#however. I also have dear maria on this playlist so like is it REALLY an outlier??

[swinging-stars-from-satellites]

i have literally been listening to my pop punk workout bangers playlist all evening and yet what is stuck in my head? Pink Pony Club

[bakusquad-headcanons]

The Bakusquads Music Taste

I was thinking about this on the bus awhile back before school vacation, and just now im deciding to share my thoughts!

Bakugou:

I believe Bakugou would listen to hard rap. He works out a lot, so he probably listens to music that fits the vibe and gets him pumped y’know? HOWEVER, i also believe he listens to rock. the grittiest, edgiest, stuff. MCR, Get Scared, others with similar sounds. He doesn’t listen to pop, but some songs he likes (you’d have to catch him dead before he ever admitted it tho lol). I think he’d prefer masculine voices over feminine ones, but i think he could vibe to a female singer.

Kirishima:

He doesn’t listen to anything sad, he doesn’t want his mood to drop. Like Bakugou, he listens to music that pumps him up. Unlike him tho, it isn’t hard rap. It’s songs like Hall of Fame, Believer, For the Glory, Fight Song, etc. He has a preference for masculine voices because MANLY. He doesn’t mind female singers tho.

Kaminari:

Kaminari definitely listens pop. Songs about love and sex specifically. Bros trying to have his rizzlor dreams, yknow? Although, i do also believe he listens to alternative rock and other genres that i can’t think of the names rn lol. I’m thinking songs like Dear Maria Count Me In (All Time Low), Mr. Brightside (The Killers), Afraid (The Neighbourhood), Mr. Bigshot (Anarbor), etc. He likes both feminine and masculine voices

Mina:

She 100% listens to pop and the such. Cardi B, Ariana Grande, Megan Thee Stallion, The Weeknd, Lil Nas X, Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Doja Cat, etc. Songs about being a girboss, things that hype up self-confidence, or just things that are really fun to dance to. Speaking of songs to dance to, she definitely listens to genres like hip-hop, dance, or really anything upbeat and danceable. prefers feminine voices over masculine, but is fine with either. 

Sero:

Honestly, i think his playlists would be all over the place. You’d go from listening to Doja Cat, to Destiny’s Child, to Mother Mother, to Juan Luis Guerra, to KISS, and etc. I think his music would get so weird that eventually songs from Jack Stauber would show up. Bro is not restrained by any means, he will listen to anything he can hum to. He listens to any kind of voice, doesn’t matter to him.

honestly it would be pretty interesting to see yalls headcanons about this, so feel free to comment or something!

[a-gay-bloodmage]

Hmmm, time to get to know a bit about everyone x) Can you do 2, 4, 8, 15, and 17 for the oc asks I haven't seen yet? Thanks so much, I love getting to know about your ocs :)

I’m going to be answering for my Dragon Age OCs, but I’ve got more in a non-DA setting for an original story I’m working on! If you want to learn about those, send an ask to @daughter-of-war

I’m more than happy to answer!

As usual, this got quite long! More under the cut!

2. Do any of your OCs have a physical disability?

You know what? None of my Wardens really do. I should try to work on making more diverse characters, but as of now, I think I’ll include Redren, because over-use of his magic can lead to pretty bad anemia, which is always there to a degree. And Maria, one of my non-warden OCs, is mostly blind.

4. Does your OC have anything they take pride in? (Like an award or collection?)

Redren takes immense pride in his blood magic, something he’s always defined himself as. His entire life revolved around the singular fact that he was a Blood Mage, and he learned to take pride in it. To him, the only part of himself he could take pride in was what he couldn’t ever change. Unfortunately, nobody in the world seemed to think blood magic was anything to take pride in.

Orest takes pride in his nature, seeing his personality as the most important thing about himself. His ability to have compassion, and to make people laugh, is one of his favorite things about himself. He’s not vain, but he is self-confident. To Orest, the best anyone can be is their best, and he’s proud to say that he’s doing the best he can.

Faelyn takes pride in her friends. She’d lived so long with only her cousins as friends, as soon as she found companionship in Alistair, and Morrigan, and Leliana, and Zevran, and even in Shale, Wynne, and Oghren, she sees it as one of the best things she’d ever accomplished. Sten’s still a work in progress, but she’ll get there some day!

Andrea is quite vain and self-centered at the beginning of her story, making her social status the most valued aspect of herself, something she took immense pride in. Eventually, she learned to see past that fairly narcissistic view of herself, but in the start of it all, her place in the world as the Arl of Highever’s only daughter gave her all the pride in the world.

Hundir was similar to Andrea, but as soon as he was cast from Orzammar, the object of his pride moved to his battleaxe, the weapon that led him through the Deep Roads became his source of pride, the dark crimson stain of Darkspawn blood helping him hold his head up high.

Gemma takes pride in her brand. To many casteless, the brand is an awful reminder of what they are, the failure of their birth, but as soon as she joined the Wardens, she held her head up high, pulling the hair out of her face to show the world the black brand on her face. She’d smile as she thought of what those back in Orzammar would think, to see a casteless girl take pride in her branding as worthless. Because she knew she wasn’t worthless.

