#so the revival round can have two winners

[thepeakofsonicmusic]

vote unknown from m.e. and we can turn the semi-finals into a quarter-finals!

ROUND 3

[tillyaoi]

Why I think Till is alive

complitation of stuff i noticed + stuff i saw on twitter that did make sense

#1. It just doesn't make sense. From the main four, we've seen ivan and sua and mizi's perspective on most things, mostly Ivan. but till?? NONE. the only thing we get from him is mizi flashbacks. I know mizi's the main MAIN character but till surviving until round 7 is pretty main character energy too. so it just doesn't make sense why they'd kill him off just like that. also. round 6. yeah, his best friend died for him so if he really is dead then ivan just died for nothing.

#2. In the all-in (till ver) album cover, he's the only one shown with another color in his art. and knowing vivimeng this IS a very important piece. cause all of the anniversary album covers have consistent patterns, all of them are just one color. except Till. not even HYUNA the og rebel has it. — and the 2nd color is red. which usually means or shows 'rebelling' in all of alien stage. Also. The red tape is covering where he got shot, which is also where his branding is. this could be a sign that he's getting revived or is just severely injured and is not ACTUALLY dead.

#3. In his flashback when he "died", he was with mizi. of course he would remember mizi at his final moments, she was the last person he saw and he loved her. and in that flashback, the two of them were hiding from aliens. but he had many moments with mizi as shown in the alien stage friday official arts. he could've remembered other ones but why THAT specifically? BECAUSE! it could symbolize them hiding the fact that till is alive from the aliens.

#4. AFTER that scene, it shows till dying on mizi's lap. it zooms out and we can see that till's leg is still up even if his arm already lost consious. (there was also xylophone music symbolizing till's heart beat, it stopped when his arm dropped) So if he was already dead and lost consious, his leg would also fall over cause it DOES take effort and strength to do that.so basically what im saying is he's still alive. maybe they had a plan and he faked his death.

"but their microphones can monitor their heartbeat." yeah. which leads me to no 5. #5. @pixelifiedcation's post talking about how till's microphone fell off when he was on mizi's lap, which was the end of the round so they wouldn't know if till really was alive. giving them the chance to fake his death

#6 now this the thing i noticed immediately while watching the premiere. if you rewatch all of the rounds and skip to the end, you'll see the screen where they show who the winner of the round is and who the loser is, the loser's light always fades out first before they show who the winner is fighting with next. ALL rounds except 7. they showed luka being the winner BEFORE till's light faded out. and it faded out SLOWER and even glitched, the other rounds just straight up faded out. This shows us that the aliens probably didn't know if till was alive or not since his earpiece wasn't connected.

#7 this ones just my opinion but tills death was kinda anti climatic like dont get me wrong i loved this round but its like they just brushed over his death and then showed us luka's reaction to seeing hyuna.

anyways, till is alive

[ivanttakethis]

Round 7 Predictions

Since we’re only halfway through Alien Stage, I don’t think there will be a Round 7 winner.

There’s a ton of material Q and V could get into if both Till and Luka survive in some way or another. I also think there’s still a lot more left to learn about the lore of Alien Stage as a competition and how the whole system functions for the competition part to end so quickly.

I think Till will be rescued by the rebels at some point, either before or during Round 7. He’ll get to reconnect with Mizi, see how much she’s changed, and hopefully come to see her as less of a godly savior and more of a person.

Freeing Till would also force him to confront his own wants and dreams beyond escaping the competition and taking Mizi with him. What does Till want out of life now that both he and Mizi are free? How does he process all of the shit that went down in the previous rounds, especially Round 6?

As for Luka I think one of two things will happen: (1) he won’t be rescued by the rebels at all or (2) he’s offered the opportunity to leave with them but he refuses.

The second option is definitely more interesting as it will tell us more about Luka’s mindset, but also Hyuna’s if she can choose whether or not a rescue attempt is made for him. It would possibly give us insight into how they feel about each other given the current circumstances.

Either way, I don’t think Luka will leave Alien Stage or rebel against the aliens.

What would be his reason to? He’s the face of the whole competition. His status within the alien society has provided him with a lot of access that he could possibly not be able to live without, given his chronic illnesses.

But more than that, I think he’ll stay for personal reasons. Fame? Accolades? Ego? Maybe a mix of all three? Or perhaps some long buried guilt or remorse? There’s still a lot we don’t know about his feelings and motivations.

Personally I think he’s too interesting of a character to kill off so soon (a.k.a. I want to study him under a microscope).

Now this next part is me being delusional, so I’m putting it under the cut.

So,

If Till is rescued before Round 7 starts, that leaves Luka as the winner by default. But that’d probably be pretty boring as a finale for the audience.

How do they spice things up? By healing/reviving Ivan and putting him up against Luka.

Think about it: they’re both insanely popular in-universe, they’re somewhat equally matched in terms of singing ability, and they’re both considered pretty boys.

Think of the fashion! Think of the theatrics!! The material is LITERALLY. RIGHT. THERE.

In my opinion they’re two of the most complex characters in the cast, but they haven’t had much (if any) direct interaction with one another. I’d like to see how their similarities and differences stack up once they’re side by side, and what that tells us about each of them.

They’re also both weirdos (in their own ways), so putting them head to head would be the ultimate Freak (derogatory) vs. Freak (affectionate) final showdown.

And if Ivan were to win, he would essentially take over Luka’s role as the face of Alien Stage. How would that affect him personally? What would he do with his life after?

If he learns that Till managed to escape with the rebels, would Ivan still want to escape on his own? Or would he be content to stay put with the knowledge that Till is free?

Similar to Till with Mizi, who is Ivan beyond helping and supporting Till? What are his hopes and dreams?

I went more in depth about how Ivan could potentially be brought back and what ramifications it could have on the story depending on how it’s done in this post, if anyone wants to read that.

[spiegelgestalt]

Timebomb feelings because of the Arcane trailer for season 2

So I just saw the arcane trailer for season 2. It's great. I'm so excited. (so sad that Victor and Jayce died in the explosion quite an apprupt ending for them i guess... /s)

but what i really want to talk about is these two pictures:

Because it got me thinking. One of the interesting aspects of the Jinx/Ekko relationship is that they are able to communicate through other means than direct words. And that they are able to create a different image for each other.

