’s not psychonauts work but its also not not psychonauts work, you know? They team up to try and work out what lead to dead ends in missions and cross-referencing possibly related stories with other stories, and go out into the field to try and get answers. I picture it a lot in my brain as an episodic mystery series vis a vis scooby doo. They pick their archived mission log of the week to check out, go out, get some answers, and get a conclusion to bring back to TPT and a new graphic novel is made of the story they were able to uncover! With some more overarching plots where they get a little in over their heads here and there.

Franke’s got a bit less of a fleshed out role in all of this atm, mostly because i havent thought of him as much as the other two? My current vague-idea i have is that she and kitty had a falling out during their teen years, and Franke calls Kitty and Vernon falsely claiming to have a lead on a mystery theyve been working on, in order to try and reconnect with Kitty after she stopped talking to him. He has to come clean when whatever she leads them to actually ends up being a real psychic issue, and she has to explain that she doesn’t know what’s going on because she hadn’t actually called in about anything legit.

Franke does end up being a good help despite technically being the reason they got into deep shit in the first place, and Vernon’s probably the one who asks her to stick around (Kitty isn’t against it, but definitely isn’t really all too welcoming about it either.) They definitely have a whole thing where they all get closer and Kitty and Franke get to mend fences (a character arc along the lines of franke realizing he was kind of a hardass who wanted to make up without actually accepting any faults, and some other super impressive character arcs along the way im sure.) And all three of them continue to go on mystery deep-dives and uncover unfinished psychonauts missions!! Wahoo yahoo!!

Mystery incorporated asses! They’re fun, i enjoy them a lot! Hopefully this is some good tidbits of detail for u thank u for asking about them :]

[hauntedwizardmoment]

Ok. Now we’re really getting in the weeds. Also sorry this is so vague and formless but. I do think we need to ponder Jace’s old party meeting the clones. OC x w sorta-ish OC crossover (not to navel gaze). I need to know how Perry would feel abt what a freak bluejay is

YEAHHHH CHEERING HOLD ON i need to. open up excel. let's go down the line

invidia x j2: god i think j2 freaks invidia out so bad. this is a version of jace that lives and dies at the behest of porter cliffbreaker, and like, she's a romantic! she's happy jace found someone! but she takes one look at what j2 and porter have and is like oh that's not love. that's something else and it's frightening

invidia x j3: now j3 invidia would absolutely get along with. this is closer to the jace she knows, i.e. huge slut who's always in some drama. but also like, they used to joke about how jace was so conceited he'd fuck himself and hey, look, this one actually IS! and she says this to j3 thinking j3 would also find it funny but uh. he doesn't. at all.

invidia x j4: this is SO MESSYYYYY j4 makes invidia question if she even knows jace at all. like she asks jace about j4 and doesnt get a straight answer, more of a "oh just ignore that one, it's a failed experiment" and then she like, actually talks to j4 and realizes that j4 is like. much more true to the bitter, angry version of jace trapped in elmville that she missed out on when she was out with the rest of the party.

aurora x j2: WEIRD FUNDIES UNITE!!! j2 and aurora don't agree on much but they do agree that your relationship with your god is very very important, as is proselytizing about it and getting as many people into your faith as possible. and that your happiness comes second to this, always. aurora doesnt even clock that j2's brain is cooked she's like "oh wait... a version of jace that's tolerable? that's kind of... like me?? i didnt know he had it in him!"

aurora x j3: oh she hates his ass so much. how did jace make himself more of an annoying whore. and why does he dress like that.

aurora x j4: she hates j4 MARGINALLY less than she hates j3. like her issues with j3 are straight up her issues with jace and she doesn't like jace at all. her issues with j4 are new and different and she cant really process that? like j4 is so... insistent on making her issues with everything known. and aurora is like "you know, your life would be a lot easier if you just did what was expected of you. suck it up." and does not analyze that statement in regards to her own life.

peregrine x j2: god. peregrine wants this version of jace SO BADLY. sweet and pliant and always willing to tell him he's so strong and brave. loyal to a fault, practically no desires outside of what his beloved wants. unfortunately j2 is so porter-pilled that even though he has all of jace's memories of peregrine he's not interested at all. which of course means:

peregrine x j3: not to make j3 another shitty guy's consolation prize in lieu of j2 (who is himself a consolation prize in lieu of jace) but like. if peregrine can't have the idealized version of jace he'll take the easy one. the warm, jace-shaped body. and he's not interrogating j3's interiority at all bc nobody except him has internal struggles, of course.

peregrine x j4: she scares him so badly. like this to him is the real dark mirror of jace. all of them are dark mirrors in their own way but this one is the one who is resentful. angry. willing to lash out. call him on his bullshit, tell him he fucked up to his face. in a way though it's kind of a relief bc it just confirms all the horrible things he thinks about himself.

