#bonus points if they both intentionally keep each others old name

[lunarlillieuwu]

An Edge Dyad and both of them transitioned in opposite directions a long time ago and now historians often get each of them mixed up with their foe pre-transition is this anything

[skyward-floored]

Campfire

This is a snippet of an AU I’ve been working on for a pretty long time now, almost a year at this point I think. It’s your typical “all the Links meet” AU, and this is just a small scene during it. (only around 500 words) But I finally got to the point where I’m comfortable posting some bits of it while I work on the main story, so here it is. (Under the cut)

There’s also a crash-course on nicknames so you know who is who. Subject to change because I’m a fickle person. (Also yes I know some of the names are the same as other people’s, but I didn’t intentionally copy anyone.)

@telemna-hyelle here it is :D

Botw- Slate

Tp- Gloam

Oot, (mm, hw)- Sprite

Zelda 1/2- Brownie

Fsa- Light (And Shadow)

Sksw- Cloud

Tmc- Mini

Albw (triforce heroes)- Hue

Alttp, Oracles, Awakening- Hibisicus

Ww- Windy (or sometimes Crawfish)

————————————————————

Gloam always enjoyed being on watch.

He didn’t mind the dark—his night vision was excellent after all—and watching out for his fellow heroes as they slept always put something in him at ease. It was either the wolf or big brother in him, but keeping his teammates, his pack, his family safe... it always felt right.

Getting to see them all cuddle on cold nights like tonight was just a bonus.

His favorite part of the watch was always when he would take a minute or two and walk (or pad) around the perimeter, and while making sure nothing monstrous was nearby, he’d check on each of the heroes and see how they were sleeping.

He’d occasionally wake someone from a nightmare, but that was a relatively rare occurrence. He usually just pulled a blanket or two tighter around someone, and gently rearranged some limbs that would have been stiff the following morning.

That was definitely the big brother in him.

Most of them tolerated his big-brothering, a few of them loved it even, but it drove some of the more testy Links crazy. But he couldn’t help it! Almost all of them were kids, barely old enough to be holding a sword, not to mention be killing anything with it. The least he could do was coddle them a bit and make sure they had a good night’s sleep.

Gloam stood up with a small pop as he stretched, then stoked the fire a bit before he began his rounds.

Tonight the two closest to the fire were Mini and Light, the small heroes pressed tightly against each other. Warm shadows were draped along their shared blanket, and Gloam smiled at the third hero he knew was there as well.

Windy lay on the other side of the fire, almost as close as Mini and Light, but wrapped up in considerably more blankets then the two. Surprisingly enough, Sprite of all people was pressed against his side, curled tightly into a ball. Gloam raised an eyebrow at the unusual sight. Sprite almost always slept alone, near the very edge of camp. Maybe the kid was beginning to lighten up a bit?

...That or he was just chilly. Either way, it was good to see him somewhere other then the outskirts of camp. Gloam continued on, but not before adjusting Windy’s many blankets more tightly around him. (And carefully tucking in Sprite’s).

Farther away but still close enough to garner warmth from the flames were Cloud and Slate, the two a pile of seemingly random limbs tangled up in the sailcloth. Faint snoring emanated from under it, and Gloam tried not to laugh as someone’s leg twitched at the noise. He attempted to untangle them a bit, but ultimately gave up and let them be. They were knotted up tighter then a burr in goat hair, and Gloam couldn’t even figure out who’s limbs were who’s.

Moving on, he came to where Hibiscus lay flat on his back, the creases in his face smoothed for once as he slept. Hue was pressed up against his side, with Brownie somehow squished in between them both. They looked so calm all smooshed together, and Gloam felt the urge to turn into a wolf and join them.

He shook it off with a sigh. Somebody had to keep watch.

A small noise came from the pile, and Brownie suddenly twitched a bit in his sleep, his face pinched. Gloam frowned and leaned over to run a gentle hand through his hair, and he stilled, sighing as whatever dream was plaguing him faded away.

Gloam sighed and walked back over to the log he’d started at, settling back in to finish his watch with a yawn.

It wouldn’t be long now til morning, but until then, he’d make sure they all slept in peace.

[konoha-kohai-discord]

🐢 Event Rules & FAQ 🐢

Content Rules

• For this event, we ask that no shipping is done involving Kakashi, Gai, or anyone on the Name Wheel (See down below for explanation) as they will be underage during this event.

Shows of affection such as hugging, cuddling, hand holding, or cheek kisses are allowed as these are not romantic-exclusive interactions.

- For reference - all who were locked in the barrier during the Kyuubi Attack, aka either those who are slightly above, below, or the same age as Kakashi & Gai's age group will be underage during this event.

• Please do not recycle old works- Unpublished WIPs are fine.

• Kakashi and Gai must be a major focus in your works, as this event focuses on how their rivalry began.

• Please include all tags and warnings that apply to your work.

• We ask that all submissions be SFW.

- If you wish to involve mild NSFW/ Dark themes in your work such as non-life threatening wounds, brief vague mentions of nightmares/mentions of past trauma, or mild reference to past emotional abuse, we ask that you speak with one of the members of our team before submitting your work. Anything violating this rule will not be reblogged by this blog and will be blocked from being added to the AO3 collection.

Posting Rules

• Please include the event tag: eternalrivalrybegins2022

• We ask that you include the event weeks Theme Name in the tags as well

- Example = eternal rivalry - first meeting

mishaps

• If you plan on posting to AO3, please use this collection:

(Collection is currently closed and will be opened once the event starts.)

((Edit- The collection is now open!))

• Works can of course be posted anywhere, but if you wish for us to know about it we ask you to please make a Tumblr post with the work and/ or a link to it and tag our blog.

Event FAQ

What is the Name Wheel?

The Name Wheel is a wheel we've filled with names belonging to many folks who are in or atleast close to Kakashi and Gai's age group. During each section of the event, you must spin the wheel and obtain 2 names- atleast 1 of these characters has to be involved in your work in some way. If you end up using both names the Wheel gives you, we ask that you mention it (bonus points may or may not be available if you are a part of the teams on the server)

- Other characters that are not on the name wheel can of course be in your work! The name wheel was just made in order to pick out Kakashi and Gai's peers.

What is the main theme of this event?

Overall our theme is Eternal Rivalry - optionally ignoring canon, how do you think Kakashi and Gai's rivalry started? What sort of mischief did those two get into in their younger years, whether intentionally or not? How many grey hairs do you think they gave their dads, if any? That'll be up to you to decide!

Do I have to use all the prompt items?

Nope! We ask that you use atleast 1 of the items, but you do not have to use them all. Points can only be earned from items if they are used during the appropriate weeks- if you use items from Weeks 1 & 2 during say Weeks 5 & 6, you will not earn bonus points.

What's with these points keep seeing be mentioned?

Points are something you can only earn if you are a member of the Konoha Kohai Discord Server, and do not really effect the event itself. They are simply a fun side thing- rules are set in the event channels of the server if you wish to know more :)

If you have any questions related to this event, don't be afraid to message our team here or on the server!

See you all on the training grounds o7

[oddsandendsandthings]

Did somebody say Pokémon AU??

I honestly have no clue if this has been done or not. But here' what I'd think a Pokémon AU would look like complete with Pokémon teams.

So for the most part everything follows the show with the added bonus of Pokémon being a thing. The Magnus Institute exists to investigate and catalogue paranormal and supernatural experiences that fall outside the range of regular Pokémon shenanigans. So in the beginning, Jon is an even more cynical ass that chalks everything up to being just typical ghost Pokémon messing with people. But there are greater forces at work that fall outside of even Arceus's range of understanding. And there is more to fear than just Pokémon lurking in the shadows.

Jon: He wasn't like most kids with grand dreams of being a Pokémon master. He was and still is much more content reading a book than training Pokémon. All the ones in his team caught him more than the other way around which is really just par for the course for Jon really. He also can’t be bothered to name any of them.

Absol: It just started following him after the brush with the Leitner and just refused to leave. It tries to warn Jon about bad situations but the man has zero self-preservation instincts. Essentially acts like a beleaguered mom looking after her self destructive toddler.

Rotom: It really just kinda came with the tape recorder.

Unknown: Jon didn't intentionally catch it. The unknown just live in the Archives and made themselves at home in his office until one finally just tapped into a pokeball conveniently left on his desk. It likes helping him find real statements in the Archives and tries to work with its brethren and Absol to warn Jon about incoming dangers. He’s just too buried in statements to see ominous warnings literally floating above his head.

Buneary: It was the first and only Pokemon he ever purposefully caught. It hated him when he caught it and it still hates his guts now but they both refuse to let the other go out of spite. Tim gets a kick about teasing him about it.

Purugly: His first pokemon given to him when his grandma's purugly had kittens. It spends all its time skulking around the archives just doing cat things.

Chandelure: He caught it in the woods as a litwik as a kid and used it as a reading light. He doesn't believe in the stories surrounding them stealing your life force but it definitely does and he’s just too hyped on caffeine to notice.

