#that's how the modern american musical came about

[toiletpotato]

a series of discussions regarding casting in theatre.

original thread:

further commentary from an East Asian American perspective:

(The rest of the thread can be found here).

(The thread that was quote tweeted within this other thread).

would love to hear your thoughts on the matter! from my own south asian american perspective, I agree. I especially agree about the fact that radical advances made by Black theatre performers benefit other people of color, so other people of color need to side with members of the wider community as a whole, not with that of trying to appease white people. Sucking up to oppressive systems never works, and even if the grift lasts a while, it ultimately harms the community (in politics- with Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy, racism will affect them one way or another). Broadway has had so few South Asian shows (it took until 2021 for Aladdin to have a South Asian Aladdin and Jasmine! This is not good!) and hopefully that changes in coming years. Radical change is needed and it has to be called radical.

[tokoyamisstuff]

Sweet Tooth

Homelander x GN! Reader

Summary: Homelander is a regular customer at your little coffeeshop, visiting anytime he craves something sweet - you, in particular. Warnings: Canon-typical violence, cussing, HL is horny and also a douche Words: 1,575

"Seriously, Y/N? Who the fuck drinks a milkshake at 8am?"

Ah, there he is. You almost got worried because he ran late today.

"What are you, five? Grow the fuck up." That said, the gruff man in front of you pulled out a few loose dollar bills, cheekily slamming them on the counter. "One for me too, please."

You smirk, putting the cup down after slurping it in one go. Ouch, brainfreeze. "Good morning to you too, sunshine."

That's what he likes most about you: Finally someone that can take a fucking joke. People he usually surrounds himself with are either afraid of him, or got a damn stick up their asses.

Communication wasn't really his forte without someone dictating the lines he'd have to say. But with you it came refreshingly easy, that back and forth was so enjoyable that he almost felt human.

"Coming right away" you chant, already busying yourself with the ingredients. "With how often you're ordering this drink, I should name it after you."

Homelander snorts at the well-deserved mockery, unable to keep his mouth shut since you look so adorable when irritated. "As you should, considering I basically fund this place."

"Hey!" you put a warning finger in the air, lighthearted voice earnest now. "I can tolerate a lot, but that's no joking matter."

Okay, the location you were able to afford was neither central nor in a remotely good part of the town. It was so small that there was only space for two tables, and the interior honestly decaying.

But at least it was honest work, and you did the best you could.

"With the new Starbucks across the street I'm basically bancrupt." Oh godfuckingdamnit, he fucked up. Homelander here to unwind, and certainly not to listen to you whining about your insignificant little life.

Maybe Vought should send you a check, though - losing this spot would be annoying.

Initially Homelander came to your café out of sheer coincidence, wanting to calm his nerves after his first encounter with Sister Sage. He took a longer stroll through some shady alleyways, hoping to run into some lowlife to rip apart...

...instead, he found you. A pathetic excuse of business and surely not even remotely close to achieving the American Dream, but whatever.

John had found himself entranced with the cheesy decoration, a desperate attempt to make a place like this feel cozy. He secretly admired people with the ability to make anywhere feel like home.

Well, the menu looked good enough that he decided to treat himself with something sweet as matter of exception - and now it had become part of his daily routine.

Things had just settled like this, with you offering him your sincere company while he'd cryptically vent about anything on his mind.

"Here: For my favourite customer!" you cheered proudly as you presented him the shake. "Made with extra love."

"Secret ingredient, huh? You're just nice to get an extra tip" he tries to hide the insecurity behind a sassy remark, but you instantly parry his claim. "What, why, because you're so generous? Nonsense. You're just lucky you're so cute."

It was no lie, really. John had a rough shell and wore his heart on his tongue, but you appreciated his honesty and the good conversations you shared.

As you were rummaging in the kitchen counter, he couldn't help but notice how you turn down the radio despite continuing to hum the song it was playing. He once told you about having misophonia, and how much he hates modern pop music. You actually listen to him, consider his feelings unlike the imbeciles he's used to.

"Woah, maybe tune it down with the sugar, darling" he thought aloud as you poured yourself a coffe. Damn, he needs to save himself after this one - but the only thing he comes up with sounded more like a backhanded compliment at max. "You're already sweet enough, don't ya think?"

"Charming as always, I see." Your face contorts into a mixture of confusion and amusement at his words, and feeling bold you turn around, giving a provocating slap to your own ass. "As long as the fat goes into the right places."

John bites his bottom lip at the sight of your tight leggings framing your curves too well. Yeah, that'd be a great place to dig his fingers into. Some cushion wouldn't bruise or make you whine if he'd become a little rougher. Shit, his pants feel awfully tight right now.

"You're staring." Seeing him being the flustered one for a change sure was a great feeling, considering that he was very aware of his own good looks. So you decide to get him off the high horse, playfully poking his soft belly. "Also, you're one to talk."

Homelander shifts on the barstool, closing his legs so you wouldn't notice his cock twitching in anticipation at the sudden proximity. God knows how often he had daydreamed about slamming you onto the next best surface and fucking you stupid.

"You really shouldn't be mean to someone that could spit in your drink." He smirks, a predatory glint in his eyes as he leaned forwards until his unfairly handsome face was just inches from yours. "Joke's on you - I'd savour every last drop."

The audacity. You physically fight rolling your eyes at him, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of reacting. "Sometimes I think you're the most obnoxious person in the world, John."

Liar, he thinks to himself.

Nothing is hidden from his abilities, neither your raised bloodpressure nor the scent of the wet spot forming between your legs. He prided himself on that fact. And yet you stand there all taken aback, trying to play coy. Cute.

Well, it wasn't as if you had no interest in him. He's been coming here for weeks and you're still working up the courage to at least give him your number - but he was so incredibly out of your fucking league that you never considered actually going through with it.

Homelander on the other hand decided he had let the opportunity slip for way too long already. Except for both of you the shop was empty as always, and even if it wasn't he wouldn't care. Hell, he'd already imagined what it would be like pounding you naked against the display window to show every passenger who you'd belong to from now on.

"John, I-"

"Shh" he hushed you, his silencing finger lingering on your lips. You pulled away, just to be caught by a firm hand on the back of your neck. "Tell me if I should stop - but we both know what you want me to do to you."

Oh, he's insufferable.

Honestly, you should just slap him and tell him to go fuck himself - but a primal need had already shut down the rational part of your brain. "Damnit John, will you kiss me now or do I need to fuck that shiteating grin out of your face?"

Shit, what's not to love about you?

"Hands up in the air you two shitheads, this is a robbery!"

Un-fucking-believable.

While you immediately went into panic mode, seeing a weapon up close for the first time in your whole life, John nonchalantly leaned against the counter, an aggravated groan escaping his throat. "Dude, worst fucking timing."

"John, don't provoke him-" He threw a hand up in the air, signalizing you to be quiet. "Stay behind and let me handle this, sweetheart."

You nod quietly, John shielding you with his body as you shakily paced behind the counter. A shot was fired and you shrieked at the sound, apparently the criminal wasn't exactly patient or he just didn't like your customer's tone.

"John! God John, are you alri-" Your words got caught in your throat as you saw the shell fall to the ground. Must be the adrenaline clouding your view, but there seemed to be not a scratch on his body. He winks cockily at you before turning around, using the lasers in his eyes to make a quick end to this before you'd involuntarily get caught into the crossfire.

"So, is the drink on the house or what?" The hero jokes unfazed after just having spread literal brain matter on your tiles.

You were still trembling when he squatted in front of your cowering self, reassuringly patting your back. This shit is like second nature to him, and sadly the little empathy he possessed had dulled over time. "I told you to stay down, silly."

As soon as you've calmed down to a certain extend, you pulled your savior's baseball cap from his head, revealing disheveled blonde hair.

"Are you the fucking Homelander?!"

"Can't deny that after what you've just witnessed" he answers truthfully, offering you a hand to get up. "Took you long enough to figure out, though."

Your strained pants turned into hysterical laughter, probably due to the shock. "I-I honestly have no words."

That means he wins today's banter, he jubilates internally. You could've been a little more thrilled about the reveal of his identity, though - but hey, you can show him your gratitude later on.

"Thank you, I guess." You finally release the breath you were holding, tension leaving your body as you collapsed into his arms. Police sirens could already be heard fast approaching. "I- could you please bring me home after the investigation is over?"

"Sure" he tries to hide his excitement, cradling your exhausted self against his chest. "If you don't mind, I'll take you to go."