Long and rambly explanation under the cut, which got away from me and can be summarized with: Jinx makes Ekko more violent and Ekko makes Jinx more heroic and they love each other your honor and i want to see a team up in season 2:

Song:

Jinx has a few songs (Guns for hire, goodbye, What could have been) but they are usually solos. They are usually melodic rock. And they usually concentrate on how much Jinx was wronged.

And than there is Dynasties and Dystopia. On first watch i thought it was an Ekko song. It's after all in his style (both in animation as in genre) but some words don't quite fit:

"I might just might kick your butt Go run amok then paint my nails Never learned to raise my hand Was too busy raising hell Everything I know I am You should go and save yourself Thought you had my number, huh Congratulations, you played yourself"

this just screams jinx to me. Ekko has yet to run amok. Jinx does it all the time. I don't even know what Ekko's nails look like, but we have several distinct shots of Jinxs' blue and pink nails; Ekko doesn't raise hell, if he's raising something it's paradise. And the line "you should go and save yourself" is a good continuation/rejection of the one thing Jinx says in this fight: Look who it is - the boy savior -> go save yourself! And it forshadows the way jinx will be able to get just a loss instead of a total defeat (look she was defeated- in the aftermath Ekko had a hurt leg, while Jinx needed to be revived with terrible magic drugs there is a clear winner here). Ekko thinks he has jinx figured out but he hasn't and thats why he will hesitate in the end.

But i would also argue that not all of the song is jinx:

Ooh, yeah, he mad I'm racking up white diamonds Throw me in the sky You would swear the sun shining Ooh, yeah, he mad I'm racking up white diamonds Throw me in the sky You would swear the sun shining

this verse is both of them: Basically they are saying: Look how great i'm doing (lie) Aren't you mad about it? (They will never beat the allegation that they are bitter exes.)

And I'd argue that this is Ekkos verse:

In this gothic underground city We all sin If I bring a couple rounds with me Then we all win I came back and brought the crown with me The king's den Break your nexus and your neck 'cause Everybody's on your head

and interestingly enough it's an offer. This makes sense with the visual. Encouraged through Vi who insists that Powder is still in there somewhere Ekko conjures a situation wich is similar to their old games. And it works: It's the only time Powder appears as her young self on screen. And so Ekko makes an offer he probably made before: Trust me, back down, i can help:

He starts with: We all make mistakes - one of the things that bind Powder to the Jinx personality is her guilt over having killed her entire family. But Ekko doesn't blame Jinx he blames their circumstances (something he also does in his Zaun-duet misfit toys)

If i bring a couple rounds with me, then we all win -> this foreshadows his timetravel ability. And even if he doesn't has it at this point this whole scene breaks down time itself so it still works in my head. Ekko brings the crown with him (the hextech-crystal) and he warns Jinx that everyone is going after her.

And the second refrain which I'd argue both sing once again:

Hold still while I bag that, uh Talk bad 'til I snap back, uh This ain't brown, this that dark black This that pitch black, jet black Snap yo' ex watch me give him flashbacks

Meaning: keep still, i've got this, just trust me dude!

This song shows that Ekkos and Jinx's disagreement is far more similar to the disagreement between Vander and Silco than to the disagreement between Vi and Jinx. Vi and Jinx' disagreement is personal. Vi rejects everything jinx has become and just wants her "sweet" little sister back - Ekkos and Jinx's disagreement is political. They disagree about the question what is best for Zaun. AND I'd also argue the Ekko is far less surprised by the jinx personality. He knew Powder was a bit of a shithead. He's just pissed that she's working for Silco.

Well let's finally get to these two pictures:

We see Ekko and we see Jinx drawn as hero of the resistance in Ekkos style* (compare the mural to the video of misfit toys) We know that Jinx gave Ekko a definition that didn't suit him by creating the firefly bombs and recasting him as a terrorist. And know we see Ekko who maybe drew this picture of jinx recreating her from a terrorist into a hero of Zaun.

(see me get proven wrong in the first episode of arcane season 2...)

[sonics-atelier]

Blooms of Friendship: Thorin and Bilbo's Garden Challenge

For @bagginshieldweek24 Day 6 : Single Parents/Uncles AU + Gardening

Summary: Mr Gamgee has a gardening competition, Thorin doesn't have a green thumb so frodo helps, cue fluff.

a/n : I had a blast writing this, btw if anyone cares Sam and Frodo went frolicking in the Forest later.

In the peaceful heart of the Shire, where the hills rolled gently under a sky that seemed perpetually blue, Gaffer Gamgee announced a grand gardening competition. The rules were simple: whoever could grow the most beautiful, vibrant garden in a month would be declared the winner. The competition stirred excitement among the hobbits, and even more so for Master Baggins and Master Oakenshield.

Bilbo, ever the lover of nature, had always kept a flourishing garden. His flowers bloomed brightly, their colors a vivid tapestry that delighted the eyes. Thorin, on the other hand, was a dwarf of stone and steel, more accustomed to the cold beauty of gems than the delicate life of plants. Yet, never one to back down from a challenge, Thorin decided to participate.

For the first two weeks, Bilbo’s garden thrived as expected. Flowers of every hue and fragrance filled the air with a sweet perfume, and Bilbo took great pleasure in watching them grow. Thorin, however, found himself in a different predicament. Despite his best efforts, his garden was a desolate sight—wilted plants and dry soil that seemed to mock his determination.

It was during one of these frustrating afternoons that Frodo, Bilbo’s young nephew, noticed Thorin’s plight. With a gentle smile, Frodo approached the dwarf. “Uncle Thorin,” he began, his voice encouraging, “I could help, if you’d like. Gardening just takes a little patience and understanding.”

Thorin looked at Frodo, surprised but grateful. “I’d appreciate that, Frodo,” he replied, nodding. “Perhaps you can teach this old dwarf a thing or two about the Shire’s secrets.”

And so, Frodo took Thorin under his wing, guiding him through the basics of gardening with the wisdom that came so naturally to the hobbit folk. Together, they tilled the soil, planted new seeds, and tended to the ailing plants with care. Under Frodo’s patient instruction, Thorin began to see the subtle changes in his garden. Slowly but surely, green began to spread, and small buds appeared, promising blooms yet to come.

