#it would not be based on bandstand plot just some songs

[that-sokovian-bastard]

so I’ve determined the best workout I’ve had was tonight and it was while I was belting Broadway songs

Unrelated I wanna do a Bandstand song themed imagine between dc and marvel and it would be angsty but...i just might have to

[karkat62]

TONIGHT’S COMMENTS WILL BE ON CATS DON’T DANCE (1997). THIS FILM WAS SPECIFICALLY (AND REPEATEDLY, IN THE MOST ANNOYING WAY POSSIBLE) REQUESTED BY @hauteurhaunted. THIS ONE’S FOR YOU, SUCKER.

CATS DON’T DANCE IS A MUSICAL FILM ABOUT A CAT NAMED DANNY WHOSE BIG DREAM IS TO BE AN ACTOR IN HOLLYWOOD, SPECIFICALLY STARRING IN AN UNSPECIFIED “BIG PICTURE”. WITH HIS GOAL IN MIND, DANNY SETS OUT TO THE PLACE WHERE MOVIES ARE MADE AND GOES ABOUT IT IN THE MOST BASIC WAY THAT HE CAN: THROUGH A TALENT AGENT SPECIALIZING IN ANIMAL ACTORS. THERE HE MEETS A VARIETY OF FELLOW ANIMALS, ALTHOUGH MOST ARE UNIMPORTANT, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF ANOTHER CAT NAMED SAWYER. DANNY’S DREAMS ARE SOON JUSTLY SHOT OUT OF THE SKY BY AN UNWIELDY GOD HURLING A LIGHTNING BOLT (AKA JUST A FAMOUS CHILD ACTOR WHO IS ALSO A COMPLETE BRAT). NOW FACED WITH REALITY, DANNY BOUNCES BETWEEN HIS NORMAL HOPEFUL OPTIMISM AND GIVING UP. SOME MINDLESS STUFF HAPPENS IN THE MIDDLE. THE WHOLE FILM CULMINATES IN THE GROUP OF ANIMALS SHOWING THE ANTAGONIST, DARLA, WHAT’S WHAT. THE END.

I’D LIKE TO BEGIN BY BRIEFLY COVERING WHY FILMS TAKE ON THE GENRES AND STYLINGS THAT THEY DO IN ORDER TO PORTRAY THEIR STORY. WHEN BASED ON TRUE STORIES, MUSICALS TEND TO OPERATE IN A UNIQUE REALM BETWEEN REALITY AND FICTION, GIVEN THAT IN DAY-TO-DAY LIFE, PEOPLE DON’T JUST GO AROUND BREAKING OUT INTO SONG, EVEN IF THAT WOULD BE THE EASIEST WAY TO END MY FORSAKEN LIFE. WHEN RESTING COMPLETELY IN FICTION, MUSICAL NUMBERS ARE TYPICALLY USED TO FEATURE WILD AND ASININE PLOT ELEMENTS, OVER THE TOP EFFECTS, AND A BLATANT ATTEMPT TO GET ON THE HUMAN TOP 40 CHART. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHAT MAKES A MUSICAL GOOD OR BAD IS TYPICALLY WHAT THE CREATIVE TEAM IS USING THE MUSIC FOR. IS IT BEING UTILIZED IN A WAY THAT PUSHES THE STORY FORWARD? DOES IT TELL US MORE ABOUT THE CHARACTERS? IS IT JUST THROWN IN THERE BECAUSE IT’S BEEN FIVE MINUTES SINCE SOMEONE LAST CARRIED A NOTE AND WE DON’T WANT THE AUDIENCE TO FALL ASLEEP? TYPICALLY, THE MOST WIDELY REGARDED MEDIA OF THIS GENRE USES MUSIC TO REVEAL ASPECTS OF CHARACTER AND PORTRAY ACTIONS IN A FLUID, YET REVEALING, MANNER. THE MUSIC ISN’T THROWN IN HAPHAZARDLY JUST TO HAVE A NOTE OR TWO, IT’S USED BECAUSE IT’S THE BEST MEDIUM TO TELL THE STORY. AS MANY IN THE BROADWAY INDUSTRY SAY, “YOU SING WHEN YOU CAN NO LONGER SPEAK.”

SO. WHERE DOES THIS FILM FALL INTO THAT MIX? WELL. WHY DON’T WE PUT IT LIKE THIS: THE FILM IS 75 MINUTES LONG, WHICH ISN’T PARTICULARLY LONG EVEN FOR AN ANIMATED FILM, AND IT FEATURES 8 SONGS, EACH ONE STRETCHING FOR 2-4 MINUTES. EVERY SONG IS HEARD BY ALL CHARACTERS, AND ONLY ONE REVEALS ANYTHING THAT A CHARACTER MIGHT OTHERWISE NOT SAY ALOUD. SO! WITH THAT IN MIND. IT’S A SHITTY FUCKING EXAMPLE OF THE MUSICAL GENRE. “BUT KARKAT! CAN’T A MUSICAL FILM JUST BE FUN??? DOES IT ALL HAVE TO MEAN SOMETHING?????” OF COURSE IT CAN BE FUN, DIPSHIT. THE ISSUE ISN’T THAT IT’S NOT FUN, THE ISSUE IS THAT IT TRIES TO BE A MOVIE THAT IS *MORE* THAN FUN. IT TRIES TO MAKE COMMENTARY, BUT DOESN’T FULLY COMMIT ITSELF BECAUSE THE COMMENTARY IT’S SPEAKING ON ISN’T A FUN TOPIC, SO INSTEAD IT FALLS FACE-FIRST INTO MEDIOCRITY, RIGHT BETWEEN “GOOD AT MAKING COMMENTARY” AND “GOOD AT BEING FUN” BECAUSE IN 75 MINUTES, YOU CERTAINLY CAN’T BE BOTH.