ysvelde x j2: awww theyre besties!! they both live for the approval of others and are willing to change themselves to get it, they get on like a house on fire!! ysvelde thinks he's ADORABLE too. ysvelde also sees some. terrible terrible parallels between how her mom treats her and how jace treats j2. and resolves to not interrogate that because she values her friendship w jace <3

ysvelde x j3: ALSO besties but in a very different way!! theyre not having deep emotional conversations, theyre going OUT!! ysvelde's missed having someone who appreciates sneaking away from the rest of the party to find the only decent bar this far away from civilization. and j3 knows all the best spots too!! (she's ignoring how little jace seems to care about j3's safety and doesnt even ask if he has a weapon on him before he goes out).

ysvelde x j4: unfortunately the one clone ysvelde doesnt really Get? like j4 is so sure of who she is. she's so determined to define herself in opposition to jace. and ysvelde like... can't really relate to that. like the idea of not performing constantly, not seeking the approval of someone else, is unfathomable to her.

dagbert x the clones: god poor dagbert. he cannot tell them apart even a little bit. he thinks its VERY cool that jace managed to do this, he's always admired jace's spellcraft on a technical level, but the clones seem to have just as much insane psychosexual drama as jace does and he's not about to entangle himself in it. not when he has a FUCKING JOB. god. do none of these people care about their JOB. his personal life is so divorced from anything any of these people are doing that it's comical. he tries to engage with j3 once because j3's very hot but gets shut down bc j3's busy with peregrine. he approaches j2 but sees him engaged with aurora ENTHUSIASICALLY talking about devotion to god and is like ohhhh gods no i know crazy when i see it. stay away. j4 is his favorite because she's a straight-shooter. and she's the only clone that looks interested when he mentions taking over his father's construction business and they can talk about tools and lumber and brickwork for hours.

[katvaramell]

And the last jumble of my JJK thoughts

Because JESUS CHRIST IT JUST KEEPS GETTING WORSE

That’s how nanami dies???? After everything???? Just being disfigured by mahito??? And itadori has to watch it after dealing with all the sukuna shit 😭

This poor little boy is 15!!!!! And now he has to deal with this and mahito is just a little shit with no emotional intelligence at all

The music during the fight between mahito and itadori is so silly I thought it was a very good opposite to the fight with choso. A lot of people think the fight with choso is the best one in shibuya, but I actually thought the one with mahito was much more compelling to watch. Even though the techniques and the mood of the choso fight were very very interesting. The best one in the arc for me has to be the sukuna fight just because of the animation of the the techniques

Now kugasaki dies as well???? Give itadori a break please he’s already so traumatized 😭😭 especially after he was so glad to know that he’s not alone, when her attack resonated through mahito

I’m glad todo found him so he’s not alone, but I hope jujutsu high has a therapist on staff for afterwards

And todos necklace having a photo of takada and itadori I can’t that’s so cute 😭 idk what it is about itadori that just makes ppl want to be his brother but it’s a much needed bit of fun. Also very smart of him to clap with Mahitos hand but if this boy dies as well im rioting

The end of the fight between itadori and mahito is a true masterpiece

I don’t know why they’re suddenly in the snow, but my guess is that that is itadoris domain. It was so thrilling to see the bunnies and wolves, especially once the white wolf with the same wound in his face as itadori turned up. The calm in itadori, finally being able to fulfill his promise. I also liked that there wasn’t really any music in the background and then the sudden geto reveal was actually surprising!

I’m quite disappointed that fake geto interrupted itadori killing mahito. Even though it may have worsened itadoris mental state it would have helped mine. And it’s nice that mahito got absorbed because it’s a fuck you to him, but it’s really really bad because now fake geto has transfiguration :((

And I think it’s so fucking funny that itadori gives off some kind of connection that makes ppl want to be his brother 😭 but very intriguing that it’s possible that choso and him are really brothers through the brain thingy. Maybe it possessed one of itadoris parents at the time, we never got to know them. Very very curious to see where that storyline goes

Am I understanding that right that literally everything is going to shit now? Just curses everywhere and complete global break down? At least Yuta is back 😔 and rika is as well???? I am very confused

I love that Yuta and yuki are allies absolutely cunt duo

Itadori cut off toges arms???? 😭😭😭 noooo pookie already has enough trauma from sukuna we don’t need that as well and poor toge hes just a lil guy 😭😭😭

AND NOW THEYRE DECLARING GOJO A CRIMINAL???? What’s that for????????? And helping him is a crime????? I am SO CONFUSED

I mean I already thought that the leaders of jujutsu society were corrupt but Jesus fucking Christ this is another level

And now they’re sentencing the principal to death??? For what? Letting two gays have a break up?

And Yuta as itadoris official executioner? I’m rioting

And what is going on in that last scene with itadori clapping and then huge curses jumping out of the water??? Give me the manga right now I need answers 😭