[cobbbvanth]

the culture impact of glee, for the uninitiated

okay YEAH I'm starting glee discourse in the year of our lord 2024 due to recent events on the gay firefighter show. so for those who don't understand why josh's speech on 911 this week was so important, here's a brief run down of the impact glee had on queer history.

glee, also created by ryan murphy, began airing in 2009 and ran for six seasons before ending in 2015. for all ryan murphy's crimes™, his contribution to queer representation in media has been incredibly influential especially in the early 2000s-2010s. at age nine, kurt hummel from glee and mitch and cam from modern family were the first queer characters I remember encountering. representation of any kind was still so hard to come by on television, let alone stories where queer characters got to have happy endings. in 2009, chris colfer (who played kurt on glee) was one of the youngest openly gay actors in hollywood, being just 19 years old when they started the show. throughout its run, glee introduced several additional queer characters and story lines that dealt with real issues queer people experienced such as being closeted, coming out, homophobia - external and internal.

only 33% of Americans supported same-sex marriage when glee started airing, and "even among millennials — Glee’s target audience — just 51% were in favour at the time."

the support for marriage equality jumped to a record high of 60% as glee was airing it's final episodes. same sex marriage was legalised in the usa in 2015, just months after the final episode of glee aired. a season six episode features a double wedding for a wlw couple and a mlm couple where a lesbian, a bisexual woman and two gay men get to experience a day of joy and celebration surrounded by friends and family, despite having to cross state lines to marry legally. and yes, as stated in the above quote from this article and the speech josh gave on 911 this week, glee had its fair share of problematic moments. plenty of stuff on that show (as is the case with many ryan murphy shows) is not what we'd class as "good representation" today. and it's not perfect yet either. biphobia is still prevalent in bisexual arcs, wlw representation is still far behind mlm representation, and it's hard to convince networks to go for anything that's not cis male queer rep. but it's important to show grace for the media that helped us get to the state of queer representation we do have now. shows like glee have been credited with changing the minds of many of the people who were initially against marriage equality, purely by exposing them to stories about lgbtq+ people and their experiences. and glee was HUGE. one of the biggest shows on television when it was airing - it brought in millions of viewers weekly, hundreds of glee covers climbed the charts, it won awards, the cast sold out national and international tours. we get to have characters like josh and hen and karen and buck and tommy BECAUSE OF shows like glee that came before. so yeah, it wasn't just ryan murphy worship on another ryan murphy show, the pre-glee/post-glee timeline was a "genuine unit of culture measurement" as @autisticjoshrusso put it here.

on a personal level: I watched glee every week as it aired from age 9 to 15. so much of the way that I am today (my sense of humour, my love for performing, my taste in music) is because of this show. I've seen it countless times, but didn't fully realise how much it meant to me as a piece of queer media until I was in my early 20s, so this is a topic I'm very passionate about. I owe ryan murphy my life and I also want to hit him with my car <3 anyway. stream teenage dream (glee cast version)

[thefusioncelestial]

Mix 13: A Geeky Bulk

Anonymous asked:

I am a chubby and hairy American Guy who is a little on the geeky side of life. I love Jamar Pusch's pecs and how he can make them bounce. Could you merge us please?

For the uninitiated, for those going the natural route of being big & cut at the same time comes in two cycles; the bulk and the cut.

The bulk is when the user focuses on gaining mass, and that means an big calorie intake. That means covering that coveted slab of visible muscles; the abs. But while they join the population of bears, the muscles, when paired with exercise, encourages muscle growth with the building blocks just sitting there.

The cut? Think of it as revealing the results. You go in the opposite direction on calorie & fatty intake and bask in the results. Continuous use of this basic method is how the skinny kid becomes the long lost cousin of Captain America.

Here is one dude who does this:

Jamar Pusch.

Worked his butt off to get that look. You would swear that he was sculpted rather than built up.

Unbeknownst to himself, he is the target of that infamous group we call the prowlers. In this case, a father who wants to give was Jamar has to his wimpy son. You would think that with all the money in the world that he could just pay for the best trainers & dieticians, but many wealthy people can be illogical & demanding.

He procured a bottle of red liquid. All he has to do is pour on the target, and have the one who attends to assimilate touch them.

Jamar is finishing a typical photo-shoot, the best result will go on his Instagram, the rest to whoever he dms. The man is looking for love like the rest us.

His shoot has been infiltrated, a couple of payments here & there under the table, and the father and son arrive to the location using the new info. There are other people there admiring the modern day Adonis. The duo poses as fans. The event concludes, and Jamar goes to a trailer he rented for use for a nearby music cultural event, and the duo follows him.

There is a knock on the door. He opens and sees the father & son standing there gleaming. The son has a nervous energy about him, but Jamar pushes this away as a nervous fan. He beckons them into his trailer for a private supervised one on one meet & greet, and they obliged him.

The father was more excited than the son. Maybe the son was just getting introduced to this world to inspire him to workout? How fatherly.

Unknown to all three of them, a third fan was just out of earshot in the area. He saw this as an opportunity, goes to the trailer as well. The door is unlocked. He goes in, but what he sees angers & shocks him.

Jamar sits the pair down and offers them drinks.

They accept.

The father sees this as his chance.

He uncorks the bottle and splashes the contents on Jamar. He turns around to protest, but soon he freezes up like a statue. The only thing he could do is plead & scream in protest.

"I must thank you Mr. Pusch, I appreciate what you are about to do for my son. He is about to go to college, and I find he will have a better time if he can "hang" with the physically gifted type. Tell me, what sports are you into," he asked in a jubilant manner that turned stern.

His son looked nervous. The father glanced over with a frown at his son.

"Hopefully you will give him your confidence too, I tried so hard to instill courage into him, but his mother may have babied him a bit too much. No matter, let's get this over with," he said.

"Charlie, go shake Mr. Pusch's hand," he said.

The young man walked over silently. Jamar tried his best to move but couldn't. He then saw something. Hope.

The silent fan who came over saw all of this in the trailer. His mouth was agape. Was Jamar about to get kidnapped or worse killed? His anger took over. He dropped his phone that he was going to use to get pictures, and ran over to the father.

The shock of an intruder made the father's heart stop and blood freeze. Was he caught by security? The person coming over was a large man after all. By the time he registered to do something else and than wish for laser beam eyes, he was knocked over.

The son too was shocked at this. He moved his hand away from Jamar, and turned to his father.

Truth be told, he didn't want to change like this. He didn't want to steal someone else's body to appease his father or anyone else for that matter. If he was going to change, it was going to be on his terms. What Charlie wanted to do right now was save his father.

He found his courage.

He ran over, and with an adrenaline boost peeled the large man off his father and shoved him away. But he pushed him in the direction of Jamar.

He crashed into Jamar, and it began.

Surprisingly, Jamar didn't fall over or collapse. He just sort of absorbed the impact. For the large fan, it was like jumping into a combination of marshmallow & quicksand. His body sinked further into Jamar until all there was left was just Jamar.

Jamar cocked his head back & began to shift.

Mentally, Jamar was in this fan's head space. He was getting assimilated by him. Jamar & this fan talked it out. Explaining things from their perspective and then uniting under one cause of escaping from these crazy people. Jamar also convinced him to let him drive the wheel. He sensed that whatever was happening was a done deal, and he would be better steered to handle whatever they are about to become. The mind space inverted. They were in Jamar's mind. The fan broke down into confetti and merged into Jamar. It was time to kick some ass.

In flipping the mind merge, Jamar was able to reverse the physical merge process. The fan would upgrade him.

He let out a soft moan. His body began to quiver & shudder.

His skin grew softer as layers of fat grew all over.

"Hmm."

A warmth washed over stomach, each wave an inch of fat covering his abs.

There was rustling in his pants. His rod grew longer and strained against the tight pants. He grunted and then chuckled.

His neck bulged out & his head lengthened.

His facial features shifted, bigger eyes, smaller lips. A slightly more upturned nose. He kept his ears. His hair shortened.

He took on a darker skin tone as well, but soon after hair began to grow throughout his body.

He opened his eyes. The father & son were shocked by what they saw.

The father snapped out and commanded Charlie to touch the fused Jamar, but nothing happened. One pair per dose, and the father used all of it in one go.

He gave the father a beating. He had to change himself and consume someone else because some jack rabbit of a father wanted a shortcut. Security came in after seeing the trailer move a bit, and apprehended the pair.

The father was charged with attempted kidnapping later on.

The son wasn't a total wash and Jamar would mentor the young man.

As for Jamar, his life trajectory changed. The fan that saved him, was a part of him now, imparted some interesting interests. With the connections he built up, Jamar went into acting; doing mo-cap & voice acting for video games, one of which involved a galaxy far far away. He is having a blast too:

In time Jamar would deal with layers on his stomach. He has been here before many times. He just fast tracked a bulk cycle. Time for the cut.

Wait, did that water bottle move by itself?

[ar-cadez]

Count Duckula Fan Rewrite!!

Recently I’ve been working on a Count Duckula rewrite that aims to give it a slightly more serious tone and semi-serialized story like many modern cartoons! It took some time, but I made redesigns of the main cast. I had fun making this project and I REALLY hope you do too! Because I’m extremely nervous that the small fan base Count Duckula does have will hate this

I haven’t actually finished the show btw so if there’s an antagonist or smth that shows up later I should’ve redesigned.. lmk! I’m open to suggestions I really like this show..

—————————————————

Basic Concept

Practically the same as the original show! There is a long line of reincarnations of a wicked vampire duck named Count Duckula, the most recent reincarnation went wrong and now the current Count is a vegetarian and much more interested in becoming famous than being evil.

Some major differences include the tone and story structure, being semi-serialized and having more serious arcs mixed in with the antics, along with a lot of changes in characterization. A big story change is also that Nanny was not hired until AFTER Duckula was reincarnated so Igor was the one who screwed up the ritual.

Tone wise I’d also like to slightly age up the target audience so it could get away with a bit more dark humour. My favourite part of the original show was moments that were just so morbid and completely brushed past. 13+ would be fine methinks.

Basic plot of the average episode would be about the count’s hyperfixation of the week and trying to get famous or profit from it. Not every episode would follow this structure though.