TO EXPAND A LITTLE MORE ON THE IDEA OF MUSICAL NUMBERS TELLING US SOMETHING ABOUT THE CHARACTER THAT THEY’RE INCAPABLE OF SPEAKING, I’D LIKE TO QUICKLY TAKE A LOOK AT THE BROADWAY SHOW BANDSTAND. THIS IS A GREAT SHOW TO COMPARE TO CATS DON’T DANCE, BECAUSE THE FOUNDATION OF STORYTELLING IS THE SAME: IN CATS DON’T DANCE, THE CHARACTERS ARE WANNABE ACTORS AND SINGERS, SO OF COURSE THEY’RE SHOWCASING THEIR TALENTS AND NOT JUST SPEWING THEIR GELATINOUS SONG CHUNKS INTO THE VOID OF THE PANSPACE WHERE NO ONE CAN HEAR THEM. IN BANDSTAND, THE CHARACTERS ARE (YOU GUESSED IT!) IN A BAND, USING THE SAME EXCUSE FOR MANY OF THE MUSICAL NUMBERS TO BE HEARD BY ALL. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO IS THAT BANDSTAND STILL TAKES THE CHARACTERS ASIDE TO GIVE THEM CHARACTER-DRIVEN NUMBERS THAT ALLOW US TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THEM. MEANWHILE, *EVERY* MUSICAL PIECE IN CATS DON’T DANCE IS SOME IN-UNIVERSE VOYEUR’S WET DREAM, BECAUSE THEY JUST TO SOAK UP EVERY JUICY WORD OF IT. IN BANDSTAND, WE GET TO LEARN OF THE MAIN CHARACTERS’ EMOTIONAL PLIGHT, WHAT DRIVES THEM TO MAKE THEIR CHOICES, AND HOW EXACTLY THEIR EXPERIENCES IN THE WAR HAVE CHANGED THEM. WE GET DEPTH AND BACKSTORY, ALTHOUGH I WILL ADMIT THAT THIS IS EASIER TO ACHIEVE GIVEN THAT IT HAS A LONGER RUNTIME THAN CATS DON’T DANCE. STILL! WHY DON’T WE GO AHEAD AND COMPARE A SONG FROM EACH. THE FIRST SONG OF BANDSTAND, TITLED “JUST LIKE IT WAS BEFORE”, TAKES US THROUGH THE EXPERIENCES OF ONE DONNY (HEY! ALMOST SAME NAME) NOVITSKI IN SOME.... HUMAN WAR. WHATEVER. ANYWAY. WITHIN THE FIRST MINUTE AND A HALF OF THE SONG, WE’RE GIVEN HIS TRAUMATIC BACKSTORY BEFORE MOVING INTO CURRENT TIMES, GOING FROM A SLOW-MOVING WEIGHTY SONG TO SOMETHING UPBEAT AND HOPEFUL AS HE RETURNS TO SOCIETY. THE CHARACTERS IN THIS SONG AREN’T *ACTUALLY* SINGING TO EACH OTHER, BUT INSTEAD FLOWING BETWEEN SCENES AND CARRYING OVER THEIR THOUGHTS AND EXPECTATIONS AS THEY GO. WE’RE TAKEN THROUGH MORE LITERAL EVENTS AS WELL, INCLUDING HIM TRYING TO GET A JOB. ETC ETC. MEANWHILE, THE FIRST MAJOR SONG OF CATS DON’T DANCE, “DANNY’S ARRIVAL SONG” TELLS US ONCE AGAIN THAT DANNY WANTS TO BE AN ACTOR AND THAT HE WORSHIPS THE CONCEPT OF HOLLYWOOD, SOMETHING THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN EXPRESSED THROUGH SPEAKING MOMENTS EARLIER IN THE FILM. IT HAS A LYRICAL STRUCTURE OF A GENERIC POP SONG, REITERATING REPEATEDLY THAT HE REALLY LIKES HOLLYWOOD. WOW. HOLLYWOOD. OH LOOK, MORE HOLLYWOOD. THREE FUCKING MINUTES OF “WOW HOLLYWOOD IS COOL”. GREAT. THANKS. I HAD NO IDEA! ANYWAY, IT’S BAD. ALSO THE MUSIC SUCKS.

THE ONE SONG THAT *ALMOST* REDEEMED IT FOR ME WAS “TELL ME LIES” WHICH IS SUNG BY SAWYER, THE FEMALE CAT THAT DANNY MEETS WHEN HE FIRST ARRIVES IN HOLLYWOOD. NOW THIS ONE HAS SOME POTENTIAL! IN IT, SHE EXPRESSES MORE OR LESS HOW SHE’S GOING TO MISS DANNY ONCE HE’S KICKED OUT OF THE CITY, WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN SUGGESTED BY HER CHARACTER BEFORE BUT NOT TOUCHED ON FULLY UNTIL NOW. GREAT! FINALLY SOME FUCKING DEVELOPMENT. UNFORTUNATELY, IT’S RUINED AT THE LAST SECOND BY A SIDE CHARACTER COMING IN AND GOING “WOW THAT WAS A COOL SONG. HAHA. YOU LIKE A BOY.” WHICH IS PUMPBREAKING FOR ME BECAUSE I WAS ON THE TRACK TO ENJOYING SOMETHING ABOUT THE MUSIC ASPECT OF THIS FILM. OH WELL! ALSO, I’D LIKE TO MENTION THAT I WAS VERY DISTRACTED BY THEIR CHOICE TO INCLUDE A REFERENCE TO THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939), IF ONLY BECAUSE IT’S A UNIQUE PIECE OF MEDIA THAT, IF YOU’RE UNAWARE, HAS BEEN STUCK IN COPYRIGHT LIMBO SINCE THE FILM’S RELEASE. IT’S AN INTERESTING TOPIC TO LOOK INTO IF YOU’RE EVER BORED.

AS FAR AS THE REST OF THE STORYTELLING: IT’S FINE, I GUESS. IT’S VERY FAST-PACED, WHICH IS TO BE EXPECTED OF SUCH A SHORT FILM, BUT IT FEELS LIKE I’VE BEEN THROWN DOWN A RIVER AND TOLD THAT I BETTER LEARN HOW TO SWIM ASAP. THE ANIMATION IS LIVELY AND INTERESTING, ALTHOUGH I WILL NEVER BE COMPLETELY SATISFIED WITH ANIMATION THAT DOESN’T SPEAK ON THE UNIQUE CHARACTERS. IT’S PRETTY MUCH GOT THE SAME STYLE OF MOVEMENT FOR EVERY LIVING CREATURE IN THE FILM, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF DANNY, WHO ALMOST HAS HIS OWN THING GOING ON. ALMOST. MY FAVORITE CHARACTER WAS SAWYER, UNTIL THE CREATORS DECIDED TO LIE TO THEIR AUDIENCE AND TELL EVERYONE THAT LOVE IS REAL, WHICH IT MOST CERTAINLY IS NOT. THEN SHE WENT SOFT AND THAT ASPECT OF MY ENJOYMENT WAS DOWN THE TUBES, TOO.

