#ok so honestly I don’t have the original audio of ANY of these.

[skyland2703]

-“I’m gonna do the stupid thing”

-“Please do not do the stupid thing”

[kitheking]

Redacted Awards 2024 🌟 my submission post

hihihi so i nominated myself for Samuel Collin’s #1 fan and this is my attempt at convincing you why i should win. you might wanna sit down for this one <3

1. Sam’s playlist is how i discovered the Redacted Audio community bc he was the first character I ever listened to

2. he’s southern and I have spent half of my life being in the south so him and i are basically soul tied

3. I knew Sam was the Duke of the Solaire Clan WAY before it was revealed because i had a dream about it

4. i also had a hunch his eyes were brown pre-turning. i’m just that good.

5. Even after listening to other RA characters like Milo, Vincent, David (some of my other fav characters when i first started listening to the channel) etc, I was still drawn to Sam (because his character is written so well)

- I honestly love how we still don’t know everything about Sam’s life pre-turning in detail besides his relationship with his grandma. like he’s so mysterious

- he was originally a flawed character (when he was featured in Fredericks storyline) and that’s honestly what drew me to him more

6. he knows what the omegaverse and uses his knowledge to tease the pack, which is something i would 100% do (were like the same person)

7. He’s my comfort character, and I have rewatched his playlist so many times to the point where I have the: Moonlit Meeting With a Vampire, Vampire Tends to Your Injuries, Getting Closer to Your Vampire Mate, Cuddles and Confessions With Your Vampire Mate, Warming Up With Your Vampire Mate, Solstice Party With The Werewolf Pack, Going All the Way With Your Vampire Mate, Your Vampire Mate Makes You a Promise, Your Vampire Mate Tries to Learn a Video game, Cuddling Up and Watching a Scary Movie With Your Vampire Mate, Heating Up In The Bedroom w/ Your Vampire Mate Audios ALL memorized bar for bar…. and the moving in audio.. and cuddly morning audios (with and without asher)… and all the quinn audios.. uhhh the valentine’s day one…. all his lines in the summit and inversion… and the club one. Yeah i think that’s it. Oh yeah and the HBS one in the pool. Can you believe i just typed all that? 🔥

8. I have never related to an asmr listener more than i have related to darlin

9. I actually start to tweak when I go more than 3 months without a new Sam audio (i was struggling until i heard from him in the wedding audio)

10. my bio has included a Sam quote for 2 years now

11. here’s a few of my posts about sam that i think represent how much i think of him

majority of my posts have something to do w him and i post the most when a new sam audio drops

12. His favorite season is fall. guess what my favorite season is? BOOM. Guess what season my birthday just so happens to be in? EXACTLY.

13. Sam’s character helped me realize that I should never be ashamed to ask for help and that I never have to struggle alone

14. Umm this post? like c’mon i dare you to say i’m not dedicated

okay i’ll stop now! honestly my chance of winning is low cause there’s like a billion other people who are nominated for Sam’s #1 fan but that’s ok! if any of said ppl see this post good luck!

@plaqying thank you for coming up with this i’m genuinely so excited wether i win anything or not

[fogwitchoftheevermore]

ok i have been listening to those arg audio files all day ever since finding out about them and i might be totally off the mark on this one, but i'm hearing something slightly different than the transcript for "do you wish to take his place". the transcript has the crosstalk as being:

(Person 2:) Besides, it seems you forget about our former--  (Person 1: ) [shouting] That's impossible!  [crosstalk begins] (Person 4: ) To insinuate there is any trace of their existence (Person 1: ) We raised their entire reality (Person 2: ) And yet I [perform? enforce?] my work--  [everyone's voices coalesce into one, overlapping echo.]

but what i'm hearing is:

(Person 2: ) Besides, it seems you forget about our former--  (Person 1: ) [shouting] That's impossible!  [crosstalk begins] (Person 4: ) To insinuate there is any trace of their existence is an insult to my work. (Person 1: ) We razed their entire reality. I saw to it myself (Person 2: ) And yet- (Person ?: ) I would've foreseen it! [everyone's voices coalesce into one, overlapping echo.]

it's not that different. honestly it's so small that i might not have even bothered to mention it, but after mulling it over i think it genuinely could be important.

the first thing here is that i think that person 2's entire sentence in the crosstalk is just "and yet". this makes sense to me, as everyone else seems to be arguing against person 2's proposal, and it sounds like they were readying a comeback that got cut off. my only guesses as to who's saying "i would've foreseen it" are person 3, the only other voice we hear in this conversation, or someone else we haven't heard in either recording (i'm more inclined to believe it's person 3, it would be a weird choice to introduce someone new in one, spoken over line). i will say, take this part with a slight grain of salt, i'm not the best at identifying voices.

the second part, the part that seems most important to me, is the differences in what i’m hearing. the small ones are the adjustments to person 1’s dialogue, “i saw to it myself” and “razed” vs “raised” (this one may just be a typo in the original transcript rather than an actually different understanding, i’m not sure). this makes person 1’s dialogue about the world more violent- it would make sense they think these people must be gone if they personally saw to the destruction of their world. i think this also further supports the assertion that person 1 is the warrior. (should be noted that i ran this by a friend of mine who does audio transcripts as like, his thing, and he was the one that heard the "i saw to it myself" first. i totally missed that. ty @hermitdyke)

then there’s "i would've foreseen it" and "to insinuate there is any trace of their existence is an insult to my work". if that is what is being said, i think it gives us a few clues about who those two voices could be. the easy one here is the "foreseen it" voice- it would make perfect sense for that line to come from the seer. person 4's new sentence also gives potential hints to who that voice could be, though i don’t think it gives us information as concrete as we have with the warrior and the seer. (my guesses would be that person 4 is the historian or potentially the philosopher when you combine this sentence with the other stuff they say?).

ok that's my whole rant please do with this what you will multiverse arg fans.

[whymustyouhurtmeinthisway]

I’m French-Canadian, and though I’m not sure how similar Haiti French is to France/Acadia French, I can try to explain the name Jean’s pronunciation. It’s kinda hard for English speakers because it features two sounds not usually found in English, but I’ll try my best. To start, the English J and French J are pronounced differently, with the main source of difference coming from the amount of stress added to it. While the English J starts with more stress, as if there was a D before it, the French J does not. An easy way to make the French J is to make an Sh sound but put voice to it. While the English name Jack may be pronounced closer to Djack, the French name Jaques doesn’t have the hard D before the J. The second hard part of the name Jean is the Ean sound at the end. Essentially, though it’s not exactly correct, the easiest way to explain it would be to say the word Aunt (in the way that it rhymes with flaunt, not ant) exactly as you normally would, but don’t pronounce the consonants at the end. When you say the Ean sound, your tongue shouldn’t touch your teeth at any point, as the N is not pronounced. Take the name John, put the French J at the start and don’t pronounce the N, and we have something very close to the name Jean!

Ok so I only went through the reblogs on your original post after writing all of that, which was a stupid move, however I still feel like it’s alright advice so I’m not gonna delete it. In any case, as for the name Baptiste, assuming it’s pronounced the same way as the Christian thing, it’d also run into the problem of having a sound that’s not in English, being the A used. It’s way harder to explain the pronunciation of vowels than consonants, so my only advice is to find some audio clips of people pronouncing it. In any case, other than the A, the rest of it is pretty easy in English. Honestly, it’s pronounced exactly as you’d imagine it in English, the only differences being the funky A and the fact that French doesn’t have stressed syllables. While the word Baptist in English is pronounced BAP-tist, in French it’s pronounced bap-tist, with neither syllable stressed more than the other. Also I’m not sure where you got the P being silent, as I’ve never heard of something like that in the forms of French I’m familiar with, however as I said, Haitian French may be different. In any case, the pronunciation differences are kinda subtle, and kinda hard to put across in text form.

How do y’all pronounce Jean’s name? Because I pronounce it has John Bahtiste or just his first name John. I don’t know much French but I know to pronounce his name at least, it also travels over to Irish in how the name Sean is pronounced as Shaun. ~Bambi

[luxshine]

Y yo a ti, Cas -segunda parte. Because of course Mexican Cas pulled us out of despair and can throw us back in.

Ok, so the last 24 hours have been a bit of a rollercoaster and now I have another post to write about how dubbing is made. Because I love Misha a lot, and I respect him but… the whole rouge translator thing just doesn’t jive with reality.

Now, first of all I want to make a disclaimer: I do not believe that there’s a conspiracy to keep Dean closeted and away from Castiel. That makes absolutely no sense, no matter how you slice it. Among other things, conspiracy implies intent, and I really doubt the CW, Warner Bros and everyone involved in the marketing choices cares that much. At most, I think that there was a misunderstanding of marketing/PR and now people are doubling down on trying to pretend it didn’t happen. But a conspiracy? Nope. This isn’t THAT important, and it would require a LOT of people involved to make things work.

Which is precisely why the rouge translator thing doesn’t work. Because you would need a conspiracy to MAKE Destiel canon in order for it to be real.

Second: As I write this, I still don’t have an answer from the voice actors. But rest assured, WHEN they reply (or we can organize a panel so YOU guys can ask directly), I will tell you the absolute truth. If I am wrong with my assumptions, and it WAS a rouge translator, I will let you know, and I will admit I was wrong. And if it was from the audio (say, a Jensen adlib) or the actual script? I will also let you know.

Third: I don’t doubt that Misha REALLY believes the rogue translator thing, if it was told to him by TPTB. There’s no reason to believe he knows how dubbing works in Mexico, nor how many people check the final product. Or that he even watched the episode, instead of believing it was a fan clip. Also, I respect him immensely and I don’t want any hate send his way.

That said, let’s go into how dubbing works, again.

For the sake of argument, I will start with the idea that yes, there was a “Rogue translator” who decided that THIS was the perfect moment to make Destiel canon. Not, say, Season 8 when he could have translated an “I need you” from Dean into an “I love you” when the god tablet thing happened, not in season 12, or during the purgatory prayers. No, the best moment was two episodes before the finale, when he had to know that Cas was not coming back. 

And yes, the translator knew Cas was not coming back because when we translate series, we get them in packages of 5 episodes or more at the time. So they must have had 15x16 to 15x21 (The interview special) all together. So they knew that this was Cas’s exit from the series.

Now, in my previous post I said how in the old times, we used vhs tapes and paper copies of the shooting scripts (when they were available that was not always). Now a days, we get the video file and a word document (if we’re lucky. If not, we make the word file). Translate everything. Go through it AGAIN to make sure the lip sync matches and that we don’t have huge speeches when there’s a small window of time to say the speech because of the language differences. Check that we didn’t accidentally used a slang word that only Mexico would understand. If the show is not PG-13, make sure our swearwords are not too bad or too localized. THEN we send it to the studio, which prints about four copies of the script and hands it,and the video, to the Dub director.

The dub director then goes and re-watches every episode, while checking the script. Some directors don’t speak the language, so they’re just checking cadence, time, and the damned lip sync. (And if you, as a translator, don’t match the lip sync? You are either back to training or out of a word if you get too many strikes). So sure, you could slip a change of line there, IF the director doesn’t speak German, or Japanese, or Hindi.

But almost every single dub director speaks English. So a change from “Don’t do this, Cas” to “And I, you, Cas” would be noticed then and there, and changed to the right line. Which means that, for the rogue translator thing to work, we’d have to add also a rogue dub director.

And honestly, do you see a professional dub director with more than 15 years of experience (because you don’t give a series to a newbie, and Supernatural had the same dub director for all it’s run) risking his job for ONE line?

Anyway, in the times before the plague dub actors were called in groups to the study to record, in order to save audio tracks. So, for example, all the Inner Senshi would record together when doing Sailor Moon, and I assume in Supernatural, Sam and Dean’s lines would also be recorded together, while Dean and Cas might have been or not. Depending on times and so on. So you’d had at least 3 people in the studio: Dean’s VA, the dub director and the sound technician. ALL of them checking what was being said, what was in the script, and listening to the original audio.

Some actors would also make corrections to the script there, making some lines easier to read, and, again, checking those damn lip letters (Can you tell I HATE the lip letter thing?) . I remember fondly the VA for Sailor Jupiter, Araceli de Leon (RIP), who was known as “The Corrector”, since she would go through ALL the scripts for everyone with a red pen. The day I handed a script she didn’t find any corrections, I was jumping out of joy. So if 15x18 was recorded AT the dubbing studio? Someone who knew English could’ve caught the difference between the “Don’t do this” and the “And I you”, making it harder for our rogue translator to go unnoticed.

But let’s say it was recorded post-quarantine, when voice actors work alone at home, in their own private sound studios. I have no idea if they would have the director at hand through zoom, but I assume so. In any case, the VA would STILL have the original audio to know how the lines were said, and after 4 years of dubbing Dean Winchester, I will assume that the VA knows at the very least a little bit of English so if his script said “And I, you Cas” but he heard Jensen say “Don’t do it, Cas”, he would’ve made a correction there.

That’s now two people who would have to ignore the rouge translator’s actions, and even help them, in order for this theory to work.

And then the audio goes back to the director, who checks it again, makes sure it is lip synced and well acted, and sent to the audio technician who mixes it all, and now we have a THIRD person who could’ve said “Hey… uhm… this line? Is not what it says in the original” and by this time, we’d have to have a conspiracy to keep that “And I, you, Cas” in the final product.

Which brings me to person number four: Once the dubbing is done? It’s reviewed by the client (In this case, WB Latam), who gives the final say and CAN ask for redubs if necessary.

Story time. When I was doing this for a living, I got a series that had the WEIRDEST line ever. A line that made me triple check I was hearing things right (because it was a damn adlib that I couldn’t check with the script)

It was: “I’ve been listening to jazz even since I was a sperm swimming in my father’s testicles”.

So yeah.

I was a pro, so I didn’t censor it or change it and send it as it was to the director. Who OF COURSE called me and asked “Are you 100% sure that’s the line?” (This was in Japanese, and he didn’t speak Japanese. He trusted me). And I said “yeah, but if you need to change it, we can find another way to say “I’ve been a Jazz fan since before I was born”. “ He, Jack bless him, said “Nah. If that’s the original, let’s keep the original”.

The client was NOT amused and we had to change it in the final product.

Now, this was a throw away line by a secondary character that never appeared again in the series, in a small scene that probably only I remember. And the client still said “Nope, change that”. I’d like to believe that a line that changes the relationship between two main characters would have the same, if not more, scrutiny from TPTB.

Which makes now four people who would have had to either ignore the actions of the rogue translator, or actively participate in a conspiracy to make Destiel Latam canon.

Which, I dunno about you, sounds like way too much effort for something that was going to last for exactly one second before Cas got sucked into the Empty.

Someone made a mistake? Probably. But I am more willing to bet it was whoever sent the master video file to the studio than the dub studio, if that line wasn’t supposed to be there.

[twilightprince101]

So I made an SCP entry for Bugsnax...

I thought with the ending and all of the disturbing stuff that this game has, it would fit perfectly with SCP stuff. Not to mention, there has to be an SCP equivalent in the Grumpus world. GCP? SGP? SCG? I dunno man, have some horror writing about muppets.

SCP-3470: Sentient Sustenance

[Heavy spoilers for Bugsnax ending]

Item #: SCP-3470 aka “Snaktooth Island”

Object Class: Keter

Special Containment Procedures:  Due to its nature of being a landmass the most SCP teams can do is obscure its location to the populus. Efforts have been made to create rumors of numerous shipwrecks--akin to SCP-605 “Bermuda Triangle”--to deter the public from exploring the location. If unauthorized ships are witnessed crossing into the restricted zone, they are to be terminated immediately.           Addendum: Due to the recent insubordination of Dr. [REDACTED]. All authorized personnel that enter or exit SCP-3470 are to be subjected to a rigorous screening process to ensure that no instances of SCP-3470-A are brought out of the restricted area without B Class Permission or higher. Further precautions being considered are a 10 minute test in which personnel seeking access to SCP-3470 are to be placed into an empty room with an instance of SCP-3470-A. If SCP personnel show any signs of wishing to consume SCP-3470-A, they are to be removed from the team immediately. Permission from Professor [REDACTED].  Is awaiting approval.

Description: SCP-3470 is a large landmass off of the coast of [REDACTED].  Spanning 50 mi^2 and nearing 1.5 mi in height. Several sections of SCP-3470 are flux in weather patterns, ranging from lush forests to arid deserts in the span of 3 miles. Although similar in appearance to locations such as  [REDACTED].  And  [REDACTED]. , further research concludes that flora are substantially different in chemical composition, containing traces of [REDACTED].  Which was only recently discovered. Due to this, nearly all flora encompassing the island are inedible, as digestion induces hazardous effects ranging from intense stomach pains to spastic vomiting. 