The grander themes of the series would be all about expectations from family and strangers and how those expectations can be completely false.

—————————————————

Characters

^^ Final lineup! ^^

Sketches (less interesting poses but shows off some things better)

Count Duckula!

What I wanted to change

I feel like Duckula from the original spin-off was already a really strong character! There is a lot to him and really all I would want from a more emotional reboot is to dive into what’s already there. I did kinda project on him a bit in this rewrite though… gotta write what’cha know!

I also changed his design quite a bit. I never thought the suit fit his personality and I wanted to go with something a little more bright. If I go back again I might saturate his shirt a bit more. I also wanted all the residents of castle Duckula to have purple in their designs and for duckula and Towser to share similar colour’s inversed

Character Traits

Hatred of his legacy

Duckula is the first member of his lineage to not be an evil vampire and he hates that role that is expected of him. This is partially what drives him to be the nicest duck he can be, in hopes of shaking off his legacy. This also causes him to reject anything that's “spooky” or has to do with vampires. He physically can't eat meat or blood due to his botched resurrection, but even the sight of either distresses him.

Attention Drive

Due to his infamy, all Duckula wants is to be liked by the general public. Everyone in his town is automatically scared of him and he tries really hard to change their opinions on him whether that be through attempting to bea good samaritan or by performing in town. (Both tend to end poorly for him)

ADHD and Theatre Kid Behaviour

Duckula is constantly picking up and putting down new forms of art and performance. This can be anything from oil painting to American football. He does tend to get frustrated or distracted and abandon projects or crafts entirely. His favourite artform is acting and music so as you can imagine he's very into musicals. His musical talents are decent but his acting is awful. He’s also known to loud and overly excited over his interests

Ego and Cowardice

Being given a position of power the day you came into existence does have the tendency to make you… immature to say the least. When in danger, if he even realises there is any, Duckula’s first move is to use his title as leverage. If that doesn't work, his second is to beg, grovel, and lie his way out of the situation. That, or hide behind his much more intimidating companions.

Rich Kid Syndrome

Having the majority of people you know be your house staff really messes with your sense of responsibility. Duckula can hardly do many basic life skills on his own because of this. It's not like he is completely lazy but he does have executive dysfunction and has yet to realise that fact, causing him to procrastinate on many things and completely forget or just get someone else to do it.

Not Naturally kind

Being his father’s reincarnation, it only makes sense that Duckula would inherit many traits from his past lives. Many of the other Counts were ego-driven cowards with desires for fame. They just went about it differently. Duckula actively tries to be kind and polite but a lot of passive aggression and snark slips through the cracks of that veneer. He would never want to admit that he has ANYTHING in common with his ancestors and he hates that being nice doesn't just come naturally to him. Being an immortal, Duckula also has a skewed sense of mortality and often doesn't understand the severity of certain injuries and situations.

This Duckula has ADHD and Autism in this rewrite and he struggles most with executive dysfunction, restricted interests, memory issues, atypical empathy (not specifically low or high), sensory issues (mostly with eating and some sound), and social cues. He also stims.

Towser!

What I Wanted to Change

Towser isn’t even really a character in the original. Just a running gag without a face. I wanted to balance out the main cast by adding another female character since I have feelings on Nanny as a character and i didn’t know if i would even be able to salvage that.

I really like what I came up with! She’s fun to me and I’ll probably flesh her out more later.

Character Traits

Family drive

Towser has little interest in birds that aren't close to her and it usually takes awhile for her to get used to new people. However, she’ll protect those that she does care about with her life. She is the castle’s guard dog and will do whatever’s necessary to protect it. This often comes at the cost of her sleep, because she feels like she always needs to be awake to protect them.

Tag Along

Following Duckula around like a puppy is what Towser does best! She might not fully understand his enthusiasm on certain subjects, but she's always up to backing him up on his newest fame seeking endeavours (though she herself prefers physical activity over creative works). She never expects anything to come of it, but hey, at least it's something to do. She also likes to hear Duckula rant to her about his interests.

Big Sister

Towser is of a much more stable mental state than Duckula, and as his only friend around his age, he trusts her more to be someone to talk to about his identity issues and issues in general. The two are a lot warmer towards each other than they are anyone else, and can also get away with messing with the other a lot more.

Big ol Lap dog

When in werewolf form, Towser tends to forget her size and often crushes them with her size. This usually wouldn't be a problem if it weren't for the fact that she's always a lot more cuddly and energetic in wolf form than bird form. This is because, as a werewolf, she's only in wolf form at night and being a fully nocturnal bird that should only be awake at night, this messes with her sleep rhythm a lot.

Igor!

What I wanted to Change

Personality wise Igor is already really strong and I didn’t change much of that. You’ll probably notice from the sketches that Igor has a skeleton hand, that’s because I made him undead in this version just to give a reason to how he’s been able to live this long since the original doesn’t really have one (which is fine)

Character Traits

Devotion to the role

Igor has been the Count’s butler since the first incarnation. He was assigned to keep the Duckula legacy alive by reincarnating his master every time he meets his fate and helping him readjust every time. Helping each new reincarnation bring misery and fear to the town they reside by with a smile… Until the most recent incarnation of course. He’ll stick it out though, because he still has hope for him.

Taste for the macabre

Whether it be killing innocents behind the back of his new master, decorating the castle with cobwebs and bones, or using his undead nature to scare and torture those around him, Igor certainly has an interesting idea of fun. Igor gets a sick enjoyment out of causing others distress and despises all things kind and cute, something which definitely frustrates Duckula, who's desperately trying to fix his own image.

Bitter Traditionalist

Having lived through the centuries in castle Duckula, Igor has gained an appreciation for the history of the place and the vampire ducks that have resided there over the years. He’s rather invested in the lives of his previous masters and is extremely cross with the newest incarnation for not only not caring about that past, but also completely disowning it. Igor tries desperately to get Duckula to be a normal vampire, truly believing it could work with enough effort. Less he spend the next few centuries with a vegetarian for a master… Igor would not have a problem with Duckula pursuing fame if it weren't for the fact that he thinks it's distracting him from true vampirism.

Tired old man

Igor has lived for many centuries and he does not feel as if he should have to babysit for an immature man child like Duckula. He would rather ignore or snark the young count rather than actually talk to him. When the two argue its a constant back and forth of passive aggression and personal jobs that they almost always forget what they're actually arguing over. Duckula is physically and mentally very young (17-early 20s) compared to Igor’s other masters due to the botched revival and he doesn't know how to, or want to, deal with it.

Nanny!

What I Wanted to Change

I’m sorry to any hardcore Nanny fans out there but this is practically a whole new character. I find Nanny to be frustrating and annoying in the original and who I personally feel is a very sexist and mean spirited character. There’s absolutely nothing I would want to write with a character who’s just “big stupid fat woman inconveniences everyone around her” it’s just uncomfortable after a certain point.

My idea for a new take was just an extremely kind older woman who’s a little airheaded but is a lot smarter than people give her credit for. This sets her up as a foil to Igor. She’s also the only non-monster resident of the castle in this version which I personally think is really interesting.

Character Traits

Only good influence

While Igor actively sets out to make Duckula a bad person and Towser couldn't care less about how Duckula acts, Nanny is the only direct influence in Duckula’s life who pushes him to do better. Nanny believes Duckula is a good person at heart and pushes him to take more responsibility in his life. She wants him to learn a good work ethic and is fully supportive of him trying to better himself.

Good Christian Woman

Nanny is, in fact, a christian. She is fully aware of the demonic nature of her companions but believes that everyone can better themselves no matter their circumstances and attempts to better those around her. Igor hates her for it but she’s totally ignorant to that fact.

Assertive Mother Figure

Though Nanny is a very kind woman, she is also not a pushover. She will assert authority over Duckula and anyone else if necessary, and most are compliant once she puts her foot down, if they aren't, however, Nanny does pack a punch and won't hesitate to use her strength to protect her family.

Smarter than she seems

Nanny is an airheaded optimist with a big heart and those traits make her come off a lot more clueless than she actually is. She may seem like she has no idea what’s going on but she’s actually very observant and is fantastic at assessing a situation and finding the best course of action.

Dr. Von Goosewing

What I Wanted to Change

I really liked the idea of the antagonist to Duckula was in a liniage of vampire slayers and that their ancestors have been fighting for generations. It gave me the perfect set up for a ✨SHADOW ANTAGONIST✨ I wanted to make this rewrite have the two reflect each other a lot more. To do that I wanted Goosewing to still be a really cooky guy but I didn’t want the public to know that.

Also I have no idea why he’s dressed like Sherlock Holmes in the original if he’s a Van Helsing parody and also an inventor. You could’ve leaned into either of those ideas but for some reason he’s dressed like a detective? so I tried giving him a more fitting outfit but keeping his colours for recognisablity.

Character Traits

Playing Village hero

Goosewing is considered a big deal in town because of his family of vampire hunters. He’s prepared his whole life to kill Count Duckula the moment he comes back and to protect the common folk from the paranormal. Despite this, Goosewing isn't actually particularly skilled at his job and usually ends up failing his assassinations due to his own incompetence. He feels like he has to play the role as a hero to continue his family’s legacy despite not particularly enjoying it or being good at it.