ANYWAY. I’M GOING TO END THIS HERE, EVEN THOUGH THERE’S REALLY A LOT MORE TO SAY. OVERALL RATING WAS A 5/10.

AS ALWAYS, IF YOU HAVE ANOTHER FILM THAT YOU’D LIKE ME TO CHECK OUT AND TALK ABOUT, YOU CAN FIND ME IN MY INBOX OR AT KARKAT@KARKAT.MYSPACE. SEE YA.

[enthusiasticmusicalquotes]

QUESTION OF THE DAY #6: Send me your most unpopular theatre opinion. Something that might make someone want to fight you. Please don’t be offensive (racist, misogynistic, etc.), but other than that…go as hard as you want. Spill all the tea.

MY ANSWERS: 1) The Pretty Woman score fucking slaps idek, 2) Come From Away (or even Bandstand...) should’ve won the 2017 Best Musical Tony, 3) I prefer the West End Heathers cast album to Off Broadway, 4) Shows shouldn’t sweep the Tonys just because they’re Best Musical worthy...shows that aren’t too critically acclaimed but have really impressive elements should get recognition too.

SUMMARY: Out of 37 responses: 5 were about Dear Evan Hansen, 3 were about Hamilton specifically, 2 were about: Rent, ALW, Wicked, In The Heights, Be More Chill, etc. etc....if your favorite musical is one of these and you get easily offended i wouldn’t read these.

NOTE: I agree with some of these, I highly disagree with others. I do not endorse any of the things that were said, I am simply sharing them with you all. These were what was sent to me. I’m going to number them so if you want to complain about or agree with one you can send me an ask with the number you’re referring to. 

1. howmuchchildrens said: unpopular opinion: i really liked the 2012 version of les mis. i liked russel crowe as javert.

2. Anonymous said: Unpopular opinion: Bootlegs harm to local theatre communities, though I do not believe anyone intends for that to be the case. While it's possible to bootleg responsibly (and I might even say it's beneficial to do so), those who may not know the intricacies of theatrical copyright law or who haven't heard the horror stories from a theatre that's been hit with legal action DUE to a bootleg may record or watch a show irresponsibly, which can greatly harm other routes of theatre accessibility.

3. Anonymous said: Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals are mostly terrible. He only got and stayed popular because a lot of other musical creators and taste makers died in the AIDS epidemic

4. Anonymous said: Almost all musicals using the songs of one artist are cash grabs with no plot or point.

5. Anonymous said: If your musical only has 1 woman OR the women only get sad/romantic songs you need to do something else with your life.

6. nerdshrimp said: Unpopular opinion: Next To Normal does a better job of portraying the effects of mental illness than Dear Evan Hansen does. N2N also doesn't romanticise mental illness & excuse shitty behavior like DEH tries to

7. Anonymous said: Hadestown is a lesser show on Broadway. I fell in love with the live album, and I was so excited for it to come to Broadway. I was so disappointed to see the changes they made. Orpheus and Eurydice's relationship is less interesting and more generic. The changed lyrics are often sloppy and not as good as the original. They fucking wrecked Epic III. Also, no hate to R/ee/ve, but he's just not a good enough singer to convince me that he could soften the heart of Hades. His high notes are awful.

8. Anonymous said: opinion: we are the tigers deserves a broadway run or at least a proshot

9. bimystique said: e/c is NOT A GOOD FUCKING SHIP. the ENTIRE PLOT OF PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is christine trying to escape erik's abuse. WHAT FUCKING PART OF THAT IS ROMANTIC TO YOU PEOPLE.

10. Anonymous said: unpopular theatre opinion(s): Dear Evan Hansen is Very Bad for its handling of mental illness, Hamilton is overrated and praised too much, and high school/college musical theatre programs can be just as good as Broadway. (also, musical movies would be better if they hired broadway actors, but that's not an unpopular opinion)

11. Anonymous said: I don’t like Lin Manuel Miranda and Hamilton is overrated

12. Anonymous said: I don’t like dear Evan Hansen..... at all. I think it’s kind of boring and really overhyped.

13. Anonymous said: unpopular opinion: in the heights is far better than Hamilton. both are good but ith hits different yknow

14. Anonymous said: The bring it on and legally blonde musicals are BAD! The movies are 100 times better

15. Anonymous said: unpopular opinion? wicked is the epitome of white feminism. it's preached as super great for representation but we literally got the first black glinda in 2019?!?!?!? and before that woc could only play elphaba who's villainized and deemed evil by the whole city

16. Anonymous said: Not so much an opinion as a reaction, but of all Lin's works (ITH, Bring it On, 21 Chump Street, Hamilton), 21 Chump Street gets the biggest emotional reaction of all the cast recordings. The second Justin is like "I don't want your money" (And then later on with the "...what the heck did you.... dooooo", I am a complete goner. Worse than Abuela Claudia and Philip Hamilton's deaths combined

17. Anonymous said: Whenever Je.ssie Mu.eller hits certain notes, she sounds like Tommy Pickles from Rugrats.

18. Anonymous said: aotd6: not everyone knows what im talking about, but the cats 2016 broadway revival choreography was WAYYYY better than the original. the original had a lot of creepy uncomfortable moments and the new one looks way cleaner and up to date

19. Anonymous said: raoul is better than the phantom in every conceivable way

20. Anonymous said: I hate Anastasia so much. it's such a boring show and the music is uninteresting. I wanted to like it so bad but GOD is it boring.

21. Anonymous said: In the Heights.... Overrated.

22. Anonymous said: I do not know if this is an unpopular opinion or not, but here is my opinion: Musicals that are entirely or nearly entirely songs (Hamilton, Hadestown, In The Heights, etc) are the most valid bc I can understand the plot without using wikipedia (I'm looking at you, Jagged Little Pill, I love you but what is your plot????)

23. Anonymous said: I'd rather have a bad film adaptation than no film adaptation

24. Anonymous said: Rent sucks and while it was a stepping stone for more ""controversial"" topics to appear on Broadway it's actually biphobic and features several generally terrible people doing generally terrible things and doesn't actually address the real crisis at all; it's all performative wokeness. The only real good it did was cast a bunch of "nobodies" for the time and make theater somewhat more accessible.

25. stardust-and-seas said: Dear Evan Hansen doesn't properly address mental health despite being about mental health and resolves nobodies character arcs satisfactorily. It's another show that reaches its hands around the throats of marginalized teenagers saying "look I'm relatable!!" The songs taken out of context are significantly more powerful than when placed in the context of the show, which gives us exactly zero evidence of Evan's work to improve and also never resolves Evan's u healthy goals in the first place.