As the competition drew to a close, Thorin’s garden was not the most vibrant, nor the most extravagant, but it was alive and blooming—a testament to his perseverance and Frodo’s guidance.

The day of the competition arrived, and the hobbits gathered to admire each other’s hard work. Samwise, acting as the judge, made his rounds, carefully inspecting each garden. Bilbo’s garden was, of course, a sight to behold—full of color and life, just as it had been from the start. Thorin’s garden, though more modest, held a charm of its own, with sturdy flowers and a sense of quiet resilience.

When the results were announced, Bilbo secured a well-deserved second place. Thorin, to his surprise, was awarded third place, his efforts recognized by Old Gaffer Gamegee, who appreciated the effort and care that had gone into reviving the once desolate plot.

Bilbo laughed warmly when Thorin’s name was called, the sound full of mirthy. Thorin, however, had eyes only for Frodo as he handed the boy the bronze medal. “This belongs to you, Frodo,” Thorin said sincerely, “You’ve taught me much, and this is as much your victory as it is mine.”

Frodo beamed, clutching the medal with pride. “Thank you, Uncle Thorin,” he said, his face alight with joy.

As the crowd began to disperse, Thorin placed an arm around Bilbo’s shoulders, drawing him close. The two of them stood together, watching as the evening sun cast a golden glow over the Shire. Bilbo leaned into Thorin’s side, a contented smile on his lips.

“You know,” Bilbo said teasingly, “I never thought I’d see the day you’d take up gardening, Thorin.”

Thorin chuckled, his gaze soft as he looked down at Bilbo. “Well, I never thought I’d enjoy it, but it seems the Shire has a way of surprising even the most stubborn of dwarves.”

Bilbo grinned, tilting his head to meet Thorin’s eyes. “It certainly does.”

Without another word, Thorin leaned down and pressed a tender kiss to Bilbo’s forehead, a simple gesture that spoke of quiet affection and shared contentment. In that moment, there were no grand declarations or flowery speeches—just the peaceful understanding between two souls who had found a home in each other, in a land where flowers bloomed as brightly as their love.

- @sonics-atelier 2024 , do not repost or reuse in any way , shape or form.

[antiling]

So, seeing as there's only one more contestant In bracket two, we have to do something a bit funky. A revive round! The four closest losers from Braket 2 go head to head to see who'll come back to. Fight against Karkat and make it to Braket three. The two runner ups will also go against each other to see who can make it to Braket three. Sense this will last for a week, when it's time to pick a winner I'll just choose whoever is in first. So without further ado, welcome to the ultimate chumhandle poll, the series in which you vote for the best chumhandle homestuck!

Round B6.5: Caliborn vs Tavros vs Harry Anderson vs Equius

[broadwaydivastournament]

Broadway Divas Tournament: Round 1C

Two-time Tony-winning dancer-extraordinaire Bebe Neuwirth (1958) is best known for her winning role as Velma Kelly in Chicago (1996) alongside her beloved Annie Reinking. After playing Velma off-and-on for some years, she then took on Roxie, and later Matron "Mama" Morton. Bebe has also won for Sweet Charity (1986), and is a two-time Emmy winner for, of course, Lilith in Cheers. Other credits include Here Lies Jenny (2004), Fosse (2001), and Cabaret (2024), opening next month. In addition to her beloved stage, Bebe is a devoted cat-lover, and activist. She founded the Dancers' Resource program to provide support for injured and/or aging dancers.

Stalwart theatre veteran Laurie Metcalf (1955) is also a two-time Tony winner and four-time Emmy winner. Her consecutive Tony wins for A Doll's House, Part 2 (2017) and Three Tall Women (2018) places her on an elite list of just six other performers (including fellow Diva Judith Light). She has also appeared in Misery (2015), Hillary and Clinton (2019), and Grey House (2023), an experimental horror play that ultimately flopped. (And I have opinions on that.)

PROPAGANDA AND MEDIA UNDER CUT: ALL POLLS HERE

"Let me be abundantly clear. Bebe Neuwirth is my ultimate Diva. It may be stiff competition, but she wins the bracket of my heart every time. I would follow this woman to the end of the earth and back. I love everything about her from her cats, to her giggle, to her exquisite grey hair. I so admire any woman who chooses to age gracefully and without resentment, and Bebe's really settled into this adorable cozy old cat lady life. Back in the day, it was all stiletto heels and tight little black dresses and yes, that was very sexy. But now she's enjoying the comforts of flat sturdy boots, massive sweaters with cute little cats on them, glasses on chains, and divine grey hair. Gorgeous, yes. Talented, fuck yes. This woman has music in her bones and not even three hip surgeries can steal it away. I love her."

"Oh, Bebe Neuwirth? Love of my life, champion of my soul? Her legs are simply to die for. Not convinced? Search up When Velma Takes the Stand on YouTube and feast your eyes. You’ll be watching clips of her entire Broadway career next, trust me. She is truly a powerhouse of a woman, and one of Bob Fosse’s greatest interpreters." Propaganda submitted by anon "V"

"The pandemic robbed us of many things, but for our purposes here, the greatest loss to theatre was the revival of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf starring Laurie Metcalf. During the dinner scene, so I'm told by the gays on twitter, she came out in a sheer white blouse and black bra, and I am devastated we didn't get her unhinged Martha. She would have done Uta Hagen and Elaine Stritch proud."

Bonus poll in the tags/comments: Tell me who you think wins in a fight? Lilith from Cheers/Frasier, or Jackie from Rosanne. If you're too young to know what I'm talking about, what are you doing here?

[eddieredmayneargentinablog]

"Eddie Redmayne Is Twinning in a Skirt With Wife Hannah Bagshawe at the 2024 Met Gala".

Eddie Redmayne and wife Hannah Bagshawe have elevated the concept of coordinating couples to new heights at the 2024 Met Gala in matching avant garde floral looks.

By NATALIE FINN

What good is sitting alone in your room when you can join forces with your wife and match at the 2024 Met Gala?