Martin: I imagine Martin as the breeder type who loves to nurture Pokémon from eggs and just overly spoil his entire team. He of course names all his pokemon after Romantic poets.

Joltik:  Used to belong to Jon before he gave it away after the Leitner incident. He really just kinda threw the ball as far as he could and it hit Martin upside the head. Jon doesn't realize that Martin was that kid or that that Joltik was his and it makes both of them very sad. The only pokemon he hasn’t named since he doesn’t know what Jon named it and it didn’t feel right to change it.

Araquanid: He named it Byron after Lord Byron. Pokémon who, depending on who you ask, either drowns unsuspecting Pokémon or cares for them. Fits Martin to a T if you ask me and he would take pity on a poor, misunderstood spider.

Sylveon: He named it Felicia after Felicia Hemans. He raised it from an egg he found in the backyard. It was also his first Pokemon period that he hid in his room because his mom didn't want any Pokémon in the house. When she did find it she begrudgingly allowed it. She always seemed to dote on it more than she ever did Martin himself...

Klefki: Named it Will after William Wordsworth. This little guy is half the reason Martin is able to get into half the places he does.

Chansey: Named Keats. Another Pokemon raised from an egg, it is just as doting as Martin is to the others in the archives. It is also consequently the most powerful member on his team.

Zorua: Named Percy after Percy Shelley. He initially thought he was catching a volpix when he caught it. He bonded with it over having to hide who he truly is too. It is the overprotective guard dog he deserves that no one realizes how dangerous it truly is.

Tim: his team is comprised of beautiful Pokémon that can absolutely kick anyone's ass at a moments notice. They are all as salty as they are beautiful. He names his pokemon after famous actors and actresses.

Roserade: Named Angelina after Angelina Jolie, it was the first Pokemon he ever caught, the two are a dazzling duo charming anyone that crosses their path.

Yamask: It showed up and started hanging around him after his brother was taken by the Stranger. After that, he knew without a shadow of a doubt his brother was dead. He dotes on it constantly because of it despite how much it creeps others out. He, of course, named it Danny.

Milotic: Named Kiera after Kiera Knightly, he evolved it from a feebas he hatched from an egg. He still treats it like his baby.

Lopunny: It was his first Pokémon. His brother gave it to him as a gift and he took it as a challenge to get it to like him enough to evolve. He named it Audrey after Audrey Hepburn.

Liepard: Its stealthy nature is extremely helpful when scouting locations and doing research for the institute. It also hates Jon as much as Tim does. He named it Jackman after Hugh Jackman.

Diancie: He inherited it from his bro after his passing. Danny found it while exploring an old cave and used to travel everywhere with him. It and Danny are still inseparable. Its name is Mila after Mila Kunis.

Basira: Her team is as practical as she is. They are all extremely powerful and could easily take down the entire league if she wanted to. She just doesn’t want to. Her no-nonsense attitude means she just doesn’t see the point in naming any of her pokemon.

Arcanine: What's a cop without their traditional canine companion? Her arcanine fell in love with Daisy's before they even had a clue they were made for each other and set them up in a very 101 Dalmatian style.

Serperior: Her first pokemon given to her from the local pokemon professor. They share the same unimpressed icy stare.

Mightyena: They are truly cut from the same cloth and is honestly more of her partner than her official partner.

Alolan Ninetails: Her strongest Pokémon and her fiercest protector. It loves playing mind games with people.

Umbreon (evolved during the Raynor incident. It seems especially keen on picking up on paranormal activities making it very useful to have on hand)

Mewtwo (cause if anyone has a legendary Pokémon, it's Basira. She caught it during one of the section cases she took and just didn't tell anyone)

Daisy: She is the “gotta collect them all” type of pokemon hunter. She catches any new pokemon she comes across and sends them to the local professor cause she has to fill that pokedex.

Arcanine: Second verse same as the first with this one of being a staple of being a police officer. It will look for any excuse to burn someone. The only person it likes besides Daisy is Basira and her Arcanine.

Houndoom: Her first pokemon she got as a houndour. She terrorized the neighborhood kids with it and is essential for her hunting down both new pokemon and perps. 

Treevant: She caught it as a phantump after it showed up as she was looking into a cold case. At least if she never was able to file an official report, she at least knew how the case ended.

Sawsbuck: She caught it as a deerling and was the first pokemon she ever caught. What kinda hunter hasn’t caught a deer right?

Espurr: She got it after the whole coffin incident. She just kinda cam across it by chance and felt a kinship with it about having to restrain a flood of overwhelming power it holds.

Lyanroc Midnight form: It is as vicious as she is when in full Hunt mode. 

Melanie: She is the one type kinda trainer and it’s, of course, ghost types. She is determined to prove the paranormal exists outside of ghost type pokemon.

Gengar: It was the Pokémon that started her fascination with ghosts and the first Pokémon she ever had.

Honedge: She found it when looking into that ghost train and couldn’t not catch it. When she’s threatening to stab someone, she uses honedge to do so.

Sableye: Found in an abandoned, haunted mine shaft.

Banette: Cause what kinda ghost hunter doesn’t have a haunted doll?

Gourgeist: She caught it as a pumpkaboo on her very first ghost hunting trip.

Spiritomb: Caught it poking around the wrong place at the wrong time she came across it and had to catch it cause if anyone would have a spiritomb, it would be her. It’s just as bloodthirsty as she is.

Sasha: Do I mean this team was made by Sasha or Not-Sasha? The answer is yes.

Mimikyu: The first pokemon she ever caught. Wait... wasn’t it supposed to be a pikachu?

Ditto: This one just speaks for itself.

Baynette: After she caught it she started reading up on the stories and pores surrounding certain Pokémon that put her on the path of working at the institute.

Gothitelle: It started crying nearly immediately after Sasha started working for the Institute but didn't buy into the wives tale about them predicting their trainer's deaths. It mysteriously disappeared after the Prentis incident.

Claydol: She found it wandering around artifact storage and felt bad for it.

Parasect: Her first pokemon. She really just found it as a paras in her parents' backyard as a kid and begged them to let her keep it. It evolved during the Prentis incident while trying to help her fend off the worms.

[margridarnauds]

I actually don't know *exactly* what you ship but 1 - 5 and 9 - 13 for whatever your 1789 ship is since I haven't seen it yet and don't know much about it, I jsut like soft HCs

HARD SAME on That Soft Shit

So, Royal Officer Who is Also a Part Time Parrot/Peasant Whose Father He Tried To Arrest For Tax Evasion (and who was killed in the attempt WOOPS)

As a word of warning: Canon has been bent forward, backward, and sideways to support this one, since at least 98% of the 1789 fandom is dedicated to nothing if not figuring out new and inventive ways of twisting canon to our own diabolical ends. 

1. Who makes the first move and how?

Ronan. Always Ronan. Probably via tackling. Like, it’s 100% canon to the Takarazuka that this is how he kisses: 

There is no helping this boy. He might think that he’s being smooth and suave, but no. There is NOTHING smooth or suave about this disaster. The good news is that there’s nothing ELSE that could get Lazare to take the inevitable hint. Things Lazare de Peyrol is good at: Strategy, shooting things, giving the 18th century equivalent equivalent of powerpoint presentations on how to shoot unarmed civilians, stomping in place. 

Things Lazare de Peyrol is NOT good at: Actually thinking that the peasant boy he’s been awkwardly trying to flirt with is interested in him sans a 20 page paper with citations. 

“The fuck is this? The fuck are you?” (Also: I REALLY need to remake this gif one day but until then, enjoy it in all its low-quality splendor.)

2. Who is the most insecure and what makes them feel better?

Both of them have their reasons to be insecure. I think that both of them, on some level, always think that the other will choose their side over them. On one hand, Lazare feels really, really insecure that Ronan will eventually choose the other revolutionaries, especially since they all have more in common and Ronan spends more time with them. And, on some level, I think that Lazare is fully aware of what he did to Ronan’s father, what he’s continuing to do with the Revolution, and so there’s this kind of BAFFLEMENT that Ronan loves him. And, meanwhile...there’s not a LOT that’s mentioned about Lazare’s upbringing in-canon, of all of the main cast, he tends to get very little in the way of what we KNOW about him, a lot of the speculation that I do is pure projection/speculation. I do think, however, that there’s enough evidence, at least in the French version, to indicate that Laz was pushed into the army from a young age by his family. Again, not CANON canon, but there are a few lyrics that could indicate it, and there were a LOT of aristocratic officers at this time (Off the top of my head, I can bring up Lafayette and the Marquis de Sade), who got into it when they were about 14. So, Lazare’s never really HAD the stability of a home/family life, and I think there’s this constant dread that it will be pulled out from under him. 

 Meanwhile, it has to sink into Ronan’s mind at some point that Lazare, unlike him, actually CARES about what society thinks. Lazare isn’t interested in creating a brand new, shiny world, he wants to succeed in the old one. And that means keeping things behind closed doors, marrying someone with a comparable pedigree, doing what’s expected.