26. stardust-and-seas said: Be More Chill is a raging dumpster fire and the only decent song from it, Michael in the Bathroom, reads as a whiny rich white boy whose potential social anxiety and depression is left ambiguous, which is exactly what it is. When taken out of context it better exemplifies the othering that happens to marginalized groups but lets be real here: bullying/cliques don't happen to "just anyone"; it's the marginalized groups that are othered and abandoned for not being "normal"

27. stardust-and-seas said: There's a difference between shows that don't take themselves seriously because they're meant to be fun and light and shows that pretend not to take themselves too seriously but want to be taken seriously by the audience and the latter always ends up mediocre at best

28. redueka said: i think that dear evan hansen handles every issue it presents badly. i also think that beetlejuice was badly directed

29. Anonymous said: Well I don’t EVER condone cheating, I’m team Jamie in the last five years. He tried so hard to make their relationship and life good, and Cathy gave him nothing in return

30. youcanlolyoucansayohwell said: The answer of the day- I don't get the BMC hype. I'm out of the age bracket it's meant for that might it be. I enjoy it but I don't think it's the greatest thing in the world like some theatre fans do.

31. Anonymous said: i like the rent 2005 recording better than the obcr

32. Anonymous said: unpopular opinion ? : the music of wicked just like isn’t that good. like it’s good but it’s not like, Good, yknow. it’s pretty standard it doesn’t stand out to me. kinda boring

33. Anonymous said: mari.ah r.ose fa.ith is not a good regina george. everything she says sounds monotonous and while i understand she's trying to play off the ""whatever"" teenager (she does this a lot with her teenage characters), 90% of the time she sounds and looks like she doesn't want to be there; her voice is great but most songs feel unnatural and forced and she changes them too much. she's just not selling regina to me as a believable character (this is all from a technical point of view)

34. Anonymous said: Unpopular Opinion: as much as i like musicals based on movies (like waitress), i think not every movie needs to be a musical.

35. Anonymous said: Unpopular opinion (?) the emojiland musical Kinda Slaps

36. Anonymous said: as one of my high school tech theatre teachers once said: "Andrew Lloyd Webber is overrated"

37. Anonymous said: sorry to whoever likes it but Seussical is an absolutely nonsense crackpot plot disguised with okay-to-good music, like I don't even know where to start. I was in the show and didn't even know there was an entire secondary plot line featuring sending children to war until we were halfway through rehearsals

[ineffable-endearments]

Choices (they’re usually the Serpent’s thing, but the Angel tries his hand with them, too)

CW: mentions of suicide/ideation

After getting discorporated, Aziraphale asks Crowley whether he went to Alpha Centauri despite knowing that Crowley can’t be anywhere but on Earth right now (Aziraphale navigated his way from Heaven using an actual planet Earth globe).

Then he indicates that he needs Agnes Nutter’s book even though he likely doesn’t actually need Agnes Nutter’s book for his own purposes (he tells Crowley to get the book, but he’s also able to find his way to the airbase without the book, he’s able to tell Crowley to go to the airbase without the book, and then Crowley brings the book and immediately gives it back to Anathema; Aziraphale does not protest, and it’s really only a matter of good luck that he managed to grab Agnes Nutter’s final prophecy as it floated by).

Aziraphale could have skipped the song and dance about Alpha Centauri, and about needing his book, and skipped straight to “Hallo, please meet me at Tadfield Airbase.” But he DIDN’T. These smaller asks are gentle hints, ways of trying to probe whether Crowley is still willing to help him out after those two enormous fights they just had.

AND. He probably already knows the answers. He probably knows Crowley will always help out. Aziraphale still wants to give Crowley a choice before getting him involved in confronting the Antichrist directly. I am not quite sure whether he’s doing it for more selfless reasons (purely wanting to let Crowley be safe) or self-centered ones (wanting to reassure himself that he’s been chosen). I suspect, though, that it’s both.

At the Tadfield bus stop, too, Aziraphale suggesting that the bus driver should drop him off at the bookshop is another request for Crowley to make a choice. He may or may not remember that the bookshop is gone, but even if he thinks it’s still there, I don’t think he wants to go there alone; if that was the case, then the timing of the statement would be rather awkward, maybe even unnecessary. This is to say nothing of Aziraphale’s facial expressions, which practically shout “this is not just about the bus ride!”.

I think by saying he should have the driver leave him at the bookshop, Aziraphale is stating that he intends to stay here on Earth, but also isn’t sure if perhaps Crowley will deal with his own angry Side by leaving Earth (as Crowley had suggested earlier that day), and he wants to prompt an invitation to stay together but only if Crowley wants to give that invitation (meaning he plans to stay here).

I’ve analyzed the phrase to Hell and back, but it can’t be said enough times: “I don’t think my Side would like that” is another prompt for Crowley. Aziraphale wants to make sure Crowley understands what staying here might mean for both of them (permanent death). Remember, this also comes after the delivery man asks if Aziraphale believes in life after death. “Well, I suppose I must do,” he answers, and gives Crowley a strange, loaded look.

Because that’s what they’re both staring down right now.

We comment about Aziraphale being manipulative, and he certainly can be; he is definitely trying to play a complicated three-sided Chess game with Heaven, Hell, and Earth (I think that’s what the Chess board in his bookshop symbolizes), and he almost never says exactly what he means. But he wants Crowley to genuinely make his own decisions. Every time he hints at wanting Crowley to do him some little favor, Crowley does it...but the hint is based entirely in the assumption that he’ll WANT to do it. Crowley usually has an out.

There are about 3 scenes when Aziraphale specifically does not give Crowley a choice, and these stand out for important reasons as well:

1. 1862, the Holy Water breakup. It’s pretty obvious that this breakup was triggered by Crowley’s willingness to put himself in danger. Aziraphale complains that he’d get in trouble if Heaven found out about the Holy Water, but the Arrangement has been breaking Heaven’s supposed rules for centuries now. Aziraphale just leaves, not giving Crowley a chance to argue.

2. The Bandstand breakup. It was a long and tortured argument, but there were two moments when Aziraphale tried to not give Crowley a choice. First, when they were both refusing to kill the Antichrist, and Crowley was about to walk away, Aziraphale said “You can’t leave, Crowley. There’s nowhere to go.” Second, when Crowley answered that by saying they could both just leave Earth together because they’ve been friends for so long, Aziraphale told Crowley it was unequivocally over.