8. Do you ship any 2 of your OCs?

None of my Wardens, no, but I do have a few original couples!

Jo and Renee Bircann, from Orlais, are one! Jo is genderfluid, who switches from biologically and mentally male to biologically and mentally female at random, with Jo’s birth gender being unknown (this way people can’t really call it a “fake gender”, because s/he is “actually” fe/male on any given day. Loophole, transphobes!) And Renee is his/her wife, a lesser noble-born woman forced to run from the Orlesian nobility due to her magic that manifested when she was fourteen. The two started their relationship when both of them were fleeing Orlais, meeting in the Orlesian side of the mountains near Orzammar, with Renee immediately captivated by the rugged-looking “man” in the mountains. Luckily, Renee is bisexual, and very attracted to both women and men. Jo is just two lovers in one!

Maria and Bethany are another couple! Maria is one of my most developed non-Warden OCs, seeing as she’s central to Redren’s story. An approximately 600 year old Tevinter-born sorceress, Maria is in a relationship with Bethany, a spirit of an ancient tribal princess of the nomadic Enchanted Wood Tribe of the forests of the Anderfels and Orlais. They started their relationship when Maria invited Bethany out of the Fade as a fully-formed apparition about 500 years ago, as she had been there for 500 years already, fully aware, but with no way to get back to the world of the living.

15. Do any of your OCs have pets?

All of my Wardens got the Mabari companion! How could I resist giving each of them a puppy?

Redren named his mabari Dog, because it’s simple and he couldn’t think of anything better in the moment. The name stuck, in the end, despite Alistair’s protests against naming a warhound Dog.

Orest named his mabari companion Anga, Tolkien Elven for Iron. He thought it was pretty cool, and a tough dog deserves a tough name!

Faelyn decided to call her mabari Puppy! Her first instinct was to call out "puppy!" when she saw him, so yeah, she kept the name. Cute, isn’t it?

Andrea called her mabari Prince, and she treated him like one. She’d play with him in the Highever Castle gardens, and read books with him, and brush his fur, in short, she spoiled that dog rotten. And after she lost everything except that dog, she treasured him more than anything in Thedas.

Hundir, the ever so tough Aeducan, named his new mabari Ripper. He liked how tough and intimidating it was, and over the course of the Blight, yeah, that dog earned that name tenfold.

Gemma named her mabari Flower after her favorite thing on the Surface. She had never seen a mabari before, so she was very excited over the idea of having one to call her own. The pretty little flower that saved it is forever remembered in her mabari’s name.

17. Do you have any OCs you haven’t posted about?

Maria, who I’m in the process of writing a “write-up” post about, is honestly a really fun character to develop! She’s loud, and outgoing, and certainly the pinnacle of the older-sister type. She is the one largely responsible for raising Redren, with the help of her mother, Alda, and her Dearest, Bethany. She’s been blind for nearly six hundred years, after being bound to the Fade by the magic of spirit-channeling and Necromancy. To say she’s a living corpse is untrue, but she is essentially frozen as an eighteen-year-old for the foreseeable future. She’s able to see the spirits of people, animals, and living plants, making her able to navigate with no problem. Spirits free from the “prison” that is the mortal flesh are able to be seen with perfect clarity for her. She’s slightly infamous from Tevinter to Ferelden, however, known to many as an Enchantress that seduced men who later went “missing.” Human blood is incredibly good for potions and food, in her mind. She gave up the habit about two hundred years ago, but that doesn’t stop her from telling story after story about the fun she had with the witch-burners and Templars before they died, though.

Bethany, as mentioned above, was a tribal princess of the Enchanted Wood Tribe of Orlais and the Anderfels. Elf-blooded a million times over, due to the mixture of elf and human makeup of the nomadic tribe, Bethany was considered the most beautiful of her tribe, with wavy blonde hair to her ankles and green-blue eyes, she was sacrificed to Desire Demons in order to keep her tribe alive through the unpredicted and harsh winter. She sacrificed herself willingly, but she’s always wondered what happened to her beloved tribe. She’s a full-bodied and fully aware ghost now, forever reminded of her sacrifice by the large hole though her chest where her heart was taken, and her eternal forced nudity. She doesn’t mind the nudity, though.

Alda, Maria’s mother, and Bethany’s Dear Mother, is the matriarch of the village all my Dragon Age OCs live in, which is made of nearly all apostates driven from their homes or Circle escapees. She’s a proud Andrastian, but not opposed to the Ancient Elven or Tribal Gods and Goddesses. She’s a kind and loving old lady, physically around 70, as she stopped her aging after her daughter. A spirit healer, she’s kept alive in the same type of way Wynne is, except she chose to be kept alive by the Fade. She’s incredibly matronly, and helped to raise Redren as his Auntie.

And many more, but way less developed ones!

I’m also making playlists for each of my Wardens, so if you have any requests for what character I should prioritize, please reply! Thanks~!

[reactingtosomething]

Marchae Reacts to OTHER PEOPLE’S CHILDREN

The Setup: All of us at Reacting to Something, and most of our Guest Reactors, met in the screenwriting MFA program at DePaul University, where comedy writer and quality human Brad Riddell -- whose credits include American Pie: Band Camp, Road Trip: Beer Pong, and Crooked Arrows, that last starring underrated former Superman and current Legend-of-Tomorrow Brandon Routh -- was Marchae, BOB, Adam, and Keely’s thesis advisor.