As far as what makes them feel better...Ronan’s continued presence is a biggie for Lazare. Like, there’s that worry that one day, Lazare will come back to an empty room because Ronan’s changed his mind, but nope, there’s his boyfriend, sprawled out on their bed, and as soon as he gets in, Ronan’s right there, pulling him closer. And also, even though Lazare gets IRRITATED with Ronan’s “Brave New World” speech from time to time, given that Ronan seems blissfully oblivious to what is going to HAPPEN with that Brave New World (namely, the extinction of everything that Lazare’s known), there’s SOMETHING about the fact that Ronan always mentions that BOTH of them will be there. Ronan started the Revolution for the purpose of revenge against him, but he’s going to end it so that he can create a world where they’ll be together. And despite everything else, that’s oddly soothing, to the extent that sometimes (just sometimes), Lazare likes to imagine what that new world could be like. 

Meanwhile, I think that Ronan sometimes is completely taken aback when Laz DOES go that extra mile and shows affection. Like, they’ll be having dinner together and he’ll catch Laz doing a half-smile at something he’s just said, or Laz will take his hand and press a kiss to it, and it’s suddenly like “Oh. Oh. He really does. Like me, doesn’t he?” And it’s moments like those where he realizes that Lazare really IS committed to this one, he just has a different way of showing it. 

3. Who is the most romantic?

Popular belief would say Ronan, because he’s the one who’s most outwardly expressive. He’s the one who tends to initiate cuddling, he’s the one most likely to regularly say “I love you,” etc. BUT! Lazare is the one most likely to remember some minor detail that Ronan mentioned once just so he could surprise him with a present, he’s the one who tends to do more quiet, intimate gestures (hand kissing, forehead kisses, etc.) and he’s the one who tends to look at Ronan like he hung the stars when he thinks Ronan’s not looking. And it’s more dramatic coming from Lazare because he ISN’T a natural romantic, he tends to think this kind of thing through. 

I just realized there’s a very distressing lack of French 1789 gifs on my computer and that needs to be amended soon, but THIS? Is how Laz tends to look at Ronan in the Takarazuka. (Ignoring the caption since I added it. Even if it’s accurate.)

Keeping in mind that THIS tends to be his default expression: 

“Hello, my name is Lazare and I’m dead inside. I have three emotions, one of which is ‘homicide,’ another of which is called ‘Ronan Mazurier,’ and another of which is called ‘I haven’t had enough morning coffee for this.’” 

4. Who can’t keep their hands to themselves?

Ronan. He’s always trying to figure out ways to touch or cuddle with Lazare. If he could, he would totally sit on Laz’s lap all the time in lieu of a semi-decent seat. He tends to “accidentally” manage to get his hands underneath Lazare’s shirt when they’re cuddling or just...tugs him closer. It’s not like Ronan’s ever really been in a situation where privacy was the NORM, since he’s a peasant. You have to figure that all his life, he’s slept at least three to a bed.

Lazare will never admit how much he actually loves it, because he’s been so touch starved all his life that he NEEDS that. 

9. What is the most embarrassing thing they have done in front of each other?

With Ronan “most embarrassing” is a very interesting term, since he’s.....Ronan. He’s the EMBODIMENT of “disaster, chaotic gay/bi.” There’s “That time that the illegal press that he was helping run was raided by the police, causing Ronan to go through the sewers. Shortly thereafter, he *mysteriously* gets a new coat.” There’s “That Time Ronan Initiated a Dance Off In Front of Laz’s Boss, Who Happens to be the King of France.” There’s the first time they met, where Ronan more or less called Laz a bitch to his face and got into a fist fight with him. And then, there’s That One Time Ronan got called out by the Queen’s favorite governess and shipped off to the Bastille. Bonus for the Takarazuka and Toho productions, where he’s ALSO hella drunk/hungover at the time. Modern AU Ronan would get hurt after slipping on the floor while dancing to Baby Shark (dododododo). There’s just...never a dull moment. 

Meanwhile, it’s a longstanding headcanon of mine that Lazare tends to pace back and forth. This is not in and of itself embarrassing, I say as a chronic pacer. What IS is when his boyfriend catches him mid-pace, making gestures and facial expressions to go along with an imaginary conversation in order to prepare for an audience that he’s not had yet. 

10. What two songs, two books and two luxury items do they take to a desert island?

Ronan: Baby Shark (Dodododododo) (No, I’m never NOT going to be on my bullshit with this one) (Lazare regrets allowing him it, but there’s very little that Lazare can ultimately deny him), he can’t read in-canon but in a modern AU I GUESS something that’s

Lazare: Two Steps From Hell - Nero 

(Historically, if it was at all possible, it would be a duel between Richard mon Roi and Ah, Ça Ira)

Neither one of them’s a big reader, but I can see Lazare taking along, like, a copy of the military regulations. And maybe a copy of Pamela if he’s worried he might suffer from insomnia. And honestly, in a modern AU, I can see Ronan taking, like, a pulpy gay romance novel about an innocent peasant being seduced by a wicked count. He does dramatic readings of the steamiest bits. Lazare rolls his eyes and turns over in their shared hammock. 

Luxury items: Lazare NEEDS his work computer. He doesn’t even need wifi, even though it’s obviously IMPORTANT; he just needs to be able to do his work. There are times Ronan thinks Laz would MARRY his work computer if he could. Also he and Ronan can BOTH agree that water filtration is essential. They are NOT going to die of something easily preventable.  

11. What do they hide from one another?

Lazare suffers from traumatic nightmares, and it’s something that he REALLY does not like to talk about, at all, mainly because he considers them to be humiliating. (Just like he really doesn’t like to talk about what CAUSED aforementioned nightmares.) Ronan eventually is able to coax him to talk about it and can usually get him to go back to sleep. 

Ronan has been known to tone down just how bad he’s hurt, either intentionally or unintentionally (”I’M ALRIGHT. Oh fuck, I’m not alright. Fuck.”) He tends to call Lazare out on “mother-henning” him when he thinks that Ronan has so much as a scratch on him. (Which is ironic given that we KNOW that if Ronan ever found out that Lazare got hurt, he would make over him just as much if not more.)12. What first changes when it starts getting serious?

Suddenly the stakes become REAL. Like, the Revolution VS the Monarchy conflict really starts to come into play, as they both start to kind of realize that one of them might not survive this. Suddenly, Ronan’s little tendency to get himself into trouble is something that causes a HUGE amount of anxiety for Lazare, because suddenly Lazare realizes that if Ronan doesn’t come back, he won’t be nearly as fine with that as he’d been pretending. Because Lazare’s life rests on stability, and somehow, without him realizing, Ronan had become that source of stability. And suddenly, Lazare’s devotion to the Royal Family becomes even more frustrating for Ronan, as he has to think that every time there’s violence in the street, “That could be Lazare.” He started with the Revolution in order to get revenge on Lazare for he did to his father (”Hello, my name is Ronan Mazurier. You killed my father. Prepare to die.”) but then when the situation FINALLY turns around so that Lazare could actually go down, there’s this sudden “OH SHIT.”

13. When do they realise they should get together?

I mean, in the French version of Maniaque, there’s a Very, Very Interesting place where Lazare goes from using the “vous” form of you on Ronan, indicating a high degree of formality and separation that’s almost TOO polite given their social statuses and that then switches over to a “tu” form. Shortly after male dancers dance homoerotically on stage. Because it’s a French musical. So, in terms of the canon material...........I would say that’s a very good indicator. I kind of like the idea of Maniaque as a back and forth between the two of them, with both of them kind of getting under each other’s skin with their responses. It’s fairly common to read it as Lazare-As-Interrogator, Ronan-As-Plucky-Revolutionary reading, and that’s probably what the writers INTENDED, but...it’s so much more fun imagining them both coming in with this high level of tension and mutual hatred and ending it on a much more uncertain territory. 

Personally, since we’re dealing with HEADCANONS though, I actually tend to put them actually realizing that there’s SOMETHING when Ronan arrives at the printing shop and no one even ASKS about where he’s been for the last month and then he has that argument with the Revolutionary Bros. Like, as a warning, this is totally outside the realm of any canon evidence, but I tend to see Lazare as very, very stressed when Ronan escapes and in my own AUs he totally helps him escape because it’s the only reasonable explanation for where the FUCK Ronan’s been staying all this time, and Ronan is at this point where his faith in the Revolution’s at an all-time low, and he realizes that Lazare is the only one who really...CARED about whether something happened to him. 