Overestimating the enemy

With how cunning and malevolent the past Duckula incarnations were, Goosewing expects the same from this one. Goosewing believes that Duckula is a dangerous and clever foe completely focused on causing others pain. In reality, Duckula is the most incompetent bird in all of Transylvania, aside fromGoosewing himself, of course. Goosewing also comes to believe that Duckula is only acting nice to later betray the public, a belief he is not quiet about and that keeps the public from trusting Duckula.

Mad Scientist

Goosewing definitely falls into the eccentric scientist trope with his innovative but scatterbrained nature. He would much rather be working on an invention than actually doing his job. The public sees him as a hero but while hunting vampires or when hes alone he comes off as more of a mad scientist than the hero character he plays. His intentions are ultimately good but are completely based on the assumption that he’s the wholly good protector of the people and that Duckula is a cunning villain who's out to get him and everyone else.

Shadow

Goosewing and Duckula reflect each other in a lot of ways. They both have a legacy they are expected to uphold despite not wanting to or even being able to, they both care deeply about the public’s opinion on them while the public has an incredibly incorrect view of the both of them, and they both have creative interests outside of the roles expected of them that they'd rather be persuing. Duckula fully rejects anything to do with his ancestry, while Goosewing is actively trying to fulfil despite not enjoying it.

The Murder Brothers!

What I Wanted to Change

Haha I called them the murder brothers bc they’re crows and criminals Im actually so funny… anyway. I don’t know if I should’ve even done these guys but I really like them as antagonists so!!

I gave the younger two names and a personality. The wiki said they didn’t have names but if they do lmk and I’ll just fix that. Other than that I didn’t change much except try to give ‘em a bit more depth and changing their physical designs a ton for fun.

Character Traits

The Murder Brothers, as a whole, are a tight knit family of con men crows who pull any grift they can to get their hands on some cash. Though they may act like their only loyalty in life is to money, they do genuinely care about each other's well being

Ruffles

Ruffles is the short tempered and eldest leader of the group. He’s constantly frustrated with his brothers’ incompetence and isn't quiet about it. He believes that if it weren't for them he'd probably be a lot further in life by now (which isn't true) and he’ll say he doesn't care about them, but he actually does.

Burt

If he didn't insist on helping his brothers, Burt would be the most likely to be living an honest life. As the second oldest sibling, Burt holds a position as right hand man. He’s a naturally kind and enthusiastic bird who, while a bit dumb, does openly express his love for his brothers. He takes on a lot of the abuse from his older brother and is often used by the group to talk to others, because he's so naturally trustworthy.

Reggie

Reggie is the second youngest of the brothers and the most relaxed out of all of them. He has an impeccable sleight of hand and is the go to for lockpicking and such. He’s a decent smooth talker and is often the one to break up fights, though he's not above getting angry at the others himself.

Leroy

Leroy is the youngest of the brothers and by far the least skilled. His speech is incomprehensible from under his mask (although he can see through it for the most part) and he’s often left with the worst jobs during their cons because of that. He’s the most timid out of all of them but I’m sure if you took that mask off of him he’d be really talkative.

—————————————————

Ending Words

Well that’s all I got! I spent way too long on this project that maybe two people will care about and one of them is me 💔 Anyway if I make anything else for this rewrite/au I’ll tag it with #wbcd . I wouldn’t count on it because I mighttt get burn out from this but im just so glad I finished it! I’ve thought about writing a pilot script just for fun but idk. I’d like to do more long format au stuff, I was going to make a YouTube video about this but I almost cried trying to record myself so I gave up 💔

[immaculatemadonna23]

It's Innocence's birthday and I really didn't have the slightest idea what to draw for her. I've always considered myself more of a writer type but maybe a little fic or two here on tumblr wouldn't hurt. So to accompany this simple post I'll give you some little facts about her <3

• She is 1:45 tall, she could be said to be 4'9, she is shorter than Ivy Pepper.

•  She likes to have long conversations with the pigeons that perch on her window in her small room.

•  She has undiagnosed Asperger's, at that time there was still no name for autism spectrum disorder grade one. (That's one of the few things she got from me.)

•  It is obvious that she is Catholic, she would probably get along a bit with Nina. There was a time when she thought about becoming a novice but the world of American shows caught her attention more.

•She is asexual but she wants her own baby.

•  Her father's real name is Antonio Lunanova (I changed the origin of the surname a little) a Spanish man of Sicilian descent, albino, cigar fanatic and captain of merchant ships. He does not know that he has a daughter but he suspects that paying for Keiko's services without protection could have had its consequences.

• If she were a modern girl, she would have a fixation on the magical girl genre Mahou Shoujo and shoujo in general.

• She came to America in October 1923, met Rocky at a train station when she was 14 and he was 17, becoming traveling and wandering companions. This being an Au, things change a little but most everything stays the same.

• As we know, she has feelings for Rocky since she met him but he doesn't see her as anything more than a little sister or someone who gives him the closest thing to "motherly concern" and "having Calvin around." He doesn't really notice her until 1927 when she is about to turn 19, but he has always appreciated her.

• She has a very good relationship with Viktor, she likes to ask him for favors and she thinks she bothers him a lot but he doesn't really care, he doesn't find her scandalous.

•She has a collection of not so ugly sweaters and cardigans that Mrs. Bapka makes for her, in exchange for living with her for free she does the housework for her and prevents her from throwing food in the pipe.

• She doesn't have a good knowledge of the underworld, to her Rocky is just a musician in a cafe, Calvin is the guy who comes to fix the pipe, Ivy is that archetype of girI she would like to be and Viktor is her kind tall neighbor with a cool accent. Her first contact with the criminal world as such is having been hired by Asa to do small singing shows at the Marigold Room because of how exotic she seemed to him, they have a good relationship, but she doesn't really know much about him. Maybe i can dig deeper into that later.

• If she were a dog (Lackadogs xD) she would be a toy poodle, and if she were another non-domestic animal she would be a lamb. I like to lower her ears a lot because it reminds me of little lambs.

• Her favorite series would probably be Wallace and Gromit.

•And Her favorite tale of all the time is the Little Mermaid by Andersen.

•She adores the people with black and blonde hair.

•She would have loved Malice Mizer, Mecano, Metallica, Madonna, Melanie Martínez, Mitski and My Chemical Romance (And more things but without M Caravan Palace... The musical tastes are mine too).

•I could say that the flower that most symbolizes her is the white poinsettia.

•Her voice/singing claim Is Adriana Caselotti in the Snow White movie and in spanish is Amparo Garrido and Lupita Pérez Arias for her singing claim. (from the 1964 mexican dub of Snow White of course.)

[bobbin-buckley]

Jinx and Isha Headcanons

Older Sister Jinx x Little Sister Isha

Summary: Headcanons and short oneshots of what they could have been

Warnings: Platonic Jinx x Isha ofc, Mentions of violence, No Reader in this, basically if Jayce wasn’t a dumbass, Arcane 2 Spoilers, some of my own thoughts

✫彡~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ミ★

-Ever since Isha had fell on top of Jinx, they both found something in each other that made them see a different picture in life

-Isha was like Powder to Jinx. The little version of herself that supposedly fell down a well.

-Jinx didn’t understand why the younger girl decided to follow her around. Was it because she was her fan like other Zaunties? Was she looking for remorse? Or did the young girl find a motherly or sisterly figure in Jinx

-Isha probably had some kind of guardian or parental figure before but they may have died, so when Isha saw Jinx she looked up to her as a guardian or parental figure of sorts

-Jinx would have put up barriers in her room to make sure Isha wouldn’t fall

-Isha draws on Jinx’s face when she sleeps, and they both do this to Sevika when she sleeps

-Making up fun games to play or being artsy together

-Jinx teaching Isha how to make guns and bombs, but also keeping a close eye on her

-Playing hide and seek and tag def

-^^Convincing Sevika to play with them

-They’d both love slime and playing Minecraft together in modern au

-Both would definitely prank Pilties

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, so, this is mainly going to be my opinions that me and @jybyls have came up with and talked together about that Isha is probably deaf or nerve deaf.

For a bit I thought maybe she was mute but with more hints in the show of her being deaf I think I’m leaning more towards her being deaf

Yes she screams a few times in the show but Mute people are either unable to speak or they choose not to speak.

But I’m my opinion I think she’s deaf, and I’ll explain why

After Jinx dyes Isha’s hair blue, and is talking to her about her being similar to younger Jinx (Powder) and what not. Isha isn’t replying or reacting to Jinx’s words because her back is faced to Jinx and isn’t lip reading or hearing her

Also, a couple of times you can see Isha looking at peoples lips when they are talking, a good example is when Jinx and Isha first meet

Now, I’ve seen where someone has said she could also be nerve deaf. Nerve deaf is when someone is barely able to hear, a nerve deaf person can only hear super loud or close sounds but not quiet or far sounds.

I think this because when Sevika gets her knee arm and the music plays, Jinx is doing a little dance and you can see Isha looking at her kinda confused. Well it’s because Isha can’t hear the music because Sevika is a bit far from them (credits to rexx____9 on TikTok for this theory)

Also another one is when Vi is talking to Jinx and Victor about (idk) and Isha doesn’t react to any of it BECAUSE VI’S BACK IS TO HER

Annnnnnd thanks to @jybyls for this, she found that Isha did a little bit of sign language to Jinx when they were playing their little bug game:

This means ‘rematch’ in American Sign Language

I’m not saying this is canon for anything but I like to think that Isha is deaf or nerve deaf

These are some headcanons and opinions for now but I can make more!