The most significant aspect of SCP-3470 are various instances of sentient life, which are to be referred to as SCP-3470-A-[1-100]. SCP-3470-A take appearances of common food items, such as SCP-3470-A-1 [“Strabby”] taking the form of a ripe red strawberry with what appear to be dollar store googly-eyes [all instances of SCP-3470-A share the final trait]. All instances of SCP-3470-A vary in physique, behavioral patterns and similarities to their respective food item. Each instance also appears to have a “name” that it repeats ad nauseum despite not having observable mouths or vocal chords, making them easier to classify. Chemically however all are similar, containing faint traces of  [REDACTED]. . This can be witnessed upon any attempt to alter SCP-3470-A instances from their base form, dissolving into an unknown inedible fluid, losing sentience in the process. 

Due to SCP-3470’s flora being inedible, SCP-3470-A instances become the landmass’s only source of sustenance. Consumption of SCP-3470-A induces a drastic and instance side-effect of modifying the consumer’s limbs, thereby becoming SCP-3470-B. The limbs of SCP-3470-B instances vary depending on the instance of SCP-3470-A that has been consumed, alongside how many instances have been consumed prior to said event. Fundamentally however, all limbs modified take on the appearance of whatever the SCP-3470-A instance was impersonating. The more instances a subject consumes the more of their body transforms, beginning with the hands and feet and extending to the entire torso and face. The internal functions of the body remain intact along with full autonomous control, however the structure and physique of transformed limbs change drastically, such as an SCP-3470-B instance’s arm transforming into a banana after consuming an instance of SCP-3470-A-12 [“Banooper”]. These transformations subside in time [correlating to amount of SCP-3470-A instances consumed], with SCP-3470-B limbs reverting back to their original state, containing faint traces of [REDACTED]. 

Addendum 3470-B: Increased Exposure

Proceeding with experimentation with SCP-3470-A instances under Prof. [REDACTED]. , extended exposure and consumption of SCP-3470-A instances results in increasing addictive tendencies and side effects. File below contains audio files of experiments with Personnel D-125.

<Begin Log 01, skip to 00:02:17>

Dr. [REDACTED].: D-Class 125, approach SCP 3470-A-45.

D-125: What is…? Ok, seriously what the grump is this??? Like, I signed up for this expecting a lot of horrifying stuff, but-did someone slap googly-eyes on a piece of corn?!

Dr. [REDACTED].  : 125, please approach SCP-3470-A-45.

D-125: Yeah, yeah, alright. So… (to A-45 after approach), what are you supposed to be then? Did Dr. [REDACTED].  Have their kid put their arts and crafts project on display or-

A-45: Cobhopper!

D-125: GRUMPIN WHA- IT JUST TALKED?! IT MOVED IT’S LOOKING AT ME!!!

Dr. [REDACTED].: (whispering) so much for being the ‘toughest D-class around… ‘

<Skip to 00:08:24>

D-125: So you’re telling me I just… eat it? The eyes too?

Dr. [REDACTED].  : Correct. Do not worry, upon further testing the eyes seem to be made of a material akin to valentine’s candy hearts (lie).

D-125: Huh… alright then. Down the hatch, I guess?

Sounds of eating, cries of A-45

Dr. [REDACTED].  : D-125, describe the flavor.

D-125: It’s… good actually! I was honestly expecting the insides to be guts or poison or something, but it’s actually pretty good! Nice and buttered to, a bit of salt? Reminds me of my mom’s barbeque. 

Dr. [REDACTED].  : And the sensation of your leg transforming?

D-125: Huh? (125 looks down and notices their leg transformed into a head of corn). Oh… Well this is pretty cool I guess. 

Dr. [REDACTED].  : Any uncomfortable sensations?

D-125: Not really no. It’s weird… I can still feel my toes, but it’s like a peg leg. Actually, I think I can see a few kernels wiggling if I try. Neat!

Dr. [REDACTED].  : Is… that it?

D-125: Yeah I think so, *chuckles,* this is actually pretty cool!

Dr. [REDACTED].  : Hmm… (To recorder) Despite initial panic from witnessing A-45, subject D-125 has adjusted to transformation with record pace. Further research required.

<End Log-01>

<Begin Log-04>

D-125: Heya doc!

Dr. [REDACTED].  : Greetings D-125. Have you adjusted to recent transformations?

D-125: Yeah it’s been going alright. The pineapple hair is a pretty nice dew all things considered, and the bacon tongue makes me look like a snake. I like it!

Dr. [REDACTED].  : Pleased to hear it. Now, approach SCP-3470-A-52.

D-125: Alright, what’s on the menu today then? Who’re you little guy?

A-52: Sodi-D Sodi-D!

D-125: Huh, a drink this time. Change of pace I guess.

Dr. [REDACTED].  : Please consume A-52.

D-125: Right away ma’am. Sir. Whatever.

Sound of soda can opening and drinking, cries of A-52.

Dr. [REDACTED].  : (To recorder) Upon the first drop of A-52’s fluid, transformation has already occurred, transforming the subject's ears into what appear to be soda can tabs. No further transformations appear to occur on consecutive gulps-wha (To D-125) Sir?!

Sounds of crunching, further cries of A-52, then silence.

D-125: Not bad! I don’t usually drink soda, beer’s more my thing personally, but it was pretty sweet! Just the right amount of sugar. And hey, new accessory!

Dr. [REDACTED].  : ...D-125, why did you eat A-52’s shell?

D-125: Huh?

Dr. [REDACTED].  : The… the can. Nobody has attempted to consume the can.

D-125: Oh. Uh… 

Silence for 7 seconds 

D-125: I dunno, I guess since the eyes were edible on the other guys, I thought the can would be here? Wasn’t too hard to eat, kinda like biting into ice. Didn’t hurt.

Dr. [REDACTED].  : Very… interesting. This will be recorded for future experiments, thank you D-125.

D-125: No prob. And hey, call me Chuffee.

<End Log-04>

<Begin Log-09, skip to 00:09:54>

D-125: Hehey, candy corn teeth! Pretty sharp too, should make eating these things even easier!

Dr. [REDACTED].  : D-125, you’re nearing complete bodily transformation. Have you been experiencing any discomfort as of late? Any anomalies?

D-125: Nope, in fact I feel great! I used to have this crink in my back for the longest time, but now it’s gone! I’m more limber than I’ve been in ages!

Dr. [REDACTED].  : Fascinating… very well then, thank you for your time.

D-125: ...wait, what? That’s it?

Dr. [REDACTED].  : Hm?

D-125: There isn’t any more left? I thought there would be a bit more.

Dr. [REDACTED].  : *sigh,* D-125, we’ve went over this last time. We cannot give you more than one instance a day due to 3470-A’s high caloric count. The instance you just ate was over twenty th-

D-125: You know you keep saying that. Didn’t you guys want to really figure out what’s with these things? When I ate that soda can you said yourself that nobody’s tried that before, so let’s go further! I’m still hungry anyways, I’m craving a burger if you got any like that.

Dr. [REDACTED].  : Sir, please exit the room. I cannot give you any more than what I am authorized.

D-125: ……..You know, it’s interesting how your window is so high up there. I can hardly see you.

Dr. [REDACTED].  : ...excuse me?

D-125: You heard me [REDACTED].  , I can barely see you from down here. You can see exactly how I change, the new stuff I get… but I can’t see yours.

Silence for 15 seconds.

<End Log-09>

<Begin Log-10, skip to 00:11:02>

D-125: I know you’re holding out on me up there [REDACTED].  .

Dr. [REDACTED].  : Sir, I’ve told you countless times already. I can’t give you any more than I’m authorized.

D-125: (Sarcasm) Oh yeah, suuure. For all I know you guys are feasting away on these things up there, while leaving me for dust! Like seriously, a single popcorn kernel?! That’s it?!

Dr. [REDACTED].  : Sir, that is all I can give you today. Please exi-

Sound of a door opening

Dr. [REDACTED].  : Wh- Professor [REDACTED].  ?

Professor [REDACTED].  : Hello D-125. 

D-125: Oh great, another snob to tell me what to do. If you aren’t gonna feed me, then just shut up already! My stomach’s growling like crazy, and I’m not leaving until I get my meal!

Professor [REDACTED].  : Not to worry D-125, I’m fully prepared to grant your wish.

D-125: ...wait, really?

Dr. [REDACTED].  : Professor, what are you-

Professor [REDACTED].  : I listened to the log of your previous meal, and you raised a good point. If we at the SCP foundation wish to fully understand what these creatures are capable of, we must push the boundaries of what we believe are possible. So then…

(Sound of metal grinding, several overlapping cries of SCP-3470-A instances)

D-125: Oh, my…

Dr. [REDACTED].  : Professor, what are you doing?

Professor [REDACTED].  : Eat until you can’t eat anymore. Consider it my treat, to you.

D-125: Ooohohohohoooo yes!!! Now we’re talking!!! Come to papa little guys!!!

<Skip to 00:32:59>

Professor [REDACTED].  : Subject so far has consumed 34 instances of 3470-A. Since consuming number 21 he has shown increased signs of vigor, despite eating half of his body mass. 

Dr. [REDACTED].  : Professor, please, stop him. This is-

Professor [REDACTED].  : (continuing) Upon complete transformation of limbs to SCP 3470-B instances, any further consumption appears to override a prior one. His leg, previously resembling a head of corn has transformed now into a roll of sushi. His tongue, once a strip of bacon, now a wad of chips.

D-125: (While eating) Mmmph! Oh my god, what are you a jar of pickles! More the merrier!

Sound of sloppy gulping, glass crunching, cries of SCP-3470-A-35

D-125: Ooogh, some noodles too! Love japanese food!

Sounds of rapid slurping, rapid glass crunching and licking.

Professor [REDACTED].  : Subject appears to have increased vigor in consuming 3470-A instances, not leaving a single crumb or shard left uneaten. A query: what is the chemical makeup of instances contained in glass jars or bowls? The bowls themselves? Further research required.

<Skip to 01:42:47>

Dr. [REDACTED]. : Chuffee please, stop! You’re going to hurt yourself!

Rapid, feral sounds of crunching and slurping.

Professor [REDACTED].  : Subject has now eaten approximately eaten 1.5 times his body mass yet continues to feat, now with no regards for table manners whatsoever. I have already called for a janitor to wait outside.

Dr. [REDACTED].  : Chuffee stop!! You-

Laughter, slowly increasing in volume

D-125: This!! This is the best I’ve eaten in my entire life!!!

Dr. [REDACTED].  : Chuffee please-O-oh… oh my-

Professor [REDACTED].  : Subject’s left ear has disconnected itself from its host. There appear to be no signs of blood or even markings indicating he has had one at all-there goes a tooth!

D-125: Hooooh I knew you all were holding back on me!!! This stuff is delicious, amazing, spectacular!!! I’ll never go hungry again, no more rotting on the streets!!! This is all mine, you hear me?! Mine, MINE, MINE!!! HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAH

Laughter continues for several seconds, sounds of objects falling to floor as volume slowly decreases, ending with a loud clatter.

Dr. [REDACTED].  : Ch-Chuffee, I- urp!

Sound of vomiting

Professor [REDACTED].  : Subject, after eating nearly twice his body mass, has had each limb separate from his core torso one by one, now fully resembling their respective food items, until his eyes transformed into SCP-3470-B instance, resembling the mixed nuts that made up his head. Soon after, his torso and head fell apart, scattering into mixed-nuts. I can not recognize Subject D-125 in the slurry.

More sounds of vomiting

Professor [REDACTED].  : These results are quite fascinating. Further research is required into these various side effects. End tape.

<End Log-10>

[alpacaparkaseok]

Inside “The Pact”

Hello! For those of you that followed along with The Pact, I received a few questions and requests to get an inside look. I’ll link the post here that explains a bit more about what this is gonna be about. 

We’re gonna break this down into sections: first will be answering your questions about The Pact & the characters. Then I’ll show you guys a little about my notes & decision making process (which is very obscure because I just tend to keep a hypothetical tab open in my brain most of the time lol) as well as some pictures of my ideas!! 

Thanks for requesting such a fun thing to do now that this series is over. It’s been fun to look back!

Q. What song did the boys dedicate to y/n?

A. “Her” || This is a sad song, but I felt like it fit so well with how the boys had to hide a part of themselves (their feelings) away for the sake of the pact!

--

Q. Did the boys get mad/how did the boys react to Jungkook’s kiss?

A. Jungkook was a little shocked, and felt extremely guilty on the drive back home. He wasn’t sure if he could stand to tell his hyungs, but he also knew he couldn’t lie to them. Naturally, the second he walked in the house and everyone saw his face, they knew. It was just quiet, everybody was a little hesitant to say anything/bring it up because they were all upset. Only Jimin has heard all of the details of JK’s kiss, whereas the others are simply aware that he kissed her and that’s that.

Namjoon was the most upset, although he didn’t say anything. He just sat there on the couch and did the jaw-clenching thing he always does. Yoongi just tried to change the subject and ask about other aspects of the date. Taehyung was actually pretty pissed, especially because he’d been so good about refraining from kissing you even when you’d asked for it. Hobi had a chat with him later that night and calmed him down. Jin wasn’t angry so much as he was worried that he missed his shot & couldn’t stop replaying his date in his head.

--

Q. Who fell for y/n last?

A. Namjoon. He’d had a little crush, and that’s why he was willing to go along with the pact. But it hit a point less than a year ago when he fell hard and fast. (you called him in the middle of the night when he was on tour and he realized that your sleepy voice is possibly the most beautiful thing he’s ever heard) The boys noticed and as a result teased him endlessly about it, because he doesn’t quite know how to navigate his feelings. 

--

Q. Who did the boys bet on? (We already know that Jimin bet on Yoongi and won lol)

A. Namjoon bet on JK, Tae bet on Hobi, Hobi bet on JK, Jin bet on JK, and Yoongi bet on Jin, and JK bet on Namjoon (because we all know JK would pick Namjoon lol)

--

Q. Didn’t y/n ever date other guys? How did the boys react?

A. hahaha ok I actually would have such a fun time writing this Yes, she dated around a bit. For the first year of the pact, she had an on again, off again bf. It wasn’t very serious, and she always made that clear to the boys. They still hated the dude. After they broke up, she only went on a few dates here and there. Didn’t really seriously date. (except for that one time she went on vacation and had a fling, but everyone has decided to forget that) They just smiled and supported her, although Tae was always very clear that he didn’t like any of the guys she dated. 

--

Q. In Namjoon’s date, who was the 1950′s author mentioned?

A. Agatha Christie, the queen. 

--

Q. How did y/n meet Jimin? (he was the one that introduced her to the rest of the group)

A. She was a PR intern for Lee Hyun. Jimin and Lee Hyun are close, and they crossed paths fairly often until Jimin decided to invite her to hang out. 

--

Q. What is y/n studying in school?

A. Public Relations (which will honestly come in handy with her new relationship lol)

--

Q. Where was Jin in the last chapter when y/n came to the studio?

A. Agh how could you ask me this and bring back all that pain?! Jin was at his brother’s restaurant for some much needed R&R. He ended up staying the night with him, not wanting to go home just yet and have to face his decision.

--

Q. Who would you personally choose to end up with and why?

A. KIM SEOKJIN. Date #5 was basically for me lol. Like, unapologetically wrote that for myself. Not just because he’s my bias, but because I personally felt like I could picture myself chilling on that couch watching Dateline with him. And it was beautiful. 🤧 Also, while Jin can be loud and goofy, he’s an introvert. I’m an extravert with introverted tendencies, so I just feel like his date would have been the most comfortable for me.

--

CREATING THE PACT - AN INSIDE LOOK AT MY NOTES

First thing’s first, I have an on-going page in my notes on my phone which is FILLED with ideas & half-formed thoughts. Before I began writing The Pact (or even Spooked, for that matter), this happened:

So you can see that I had no idea what I was doing lol, but I thought that it would be cool. Mainly I wanted an excuse to write OT7 and display all the members in a sweet light. Also, we see that not all of these actually made it into the series. (Tae w/ the family)

BUT THEN, “SPOOKED” HAPPENED, AND A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY POPPED UP 

ngl, I cracked up when I looked back at my notes and saw this. 