[johnny2071]

Top 10 Worst of Sue Murphy *STRONG CRITICISM*

F is for Family is a very divisive show that has garnered a lot of attention on the internet, whether its the bitter and crass nature of the show itself, the dysfunctionality of the Murphy family, or the jarring one-liners and temper of the main character, that only a stand-up comedian like Bill Burr can provide. However, while this show gets nothing but an obscene amount of praise, especially over its outspoken protagonist, not much is said regarding the main female of the house who invokes a lot of emotional drama: Sue Murphy, who quite honestly is far from pleasant and approachable. We all have stress in our lives. However, Sue's methods of handling them, along with sheer amount of obsession, neglect, hostility, and miscommunication with just the people in her house, is enough to keep anyone awake for weeks, especially with a show written as real as this. This is a top 10 list of Sue's worst moments in each episode throughout the first three seasons up to this point (with some exceptions). Before anyone in this rabid "show-can-do-no-wrong" subreddit/fanbase bites my head off or "puts me through da fuckin' wall", it's important to read this quote from a popular YouTuber: "Rather than insulting these people, maybe try to understand the perspective and say why you disagree. This kind of reaction to negativity and critique needs to stop. There is nothing wrong with negativity. Negativity, especially in criticism is a necessity. You cannot have positivity without negativity. Bother are in balance, and one without the other is unnatural. You cannot live your life without negativity or negative opinions towards something. It's completely natural. Not only that, but living in a world where everything is treated as if they have no flaws is misguided. That's not how things are. So when a product comes along, it should be scrutinized with negativity and positivity."

Unlike Watchmojo or any regular top ten video, I will not include full paragraph analysis for each bad Sue moment. This will be kept as brief as possible. Also, these aren't rankings for the episodes themselves (since other characters do horrible and questionable things). With that said, let's move on to this top 10 list.

10. This is Not Good - Out of these current 26 episodes, there have been some minor moments. But it's this episode that highlights Sue's neglect and sets the tone that erupts into a fierce conflict. 9. Punch Drunk - While Sue has major hostility towards Chet and Frank for not siding with her judgement, what really takes the cake is when she coldly blows off Maureen, who was only voicing a complaint about her father. 8. Paul Lynde to Block - Sue's mood in general over the summer heat, and Frank and Kevin's arguing. But the real kicker is her brief exchange with Bill over bug spray, shortly before she meets the new neighbors. 7. Landing the Plane - Sue's bitterness at the beginning of the episode, as well her treatment towards a random bystander while drunk from her sorrows of having her idea stolen. 6. F is for Fixing It - Sue's mood throughout the whole episode, as she puts pressure on Frank to resolve their marriage. 5. Bill Murphy's Day Off - Frank and Sue's first explosive argument, where they both say negative about Bill behind his back. 4. The Stinger - Sue's outburst in this episode is what provoked me to create this list. She kicks Bill out the house and sends Maureen to her room, just so she can have the whole living room to herself, only to threaten everyone she invited over (and even Maureen) to by her product. Selfish bitch! I wish I could just barge in there, call her out on her shit, and snatch and toss away that carton of ice cream she has the nerve to triumphantly eat. And I'll gladly take on any SJWs who object. 3. Pray Away - Sue was frosty throughout the entire episode (no peaceful moments there), but flips out when Frank sincerely expresses his source of anger. 2. Fight Night - I'm not sure what things were like at the beginning, the things go SOUTH between Frank and Sue the minute they're called into the Maureen's classroom. 1. A Girl Named Sue - Do I even need to explain why this is number one. It's that one scene alone, and I do not want to recount it. Dishonorable Mentions: -The Bleedin in Sweden - When the new television is broken, Sue intentionally guilts the children over Frank's outburst in the store. After Kevin takes the fall, she zeroes in on Bill and scolds him for it when he comes clean. Even though Frank is kind to him at the end, Sue says NOTHING. -Saturday, Bloody Saturday - At the beginning, Sue scolds Kevin for his bad grades, and stops a fight between Bill and Maureen, by threatening to go insane. -The Trough - While Kevin rightfully gets called out for not doing his homework and keeping his promise, it doesn't paint Sue in a positive light. However, Sue shows her scary side once again (exclaiming that she wished she was never married), when she runs into Ginny, who eats all her time in the rest of the day she was going to spend with Maureen (who was dragged along with her). Whether Sue actually had Maureen in mind or just brought her along as a prop to quell her own insecurities is debatable. This also the matter that Sue almost  returns home in rage to chew out Frank (after Maureen mention that he has exclaimed that same thing before). -F is for Halloween - Sue's silently storms off when she finds out about the message Sue left. This is not in the top 10, because she's gone throughout the rest of the episode until the end. -O Holy Moly Night - Sue's hostility in this episode is subdued, but still prominent at the beginning. Directly after the fire incident, all Sue can do is just sit at the table and glare at Bill, while Frank chews him out. When Bill mention's that he knows about their bedroom argument, he catches their attention for a brief second, but when Maureen mentions that Major is missing, and they go right back to giving Bill hostility. The drama that scarred Bill and led to the fire in the first place, is never elaborated on past that, and Bill is made an altar boy off-screen by Frank and/or Sue. Other than that Sue simply prepares for the holiday season, up until the Fitzsimmons' call out the entire family and Sue sends them running with a bat and drops her first f-strike. -Heavy Sledding - While Sue is relatively tame throughout the whole episode, the biggest upset is when she screams at a 9-year old who called her family loser, and then throws her cigarette in his face. The fact that she even smokes at this point, strongly implies that this is a very unpleasant woman. -S4E10? - Considering what this show is how it does not deviate from the worst possible scenarios, Sue going in labor will go as well as you would expect it to, and it wouldn't be like any labor scenario that's ever happened in pop culture (and real-life).

----------BONUS DISCUSSION----------

Less Volatile Behavior (a.k.a. the remaining episodes): -The Liar's Club - Didn't watch -Night Shift - Sue's only disdain was over lettuce, before getting wrapped up with her first invention brainstorm -Breaking Bill - Sue had a bad day at work, only to see Frank arguing with Kevin in public. Other than that, she didn't do anything else. -Are You Ready For Summer? - Didn't watch. Sounded like an already involved episode as it is. Apparently, she "wasn't any better than Frank" at the parade. -Frank the Father - Sue gone for most of the day, rooting for Maureen at the Hobo Jojo Show, and expresses disappointment and disgust when she sees Frank and Kevin arguing as she returns home. She then mutters under her breath whether or not its her fault or the family. Needless to say, it's her. -It's In His Blood - Sue is distraught over losing the recently build baby room due to not having a permit. She also pays zero attention to Kevin when he actually tries to get advice from them over a serious matter. The rest of her activity consist of trying to get Nguyen-Nguyen to seek help and Frank's anger over Chet. -Mr. Murphy's Wild Ride - Now this one is quite mixed. Sue actually wishes Kevin a happy birthday, but this is likely due to her being gung-ho that receive "positive feedback" over the Forkoontula. One could argue that she defended Bill, when Marie accuses him of being a liar, when he takes the blame for Phillip pushing Anthony (only for Phillip to admit it anyway). However, she probably used this as a segway to call Marie out on her lie, when she finds out she threw her invention away in the garbage can. To Sue's credit, she does realize how harmful her invention is and gives one of the rarest and sincerest apologies that she/Laura Dern can deliver (a total 180 from the previous episode and earlier, excluding the part where Maureen isn't taken into account, but leagues better than the one she co-gives to Bill when he calls both his parents out). However, this scene shows us just how bad Sue's listening skills are, as she misinterprets two things. First, she thinks that her friends were only fearful towards her invention and not herself and the way she acted. Second, she thinks they actually like her invention, despite the "few flaws". -Summer Vacation - After Frank drives away both Sue's parents and their children, they almost have another argument. Fortunately indigestion kicks in, and they have a good laugh together. -Battle of the Sexes - Sue seems to express no real hostility, but not much sincerity. -Bill Murphy's Night Off - Sue spend the bulk of the episode searching for Bill while worried sick, finally learns how neglectful both her and Frank are as parents, and decides that being parents is their most important priority. We can only hope and pray that they (especially Sue) actually follow through with that promise (the right way), and not just scream at and punish them more, while "being their parents". ----------CONCLUSION----------

Sue has bad bipolar disorder, and needs serious psychological help as well as anger management. The sad thing about all of this is that she's the only female in this series who any real depth and sense of morality and sensitivity, and its the beautiful ones (combined with over-the-top movie star voice acting) that get under our skin and tug the emotional appeal cord. But point being, no one can make a big dramatic stink like Sue, and may god help the innocent party around her (as oppose to those who screw her over in the first place). At this point, in order to redeem her character just somewhat, the whole family need to bring enough up to speed and discuss/clarify all the miscommunications that happen during their neglect this third season alone. And yes, a plot-focused clip show (A CLIP SHOW)/recap episode would be gladly welcomed here. Sure some people would whine about them re-showing clips from previous episodes, but people in this particular fanbase binge each season in repeat anyway. Oh, and being pregnant doesn't give you the right to snap at others, especially over seemingly minor infractions. Sometimes I wonder if Sue is in Philip's kill book (the one character who has hidden unstable malice, regardless of age and gender). 

[falling-red-petals]

Arc Family/Jaune Headcanons

Note: Several of these are bound to contradict each other. (Also feel free to add your own.) (BTW this is mostly angst.)

1.) They’re nomadic. Jaune never indicates where his family is actually from but we know they DID travel a fair bit and Jaune never seemed THAT concerned whenever team RNJR lost the map. Our boy knows his fucking way around.