One could easily say the lack of choice was because Aziraphale was angry at Crowley for not wanting to kill the Antichrist and for not trying hard enough to save the world. But remember, Aziraphale already thinks he has a plot in place for saving the planet. He’s begging Heaven to help, and even if Heaven won’t help, we already saw him making a phone call to move the humans (the “Witchfinder Army”) into position to potentially neutralize the Antichrist. Before coming to meet Crowley he had just had a conversation with Shadwell, the one after which Shadwell called him a Southern pansy.

“You can’t leave,” Aziraphale says, not because he was going to try to force Crowley to kill the Antichrist, but because nowhere on Earth is going to be safe except on Heaven’s side. Especially if nobody is going to kill the Antichrist, which neither of them wants to do.

“There is no Our Side. Not anymore. It’s over,” Aziraphale says when Crowley reveals that there is in fact another possibility, because he is not going to leave Earth and he wants Crowley to make his own decision about where he goes, without Aziraphale. In this case it’s not so much that he’s taking away all choices from Crowley as he is trying to remove himself from the equation so Crowley will make the decision for himself and leave, if necessary. It’s taking away the relationship decision.

So wait, how is that keeping Crowley safe?! Well, it’s because their relationship and Hell’s possible discovery of it is what made Crowley seek a stash of Holy Water. In 1967, when Crowley tried the church heist, Aziraphale knew Crowley was determined to deepen the Arrangement, their relationship, or to die trying.

This whole time, because of that Holy Water request, Aziraphale has been thinking he was the Dangerous Thing, that the hope of being with him is what was causing Crowley to be so careless with his own life. I think at the Bandstand, once he realized Crowley would never be “safe in Heaven’s arms” and also realized he was going to be dying here on Earth if the Antichrist was not neutralized, Aziraphale was hoping if he just removed himself from the picture, disavowed their whole connection for all time, Crowley would finally decide Aziraphale wasn’t worth the trouble.

During the scene in Soho when Crowley asks Aziraphale to run away with him one more time, Hell has finally discovered that Crowley botched the Antichrist situation. Crowley says he’s leaving, and Aziraphale does not make a move to stop him. That sad, resigned expression he wears is probably the face of an angel who doesn’t want to lose his best friend but already thinks that Crowley will be better off without him and should, ideally, be heading for the stars, if he knows what’s good for him.

And then events bring us to Tadfield Airbase.

3. Tadfield Airbase. “Do something, or...or I’m never going to talk to you again!”

The bandstand breakup passes. The bar scene - “I lost my best friend” - is the moment Aziraphale finally, finally realizes Crowley has no self-preservation instinct AT ALL without him. And then he once again gives Crowley the choice to help out. That’s one of the most notable choices he gave Crowley...but he didn’t dawdle over it, because they both already knew the answer. It was important to make it a choice, though.

They find themselves together, with a motley group of humans and the Antichrist, facing down Satan. And Crowley is once again resigned to death.

Aziraphale now knows - and, now that he doesn’t think Heaven is going to help them, is capable of accepting! - that nothing else would compel Crowley like their bond. Aziraphale has been cruel to be kind before, but never like at this moment, when he finally acknowledges the reality of their relationship and forces Crowley to keep fighting, to find some spark of hope or a creative solution somewhere.

Aziraphale thought the Holy Water, if anything, was representative of the threat he posed to Crowley’s life. There are so many ways he was worried about this, from the symbolic reality that Crowley had accepted the importance of their relationship as something that could kill them, that he would defy Hell for, to the literal reality that Crowley could use it to actively kill himself. But in the end, it’s losing Aziraphale that caused Crowley to give up and resign himself to his fate.

It’s getting Aziraphale back that gave him the spark of hope needed to carry on, and after that, Crowley finds faith in both Aziraphale and in Adam and humanity.

By encouraging Eve to eat the apple, Crowley gave humans the ultimate choice, the one that made humans what they are. And in his own way, he’s been giving Aziraphale choices, too - helping Aziraphale understand that no, Heaven’s way isn’t necessarily the only way. For the most part, Aziraphale assumes his role is to preserve the status quo.

However, Aziraphale DOES purposely frame his and Crowley’s relationship as a choice. The only times he doesn’t are times when he thinks there’s a direct threat to Crowley’s safety that can’t be mitigated. This is why the series starts with a shot of Aziraphale’s wing shielding Crowley and ends with a shot in the Ritz that calls back to the very same scene; Aziraphale has been trying to shield Crowley the whole time.

[sleepyrps]

*✧ song plots!

i love finding plots that are based off of songs, so i’ve decided to write out a masterlist for you all! under the cut, you will find 13 PLOTS based off of some of my favorite songs. most of these work best for two muses, but there are a few with more than two muse spots! the plots have been divided into what i think fits best as far as platonic, romantic, angst, or a combo of any, but you can adjust them to fit however you want! happy roleplaying!

PLATONIC;

*✧ you’ve got a friend by carole king

“winter, spring, summer or fall, all you have to do is call, and i’ll be there.”

a group of friends that would do just about anything for each other. they’ve grown up together, and their bond never changed as they made it through high school, college, and now into their adult lives. if one is in trouble, all they need to do is call and the others will come to their rescue, no matter where they are or what the situation is. even when some things in life aren’t as good or easy, there’s no doubt in any of their minds that they’ve always got a strong bond of friends to keep them grounded and love them unconditionally.

*✧ tango: maureen from RENT

"as she keeps you dangling, your heart she is mangling.”

MUSE A is the ex of MUSE C (can be played or be a NPC), who left them a few months ago for MUSE B. MUSE A & B have always assumed that they would not get along, so they haven’t made much of an effort to meet. however, when they do, they realize that they had more in common than they once assumed. MUSE B has slowly started suspecting that MUSE C could be cheating on them, which they have discovered is a common thing for them to do, and what they did multiple times on MUSE A. MUSE B comes to MUSE A for advice, and MUSE B is happy to help them, as ironic and funny as this is for them. how will they get along, even with the common goal to stop the cheating MUSE C? will they still despise each other as it progresses, or will a new friendship be formed?