“Sweet Gloria what am I doing to myself” 😂😂 this was when I was pushing “Lost & Found” out and planning for Taehyung’s series (which is why so much is blocked out on my notes, because it’s riddled with spoilers lol) so I literally had no idea why I was jumping into another project as I was already super busy. That’s why I scheduled it for just Saturday’s! (and also why I sometimes posted super late at night lol)

As you can see, Seokjinnie’s date was literally always on my mind. From the very beginning. Which is odd, considering the fact that he didn’t end up being endgame. wow it’s like he’s my bias or something

Occasionally I’d take breaks from hw and work on getting to know how the boys were with y/n. Quotes and poetry serve as a great source of inspiration, and I assigned a quote to each member. (notice the little stars by Jin, Yoongi’s and JK’s names lol, they were my top three as I’m sure you’ve noticed by now)

There were a couple of things that I didn’t think of adding until I was reading through your theories and got an idea of what you needed to push the series in the right decision. i.e. bringing Gina back to explain that she closed the door in Spooked. 

I have a whiteboard in my room that I use to map out what I need to do that week for whatever series I’m working on (as well as jot down ideas for new series, which I why this photo doesn’t show the whole board haha) 

So here’s a peek at my thought process for writing about how the pact was formed. Sorry if you can’t read it haha

NOW, the last few questions you guys had:

Q. Did you ever change your mind while writing the pact?

A. Yes! I actually originally intended for Hobi to have written the note. It fit very well with how angry he was at first and how worried he was during the date. But by the time I'd gotten to Jin’s date I kinda knew that he wouldn’t be that petty but Jin would haha

I also planned on Yoongi kissing y/n on their date. It was supposed to be on a rooftop somewhere, which we know didn’t happen. In fact, I didn’t really intend for their date to be so disastrous until I was coming closer to having to write it. I think I was a mess, so the date was a mess lol

I had no idea what I was doing for Tae’s date until I wrote it, all I knew was that there had to be a museum. The rest I just made up as I wrote and hoped that it made sense. (also, for some reason I hated the museum portion of the date. Idk why, but it just felt so stark to me. still don’t like it lol)

Q. When did you know how it was going to end? 

A. That’s a....difficult question lol. Honestly, I thought of just doing an audio recording and uploading it because it I didn’t really know how to put it into words, but then I realized that most people probably wouldn’t wanna listen to that lol. So here we are. 

I had the ending scene in mind before The Pact even became a thing. I knew I had a series that I wanted to end with baking cookies. (weird, I know.) It didn’t exactly go how I planned, but I remember having the thought while writing Spooked (when I thought I was just writing a one shot) that it would be nice for y/n to be with Yoongi. I just instantly felt like they had a connection, when he was the first one she went toward. From then on out, I always kinda kept Yoongi in the background. 

I had a crisis about halfway through (right before Jin’s date) when there were a bunch of people rooting for Tae, because he hadn’t even been on my radar. But then Jin’s date went much better than I thought it was going to/received better, so I think that got me back on track. 

But from the beginning, Yoongi was #1. (I wrote this in the back of my Career’s notebook lol) when I was trying to figure out for myself who wrote the pact. 

So yeah! There you have it! Just an FYI, I had to physically restrain myself from throwing caution to the wind and making Jin endgame. Especially when so many of you were on board. :( However, the survey helped because Yoongi was the majority of votes (closely followed by Jin & JK) and that showed me that we were still on the right track! 

Ngl, my brain stopped working around Wednesday of last week, so writing the finale took FOREVER because nothing would compute. But I’m so happy you guys enjoyed it and reached out to me about it! This really is like a part-time job most days, and I really felt like this series paid off. 

Hopefully I covered everything! To end, here's the most satisfying part of every project for me:

Thanks guys!

[nitewrighter]

Hey there, I have a writing question. How do you go about finding or picking names for your characters? Especially sci-fi/fantasy characters like your ocs? Is there a trick to it? Also, if you have any resources for this and tag them, I'd love to take a look at them if that's OK with you.

Well the process varies from character to character. When it comes to naming my own characters, I am a big fan of like... Dickensian naming conventions where the name audibly fits for the character, but also thematically fits for the character. I also like names that can kind of play off of each other. My naming process is a a combination of browsing baby name websites and... also my own intuition.

When it came to my Overwatch fankids, a lot of the names kind of cropped up organically--like in Marti's case, I wanted a name that sounded both French and Spanish, so that obviously meant a romance-language name. You have like, a longer, more feminine full name with 'Martina' but then you shorten it to a cute, practical 'Marti.' So like, she's pretty, she's feminine but also the name Martina means 'Servant of Mars' which is kind of a reference to her having a bumpier origin story than the other fankids. Marti, in my head sounded like a nickname you could easily hear in a French or Spanish language film--a little androgynous, a little streetwise, but there's also Marty McFly in the Back to the Future series, so you sort of have that "relatable everyman" element to it--someone with a good heart who is very adaptive.

For Jaime it was largely me going with "I want a name that is clearly Spanish, but also plays off of McCree's name, Jesse." So you have a little bit of that visual association with "Jesse James" but it's Spanish so y'know it's pronounced "High-may."

Rei, as I've said before, is a name that's both Hebrew and Japanese, so it fit for my "Mercy is Jewish" headcanon and also I like Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Akasha's name is a reference to the Hindu concept of "Akasha" which means "Space" or "Aether" so that's kind of foreshadowing to her being stuck in the void... Also the fact that she carries a sword and the fic title "Sword of Akasha" is literally just me making a Code Geass reference for funsies.

Seye I got from browsing a couple of Yoruba baby name websites and comparing the different interpretations of the names the sounded most pleasing to me. I remember I was looking for names which meant "Heir" or "Prince" or "Chosen One" but Seye, which means "Honor" had the winning combination of sounding the most pleasing in my head and also being memorable and easy to spell while still being distinctly Yoruba. Also it had the bonus of the little "ey" sound at the end so it kind of seemed diminutive in comparison to "Akande."

Rajeev and Samir got their names from baby name websites--and it was important to me that you had a little assonance in their names. I wanted a bit of a reversal since their moms are Egyptian and Indian--so Rajeev, who takes more after Pharah, got the Indian name, and Samir, who takes more after Symmetra, got the Arabic name... so you have a bit of a switcharoo there but there's also kind of an audio association with their respective moms' names--the "rah" sounds with Rajeev and Pharah and the "Sm" sounds with Samir and Symmetra.

With Andrea, it was pretty funny because I had all these people pouring into my inbox with name suggestions, but I wanted a name that would sound natural in Spanish, but was also common enough to be American. And Andrea means "Of Man" which y'know... she has two daddies.

"Aidan" or "Aiden" is the more common spelling of Aedan's name, but I went with "Aedan" because Aed is the Irish god of the Underworld and Moira's Goth AF.

Faustine is Faustine because Obvious Reference to Goethe's Faust is Obvious... but also it's a name that means "lucky" and she's associated with Monaco and Casinos and money.

I think like... the auditory element of my naming process is kind of hard to describe and boils down to 'vibes' a lot. Like I already tend to "hear" my writing as I'm writing it, so a lot of it is determined by "yeah this sounds right."

When it comes to my OG OC's, Val and Aria, I was 17 and very adamant that Aria was Welsh, because if she was Irish, that would make her a self-insert--so I went with "Arianwen" which means "Silver Fair" and Aria for short and this was years before I was remotely aware of Arya Stark. I know it's a common name but honestly it suits her. It feels like her, and that's what's most important.

As for Val, his full name is "Valendin Dard Felov"--which I think I grabbed from some websites on Chechen names that I've long since forgotten--but his middle name "Dard" I stole from my Indian music professor in college, Dard Neuman. Dard is a Greek name that means "Son of Zeus" but in Hindu it means "Pain of Separation." Also the last name "Felov" was a bit of a pun because my boy Val GOES THROUGH IT and I was like "heheheh he 'Fell Off.'" I was developing Val along with a lot of my worldbuilding--I was really obsessed with him being from a mountain based culture so I was taking elements from Andean and Himalayan cultures, and I gave him a Chechen name because... Caucasus. So really it's a combination of like, the kind of everyman, melodious name of Val, and a longer name that kind of ties into the worldbuilding and his own story.

When it comes to making up names, my advice is to run your made up names through google or google translate.

So in summary, the NiteWrighter Patented Method For Naming Your Characters:

1. Who do you have already named and how will that name fit in among those names?

2. What is their backstory and what conditions might influence their naming?

3. How will the name fit in among the fictional world you're working with?

4. Does it sound right--is it memorable? Can it have variations in address and still be recognizable? Do you look at the character and go, "yeah that's _______"

5. Do you just think it's neat?

6. Pace around your house. Consult the wind. Feeeeel the vibes. But also don't overthink it. But also do. This is very important.

7. Do you know someone with a cool name whose name you can just fucking steal? Like the Fae?

8. Baby name websites, I guess.

[writefightandflightclub]

Me appreciating you for Fanfic Writers’ Appreciation Day, but a day late, because I do everything late. Anyway... yay!

1. PLEASE LOOK DOWN THIS LIST (BELOW THE CUT) UNTIL YOU SPOT AN AUTHOR YOU’RE NOT FAMILIAR WITH

2. GO AND CHECK OUT THEIR STUFF

3. SCREAM AT THEM ABOUT HOW GREAT THEY ARE

4. SIGNAL BOOST THE HELL OUT OF THEIR STUFF

5. REPEAT STEPS ABOVE

Firstly, before we proceed to the list: I will have forgotten people, and for that I am so sorry (not in any way intentional)- I will come back and update if I spot someone I’ve missed. Secondly, for fic authors who weren’t tagged on Fic Writers’ Day, please keep doing what you’re doing! Putting your writing out there takes courage and I’m super proud of you. I’m so pleased we have your unique voice in the fandom, and I appreciate you.

Secondly, if you know an author who perhaps didn’t get as much love as they deserve (and don’t be afraid to self-hype) please send me an ask with a) their/your handle b) which fandom they/you write for (to be relevant to my page pls keep this to SW, Oscar, Pedro, MCU) c) why people should check them/you out and, if you like, which fic to start with, and I’ll do a shout-out.

Finally, if you aren’t a writer yet but you want to be, I believe in you! Please take the plunge! My inbox is always open to any aspiring writers who need encouragement to make that first post or start that first fic. I’ve been in your position, and believe me I’m in your corner. Happy to be your hype girl.

Reccing authors in Star Wars / Oscar / Pedro fandoms:

@okay-hotshot / Celeste is the loveliest human ever. She had me hooked from her first fic, which broke then healed my heart, and I’m so proud of her writing journey so far! Check her page out for Oscar character fics and the most magical, creative, immersive, touching, original Llewyn fic you could dream up: Wait for me.

@mandoplease where do I even start? Becca oozes talent and absolutely floors me every single time. The first fic I read was: The City Lights Can Wait (Santi x reader) and I was just blown away by the writing prowess. Gorgeous prose, mind blowing metaphors and descriptions. A personal fave is the Santi/Frankie threesome fic: Moving Day, but Fight Night also needs a mention. Check her out for Triple Frontier / Narcos / Star Wars characters.

@mylifeliterally Ok, Emma is an absolute gem of a human. Funny, welcoming and so supportive of other writers. Oh, and can be counted on for thots. I often rec the positively artful Triple Frontier gangbang fic (and now series) Team Building Exercise, but don’t overlook her other fics- I especially love: Just for Tonight, a two-part Santi fic. The Triple Frontier Queen, she is slowly dragging everyone into a pit of yearning along with her for every single one of those boys and we’re not even mad. Her writing is flawless and I cannot get enough. P.s. she has a refridgerator husband.

@tintinwrites I’ve already gushed at Caitlin today so I’ll keep it brief. Queen of Poe, and also branching out and excelling with everything she touches in Pedro fandoms too. I think I’ve read near everything on her masterlist and there are no wrong choices, but to pick out only a couple, which is a hard task, imma rec Forbidden Fruit and Fifty Ways to Kiss someone for Po, and Nothing Could be Finer for reader x Frankie x Santi. 

@woakiees again, gushed at Hadley already so I’ll try and keep it chill here. Queen of angst and darkness, and of First Order Poe. Also love that she’s writing for Santi and Din now too. Caitlin says it best when she describes Hadley’s writing as like something from 1843 with a modern twist. Such a unique voice. Imma recommend Sanctified and So ruthless, Darling for Poe.

@iamthe-shadow-on-the-wall Abby! The range! You know I remind you on a bi-monthly basis how much Lonely Nights (Poe x reader) broke my heart and here we go again. You can do it all- fluffy, slow burn series (Call it what you want), heartbreaking angst and smut- your Blue Jones mob boss AU, Darkest Little Paradise? Wowzers. Plus, you’re a sweetie and I love when we scream at each other. 

@darksideofclarke Clarke does so much for us all and just keeps giving. From the Sinful Sunday events to the incredible Follower Celebration, to setting up a whole side blog to extend the character takeovers?! Blessed with content! And Clarke’s fics?! Exquisite, and such a choice of characters from the Oscar fandom. I particularly love Now and Forevermore (Orestes); Bulletproof (Santi); Humbled (Blue); and ‘Til Death Do They Part (Mikael) but I could easily go on. Clarke you’re so talented. And you are a lovely human to boot!

@bluebellhairpin Nemo, you are a joy, and I won’t gush at you too much bc I already did that today, but I love what you’re putting out. You write for so many fandoms, which is so impressive, and you’re a fellow Poe hoe. I adore your series Fight or Flight, Rider, but you have so many cute one-shots and blurbs too e.g. Poe Dameron is an Idiot! Your audios give me life as well.

@spider-starry Carrie is so much fun and has been branching out a lot in her writing recently, which is great to see! I love Carrie’s 100 letter project in particular, for various Oscar characters, as well as this smutty Nathan NSFW Alphabet, which had me all in a tizz.

@aellynera (tag me in your stuff pls?) I love your drunk text series for Santi and Nathan and your Itsy Bitsy Spider headcanons made me howl! I’m so excited to see what you put out next! And I love that you also love Nathan :D

@anetteaneta already gushed at you today so I’ll keep it brief, but I’m so happy you’re sharing your writing! I loved your Sherlock series for Santi so much! And OMG wait, I didn’t see you’d written for Nathan until just now. Must catch-up. (Please tag me in any Oscar stuff you put out?)

@veuliee2 I need to catch-up on a lot of your fics to be fair (please tag me in stuff?) but you write Orestes so wonderfully and with so much heart that it blows me away (New Constellations). So few fics on him on this site and yours are a pleasure. Plus, you’re an all round lovely person! :o)

@thirsty-flygirl I don’t think you believe how good you are which makes me very sad to be honest. Because you’re amazing. You write Poe so spot on, so warm and goofy and a lovable sexy dumbass. Perfect. Your writing and dialogue makes me smile / laugh and you can somehow make it hot and soft all at once. I love your series Idiots in particular. (Please tag me in more of your stuff though as I worry I miss things you put out?). You’re great and I love having you here.

@twomoonstwosuns​ I really need to catch-up on your Poe series, Back to You but I really enjoyed the chapters I’ve read! (Please tag me in future Poe stuff?) You’re a star! 

@absurdthirst I’m newish in the Pedro fandoms so still getting to grips with it, but have loved what I’ve seen so far and look forward to delving deeper (and there’s plenty to get stuck into!)!Most recently read the Ezra fic Healing which was beautifully and sensitively written (cw: for prior assault).

@damerondjarin Taylor is multi-talented and blesses us, tbh, with GIFs and writing. She’s currently in tumblr jail, but I strongly advise you check out all her stuff. I came for Santi fics and they did not disappoint (I can’t link to it but the latest Santi fic killed me and was a wonderul take on the “there’s only one bed” trope.

@damndamer0n you have a gift, Ty. I’m in awe and I don’t know how you do what you do. Your way with words is really something special. I bow. Gonna recommend Just Friends for Poe because this is such a warm and immersive (and hot) fic and so in character. But honestly all your stuff is perfect. I’ve read things for characters I’ve never heard of before because of you and have loved each and every one. (Like, really, what are your secrets, tell us?). Also gonna shout-out to your Ezra fic, Sunlight, beacuse the world-building and mood-building was lovely. Really memorable!