2.) At least ONE of his sisters is lgbt+

3.) Jaune is either the oldest or somewhere in the middle, but not the youngest. (Mostly because Jaune being a cute big brother who babies a gaggle of little sisters is my dream ya’ll.) (Imagine them clinging to his legs or making him read them bedtime stories!!!!)

4.) His parents, intentionally or not, are neglectful as fuck towards him. As someone who grew up with four siblings I assure you that it can be difficult for working parents to make sure each kid gets the same amount of attention. I can’t imagine what it’s like trying to divide that time between EIGHT FUCKING KIDS.

5.) His parents DO try really hard with him but fail hardcore for various reasons. If true I think this is because most of their advice we’ve heard Jaune repeat, (”My dad said you just have to have confidence.”), is less than great and Jaune himself openly states in V3 that they didn’t even remotely believe in him or what he could do. Maybe they meant they’d be fine if came home but it came out more like “We fully expect you to fail and come home with your tail between your legs” from his point of view. It’s hard to tell since we haven’t actually seen them.

6.) Alternatively, if his parents really are just that dismissive as to think he’ll fail at everything... well, that’s a pretty good way to explain why he’s been massively insecure since Vol 1.

6-b.) Them being abusive to some extent would go a long way in explaining why he was so dismissive about Cardin’s bullying BECAUSE MAYBE THAT’S JUST HOW HE THINKS HE’S SUPPOSE TO BE TREATED OH GOD- 

7.) Some of his sisters are adopted. The idea of some poor woman going through eight pregnancies (that is, if none of them were part of multiple births) makes me cringe because that’s a lot of stress to go under repeatedly. 

8.) A few of the girls have Faunus traits. Additionally, his dad is the faunus parent while his mom is the human parent.

9.) Jaune’s ancestors were great warriors, not heroes. Given that huntsmen get idolized in Remnant (for obvious reasons), I wouldn’t be surprised if a naive-child-Jaune immediately associated “warrior” with “hero” because of this. IMAGINE HOW SHITTY HE’D FEEL IF HE FOUND OUT HIS ANCESTORS DID HORRIBLE THINGS INSTEAD OF BEING HEROIC?! THAT WOULD PERFECTLY SET UP A BROKEN PEDESTAL PLOT

10.) “Jaune Arc” isn’t his legal name. The way he introduces himself to Ruby imo has one of two interpretations. A.) He’s trying and failing to sound cool. B.) He’s a huge nerd and is excited about his new totally not legit name because he thinks he picked a really good one.

11.) His family has some kind of connection with the criminal underworld. I really don’t have any reason why for this one other than I want to know how he got those fake transcripts and I’ve read a bunch of @ofdustandpotions post about the subject.

11-b.) Bonus points if their underworld connection goes by the alias of “Kevin.”

12.) Even before he went to Beacon, Jaune felt like he was useless. That he wasn’t living up to his family name. Something put him at such a terrible state of mind that he felt like the only way to be worth anything to his family was to put himself in an extremely life threatening field of work. 

13.) If a character suggests he goes home to his family for a little while Jaune will refuse, both because he won’t abandon his friends but also because he doesn’t feel like he’s worth enough yet to go back to them with any honor intact. 

14.) His parents ALSO don’t know what aura is. Maybe Jaune’s dad is a warrior but was never trained to be a huntsman and has survived by pure grit, who knows?

15.) Ruby is the first real friend he’s ever had, which is why he’s so intense with her sometimes. (Similarly this is also why he’s so intense with Ren and Nora.)

16.) Jaune’s bi, but leans more towards being heteromantic. (There’s just something about his gushing over Neptune and his relationship with Ren in general that makes it seem like he isn’t full hetero to me, idk.) 

17.) One of Jaune’s sisters’ name will be Jean as a mythology gag. (It’s been stated by Word of God that Jaune’s name was originally suppose to Jean [as in blue jeans] until Burnie Burns pointed out the word jaundice and referring to him as Jaune just kind of stuck.)

18.) The reason Jaune never went to a combat school prior to Beacon despite always wanting to be a warrior, as well as his general lack of knowledge on the world around him, is because he had some kind sickness that kept him bedridden for a good deal of his life. This would also go a long way to explain his early social ineptitude, and the fact that he was following advice that sounds more like something you’d tell a shy elementary school child than a seventeen year old boy. Again, although his full name is an obvious allusion to Joan D’arc his first name came specifically from Burnie Burns mentioning a RL sickness.

18-b.) His (previous) sickness may be the reason he looks down on himself so much, and why he’s obsessed with holding up the family honor now. Maybe his stay in the hospital cost his parents A LOT of money and as a result he’s desperately trying to become something that’s remotely worth having around in order to justify the economic (and/or emotional) turmoil he put them through. 

18-c.) Dancing was part of some kind of physical therapy and his sisters decided to learn with him as a sign of support. <3 

19.) Alternatively to 18, Jaune is just extremely sheltered and his parents made massive efforts to keep him that way... for some reason.

20.) If his parents were verbally abusive towards him then I imagine they used the concept of “family honor” as a bullying tactic in some way.

21.) NONE of sisters were interested in becoming huntresses... until he left to become a hunter himself. (I honestly hate the theory that they’re all badass huntresses because WHY THE FUCK DID THEY NOT TELL HIM ABOUT AURA OR TRAIN HIM THEMSELVES IF THAT’S THE CASE)

22.) If his parents are neglectful/abusive, at least ONE of his sisters is the exact opposite and loves him unconditionally.

23.) In the case his parents AREN’T abusive/neglectful in some way they are instead adoption-happy and will try to adopt Ren, Nora, and Weiss (PLS LET SNOW CHILD LIVE) the second they see the three of them.

24.) Alternatively to everything above, Jaune has a perfectly happy home life but his parents have a tendency to stick their feet in their mouths at the worst times (he has to get that from somewhere) and Jaune is naturally predisposed to experience high levels of anxiety and depression. 

[newyorktheater]

  I was struck in seeing “The Great Society,” which depicts President Lyndon Johnson’s turbulent full term in office, how Robert Shenkkan’s play represents political theater in more ways than one.

Now, search the news these days for the phrase “political theater” and it is used as an accusation by people on the political right: The young people demonstrating to demand something be done for climate change, the antagonists say, are “props in political theater.” Above all, they label the impeachment inquiry of President Trump as “political theater”

We live in such a polarized time in our history that we can’t even agree on the meaning of words – as the theater artist known as Dyalekt pointed out in his (political) show, which I saw last week, The Museum of Dead Words. But I suppose political theater has long meant different things to different people. Political theater on stage is as old as theater. The Ancient Greek satires are said to have influenced public opinion, and Shakespeare is full of the politics of his day. The British critic Michael Billington recently named the Bard’s “Coriolanus” as  number one on his list of favorite political theater of all time (or, since he’s British, his favourite political theatre.)

Political theater is currently happening on and off the stage in New York – and throughout the world. London, for example, is reportedly full of new political plays: In  “Hansard” by Simon Woods, a couple during the Thatcher era bicker over politics in a way that critics see as commenting on the current Brexit polarization; “A Very Expensive Poison” a chlling satire by Lucy Prebble, features an actor portraying Russian Vladimir Putin and riffs on the 2006 murder in the UK by radioactive poison of the onetime Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko; “Faith Hope and Charity” by Alexander  show the people desperate for a meal who gather at a community center that may soon be shut down.

New York has always been a center of political theater – both on stage, and off stage, and a hybrid of the two. Both Arian Moayed and Robert Schenkkan have dramatized politicized issues  using verbatim transcripts  — in, respectively, “The Courtroom,” about a deportation case, and “The Investigation,” about the Mueller Report.

That’s why I Tweeted this a week ago

The non-verbatim transcript of call between Trump and Ukrainian President Zelensky, in which Trump urges him to investigate Biden.

How long will it take before a theater artist — @ROBERTSCHENKKAN? @ArianMoayed? — produces a staged reading of it?https://t.co/gVxdPlzuvz pic.twitter.com/1ywBOjl7d1

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) September 25, 2019

“The Great Society” both embodies and depicts political theater.

There is the speech that Brian Cox as LBJ gives near the end of the play, which is verbatim announce that Johnson delivered in 1968:

“I feel strongly that I should not permit the Presidency to become involved in the partisan divisions that are developing in this political year. Accordingly, I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your President.”

Since the play opened on Broadway exactly a week after the launch of the impeachment inquiry against the 45th president, it’s hard to avoid wondering whether The Great Society is intentionally designed to offer a contrast between the two men. After all, it’s impossible to imagine Trump voluntarily saying a single word from that announcement.

But the play also includes something of a subplot in the ways that Martin Luther King Jr. (portrayed by Grantham Coleman, pictured above in a clash in Chicago) pushed for civil rights, and especially for voting rights. He did so by….political theater: “We have to up the stakes. We’ve got to make people aware.” Political theater makes people aware. Even LBJ saw that (at least in the play): “We don’t disagree on tactics, Dr. King, just on timing.”