Eddie Redmayne and wife Hannah Bagshawe took couple coordination to new heights, the Oscar winner wearing a tulle skirt and flowing black coat with see-through panels that mirrored the silhouette and avant garde pattern of his beloved's strapless dress, both by up-and-comer Steve O Smith. (Of course, if they weren't by the same designer, that would have been one heck of a coincidence.)

"He's had two collections and he's an extraordinary man, and an extraordinary designer," Redmayne told Vogue correspondents Ashley Graham and Gwendoline Christie on the red carpet outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art. "And he paints and sort of does charcoal drawings that he transfers onto..."

He gestured toward their preciously punk ensembles. Bagshawe capped her look with a black fascinator, the lines of the hat an organic extension of her girl's-just-there-to-have-fun-style dress and pointy-toe stiletto boots. (See all the fashion making a statement on the 2024 Met Gala red carpet.)

While not his first Met Gala rodeo, Redmayne—who was just nominated for a Tony for his turn as the Emcee in a revival of Cabaret—was taking advantage of Broadway's tradition of going dark on Mondays.

"I hope I wasn't too lascivious," he said in response to a bit of gushing over his performance. "I do kind of interact with some of the audience members."

But overall, "it's wonderful, we're having the most amazing time. It's in the round and there's this kind of preshow, so as you come from 52nd Street you step into this whole world of the Weimar Republic...The audiences are so electric." (Next up, he'll play an assassin inclined toward "debonair suits" and who "probably isn't rocking a tulle skirt" in a series adaptation of The Day of the Jackal, another big transformation for the chameleonic actor.)

For the evening, however, it was Redmayne and Bagshawe making their way through "The Garden of Time," stemming from this year's Costume Institute exhibit "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion." And when they cozied up to each other, it was impossible to tell where one outfit ended and the other began, like two blooms planted at the same time that inevitably join together.

Keep reading to see which other couples brought the romance to the 2024 Met Gala: 

[jgroffdaily]

Willkommen and bienvenue to another round of anonymous Tony voters debating the merits of this year’s nominations, with Stereophonic and Hell’s Kitchen leading the marquees with 13 nominations each. Despite all the mothers, rock-and-roll doyens, and Waystar Royco employees trying to lure us to the Theater District, our two veteran Tony voters aren’t overly enthralled by the season. They think it’s one of the strongest years for plays in recent memory. But for musicals? Eh, maybe some shouldn’t have made the transfer from across the pond. And while Stereophonic and Merrily We Roll Along are destined for further greatness, the voters don’t think being a Hollywood star guarantees an acting trophy. Ahead of the June 16 ceremony at Lincoln Center, they weighed in on where they stand and why.

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical

Brody Grant — The Outsiders Jonathan Groff — Merrily We Roll Along Dorian Harewood — The Notebook Brian d’Arcy James — Days of Wine and Roses Eddie Redmayne — Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club

Voter 1: There are three exceptional performances in this category. Brody and Brian are extraordinary, but my vote is going to Jonathan. His performance is the best of the year in any category, actually. He manages to make, on paper, a character who might be very unlikable and turn him into a complex human being who makes some pretty awful choices, and yet we understand the humanity behind those choices. It’s a staggering achievement.

Voter 2: My winner is Jonathan. That character is a total jerk the way it’s written, but he makes him completely sympathetic and it’s a beautiful performance. But I do want to say it’s an interesting list of names. I would’ve put money on Brian because that was an amazing performance. I probably would’ve predicted Eddie, even though it was a very divisive performance. I thought it was very stylized. I thought, Okay, you know what? That’s a choice. He was just sort of there for me, but I suspected he would get nominated because it’s one of “those” roles. Brody is saddled with two of the worst wigs on Broadway — he overcame them. The one glaring omission here is the star of Tommy, Ali Louis Bourzgui. That kid is a star. He’s so magnetic. I was enraptured from start to finish and I don’t understand why he’s not included.

Best Revival of a Musical

Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club Gutenberg! The Musical Merrily We Roll Along The Who’s Tommy

Voter 1: Merrily, Merrily, Merrily. I do think it’s disappointing that the one specifically BIPOC musical, The Wiz, was excluded. I’ll say that. I’m disappointed that it was snubbed. But for me, it’s Merrily in a walk. I really liked it downtown and I fucking loved it uptown.

Voter 2: Merrily. It’s always been my favorite. I know it’s the Stephen Sondheim black sheep show, but this is the best production I’ve ever seen and I think it’s the best production you will ever see. It finally works. There’s a lot of good you can say about these four shows, but Merrily is without question the one for me.

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical

Roger Bart — Back to the Future Joshua Boone — The Outsiders Brandon Victor Dixon — Hell’s Kitchen Sky Lakota-Lynch — The Outsiders Daniel Radcliffe — Merrily We Roll Along Steven Skybell — Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club

Voter 1: This is another great category. I loved Steven and really loved Brandon. I thought both of the guys from The Outsiders were wonderful, but I’m all about Daniel. His delivery of “Franklin Shepard, Inc.” is award-worthy just for that song. Watching him grow as a stage actor has been a privilege. He’s one of the biggest stars in the world and he keeps coming back to the stage. In this production, he just takes it all to another level. It’s spectacular.

Voter 2: I’ll end up going with Daniel, but Steven, oh my God. I’m thinking about his performance and I’m almost crying again. Ron Rifkin won for that role in the last Cabaret revival. It’s definitely one of those roles that gets you noticed. But Tony nominators have had a habit of ignoring Daniel, so I was so happy they nominated him. He’s a fantastic stage actor. This isn’t a brag, but I’ve seen everything he’s done in New York on and off Broadway, and he gets better every time. His “Franklin Shepard, Inc.”? He’s singing the 11 o’clock number at 8:30. Come on. That’s a pretty tall order. Oh, I totally forgot about Back to the Future. I’m surprised Roger got in there.