@mssr-cellophane I found your work recently through FinnPoe week and your glorious take on the The Jacket prompt (links to A03). Looking forward to reading more of your stuff (please feel free to tag me!) and surprised by how much I vibe with all your posts haha. Happy to follow you! :)

@yougottakeeponkeepinon AMANDA? Where do I begin and how do I stop? You’re such an important part of this site for me. I think you’re wonderful as a person and I love your writing too. Miscommunication (First Order! Poe) is off the scale brilliant, and then you blew me away with your latest Santi fic, Eavesdropping, but honestly, I’ve never read anything of yours I didn’t love, from goofy Poe to soft soft Llewyn (I love Away from the Sun). I WANNA YELL AT YOU YOU’RE JUST THE BEST.

@poesflygirl Nat is a ball of energy and that comes across in her writing. Nat, you write with such verve and energy and defo have a unique voice. You write the angstiest angst and fluffiest fluff and you also write action and dialogue so well. Your fics have a ton of unexpected turns and are unpredictable, and you have loads of unique ideas which are really fresh and different to read. You don’t seem to believe how good you are, which makes me sad tbqh. I love when I see a tag pop up and get to read something new from you! In particular love your Poe series, You and Paging a Heart, and these Poe one-shots: Just another Benduday Night and Truth or Dare.

@starryeyedstories NOVA. You are pure sunshine. You spread so much positivity and you’re the loveliest human. Your are the Queen of softness and fluff and for comforting and beautifully written fics. Your series, Across the Hall,has taken us all on such a wonderful journey and I don’t want it to ever end. It’s like my happy place! Each chapter is practically a hug with words. Your Din one-shot All of Me is so romantic as well!

@softpedropascal I’m newish in Pedro fandoms but softpedropascal writes wonderfully for Frankie. The dedication to the character is evident, and characterisation wonderful- I can’t wait to read more: Masterlist

@rzrcrst okay, you may know rzrcrst for Pedro fics (which are wonderful) but she also recently started writing for Tony Stark and I’m so happy! 😀🧡 (Fun fact- her url is also the reason I couldn’t spell Razor Crest properly when I finally started writing for Din). She’s currently taking a well-earned tumblr break but fics are still up on Ao3- linked in profile.

@writefasttalkevenfaster​ Please tag me in any of your Star Wars stuff as I swear I keep missing things and I don’t mean to! Masterlist

@galaxy-of-stories​ Maddie, I keep missing things you post but you’re lovely and your writing is awesome. I love your Poe series Over and Over and I think I’ve just spotted a new chapter to catch-up on so lucky me! :D

@who-talks-first Billie, my lovely friend! You’re wonderful to have around on this hellsite. Your dedication to supporting writers in these fandoms is unparelled and you’re an absolute sweatheart, as well as super fun to chat to and thirst with. You have certainly made my experience on this site so much better! And also, your writing? Excuse me? So good. Your Poe fic, The Torture of Small Talk With Someone You Used to Love? Sublime! And the Poe, Naked, Dripping, Locked? So funny! You definitely have a unique style and your writing can be simultaneously edgy, poetic, and moving. ILY!

@xxidontwikeitxx Hope you don’t mind being included, as you haven’t posted your work, but you ARE a writer, and I’m so happy you’ve recently started creating! Again, hope you don’t mind me saying, but I had the pleasure of reading your Marcus Pike blurb, and it’s was so soft and lovely. I really hope - when/if you’re comfortable- you decide share your work, and if not, I hope you keep enjoying the process! Would leave to read more from you in the future!

@shakespeareanwannabe is writing such a heartfelt Santi x OC story (find it here) with sublime characterisation of both Santi and Frankie, AS WELL AS seriously well-rounded and compelling OCs / supporting cast. This series is a key contributor for me falling down a Frankie rabbit role, and my First Dates fic likely wouldn’t exist without it! So excited for more!

Also shoutout to @ollypopp @milleniumvalcon @justrunamok @yourbucky084 who are delightful beings and whose writing I need to catch-up on!I look forward to it!

[hateswifi]

Everything is Nothing without Her

So imma lose power soon and I wanted to post something before that so that where this came from. May or may not do a second, depends on demand. Hope you enjoy.

The Master: Master List

----------------------------

He had it all. Everything he’d ever been promised and wanted. He ruled the world, his mother helping him and keeping him on track, his grandfather was actually proud of him. He had it all, but he lost everything. He had become everything his mother had promised. He was, as his grandfather said, the perfect vessel.

That didn’t mean he doesn’t break.

Every night he falls asleep, tears threatening to be shed. Every night he wished he could hold her. 

He wished he could wake up to his annoying brothers and Alfred’s calming presence, back before he was taken back. 

Now, he’s always alone besides when he was making decisions about the fate over those around him. There is another thing he does alone, but that’s because he doesn’t want them to know, he sends out his best men to find her. He may have the world but he doesn’t have his world.

One day two years after he started his rule, he was informed that they had found her. They were under strict instruction not to intercept. He immediately made plans, packed his bag, and left it all behind. When he got to her town, he dropped his stuff off at his hotel and found her apartment. She answered the door with a smile and a child on her hip, the smile fell when she saw it was him.

“You have some nerve,” Marinette said, poking his chest. He stood, stunned she looked as beautiful as the day she walked out, her-- their child-- was beautiful. Her hair long, her face glowing, looking as strong as ever. “You made your choice! That choice didn’t include me.” She finished, turning her back on him. 

“I wanted the best life for us!”

“No, you were caught in the past, you were going down I path I couldn’t follow,” Marinette said, sniffling. He hugged her from behind, he got elbowed.

“Please Marinette, at least tell me about him, is he our child?”

“Does it matter if he is? Will that change anything?”

“I’ve wanted to change everything.”

“Well, actions speak louder than words,” Marinette said, rubbing the baby boy’s back. “I have to put him down for a nap,” Marinette said, walking down the hall. “Please, for me, leave before I’m back.”

“I want to talk! Please Marinette, Angel!” Damian pleads, following her.

“I’m doing what’s best for me and my child,” Marinette said, closing the nursery door in his face. He sighed, went back to the kitchen, he wrote a note.

Dear Angel,

I know I have no right to call you that, but damn it hurts so much to know that I can’t call you that. I want to prove myself to you and him, I don’t care if he’s not, just let me be part of his life. Marinette, I want you to know, I know how it feels to have the world, but I don’t want the world. You are my world and that’s all I need.

I never stopped loving you,

Damian.

P.S. check the news.

She still loved him, no matter how much it had hurt to be alone and to lose him, she couldn’t stop herself. That’s why she ran away, she hid, and why she sent him away. His path was one that she couldn’t bear to follow, especially with her son. She knew if he was around she may not be able to stop herself from making a rash decision, but she did let one stray tear fall as she read his letter. She did as he said and turned on the news.

“Today in international news, Damian Al Ghul stepped down as ruler. He exploded the capital, his grandfather, Ra Al Ghul, and his mother, Talia Al Ghul, found dead on the scene. He left with a preset audio message to post.” The anchor says, shuffling papers. “And now for his message.”

“People of Earth, I’m sorry for all the pain I’ve caused. I was misled by Talia and Ra, but I do not put the blame fully on them because I had support when this all started. She was my world, and I wasn’t able to see that she was enough. I’m stepping down as of now and forever, I apologize for the terror I’ve caused the last two years.”

“And there you have it folks, as romantic as this is. If you see the former leader call the authorities but for today, celebrate our new found freedom and the road,” The news anchor said before switching topics. 

Marinette sat in silence, until an hour later when she heard her son, Oliver, crying. She scrambled to grab him. “Hi, sweetie, Mama is here baby boy,” Marinette said, picking him up. She held him to her chest and sways back and forth.

It wasn’t until a week later she saw him again. She was in the park with her son when she noticed him entering. She tore her eyes away from his direction, hoping that he wouldn’t approach her or even notice her. But luck wasn’t with her.

Ten minutes after he entered, Oliver was getting fussy so she decided to take him home for lunch. He saw her as she walked by and stood up, putting his sketchbook away.

“I’m making spaghetti for lunch if you want to join us,” Marinette called over her shoulder, Damian stood, shocked.

“Umm I would love to,” Damian said, catching up with her. They walked in a tense silence Oliver’s babbling filled the silence.

As soon as she entered the apartment she filled a pot with water and put it on the stove.

“You haven’t told me his name or if he’s mine,” Damian says, sitting on a stool at the island.

“Nope, you have to answer my questions first,” Marinette said, walking into the living room which is an open connection to the kitchen. She grabbed a couple of toys out for Oliver. “Was any of it real?” “What do you mean?”

“What we had, was that even real or was it because I was Ladybug?” Marinette questioned, he still sat at the island, she stood on the other side, the stove behind her, and a sight still on Oliver.

“How could you even ask that?” Damian said, looking up at her, hurt visibly in his eyes.

“Because Ra put a bounty on my head, not too long after you left,” Marinette deadpanned.

“My original intent of approaching you wasn’t good, but a weel after knowing you, I couldn’t go through with the plan,” Damian said, running a hand through his hair. 

“Why’d you even do this? How’d it happen?” Marinette asked, turning her back to him to put the spaghetti boiling water.

“I was sent to live my father for a couple of months when I was younger, but during one of Talia’s attacks, I was taken back. Not too long after that, I died but was resurrected in the Lazarus pit which brought me pit madness. I was sent to Paris a couple of months later, totally forgetting about everything that had happened with my father. I was sent to Paris, and we all know how that went. When I didn’t deliver on schedule grandfather, I tried to explain to you what was happening, but as soon as you heard his plan you left.”

“Ok, you approached me, telling me that you loved me but you had to leave because of your grandfather’s crazy plan to take over the world,” Marinette pointed out. “Honestly I thought I slept with a crazy guy until you came up on the news. I kind of freaked out and left, besides you know, the only other person who knows where I am is Adrien, and maybe those men you sent to find me.” She finished before cursing under her breath. “Baby boy, come here time for numma numms.” Oliver perked up and ran over, she picked him up gave him a kiss and put him in his seat.

“Can I ask you questions now?” Damian asked, looking at the raven-haired boy, his green eye sparkling beautifully looking at his plate of food. 

“Sure shoot,” She says, placing food in front of him.

“What his name?”

“Sweetie, can you tell your dad your name?” 

“Ollie!” he said, picking up a handful of spaghetti, 

“I’m his father?” Damian said, now really looking at the boy. 

“Damian I might have been a bit pissed at you, it didn’t mean I stopped loving you,” Marinette said. “But you have to prove yourself to us before you even consider being in our lives,” she finished sternly. “You also have to get through Adrien.”

“What do you mean?”

“Ever since he found out I was pregnant he’s been there helping me through everything. He took over guardian for me so I could focus on Oliver,” Marinette explained. “He thinks of Adrien as an Uncle and I won’t hesitate to choose him over you because he’s apart of Oliver’s life and because of how much helps he’s been to me. We have family dinner every Sunday, either in Paris or here depending on Oliver.”

“Marinette, I would do anything to be part of your and Oliver’s lives. Heck, I gave up the world domination,” Damian pointed out.

“Well then, tomorrow, you can join us for family dinner,” Marinette said, standing before taking the plates. 

“I would love to,” he responds as Marinette picks Oliver up. “May I hold him?”

“Sure… ummm I have to go get a washcloth and shirt for him anyways. Just watch out or you’ll have sauce everywhere by the time I get back,” Marinette said, handing him Oliver before disappearing down the hall. 

“Hi Ollie, I’m your dad,” Damian, believe it or not, cooed. Oliver put his sauce-covered hands all over Damian’s face.

“Told you so,” Marinette reappeared, holding a wet washcloth and a clean shirt. “Come here, baby boy.” She said holding out her arms. 

She stood him up on the island as she cleaned his shirt. “Arms up!” she said, him doing as she said. She blew a raspberry on his stomach, making Oliver laugh. His laugh was adorably beautiful. He loved seeing Marinette and Oliver interact with each other, it was just so pure and beautiful. She finished pulling off the dirty shirt and put on the new one. “All set Ollie, you can play for a bit.” Marinette said, placing him on the ground before turning to look back at Damian. “You have a bit of sauce here.” She said, pointing at her cheek.

“Here?” he responded, wiping his face.

“No, let me,” Marinette said, picking back up the washcloth. She approached him and wiped the sauce (and totally not cliche) it felt like time slowed down for a minute it was just the two of them looking into each other’s eyes. Marinette goes up onto her tiptoes he leans down and as they were about to kiss. They were interrupted.

“Mama! Play cars?” Oliver asked, snapping them back to reality, oblivious to what was happening.

“Oh.. umm.. Of course, let’s go Ollie,” Marinette stuttered, a blush present on her cheeks.

“I should be going,” Damian said quickly, still flustered. “Just let me know what time dinner will be.”

“Um ok. Bye Damian!” Marinette said, looking at the, now closed, door. “Damn there I go, falling all over again.”

“Damn,” Oliver mimics.

“Heck.”

-------------------------

my sister was roleplaying in roblox earlier with a friend and she kept saying “just pretend” “Imma do this but you don’t know that” “imma be sitting on top of the pizzeria”. Idk, but quarantine is getting to me.

Permanent Tag:

@ash-amg @bee-wrecker @damianette-is-life @mjisntme

[writingwife-83]

My 2020 Sherlolly Self Interview

Thanks for organizing this fun activity @sherlollyappreciationweek! 🎉 I’ll start out with a very brief “about me” section-

I live in the northeast area of the USA, I’ve been married for seventeen years, have one teenage son, and I’m in my *gulp* late thirties now. I do volunteer ministry work and also work part time from home. Among other leisure activities, obviously I love writing! I started writing original fiction when I was a preteen, but I’ve been writing fanfic under the pen name “writingwife83” for over six years now. I discovered fanfic and the world of online fandom after becoming obsessed with BBC Sherlock in 2014 after s3 aired. I read The Full House, fell in love with the whole concept of fanfic, specifically for sherlolly, and couldn’t help but give it a go myself. And as they say, the rest is history!

Below the cut I’ll talk about some of the topics and fics suggested by followers/readers. Buckle up cuz it’s a lot lol...

Ok, first up to be kind enough to give me some feedback is @readstoomuch. You said- “what inspires you. Any story (I love them all!). Who do you love writing? Who is hardest for you? And which is that one story that you had fun doing?”

As for what inspires me, first and foremost it’s the show and characters itself. Watching those two on screen, it’s not hard to be inspired! But beyond that, I find a lot of inspiration in music and art, and just generally in other creative works and people. I think for a while I had my own internal inspiration and no lack of it, but as months dragged into years lol, I have found that the rest of the shippers are invaluable in filling the gaps when I lack inspiration and motivation. Some prompts I’ve gotten from others have taken on a life I never would have expected, and that’s pretty great. I honestly don’t think writing works best as a purely solitary activity. I know myself and although there is an aspect of my writing that will always be “for me,” that’s absolutely not all it is. It’s the fun of creating with others and it’s the fun of sharing with others.

As for who I love writing and who’s hardest, I think I’ve always felt pretty comfortable writing the main characters in Sherlock. I probably especially love writing Sherlock himself because he’s fun to break down and really dig deep into his emotions and thought processes. There have definitely been times some of the side characters have overwhelmed me and made me nervous about conveying their voices accurately. For instance, Mycroft can be tough if it involves pulling him out of his shell in a way that still feels believable and true to character.

That one story I had fun doing? Well there’s no way I can say just one. 😆 As far as reader response, there’s no other fic that can compare to the fun of I Told You So, that’s for sure. But as far as the actual plotting and creating, I think the fics I’ve had the most fun with are the multi-chapters I’ve done since becoming good friends with @thisisartbylexie. Having her as a sounding board, plotting buddy, and editor has absolutely increased my creating fun and has definitely also made me a better writer.

Thanks so much for asking @readstoomuch 🥰

Alrighty, @thisisartbylexie, you asked- if there's a fic that you ever wanted to go back to change in some way, which one would it be and why? Which one do you feel "oh wow, did I write that?" in a super positive way?

Idk how to choose just one fic. There are plenty that could use some changing lol! One I’d like to fix though, would be Pleased to Meet You. I know (because I’ve been told) that there’s inaccuracies in that one seeing as I’m not personally familiar with university settings in the UK. I did actually attempt research and I thought I got the idea, but apparently it didn’t work out terribly well. But the plotting and progression of that fic is one I’ve always been happy with, so I guess I feel like it’s a shame if it came off messy in some general ways and distracted from the rest of it. I like how I was able to weave that one into the canon of the show up to that point. And tbh it actually still fits as a uni backstory for them without any conflicts to the canon. As much as I enjoy canon divergence and AU, I also have a big soft spot for fics that simply connect seamlessly to what we’ve already been given.