There are other plays about politics, and politicians coming up this month, such as Bella Bella, Harvey Fierstein’s solo show about Rep. Bella Abzug

October 2019 New York Theater Openings

New York Theater Quiz for September

The Week in New York Theater Reviews

The Great Society

The Great Society…is a sequel to All The Way, the Tony-winning play that was on Broadway five years ago (and is currently being shown on Netflix.) It starred Brian Cranston and chronicled the first year of LBJ’s presidency, starting in the immediate aftermath of the assassination of John F. Kennedy and ending with LBJ’s election. The new play offers some of the same pleasures. It too employs a big cast — 19 actors portraying some 50 characters — for a sweeping lesson in history and politics. It is smoothly directed, competently acted, and often fascinating, But it is ultimately less satisfying than All The Way.

Why?

Those for whom theater is their religion are more likely to appreciate “Why?,” a 70-minute theater piece about theater that, aptly, begins with a whimsically modified Biblical tale: God proclaims “There shall be theater” on the seventh day, because the humans had gotten bored on the day of rest….Written and directed by Peter Brook and Marie-Hélène Estienne, “Why?” is less a play than a kind of elliptical lecture-demonstration of, and paean to, the beauty and danger of the theatrical arts…more

The Height of the Storm

The same playwright who gave us “The Father” with a demented Frank Langella and “The Mother” with a depressed and possibly deranged Isabelle Huppert now offers us…dead Jonathan Pryce and Eileen Atkins?  Or maybe just one of them is dead? Or maybe neither?… Maybe we’re the ones who are dead – or wish we were by the end of “The Height of The Storm.”….

Both British actors of great renown… offer memorable moments of emotional power and clarity…But their performances were not enough compensation for sitting through Zeller’s trickster writing, which feels progressively less like a sensibility and more like a shtick.

Antigone

Ethereal, stylized and visually stunning, Japanese director Satoshi Miyagi’s production of “Antigone,” at the Park Avenue Armory through October 6, fuses several theatrical traditions, some of them thousands of years old, some newly created. Twenty-nine performers, ghostly in flowing white kimonos, glide slowly and gracefully through the ankle-deep water that covers the stage of the Armory’s massive Drill Hall. Placed around them in this pool of shimmering water (made with 18,000 gallons of water) are boulders, meant to resemble a Buddhist stone garden. This is the setting in which Sophocles’ 2,500-year-old play unfolds….more

  The Museum of Dead Words

The artist known as Dyalekt (pronounced dialect) greets us looking like a young Allen Ginsberg in his Yippie Uncle Sam phase, holding up a bucket labeled “dead words,” asking us for words that we don’t think work anymore. He will be our rapping guide to The Museum of Dead Words, which is not really a museum and not really about dead words. It is a show about 11 red-hot words that are used in combat rather than conversation….more

Work in Progress: A Hill on Which to Drown

Three generations of black, queer theater artists – actor André De Shields, 73; playwright Kevin R. Free, who is 50;  and director Zhailon Levingston, 25 —  are collaborating on a play about a black, queer character inspired by August Wilson’s Century Cycle. From the very first Wilson play he ever saw, a community theater production of “Fences” in the early 1990s, Free has had the same two reactions to  Wilson’s epic 10-play cycle, each play taking place in a different decade in Pittsburgh’s Hill District.

“I love the productions I’ve seen, but have never really felt a part of the world,” Free says. “The Cycle is genius, beautiful and resonant, but it features no fictional LGBTQIA* characters.”

So Free set out to create one.

The Week in New York Theater News

Here’s the stellar cast just announced for Sondheim/Weidman Assassins at Classic Stage Company next Spring:

  “Girl from the North Country,” an Off-Broadway musical set to a score of Bob Dylan songs, will feature Jay O. Sanders when it moves to Broadway, opening in March, along with original cast members Todd Almond, Jeannette Bayardelle, Matthew Frederick Harris, Caitlin Houlahan, Robert Joy, Marc Kudisch, Luba Mason, Ben Mayne, Tom Nelis, David Pittu, Colton Ryan, John Schiappa, Kimber Elayne Sprawl, Rachel Stern, Chelsea Lee Williams and Mare Winningham

Theater artist Annie Dorsen is one of this year’s 26 winners of the MacArthur Foundation “Genius” grants

Ben Platt at Marie’s Crisis

“Thanks to The Politician on Netflix, Marie’s Crisis Is suddenly the hottest piano bar on TV” (Is there much competition?)

A look at Patreon and its founder musician/techie Jack Conte

Here’s how Patreon works: You, a creator in search of funds, keep producing and distributing things wherever you usually do—Medium, SoundCloud, YouTube, whatever. But you also set up a Patreon page and direct your fans there in the hope that they will become your “patrons,” committing themselves to recurring monthly payments. (Unlike on Kickstarter, where supporters pitch in toward the completion of an individual project, on Patreon the money goes toward a creator’s ongoing output and livelihood generally.) In turn, Patreon encourages creators to treat these patrons less like charitable benefactors and more like members who have purchased admission to a club—entitling them to exclusive perks, whether it’s gated chat sessions, bonus content, or early peeks at a work in progress.

The 17th annual Broadway Stands Up For Freedom, benefit concert for ACLU/NYCLU, on Monday October 28 at The Town Hall,  will have the theme “My Body, My Business” and feature performances by Kelli O’Hara, Phillipa Soo, Montego Glover,  Eva Noblezada among others.  The concert is directed by Tony-winning director Rachel Chavkin (Hadestown).

Jessye Norman, regal American soprano, has died at 74

  🙏🏾❤️ https://t.co/ztcTRKa19V pic.twitter.com/JIyE46wL9q

— Audra McDonald (@AudraEqualityMc) October 1, 2019

Political Theater in an Impeachable Age. #Stageworthy News of the Week I was struck in seeing "The Great Society," which depicts President Lyndon Johnson’s turbulent full term in office, how Robert Shenkkan’s play represents political theater in more ways than one.

[flicksnfilms]

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

As the Avengers and their allies have continued to protect the world from threats too large for any one hero to handle, a new danger has emerged from the cosmic shadows: Thanos. A despot of intergalactic infamy, his goal is to collect all six Infinity Stones, artifacts of unimaginable power, and use them to inflict his twisted will on all of reality. Everything the Avengers have fought for has led up to this moment - the fate of Earth and existence itself has never been more uncertain.

Director: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo Writer: Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely (screenplay), Stan Lee, Jack Kirby (Marvel comics), Jim Starlin, George Pérez, Ron Lim (comic book story) Cast: fucking everybody IMDB | RottenTomatoes | Official Site

Watched: on 25 April, at the IMAX cinema, and 28 April, and 01 May

Reaction: ± Thanos demands my silence. I will say that i wasn’t half as prepared as i though i was. I'll edit this in like a week with my actual reaction since i assume by then it'll be far enough down any follower's (who hasn't watched - IN A WHOLE WEEK AFTER RELEASE!) dashboard to not be seen unless you're looking specifically at this blog.

Memorable aspect of the movie: + So many things. (Soon.)

Would I recommend it? > Fuck. Yes.

[EDIT:] So, reaction. After more than a month because i haven’t been on in a while, and under the cut because it’s hella long (like, super fucking long) and rambling in my geeky joy. :D It’s in 3 parts, from the three times i watched it.

[Take 1] ± It was an EXCELLENT, WELL BALANCED FILM. They have the Marvel Cinematic Universe formula down pat of comedy and drama, action and reaction. It’s so perfect and fun to watch. They were able to give the gigantic cast fairly equal screen time as well as balancing the personalities on screen. [See bonus content at the very end.]. That they split up the teams and threw them with other franchises was a great choice for both balance and dynamic. The visuals -- cinematography, CGI, costume, make up, set design --, as always, are a feast, with the coloration of the film striking a balance between all the different tones from each individual franchise. 