[carriesthewind]

copyright hurts me as an indigenous person because dead white people own the likenesses of my ancestors faces in photos. they own the little history of ours that is written down in old books and newspapers, i cannot access for copyright reasons. they came and captured our faces for "science", for their own personal interest and now we are owned after death

I'm sorry.

I don't know much about this this issue, but here are a few links for people who might like to know more (leaning heavily on legal sources and focusing mostly on the U.S. - other people please feel free to add more links and information).

One recent example of white people copyrighting and selling language back to Lakota peoples that received a fair amount of news coverage:

A 1996 paper about Native American's potential right (and lack of rights) to request or demand the return of photographs held by museums:

An ABA article from this year that discusses in broad terms the lack of protection for Native American culture and traditional knowledge in the U.S.'s current intellectual property system, and the need for such protection:

An article about the 2018 Music Modernization Act could affect recordings of Native American songs, stories, and languages, that includes a broader critique of the fundamental assumptions of U.S. copyright law:

A similar discussion out of Canada:

Which links to another horrifying story of theft stories, history, and language, and details how the law made such a theft possible:

And a recent law review article proposing a path to increase protection for Indigenous works under current law, which isn't quite on point but contains some interesting discussion of the legal landscape and potential practical suggestions (although I am skeptical as to how likely or effective they could be):

[ironwoman359]

i saw your tag about how in 500 years we WON'T be calling britney spears' "toxic" classical music, and i am willing and able to hear this rant if you so wish to expand upon it :3c

You know what, it's been over six months, so sure, why not, let's pick today to have this rant/lesson!

To establish my credentials for those unfamiliar Hi my name's Taylor I was a music teacher up until last year when the crushing realities of the American Education SystemTM led me to quit classroom work and become a library clerk instead. But said music teaching means that I have 4+ years of professional classical training in performance and education, and while I'm by no means a historian, I know my way around the history of (european) music.

So, now that you know that I'm not just some rando, but a musical rando, let me tell you why we won't be calling Britney Spears or [insert modern musician(s) that'd be especially humorous to today's audience to call classical] "classical music."

The simple answer is that "Old music =/= Classical music," which is usually the joke being made when you see this joke in the first place.

As funny as this joke can be when executed well (this is one of my favorite versions of said joke, especially since this is a future world where there's very little accurate surviving info about the culture from the 21st century), there is VERY little likely of this actually being how music from today is referred to in the future, because, again, music being OLD does not automatically make music CLASSICAL.

If you'd indulge me a moment, have a look at these three pieces from the early 1900s, which is now over 100 years ago. That's pretty old! You don't have to listen to the whole of all of them if you don't want to, but give each around 30 seconds or so of listening.

All three pieces are over 100 years old, but would you call "In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree" classical? Or "The Entertainer?" Most likely not. You'd probably call these songs "old timey" and you may even be savvy enough to call "The Entertainer" by it's actual genre name, ragtime. But if either of these songs came on the radio, you wouldn't really call them classical, would you? They're just old.

Whereas Mahler's Symphony No. 5, now that sounds like classical music to you, doesn't it? It's got trumpets, violins, a conductor, it's being played by a philharmonic! That's a classical musicy word!

The short answer of why we in the real, nonfictional world won't be calling Britney Spears's "Toxic" classical music in 100 years is it simply doesn't sound like classical music.

.....and the long answer is that Mahler's Symphony No. 5 isn't actually classical either.

See, music, just like everything in culture from dress to art to architecture changed with the times, and therefore 'classical music' is technically (although not colloquially) only one of about four to five musical periods/styles you're likely to hear on one of those "classical music tunes to study to" playlists.

Our dear friend Mahler up there was not a classical composer, he was a composer of the late romantic era.

So now, because I have you hostage in my post (just kidding please don't scroll away I had a lot of fun writing this but it took me nearly 3 hours) I'm going to show you the difference between Classical music and the other musical eras.

These are the movements we'll be dealing with, along with the general dates that define them (remembering of course that history is complicated and the Baroque Period didn't magically begin on January 1st, 1600, or end the moment Bach died) :

The Baroque Period (1600-1750)

The Classical Period (1750-1820)

The Romantic Period (1820-1910)

The Impressionist Movement (1890-1920)

You'll notice that as time goes on, the periods themselves grow shorter, and there starts to become some overlap in the late 19th to early 20th century. The world was moving faster, changing faster, and music and art began changing faster as well. Around the beginning of the 20th century music historians quit assigning One Major style to an entire era of history and just started studying those movements themselves, especially since around the 20th century we were getting much more experimentation and unique ideas being explored in the mainstream.

Even the end of the classical to the beginning of the romantic period can get kind of fuzzy, with Beethoven, arguably one of the most famous classical (and yes he was actually classical) composers in history toeing the line between classical and romantic in his later years. The final movement of his 9th symphony, known as Ode to Joy, far more resembles a romantic work than a classical one.

But, I'm getting ahead of myself.

To oversimplify somewhat, here are the main characteristics of said movements:

The Baroque Period (1600-1750)

Music was very technical and heavily ornamented. This coincided with a very "fancy" style of dress and decoration (the rococo style became popular towards the latter half of this period). The orchestras were far smaller than we are used to seeing in concert halls today, and many instruments we consider essential would not have been present, such as the french horn, a substantial percussion section, or even the piano*. Notable composers include Vivaldi (of the Four Seasons fame), Handel (of the Messiah fame) and Bach:

*the piano as we know it today, initially called the pianoforte due to its ability to play both softly (piano) and loudly (forte) in contrast to the harpsichord, which could only play at one dynamic level, was actually invented around 1700, but didn't initially gain popularity until much later. This Bach Concerto would have traditionally been played on a harpsichord rather than a piano, but the piano really does have such a far greater expressive ability that unless a group is going for Historical Accuracy, you'll usually see a piano used in performances of baroque work today.

The Classical Period (1750-1820)

In the classical period, music became more "ordered," not just metaphorically but literally. The music was carefully structured, phrases balanced evenly in a sort of call and response manner. Think of twinkle twinkle little star's extremely balanced phrasing, itself a tune that Mozart took and applied 12 classical variations to, cementing it in popularity. And speaking of twinkle twinkle, memorable melody became more important to the composition than ornamentation, and many of our most universally known melodies in the west come from this period. The orchestra also grew bigger, adding more players of all kinds as now we didn't have to worry about overpowering the single-volume harpsichord, and additional instruments like more brass and woodwinds were added. Notable composers include Haydn (of The Surprise Symphony fame) Beethoven (of, well, Fame), and Mozart:

Pay attention to the size of the orchestra here, then go back to the Bach concerto. Notice how in that very typical Baroque setting, the orchestra sits at maybe 20 people, and that here in a Classical setting, there's nearly two times that!

The Romantic Period (1820-1910)

In the romantic period, it was all about BIG FEELINGS, MAN. It was about the DRAMA. Orchestras got even bigger than before, the music focused less on balance and became more dramatic, and there was a big focus on emotions, individualism, and nationalism. Discerning listeners will notice a lot of similarities between romantic symphonies and modern film scores; John Williams in particular is very clearly influenced by this era, any time I'd play the famous Ride of the Valkyries by Wagner in a class, the kids would remark that it sounds like it should be in Star Wars. A lot of romantic composers were German, including Beethoven, if you want to call his later works romantic (which I and many others argue you can, again, compare Ode to Joy to one of his earlier works and you can hear and see the difference), but you also have the Hungarian Liszt (of the Hungarian Rhapsodies fame), the Russian Tchaikovsky (of the Nutcracker and 1812 Overture fame), and the Czech Dvořák:

See how this orchestra is even bigger still? Modern orchestras tend to vary in size depending on what pieces they are playing, but the standard is much closer to this large, romantic size, and it's far less typical to see a small, intimate Baroque setting unless specifically attending a Baroque focused concert. Also I know I embedded Dvořák because Symphony From a New World slaps but please also listen to Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No.2 it's one of my all time favorite pieces and NOT just because of the Tom and Jerry cartoon, alright? Alright.

The Impressionist Movement (1890-1920)

A bit after it began but definitely still during the romantic period, a counter movement began in France that turned away from the emotional excess of romanticism and focused less on standard chord progression and explored more unconventional scales. This music was less worried about how it 'should' sound and was more concerned with evoking a certain emotion or image, giving you an "impression" of an idea. Debussy is by far the most well known name in this movement, even though he personally hated the term 'impressionism,' lol.

Notice the way the periods build on each other naturally, literally, physically builds on the orchestras that came before, evolving in style and structure until you get to the late 19th and early 20th century when things were built up so big that a response to that excess started to develop, first in the impressionist movement, and then into 20th century music in general, which got much more experimental and, as we say, "weird." (frickin 12 tone scales, man)* *i do not actually dislike the sound of 12 tone, it's interesting and unique, but it is HELL to analyze in music theory, which is unfortunately when a lot of us classical musicians are first introduced to it, therefore tarnishing our relationship to the genre as we cannot separate it from our own undergrad anguish

Even if you're not a super active listener and you have a harder time discerning the difference between, say, late baroque and early classical, you cannot deny that the first piece I've linked by Bach and the last piece I've linked by Debussy sound completely different. They're both orchestral pieces (I intentionally chose all orchestral pieces as my examples here, getting into solo works, opera, and chamber ensembles would take too long), but other than that, they couldn't be more different.