As for “oh wow, did I write that?” I think one of my proudest accomplishments has been Zephyr. That fic kinda has it all lol. The tropes, the pining, the romance, the Victorian setting...ugh I love it. And there’s a climactic kiss moment in that fic that’s one of my faves I’ve written. I’m so glad I wrote it because of the Sherlolly Remix Challenge in ‘16, and at your suggestion, Lexie. But I will also be forever sad that I had to release that fic all at once on AO3 once completed. That fic would have been great fun to be writing and posting as I went along! And on top of being happy with the fic itself and how it came out, I’m awfully proud of the fact that you were excited enough about the fic to illustrate it, and that @goodshipsherlolly enjoyed it enough to record it as an audio fic. Honestly, what more could a writer ask for? 🥺

@mizjoely, you said you’d like to hear anything about The Queen’s Man. Okey doke, you got it lol!

I actually went back and read through most of that fic when I got this because it had been a long time since I’d looked at it. I gotta be honest that in hindsight...I’m a little surprised it did as well as it did.😂🙈 As some may remember, it started because I saw a magnificent manip and wanted to write something to go with it, and then because that was well received, somehow it just kept going. I did very little world building and development of characters in that fic. It was largely just one shippy, romantic, pining scene after another lol. At the end I did kinda tie it all in and wrapped the story up ok, but it was definitely one of those self indulgent fics where I didn’t feel like doing the hard parts and really just wanted to write the fun stuff. Don’t get me wrong, I loved writing it, and I’m so glad it got the positive reception that it did! But it just kinda makes me laugh because it goes to show sometimes you don’t know what’s going to do really well. You could agonize over clever plotting and world building and character development etc, and be so super proud of the finished product and all your hard work, but then you share and the response is like “meh.” And then other times you legit just throw something together with barely any careful thought, and the crowd goes wild! But aside from all that, the visuals in my head of that AU are just too drool worthy to me. Molly in Medieval royal attire? Sherlock in dark armor with a Purple Tunic of Sex™️ underneath? The two of them lingering in the dimly lit hallways and rooms of a castle and gazing endlessly in mutual pining? Yes to all.

Thanks for asking @mizjoely 😘

Ok wow, see what I mean? That was long! 🤣 If you read all the way through this whole thing, *Moriarty voice* thank you...bless you. Honestly, this ship is amazing and I don’t think I’ll ever have a writing experience anywhere else like I’ve had here. I’ve seen the other side of things in another fandom now, so I can all the more so confirm that there’s no ship quite like sherlolly. The warmth, reception, and longevity is mind blowing and I’m just awfully happy to have played a part in creating for the beauty that is Sherlock Holmes and Molly Hooper. 💕

[fairytales-magic]

Hiya! So I’m just getting into musicals after my friend sent me two songs that were absolute bangers from Heathers and I’m pretty sure you like musicals so do you have any recommendations? 👀 if not that’s totally fine!

Oh. HOney.

Do i know musicals?!?! (i’m so sorry in advance, but you’ve opened pandora’s box)

Strap in, i’m your humble tour guide!

A Beginner’s Guide to Musicals

Now, its hard to organize these all but i’ll do my best. I orignally had MANY others on the list, but it seemed smarter not to overwhelm you with too many different genres, so i kept it simple. I also will recommend some songs out of order before listening to the show from the beginning, but that’s just

Some are gonna be movie musicals, so just bear in mind, but if you want the broadway version i can oblige! A couple personal favorites i highly suggest are:

Wicked

The backstory of the Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda the Good, before the events of the Wizard of Oz.

 Listen, if i had to choose one show to see on Broadway, its this one. When the u.s. tour came to my city, i was beyond excited. And when my in-laws got orchestra seats for us to see it in, i all but cried. :D I could quite literally write an entire essay about the show deep diving into the costumes, the set and stage design, the tech and lights, the script adaptation, etc...

The music is iconic in its own right, and its just so much fun and full of heart! Start right at the beginning with No One Mourns The Wicked and The Wizard and I are brilliant places, but legit with any of these songs you can’t go wrong. There are even reprises in the show they didn’t put on the soundtrack but 1000% should be there, its just that good!

Full soundtrack available here!

Phantom of the Opera

 Ah yes! An oldie but a goodie. Its almost all singing, but boy is it worth it! I actually recommend watching this, cause it’d end up being the same runtime and you get the added benefit of seeing everything going on. But the whole movie soundtrack is available on YouTube, of course (the prologue is super slow, just fair warning, its a lot more for visuals than musical). The Phantom of the Opera title song is a great starting place. Music of the Night (immediately following POTO) and Think of Me are some of my top favorites, but really this whole soundtrack is just *chefs kiss*. Oh! And All I Ask of You just melts my heart! Also, of you want a great stage production soundtrack, the 25th Anniversary at Albert Hall starring Sierra Boggess and Ramin Karimloo is fantastic as well!

Also also, i know where to watch both movie and stage performances, so just lemme know if you’d like that. :D

Hamilton

 Ok now hear me out! I honestly also didn’t like Hamilton when it first came out. And i didn’t for a long time. I’m a more traditional broadway connoisseur, plus the only rap i really listened to was Eminem. But even there i’m super selective, and i made the mistake of listening to the intro song first.

Don’t be me.

Sometimes you need the familiar first before you get to the place where they branch off (in this case, throwing in some rap verses).  

Hamilton in 7 Minutes is an amazing a cappella compilation of the entire soundtrack, plus the animatic someone drew for it is phenomenal. After that i highly HIGHLY recommend Helpless and then You’ll Be Back, oh and The Schuyler Sisters! This show is just as quirky and sweet as it is emotional. And i get its not for everyone, but i’d be remiss if i didn’t at least mention it.

Newsies

Inspired by the real-life happening of the Newsboys going on strike in 1899 New York.

Oh man, how do profess my love to thee? Mainly an all boys cast (but the ladies who have songs in it are *chefs kiss*), the choreography is as incredible as the music itself, and boy howdy is the music great! Jeremy Jordan is the butter on my bread and as Jack Kelly, just lives rent free in my head on repeat. If he sang to me every night, sleep would never be an issue. xD Carrying the Banner, King of New York, and Watch What Happens are great ways to start off this party. And here i shall grace you with the whole Live soundtrack (i didn’t like the audio quality for the regular recorded one i found, but its still the same cast so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯).  

The whole stage show was professionally filmed and lives on Disney+ currently btw! (so go watch it! The tap numbers and spoon playing in it give me LIFE)

Heathers the Musical

The darkly delicious story of Veronica Sawyer, a brainy, beautiful teenage misfit who hustles her way into the most powerful and ruthless clique at Westerburg High: the Heathers. But before she can get comfortable atop the high school food chain, Veronica falls in love with the dangerously sexy new kid J.D. When Heather Chandler, the Almighty, kicks her out of the group, Veronica decides to bite the bullet and kiss Heather’s aerobicized ass…but J.D. has another plan for that bullet.

 I’m so glad you already like this! The music really is a great banger and the story surprisingly manages to be both edgy humor-wise and serious when the moments call for it. Its a lot of fun and i’m surprised by how much i like it. If you haven’t already listened to them, Beautiful is the intro and is really good, and also Candy Store & Big Fun!

The Little Mermaid Musical

 The movie and musical that need no introduction! I was really surprised by how much i liked Broadways soundtrack for the show, and how short-lived its time on stage was. It really doesn’t get enough credit for how much creativity went into everything. And what an all-star cast too! All the original songs from the movie are there, and i think they did a really good job expanding them even more, especially Under the Sea. Her Voice (10/10 just melts my heart) i’ll also recommend beforehand but honestly you don’t need too much. Just go straight from the start and head onward, you’ll really enjoy it!

The Sound of Music

 Man i’m getting nostalgic. Another oldie but goodie! My mom, sisters and I loved watching this movie growing up (along with Oklahoma, Seven Brides For Seven Brothers, Singin’ In the Rain, My Fair Lady, Fiddler on the Roof, and just...every musical in our collection ;P). Funny, sweet, romantic, heartwarming, its got it all! The Sound of Music kicks everything off, and from there you can’t go wrong, but this is another movie musical i highly encourage watching! Also i just wanna throw in The Lonely Goatherd now cause its so much fun, so why wait?! ~~

Ok whew! I think that’s it (for now). It took a while to find links for everything, but we did it! Please holla at me if you have any questions or concerns. :)

Oh yes, and if you would like to see any of these masterpieces via recording, i may or may not have such knowledge for your viewing and/or audio entertainment.

[papeldetornasolcosmico]

MR. BUNGLE : The Raging Wrath Of The Easter Bunny Demo Trevor Dunn Interview - translated from french by Luis Misiara.

 Q: So, the idea of rerecording the demo came from you...

A: Yes, the idea is entirely mine. This horrible idea! (laughter)

 Q: For how long have you been thinking of this?

A: Oh, yeah, after a I met Dave Lombardo when he joined Fantomas. Honestly, it's like these songs were written with him in mind. We were listening to Slayer and this kind of music all the time back then. Re-recording it with him made a lot of sense to me.

 Q: So, you then asked Mike Patton and Trey Spruance if they agreed?

A: Yeah, and they did!

 Q: And then Dave.

A: That's right. Then we figured that a second guitarist would be a good idea. We had many guitarists in mind, but Mike and Dave both knew Scott. And it's crazy, because when we asked him if he was interesting, he didn't understand what we wanted, he thought we were inviting him to a Mr. Bungle concert! (Laughs) "No, we're asking you if you want to be part of the band!" And then we found out he's a total fan, which surprised me! He was ready to do it for free and he knew the songs in our first demo, I mean... He's an incredible rhythm guitarist, incredibly precise. Anyway, he's one of the original musicians of the genre, part of an elite of "thrash professors" like Dave. This is why we wanted them. His way of playing rhythm parts is different compared to Trey's, and on the album you hear one of them on the left and the other on the right, with little differences in terms of rhythm and tone, and these differences provide a lot to the album in my opinion.

 Q: Did Dave know the demo as well?

A: No, I don't think so, but he was into the idea as well. We spoke for a while, and then one day he called Trey and asked him to redo the demos of the songs and to send him so he could learn them and surprise Mike and me.

 Q: The album is truly excellent. I had only listened to the demo, which was only available in mp3 and with a sound quality that was far from ideal in order to assimilate this kind of music... But I re-listened to it after becoming familiar with the songs in their re-recorded versions, and I must say that everything was already there: great riffs, structures, you didn't change a lot in that sense. I was impressed that, for 16 year-olds, you could write thrashcore songs, some lasting up to 8 minutes, that didn't seem like a pile of riffs, not anybody can do that...

A: (Laughs) Thanks! I don't know what to say to that, or how to explain it... I always liked these songs and, over the years, I felt like bringing justice to them, playing and recording them as they deserved to be. At the time, we were a bit crazy, we really dived deep into the 80s metal wave, we absorbed every riff of every group we listened to, we studied this music, we analyzed the details and we tried to do something that would belong to us, something personal. But Trhash is just an example, you can do that with any kind of music. Even orchestral music, for instance, you just need to learn it, master it. You just need to want to and to have a desire of seizing a musical genre and then do anything you want. Also, if I wanted to write 80s thrash metal right now, it would be totally different, because these songs were written with the information and tools that were available to us at the time.

 Q: Exactly: you lived in Eureka, a small Californian town. Was it easy for you to acquire all the thrash, crossover or hardcore records you wanted?

A: Not really, but there were two good record stores, and actually Mike amnaged to work in the bigger one. We read many magazines like Kerrang and fanzines like Maximum Rock and Roll and were abreast of all the new releases. If any album wasn't sent to the store automatically, Mike would order them. We were the first to do it! He would bring the records to my house, we would open them, tape them, bring them back to the magazine and wrap them back. (Laughs) That played a large role on the construction of our musical culture.

 Q: Before Mr. Bungle, you only ever played with Gemini, right?

A: Right after I started playing bass, the next month, I joined two groups, one of them being Gemini. There were five members -- two guitar players, a drummer, a singer and me. Since the singer left right around the time I met Mike, I invited him to replace the guy. I didn't even know if he could sing or not, all I knew is that he loved music (Laughs). That was enough for me!

 Q: Was it just a covers group?

A: No, I had started writing songs, but mostly rock. At the time, hardcore and thrash music hadn't arrived at Eureka yet. It was a bit like AC/DC, or even a mix between ZZ-Top and Rush!

 Q: On Youtube, one can find videos of you playing covers of Judas Priest, Kiss, Iron Maiden...

A: There you go. That was recorded a bit later, with Mike singing.

 Q: How was life in Eureka at the time? When Dave asked him to record demos for the songs so he could learn them, Trey was right there, and he said playing these riffs 33 years later, "in the same goddamn town, in the same goddamn house" had an interesting effect on him!

A: (Laughs) I wouldn't say it's a goddamned town, but it's truly a special place, and it always was. Unfortunately, it's a very poor city, very labor-based, living out of forestry and fishing, two sectors that have seen better days. Now, there are many homeless people there, and intense meth dealing activity... Eureka laways had many strange characters because it's quite isolated, and it would welcome people running away from big cities or from their own past. But it's also great, the nature is wonderful, the landscapes, the forests. My mother still lives there, and as such I'm often going back there, and the same applies to Trey, which is why he was there recently, recording new demos to send out to Dave.

 Q: Were there many bands at the time?

A: There was always a music scene, especially a punk scene, before we started out, and also a jazz scene, but these scenes were very small and comprised very few musicians. When we started out, there wasn't any metal or thrash band, that was a new genre for Eureka. The "metal scene" was solely made up of people we went to school with, perhaps one or two college students, but what I mean is that verybody knew each other.

 Q: When did you meet Trey?

A: At high school, one or two years after I met Mike. I met Trey in my music theory class. We had many tastes in common, we were hungry for different musical genres and we wanted to study music. We then started rehearsing together with a drummer with whom Trey played.

 Q: Mr. Bungle is a perfect name for the kind of music you started playing later on, but quite unusual for the thrash/thrashcore band you were at the start. [That name has] nothing to do with Corrosion of Conformity, Nuclear Assault, Anthrax or Slayer...

A: (Laughs) That's for sure... Once again, it was my idea... I was completely obsessed by Pee-Wee Herman and his show at HBO at the time, it was well before Pee-Wee's Playhouse, his show for children. I was mad about that show, I would record the audio of it and listen to it repeatedly. I'm sure that, if I watched it know, I would know the scripts by heart. During the show, he would play old educational shorts with Mr. Bungle teaching good manners and hygiene to children. To use the name Mr. Bungle while playing trhash was a way to show that we didn't belong to any scene, to any one genre. It was an absolutely non-metal name.

 Q: The title of the demo also, as well as the song titles, displays a very "non-metal" humor.

A: There you go, precisely. At first, we wanted to call ourselves "Summer Breeze", like the Seals & Crofts song, which we ended up playing live. There was no way we would choose a "metal" name. Why should we? Music speaks for itself. I think more bands should think like that and do away with clichés.

 Q: I guess you didn't play the songs in Raging Wrath (...) live very often back then?

A: No, for the first couple of years we didn't play many shows, we played a few on occasion. There weren't many places for us to play at, and they were very tiny. Nobody would book us, we had to organize our own concerts. But after we released our first two albums, when Mr. Bungle became a touring band, we played one or two of these songs. Nobody knew them, but we always thought they were good, so...

 Q: What happened between your first demo and Bowel of Chiley (1987), the second one? Within a year, you evolved in such a way that it doesn't even seem like the same group...

A: Yes, we always evolved, even when the first demo was recorded, we were always trying to evolve. Mike Trey and I always listened to all kinds of music, classical, pop, jazz, and even in the first demo there are a couple of non-metal tracks. We always sought new ways to express ourselves. "Going forward and never repeating ourselves" was always our motto. Whenever we did something, we would move to the next right after. Therefore, ok, we recorded our 80s thrash album, there's no way we'll make another. If we ever release another album, I couldn't even tell you how it would sound like, I don't know. All I can say is that it would be different.

 Q: In fact, the second part of "Hypocrites" and "Evil Satan", in spite of its extremely metal title, are not thrash, but rather ska in the case of the former and funk rock in the latter. You didn't re-record these tracks. They announced your more "fusionining" demos...

A: Yes, "Evil Satan" didn't fit with the rest. We had a couple of ideas on how to transform it, but in the end we didn't keep it. It's always like that with us: at each recording session for one of our albums, there are songs that seem to be a bit "out of character" with the rest and we do away with them. We either put them to the side to be used later on, or abandon them for good. Also, this song was always a bit of a joke. For us, it didn't fit the album.