[Take 2] Memorable [aspect] moments of the movie: + D:  “I am Loki, Prince of Asgard... Odinson.” + XD “I’ll get you a metaphysical ham on rye.” + Doctor Strange and Tony’s interactions. It was interesting repartee and good chemistry. + Stark-raving Hazelnut and Hunka-Hulk-a Burning Love. I need to try these flavours, and also i need to know the flavours for every other Avenger. + <3 Tony brings the stupid flip phone around with him! AND there’s a message!! + XD “Squidward” + XD “Dude, you’re embarrassing me in front of the wizards.” + XD Bruce trying to beat Hulk out.  + “Wong, you’re invited to my wedding.” + XD The singing. Mean faces. “Language. ... Ever since you got a little sap.” OMG. You GOT a little sap. Oh, puberty. “ XD “He is not a dude. You are a dude. He is a man. A handsome, muscular man.” “It’s like a pirate made a baby with an angel.” “God man.” + XD Mantis’s attack form. + XD Quill’s jealousy and mimicking. + “All words are made up words.” Well, that’s actually a good point. + “Is there a 4 digit code? A birthday perhaps” Thor’s really gotten into Midgard culture eh? (Which is a good carry over from Thor: Ragnarok.) + XD Rabbit. Tree. Morons. Ah, Thor’s nicknames. It’s fun, cause he doesn’t mean them maliciously and he says them with such regal diction that they feel kind of acceptable as nicknames. + The intro sequences for the rogue Avengers. STEVE!!! <3 And Sam! And Nat!! The whole fight sequence too! + D:  “Where to, Cap?” “Home.” !!! (ESPECIALLY IF YOU REWATCH AGE OF ULTRON AND SEE HOW STEVE REACTS TO SAM SAYING “Home is home,” AT THE PARTY. TT_TT )  + “The kid watches more movies.” Well, that’s a good enough strategy. + “WHAT ARE THOSE??” The two teenagers use the same (meme) phrasing. + “Doctor. Do you concur?” + <3 “I’m not looking for forgiveness. And I’m way past asking permission. Earth just lost its best defender, so we’re here to fight. If you want to stand in our way, we’ll fight you too.” ICONIC. STEVEN FUCKING ROGERS, EVERYONE. + <3 The reunion greetings with Rhodey.” + XD “This is awkward.” + XD “It was an elective.” I NEED TO KNOW WHAT OTHER ELECTIVES THEY OFFERED ON ASGARD, PLEASE. + “I am Groot?” Evidently translates to: Are we there yet? The question of all kids in travelling vehicles everywhere. + D:  “What more do I have to lose?”  + Giant Peter Dinklage. So weird. + D:  Quill and Gamora. + Quill actually got Thanos’s approval. So like, thanks, dad? Hahaha. + “We don’t trade lives.”  + Nebula. What a badass. + XD “Blanket of death” + XD “Where is Gamora?” “Who is Gamora?” “Why is Gamora?” + “You’re from Earth?” “I’m from Missouri.” “Missouri is on Earth, dumbass.” + XD “Kick names. Take ass.” + Tony’s face. He’s so done with everyone. + Rhodey & Bruce. Ahh, what are friends for. XD + Steve & Bucky. Both of you are “hundred year old, semi-stable soldier”s. + Shuri! Wakanda! Man, i love this place. It’s great. + D:  Gamora!! + “Get out of the way, Sammy.” SAMMY! + Thor jumping onto and then sitting on the pod. What a cutie. + “It’ll kill you.” “Not if I don’t die.” “Yes, that’s what killing you means.” + XD “Magic! More magic! Magic with a kick!” + Bucky & Rocket + “New haircut?” “I see you’ve copied my beard.” This is SO MUCH better knowing they ad-libbed it.  + “This is my friend, Tree.” “I am Groot.” “I am Steve Rogers.” Of fucking course. Such a polite cutie pie, this guy. + XD Okoye’s reactions, and the “Why was she up there all this time?” + “She’s not alone.” FUCK YEAH. LET’S GO LADIES!! + “Oh, screw you, you big green asshole. I’ll do it myself.” Banner is super funny, situationally in this film. + “Tony Stark.” “You know me?” Hell yeah, you deserve to be acknowledged all over the universe, Tony. + The power of Doctor Strange and the mystic arts. SO COOL.  + Tony ran out of nanoparticles! O_o + D:  Wanda & Vision + “Steve?” TT___TT D: Bucky! Sam! My King! “Steady, Quill.” “I don’t wanna go!” TT__TT FEELS.

[Take 3] ± The familial hits get me more than the romantic ones. My reactions per viewing gave me three different experiences; It was personal, then intellectual, them empathic, in that order, for me. There are some moments i paid particular attention to, for a few characters:

Loki gets to come full circle with the “We have a Hulk,” line along with his redemption arc continuing on in from Thor: Ragnarok. Thor is an odd amalgamation of Shakespearean proper and slangy modern. “A little bit.” “So cool.” “I bid thee farewell and good luck, morons.” “Bye.”

The interplay between Tony and Strange. Excellent. It’s a real battle of egos at the beginning which turns to a mutual respect. Tony is a true leader. He intuits other people’s emotional reactions and attempts to keep them in line long enough to complete the goal.

A lot of shots in the Avengers compound are just Steve’s reactions. What bearing will this have? How does he feel about the cost?? Are they showing how tired he is from paying for his decisions?

The kid’s all heart. The first thing Peter does, once their plan goes awry, is try to save everyone even if he can’t remember their names. Okoye is a warrior to the core. She refuses to attach even these fuckers from behind. Bruce is such a goof and it shows now that he can’t disappear mid-scene. “Oh, you guys are so screwed!” And all the talking-to he gives Hulk.

Thanos’s voice really goes soft for Gamora, as a child, and the “I’m sorry, daughter.” “Tony Stark. ... You have my respect. I will wipe out half of humanity. I hope they remember you.” That’s amazing. The cost, the deterioration, is up to his arm and his neck. That’s an interesting detail which kind of implies that the Infinity Gauntlet (in the MCU at least) can only be used for something of this scale a few, if not only one, times.

I love that Marvel is really invested in antagonists that aren’t villains purely for the sake of being evil, but are fleshed out beings with emotions and purpose and passion, even if their goals are morally misguided. They have complex backstories and three dimensional personalities. Their goals are logical and intelligent, if a little beyond what’s reasonable. Their thought processes within the realm of imagination but a step too far for civilians and heroes.

The ending of this film is superb. I’ve seen many a peer say they think it’s too short or unresolved but i think they fail to appreciate the story. That sometimes the “good guys” don’t or can’t win (for now). That there are outcomes we’d rather not fathom and costs we’d rather not pay. But they happen. And the MCU gets this. That things happen and there’s a balance to it. There’s collateral and there’s gains and losses. And not just for the protagonist. (But for every character.)

Thanos achieved his goal, but at great personal cost. He won but lost all at once. Likewise, Killmonger achieved some of his goals but failed at others, died but did it with dignity in his eyes; Hela brought was released from her bonds and gained power but didn’t wind up ruling Asgard as it was swallowed by Ragnarok; Zemo sowed discord and ripped the Avengers apart from the inside, but was prevented from shooting himself and joining his family. 

[BONUS:] In some of my movie reviews i talk about the characters and their stories in relation to Joseph Campbell’s Heroic Monomyth. And, i dunno, i suppose it my complete emotional roller coaster watching this film along with all the geek out moments, i completely missed its inclusion in this, given that the beginning of the monomyth takes place before the beginning of this film. I was delighted to find it pointed out to me in this post by The Screen Junkies - The Dailies Facebook. It’s a really good breakdown of the way the writers (maybe intentionally) incorporated the Heroic Monomyth in Infinity War despite it featuring like 7000 characters and all of Hollywood. :)

[symbianosgames]

The following blog post, unless otherwise noted, was written by a member of Gamasutra’s community. The thoughts and opinions expressed are those of the writer and not Gamasutra or its parent company.

Reposted with permission from the Blendo Games blog.

I often describe Company of Heroes as the RTS that has made it difficult for me to play any other RTS.

There are a lot of things that make Company of Heroes special to me. Here are some of them.

Something memorable in Bungie’s Myth is in how bloodstains and scorchmarks are permanent:

The marks exist as a chronicle of sorts. Every moment stains the battlefield, ensuring you don’t forget a thing.

Company of Heroes takes that ideal and runs with it.

Buildings are chipped away until they’re ultimately destroyed, denying infantry a place to garrison:

Barricades can be smashed through, creating new paths for others:

Craters from artillery and explosions deform the ground, and become cover pieces for infantry:

Bridges can be destroyed (and repaired), opening and closing routes:

Your choices alter the battlefield, both intentionally and inadvertently. Sheltered bays are a flip-flop away from becoming deathtraps.

The terrain constantly shifts. Sometimes to your advantage, sometimes against you, but always in a way that makes the world alive, reactive, and consistent.

Like Relic’s previous RTS outing, Company of Heroes focuses on territory control. This is done through their resource model.

Here’s how it works:

Each map is split into a series of territories:

Each territory bears one control point:

Control points are captured with infantry units:

And owning more territory results in faster resource accural:

Simple, right?

But! There’s a gag. The gag is: a territory only produces resources if it has a contiguous connection to your headquarters. Think of it as electrical lines — if the chain has a missing link, the flow gets truncated:

It’s an elegant system. It is rules-light and possibilities-heavy.

It opens the door to cutting off large swathes of an enemy’s supply line. Dramatic moments of everyone fighting over one tiny hill are consistently produced.

But most crucially, it builds the game on a foundation of one thing: pushing players out of their bases and onto the battlefield. Company of Heroes is aggressively anti-chuffa and cuts straight to the chase.

The game starts, and the very first thing you do is the thing you’ll be doing for the entire match: push, expand, and capture.

Positioning

Infantry units can take cover behind any chest-high object — sandbag wall, a farm tractor, a haystack, a crater, you name it.

Cover grants a substantial defensive bonus, putting any unit out in the open at a disadvantage.

Emplaced weapons provide enough firepower to lock down an area, but have a limited firing arc:

Tanks are heavily armored in the front but are unprotected in the rear:

A basic fundamental part of an RTS is moving units around. With Company of Heroes’ design decisions, every move order is compounded with a pile of circumstances to consider.