Wait, so what are we talking about again?

Classical Music is first a period of music, a specific artistic movement with music typically written in Europe between 1750 and 1820 with a specific sound that is distinct from these other styles I've outlined here.

And Classical Music is second a genre. Because while academically and historically Baroque music is not classical, and Romantic music is not classical...colloquially it is. They sound similar enough that it makes sense to put them on the same playlists, the same radio stations, the same 'beats to study to' youtube compilation videos. While individuals may have favorites and preferences, it's not far fetched to say that if you like listening to one of these styles, you'll at least like one of the others.

But whether you're being broad and referring to our modern idea of the classical genre, or you're being pedantic like me and referring to a specific period of musical history (or modern compositions emulating that style, because yeah, modern compositions of all of theses styles do exist), I think we can all agree that, as much as it slaps, "Toxic" by Britney Spears is not classical music, and 500 years is unlikely to change our perspective of that.

A Traditional Ballad though?

Yeah, I can see us calling it that in 5 billion years.

(the full version of this scene is age restricted for some reason, but you can watch it here)

Anyway, thanks for reading y'all, have a good one!

[jolieblack]

Jolie’s thoughts on

The Dancing Men (Sherlock & Co. podcast)

OK, deep breath.

What a ride.

There’s a reason why I’m so late putting my thoughts into words this time round. This case really hit different, at least the final 15 minutes did.

Let’s talk about the earlier four fifths first… Lots of great moments as usual!

John getting into another tussle with London water fowl. "Get a life!" Who needs to get a life, we wonder fondly.

"I bring soup, glorious soup!" - So sweet! Even sweeter with the reversal at the end.

"Never mind Sherlock, his best mate is that bloody microphone." - Not the most hilarious punchline ever, Stamo, but what I love most about this comment is how John doesn’t find it funny at all.

John being a tech nerd with the audio editing of the cryptic message! Pop culture knowledge and tech nerdery doing what Sherlock Holmes couldn’t. Wa-hoo!

Another highlight: The Stamfords singing for fun (and John ruining it by insisting on singing along). And *then* the Stamfords becoming absolutely instrumental in making the final musical puzzle! (Not that they couldn’t just have used a regular recording for their trap, like Abe did for his message to Elsie, but then where would have been the fun. I’m surprised that Sherlock can’t hold a tune, btw. I’m even more surprised that he was trying to sing for an audience.) But the whole music puzzle theme was lovely altogether. Very clever, very creative. "The Police! It’s The Police!" 😂

Not entirely sure what to think of the NYPD behaving like a third rate action drama NYPD… but yeah, we got the message. And I guess it was also a necessary preparatory scene for the end of Part 3. I mean, there’s actually no way in hell that the London police would set a trap for a murder suspect pretty much with the main objective of killing him right away, rather than arresting him. There’s also no way in hell that the London police would shoot at two nerds running around in their crime scene just like that. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

I was left wondering after Part 1 what the significance of the Lost Rivers of London was going to be. That mention and the explanation seemed just too random to be random. And then it came back in part 2… And then I turned out to be right. Yay!

Poor harassed Inspector Martin is a whole mood. 😆

And then - tadah - we finally find out about "Lestrade"! 🥳 Didn’t I say she was the character I was most interested in meeting? Love "Gwen", which I’m taking as a nod to "Greg", my personal favourite Lestrade of all time. Also, good choice to make her a very high ranking officer, to explain why it’s OK for the police to cooperate with an irregular freelancer like Sherlock (a major headache in any modern adaptation).

"A lot has changed in those 8 seconds" - This is just bound to be another absolute classic in our fandom.

John playing a BBC presenter! Dream on. And boo John for not acknowledging how absolutely correct Sherlock’s comment about war never being "other news" was. I love that they got to officially hijack the actual BBC for their stunt though.

John getting a too-tight bullet proof vest and making a new friend. 😝 Seriously Sherlock, your status was never in question here.

"Don’t stereotype Americans!" - "He’s from Chicago, for God’s sake!" - Love how John just never takes his own advice.

And THEN…

I have so many questions. Sherlock and John should have so many questions, too, for themselves and for each other.

I would like to know what John thinks it is that makes him run after Sherlock into situations so frightening and dangerous that he literally wets himself. That really is no joke.

I would also like to know why these two are convinced that they’re fine going after an armed, mentally unstable killer on their own, especially when a police team armed to the teeth is standing ready just around the corner. Is an unhealthy adrenaline addiction a necessary prerequisite of being Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson, and if yes, will we see (hear, I mean) them actually talk about it, reflect on it, deal with it? Nobody forced them to confront Abe with zero backup like that. Are they just OK with it?

Yeah, like all of you, I forgot about the bullet-proof vest, too. Not that I could tell, in audio format, that John *didn’t* get shot in the head or in the leg or in any other place that might as well be fatal…

The way Sherlock says "please" kills me.

As does the way he goes back and forth between "John" and "Watson" in this scene, depending on whether he’s being coolly calculating or horribly worked up emotionally.

Is John actually telling Sherlock to shoot Abe before Abe shoots them (again), when Sherlock is about to drop the gun? Our Jonk, who hates gun violence and who keeps telling Sherlock that he can’t just shoot people, even if they’re very bad people?

I won’t be shouting and screaming and yelling about Sherlock completely losing the plot and taunting and abusing a dying man (a certified mentally ill man, too) and - according to the official transcript - actually strangling him, too, because we’ve been doing nothing else for a week now. But I want this addressed, too. I want this to be reflected on by the characters. I want them to figure it out live on audio where that came from and what it means. If I was John I’d be effing *scared* of my flatmate after this, even if he called me his best friend in the same breath.

A lot of us are seeing the parallel to the showdown of the first episode of BBC Sherlock, of course, and what Sherlock does to the dying bad guy in that scene… and I think it’s legit to wonder what this parallel means for the podcast. Especially since it has no equivalent in ACD canon. ACD’s Holmes does taunt bad guys sometimes after they’re defeated, but only ever verbally, and not when they’re physically hurting, let alone dying. And he sometimes lets fate run its course, rather than stepping in and saving a bad guy from the consequences of his own actions (like Baron Gruner, or Charles Augustus Milverton), but that’s only *allowing* bad things to happen, not actively inflicting physical and/or emotional pain on an already suffering/dying villain with his own words or hands. BBC Sherlock could plausibly do it because that was still the Sherlock without John, the Sherlock before John, the Sherlock that eventually got changed for the better by John’s positive influence. Here in the podcast, Sherlock has been sharing his life with John for months already and he’s *still* doing this? I find that disquieting, to say the least.

I guess what I want most from this episode is CONSEQUENCES. And I’m worried that we’ll just not get any. Starting with John needing at least one broken rib after being hit by a bullet at such close range, if not several. But more importantly, consequences in terms of "what the fuck did we do there and let’s count in how many ways it wasn’t OK". I mean, seriously, our boys are in for YEARS of therapy now.

I am so curious to find out just how badly that will all be glossed over in the upcoming episodes. I mean, I know this is fiction. I know the Podlock Universe is a place where you can be back making music within a day or two of shooting yourself in the head and being in a coma. But I don’t want realism for the sake of realism, I want it for the sake of the characters' journeys and their relationship.

I also want to know how on earth Joel is planning to top this one once he gets to the Three Garridebs.

[punk1nl0v333]

★☆about me☆★

a little bit about me, because why not <3

DISCLAIMER: if you know me IRL…. get outta here (unless ur matthew or ashton)

the name is charlie. pronouns are any i guess. i am genderfluid and bisexual. scenemo? a wee bit goth? I AM A MINOR.

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leo sun, leo moon, taurus rising. august 19th. spiritual and pagan, respect all religions.

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some of my amazing mutuals: @hoe4kai @hearts4golbach @sparky4577 @bornandraisediniowa @teapartyprincess4two

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music ~ HER’s, radiohead, weezer, the smiths, the smashing pumpkins, DOGBRETH, nuclear tourism, meth wax, tv girl, sex drive culdesac, frank ocean, childish gambino, kendrick lamar, the beatles, sufjan stevens, mitski, panic! at the disco, pierce the veil (seen live!), blink-182 (seen live!), highschool, the cure, my chemical romance, sleeping with sirens, pigeon pit, peach pit, slipknot, korn, system of a down, strawberry alarm clock, michael cera, we the kings, fleetwood mac, avenged sevenfold, anti-flag, teen idles, chief keef, chase atlantic, michael jackson, billy joel, tears for fears, millionares, siouxsie and the banshees, molchat doma, she wants revenge, bauhaus, tokio hotel, and more tbh

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movies ~ call me by your name, dead poets society, la la land, mean girls, princess and the frog, adult world, megamind, the lorax, the perks of being a wallflower, paper towns, TASM, ITSV/ATSV, deadpool 1&2, coraline, paranorman, hocus pocus, beetlejuice, boxtrolls, kubo and the two strings, the red turtle, scream, then came you (2018), senseless, SLC punk, tangled, my little pony equestria girls/rainbow rocks/friendship games/legend of everfree, big time movie, ferris bueler’s day off, heathers, bill and ted’s excellent adventure, say anything, the proposal

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tv shows ~ american horror story, community, how i met your mother, big bang theory, school spirits, new girl, rick and morty, brooklyn 99, modern family, AHS. (but i already mentioned that), adventure time, sugar rush (can’t lie it slaps), schitts creek

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books ~ the perks of being a wallflower, the bell jar, paper towns, the obsession, want to go private?, girl stolen, gone girl, call me by your name, to kill a mockingbird, the tempest, catcher in the rye, around the world in 80 days, percy jackson series

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youtubers ~ danny gonzalez, drew gooden, kurtis conner, dylan is in trouble, the sturniolo triplets, filmcooper, sam and colby, jake webber, johnnie guilbert, bobbybroccoli, larray, quen blackwell, carrington

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people i will write about ~ evan peters (and his characters), sam golbach, colby brock, carrington bornstein, jake webber, johnnie guilbert, tyler/hansumfella, milo manheim (and his characters), percy jackson (book/logan lerman version), charlie kelmeckis, matt/chris sturniolo, nick sturniolo (strictly platonic), tara yummy, and others if they come up

❝ rules and boundaries ❞

¡ rules and boundaries for my writing and recommendations !