 Q: You guys have a stash of unreleased Mr. Bungle songs...

A: Yes. For instance, in our third demo released in 1989, OU818, you've got "Mr. Nice Guy", which was never properly released in an album. I think there's also two songs from the California sessions. They didn't survive past the mixing stage, we knew they wouldn't be part of the album and didn't want to waste the time or energy working on them anymore. It's possible that we may one day decide to finish them and release them... I don't know, we've never discussed this. But yes, there are a few unreleased Mr. Bungle songs.

 Q: Talking about songs that were unreleased until now: when were "Eracist", "Glutton for Punishment" and "Methematics" made?

A: "Methematics" was written in the 80s, at the time we made the first demo, as well as "Glutton for Punishment". "Eracist", on the other hand, had never been finished, it was in the "pile of riffs" stage. The riffs are from that time, but the arrangements are recent. We never played those songs live at the time and they were only ever recorded in Cassette tapes. But we thought they matched the album perfectly, unlike "Evil Satan" or the second half of "Hypocrites", which we didn't re-record, since they were more like jokes or parodies.

 Q: One of the riffs in "Methematics" was later used in "Love is a Fist", one of your classic songs present in OU818 and in the first album.

A: Yes, that's true! That's also typical of our way of working. If a riff in a song that was left off an album pleases us, we recycle it, that's what happened in this case. But I didn't even remember it anymore, it was when we decided to re-record this song that I realized, re-listening to it, "oh yeah, the fucking riff is from there!"... But we decided to leave it in, since the song was built around that riff. Furthermore, honestly, the two riffs aren't exactly the same, there's a different note!

 Q: (Laughs)

A: We changed the ending of the riff in "Love is a Fist", I don't know why, but this time we have the original riff. Thus, it's not EXACTLY the same riff. (Laughs)

 Q: I suppose that the song being titled "Methematics" refers to what you told me just now about the meth being sold in Eureka...

A: Yes. Originally, the song was entitled "Mathematics". I mean, that was just a working title, I never thought the final title would be that. I wrote this song, but I never had any idea for a vocal line and barely wrote any words for it. I asked Mike to do it. Mike, Trey and I then started to talk about what this song should be about. We then realized it would be a good idea to include some Eureka "folklore". In fact, the lyrics are full of references nobody could understand, mentioning people that attended high school with us, our teachers, things that happened to us at the time. For instance, there's this verse: "stab a dog, climb a tree, just to pass geometry". It's a reference to a guy that stabbed a dog and then hid it in a tree to escape the police -- and he was then arrested, of course. This is the type of news story that made an impact on us. There wasn't meth in Eureka when we were in high school, but it's sort of an acerbic homage. (Laughs). I did write the lyrics for "Glutton for Punishment" at the time, however.

 Q: So the lyrics in "Methematics" are recent, but did you change the lyrics in the other songs, the ones originally present in the demo?

A: No, we left them as they were. Not entirely, in fact, because we couldn't remember some of the parts. Even when re-listening to the original demo, Mike couldn't understand what he was singing at certain points, so some words and sentences were changed.

 Q: Along with the unreleased tracks, you recorded a few covers, notably "(Fuck the) USA", by The Exploited, which isn't in the album, but that was released on the Internet. Your version is entitled "USA" only, was that an attempt to avoid censorship in social media?

A: No, no, the official songtitle is "USA".

 Q: In the Exploited albums where it's released, it's either titled "(Fuck the) USA", "Fuck the USA" or "USA".

A: Yes, and I think the original title is "USA". In any case, that's how we always called it. Also, it's certainly easier to have it circulate in social media with that title.

 Q: Among all the covers you played in the concerts, how did you chose the ones you wanted to record?

A: We recorded absolutely all of the songs we played live, so we had around twenty minutes of covers. I still don't know what we will do with the other ones.

 Q: Ah, OK. So, among them, how did you choose the ones that ended up in the final album? Namely, S.O.D.'s Speak English or Die and Corrosion of Conformity's Loss For Words.

A: I don't even know... surely we thought that those were the ones that would fit the best with the others. I think most albums right now are too long, and that's also the [incomplete]

 Q: Also, why did you split up?

A: We never split up, we're about to release a new album!

 Q: Yes, it's true, you never officially split up, but you didn't do anything together for twenty years...

A: We just took a break. A 20-year break! (Laughs). I challenge you to find a note in which we announced that we split up as a group...

 Q: I spent an afternoon in Paris with Mike Patton last summer...

A: Oh, poor guy... (Laughs)

 Q: (Laughs) You wouldn't believe it if I told you. We spoke to him in English, but he answered us in Spanish a few times... Also, when he showed up on a Youtube video playing a cover of "Speak English or Die" with the members of S.O.D., I wasn't surprised that he renamed it "Speak Spanish or Die". Your version is also entitled "Habla Español o Muere". Do you know why he's obsessed with Spanish these days?

A: Oh, I don't think he's obsessed with Spanish, but he is still in San Francisco, and many people speak Spanish in California...

 Q: Yes, that's what he told us afterwards. Well, after a while, he posted videos on Youtube, which were shared by the Revolver magazine website, in which he pronounces Spanish words, dressed like a Mexican bandit or something...

A: (Laughs) What I know is that he spent a long time learning Italian, and both languages are a bit similar. I think, in any case, that more Americans, starting with myself, should follow his example and learn at least another language! (Says sentences in Spanish) That's all I can do...

 Q: Did you retitle the song like that because S.O.D. and Billy Milano were considered racist at the time?

A: No, no, no, we don't care what people think! If you took those lyrics at face value, you would think the person writing them was racist, but it's clearly a joke. It's like when you write a poem or a movie script: you can write sentences for a character that is racist, but you want to express something else with it. It doesn't mean the person who wrote the text is racist, the character does not reflect who the writer is. I think people frequently forget that when they listen to music. When a singer takes the role of a narrator, it doesn't mean what is sung is their personal opinion. No, we renamed the song because we love hispanic culture, because many people speak Spanish in the United States, and because of the Trumpism that has grown over there, this "build a wall" attitude. But we could have recorded it with the original lyrics, we don't care.

 Q: Yes, and also "La Cucaracha" establishes the link between "Hypocrites" and "Habla Español o Muere".

A: Yes, "La Cucaracha" is in the demo, I couldn't tell you why, but it's what gave us the idea of replacing the second part of "Hypocrites" with "Habla Español o Muere", the Spanish language is the link.

 Q: When re-recording these songs, did the dive into that time make you want to re-listen to your thrash, thrashcore and hardcore albums you listened to when you were 16-17 years old?

A: Not really. Well, a bit of nostalgia is apparent in my choices when I look into my CD and vinyl collection. But I didn't feel the need to resort to these old records, I just had to re-study these old Mr. Bungle songs and to reconnect with this style of music, because it requires some practice. So we had to record new demos for the songs, so that Dave and Scott could learn them, since it was impossible with the original demo. Reecording these demos, to me, helped me remember the songs and work on them. It's crazy: when I play these riffs again, I can remember what I was thinking when I wrote them 35 years ago... At the time, I listened to all kinds of metal, thrash, punk metal, crossover, but I also listened to Jaco Pastorius, The Police, Charlie Parker, Stravinsky, a bunch of different things. So, when I was in high school, one had to choose where one stood, if you were a punk, if you were a skater who listened to J.F.A. (Jodie Foster Army) and Corrosion of Conformity or if you were a metalhead who listened to Metallica. Listening to these groups and subgenres at the same time was considered weird, it was frowned upon. Mike, Trey and I always thought that was ridiculous, we listened to anything.

 Q: In the 90s, many bands like Anthrax or Corrosion of Conformity evolved to a heavier and more melodic type of music. Did you still listen to them during that time?

A: Not really. After Reign in Blood, which could be the pinnacle of this genre of music, I lost interest. I was in college, I got more into classical music and took a deeper dive into other genres. Thus, I didn't listen to a lot of metal in the 90s. I always listen to Reign in Blood or Animosity and they always sound good to me. But bands evolve, people's tastes evolve, and I didn't follow the careers of these bands that I enjoyed, also due to a certain lack of time.

 Q: Do you listen to current bands that play this type of 80s thrash/thrashcore?

A: Pfff... no, I'm really out of the loop in regards to what's happening in the metal scene. I've heard a few grindcore groups, but mostly those that are more extreme, like Full of Hell, which we invited to open for us in New York. So I don't know a lot of what is done in metal nowadays, but I enjoy a few bands and have been attending their concerts when I can. But so many albums come out, it's crazy, it's impossible to follow... On the other hand, I haven't listened to young bands playing 80s thrash in a long time...

 Q: Let's talk a bit about the shows that you played in February...

A: It was all really cool: playing these songs live, being face to face with an excited crowd, with all these cool bands opening for us (Full of Hell, Ho99o9, Melvins, Hirax, Victims Family, Spotlights, Possessed, Cattle Decapitation, Intestinal Digorge, Cunts, Cleric...).

 ----

 Q: Were your fans surprised that you reunited with this lineup and these songs? Even recently, even though it had been a few months that the reunion was announced, some fans appeared to be blindsided when you released "Raping Your Mind".

A: Oh, yeah! Many people aren't happy, they think this isn't the "true Mr. Bungle". They complain that these songs have nothing new or experimental about them, that it wasn't what they were expecting of us etc. But hey, we always did what we wanted, none of our albums are similar and as long as Trey, Mike and I are in the group, it's Mr. Bungle, period! In any case, other fans are quite pleased!

 Q: In New York, Harley Flanagan joined you on stage to play "Malfunction", originally by the Cro-Mags, with you. This seems to be Mike's idea...

A: Yes, Mike contacted him. We are big fans of the first Cro-Mags album. We had plans to play with other guests, especially Keith Morris from the Circle Jerks, who was going to go on stage with us in Los Angeles, but he couldn't because he got sick.

 Q: Jed Watts, your first drummer, who played on the demo, also went on stage with you...

A: Yes, he came to play "Anarchy Up Your Anus" during one of our concerts in San Francisco. We were in contact with him and told him about our project to re-record these songs. He told us he was a bit jeaous, but he was also happy for us. That was a happy reunion.

 Q: Does he still play music?

A: Yes, he didn't become a professional musician like us, but he still plays with a band in Eureka.

 Q: Well, how does the future look like for Mr. Bungle right now?

A: Eugh... surviving until 2021. Not catching this virus. We wanted to play other concerts with this line-up before all this madness. And I think we will do it sometime. But for now, the future is really vague, not only concerning Mr. Bungle, since all of our activities are suspended.

 Q: I suppose you were invited by European festivals?

A: We received a bunch of offers from festivals around the world, it's incredible! But I don't know what's going to happen, maybe there will be no concerts ever again... (Laughs)

 Q: If I understand what you told me just now, you don't think about trying to write new music with this line-up.

A: No, we said all we wanted to say with this line-up, it's over. Barring the possibility of new concerts, because it would be cool to be able to play more shows. Also to release the other covers that we recorded. But I don't see any interest in recording another album in this genre. When we start a project, we go deep, we put all of our energy into making it perfect. Afterwards, we never recover that same energy to do the same thing over again. Some groups, perhaps most of them, do that: record an album, tour, record a similar album etc. I don't know why, but I think of Radiohead. I'm a big fan of OK Computer, I've listened to that album a million times. Their next albums are really good, the band evolved, for sure, but they developed a specific sound. I would like to evolve like that with Mr. Bungle, but I don't know if we're capable of that, I don't think so... In any case, concerning 80s thrash, we've said what we wanted to say. But we are children of 80s thrash, so this music always runs in our blood -- it'll come out whatever we do, whether in a riff, in an attitude, or in something else...

 Q: Could you write and record a metal album, but not really 80s-based, something more modern?

A: Yes, we could record an album in the style of, uh... uh... fill in the blank! (Laughs)

 Q: You could reunite with another Mr. Bungle line-up and do something else...

A: There are no plans for that.

 Q: Are you still in touch with Danny Heifetz, Clinton McKinnon or Theo Lengyel?

A: Not with Theo, but with Danny and Clinton, yes. I talk to them from time to time, but both live in Australia. We of course updated them on what we were about to do, since we wanted to be really transparent with them. We presented the project to them: "There you go, we re-recorded the first demo with Dave and Scott, we're going to play concerts using the name Mr. Bungle, and if you don't like it... fuck you!" (Laughs) No, they totally got it. I would love to play with those guys again. We'll see...

 Q: Out of the three Mr. Bungle albums, which one is your favorite? I feel people often choose the first one or California, Disco Volante less often, sadly, especially all the bad bands that copy you...

A: (Laughs) I'd say California, because in terms of studio work, it's truly our pinnacle. But honestly, I don't listen to them, they are too loaded with memories, I can't listen to my own albums, no matter what they are. I can't prevent myself from revisiting the situation, the studio sessions, our arguments about this or that song, and also i think about production choices that weren't kept, etc. It's too loaded with memories that infect my listening.

 Q: Did you use your confinement to write and start new projects?

A: Yes, I wrote for my next Trio Convulsant album. I hope I have enough material for an album at the end of the year, and then record it as soon as possible.

 Q: Is the new Tomahawk album finished?

A: Yes! Duane, John and I recorded our parts three years ago in Nashville. We then waited for Patton to finish his vocal parts, and I think he did so recently. I can't even remember what the album sounds like! (Laughs)

 Q: You can't even tell me if it's different or not?

A: No, I don't remember at all... I'm exaggerating, I think it sounds like the one I played on before, Oddfellows. Tomahawk is Duane's baby, he writes it all, he even gives Mike ideas for lyrics. I'd say the album sounds a bit like the last one, but I didn't listen to it finished...

[astrologista]

jason stop dying

ooooook i just watched ditf. it was PRETTY GOOD.... i only wish there was MOOORE! watching this REALLY brought me back to 2011 times to see it and i think they did a good job with most of the character design and animations insofar as matching it to the original. (maybe i’m totally wrong but i thought it looked good for the most part... also i just really love these character designs in particular). obviously the budget is not what it would be on a feature, so there are a LOT of places where animation gets recycled and many still frames. some parts are basically a slideshow lol. but i only sort of came to that realization awhile after watching, so i think they did a fairly good job of masking this... ymmv

so let’s get into it!!! 

SPOILERS a-head! do not read until you’ve watched it because i’ll spoil everything

now obviously the thing to be aware of if you are not is the fact that this adaptation is not a panel-by-panel adaptation of the original death in the family comic. all references to jason’s mother (save one mention of her dying of illness) are completely removed, they go to bosnia instead of africa, and the circumstances around jason leaving are also heavily altered to fit the new narrative. this adaptation does slot perfectly into the universe established by the under the red hood animated movie from 2011 though, without which one would be pretty confused when watching this. it’s kind of a mystery as to why they didn’t just package this with utrh and release the entire thing as a collectors edition. instead they package it with like 4 or 5 unrelated dc showcase shorts which makes absolutely 0 sense but go off i guess. anyway

i liked that they took the time to adapt the scene from the original ditf where bruce is talking to alfred about jason! (i do not like that alfred didn’t get any lines. bad choice). tbh i can’t understand why they bothered showing us alfred, barbara and dick if they weren’t gonna give them any lines..... like come on........??

HOW INTENSE BRUCE LOOKS WHEN HE FINDS JASON IN SARAJEVO and just. grabs him lol. hes smad :)

ok so one two skip a few and we get to the first branch. instead of calling 1-900 we now get to choose whether jason lives or dies. there are 7 possible endings i think i got em all so let’s see what we got here.