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical

Shoshana Bean — Hell’s Kitchen Amber Iman — Lempicka Nikki M. James — Suffs Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer — Monty Python’s Spamalot Kecia Lewis — Hell’s Kitchen Lindsay Mendez — Merrily We Roll Along Bebe Neuwirth ��� Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club

Voter 1: You won’t be surprised given all my Merrily love, but it’s Lindsay. She recently got married — Jonathan was the officiant and Daniel was the ring bearer. That’s how close they’ve become as friends, and that chemistry and love they have for one another is so evident onstage. Lindsay is really funny and sour; she oozes sarcasm, and yet she allows us to see the pain behind all the armor. In the final Merrily scene, we witness her innocence and her hopefulness in a way that I don’t think anyone sees coming. It’s acting at the highest level.

Voter 2: Even though I love Merrily and Lindsay here, I’m inclined to vote for Kecia for Hell’s Kitchen. I didn’t love the show, but she was one of the reasons I liked it. Oh my gosh, her voice. She anchors the show in a lot of ways. She’s also one of those actors who’s always been around and doing fantastic work. She made her Broadway debut at age 18 in Dreamgirls, playing Effie. This show is just another reminder of her talents. It’s not like we should give Tonys for longevity or lifetime achievement, but I feel like this is just another reminder of, Yes, Kecia is fantastic. That might put me over the top for her.

[silentprotagcompetition]

Round 2

I think I'm gonna do all of them in one day this time? There're half as many as round 1 so. I've been trying to get the bracket image to look good but it's still kind of shit and it's gonna take a lot of manual editing of all of the boxes and whatever to make it more legible but here it is if you guys want it? I got rid of the first round contestants just so it was a bit easier to see, but there's an earlier version of it I've already posted that I can link to should anyone wish to see it.

But yeah the matchups are as follows:

Gordon Freeman (Half Life) vs Mono (Little Nightmares 2) WINNER: Mono

Flower Kid (Smile For Me) vs Frisk (Undertale) WINNER: Frisk

Stanley (The Stanley Parable) vs Shoko Nishimiya (A Silent Voice) WINNER: Stanley

Cat (Stray) vs Chell (Portal) WINNER: Chell

The Knight (Hollow Knight) vs Kirby WINNER: The Knight

WALL-E vs Link (The Legend of Zelda) WINNER: Link

Charon (Hades) vs Six (Little Nightmares) WINNER: Six

The Journalist (Bugsnax) vs Perry the Platypus (Phineas and Ferb) WINNER: Perry the Platypus

Beatrix LeBeau (Slime Rancher) vs Eve (WALL-E) WINNER: Eve

Kris (Deltarune) vs V1 (Ultrakill) WINNER: Kris

Moth (Sky: Children of the Light) vs Madotsuki (Yume Nikki) WINNER: Moth

Ferb (Phineas and Ferb) vs Hearthstone (Magnus Chase) WINNER: Ferb

aand that's it! You may have noticed the two squares on each side that don't match up to any characters? I'm thinking that I'll get the losers of the 4 closest polls of each group (so Agent 8 and Sonic so far) and do a couple of revival rounds!

[powerpolyculeshowdown]

Congrats to our Round 3 winners!!

Tulio/Miguel/Chel (Road to El Dorado)

Sweet/Cap'n/Cakes (Deltarune)

Panchito/Donald/José (The Three Caballeros)

Suki/Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)

Hardison/Parker/Eliot (Leverage)

Fred/Daphne/Velma/Shaggy (Scooby Doo)

What comes next?

With 6 contestants currently, the round 4 result would lead us to an uneven number for the finals, which i'm not a fan of. So, finally, it's time for the revival round! To have proper quarter finals, two polyships will be brought back from the dead. All of the losers will be competing!! Because there's a limit of 10 options per poll, and we have way more than 10, there will be multiple brackets. It won't be 2x2 like the main showdown, however. I'll throw 10 contestants into one poll (one of them will be 8 because we don't have 40) and the winners for each one will face off against each other! The two most popular polyships will be revived for the quarterfinals!

The brackets for the revival round will be RANDOMIZED! there's no way I can go through sorting 38 ships and try to balance it out on my own, sorry.

So! If you polyship already lost, prepare the propaganda cause this is your chance to bring them back!

[sebastianandpainterkisser4]

Ice Climber

The Climber is a stuffed man (one of those common "white face" cloth mannequins). His body is covered in white plush fabric. He has brown outlined cartoon-like eyes with brown pupils, which he drew on himself with mud.

Climber wears a jacket that has a zipper all the way to a turtle neck that is attached to his jacket. The jacket has darker grey sleeves which have light grey elbow pads on both of his elbows and segmented at the shoulders. He wears darker grey pants with lighter grey tips near the ankles and segmented at the joints of both knees. He wears a black belt with a shiny buckle that sits tight on his waist above his jacket. He wears grey gloves that display lighter gray fingers. He wears a darker grey helmet on his head with a lighter gray border on the front bottom. He also wears dark grey shoes with a line on the sides and with spiky-like platforms.

Personality

Climber is a shy, somewhat neurotic, and simple-minded cloth mannequin with very solid morals of friendship. Climber believes in making himself useful to just about anyone he meets, regardless of what the task they have is. He’s also very naive, so he’s likely to believe anything told to him. That doesn’t mean he’s stupid though, he's just never really been exposed to the real world. Despite this, he can also be upbeat and cheery when he wants to be. The only time you will ever see Climber angry is if his fears about his usefulness get involved, or when The Big Bad's energy gets to him. He also seems to not like fire or cigarettes when seen by his interaction with Chimbley.

Weapon

A pick-axe; Climber found the pick-axe a few hours before Clarice revived him many years previous. Clarice complimented on the find, saying the tool fit him, thus leading to Climber using it as his weapon of choice.

The Climber has no abilities or powers to speak of, in fact without a weapon Climber can't do any damage. This is due to the fact he’s basically a big walking pillow, although this also grants him the advantage of being so light that he can be rapid and is able to easily dodge attacks (but to a certain extent). He can fight, though he has to swing his pick-axe to pick up as much momentum as possible to do damage. His attacks still can hurt though, if enough momentum and speed is built up. This is shown in his battle with Skye or Dood frequently.

Ability

The Climber has no abilities or powers to speak of, in fact without a weapon Climber can't do any damage. This is due to the fact he’s basically a big walking pillow, although this also grants him the advantage of being so light that he can be rapid and is able to easily dodge attacks (but to a certain extent). He can fight, though he has to swing his pick-axe to pick up as much momentum as possible to do damage. His attacks still can hurt though, if enough momentum and speed is built up. This is shown in his battle with Skye or Dood frequently.