It becomes geometry and angles, guessing and second-guessing.

Where do you think the enemy most likely is, and how do you orient yourself in a position advantageous to that?

How do you best use that rickety barn to block enemy sightlines to your weapon emplacement?

You’re going to have some blind spots, so which blind spots are the most acceptable risks?

And because all of these factors are represented by physical in-world objects, everything is instantly readable and intuitive.

Flanking

Which leads directly to where Company of Heroes shines particularly bright. If positions and cover are directional, it opens the door to flanking.

When the enemy’s forces are arranged to expect you coming from one direction, it becomes a veritable wall. A wall that shoots bullets.

And what better way to deal with a wall than to simply go around it.

Circling around and attacking from the side or the rear is something that Company of Heroes’ design revolves around. And that design choice pays off in an incredibly satisfying way.

Not only does it just feel good to break an enemy’s iron defense with a small clever move, but it gives a sense of flow to the battlefield. Like the shifting terrain and like the resource model, units are always on the move and in a state of flux.

This is a game where a basic move order is consistently a brutal way to destroy a fortified defense.

Retreating

With the tap of a button, you can order units to retreat to headquarters:

During a retreat, you have no control of the unit. They automatically decide the fastest route back to headquarters, and run. A retreating unit sometimes gets killed, but they are overwhelmingly successful in making it home in one piece.

It’s a design decision that, had I worked on this game, I would’ve raised a stink about. It opens up a can of worms. How could this possibly be balanced. The amount of design implications and edge cases is staggering.

With that said: retreating is one of Company of Heroes’ best design choices. It’s one of the mechanics I most admire in the game. As a developer, it’s an incredible feeling to see a potentially problematic design choice be executed with such skill.

There’s a lot of things to like about it. The thing I most appreciate is how it bolsters the storytelling aspect.

When a character dies, that is the end of their story. They were born. Then they died. The end. As a net whole, I feel dead characters just remove potential story possibilities. (It’s one of the reasons I subscribe to Tom Francis’ Failure Spectrum ideal)

On the other hand, giving the player the ability to easily and frictionlessly keep characters alive — not forever, but at least longer? This results in a storytelling machine.

You end up with a grizzled rifleman squad who took out two bunkers and a halftrack. You end up with heroic last stands with that machinegun crew you’ve had since forever. You end up with strong character attachment.

When your battle-scarred weapons crew gets taken out — oof! — you feel it in your bones.

Company of Heroes proposes what a RTS can be. It breaks down what an RTS is, trims off cruft that has glommed onto the genre over the years, and rebuilds it in a way that is fresh, new, and unusual in an exhilarating way. When I first played it, it had that feeling of playing a game decades ahead of its time, and arguably, it still does.

It feels dynamic, it feels alive. It’s one of those games that has blood pumping through its veins.

All of its components — the terrain deformability/destruction, the resource model, and its combat model — touch and play with one another. I can’t overstate how systemic it all is, and how all of its system overlap. The same map will produce dramatically different outcomes, every single time.

This highly systemic approach is the reason why after every match, my officemates and I at my old job would convene and talk about all the wild things that happened during the battle. These post-game chats are some of my fondest memories of working at Pandemic, and also some of my fondest memories in playing games.

There are many ways to tell a story. Company of Heroes is one of the most impressive examples I know of.

[symbianosgames]

The following blog post, unless otherwise noted, was written by a member of Gamasutra’s community. The thoughts and opinions expressed are those of the writer and not Gamasutra or its parent company.

Reposted with permission from the Blendo Games blog.

I often describe Company of Heroes as the RTS that has made it difficult for me to play any other RTS.

There are a lot of things that make Company of Heroes special to me. Here are some of them.

Something memorable in Bungie’s Myth is in how bloodstains and scorchmarks are permanent:

The marks exist as a chronicle of sorts. Every moment stains the battlefield, ensuring you don’t forget a thing.

Company of Heroes takes that ideal and runs with it.

Buildings are chipped away until they’re ultimately destroyed, denying infantry a place to garrison:

Barricades can be smashed through, creating new paths for others:

Craters from artillery and explosions deform the ground, and become cover pieces for infantry:

Bridges can be destroyed (and repaired), opening and closing routes:

Your choices alter the battlefield, both intentionally and inadvertently. Sheltered bays are a flip-flop away from becoming deathtraps.

The terrain constantly shifts. Sometimes to your advantage, sometimes against you, but always in a way that makes the world alive, reactive, and consistent.

Like Relic’s previous RTS outing, Company of Heroes focuses on territory control. This is done through their resource model.

Here’s how it works:

Each map is split into a series of territories:

Each territory bears one control point:

Control points are captured with infantry units:

And owning more territory results in faster resource accural:

Simple, right?

But! There’s a gag. The gag is: a territory only produces resources if it has a contiguous connection to your headquarters. Think of it as electrical lines — if the chain has a missing link, the flow gets truncated:

It’s an elegant system. It is rules-light and possibilities-heavy.

It opens the door to cutting off large swathes of an enemy’s supply line. Dramatic moments of everyone fighting over one tiny hill are consistently produced.

But most crucially, it builds the game on a foundation of one thing: pushing players out of their bases and onto the battlefield. Company of Heroes is aggressively anti-chuffa and cuts straight to the chase.

The game starts, and the very first thing you do is the thing you’ll be doing for the entire match: push, expand, and capture.

Positioning

Infantry units can take cover behind any chest-high object — sandbag wall, a farm tractor, a haystack, a crater, you name it.

Cover grants a substantial defensive bonus, putting any unit out in the open at a disadvantage.

Emplaced weapons provide enough firepower to lock down an area, but have a limited firing arc:

Tanks are heavily armored in the front but are unprotected in the rear:

A basic fundamental part of an RTS is moving units around. With Company of Heroes’ design decisions, every move order is compounded with a pile of circumstances to consider.

It becomes geometry and angles, guessing and second-guessing.

Where do you think the enemy most likely is, and how do you orient yourself in a position advantageous to that?

How do you best use that rickety barn to block enemy sightlines to your weapon emplacement?

You’re going to have some blind spots, so which blind spots are the most acceptable risks?

And because all of these factors are represented by physical in-world objects, everything is instantly readable and intuitive.

Flanking

Which leads directly to where Company of Heroes shines particularly bright. If positions and cover are directional, it opens the door to flanking.

When the enemy’s forces are arranged to expect you coming from one direction, it becomes a veritable wall. A wall that shoots bullets.

And what better way to deal with a wall than to simply go around it.

Circling around and attacking from the side or the rear is something that Company of Heroes’ design revolves around. And that design choice pays off in an incredibly satisfying way.

Not only does it just feel good to break an enemy’s iron defense with a small clever move, but it gives a sense of flow to the battlefield. Like the shifting terrain and like the resource model, units are always on the move and in a state of flux.

This is a game where a basic move order is consistently a brutal way to destroy a fortified defense.

Retreating

With the tap of a button, you can order units to retreat to headquarters:

During a retreat, you have no control of the unit. They automatically decide the fastest route back to headquarters, and run. A retreating unit sometimes gets killed, but they are overwhelmingly successful in making it home in one piece.

It’s a design decision that, had I worked on this game, I would’ve raised a stink about. It opens up a can of worms. How could this possibly be balanced. The amount of design implications and edge cases is staggering.

With that said: retreating is one of Company of Heroes’ best design choices. It’s one of the mechanics I most admire in the game. As a developer, it’s an incredible feeling to see a potentially problematic design choice be executed with such skill.

There’s a lot of things to like about it. The thing I most appreciate is how it bolsters the storytelling aspect.

When a character dies, that is the end of their story. They were born. Then they died. The end. As a net whole, I feel dead characters just remove potential story possibilities. (It’s one of the reasons I subscribe to Tom Francis’ Failure Spectrum ideal)

On the other hand, giving the player the ability to easily and frictionlessly keep characters alive — not forever, but at least longer? This results in a storytelling machine.

You end up with a grizzled rifleman squad who took out two bunkers and a halftrack. You end up with heroic last stands with that machinegun crew you’ve had since forever. You end up with strong character attachment.

When your battle-scarred weapons crew gets taken out — oof! — you feel it in your bones.

Company of Heroes proposes what a RTS can be. It breaks down what an RTS is, trims off cruft that has glommed onto the genre over the years, and rebuilds it in a way that is fresh, new, and unusual in an exhilarating way. When I first played it, it had that feeling of playing a game decades ahead of its time, and arguably, it still does.

It feels dynamic, it feels alive. It’s one of those games that has blood pumping through its veins.

All of its components — the terrain deformability/destruction, the resource model, and its combat model — touch and play with one another. I can’t overstate how systemic it all is, and how all of its system overlap. The same map will produce dramatically different outcomes, every single time.

This highly systemic approach is the reason why after every match, my officemates and I at my old job would convene and talk about all the wild things that happened during the battle. These post-game chats are some of my fondest memories of working at Pandemic, and also some of my fondest memories in playing games.

There are many ways to tell a story. Company of Heroes is one of the most impressive examples I know of.