*✧ 9 to 5 by dolly parton

“you would think that i would deserve a fat promotion.”

a group of four friends who all work in the same office. they all have their own dreams and aspirations, but the one common thing they all hold is that they don’t want to stay there forever. through the ups and downs of being career-holding adults, they’ve got each other’s backs. maybe they’ll all be able to live out their dreams one day, but for now they’re trapped in the life of a 9 to 5.

ROMANTIC;

*✧ uptown girl by billy joel

“i’ll bet she never had a backstreet guy, i’ll bet her mama never told her why.”

MUSE A comes from a wealthy family, and was born with a silver spoon in their mouth. MUSE B is not as wealthy, and has had to work for everything they have. When they meet MUSE A, they are immediately smitten, and do anything they can to win even the slightest bit of attention. MUSE B knows that it’s not going to be easy, because MUSE A is used to dating others that have money. MUSE B has not lost confidence however, because they know one day that they’ll be able to get MUSE B to fall for them. It’s only a matter of time before they truly see what they’re missing.

*✧ this is life from bandstand

“but this is life, with a heartache it brings, and we know that these things take time.”

MUSE A has been close friends with MUSE B for a while now, but there’s obvious feelings between the two. the only kicker? there has been developing feelings for both sides for a while, but neither are willing to act on it, partially out of fear of rejection, but also with knowing that neither of their lives are simple. MUSE A is working on building up their business, and MUSE B has a budding music career that could take them beyond anywhere they imagined. now that their futures are ahead of them, they know they have to say something, but they know that life isn’t a movie, and nothing is going to be easy.

*✧ only us from dear evan hansen

“i don’t need you to sell me on reasons to want you.”

MUSE A and MUSE B haven’t been together for very long, but it is super clear that they care very deeply about each other. while MUSE A is very secure in them self and their relationship, MUSE B is dealing with more insecurity, worried that one day MUSE A will suddenly change their mind. MUSE A is aware of their s/o’s thought processes, and does everything they can to show that MUSE B is the only person they need.

*✧ in a crowd of thousands from anastasia

“but i knew even then, in a crowd of thousands, i’d find you again.”

MUSE A and MUSE B had a very short summer romance when they were thirteen years old, something that only lasted the length of a two month summer camp. they were each other’s first kiss, and though it was minor, it stays a fond memory for both of them. fast forward over a decade, and the two have since lost touch, not having any way to communicate after camp ended. both have changed fairly significantly, and neither is aware that they are now working in the same town, in the same building for that matter. how will this affect them? will they recognize each other off the bat, or will it take time? what will they do when they find out who they work with?

ANGST;

*✧ lipstick on your collar by connie francis

"lipstick on your collar told a tale on you!”

MUSE A and MUSE B have been a couple for a while, typically noted as the “it couple”. Everyone knows them, and hardly knows one without the other. What MUSE A doesn’t know, however, is that their best friend since diapers, MUSE C, has been hooking up with MUSE B behind their back. The secret pair has almost gotten caught a handful of times, but  how many times is too many before MUSE A finds out what they’ve really been up to all this time, and how will they take the news of their significant other cheating?

*✧ sad song by parson james

“and you were no good for me, and I was no good for you.”

a textbook toxic relationship. MUSE A and MUSE B are no longer together, and as much as it hurts them, maybe it’s for the best. there’s always a special connection because they did mean the world to each other at one point, but it would be almost destructive if they stayed together. where will this put them now?

*✧ never going back again by fleetwood mac

“been down one time, been down two times, never going back again.”

MUSE A and MUSE B were in a relationship that quickly became toxic towards the end of it. as time went on, it became more of an on-and-off type of relationship, constantly breaking up and coming back together only to be more toxic each time. MUSE A has realized how harmful this is to them, and they’ve vowed that after the final breakup, they won’t go back to them ever again. However, MUSE B doesn’t know what to do without MUSE A in their life, so they will do anything they can to keep the other around, even if it isn’t healthy. 

*✧ mamma mia by abba

“i can’t count all the times i told you we’re through.”

MUSE A knows that MUSE B isn’t good for them. they’re toxic, unfaithful, and MUSE A can do so much better than the person that they choose to stay with. Just when MUSE A decides (once again) that enough is enough, MUSE B will always do something to reel them back in. a smile, a compliment, a gesture, anything, and they’re back in the same stress they’ve been dealing with forever. will MUSE A eventually end it for good, or will the pair be in an endless, toxic loop?

COULD BE PLATONIC OR ROMANTIC;

*✧ cecily smith by will connolly

“who cares what you are listening to, it’s who you’re listening with.”

MUSE A is rigid, and has always been one to follow the rules they are given. When they meet MUSE B, they are taken for a whirlwind of a ride MUSE B is a unique individual who’s nothing like MUSE A has ever met before. they love opera, art, and other things that MUSE A has never taken much of an interest in. that is, until the date has ended. suddenly, their mind is opened up to all of the things that MUSE B enjoys, and they only want to know more, about them and their interests.

*✧ only the good die young by billy joel

“i’d rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints, ‘cause sinners are much more fun.”

MUSE A is the child of a super religious family, so they’ve always been sheltered, only being raised to follow god and their parents. they meet MUSE B, who is accompanied by a rowdy group of friends. they have a reputation for being much rougher around the edges , and they’re usually doing something to get them in trouble (it may not be on purpose, but for the sake of the thrill. MUSE B always tries to get MUSE A to come out with them, but MUSE A is always hesitant of getting caught by their family. MUSE B just wants them to live a little, but MUSE A’s parents have warned them against MUSE B because of how they treat people. MUSE A eventually agrees to sneak out with MUSE B, convinced by their behavior, and some sort of connection, whether that be romantic or platonic, begins to form. It doesn’t help that they still have to hide from MUSE A’s family.

[thundaddy]

Just some plots Thor and I want, anyone up for them?

Travelin’ Soldier (based on the song by the Dixie Chicks) - Thor is a young man heading off for his first deployment and winds up meeting a young woman (or man) whom he asks to just sit and talk with him a while before his bus arrives. The two wind up becoming pen pals as Thor doesn’t have anyone else to send letters to while he is away.

The Vow - The couple is in a car crash and one of them winds up with a head injury which leads to amnesia. The injured partner remembers their previous relationship, not the current marriage (can be changed to engagement or just relationship) they’re in. The un-injured partner has to try to find a way to make their partner fall back in love with them. 

I would prefer Thor to be the un-injured one in this, but I can go either way, really.

Perfect Story (based on the song by Idina Menzel) - The couple has a child already when they decide that separating/divorcing would be the best route for them. But now they have to figure out how to co-parent and what that looks like for their family.