Weakness

Climber is a cloth mannequin, so by default, he's extremely flammable. He seems to be aware of this and avoids going near fire at all cost. He also has a very weak area around his waist, where he can be easily split into two, though it doesn’t happen near as much anymore. It almost happened as he tried to save Chimbley, but the Washer Woman managed to save him before anything truly bad happened. It is also mentioned that he could be weak to water.

Canon rounds

Climber VS Barrington (WON)

Climber VS Shadoboxxer (WON)

Climber VS O.M.G (WON)

Climber VS Skye (WON)

Climber VS Chimbley (WON)

Climber VS Dood (WON)

Climber VS Red (WON)

Trivia

Climber is the first place winner of the OCT (Original Character Tournament) ENDZONE hosted by Endling on deviantART. Due to this, Climber is somewhat known amongst many DA members.

Climber doesn’t like getting wet, presumably due to him being made of plush material.

If Climber was to run out of energy, it would be theoretically called his death.

His favourite colour is cyan.

Other

Climber's CANON DeviantArt reference.

-climber

[awolshippingbracket]

Congratulations to the winners of the first round! The game continues - here is the cast for our next round of the AWOL shipping bracket!

I suppose, by now, you'll be wanting to get to know our contestants. I've seen a couple of people stumble into this with not a clue what this about or just why and how this pole came to be. The general introduction of the concept is in both my description and our introduction post, so why don't we get to know some context to the players and pairings rather than the bare bones? If you click the option to read below, you can learn about our round two pairings and how they came to be! (Keeping in mind that this is fictional roleplay and not a reflection of the actual characters or CCs!)

In order of our bracket, we have:

DL Pearl / TL Cleo They met first when TL Cleo, who's nickname is Petal, originally spawned in the server─ she'd joined quite late, so people were already settled. One of those people being Pearl, on the lookout for some clay shards! Petal happens to come across her digging with her hands in the dirt. And very promptly after inquiring about her armour being made out of a material she'd been foreign to at the time, picks her up and takes her home to clean her up, quite fascinated with her! 

DL Cleo / TL Cleo These two have been bickering since the dawn of time─ funny, is it not? You'd think people so similar would get along! Perhaps under different circumstances. They're not dating, which is something you'll find not uncommon in this poll─ most of it is just done for fun, remember! 

DL Pearl / DL Cleo Slowburn enemies to lovers in the aftermath of DL. Cleo’s had multiple crushes on her in different worlds and while they started off wanting to kill each other, eventually they were killing for each other. canonically [redacted] (Thank you, Sera/silly)

TL Cleo / DL Etho Though they've never formally met in canon, Etho was a part of her group for a little while during a competition! Cleo's been fascinated with him and his cringe failboy charm ever since <3

DL Solidarity / DL Tango Soulmates! At the beginning of AWOL, Jimmy felt awful for killing Tango by proxy of the soulmate mechanic, assuming that it was fault of the canary curse and that he'd inadvertently passed it on to him. They stay apart for a long while after that ─ Tango dies, and then gets revived, and it's an incredibly long story and the middle is just about impossible, but by the end of it, they're working on the ugliest farm possible, made out of very fireproof obsidian.

SL Gem / DL Pearl They seem to be doing well! For a little bit of context, DL Pearl is *also* from SL, but she'd gone through DL first, and SL is a *very* recent addition─ IRP, it's only happened a couple of weeks ago. Anywho! In Secret Life, Pearl killed Gem to save her from winning and keep her from the torment that the watchers would place on her. After talking it through, they're on a much more even field.

LimL Pearl / SL Lizzie SL Lizzie took the place of LimL Pearl during Limited life. Pearl had been stuck in the void, but when the world ends and AWOL season one splits up, they go back to ShadowCraft together and were dating!

TL Grian / LL Scar / LL Mumbo Healing home! Mumbo and Grian spawned in together and after talking and the Only one bed trope in a cave, they ended up settling down together in a house since lilac didn't know where sand was and they both just liked eachothers presence. After some time and maybe making Grumbot, they agreed to a qpp (can't remember if grum or qpp was first) For Scars part, basically- after he spawned, Mumbo apologized to him and they ended up going on a picnic together, which kick started their eventual fall into a qpp. After they parted, Scar ended up in a desert and fell in a ravine, where Grian found him and brought him back to the healing house to heal. Because of wither rose, Scar was distrusting but eventually warmed up to Grian. From there, they invited him to stay, and he eventually joined into their qpr :] (Huge thank you to @berrygoodtime for writing this!)

LL Grian / LL Joel Through thick and thin, these two were inseparable until the end. To where in Last Life, they died right at eachothers side. The second chance only caused them to grow closer, partners in crime. One that could challenge what Bonnie and Clyde had. Whether it was crashing a wedding or merely having eachother for comfort. After all ,for the longest of times, they were all they had. (Thank you to @crypticcherriez for writing this!)

DL Grian / LimL Skizz After an accidental murder and a very apologetic Skizz, they get off on the right foot almost off the bat! From helping with baking to gifts and cuddles and taking care of each other while they're ill, they get close quite fast. They're married now! As well as LimL Impulse, I guess.

LL Martyn / LL Rendog Toxic Yaoi! But not in the fun way, not really─They've been through,,, so much. From Last Life to AWOL─ Martyn didn't show up in the next rendition. They truly have been through quite a bit─ Martyn using Rens honour against him and persuading him into kill for him, doors they opened and not once walked out of.  They separated after the first season.

LimL Impulse / LimL Skizz Awh! The classic angel-and-devil archetype! They're a match made in heaven! They've always been quite close, from their original worlds, through the games and through AWOL where they officially started dating. They've since gotten married

DL Scar / LimL Scar After DL Scar and DL Grian broke up, they started to get along! One of their earlier official meetings was a date in the flowering meadows, where DL Scar got the nickname Emerald because of the colour of his eyes, and LimL Scar got the nickname Dandelion because of the flowers around them. from then, their relationship started evolving, and when they went to their world together, they had a daughter named Tova!