“Hush” Route - Robin cheats death

hgrgdggr. i definitely think this is one of the more interesting endings, if not the most interesting one. this is also the only ending in which both bruce and jason survive the bombing. bruce is still too late, but this time jason barely clings to life and survives. as a hurt/comfort fan i was 100% on this shit from the word go but then jason? runs away from home lmao lmao i thought that was SO funny because 1) hes super messed up, how is he able to just literally run out the house that is SO funny to me and 2) implying that bruce would ever not be keeping an eye on him after that is just, lmao. it’s so zany. i call this the “hush” route because of the bandages but there are no other references to hush so ok. that’s fair. so anyway jason is now angsty for loosely explained reasons but the most fun part is yet to come.

when talia showed up, i really thought / was terrified for a second that they were gonna bring up certain “events” regarding damian’s parentage / who damian’s father is but then she mentioned bruce and i was like OH THANK GOD WE CAN STILL GO TO HEAVEN. i am so so grateful to the writers for NOT going there. cuz it was damn close ok. im not sure what the implication of this route is in terms of talia, jason and damian being a family unit but i want to believe talia sees jason as a son and damian’s brother (which is how she refers to him, damian’s brother) and not... yknow. i mean. jason raising a baby is kind of like a baby raising a baby...

no actually the reality of this scene is really dfuckin interesting like. they actually go with the “birth of the demon” (forget if it was birth of the demon or bride of the demon. one of those.) explanation for damian and that is something i’ve NEVER seen adapted so whoever wrote this can have a cookie and i kNOW this is something a certain someone will appreciate :)

not only that but the implications? are interesting? so talia’s claim is she miscarried so bruce won’t have to “choose” between damian and jason and idk if she’s supposed to be all on the-up-and-up in this universe but. i’m sitting here like GIRL YOU DON’T GOTTA DO THIS HE HAS A PRIVATE JET HAVEN’T YOU HEARD OF SHARED CUSTODY and BETTER YET HE HAS A MANSION JUST GO ON MAURY AND GET THIS SORTED OUT RIGHT NOWwwww

i’m also LAUGHING at the implications of jason thinking theres anywhere on earth that he’s going to go and hide damian’s existence from bruce. because you already know he’s just going to be tearing the planet apart looking for jason so this is actually hilarious. imagine he finds jason in one piece and also a baby. his baby. he’d be like (@ talia) “OMG WHY WOULD YOU THINK I WOULDN’T WANT THEM BOTH u are tearing me apart talia......” BUT THEN HE WOULD BE SO FREAKING HAPPY BECAUSE HE HAS TWO ALIVE SONS AND HE THOUGHT THEY WERE BOTH DEAD / (lost to crime)!!!

please lord imagine all of jason’s angst probably just originating from the fact that he has a brain injury that hasn’t fully healed and the trauma of going through all those surgeries probably gave him a lot of fear / paranoia about bruce and associating him with the joker because his neural pathways are all messed up but after he leaves he starts slowly healing back and regaining some of his lost sanity and thats when he realizes he misses bruce so much... but hes also raising his child... and every day it gets more difficult for him not to just take damian and bring him home and i ;v;

anyway i thought this route, while it had a few inconsistencies in it, was really freaking interesting and it gave me feels and plot bunnies and is probably the one i want to write about the MOST despite the fact that baby damian looks like a character from one of those web flash games in this lol

“True” End - Jason Dies

now if you select that jason dies the route basically defaults to the canon of under the red hood and the fact that utrh does not come packaged with this movie is a rather mystifying choice to me as i don’t think this adaptation would stand on its own very well. like you need quite a bit of background to really get anything out of watching this on its own, which is probably why it’s classified as a “short” and not as its own movie.

instead of showing all of utrh, it seems they took the opportunity to give a ~30 minute recap of utrh with basically entirely reused animation but they allow bruce to sort of. give his dvd commentary over it.

the biggest feeling i have on this is that it’s sad that they had to waste 30 minutes like this that could’ve been used to do something new and much more interesting, but honestly i’m not mad. it seems kind of obvious that this choice was probably made for budget and/or runtime reasons because a short does not get the same budget set aside as a full length feature film does. so they basically took the option of recycling 30 minutes of animation from the movie and dubbing new audio over it.

in evangelion they ran out of budget and that’s why the last two episodes consist of nothing more than still pencil drawings and frames while the characters engage in philosophical debates concerning the nature of reality and human connection. and i really enjoyed that. and for the same reasons, i also really enjoyed this.

i enjoyed seeing the clark kent of this universe. i enjoyed that he was basically out on a date with bruce. i enjoyed that bruce was willing to open up for once and tell clark all of what happened with jason. but what really makes this segment shine bright are bruce greenwood’s line reads. there are SO MANY good line reads in here. and i LOVED how many times he said the word “son”. very wholesome. the way he describes how he felt during the final fight with jason? probs my favorite FUCKING part.

and then him and clark joking together about contingency plans and then they’re going to work together to find jason and i ;_; this is probably the closest thing to a “good” ending but as a continuation of utrh i thought it worked really well. i really want to believe that bruce and clark did find jason in this route and that there was some closure in the end even though we didn’t get to see it.

including clark in this was DEFINITELY the right move as well, considering that he played a rather large role in the original ditf so it’s a welcome nod.

The rest of the branches exist under a separate option where Bruce makes it in time to save Jason from the warehouse... but Bruce dies......... :O

let me tell you bout it... bruce’s fucking DEATH SCENE i don’t know WHAT my man bruce greenwood is on, but the freaking LINE READS in this dialogue had me making INHUMAN NOISES. LIKE NOT ONLY WAS THE DIALOGUE GOOD, NOT ONLY DID HE SAY “I LOVE YOU, SON”, but this man is just an amazing actor. not just voice actor, but actor. he really really really really gave it the most i don’t know how else to say it....... it was very very well done and punched me sideways in the heart and i haven’t recovered and i’m not going to recover. and

ok so once we get past that.... scene.... u have to choose whether you’re going to catch the joker or kill the joker. bruce asks jason to promise not to kill the joker but technically jason doesn’t promise so........

Let’s start by choosing to kill the Joker. Jason attends Bruce’s funeral and various members of the Justice League show up to talk with him and just generally hang out. He has Alfred, Dick and Barbara as his support system, but Jason has some other plans.

This leads to a scene in a cafe where Jason meets with a man who... something something Killing Joke, flashlight, more Barbara being used as a plot device when she deserves better, Jason kills the Joker with a butter knife.

Once you do this you can choose to surrender to the police, or retaliate and escape.

Jailbird Ending

basically if you surrender to the police jason ends up in prison where he can actually attack even more criminals so.... ya

If you retaliate and escape instead you go to the Red Robin route where Jason becomes a vigilante who kills people much like the Red Hood and you get a further choice in a fight with Two Face where you can control how Harvey’s coin lands. 

Tim Ending!

If you choose the coin to land clean face up, the thing rewards you by having Tim show up and I forgot what happened (wasn’t really paying attention lol) because i was so focused on TIM!

Prolly they felt sorry for him what with Jason stealing what is essentially his outfit (ok I know it was Jason’s first, but Tim made it cool) so they let a little baby tim have an appearance :) he’s very smol

I guess in this ending Jason gets reintegrated with the family somehow and Tim becomes “Bat-kid” which is hilarious to me but you know what it’s cute. CUTE.

The one ending where the coin lands scarred side up

i honestly forget what happens if you choose to have the coin land scarred side up but let me just say this is a FUCKED route to take, not only have you had jason survive and bruce die, you’ve now chosen to kill the joker against bruce’s dying wish, you’ve chosen to attack the police, and at the end of that you really are gonna choose harvey’s coin to be scarred face up???? choosing this made me feel like a DICK because here i am supporting jason’s whole fall to madness and villainy thing the way it wants me to and now he’s gonna die HERE? i hate it here.

interestingly enough he doesn’t actually die in this route. he ends up at home with barbara and dick while dealing with the fact that he killed the joker but the route ends with jason saying “i promise” so i guess this is supposed to be kinda sad. im so confused lol ok

So that is all the options if you choose to kill the joker, I believe. You can also make the choice to just catch him instead of killing him but amazingly enough, those routes are even more FUCKED up. 

If you do this option Jason goes home, mourns Bruce with Dick, Barbara and Alfred, and becomes Red Hood BUT with a twist, he’s entirely on a bloodless operation in line with Bruce’s wishes. OR.... IS HE?

Things then follow the events of UTRH until the scene on the bridge with the van and the guys. Jason finally confronts Joker, who reveals the truth. 

Apparently in this route Jason has actually been killing and decapitating his victims just like in the original movie, but he’s repressed it so as to not even realize to himself that he’s doing it.

that is FUCKED. also. i wanna cry because jason doing all of that stuff but not even realizing it ;------; jason blocking it out, because he wanted to honor bruce’s wishes for him not to kill anyone ;______; but he’s doing it anyway ;_____; he’s actually hearing voices telling him to kill ;____; like it’s a very cheap twist in a sense and also really quite cruel but.... damn, son.

There is a branch here where you can choose to spare or kill the Joker at this point (UNDERTALE???) but from what I can tell it seems to be totally meaningless what choice you pick because you end up at the exact same point either way, I think there’s a small variation in what happens after you make the choice but after that they just coalesce back together into the following two endings. Which seems incredibly cheap to me, I mean making a choice like that should alter Jason’s path completely but, it doesn’t! So... ooook....

Either way Jason ends up on the Wayne building and Talia shows up with a re-animated Bruce from the pit. Here’s another fun blast from the 2011 past with more gratuitous Grant Morrison dreck, remember that shit? Well, they’re gonna jam it down your throat here, too.

The reanimated Bruce is the Zur En Arrh Bruce and he’s already dead so this is all meaningless but basically Jason fights him and you get to choose whether everybody lives or dies.

Zur En Arrh - Everyone Lives!

if you pick this, jason actually gets the re-animated bruce back to the batcave and they lock him up down there because he’s still pit-mad and the prognosis is not great. but i’m not sure what they expected, he is the zur-en-arrh guy so I don’t think he’s getting better. 

Zur En Arrh - Everyone Dies!

pretty much there’s an explosion and all three of them die and that’s it

I think that should be all the possible endings there are.

By the way the different ways in which black mask dies in this was actually a fairly clever running gag lollll. let that mf burn we don’t need no water.

overall there are a couple of things i would have done to SIGNIFICANTLY improve this adaptation beyond some of the obvious ones.

- the fact that all of the branching options are branched exclusively under the “jason lives and bruce dies” branch is a huge wasted opportunity. imo this is the most egregious problem with this, i was really looking for a more balanced tree / explanation of different things. i am probably super biased though being a fic writer and used to fic, we’re the ones making huge ass trees every day lol.

- the fact that there is no “good” ending here is something i kind of expected but given the context of this is lackluster. i sort of get it though because granted, the original ditf ends in an unresolved manner but it’s distinctly unsatisfying here. i secretly wanted an ending where bruce, like, figures out about the different endings and hacks reality to try to find a good ending where jason lives and everything is fine lmao. like a bat mite ending.

- i was disappointed in a sense that the narrative given in here is so basically simplistic? maybe i’ve been spoiled by games like 999 and undertale where shit gets messy and that’s not what this is supposed to be but when i play something with multiple endings in this day and age, at least play with the concept a little bit and connect some of the branches together narratively. use different devices. i was also hoping some of the choices would be a little bit meatier like you could choose to “forgive bruce” or something cool like that lol. but it looks like the majority of choices have to do with who lives or dies. and i felt like they couldve been a bit more creative with that ya know? being able to control harvey’s coin was a GREAT example of having some more fun with this.

- it is a huge missed opportunity not to have a “secret ending” on something like this. like where. the fuck. is my secret ending for completing everything. come on. and in a similar vein there should’ve been at least something in terms of bruce and jason interacting in a “true ending”. even if very brief. the closest thing to an ending this has is the “jason died” route and then the ending where he’s talking to clark which i feel like was a REALLY nice good optimistic ending as far as this goes, but it comes off as kind of disappointing i guess

there were SO many interesting nuggets locked into this thing though. i can’t deny it bugs me how many wasted opportunities there were with how they chose to structure things but i guess it’s the best you can do with limited runtime. i thought it was really well done though, makes an interesting companion piece to the original utrh, and is definitely something that i will be re-watching again soon!! overall i give it a 7/10 and some parts an 8/10+!

[jessmalia]

Riverdale 4x17 - First thoughts

Pre-thoughts/expectations: Im very exicted for once. At first I was dreading this epiosde, because, you know, it’s a musical one, and you know how the last one went... (first thoughts on that here). But then they dropped all the Barchie stuff so now I’m PUMPED!

Warnings: Swearing and caps lock, also I didn’t edit any of this. 

First thoughts: 

Jughead: “It was over.” Me: Bughead?

I’m glad to see Jughead back writing in Pop’s tho

God another tape? I honestly completetly forgot about those

Oh no Jughead is singing again

It was god awful last time

I’ve only heard three words and it sounds like ha has inproved but I don’t wanna get my hopes up

Okay Cole’s singing is better (maybe that’s because he’s singing a low tone now though?) but I still think it’s a weird creative decision to have Jughead sing tbh. It just feels really weird and out of character. I know he’s not actually singing but still. I think the musical episodes would work better (or less bad) if he was the only one that didn’t sing. 

Oh now Archie is singing that is so much better

And Veronica too

I don’t know which musical this is from but I promise I won’t judge it based in Riverdale’s interpertation 

The people singing at Pop’s are really funny to me but I don’t know why

But also SWEET PEA YAY

I love Veronica’s outfit can I have that?

I hope Hiram dies

God Archie and his big mouth

He and Hagrid should be friends

I would honestly pay to see that spinoff 

GOD ARCHIE IS SO PRCIOUS AND JUST WANTS TO HELP I LOVE YOU

“The salem witch trails, definitly.” You fucking took the words right out of my mouth Jughead

Knowing that Brachie is coming is giving me the streangth to get through Bughead scenes without wanting to puke wow that hasn’t happened in a while

How do you know it’s a he, Charles? Do you know him? Is it you and your boyfriend in prison? 

Really Mr. Honey? Let Kevin sing! He’s the best of the cast!!!

“We’re generation Z” God that fucking cracked me up. No you’re not you’re all 30! I know they’re probably trying to give us a voice but I feel worse about being gen Z now that Kevin said it like that

Kevin sings tho so that’s good

Doing something like this, giving teenagers today a voice and trying to express how they feel is something I really wanna see more but it doesn’t work in Riverdale. Riverdale is so far removed from reality that doing these kind of realistic and relevant things and topics can’t work. If you’re gonna give generation Z a voice then you need to do it with people who behave like real gen Z teenagers, and the characters in Riverdale don’t. I don’t mean that all media have to be realistic, but if you’re gonna do something like this it kinda does. 

The musical numbers aren’t as awkward as in Heathers. That just hurt to watch, but this is totally fine. 

If no one had number 69 I’m sueing 

The Archies? Does Archie have a secret twin too?? With the same name???

THE CAR BETTY HELPED HIM FIX UP YEAH

yes bring back the Fred Heads

I can’t concentrate on the Fnags/Kevin scene cause I’m just thinking about that tickling thing and how fucking weird that was

I like Fangs being a supportive boyfriend tho

Yeah Betty’s about to roast Jughead this is great

Jughead’s lying to Betty again what a surprise

I’m fine with Jughead being in the band as long as he doesn’t sing

He can play drums like his dad

OH FUCK YEAH KEVIN IN DRAG LET’S DO THIS

The receptionist looking at Kevin OMG 😂😂😂

Shout out to Miss Bell

OMG SWEET PEA IS HELPING AND HE’S PLAYING THE GUTIAR???? TIGER PRINT HAS NEVER LOOKED SO GOOD

OMG YESSSS KEVIN KISSED ARCHIE THAT WAS AMAZING DIDN’T KNOW I NEEDED THAT

At least Honey let him finish the song before he pulled the plug

This scene would’ve been so much cuter if it felt like Betty, Veronica, Toni, Cheryl and Kevin were all actually friends

Hate to break it to you Betty but that’s not a wig it’s a tiara

Wow they’re really making up for 3 seasons without drag

God Toni’s wig and Cheryl’s hair

OMG IT FEELS SO GOOD SEEING BETTY IN A WIG THAT ISN’T THAT SHITTY D*ARK B*ETTY WIG

Sugar Daddy is the best one yet but I don’t think it’s the right one to convince Mr. Honey

aaand I was right

Can all of them be barred from Prom? Cause I really don’t wanna see that unless Barchie goes together

Honestly I don’t think Veronica has the right to be that mad at Archie. Hiram isn’t his dad he can’t just make him go to the hospital. He tried to talk to him but he refused to listen there was litteraly nothing more he could do. Maybe he should’ve told Veronica earlier but th episode doesn’t tell us how long it took him to do it but it looked like it was the next day

Betty has more of a reason to be mad 

Also Jug don’t be so dramatic you didn’t actually die you idiot

OH NO DON’T SING

FUCK I CAN’T WITH THIS ANGSTY SCREAM SINGING BULLSHIT STOP

When Betty said “How do you think I feel” it sounded completely diffrent from the rest of the audio. Seriously, that shitty amature dubbing is kinda inexcusible from a big show like this

They look kinda funny screaming at each other

sSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsown up 😂😂😂

FUCK YEAH EVERYONE’S IN DRAG NOW

Wait so are the fights happening during school time? Wtf? They’re editing the events like they take place during the same time so why aren’t they at school??