This is Life (based on the song from the broadway show Bandstand) - Thor and your muse develop feelings for each other, the only problem is that Thor was there when your muse’s husband/wife/partner passed away and blames himself for their death in some way. Neither really know how to manage their feelings and continue to dance around them. What will finally make them break the ice romantically?

The Lake House - Thor and your muse are living in two separate times, two years apart from each other, but communicating via letters in a mailbox at the lake house your muse use to own and Thor currently owns in his timeline. Will the two ever meet, or will they simply fall for each other through their letters and never see each other face to face?

Notes on a cup/Notes on a pastry bag - Thor owns a coffee shop or bakery and finds himself quite taken with one particular customer who comes in regularly and orders the same thing nearly every time. He begins to make sure there’s enough of that item that it won’t sell out before your muse gets there. He also starts leaving little notes on the coffee cup/pastry bag. Eventually one of those notes is asking your muse out.

AUs and other plot bunnies Thor wants:

Harry Potter AU (student or professor)

Jurassic Park/World (I still think he would sit there and play with the baby raptors and be so fascinated)

Thor thinking he’s straight, but meeting a man who makes him question his sexuality and the two of them working together to make the relationship comfortable on both ends.

[tune-collective]

What's Inside Madonna Biopic 'Blond Ambition' & Can She Stop It?

What's Inside Madonna Biopic 'Blond Ambition' & Can She Stop It?

If the Universal project does get the green light, it will have to survive the wrath of the Material Girl.

Most scripts on the Black List — an annual ranking of Hollywood’s best unproduced screenplays, voted upon by the people who read them (many of them agency and studio assistants) — remain just that: unproduced.

But not always. Certainly landing in first place on the list doesn’t hurt. Such was the case with Blond Ambition: The biopic from first-time screenwriter Elyse Hollander about Madonna’s rise to fame earned 48 votes on the 2016 list, 13 nods ahead of the second-place entry from veteran scribe Dan Fogelman (This Is Us).

The script impressed Universal enough to snatch up the property, with two major producers — Michael De Luca and Brett Ratner — attached. Still, no director has yet been attached and the film is not yet an official green light.

Definitely not on board, however, is Madonna herself. The singer has posted several Instagram messages denouncing the project. In the first, posted just hours after The Hollywood Reporter broke the news of the project on Tuesday, she writes, “Nobody knows what I know and what I have seen. Only I can tell my story. Anyone else who tries is a charlatan and a fool.”

On Wednesday (April 26), a copy of the script now in hand, her criticism grew more pointed and personal. “Why would Universal Studios want to make a movie about me based on a script that is all lies???” she writes. “The writer Elyse Hollander should write for the tabloids.”

As an example of the script’s inaccuracies, Madonna singled out a line of dialogue on the first page, in which Madonna tells Dick Clark in an interview on American Bandstand, “I was born in Detroit. I’m a famed high school dropout.”

“I was born in Bay City, not Detroit. And I did not drop out of high school. In fact, I went to University of Michigan,” Madonna counters. But Hollander took that exchange directly from the actual American Bandstand broadcast, as evidenced by this YouTube video. (Perhaps that is why Madonna later deleted the second Instagram post.)

If Blond Ambition does get green-lighted, it will have to survive the wrath of Madonna. For Universal, it could wind up being a headache not worth pursuing. It certainly won’t be the first unauthorized biography to make it to the screen, but other recent notable instances — The Queen, The Social Network, Foxcatcher — were not reliant on a highly recognizable musical catalog.

Figuring heavily into Blond Ambition‘s plot are such early Madonna hits as “Burning Up,” “Everybody,” “Borderline,” “Lucky Star” and “Holiday” — all of them hit singles off her self-titled debut album from 1983. For Universal to include these songs, they would need to secure a sync license for the master recording (if they use the originals) and the music publishing rights.

Even if Madonna holds none of these rights herself, one prominent music lawyer estimates that “given her stature in the industry, she probably has an approval right” over the songs and could prevent them from use in Blond Ambition. The resulting film — a Madonna biopic without any Madonna music in it — greatly runs the risk of coming off like a big-budget Lifetime movie in the vein of Britney Ever After.

A second and far less promising tack would be to go after the script for defamation. But while there is plenty of material in Blond Ambition to which the Material Girl might object, calling it defamatory would be a legal stretch.

In one scene, she’s depicted shoplifting in a drugstore, “stashing a toothbrush and some toothpaste in her backback.”

The script also suggests that Madonna stole her iconic look from another fixture on the downtown club scene, a character named “Bianca Stonewell.”

And as her star rises, the screenplay suggests that Madonna ignores her then-producer and boyfriend, Jellybean Benitez, to cozy up to Prince.

“He tries to move past the bodyguard,” the stage directions note. “Madonna, fully engrossed in a conversation with Prince, doesn’t see him. Or does she?” (Italics Hollander’s.)

And in the final scene, just moments after her triumphant performance of “Like a Virgin” at the 1984 MTV Music Video Awards, she callously informs Benitez that she aborted their child.

“I won’t have to choose between my career and a family now,” she says as she applies lipstick in a vanity mirror. “And that’s how I want it.” (The scene was shot by students at the Los Angeles Film School and uploaded to YouTube, making for an inadvertently hilarious piece of Madonna ephemera.)

Oddly enough, what could have been one of the most incendiary and emotionally wrenching chapters — Madonna’s rooftop rape at age 19, something she spoke openly about in 2015 — is barely referenced in Blond Ambition.

“This might sound crazy, but when I first got to New York I wanted to believe the best in everyone,” she tells Benitez. “Of course, it wasn’t too long before someone took advantage of that. Took advantage of me…”

“Wait … Do you mean…” Benitez interrupts. 

“I don’t want to get into it,” she replies.

For now, Madonna is not speaking out further on the subject, having passed on a request for comment. Hollander, too, did not respond to a request for comment; her Twitter feed was recently made private.

This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.

http://tunecollective.com/2017/04/28/whats-inside-madonna-biopic-blond-ambition-can-stop/

[thundaddy]

I have so many lovely new followers/mutuals, so I figured I’d throw this out there. LIKE the thing if you’d like to plot! 

Below the cut are some plots I still would love to do, but I am up for pretty much anything, so let’s chat!