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any creators that have specified boundaries about fanfiction will not be included, and please inform me if they have specified and i’ve written about them, and it will be taken down immediately.

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do not repost my work onto other websites, such as wattpad or ao3. do not “take inspiration” from my work without permission and without tagging me, it is all original unless stated otherwise (permitted inspiration or request will always be tagged). if you want to translate my work, ask for permission first and keep it on tumblr, and credit.

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im not comfortable writing mlm, or trans!fem reader, as an afab person i don’t think i can get the proper perspective and it doesn’t feel like my place to write that. gn!reader and fem!reader are always the table, however

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if a character is underage, i will not write anything but platonic/sibling type fics. the ONLY exception from this rule is tate langdon, considering the murky ghost/age rules.

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I AM A MINOR. i don’t mind adults interacting, but please please do not be creepy.

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i will add onto this if anything comes up and i hope you enjoy my future work :)

love always,

charlie.

[hallowgracie]

Americana in High Fantasy

As apparently this is the project that is gearing up to take over next when To Sail on Seas of Sky wraps up, I've been thinking more about House of Apocalypse lately and its setting.

House of Apocalypse is a high fantasy project taking place in another world that is inspired by California in the 1970s. How I came to this idea was kind of an interesting one.

There have been a lot of discussions lately about how fantasy--especially high fantasy--is very much locked in medieval Europe, maybe venturing as far forward as the Edwardian era if anything. While there have been attempts to include other traditions and continents, I realized that for all that a lot of Americans such as myself write fantasy, we don't often write fantasy about our country.

This is an idea that has intrigued me for a long time. One of my abandoned projects, Sorcerers of the Iron Circle (later the Divine Legacy) was initially a take on this, taking Regency-era fantasy and putting it across the pond to the Federalist era in a fantasy country inspired by America. To Sail on Seas of Sky also has this element, being inspired by the New World era piracy and how certain elements of piracy and pirate culture eventually fed into American ideals of democracy and self-sufficiency.

Because while Europe has its divine right of kings, China has the Mandate of Heaven, we in America have our cultural myths surrounding democracy and the American Dream.

There has been a lot of discourse and disillusionment with the ideas in modern American culture, and for good reason. But as someone who was once a little girl who played with American Girl dolls, I still cannot help but hold a fascination for our cultural myths.

We tell a story of young revolutionaries who were creating a brand new system, one that allows the people to decide (while avoiding the question of which people) and a more fair and equal system than the divine right of kings (again, debatable in real life). We tell stories of people who forged new lives out of terrible circumstances, of people coming to America for new lives and finding it, a found family of sorts.

Hamilton as a stage musical does a really good job at exploring the cultural myths and pathos surrounding our Founding Fathers and the Revolutionary War. These ideas are really powerful, and I think they should be explored in a high fantasy setting.

We enjoy seeing the cultural myth of the good king taking the throne and revitalizing the land--why not enjoy the cultural myth of young men from differing circumstances and homelands of birth changing the world to create a more fair system and marking their place in history?

I love American history, and while my country does not always do me proud, I find a lot of intrigue in our stories and cultural values and myths. Hence why I want to explore them as a fantasy writer and make some fantasy worlds inspired by America.

[punkishtoxtricity]

hi hi! what are some of your tigerbear and sweet tooth in general headcanons?

(they have fully and officially infested my brain, yay!!)

i was actually just about to type these out so this ask is well timed

-Tiger is very big on 2000s emo. she LOVES paramore. Bear is the one who helped dye their hair orange(after hayley williams duh)

-Tiger is also very big on classic punk and riot grrl(i’m not projecting i swear) because it was very much the easiest music to get a hold of after the crumble (in the early day of the army them and Bear would go out to rob cd stores and she’d always steal a couple cds)

-Bear is very big on folk music. she’s also a classic emo girly. she LOVES american football and modern baseball.

-after long days they listen to music together and just kinda lay in their room. the other army members find it curious how they’re really the only ones to share a room

-Tiger first dyed their hair when she was 10. Bear helped her. the dye job was very shoddy but they loved it

-Tiger is nonbinary! they sort of came out as a kid when she first met Bear but later down the line they finally had a word for it so she explained it better. Tiger was her original chosen name(might give her a diff one in the fic later on idk)

-Bear has a very weird relationship with gender. i think she’s genderqueer but basically the “i’m nonbinary but i have a job rn so idrc)

-they’re both butch lesbians. i don’t make the rules

-Bears love language is secretly touch. she pretends it’s acts of service but Tiger knows better and tries to make a decent amount of physical contact with her

-Tigers love language is quality time. they enjoy extended periods of time with Bear but are very much too anxious to ask her to hang out more after the crush manifests

-a lot of Tigers anxiety manifests itself as anger. that’s why she’s like that in season 1.

-in the time they spent witj the hybrids while waiting for everyone to come back from alaska, Finn quickly became her favorite. they’re both a bit mischievous and she sees herself in him

-Wendy finds Tiger and Bears dancing around the idea of a relationship amusing. i think there’d be a point where her and Bear are just sitting on the porch and she’s like “i’d be fine with having a sibling in law y’know”

-i also think she’d have a talk with Tiger and be like “i think you’re good for her and you’ve got history. you helped her find me so you’re alright”

-Tiger is surprised by the accusation of crushing on Bear(she’s not)

-all of the hybrids LOVE Tiger. she does teach all of them the best swears. at some point they get back to the army headquarters and gets her computer back, once they research swears in sign all hell breaks lose

-the wolf boys visit regularly. they eventually learn very basic english but they can’t articulate well so they stick to sign

-the wolf boys are also very sweet with the rest of the hybrids! they especially love Finn since they’re all canines

-i feel like all the hybrids are bi. like how some animals are naturally just bi. i think that’s how they are

-the games they play can get personal. if someone beats someone else in one game you can bet your ass they’re getting back in the next game

ok that’s all i have for now

[valkyrieandstrangeridingaragorn]

Remember the VFX artists when they came out a couple years ago or so to complain about their working conditions? They mentioned just that. The executives ruining any creative decision by showing up with their stupid ideas of what the audience wants - except those ideas are always a rehash of the same thing that has already been done a million times before.

Those execs are the problem because they're so amazingly disconnected from what the people truly want or find interesting, but they're too arrogant to see it. They're the ones who love going around saying modern music is shit and the young kids only want explosions and sex scenes, then they go all Pikachu face when their movies don't work.

And part of that is these Hollywood big fish can't be arsed to watch or concern themselves with anything that is not American-made.

But it's easier to blame the audience when a movie doesn't work. That's how you get RDJ as Doom and the Russos coming back. They always think whatever worked in the past will work again, but instead of trying to understand WHY it worked in the first place, they just keep repeating the same thing over and over hoping to hit the jackpot once more.

[freedelusionshere]

Now let’s do similarities between some of the themes of The Bear and Twin Peaks and other things from the 90s.

Mikey the “life of the party” was everyone’s best friend like Laura Palmer but was harboring dark secrets.

Generational abuse and mental illness “haunting” families is a frequent topic with characters like Laura and Audrey Horne wanting to run away from home/escape. Many of the young characters in the show feel this way.

A dark underbelly present under the veneer of All-Americanism and a very present class structure that is hinted to be driven by capitalism and colonialism with the lumber mill (run by a matriarch) and the Black Lodge (being stuck/dopplegangers and alter egos - Logan, Claire, the walk-in, “prisons of your own design”, etc.).

Wealthy family members involved in illicit activities who are looked at as benefactors and respectable citizens of the town but really pull the strings like Ben Horne (Cicero).

The Log Lady who seems absurd on the surface but appears periodically to drop truths like an oracle (Faks).

The absurdist humor/tragicomedy, because Twin Peaks in the 90s was a satire of soap operas, but talking about lots of other things. Similarly The Bear could be viewed as a satire, which was hinted in S3 (fictional character played by Bradley Cooper’s image from Burnt shown at the Ever’s funeral dinner) among other things.