NEVERMIND REGGIE IN DRAG SKJKFLHJSHF

FUCK YOU HONEY YOU CAN’T CANCEL THE SHOW BECAUSE OF A PEACEFUL PROTEST WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU

fUCK YEAH THE BARCHIE SCENE IS COMING NOW BE PREPARED FOR MORE CAPSLOCK

You didn’t screw up shit she shouldn’t have gotten as mad as she did because of that

“We peaked in the 1st grade” God they’re so adorable 

OMG THEY’RE GONNA DO A CALLBACK TO SEASON 1 WHEN ARCHIE LOOKED AT BETTY LIKE THAT AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHSKJJSH

Ok nevermind it was about Fred sill really cute

God they’re gonna sing a song called Origin of Love.... I don’t think I’m mentally prepared for this

Do I even have to say that this is the best song number in the show?

Veronica what are you doing I want Barchie

No not Jughead ugh

CAN THOR PLEASE KILL THEM ALL WITH HIS HAMMER THAT WOULD BE GREAT

Okay Cole’s singing has improved a lot I’ll give him snaps for that

I take back not wanting Veronica or Jughead right now this is great Jeronica and Barchie parallells

I really hope this cheating plot line will bring Jug and Veronica together that would be so great

OMG THE FLASHBACKS TO BARCHIE SEASON 1 MY HEART

AND FLASHBACK TO THE BARCHIE KISS FUCK YEAH

FUCK YEAH THEY’RE KISSING NOW SJKSLHJSDBVHBRGVHWR WFHBVHVWKJHRVBRHBVHRBH

That was better than all Bughead and Varchie kisses combined don’t @ me 

She looks happier and more in love in the picture with Archie

OMG JUGHEAD IS HERE YES BRING THE ANGST

I can’t wait to see Jughead’s reaction to finding out Betty cheated on him with Archie

LOL Archie has 1 picture with Veronica and 4 with Betty that’s so in character I love it

omg they’re still gonna perform it’s gonna be so awkward I love it

YES THEY’RE LOOKING THROUGH THE WINDOWS NOW I LOVE IT

OH MY GOD THIS SONG WTF IT’S GIVING ME SO MANY FEELS

OH MY GOD THEY’RE DANCING IN THE OUTFITS FROM THE DANCE IN 1X1 I CAN’T REMEMBER THE NAME OF THIS IS EVERYTHING THAT I’VE EVER WANTED 

NAME ONE BUGHEAD MOMENT THAT EVEN COMES CLOSE TO THIS YOU CAN’T

THE HANDS AGAINST THE WINDOWS HHHHMHMHNJBNJTNBDNBN

I WISH THERE WAS SOMETHING BIGGER THAN CAPSLOCK TO SHOW HOW I’M FEELING

Yes they’re preforming now this is gonna be so awkward

And they showed Sweet Pea for another second 

Did they forget that he’s a fan favourite??

Jughead’s playing the drums but he still has a mic fuck

He looks so confused when Betty won’t look back at him God that’s hilarious 

Fangs and Sweets singing with to the misfits part yess

WHY ARE THEY STANDING ON THE ROOF THATS SO STUPID THIS WAS AN ACTUAL GOOD EPISODE DONT RUIN IT

How many fucking people are there I thought Riverdale was a small town

...

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.......................................wtf was that?

I don’t know wether to laugh or cry

Final thoughts: BARCHIE BARCHIE BARCHIE BARCHIE BARCHIE BARCHIE BARCHIE BARCHIE BARCHIE BARCHIE BARCHIE BARCHIE BARCHIE BARCHIE BARCHIE BARCHIE BARCHIE BARCHIE BARCHIE BARCHIE BARCHIE BARCHIE BARCHIE BARCHIE BARCHIE BARCHIE BARCHIE BARCHIE BARCHIE BARCHIE BARCHIE BARCHIE BARCHIE BARCHIE BARCHIE BARCHIE BARCHIE BARCHIE BARCHIE BARCHIE BARCHIE BARCHIE BARCHIE BARCHIE BARCHIE BARCHIE BARCHIE BARCHIE with a really wird ending like wtf

[alex-musicals-tss]

Lin-Manuel Miranda Taking A Break From Twitter

Congratulations.

 That’s all I can say to you. That’s all I can say to the people who have bullied Lin-Manuel Miranda so much that he’s now taking a break from Twitter.

All I can ask myself is why. Why would people do this? Here’s what I found on the matter and here’s what I think of it.

 The first thing is about him… biting his lip? Seriously?! Everyone has a pose! Some people stick out their tongue. Others use their hand to make the peace sign. They don’t get hate for that! Why? Because it’s just a pose for a selfie! It’s not like it’s hurting anyone. Lin biting his lip is the exact same thing. If that’s how he wants to look when he takes selfies then go for it! If he likes it then go for it! It’s his life and it’s his photos! If you don’t like it then okay. That’s completely fine. Not everyone can like something someone does. But you don’t have to bully him for it! If you’re scrolling through Instagram and you see someone doing something you don’t like, then keep scrolling. If you see a tweet of someone doing something you don’t like, then move along! See? It’s not so hard. There is no need to be rude about it! Put yourself in his shoes for a moment. How would you like it if you get constant hate for just adding a pose to your selfie? See? It’s not a great feeling! And you’re causing someone to feel this way for something so harmless. He’s not hurting anybody!

“It works for me, and I'm people. Everyone has tics and poses and gestures that are very "them," and this is one of his. If it doesn't work for you that's OK. Don't marry him! But, also, please don't shame him. He's people, too.”

This was a tweet written by Vanessa A M Nadal based on this matter and she is completely right! As I said before, it’s completely fine if you don’t like something Miranda does. It’s natural not to like something. But cyber bullying him for it is seriously not okay. “He’s people, too.” Stood out to me in the tweet because this is something people forget often with celebrities. No matter how famous someone is, no matter how rich they are, no matter how much power they have, they are still human. They still have a right to be respected for who they are. They’re not just some machine used to entertain people. They’re not just an object with no feelings. They’re human! They’re people! At the end of the day, Lin is a person too.

 The second reason why people are bullying Lin is because he said the n-word. At first glance, this does seem like a horrible thing for someone to do as we all know the history of that word. As he is not a black person, he shouldn’t be saying it as it’s extremely offensive.

“It’s so hard not to say n***a at the end of this sentence. I’m fighting muscle memory!” was what Miranda was found saying. However, people have taken out the context of this quote to make it seem like Lin was saying it just to be racist when in reality, he wasn’t! This quote was originally said by Daveed Diggs; as he is a black person, he is allowed to say it as it’s not racist for him to do so. What Miranda was doing was he was quoting something said by Diggs for an audiobook! There is no way this was used to be racist or offensive.

As we all know, that word is a slur towards people of colour. I’m not going to get too much into the meaning behind the word but the reason this word is racist is because it carries the history of racial discrimination towards black people. As I am a white person, it’d be very offensive and racist for me to call someone the n-word! I do not plan on doing so either. But there is a difference to saying it in a racist term or saying it in a way which isn’t racist. Many people are making it seem like Lin said the word just for his own pleasure and if he did then that would certainly be racist. However, it’s perfectly okay to say the word if you’re quoting it as quoting something is very different to saying it.

Some people have been attacking Miranda for still saying the word even though it was blanked out, like how I wrote it earlier on. But I understand why Lin still said it. As it was written like “n***a”, you can still tell what word it meant to be. If he just left it out in the audiobook, it would be confusing to hear as the quote would be changed to: “It’s so hard not to say at the end of this sentence.” And as he’s stating a quote, you can’t really change it otherwise it’s not the exact quote which is meant to be said. I understand that some people may not be comfortable with that word being read aloud but the easy thing to do is just not listen to the audio! It’s honestly that simple. And certainly do not alter the truth just to spread hate to a man who is still human!  

 Another reason why he’s getting hate and which also comes down under the category of him being “racist” is because of the well-known musical he wrote which is Hamilton. It’s recently been added to Disney+ which I am really happy about! I thought that all things would be positive about this but clearly, I had a bit too much faith in humanity. Instead of people enjoying the awesome show and learning things they may have not known about the Founding Father and first Secretary of Treasury, people have created #cancelhamilton. I was so confused at first how there was anything wrong with the musical. I read a few posts on Instagram and instantly hated the tag as it is honestly so stupid.

One of the reasons why people say it’s racist is because of how little the show talks about slavery. Um, what? This is a musical! Yes, it’s educational. I personally learnt a lot from it as I didn’t even know a guy named Alexander Hamilton existed until I heard the soundtrack. But the thing is, this isn’t a documentary. The musical recording was two hours and forty minutes long with a one-minute intermission which is a reasonable amount of time for a show! You can’t overdo the length of something which is why there are many cut songs in Hamilton such as Let It Go or Dear Theodosia Reprise. And the thing is, there is a cut song which is about slavery! As the show is based in the lifetime of a man who lived for 44 years, some songs were going to have to get taken out. Sadly, this song was one of them but I agree with Lin’s choice as the ending of the song was that Hamilton’s plan didn’t go through so it didn’t add any affect of his life. The song was called Cabinet Battle 3 and the demo track, sung by Miranda himself, was released on The Hamilton Mixtape. I think it’s a great song as it covers the topic of slavery really well. Unlike the first two cabinet battles, this version isn’t all fun and rap. The music is slower and more serious.

“Sir, even you, you have hundreds of slaves” was said by Alexander Hamilton to George Washington, showing that even Washington was a slave owner. And by saying “even you”, it suggests that there are many slave owners too just Washington would seem less likely to own them. So, why would Miranda take out a song about something so serious? As I said before, the musical was already almost three hours long. The show had to end at some point! The song ends with Washington saying, “Madison, execute your plan to the letter. Let's hope the next generation thinks of something better.” James Madison’s plan was to end the discussion of freeing the slaves. As his plan was accepted and not Hamilton’s, that point wasn’t as important in the musical as the other songs were.

Another reason why people say it’s racist is because, wait for it, slavery is involved! The complete opposite to the previous reason. The way slavery is involved in the musical is all down to the Founding Fathers. Most of them had slaves! I’m pretty sure Hamilton, himself, didn’t own any. However, I heard that he gifted a slave to Angelica Schuyler but I’m not to sure if that point is true. The issue is, almost all the wealthy people in those days had slaves. The slave trade is a huge part in history and no matter how hard you try, you can’t run away from it. You can’t change the past! We need to stop running away from the past of slavery and accept it! It was horrible, yes. I remember learning it in school and I found it so shocking the way human beings were treated just because they were black. But no matter how much we hate it, no matter how disgusted we are by it, it still happened. Are you honestly saying that we’re just not going to learn about anything in the past because the people in those days had slaves? I’m sorry but that is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard! Hamilton is fun to watch and is also educational. It teaches teenagers about some of the Founding Fathers, soldiers, and even a little about women’s rights in those days. I think it’s great!

The final point I managed to find is that people are mad about both the fact that Lin included Sally Hemmings and the fact that he didn’t include her enough. Again, two completely opposite points! This shows how ridiculous this is getting because no matter what Miranda does, he won’t be able to “get it right” and that is no way his fault. Stop being so picky about it! Now, let me get on to the point about Sally. The only time she appears in the musical is during the song, What’d I Miss?

“Sally, be a lamb darling, won’t ya open it?” was said by Thomas Jefferson to one of the ensemble members, who in this case is Sally Hemmings. The truth is, Sally was one of his slaves. I think it’s reasonable to add her name into it as it gives her a little bit of recognition. I understand why people could feel slightly uncomfortable with her name being said but the thing is, this isn’t your musical. You didn’t spend six years writing lyrics for the show so please don’t tell Lin what he can and not include! And I do understand the situation with Sally and I’m not trying to sound careless about what happened to her. She was only fourteen and he did awful stuff to her which I’m not even going to go into because it makes me feel a bit uncomfortable talking about it and I’m sure you won’t want to read it. However, if you’re a part of the Hamilton fandom you’ve probably heard of her story already. If you haven’t and you do want to know more about her, you can always search up “Sally Hemmings” and I’m sure it’ll explain there.

For the people saying that her story should’ve been told in the musical, I completely disagree and I’m actually shocked that people even used that as an excuse on why Hamilton is racist! I’m sorry I think I missed the part when the show was called “Jefferson: An American Musical”. This is a performance about the life of the Founding Father, Alexander Hamilton, Washington’s right-hand man, and the first Secretary of Treasury. Not the Founding Father, Thomas Jefferson, the first Secretary of State, the second Vice President, and the third President of America! Sally Hemmings meant nothing to Hamilton. They never even met. I’m surprised if he even knew of her existence! I know that in Cabinet Battle 3, he says “How will Thomas Jefferson find his next mistresses?” which he was implying by Sally, but that doesn’t mean that he knew about her in real life. And even if he did, she didn’t affect him in any way so there is no point of including her anymore in the musical.

Hamilton seriously isn’t racist at all. In fact, it’s one of the least racist things I’ve seen! The Founding Fathers were all white. If one of the Founding Fathers were black, they wouldn’t even been given that title. They would most likely be a slave because that’s how life was back then. Miranda could’ve easily said, “I won’t be including people of colour because I want the musical to be historically accurate.” But he didn’t! Half of the cast are people of colour because they were good enough for the role they played. Lin didn’t take away that opportunity just so the musical would be more accurate to history! I think that’s great and the actors did such a good job too.

 The final point which is quite short because I don’t know much about this but there is a sound on TikTok where Miranda is talking about some sexual stuff. I don’t know what he was saying it for but I read up somewhere that it was for an audiobook! I don’t know which one though. I mean, it’s pretty obvious that he was reading something, just by the wording and the way he was saying it. Those type of things isn’t something you just record yourself saying! Again, I don’t see why people are taking out the context for things Lin is reading in audiobooks? I think it’s perfectly fine for Miranda to say those things as he was reading a story. People have complained about the fact that the sound disturbed them; I wasn’t that comfortable listening to it myself! But you have to understand that it’s not Lin-Manuel Miranda’s fault that someone posted it on TikTok. Whatever he was reading would have an age rating and reviews so you wouldn’t accidentally come across something like that. Listening someone talking about sex make me feel slightly disturbed but I understand that Lin was doing his job by reading it and it’s not his fault that someone thought it’d be funny to add the sound onto TikTok!

 We need to stop focusing on the things Lin-Manuel Miranda has done which you don’t like and focus on the positive things about him. Like, the fact that he wrote a two hours and forty-minute musical, which is just nonstop songs, about someone’s life is just incredible and inspiring to me! And the way he acted in all the songs were so great! He also told Justin Laboy’s story in 21 Chump Street in the space of five songs. His acting in Mary Poppins Returns was just amazing and it was clear that he enjoyed every second of filming it! And I loved the songs from Moana since I first saw it and when I found out that Miranda wrote the songs, I was so surprised that Lin wrote songs for another thing I enjoyed to watch! He’s definitely one of my idols.

We need to stop focusing on people’s “flaws” and pay more attention to the positive things about them. Especially with celebrities! Like I said before, they are still human with real emotions. They can still get hurt. When Miranda said that he was taking a break from Twitter, I was so upset that people have pushed him this far over the edge 2! He may not be leaving because of the horrible posts people have been making but I won’t be surprised if it is. I saw a reply on Lin’s tweet saying “WE’RE BULLYING THIS MAN OFF THE INTERNET LMAOOOOO” with a video of edits people made with Miranda biting his lip. But actually, it isn’t funny at all. With cyber bullying, you only hear about it with teenagers. You never hear about it with adults! But that’s what it is. This is what all of this is. Anybody who is attacking Lin-Manuel Miranda for the points I mentioned and are making the memes and edits, you’re actually bullying him. You may think that they’re just harmless jokes, but clearly, they’re not! I know that’s not something you hear normally about an adult getting bullied but it’s true. And I feel so sorry for him because some of it is because of a show he spent six years of his life making! He deserves to get praised for it – not attacked!

 And if there is a slight chance, you’re somehow reading this, Lin, I just want to say that you have been so responsible with this matter. You could’ve easily snapped and had a go at the people doing this but you didn’t. Instead, you’re walking away from the situation until it’s settled down. You’re such a huge inspiration with everything you do! I really hope things get better for you very soon.

 And to all the people out there attacking Lin-Manuel Miranda to the point that he has to take a break from Twitter? All I can say to you is “Congratulations”. I hope you’re proud of yourselves for being so horrible to someone who’s dedicated years of his life for the entertainment of others.

 Congratulations.