TRAVELIN’ SOLDIER (based on the song by the Dixie Chicks) - Thor is a young man heading off for his first deployment and winds up meeting a young woman (or man) whom he asks to just sit and talk with him a while before his bus arrives. The two wind up becoming pen pals as Thor doesn’t have anyone else to send letters to while he is away.

PERFECT STORY (BASED ON THE SONG BY IDINA MENZEL) - The couple has a child already when they decide that separating/divorcing would be the best route for them. But now they have to figure out how to co-parent and what that looks like for their family.

THIS IS LIFE (BASED ON THE SONG FROM THE BROADWAY SHOW BANDSTAND) - Thor and your muse develop feelings for each other, the only problem is that Thor was there when your muse’s husband/wife/partner passed away and blames himself for their death in some way. Neither really know how to manage their feelings and continue to dance around them. What will finally make them break the ice romantically?

OTHER RANDOM PLOT BUNNIES:

Kindergarten teacher Thor meets a single parent muse who he’s taken with (look at this post for the M/M version that is adorable!)

Reincarnated soulmates where only one remembers their past lives at first.

His fiance called off the wedding, so Thor decides to take his friend on the honeymoon because he’s not wasting that trip and maybe it’ll be good to help him get over the other person?

Thor and your muse have to go under cover as a newlywed couple and they’re fairly certain that the people they’re after have bugged their room and/or placed a hidden camera in it, so they have to really play up that they’re on their honeymoon, so fake sex happens, but how fake is it really?

Your muse is running away from some kind of toxic home life/relationship and winds up broken down in the middle of nowhere, which just so happens to be where Thor lives, and Thor invites them in to stay for a while until their car gets fixed. Eventually things happen, duh.

Thor and your muse are neighbors who share glances and waves and smiles through their windows. Your muse gets locked out one day during a storm and Thor invites them in. They spend the night actually getting to know each other. (Check this post!)

Anything where your muse has a lot of scars that they’ve always kept covered up and one day Thor sees them and, instead of asking about them, he just kisses each scar and whispers how beautiful they are.

Your muse having a lot of tattoos that are always covered up even though they’ve been dating for months and then suddenly Thor sees your muse shirtless and winds up tracing every tattoo carefully with his fingertip and asking about what they mean to your muse.

[thundaddy]

thundaddy‌:

Just some plots Thor and I want, anyone up for them?

Travelin’ Soldier (based on the song by the Dixie Chicks) - Thor is a young man heading off for his first deployment and winds up meeting a young woman (or man) whom he asks to just sit and talk with him a while before his bus arrives. The two wind up becoming pen pals as Thor doesn’t have anyone else to send letters to while he is away.

The Vow - The couple is in a car crash and one of them winds up with a head injury which leads to amnesia. The injured partner remembers their previous relationship, not the current marriage (can be changed to engagement or just relationship) they’re in. The un-injured partner has to try to find a way to make their partner fall back in love with them. 

I would prefer Thor to be the un-injured one in this, but I can go either way, really.

Perfect Story (based on the song by Idina Menzel) - The couple has a child already when they decide that separating/divorcing would be the best route for them. But now they have to figure out how to co-parent and what that looks like for their family.

This is Life (based on the song from the broadway show Bandstand) - Thor and your muse develop feelings for each other, the only problem is that Thor was there when your muse’s husband/wife/partner passed away and blames himself for their death in some way. Neither really know how to manage their feelings and continue to dance around them. What will finally make them break the ice romantically?

The Lake House - Thor and your muse are living in two separate times, two years apart from each other, but communicating via letters in a mailbox at the lake house your muse use to own and Thor currently owns in his timeline. Will the two ever meet, or will they simply fall for each other through their letters and never see each other face to face?

Notes on a cup/Notes on a pastry bag - Thor owns a coffee shop or bakery and finds himself quite taken with one particular customer who comes in regularly and orders the same thing nearly every time. He begins to make sure there’s enough of that item that it won’t sell out before your muse gets there. He also starts leaving little notes on the coffee cup/pastry bag. Eventually one of those notes is asking your muse out.

AUs and other plot bunnies Thor wants:

Harry Potter AU (student or professor)

Jurassic Park/World (I still think he would sit there and play with the baby raptors and be so fascinated)

Kindergarten teacher Thor meets a single parent muse who he’s taken with.

Thor being a travel photographer and taking his partner with him on all these crazy adventures.

Thor thinking he’s straight, but meeting a man who makes him question his sexuality and the two of them working together to make the relationship comfortable on both ends.

[thundaddy]

thundaddy‌:

Just some plots Thor and I want, anyone up for them?

Travelin’ Soldier (based on the song by the Dixie Chicks) - Thor is a young man heading off for his first deployment and winds up meeting a young woman (or man) whom he asks to just sit and talk with him a while before his bus arrives. The two wind up becoming pen pals as Thor doesn’t have anyone else to send letters to while he is away.

The Vow - The couple is in a car crash and one of them winds up with a head injury which leads to amnesia. The injured partner remembers their previous relationship, not the current marriage (can be changed to engagement or just relationship) they’re in. The un-injured partner has to try to find a way to make their partner fall back in love with them. 

I would prefer Thor to be the un-injured one in this, but I can go either way, really.

Perfect Story (based on the song by Idina Menzel) - The couple has a child already when they decide that separating/divorcing would be the best route for them. But now they have to figure out how to co-parent and what that looks like for their family.

This is Life (based on the song from the broadway show Bandstand) - Thor and your muse develop feelings for each other, the only problem is that Thor was there when your muse’s husband/wife/partner passed away and blames himself for their death in some way. Neither really know how to manage their feelings and continue to dance around them. What will finally make them break the ice romantically?

The Lake House - Thor and your muse are living in two separate times, two years apart from each other, but communicating via letters in a mailbox at the lake house your muse use to own and Thor currently owns in his timeline. Will the two ever meet, or will they simply fall for each other through their letters and never see each other face to face?

Notes on a cup/Notes on a pastry bag - Thor owns a coffee shop or bakery and finds himself quite taken with one particular customer who comes in regularly and orders the same thing nearly every time. He begins to make sure there’s enough of that item that it won’t sell out before your muse gets there. He also starts leaving little notes on the coffee cup/pastry bag. Eventually one of those notes is asking your muse out.

AUs and other plot bunnies Thor wants:

Harry Potter AU (student or professor)

Jurassic Park/World (I still think he would sit there and play with the baby raptors and be so fascinated)

Thor thinking he’s straight, but meeting a man who makes him question his sexuality and the two of them working together to make the relationship comfortable on both ends.