Characters in Twin Peaks break the Fourth Wall in the Black Lodge, similar to Richie in S3 when he’s on the playground bench with Tiff and they appear to talk about knowing their real audience. Also the presence of many real-life chefs who point out inherent problems with fine dining while still participating in it and being celebrated. Restaurant reviewers mentioned include a real-life critic/influencer and major newspapers.

Twin Peak’s creator, David Lynch, is also very influenced by Shakespeare in his works, just like Jane Austin was (my previous comparisons of The Bear to Pride and Prejudice).

Lynch has said that he uses his art to broadcast his subconscious conjurings, similar to how Hamlet transmits his bad dreams outwards. He also loves Oedipal shit.

The Bear is, in some ways, part Carmy’s waking big bad dream (S3 for sure) about family legacy.

Twin Peaks came out in the 90s aligning with many of Storer’s influential musical choices like REM (very popular before they broke up in the 90s), Pearl Jam, and Trent Reznor (NIN) @whenmemorydies did a dive into this. The very popular BBC tv adaptation of Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth came out in 1995.

Syd and Carmy could also be described as similar to The X-Files’ Mulder and Scully where they are both professionally dedicated which is the cause of their introduction with Scully being more academic in nature. Both are haunted in different ways related to their childhood/families; Mulder has a missing sibling that drives him. Scully is very connected to her father. They appear to be in opposition at times but are completely dedicated to one another and fall in love despite all attempts from outward opposition and even other love interests.

I’m sure there are others that I’m missing so anyone feel free to jump in.

[dufferpuffer]

HC: Remus liked muggle music - and his family had a deep love for Radio.

A drabble of General Wizarding Music; History; Lyall and Hope Lupin; Remus' childhood - and his particular friendship with Sirius Black.

(1700 words; in the form of a... idk, a short story I guess?)

Wizarding World Music

Music is a simple joy, one even magical folk partake in - but not in the same way muggles do. When Wizarding culture changes so slowly (high density of older population - and they live a looong time) - they don't exactly carry music about with them for casual consumption.

When there is so much magic to study, magical folk rarely have time to learn instruments or songwriting. Music is seen as a Muggle thing. A COOL muggle thing - even Purebloods concede that the mundane folk whittling their time away on the complexities of sound has artistic merit. Most people like classical music - even as modern as Strauss and Debussy!

But in terms of wizarding music... there isn't much that is 'unique'. There's lots of folk music, telling stories of the time (wandering wizard falls in love with muggle dame and thus gets burned by her family) Or are used to remember potion recipes etc. from when being able to read was a rare skill... But such songs are not unique to Wizards. There are often Muggle versions of the same songs (Innocent dame falls for an evil sorcerer and so he was rightfully burned; or a song about trees being about their uses for carpenters rather than wand makers) - it being unclear which came first. Even the most famous modern Wizarding artists are copying the genre and styles lead by Muggles, using muggle instruments - and even electrics and electronics. Music is what you enchant instruments to play for events, to show off your Charms prowess - not to callous your own fingertips on. The proudest wizards and witches are the ones whose hands remain soft their entire lives - who can use their magic for everything...

The Lupin Family

It wasn't until Lyall Lupin met Hope that he truly begun to understand the appeal of muggle music. The simple joy of putting a record on and taking his wife's hand to dance... (cont. below)

Hope's teenage years had been set to the smooth but energetic American voices of Elvis Presley, The Everly Brothers, Ray Charles - Frank Sinatra... Along with slightly older artists, as long as they could really jive: Fats Waller, Cab Calloway, Louis Armstrong etc. She was an avid dancer - attending dance clubs as a hobby. (She was an active, adventurous woman who enjoyed going out by herself.)

It had a sparked an interest in Lyall, who eagerly bought a high quality radio/record player - so his growing family could listen to the music and drama's of the Muggle world he had fallen in love with. He found late-night horror shows most engaging, staying up even as his wife (and soon young child) had gone to bed. He would occasionally wake them with his laughter at what Muggles considered 'frightening'... and found himself fully engaged with ongoing murder mysteries, pondering them even as he was at work. The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan - the house ALWAYS had music playing on that radio. His mother would dance to it while keeping the house and his father would sing along. Remus grew up not knowing true silence... and was happier for it. After the bite... music went from a presence in his life to a necessity. As he lay in bed recovering it was all his parents could do to stop him hearing them cry: drown their noise with the radio. As they moved house every few months, the one precious possession they never sold was the radio. It kept them in muggle towns far more often than not (even if it meant Lyall had to travel further to find work) - so they could plug the radio in. (and also because magical folk were sharper at spotting werewolf symptoms)

No matter how tight money got, they couldn't sell a member of the family. Especially not one that kept Remus company.

On Full Moons sometimes music would send Remus into a rage of over-stimulation - and sometimes it would calm him. He would stop banging his entire weight against the door and scratching the paint off the walls of their rental property basements/attics/sheds... and just listen. And howl loud enough that the neighbors complain. Whenever Lyall got just a little money to spare between moves, he would brighten his son's life by buying him records - so he could listen to his favourite songs whenever he liked. He wasn't allowed to have friends... but he could have this, at least.

As his mother's frail Muggle body grew weaker from stress, when she stopped being able to attend her dance clubs (both fatigue and fear she would see people she recognized, even in different towns, and have to try and explain why she kept disappearing) Remus could still listen to music with her. They had all her favorites on record, and even when she was near bedridden (and a young house-bound Remus had to do most of the chores) he would come to her bedside and sing along with her, let her stroke his hair. Sometimes she would get up and teach him how to dance... Starting Hogwarts was a lifesaver for his family. When Remus went away, they could actually stay in the one house. Lyall could work steadily and keep money not for their next move, but for their comfort. He could even take time off to spend with his wife. Hope was still weak but doing better, not having to be the primary person preparing to hold an adolescent werewolf every month.

Every month he got a little bigger, a little stronger... every month both his parents would stay up all night, barricading everything they could... and just waiting. Listening to his movements. Hoping he didn't manage to break the door down and rip them apart. Every Full Moon was a horror story worse than any radio drama. Remus had always been just s worried as they were. They did their best to not let him know how much they suffered, as it wasn't his fault... but he could see it. He learned very early on how to mask emotions and lie to keep others happy - learned from his parents soothing him, and from him soothing them right back.

He would start skipping meals a week before the Full Moon came - and it broke his parents hearts... but it was effective. A starved growing boy made a much weaker werewolf. Lyall and Hope would want to skip their meals with him sometimes, not wanting to make the house smell like potatoes and sausages when their little boy was refraining from eating... But, hardened and matured from his illness, he would remind them they had to have their full strength on the Full Moon. They had to hold him back... and they had to run if it went wrong. They would concede... and eat small meals, at least.

Remus and his Friends

At Hogwarts - Remus didn't have to worry about ANY of this. Locked far away from anyone, safe and contained... He arrived at school small and skinny for his age, but was barely recognizable his first summer: well fed and eager to tell his parents about his new FRIENDS.

He was awkward and meek, having never really spoken to anyone but his parents before... his first friends were purebloods, whom he had little in common with. But that's part of why they liked him! He was interesting and different - and he had a passion to share with them: Music. Sirius, disillusioned with pureblood life, fell in love with Muggle culture... and fell deeply in love with Music. Back Sabbath, Led Zepplin, Deep Purple, King Crimson - music so unlike anything he had heard before, experimental and electronic. Even if it wasn't so much Remus' thing, who preferred rock and pop of the 60s - they BOTH loved Queen and David Bowie. James was less enthusiastic, but just happy to share something with his friends - happy to fund their obsession: Portable radios they could tinker with and listen to in the Shack... they couldn't pick up every station out there, but on a clear day they got some - and it was familiar company on Full Moons. One summer James even paid for them all to go and see a concert. (Sirius and James had to be babied through it, dressed adequately and stopped from making fools of themselves.)

James might have been less enthusiastic about music - but his knowledge of it gave him something to talk to Lily about - so when she finally agreed to go out with him, he scrambled to his friends to ask if they had any of her favourite groups on record - because he told her he liked them too but he has no idea what they are HELP

One of the best presents Remus ever got was a Walkman, after they all graduated, when Lily was pregnant and they couldn't see each-other as often anymore due to the war. When he lost everyone, in 1981... Music, once again, became his only companion. Cassettes were handy: small enough to fit many inside of even a small, cheap enchanted bag. He rarely had spending money - but like his father had with records, he would dedicate money to batteries, to new headphones and to cassettes of his old favourites. No matter how tight money was - music was a necessity. No matter where he was sleeping - a hotel, an old cottage, under a bridge... he had music with him. He never listened to the radio. He didn't want to hear how things were changing. He wanted to stay in the past.

... When Sirius came back, when he got a friend back, he parted with that walkman. Giving it to him was one of the first things he did. It was his way of apologizing for spending the last 14 or so years thinking he was a traitor. Watching his skinny, shaking hands eagerly working the machine, crying as he heard happiness he was forced to forget for 12 years...

...and they danced. Remus was never much of a dancer, though his mother tried to teach him... and Sirius only grew up with formal dancing, as a Pureblood heir expected to attend functions on behalf of the Black family.

Neither of them were graceful. It was terrible, really - a couple of men in their mid 30s moving their bodies in ways they hadn't since they were teenagers... But that memory is one of Remus' happiest. Because, once again, he had a family to share music with.