LL Grian / TL Scar Oh dear. This one might rival treebark When they met, they'd spawned in together. LL Grian, Wither Rose, pretended to be Lilac (TL Grian, and Scars original Grian). He tampered with TL Scars communicator so he wouldn't be able to contact or communicate with anybody other than him. It takes months before Scar gets contact with the outside world─ and even then, he's still healing from it, a whole year later. Toxic yaoi (original version)

[camebackwrong-tournament]

ROUND TWO CBW BRACKET!

unfunny commentary down below!

aaaaand welcome to the official announcement of the winners for the first round of the came back wrong showdown! i'm your host, the admin, and i'm here to announce the wins and the overall results of the poll so far!

following much debate about whether or not dokja came back wrong or he came back the same because he was Always wrong, jason todd takes the first lead with a very funny margin! congratulations to everyone who voted jason!

now, our next poll caused quite the stir everywhere, we've seen decent amounts of propaganda from both sides of rosamund and buffy supporters — but in the end, buffy came out victorious alongside the loud cheers and shouts of over a thousand votes in the whole poll!

and in a shocking turn of events, william wisp, the character with the second most submissions, fails to take the win against sydney sargent of camp here and there. that aside, we've heard that both franchises often land against each other in poll brackets, perhaps it's fate after all~

next up we have the character the host is totally not rooting for, mitsuba sousuke against leif from bug tales! [you know. as a person who has seen a bit of both franchises— Personal commentary is not allowed! Please disclose such information somewhere else, host!] anyway, with lots of propaganda from both sides, mitsuba comes out with the win for this one with 61.1% from an overall 627 votes!

now, here are two characters we've been told are the exact same person with only very minor differences. while we can swear putting them against one another was unintentional, shadow lands the funny number win against the macaque! congratulations!

and here is yet another stirring poll, with akane kurashiki and owen harper at each other's tails for supposedly the first few hours, akane steals the crown with a fair margin of 63.3% ! we congratulate all her supporters and wish owen luck in a possible reanimation round!

okay, we'll be honest. this one was... interesting. while link took an unfortunate loss against the prehistoric fauna, it's nice to see a margin that's closer than our usual. someone's already said it but they should really make link vs dinosaurs into the next game. anyway, congratulations, dinosaur truthers!

and here we have another funny little thing. frankenstein's monster, we repeat, the monster folks, wins against tsukasa yugi by a large ratio. while that in itself is hilarious, for those familiar with jshk as well as tsukasa's ties with mitsuba, who got a win, it's a bit funnier. or maybe that's just me

the following poll felt a bit quieter when it came to propaganda, but the results have come to light and gideon nav was pronounced the winner in round one! we wish everyone who voted well and for those who voted celica, i'd keep my eyes open for a possible reanimation round!

and again! with a small margin apart and an incredible amount of support, the battle between hikaru and rolan was neck in neck for quite some time (or so i'm told) — but following the polls' closing, hikaru emerges triumphant!

here we go with another 61/39 poll result! caleb wittebane of the owl house comes out on top in the poll overall, winning against suzie costello of torchwood from 657 votes!

im sorry for pointing out the funny number repeatedly, this is what it feels like to be inside my brain. anyway, with a 69.7% ratio, mollymauk tealeaf of critical role takes home the crown for the round against jack kennedy who i definitely did not mistake for the US president. congrats!

oh my~ the next poll yielded some outstanding results, with trisha elric emerging successfully against goro akechi! there's been calls for revival as well as claims on whether or not trisha qualifies, but the host maintains, congratulations and good luck to all 721 participating voters!

happy easter sunday to jennifer check and jennifer check specifically for winning against jesus christ on holy week in the died and came back wrong poll. are we going to have to explain this during the rapture though. christ alive (well. maybe not so much)

and here we have yet another win from a hedgehog! sorry. sonic is victorious against wei wuxian, even after much banter regarding when and how sonic died in the franchise. i swear i will remember to check the submissions later. anyway, congrats!

and on our last poll is danny the teenage ghost against kite the ... yeah. danny comes out with a win by 67%, though there still remains some argument on how danny's "death" actually works — his win is the real deal, so congratulations everyone!

and that concludes this segment, we hope you enjoyed because i literally made a bracket so i had an excuse to do things like these.

[umineko-ost-bracket]

Before waging the separate bracket winners against each other, there will be a quick revival round. The polls will still last 1 week, they just wont be staggered

This revival round will be 4 polls with 10 options each (as that's the maximum amount of options that can be put on a pull).

The 10 options have been picked from the winners of Round 2 of each bracket with a few worthy additions (every Round 2 had 8 polls, so the last two slots were based off other points (like songs that lost to the bracket's winner in Round 1))

[regallibellbright]

One last betrayal reaction for the road

Because if you already have a crossover setup for the overall winner and the revival round winner you campaigned for, may as well do it, right? Spoilers for both, obviously.

The whole thing had been Nanami’s idea, of course.

“Himemiya finally won something! How can we not celebrate that as the occasion it is?” She’d said, and then she had laughed like she always did. “And I suppose you did well yourself, Yoshiya. Or as well as a loser can do. So you can join as well.”

Not for the first time, Joshua considered drowning his cousin in the River. The problem was, that wouldn’t make her any less his problem.

“And my friends, of course?” Joshua asked. As entertaining as a “celebratory luncheon” with Nanami and Anthy Himemiya sounded, he wasn’t setting himself up for hours of animal-themed nonsense without company. Besides, they’d actually been there at the time, unlike Nanami. “Neku, at the very least.”

She made a dismissive gesture and said, “I don’t see why not. Just tell them to dress appropriately to the occasion. We’re going for sophistication!”

Said the girl who had once worn a cowbell for over a week because she thought it was Sebastian Dior. He’d pass it on anyway. Let Neku decide what was appropriate for winning (or being one of the winners among the losers) a homoerotic betrayal tournament.

--

In the end, he’d still had it managed. Tell Nanami he knew a place, and the proprietor was the biggest trendsetter in all of Shibuya, and watch her little head spin as she told him he HAD to get reservations there.

WildKat had never had so many customers at once. For the occasion, Sanae had set some flowers in front of the store (roses, naturally,) and a sign reading “Congrats?” Nanami was seething. This might actually be fun.

Neku beat Tenjou and Himemiya to the party. Joshua grinned seeing him. They hadn’t even coordinated this.

Nanami made another frustrated hiss. “I expected this from Yoshiya, but you -”

“- I’m wearing the exact same thing I did when he shot me,” Neku said, smiling. “And so’s he. Besides, half of what I’m wearing’s limited edition.” He’d worn his headphones around his neck today, though.

“What could be more appropriate, after all? Thanks for organizing this, Nanami. I especially appreciate you paying.” He’d swear she was steaming like a tea kettle.

“What coffee - Oh! Anthy, it’s gotta be this one!” With that, Tenjou sped into view, Himemiya close behind her. “I didn’t know there was a coffee shop here.”

“We’re very exclusive,” Sanae said from behind the counter. “Your usuals, boys?” They both nodded.

“Do you serve tea?” Himemiya asked, smiling.

“Just for you, since this is a party,” Sanae said. “It’s, ah... good to see you, Himemiya.”

She giggled. “Anthy’s fine, these days. We’re all friends here, after all.” Tenjou gestured to a table, pulling Anthy’s chair out for her along with her own.

Neku took the other seat beside hers. Leaving Joshua to get his own, of course. “I guess... congratulations? You both seem happy,” Neku said.

“Are you not, Sakuraba?” Anthy asked, still smiling serenely. Good to know some things never changed.

“They did lose in round two,” Tenjou - Utena, he supposed, said.

“Neku, if you’re doing it, and I have no idea what to feel about any of this,” Neku said. “I mean, I’m still not totally sure what I feel about - all of that. What do you think, Utena? About the whole getting stabbed thing.”

Utena thought about that for a second. “I guess - it hurt a lot.”

“We figured,” Joshua said, smirking towards Anthy. He couldn’t fault her loyalty, he supposed.

“I never really thought about it,” Utena continued. “Right after that... everything happened, so... one stabbing isn’t that much, compared to what she went through. A million stabbings, for a start.” She smiled at Anthy. “I’m still glad I helped her.”

Even though Anthy no longer had her powers, Joshua still couldn’t read her mind. Utena’s, either. He chalked it up to Ohtori’s lingering weirdness. But he didn’t really need to, to see how Anthy’s smile softened when she looked at Utena. It was like the two of them shone.

“Thank you, Utena,” Anthy said. Then she turned to Joshua. “You put up a good fight too, you know. Seeing that campaign was inspiring! You must have really broken hearts to get that reaction.”

“I tried,” Joshua said. He definitely heard Neku mutter “Give me a break” at that. “But I was looking forward to the rest of the bracket. I was hoping to see you in the finals.”

“It’s so hard to go up against classics,” Anthy said, smiling serenely.

Joshua giggled. “Yes, we would have had the same problem if we’d made it that far. But it would have been nice to face off against some old colleagues.”

Tenjou - Utena - however Neku was supposed to call her, looked over at him. “Do you think we’re missing something?” she asked.

“I’m trying not to think about what they’re implying as much as possible,” Neku said.

“Smart move,” Mr. H agreed, handing Neku his coffee. “For what it’s worth, Phones, I’m pretty sure he’s focused on the modifier more than the noun, here.”

“Yeah, me too,” Neku said. Which is its own host of things Neku’s really not up to thinking about. “Say, Utena - the way you made it sound... do you forgive Anthy?”

She didn’t think about it for long. “I do. Do you not?”

Neku shrugged. “It sounds like he had a lot worse reasons for doing - anything he did, than she had for hers. And I wouldn’t even have been in this mess if it weren’t for him. But...” ‘I don’t think I can forgive you yet.’ Yet, he remembered saying. Did he now? Had it changed? “But it was a mess I needed. And I think... I knew that even then. If he hadn’t gotten me into it, I never would have met the people who are most important to me.” And even after everything, that still includes Joshua himself. “I’m not sure if I forgive him, but I can’t imagine my life if he hadn’t done all of it. And I don’t really want to.”

“That’s - the first time, isn’t it?” Utena asked. “He didn’t have to shoot you twice to change everything.”

“No, he didn’t,” Neku said, rolling his eyes over at Joshua. His Partner just winked back, because of course he did. “But it’s all the same thing, really. He shot me the first time because he needed someone for his awful plan, and then he shot me the second time...” He still wondered, exactly, why Joshua had shot him the second time. He had a few guesses, but all of them were loaded, and there was no way Josh would ever give him a straight answer even if they weren’t. “I’m pretty sure it still had to do with the whole plan. So... he kind of did, in a weird messed up way. Or maybe, he didn’t have to but he was always going to.”

“Awww, you’ve thought about it?” Joshua asked, voice entirely artificial. “Isn’t that sweet.”

“You were listening to that?” Neku asked. Joshua and Anthy both giggled. Right. Of course. He was at the table with two supernaturally-powerful players of mind games. “Whatever, of course you were listening to that. Yes, Joshua, I’ve spent countless hours remembering those three weeks and wondering what the hell you were thinking during it all.” Starting from the moment he woke up in the Scramble that last time.

“I didn’t know you cared so much,” Joshua said.

“Of course I do. Why do you think I couldn’t shoot? Why do you think I still trust you after you did?” He didn’t think about saying it until Joshua’s eyes went wide, just for a second. He hadn’t had to, really. Neku had figured it was obvious even without being a psychic.

Joshua was quiet for a moment. WildKat almost seemed to echo.

“Well, now I can’t tell you, can I?” Joshua finally asked, smirking. “I'd be depriving you of hours of entertainment.”

“I wasn’t expecting you to.” And ‘entertainment’ wasn’t what Neku would call it, but whatever. “It’s probably not that interesting, anyway.” Joshua looked positively affronted by that, getting a giggle from Anthy.

“Maybe you should talk, Joshua,” Anthy said. “Utena and I found things were much stronger after we did.”

“I’m sorry, did anyone ask you?” Joshua asked.

For a “Congrats on being betrayed so hard the internet thought it was worth a prize” lunch, it actually wasn’t all that bad, Neku decided.