Last year, Riddell created web series Other People’s Children with Anna Maria Hozian, a quarter- and semi-finalist of the Motion Picture Academy’s prestigious Nicholl Screenwriting Fellowship, and one of twelve women chosen for the first year of New York Women in Film and Television’s Writers Lab, funded by Meryl Streep. We can’t claim journalistic objectivity here, but I hope you still trust me when I say OPC is clever, charming, and filled with Chicago acting talent having lots of fun. I don’t have the pleasure of knowing Hozian, but I do know firsthand that Riddell runs a warm, humane set, and I like to think it shows. Below is noted comedy skeptic and ellipsis enthusiast Marchae with a closer look. 

- Kris

If you’ve ever coached, mentored, or taught children and dealt with their parents like I have, then you will beyond a shadow of a doubt relate to hilarious new web series Other People’s Children. OPC is a fresh take on what happens when an eager, well-meaning teacher is confronted with some of the world’s most hilariously awkward and inappropriate parent-teacher conferences… EVER.

Created by DePaul University screenwriting professors Anna Maria Hozian and Brad Riddell, OPC does a stellar job of providing us with a relatable protagonist. Fresh-faced second grade teacher Ms. Margo Antler, portrayed by Atra Asdou (a veteran of Chicago’s Goodman and Steppenwolf Theaters, who’s also appeared on Chicago PD), serves as our guide for the school years parent-teach conferences. Asdou steals (well, owns) the show if for nothing else but her ability to convey what she’s thinking during these conferences without out so much as an utterance. Her facial expressions are BRILLIANT and land somewhere between a hilariously fraught cry for help and, “ARE YOU EFFING KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW?” (A sensation that I can relate to on every. Single. Level).

Anna and Brad keep the comedic momentum going in all nine episodes of the web series and frankly, I laughed at each one. OUT LOUD **GASP** (the writers and regular readers of this blog will know that that is no easy task – I don’t generally find comedy, well… comedic). The reason OPC works for me is large in part because I’ve worked with all the children. ALL OF THEM ranging in age from 5 to 24. I’ve met and dealt with ALL of their parents. ALL OF THEM.  I’ve watched the parenting styles of those parents and as a result, their children evolve over nearly twenty years, and in today’s culture we are confronted with a variety of parents: The tiger mom (and dad), the helicopter parent, the free-range parent, the parent who’s too busy to notice little Timmy is quickly turning into the star of the next episode of Criminal Minds, but in real life. 

However, Brad and Anna don’t just serve us with a great lead but also with a great revolving door of parents. The cast is rich and recognizable if you’ve turned on your television or been privy to attending some of Chicago’s most dynamic theaters. In one of my favorite episodes, “The Book Exchange,” viewers can enjoy more physical comedy and quick dialogue with Karisa Bruin (writer and star of 2015 Cannes Short Film Corner selection Broke Juke) and Scott Morehead (a veteran of the Patrick Stewart-approved Improvised Shakespeare, who’s recurred on Chicago Med) as a pair of fundamentalist parents who find a book about evolution in their daughter’s backpack. We get the privilege of watching Ms. Antler try to negotiate what starts off as the parents not agreeing with the idea of evolution being taught to their daughter, to the couple announcing their divorce (????).  The comedic chemistry between these three characters is amazing and makes the episode that much more fun to watch. In fact, I’d love to see the blooper reel! In fact, let me take it another step further, the comedic chemistry and timing in the entire series is IMPECCABLE.

Ed. note: In the interest of full disclosure, Karisa and Scott are not only both alumni of the storied iO Theater, but also dear friends of ours, and three of us have worked on shorts and webisodes with them.

Another favorite of mine, “Mythological Holiday Creatures,” featured Victor Holstein (Chicago Med, Chicago PD) and centered on his desire to allow his daughter to reveal the truth to her classmates about all of the holiday creatures we enjoy. I particularly like this episode not only because Holstein is hilarious but for the moment we get to see Ms. Antler get through to a parent in a way that is sort of an Aha moment. The episode is gentle and provides a bit of nostalgia to all of us as we think of the moment we finally realized that Santa might not be real (remind me to share the time I called NORAD last year for Christmas and got freaked out… he might actually still be real!).

Ed. note: MM we’re going to need you to explain this IMMEDIATELY in the group text or on Marco Polo.

Overall, Anna and Brad have outdone themselves with Other People’s Children. It’s cast perfectly, looks great, sounds great and is written perfectly! I love that the pair made me relive my own personal experiences working with children and their families and look back on those moments and laugh. I truly think that this web series is going somewhere and am glad I got to be among the first to see it!

Stay tuned for an interview with Anna and Brad in the not so distant future! In the meantime don’t take my word for it (although you should because if I’m saying it’s funny…it’s funny!) GO WATCH Other People’s Children...NOW!!

Ed. note: We’ll even make it really easy for you. Here’s their official YouTube playlist: