#this is mostly a joke but also mac and dennis just do not do it for me

[menlove]

I have been and always will be a charmac truther

[juniperhillpatient]

I didn’t want to share this with the link but my one & only criticism of that video I shared is super specific & it’s that the video essayist doesn’t like Dennis trying to kill Dee in the castle. In my opinion that was a beautifully hilarious scene / culmination of a hysterically entertaining subplot & I strongly disagree with her that it fell into the same category as other cases of the show becoming too mean spirited & neglecting to show that these characters care about each other in the latest seasons. I do agree that this is a huge issue & literally everything else in the almost 3 hour video I fully agreed with though so please still know I loved the critique. I just really liked the castle episodes & this is an excuse to talk about it lol -

I actually found the sibling dynamic weirdly sweet in the Covid episodes. The joke was funny because it wasn’t that Dennis literally wants to kill Dee, it was that he was delirious with Covid & thought he was communicating with a ghostly castle which is so funny cmon. And before that they were renting a castle together & she was teasing him while also taking care of him & in a giant castle they still chose to share a room like they’re so cute. It’s my favorite plot we’ve had in so many seasons & I must defend it with my life.

To me it was mean in classic sunny fashion which is VERY very notably different to the way new sunny is mean. It called back to such iconic scenes as “Dee? I swear you would be of more use to me if I skinned you and turned your skin into a lampshade. Or fashioned you into a piece of high-end luggage. I can even add you to my collection” followed by a hilariously horrified expression from Kaitlin Olson.

Dennis rushing at Dee in a deranged attempt to behead her only to pass out & she has to take him to the hospital is great. It’s the above mentioned scene with talk of skin luggage - or Dennis & Dee’s talk of murder & Dee’s confusion and about what the “actual plan” is in “Mac is a serial killer” amped up to 100 to me. It’s “Dennis is a serial killer” jokes done right much like “making Dennis Reynolds: a murderer” & NOT like “The Gang Gets Cursed.” That last one takes the joke way too far by leaving the implication that Dennis might actually be a killer which completely ruins the joke both by explaining it & botching the punchline which should always be that Dennis is a pathetic bitch who WISHES he was a serial killer (side note - other than that, I mostly enjoy “The Gang Gets Cursed” btw).

This became an essay but I wanted to share that extremely good & insightful video without my huge block of text commentary on something extremely specific. However I did want to rant about how much i LOVE the siblings in the castle episode imo that is pure classic sunny dynamics shining through the fog of late seasons overall crappiness lmao I’d actually categorize that specific sub plot as one of my favorites in the whole show which is insane given that it’s from season 15. I just really really love the Reynolds siblings being fucked up but in a funny way that has almost sweet aspects hehe

I also think this is an opportunity for me to discuss WHAT the notable difference is between the “mean” aspect of sunny here & why it works SO much better than the other mostly uncomfortable humor of later seasons. The joke’s punchline is on Dennis - something that’s desperately been needed in the sibling dynamic & the way it’s narratively framed for a LONG fucking time. As discussed in that amazing & super insightful video, new sunny punches down & it’s frankly cringe more often than not. Old Sunny knew who it’s jokes were on & it was always the person just asking for comeuppance by being awful. I’m not saying Dee isn’t awful because that would defeat the purpose of her character but she does suffer from what I call “the Meg Griffin effect.” It also hurts such characters as Britta Perry from Community, Jerry Gergich from Parks & Rec, & Toby Flenderson from The Office. It becomes more uncomfortable & off putting than funny as an audience member after a while to see everyone being consistently awful to one specific character who is not inherently worse than the others but is always the butt of the joke. It’s a trope I will simply never enjoy, personally.

But the castle plot works because it’s certainly deranged & mean (it’s literally not even always sunny if it’s not deranged & dark & mean you might as well give up & watch a different show if you don’t like your dynamics fucked up) but the joke is not -

A. Dennis is a serial killer ooooh edgy! - tired, contrived, Reddit core, unfunny, defeats the point of sunny which is that these guys are all incompetent losers

B. Haha dee is gonna die! She sucks lol! - that is one way to interpret the joke I guess but it’s so clearly actually that Dennis is in a fucking fever infused hallucination about ghosts & dee ultimately has to take his passed out ass the ER because this stupid bitch didn’t get vaccinated

Like it redeems so much or the awful dynamic they’ve built (which they unfortunately double down on anyway later. *cough* the gang goes bowling *cough*) where it’s like…. Isn’t it hilarious that Dennis constantly abuses his sister guys? Haha what if dee literally killed herself lol? Isn’t this so funny aren’t you having fun?

Classic sunny is mean. I’m not trying to say I dislike mean punchlines. But……. Dennis passing out & almost dying Covid IS mean? Dee having to deal with her brother almost beheading her & listening to his deranged conversations with “the castle” IS mean? It’s just that it’s mean in a FUNNY way. Like Charlie getting rejected by the waitress in the musical episode. Like Dee realizing how disgusting her schemes are in “PTSDee” & feeling sickened by herself. Like Frank getting told to fuck himself in his fat fucking ass in the Christmas episode. Or Mac shitting his pants in “Mac Day.” These are all examples of times I’ve found the meanness of sunny funny because it’s about showing what happens when you’re a horrible person who never learns.

Anyway in conclusion I love the Reynolds siblings & the castle plot is the only good part of new sunny goodbye

[nailgunstigmata]

Charlie would never wrestle over dennis!! Dennis's pathetic ass would have to spray cat food scent over his hole to manipulate charlie into fighting over him like this is canon

bold of u to assume he doesnt anon. its part of the morning routine <3

no but honestly i kind of agree i think charlie would be very take it or leave it when it comes to dennis hole like hed be up to fuck his bestie because its convenient but hes not gonna be torn up about it if it doesnt work out u know. hes just kind of hanging out having a good time and i think thats a nice contrast to the kind of undying devotion mac has. like charden care about each other deeply but when it comes to fucking dennis should want charlie so much more than charlie wants him i think he should be very desperate about trying to please him and kind of pathetic about it <3 because charlie doesnt give approval easily so u really have to work for it. its not just the hole hes bathing in catfood. doing a full body scrub 🫶

but i also think that when mac is there a kind of friendly rivalry kicks in where its mostly mac being possessive and charlie getting a kick out of it so hes kind of doing it to fuck with mac but in a lighthearted way. like listen if u got to dick down ur boy best friend in front of ur childhood bestie whos annoyingly in love with him and ur kind of a shithead like charlie kelly canonically is….all im saying is that crazy thing go down in that bedroom ok. hes wrestling over dennis because hes horny and wants to fuck with mac but charlie kind of feels like the guy that would also be fine just jerking off alone to me so if it wasnt for the mac thing he would probably be fine with his right hand too. like if dennis tried teasing him hed be like oh ok then not i guess lol i also think dennis goes crazy about that but thats beside the point. sorry for posting an essay in response to ur joke ask anon but im writing charmacden sucking and fucking and having thoughts about it currently 🫶

[frankreynoldsstan69]

what do you think any actual follow up on mac's denial about the whole dennis is johnny thing will look like? i feel like i can see it being the kind of thing they just ignore or mostly ignore for a while, or the kind of thing where the running joke is that he just won't accept that it was dennis because he can't acknowledge it without them addressing macdennis but what do you think him actually getting over the denial would look like within the tone of the show? will it happen offscreen?? could there be a b-plot about it???

I love how I asked for asks and then immediately didn't answer some for a couple of days not me treating this webbed site like my hinge matches

also I don't know though to be honest 99% chance Johnny is never mentioned again. Like the nature of sunny being a sitcom and these later seasons having very little cohesion I don't think they'll mention it again which is a shame because its funny.

I can see it brought up once more in passing and thats about it I think the odds of there being any plot where Mac accepts it are slim.

Though if I were in charge I'd make it a running bit throughout the rest of the season but have us slowly unravel that denial in a very like, funny way.

Then maybe have a reverse situation happens where mac accepts Dennis was johnny and then starts talking to another guy through anal beads thinking its Dennis again but its not dennis and thus the anal beads catfish gag continues.

I can also see Johnny being brought up if they ever were to go the macdennis route whether that's in some kind of argument or whether that's evidence used that Dennis does actually care about mac. But the chances of that are like the chances of me visiting the moon incredibly unlikely but not impossible in my lifetime.

[bredforloyalty]

okay no i could!!! and i think i should, so bear with me, anon, if you're up for it. because this really is a lot

alright, we're probably thinking of the same posts and the same scenes, so your nervousness is not baseless and i understand it: the scene in which dennis talks to dee before she gets on the private jet is basically an extended incest joke and also a significant moment in the twins' relationship. that's what i was referring to! i know you have no reason to trust me or be open to how i see things (i'm new here, after all) but i would really appreciate it if you could hear me out regardless!!

i would say i made that post because no one talks about scenes like this, that are uncomfortable or have implications or where the joke itself is based on a taboo. but i'm not saying that no one talks about it because i get that too, it doesn't need to be talked about. jokes can be written off as just that, dennis and dee aren't the main focus of the show (imo.. other relationships are more developed and get highlighted more often, right?) and just in general, different people will find different parts of the same silly show to be worth their time and like,, brain power

we're compelled by different things because we've been through different things! i pick up on "vibes" (really wasn't the best or most descriptive word i could've used lol) or more like, find myself drawn to different dynamics than you might. i point out moments like this because they grab my attention and make me think because that's how i'm wired, and because i'm not worried about ruffling feathers or giving off the wrong impression, if that makes sense. except i totally am, because as you could see, i wasn't very clear 🥴 but i don't Want to be worried about making myself and my thoughts more digestible so i can fit in. let me say a few things about why i found this episode interesting, that i could've posted earlier but didn't

i think i once heard or saw someone mention that some cast member called dee dennis's other enmeshed relationship, next to mac (when mac and dennis break up, dennis goes to dee, what's what it was in relation to), and that stayed with me.. up until now i've been feeling like dee is singled out, in a way, and usually gets the short end of the stick, just like when the gang blames the cereal accident on her and uhh countless other times. maybe not everyone saw the same thing, to others it could seem like her gender has no effect on her position in the group, but it has always been a bit sad to watch for me. even if you treat a female character like one of the boys or write her almost exactly like you would a man, idk, something seems off to me, emotionally

it's a bit like when people say they're colorblind and they don't see race? that doesn't really help anyone and it doesn't make that person righteous and morally good, because we don't live in a world that's colorblind, if that makes sense. we can't fast forward to when men and women are equal, just like south park can't "insult everyone equally" lmaoo it seems like ignoring the current problems, to me. and i am Not saying sunny should be scorned because they're not feminist or woke enough hxshy i do love the way the show works, but i've been thinking about why certain episodes didn't make me laugh as much and why some of them made me feel like shit (s1 mostly but others too). i like to put a name to things, y'know? if there's a dissonance between how others enjoy the show and how i do it, why is that? what bothers me? sunny has its flaws and i have my sensitivities but i do still love it. i digress

if i remember correctly kaitlin once said she finds it sad how desperate dee is for her brother's approval and how she stays no matter what. i didn't reblog that post so i couldn't find it (boo hoo..) but there's also this article:

so that's the core of this relationship, right? none of them know how to be good to each other but it's particularly sad and reminiscent of the issues in my own family that dee would rather get mistreated all day than turn to anyone else. the figure of the brother, which could be a father or a grandpa or an uncle, as the source of hurt but also the only anchor, compels me! there are so many men like that out there, so many families rotting from the inside, with the patriarch refusing to change or accommodate anyone else's needs or wants. society perpetuates this (through misogyny and sexism and gender roles and various systems that are set up for men to be able to step over and abuse the women and the vulnerable people in their lives, in my opinion)

when charlie gets called stupid constantly, i don't feel protective of him (khmm mostly lol) because he's not at a disadvantage societally, he's at an advantage and that's what enables him to be able to do things like, well, stalk the waitress. when dee is called ugly and unfunny and it's thrown in her face that she's a whore but her body is also the only valuable thing about her, and her friends set up an elaborate scheme to make her so angry she snaps out of a suicidal headspace, that makes me sad and leaves a bad taste in my mouth. but i like angst and tragedy and unhealthy relationships! it's familiar, and i do think it's extremely important to discuss and find beauty in the tragic or the grotesque. and especially with topics like abuse or incest, it does survivors or people who are in similar situations absolutely no good to shame those who speak about it or who represent it in fiction, in whatever shape or form

i know from personal experience and from friends that it sets us back to police "gross" or "vile" subject matter and the behavior and self-expression of those who find catharsis or solace in that. victims of incestuous abuse are real, enmeshed families are real things, and there's a strong connection between us, because sometimes it feels like no one else gets how we live or what we feel, you know? incest is just a weird gross made-up thing to some people, something that makes them intensely uncomfortable and something they don't ever want to think about, and that's okay, it is heavy. the taboo is strong for some people, they have every right to do whatever they can to avoid thinking about it. that's what filtering on ao3 and tumblr is for!! also blocking lol. and i want to make a constant effort to respect others' boundaries. but i also think it would do everyone good to slowly shift the public attitude towards taboos, mainly for the sake of victims, and to more effectively... prevent and remedy these wounds.. i don't think it's ideal that you can't so much as mention incest, because people will accuse you of having a fetish or advocating for awful people

and here's where i want to talk a bit about myself, to hopefully help you get closer to how i see things. i am interested in fiction with incest or domestic abuse or unconventional familial relationships as themes. sunny is not something i'm typically into, supernatural or succession or dead ringers but even breaking bad feels like it's more 'me', belongs to me in a different way. before this new url, really not long ago, like a few days ago, my url was familyhell. since i'm just now involving myself with sunny bloggers/posts, people aren't going to know what kind of person i am or what kind of stories grip me and shake me to my core, but it's a pretty big part of me that i'm wrapped up in family as a topic, with all its horrors and dysfunctions, because that's what i.. live in! i don't know about your situation, you could know exactly what i mean, but i'll try to explain anyway: family is the first unit of socialization, the core of who you are, the origin of whatever is wrong with you, at least from my point of view. parents shape their children and leave marks on them that may never come off, there's a cyclical nature to family, just like how the gang's parents gave them a whole bunch of cool psychological issues that they can't shake off well into adulthood and that prevent them from improving what they have with each other lol. it's like a curse

families can keep secrets that alienate members from the outside world, they can give way to co-dependency like no other type of relationship. you don't choose family and you can't exit during the most important stages of development (and why would you want to, kids can't recognize how to solve the problem of the dysfunctional family that's dragging decades of problems behind itself, it's just too big, it's like a force of nature), so some of us can't exit later either. i've never felt as strongly, both positively and negatively, about anyone outside of my family. no one could possibly know me like my sister, she's seen everything, she knows my whole life, knows about what my dad's like, of course i view family relations as more intense and formative and damaging than anything else. it's powerful, how you grow up affects you powerfully, is what i'm trying to say

and that's the origin and the emotional background of incestuous pairings, the family as the arrow forever in your heart, the cage, but also the strongest attachment. the first and most serious love of one's life. this does not apply to everyone, of course, there are people who are shaped by friends more strongly or mentors or whoever, but i feel that it applies to me! maybe it's rare, even, for a family to be ruinous to the extent that members have trouble connecting with peers or feeling fulfilled in other types of relationships, it's okay if you can't relate. but i can't afford to spend any more time Not processing my feelings and the things that make me who i am, so i'm going to talk about sam and dean winchester sometimes and the codependency between the mantle twins and jesse's role as both a replacement son and wife to walter and i'm not going to trigger tag incest or any other heavy topics because it's integral to me. this is how i view incest in fiction and by extension, incest shipping. it's not just inserting something out of nowhere into a familial dynamic or fetishizing something horrible, i think it comes from relating to the way characters depend on each other and hurt each other. it's not coloring a fictional relationship a whole different hue (most of the time!), it's playing something up that is already there, cranking up the saturation, shining a light on the ugly parts that some of us know all too well

the post that made me think about the gang breaks dee just, made me feel like, you know, most people won't get me and they'll think i'm a freak for liking anaïs nin's diaries or for reading fanfic that upsets them or whatever. with this url and with so many silly posts about sunny, it's not obvious immediately that i'm into stuff that is unpalatable to others so i really don't hold it against anyone if they stumble in here and then decide they don't like me. i don't want to lead anyone on, have people finding out later that i gross them out, but right now i'm simply into sunny :) and it's not even a show that.. gives a lot of opportunities to notice and delve into fucked up stuff, i feel like? it's a comedy, first and foremost, yeah it gets dark but i understand why people don't latch onto the darker parts. and when they do, it's still things like the Implication or the shitty childhoods, because that's easier to process and relate to than, for example, this episode in which dennis acts invasive and controlling towards his sister and then comes to the conclusion that he needs her badly. and the whole scene has emotional music under it and is reminiscent of a confession in a romance movie, which is part of the joke but it's partially serious, because dennis means it and it says a lot about their relationship. i don't remember if dennis even said i love you to anyone seriously before this

the way dennis tries to control and subdue dee in some episodes, some scenes, some moments, might not be intended for analysis and to be taken seriously, but i think most comedies have a layer of real feelings and drama under them, and usually as the seasons go on they need to start taking things more seriously because the audience gets attached to the characters and it's no fun to watch characters who fail to go through any development at all. i'm just saying this because it's a comedy and a lot of things aren't "serious", but if we can care about and we want to care about aspects like dennis's trauma around sex and his body, i think i can also talk a bit about an incest joke and the canonical dysfunction that made the joke possible

for me, incest is not an unthinkable, rare thing, like it seems to be for the majority. it's an extreme version of real dynamics in families that are more common than one would think. parentification, co-dependency, abuse, these are like two steps away from what some would call "incest", and it's hard to define anyway.. not everyone sees a clear line between platonic love and romantic love, not everyone sees a difference in intensity either (like, that romantic would be when that person is Everything to you, while friends and family come second). it's the same love for me, family doesn't take a backseat to other types of love. the unique intimacy within a family is not unlike intimacy in other contexts

i wrote all this because i would say the bottom line is, no, i don't "ship" the twins, and i'm not a "proshipper" but i see the appeal in accentuating certain parts of their relationship. there are no pure relationships in always sunny and that's very fun for me and i love to read what people think about mac and dennis and everyone else. why i felt that i wanted to mention the gang breaks dee is because this resistance to topics that seem too ugly and morally questionable to some, it just seems hypocritical at times.. social norms say Bad Thing A is okay to talk about and to present as a nuanced topic but Bad Thing B is a big no no. i don't get this!! if no one else feels compelled by this or no one could relate to dennis's behavior in this episode, that's fine, but i did, and it kiiind of saddens and concerns me that people (in general) are more ready to accuse others of being filthy degenerates after being faced with something that disgusts them than to attempt to understand others' thoughts and feelings and motivations and inner worlds

so i wanted to mention this scene. because so many things get swept under rugs and i would love if that happened less

do u think you could be more specific? sorry i didnt really understand ur last post

i don't want to alarm or alienate anyone and i'm sorry but here's the thing about this blog: i don't think i could

[cutemeat]

Glenn would appreciate your theories me thinks because when he said dennis was actually rehearsing and was just mad that mac saw it before he should have I thought he was reading one of your tumblr posts

FIRST OFF I AM SO FLATTERED BUT SECONDLY I RLLY GOTTA BE UPFRONT HERE 😭 yes i come up w theories i come up w AUs but bros… a lot of my posts abt Macden and Dennis in general… i re-watch the show itself SO often i am genuinely speaking from my analysis of the canon itself. i dont want ppl to get it too twisted— i genuinely have just been picking up on the stuff they have been writing into the show.. thats my feeling.. like when i talk abt the Shamrock stuff.. how Gets New Wheels/MFHP are macden arc foil eps… the Cats in the Wall metaphor, that is ALL rcg! that is what THEY wrote into the text!!

[nightcrawlerzincorporated]

I have a macdennis vampire AU bouncing around in my brain but I doubt I’ll ever actually write it out as a real fic so here you go:

Charlie is the oldest. He got turned long before the story begins, but he never bothered to keep track of how much time went by so exactly how old he is is a mystery even to himself. I like to think he’s old as shit though—over 500 for sure. He was born in Ireland but he moved to America so long ago he barely remembers it

Charlie is, at first, the sole owner of Paddy’s. He uses the bar to get easy prey (especially easy Alcohol Blood he can use to get drunk because you bet your ass they’re still alcoholics in this). Also when you run a bar no one questions why you sleep all day and are awake all night.

A few years before the story starts (maybe like 5 or 10 or 20 I can’t decide), Charlie met Mac when Mac wondered into Paddy’s one day looking for cheap drinks. Mac was the first person he met who he actually liked, so he turned him on a whim. He jokes frequently that he regrets it, but the two are still best friends and run the bar together

Mac simultaneously thinks being a vampire is super badass and a sin/insult to god. He goes back and forth between loving being a vampire and feeling intense guilt/shame, especially since he can no longer wear a crucifix or go to church. But he figures if he’s already a vampire he might as well sin and be gay, so he’s accepted his homosexuality at least mostly when the story starts

The story starts with Mac and Charlie wondering around Philly in the middle of the night, looking for shit to do. They notice two 30-something humans (Dennis and Dee) in fancy business attire looking very lost. Charlie insists they eat them but Mac thinks the guy (Dennis) is hot and doesn’t want to. They argue for a minute and settle on at least going over and finding out why two clearly rich people are in this part of town. Dennis and Dee immediately ask if Mac and Charlie have crack when they go up to them, answering that question. Mac and Charlie wonder aloud why they can’t get fancy business crack and Dennis and Dee both start talking over each other, ranting about how their dad fired them both and completely cut them off (Dennis insists it was all Dee’s fault, Dee says it’s Dennis’ fault) and now they’re forced to try and get their fix from a shady place like this. Mac lies and says there’s a guy at their bar that sells crack because he wants to excuse to hang out with this pathetically hot human more, and Dennis and Dee immediately ask to be taken there. Charlie mutters that he still thinks they should eat them, but Mac ignores him.

When there is no crack at the bar Mac lies again and says that the crack guy must have left while they were out. He offers Dennis and Dee (mostly Dennis) free drinks for the night and they accept, both getting absolutely sloshed. As they drink they both open up about how terrified they are and how neither of them can afford even a shitty apartment and they don’t know what they’re gonna do now. Mac quickly offers them jobs at the bar, despite Charlie’s protests, and says Dennis can live with him while he’s figuring shit out (Dee: “Why just Dennis? I need a place to live too!” Mac: “Yeah but I don’t want to live with a woman, so…”). Charlie reluctantly agrees to let Dee sleep in the bar while she saves up, which she hates but accepts because she can’t think of a better idea.

From there things fall into a new routine, with Dennis and Dee opening the bar in the evening and Charlie and Mac strolling in after the sun sets. They end up all getting along surprisingly well, Mac and Dennis especially finding out they actually have a lot in common and they enjoy living together.

They dance around each other for a while, before having sex. When Mac bites him during climax, Dennis quickly deduces that Mac is a vampire (he admits he’d been suspecting it for a while, and this confirms it). He insists on being turned, but Mac doesn’t want to because he wants Dennis to be able to go to heaven. Dennis insists that even if heaven is real, he sure as shit isn’t getting in, so Mac should turn him, but Mac still refuses.

Queue main bulk of story: Mac and Dennis try and navigate their budding relationship, especially regarding sex vs feelings, dealing with past trauma and internalized shit, etc, all while Dennis tries to become a vampire and Mac tries to prevent it. He tries to ask Charlie, tries to trick Mac into it, almost gets himself killed to give Mac no choice, etc but nothing convinces Mac. Mac thinks he’s being selfless and Saving Dennis, and Dennis thinks Mac just doesn’t want him to live forever with him. Misunderstandings and assumptions ensue, making things even more difficult.

At some point Frank shows up. He says he’s here to see if Dennis and Dee have learned their lesson. They try and kiss ass to get their old lives back. Mac is hurt that Dennis would leave him just for money, throwing another wrench in their relationship. Dennis insists he and Mac would still be together, but Mac thinks he’s just saying this to get Mac to turn him before he leaves.

But Frank ends up taking a liking to Charlie instead, and announces that he’s retiring to bum around with Charlie in the sewers and under the bridge. Dennis and Dee are furious about this, even more so when Charlie proceeds to make Frank a vampire almost instantly. Frank starts flaunting/abusing his new powers, making Dennis even angrier and more impatient for Mac to turn him.

I haven’t decided how I want Mac to decide to turn Dennis (probably something sappy like Dennis convincing Mac he’s not just using him and showing him he cares about their relationship beyond just being a vampire), but eventually, he does. Happily ever after…?

Sequel where they’re both vampires but still have other problems they didn’t consider. I don’t have as clear ideas for this one but it would feature Dee being upset that she’s the only human and Dennis eventually turning her “just so she’ll shut up” but really because he can’t imagine living forever without his twin, Dennis being way sloppier than the others and getting vampire hunters called on them (I think it would be funny if the McPoyals were a huge family of vampire hunters who are now after them), and Bruce Mathis having a cure for vampirism that he tries to force on the twins once he finds out they’re his kids.

Please clap

[officialbillhader]

how do you think charlies characterization could change if at all in seasons to come

Ok ive kinda been sitting on this one. I feel like im going to have a lot of trouble explaining what i want to say.

Judging from the entire show's backlog, the characters dont seem to have... see, i already cant figure out how to explain this. I want to say consistent personalities, but thats not true. Charlie is-

Ok fuck my brain is not working for this. At all.

You know how charlie can be split? He's dumb enough to drink a gallon of paint and torture a little person bc he thinks hes a leprechaun, he can't read english (thought at one point he certainly could cause he did graduate), he doesn't know what a calculator is, he asks people about their spaghetti policy, and yet he can do whatever it is with charlie work, he can do mac bang's dennis's mom, he can rule the (virtual) world, he can speak irish and read and write it (but still calls it gibberish), he can create his home alone scenario, he can fix plumbing and hes not an electrician but he can figure out his own creative solutions (kind of like how a child solves his own problems). Think of the pizza box hat.

I think this is all to say that his characterization in this isn't new or unusual and im not sure there is much to change. Hes already had issues accepting he has/had no father (but fuck man that scene runs deep), he had those comments about leaving the gang, but they proved themselves to him and he remembered why he loves them (and america). Also, just from other season finales, they dont usually change much. They just exist to leave us all wanting more and to give each character their moment (dee trauma when?)

But i can see his and franks relationship changing, kind of similar to how it changed when charllie found out frank could be his dad. The occasional joke and one-liner about it, but overall it'll be the same. Im prepared to eat my words though. I honestly want to eat my words. If season 16 comes and it turns out frank moved out ill bring this post back up.

Idk how well this post makes sense bc like i said my brain isnt quite functioning with this concept but i hope i made it mostly understandable

[trailerparkbubbs]

Anyways we should talk about the whole Lahey and Julian thing I guess.

There’s this common trope in tv where a male character will have a crush on another male character, make some kind of move on them or somehow show their attraction, get rejected, and then continue to harass the second character for the remainder of the show, all of which is played for laughs. Other notable examples of this are Dean Pelton harassing Jeff in Community and Mac harassing Dennis in It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, as well as non-sexual/romantic (but still very creepy and violating!) versions with Michael and Ryan from The Office and Charles and Jake from Brooklyn Nine Nine. All of these examples show different dynamics between the two characters involved, but all of them hinge on people laughing at one character harassing another long term.

Now, I like all of these shows, and I think that this trope can provide some funny moments, and it’s certainly not enough to condemn a show on its own. However, I also think that it’s kind of rooted in homophobia and misogyny to some extent – like, “Oh, our one token gay character is super creepy and has no sense of boundaries and is hopelessly in love with our straight, male protagonist!” but also “Harassment is funny when it’s two guys, right? Lol look at this guy getting sexually harassed, what a pussy, I’m sure he can just brush it off.” Not that any of these shows are outright trying to be homophobic or sexist, but that the way homophobia and sexism have shaped our societal perceptions is directly related to why we find these plotlines funny.

Another issue that amplifies the problem with this trope is when shows don’t have any other queer rep, or try to make the harasser a sympathetic character in order to make them into “valid queer rep” without addressing the ramifications of them being a harasser. Obviously this doesn’t apply in the case of B99 and The Office, but it does apply with IASIP* and Community. When a show only has one queer character, making that character a caricature-esque predator who harasses the straight, male protagonist really does more harm than good. When you try and round that character out without addressing the really horrible thing they’ve been doing for the whole show, it reads as playing off sexual harassment as a joke or not that big of an issue. Either way, not good.

*As far as IASIP goes, the characters are of course supposed to be terrible people, but that doesn’t put the show above criticism (and there are a lot of genuinely homophobic, sexist, and racist moments that can’t be ignored).

So, getting back to Trailer Park Boys. There are several queer characters, but most of them are “villains”, and for the characters who fluctuate, their queerness and villainy tend to go hand in hand – for instance, Barb finding out she’s interested in women, getting into a relationship with two women, and becoming a terrible person for the rest of the season, before breaking it off with said women and going back to normal. Lahey in particular is the major antagonist of the show – and while we see him having sympathetic moments, and we understand why he is the way he is, he remains generally an antagonist for the entire show. Lahey is drunk, delusional, powerhungry, and he hates Ricky, Julian, and Bubbles... except that he also has a crush on Julian which he makes no effort to contain.

This starts out with Lahey just saying Julian is “sexy” every once in a while, which basically every character on the show does at some point. This didn’t bother me at all – it’s funny when Lahey says it, but only because he’s usually saying it while actively working against Julian in some way, and often will say something like “You’re going to jail, you sexy bastard!”. Eventually, he starts making comments directly to Julian, and we get a talking head where Julian says he’s uncomfortable with the comments Lahey has been making, and that Lahey even tried to kiss him at one point. This is obviously pretty bad on Lahey’s part – trying to kiss someone who has made it clear that they don’t want to kiss you is a lot worse than simply saying they’re attractive – but still not too bad as far as this trope goes.

However, as this show does with everything, they soon take it up to eleven with Lahey coercing Julian into kissing him as part of a legal deal (before walking away at the last second), making a mannequin of Julian and taking a bath with it, and (outside of the actual show, but revealed in a liveshow/special so... you decide if it’s canon I guess) placing a hidden camera in Julian’s bathroom in the hopes of seeing him naked. Julian takes this mostly in stride, and is even able to throw Lahey out of the park directly following the whole mannequin/bath thing.

Trailer Park Boys does avoid some of the problems with this trope by making Lahey an antagonist rather than a sympathetic character, having other queer characters who aren’t predators, and having Julian clearly express his discomfort with the situation in a serious way, as well as making Lahey also have proper relationships with other characters, rather than just obsessing over Julian the whole time. However, it might have been nice for a show with so many queer characters to make at least a few of them (relatively) good people who aren’t actively trying to fuck over the protagonists, and to let the characters who do have sympathetic moments be queer and sympathetic simultaneously. Lahey is certainly not the worst example of this trope, and he’s a very funny character – but I think the trope of “predatory gay character being played for laughs” in general is homophobic, sexist, and something I could do without in the future.

[80alleycats]

Dee Day Thoughts and Analysis

Preface: For those who don’t know, I’m a homoromantic asexual woman of color (mostly black).

Anyways, unlike many folks on Tumblr, I did not have too much of a problem with this episode. It did feel kinda..”eh”...and it could have been much better, but I had some laughs and laughed more with this episode than last week’s episode.

Here are my thoughts on the controversies of the episode. They might help some hate the episode and/or RCGMegan less:

1. Yellow/Brown Face – When I first saw those costumes I was like “Oh, we’re doing that again.” But it didn’t surprise me too much. This has been a part of the show for a long time and the racist caricature characters are “old” characters (i.e. known to the audience and not new caricatures created for shits and giggles), so I’m kind of shocked that people are so shocked by this.

I love RCGMegan, but RCGMegan are just…white as fuck. As a person of color, my standards are low for white people. (I HATE that this sounds racist but y’all know what I’m talking about) Like, I can’t even be mad about it. I’m just glad that there were attempts™ to point out the racism and the shittiness of Dee’s characters, which is something they’ve always done as well.

I think RCGMegan really meant well. It’s PURE SPECULATION but it’s possible that that’s why they hired Pete Chatmon, a black man, to direct the episode. White people sometimes think that if they add a person/people of color to their group and they don’t say “PLEASE DON’T DO THIS THIS IS FUCKING DUMB” what they are doing is okay.

And even though this is PURE SPECULATION on my part, I think RCGMegan’s wellmeaningness is one of the reasons that Pete Chatmon chose to do the job and posted on Instagram that he had a good experience working with RCG and co.

I think RCGMegan were attempting to be “silly classic hijinks” Sunny but also “woke” Sunny but they are…white as fuck and sometimes just do not “get” it. (I get the vibe from interviews that they mentally/emotionally separate the show from themselves and from reality.) I hope they learn to chill out with the yellow/brown/red face one day because, even ignoring the racism issue, it’s SO BORING, but I don’t expect them to because…they are white as fuck. Some white people figure it out and stop doing awkward shit. But some just…don’t. Especially when they have a long history of doing questionable things.

For a person of color to be a fan of this show, we/they have to accept the nature of this show or just stop watching it. Those are the only real choices and both choices are valid.

I’ll admit that I think the “Asian driver” joke was actually somewhat funny because the purpose of the joke was to highlight the phenomenon of white people acting like they aren’t racist when they actually are and are too stupid and delusional to realize it (i.e. benevolent racism). I love attempts™ at highlighting benevolent racism because of the subtle and insidious nature of it.

__

2. Predatory Gay Mac – I get where people are coming from, but I feel like Mac’s homosexuality wasn’t the joke. I feel like the joke was that Mac was being a goofy idiot who happens to love Dennis, but can’t always express it properly. (example: Mac trying to get Dennis to get on stage with him so he could maybe kiss him…which is the kind of harebrained scheme you’d expect from a goofball 1st grader with a crush and not a full-grown 40 year old man)

Mac’s behavior in this episode was similar to Charlie’s messy over-the-top behavior towards the Waitress in previous episodes.

There was also the dual joke of Mac trying to “one-up” Charlie and so veering into accidental innuendo territory. (example: Mac repeating the comment Charlie said to Dennis about wanting to get in Dennis’ pants)

Also, it’s canon that Mac is often gross when it comes to sexuality in general and I think they were playing with that as well (example: the social network episode where Mac asked the distraught woman about where to find her leaked nude photos).

Everyone in the gang is gross when it comes to sexuality. I feel like a lot of fans forget that Dennis and Dee are canon rapists who usually rape the opposite sex (and Dennis has literally sexually assaulted Mac before even though he considered it a prank). Being an equal member of the Gang, I’m not surprised the writers decided to pass the baton to Mac this episode and even then Mac’s behavior in this episode was fairly tame (in the context of this show LOL).

And FINALLY, even though Dennis protested Mac trying to get them to kiss, I never got the vibe that Dennis was extremely uncomfortable. I think it was just supposed to be a typical “Dennis is annoyed at Mac because Mac is being stupid” reaction. Mac gets on Dennis’ nerves sometimes, but Dennis loves and accepts him and all his weird and stupid behavior. I don’t believe it’s even possible for Mac to make Dennis extremely comfortable. Like, these two are pretty much a hivemind…

__

3. Charlie and Dennis Kiss Scene - I TOTALLY GET THE DISCOMFORT WITH THIS. And while the second kiss was actually a surprisingly good kiss (Charlie and Glenn can ACT), the scene wasn’t really funny. It was just like “Why? What am I supposed to be getting from this?”

One criticism I’ve seen is that the scene was saying two men kissing is gross (i.e. homophobia). But I don’t think that was the purpose. It honestly reminded me of the awkward attempted kiss scene between Mac and Dee when they were playing characters in one of the lethal weapon episodes.

Another criticism I’ve seen is that Dee (who, as we know, raped Charlie) forced two child abuse victims to kiss. VALID CRITICISM. But when it comes to the characters: they just don’t give a shit. Charlie still hangs out with Dee and considers her a friend (which is COMPLETELY different than how he sees Uncle Jack). Dennis loves her and hangs out with her. Notice that they were more concerned with coming across as homophobic (which is so, so stupid but typical of them) and they hated that they had cheese breath.

And keep in mind that even though it was Dee Day and they were “supposed” to do what she says, they didn’t have to. They treat Dee like garbage 364 days of the year with little remorse and she always come back to them. I feel like the implication is that they CHOSE to do the kiss, considered it gross but didn’t consider it a big deal, and would not compare it to their child abuse experiences.

Dee’s behavior analysis: The previous season’s Mac/Charlie/Frank orgy with the Dennis doll that she watched permanently fucked her up. Like, she knows she’s making the Gang uncomfortable, but she’s lost the ability to comprehend how abnormal her behavior is. Boundaries are gone in her mind. In her mind, she’s simply teasing them and they’ll be fine no matter what happens.

I know people identify with the characters because of their personal experiences and I get that. I get that people have strong feelings about these characters and it’s totally understandable and valid. But I think we have to be careful not to project too much on the characters and instead try to keep in mind how the characters are instead of how we think they are. Like, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia has a ton of dark elements, but it’s a relatively upbeat show that often doesn’t take itself too seriously.

This is PURE SPECULATION but I got the vibe from the second kiss that “someone” (possibly Megan?) wanted to do a CharDen scene but needed to do it in the spirit of IASIP (awkward situations + the Gang willing to do anything if they are passionate enough about it) and that scene was the result. It’s also possible that it was the result of some kind of RCG “in-joke” that they didn’t realize might not translate very well on the screen to certain audience members.

At the end of the day, I think it was just supposed to be a goofy “lolwut the Gang is so wacky” scene and it’s not meant to be psychoanalyzed the way certain things on the show are.

 __

4. Dennis Without His Make-Up – I get people’s concerns about this. But the show has occasionally made fun of Dennis’ self-esteem issues concering his looks throughout the show, so this is nothing new. I feel that the scene was designed to make you feel sorry for Dennis, but also it was supposed to just be classic Sunny. Like him hitting on the congresswoman wasn’t just funny because he looked “off,” but because he just kept saying weird and awkward shit to her (similar to the scene in Season 13 where he was trying and failing to hit on the fantasy baseball woman). 

And keep in mind that the rest of the Gang kept reassuring Dennis that he looked fine even after the scheme, which was sweet. The same cannot be said about Dee. She’s received a lot more abuse from the Gang and only scraps of affection and reassurance from them to the point where she always lights up when they show her basic kindness. If Dee (and we) can handle Dee’s abuse, Dennis (and we) can handle Dennis’ abuse. And, as mentioned above, he did not have to remove his make-up. He chose to do it and he chose to deal with the consequences of that. But he’ll be fine.

 __

5. There was not enough focus on Dee – 100% agree. Nothing else to add. LOL.

[sunnykeysmash]

Unresolved threads

For a while now I’ve felt like sunny has suspiciously started to leave open or barely resolved/addressed “plot points” (for lack of a better term).

Now, for me this feeds into two suspicions that I’ve had for a bit, the first one being that there might be a flashback episode at one point to resolve them all, the second one being that this has been going on ever since HOHC, the first status-quo altering episode. A list of all the things that have been left suspiciously open/unaddressed is under the cut.

Note: Elements introduced in one episode and then brought back count as belonging to the continuity, elements that are self contained in a single episode count as throwaway, unless not properly resolved by the episode itself despite clearly feeling like they should be, or unless not addressed entirely.  Example: we never see what Mac does with the 14$ from the winning ticket, but it’s never mentioned again and it’s not something potentially impactful to the characters or canon, so it is irrelevant. Example pt2: Imagine if the Dennis Doll was just present in the background of one episode, never pointed out or used. That’s the second category of unresolved threads that I’m counting, despite being in a single episode and not brought back or pointed out in any capacity in future episodes.

I’m gonna start with the most pressing and obvious ones.

The RPG: Introduced in Tends Bar, brought back in DDL, but Dennis never gets to fire it. Counting the additional symbolic significance of it, it’s especially important.

The Waitress being pregnant: Introduced in DDL, addressed again in Clip Show, it’s still unclear what really happened.

Mac’s Text at the end of The Gang Texts: Never explained, feels significant considering Mac echoes Gets Romantic before sending it (”I’m gonna speak from the heart”) and considering the choice of emojis.

The Symbolism in The Gang Escapes: Completely unnecessary to the plot, never addressed.

The Shakes: Dennis never finds out they’re “poisoned”, Mac never stops making them as they are referenced again in Texts.

The Dildo Bike: Introduced in HOHC, present in Mac’s room in s13 in Escapes, is mysteriously missing in s14, despite Megan Ganz referencing it before the s14 premiere party on twitter. Since it’s clearly part of the continuity at this point, its unexplained absence from Mac’s room feels weird.

Mac wearing sleeves at home: Started in s14, never pointed out in canon in any capacity despite how out of place it feels considering Mac is known for mostly only wearing sleeveless shirts.

Charlie’s exposed knees: Similarly to the previous point, it’s known thanks to  The Waitress Is Getting Married that “people’s knees” is what he dislikes the most. One could argue that maybe rcg just forgot, but considering how the other elements from the same scene became established canon (ghouls, milksteak), I’m counting it.

Ok, those are the most obvious ones that come to mind. The next ones I’m gonna list are a little more speculative, but still suspicious. 

Dennis’ feelings: Constantly referenced, not only in Dee Day (”what about my feelings? now that’s interesting”), but ever since Tends Bar (”I have BIG feelings”). Never addressed properly despite clearly playing a role, especially in s14 where we see him gradually getting angrier as the season progresses, peaking in chop with no apparent given reason as of yet.

Frank meeting Jackie: The encounter openly suggests the natural evolution that is expected from the situation (”My son is actually a big fan of yours. I mean, it would really get under his skin if he knew I was standing next to those.”), it’s never followed through though, making it feel like Jackie’s presence in the episode is entirely irrelevant/unnecessary. Bringing back a guest star for no reason feels odd, especially when pointed out in the episode itself.

“You gotta stop kissing me”: Phrased like it already happened, but we’ve never seen it happen or heard it be mentioned. Despite this very phrase, Dennis goes out of his was to sit uncomfortably close to Mac, thus leaving the viewer feeling like they’re missing something. This, coupled with the actual message Dennis was sending to the gang being “we need to be more careful so we don't get accused”, and NOT to stop (as he states right after) plus Dennis removing Mac’s hand despite their history, it all feels like there is something more going on, but the episode never addresses it.

“We will return here in exactly one year from today”/”I guess we’re not gonna get that romantic comedy ending after all”: It feels purposefully left open-ended, especially with how the episode frames Mac and Dennis as being the real “meet-cute” but never openly addresses it in order to make jokes or anything, and never resolves it inside the episode. Gets Romantic is also subtly echoed a little bit in s14 so its importance in the continuity rises because of it (Texts: speak from the heart; Jumper: the tv show mirrors the song used in the background of the confession).

Dee’s instagram: Had it stayed contained in the episode, it would’ve been fine. However, a real one was created on IG, but has currently never actually been used.

Frank likes Blue: Unclear if this is on purpose or not, but Frank explicitly states his distaste for blue flavored foods in Goes To Hell.

Additional points that I’m unsure of, but that feel out of place or that could have some relevance later on.

“I just don’t know if I’m ready for a relationship”: Mac says this in MFHP, despite us knowing of his love for Dennis. He also openly denies said crush again in Texts.

Chokes, as a whole: Dennis’ character motivation throughout the episode is left exceedingly vague, it’s unclear what he truly wants from Mac, and why Dennis being able to depend on Mac would in any way correlate with Mac making his own decisions that actively go against what Dennis says. It’s unclear why he’d want that, especially considering his tendency to control Mac, and the episode does nothing to make it clear at any point.

The Thundergun Timeskip: Thundergun’s final scene in the bar necessarily takes place at least an entire year after the screening, considering a new movie came out. [[Also, according to the dates in the flashing newspapers, the new movie (the ”loveletter to hardcore fans”) comes out in 25/09/2019, which means that either all Thundergun scenes before the bar scene happen during s13 in the timeline, thus the final bar scene is the only one in the present along with the rest of s14, or all of s14 except for Thundergun’s final scene take place in 2018 at the very least. But I digress.]]

Finally, some out-of-canon points that I feel like adding as well.

Mac’s Boyfriend: Introduced as a concept by Rob in the s13 premiere, hinted at again for the s14 premiere (interviewer: “is Mac getting a boyfriend out of the AirBnB episode?” Rob: “Maybe”). Hasn’t happened yet, but clearly Rob is thinking of something. Possibly echoed by the choice of calling the kid in the finale “Big Mo”.

“S14 is getting weird” promotional photo: The bible and Jesus placed inbetween Mac and Dennis, it is at no point part of the actual episode and thus was knowingly put there for the sole purpose of taking the picture. Reason for it is unclear.

That’s all that comes to mind to me. Hmu if you can think of more.

Now, I say this starts with HOHC specifically because with rcg making the decision to alter the status quo, it becomes almost a necessity to discuss what other things could be impacted long term by it. So to me it’s natural that it would require them to come up with a general plan for it. 

Also, generally speaking, HOHC is the milestone that separates episodes without the possibility to alter status quo in mind, before it, from episodes that can be thought of specifically with the ability do so, after it, because Mac’s coming out is the first decision to impact it consciously. 

This means that anything that happens after HOHC has the potential to have been made with the conscious intention to alter canon on RCG’s part, more so now than it could before.

And finally I don’t remember previous seasons having this much stuff left open, but who knows.

[mhaccunoval]

nobody cares but i compiled the stats of iasip episode title names...

graphs and info under the cut!  apologizing ahead of time for all the obnoxiously loud gay colors used (they reflect how obnoxious, loud, and gay i am)

alright, i spent 4 hours of my life on this shit so i could show the public. [this is my google doc of raw data if anyone wants it]

before i start i’m going to mention that there are probably better ways to have organized all of this but the way i did it makes sense to me at least. also none of these are very mutually exclusive & i may have messed up inputting the data at some points (who knows) but anyway. i had several major categories: each gang member, “the gang”, X & Y, other characters, and misc. 

members are self explanatory. “the gang” is when the phrase is used anywhere (i.e: the gang gets romantic ;]). X & Y is when two gang members get named with an ‘and’ or ampersand (&), i.e: mac and dennis buy a timeshare. other characters is for when any side character is mentioned (i.e: mac’s banging the waitress). and finally, misc. is for when nobody is named (i.e: underage drinking: a national concern) 

let’s start with the graphs spread across each season:

charlie took second place among the individual members for having his name in episode titles. he totaled 18

the twins are twinning as usual & both totaled at 15

mac just barely slid to the top with 19 (little joke about that in the end notes....)

frank was no five star man and came in last but i was honestly expecting it. usually his name is never in the title but he had a few more titles than the handful i was thinking of

can’t really say i’m surprised about this one because they use the phrase “the gang” so much. i mean we stans literally make fake title cards jokes about it. but definitely interesting to see the variation through the years

there were a lot less X & Y than i remembered but maybe that’s because of my brain just jokingly saying “mac and dennis do this” and “mac and dennis do that”

rcg aren’t that big into putting other characters in the titles, clearly.

last of these spread graphs is the misc. titles. idk what is was about season 7 but there was a bunch of misc. titles there. thanks, fat mac

alright, onto the season by season comparisons:

season 1 really loved charlie and same, man. but also the show and the cast were all baby so it makes sense that there wasn’t much variation in naming conventions

season 2 they started varying the titles even more. good on them :)

season 3 has been the longest season yet so they had to have had some variation, right? eh, not really. a lot of the gang doing stuff but it’s not a bad thing (using ‘the gang’ 8 times makes it solidarity with s13 at least)

season 4... one of my faves... titles gave mac a lot of love but at least the love it mostly spread out for once besides that....

ah, yes... season 5.... where mac and dennis were secretly dating-- i mean good times..........

season 6 aka baby time boys >:-)

fat mac fat mac fat mac faT MAC FAT MAC FA--

ngl before starting to rewatch season 8 recently i had literally forgotten which eps it had. like they went into a void where i mistook them for being in seasons 9 or 10, i swear to you. anyway, charlie and other character love here :)

fun season :) (mostly i say that because of flowers for charlie... love that ep....)

i have nothing clever to say about season 10 rn woops

ah, yes... another season littered with gay undertones... and mac’s first coming out

where shit hit the fan by the end of the season. a literal emotional rollercoaster of sorts. gay rich mac to gay dreaming to gay rpgs to ooc leaving :)))))

love this season... dennis sex doll, heart shaped lock, breaking reality, charlie left to be silly by himself, and mac finally finding a balance within himself.... good season......

finally, to the overall stats compared to the full 142 eps thus far:

most of the totals are around the same range, with ‘the gang’ being the outlier by far. but definitely interesting juxtapositions!!!

end notes:

- at first with just finding everyone’s name it went quickly. but then i got into ‘the gang’ and then calculating percentages. idk if that took longer or if the graphs did but still a lot of effort either way

- the mac joke i wanted to make was that he beat charlie by one by having mfhp and therefore won by gay rights

- although this took a while, it was fun to see all the variations, especially when i put them next to each other on the graphs

- i’m excited to see where s14 will fit into this once it comes out :)

if you actually sat and read all of this, i applaud you. you have the biggest dick energy and you’re braved than any marine

[globrights]

iasip s4 rated by macdennis content

Mac and Dennis: Manhunters: oh Jesus Christ. There’s nothing gayer or more classic than Mac and Dennis deciding to hunt a man together, clinking beers, Dennis putting his arm around Mac, wearing matching outfits, Mac touching Dennis’ nipples because they’re... hard... plotting to put their balls in Cricket’s face, Dennis putting his balls in Mac’s mouth, Mac glueing his pubes to Dennis’ face, trapping Cricket in between their bodies and talking about sweaty sour balls while chewing candy...... okay maybe it wasn’t so classic as it was just very very gay. 666/10 for the demonic look Mac had in his eyes when they told Cricket they were going to hunt him

The Gang Solves The Gas Crisis: Mac and Dennis’ ENTIRE debate about who’s the brains of the operation. Mac literally out here calling Dennis hot huh. He really fucking is. Morosexual rights! What I especially hate though, is Dennis nodding his head and going “Mm...” when Mac describes “oiling up a couple of asses and doing a little plowing of our own”. I lost ten years of my life. No joke. 8/10

America’s Next Top Paddy’s Billboard Contest: Mac and Dennis spend $5000 and $500 respectively on expenses that don’t help the bar in any way using the company credit card and they both think that their own as well as the other’s purchase is REALISTIC... the morosexuals strike again... Dennis has kind of a mental breakdown in his desperation to be a hot model-worthy guy in Mac’s eyes again, and also he very deliberately pits himself against Rex, the hot beefcake Mac compares to Dennis. 7/10

Mac’s Banging The Waitress: “I would never say it to his face, but Dennis has great thighs.” Need I say more? Actually, I will say more. Mac, who Charlie so sweetly gave title of Charlie’s best friend, went behind his BACK and told Dennis that he sees Dennis as his actual best friend, because what they have is stronger than that. They’re “blood brothers”. Mac watches Dennis’ sex tapes despite hating the angle and thinking Dennis’ balls are ugly and Dennis actually CARES what Mac thinks about his sex tapes??? Uh.... (Moment Where Mac hid under the blanket and on top of Dennis’ crotch so Charlie doesn’t catch him in Dennis’ room scheming do NOT interact) 9/10

Mac and Charlie Die (Part 1): Dennis gets really upset and offended that Mac and Dennis didn’t include him in their suicide pact that he refuses to burn the duster, an important connection he has to Mac. “Goddamn it! Mac is dead and he’s still bossing me around” brings this up to a 6/10 Mac and Charlie Die (Part 2): Mac is very :( about Dennis and all the things he’s doing now that Mac is supposedly dead (replacing him, not doing any of the stuff in his will). Dennis throws out Mac’s stuff because he’s a pissy little bitch who’s hurt that Mac would fake his death without telling him, he also refers to his and Mac’s relationship as an Odd Couple type deal. 5/10 Who Pooped The Bed?: Mac and Dennis, Gay Poop Detectives Who Aren’t Actually Good Detectives But They Are Good At Being Useless And Gay With Really Stupid Priorities would be an adequate alternate title for this episode. Dennis apparently listens to all of Mac’s telephone calls. Dennis lets Mac sleep first during their poop stakeout. 7.5/10 Paddy’s Pub: The Worst Bar in Philadelphia: Dennis gets weirdly angry at Mac for touching that reviewer guy’s dick, and the fact that he only cut in after Charlie revealed that Mac ALSO touched a dick makes it v suspicious... 4/10 Dennis Reynolds: An Erotic Life: “Giddy up, man! That’s amazing!” should, in fact, on it’s own, deserve a hundred points, not only because it’s an incredible sentence in its own right, but because Mac said it to Dennis, so I get to count it as macdennis content. Mac is very interested in Dennis’ dirty dirty sex book because he’s just very interested in Dennis’ sexuality and the sex he does! That’s a thing! Jesus, anyway, the way Dennis says ‘Dennis Reynolds: An Erotic Life’ is decidedly incredibly gay, thereby making his sex book gay (and no, I do not care how much ‘straight’ sex he claims to be having in it). 7/10 Sweet Dee Has a Heart Attack: They talk to each other at some point but it’s nothing v deep or personal... nothing to write home about :( 1/10 The Gang Cracks the Liberty Bell: Even in an alternate fake historic universe they made up themselves, Mac and Dennis manage to be gay. “We got tarred and feathered for being sodomites!” I can’t believe that even in their fake universe Mac and Dennis wrote THEMSELVES as gay like... they really got themselves pegged huh. 9/10 The Gang Gets Extreme: Home Makeover Edition: Dennis grabbing Mac’s shoulders is pretty sweet. They talk shop a couple times but it’s mostly one of those things where Mac and Dennis are in different parts of the story but when they interact at certain intervals they seem happy to see each other and they validate one another. 6.5/10 The Nightman Cometh: They fucked live on a stage what else do you want me to say? Mac got hard humping Dennis on stage literally WHAT else is there to say??? I hate these loser competitive assholes who both suck at acting but think they’re better than the other... jfc. 10/10

[floralmac]

as sunny has been on the air for more than a decade, in order to remain successful it has to grow and adapt to our ever-changing society. and that’s not just talking about the social topics, it also has to do with how the gang casually interacts with their world in their modern day. one thing that i’ve taken from s13, that is also apparent in other seasons, is that i genuinely think sunny has always been integrating current culture and social media into the show really naturally, and in a smart way, helping to further portray the gang as idiots. 

the first mention of social media in the show is in season 2, when bruce mathis contacts dee on myspace. mac doesn’t know what the hell myspace is and dennis proceeds to explain it to him. frank also has no idea how to use the site and gets so frustrated that he shoots his gun multiple times at the ceiling. the next few times sunny did something like this prominently was in anti-social network and tries desperately to win an award, with them not knowing how the hell to use facebook whilst heavily relying on it to promote paddy’s and find the shusher, and cringing at call me maybe playing in a bar way more popular than theirs that they later try to imitate. this is also apparent in s11 and 12, with the gang trying to sound cool saying words like ‘hella’ and dennis making fun of internet trolls which later make fun of him back. now in s13, the gang has been using snapchat, saying more slang, bored while waiting for the new phone update, and dennis was ridiculed on instagram live.

even though the gang is pretty isolated from the rest of society, it still makes sense that they would all have smart phones and use social media regularly, they’re just like any other citizen. however, rcg are using this normal concept to their advantage, their approach being that most of the time, social media/internet/slang is used to make fun of the gang themselves. in these instances, despite the gang seeming to be fairly aware of today’s society, they are made to seem out of touch and downright morons while constantly being mocked. the joke is on them! it's a clever way to make fun of the gang in the show, and while mostly subtle, really drives the point that these characters try very hard to stay young and hip but ultimately fail and will continue to try anyways, completely oblivious at their own cruelty and stupidity.

[iasipranked]

IASIP Episodes Ranked: #107 of 144 - The Gang Makes Paddy’s Great Again

dir. Todd Biermann, written by David Hornsby, aired September 5th, 2018, Season 13 Episode 1

summary: the gang has a new member named cindy who is replacing dennis and leading the gang with smarter and well-thought-out schemes. it’s going well until a sex doll resembling dennis shows up and things go awry, the rest of the gang succumbing to dennis’ energy and not following cindy anymore. they end up genuinely having an orgy with the doll (dee just watches in horror but acceptance) and ‘play’ the doll’s asshole to get back at and humiliate dennis. dennis arrives out of nowhere and cindy goes off on him, but even after a close taste of success, the gang still choose dennis.

abby’s favourite line: ‘your look is played out, and so are you. you’re basic.’ -cindy

luce’s favourite line: ‘i requested that the doll feel as though it’s in mid-conversation’ -mac

positives:

the very start of the episode is a clever trick to the audience, being like “can you believe paddy’s has changed!”, but then it’s revealed that of course it’s all a scheme, returning to classic sunny. 

the concepts of liberal tears and conservative whine are funny, but it’s even funnier that mac feels the need to constantly explain it to himself and others even though everyone understands it already

mac trying to shoehorn his shirtlessness and new ripped body into literally anything is funny commentary on how men in various media are Always Shirtless and Always Jacked for no reason and no one seems to question it! rob becoming ripped for this one joke is insane and is really one of the defining points of the season

dennis leaving a phone number for a mental health line for mac, while i still am clinging on to that theory that dennis put himself in a mental institution instead of heading to nd, it kind of does make sense seeing as dennis obviously cares about mac and he wants him to reach out to someone if he’s upset, but won’t let himself get too close to him in fear of..everything and anything bc his repression is stronger now than ever.

mac resorting to the wild choice of getting a sex doll of dennis to cope is sooo tragic and like he probably has tried a lot of other things and nothing else worked to make him feel better...GOD he needs to get dicked down 

mindy kaling is such a cool and unique addition to this episode, and her character is pretty much the exact opposite to dennis, not just physically but her personality too. frank describes her well: “she’s an asshole but in all the right ways.” i wrote a post about this but basically, she tries to bring out the best in the gang, while dennis likes to pick on their failures. cindy would actually help them succeed, but dennis doesn’t care, even if their scheme doesn’t work, he can still pretend he led them in an effective way and maintained his superiority. this actually ties in really well with dennis’ whole plot line in s13, which is wanting everything to stay the same.

it’s kinda sad to realize that even with the tiniest bit of guidance and validation from a different perspective, the gang can actually muster up some confidence and work to their strengths and attempt to become better at their craft or simply how they handle themselves. this is also backed up by mac finds his pride, in which mac’s dancing partner helped him tremendously with coming out and brought out his heart and voice when he needed it most. 

the gang being incredibly affected by the dennis sex doll and feeling as though it’s actually talking to them and making them feel small, even though it’s literally not dennis (it represents him though and that’s enough), is such a good way to show how dennis has ultimately conditioned them to think bad about themselves, and do things in the way that he exactly would want them. they are constantly manipulated and they are semi-aware of this, but they’re not gonna do anything about it bc it’s familiar, it’s comfortable.

also the trump/america/dennis parallels are super interesting: dennis wants everything to stay the same and when he’s back “paddy’s is great again”, but is it really? yes in a way, because the gang is back together, but from our perspective no bc they’re now just gonna go backwards again and be stuck in their own hell they’ve made for themselves.

negatives:

this is another one in which we are gonna have to talk about the implications of dennis’ double life. the way that dennis comes back, while hilarious, makes no sense if he has been away for one and a half years! the gang’s reactions to him coming back are extremely odd and unemotional and the whole episode actually doesn’t make sense in terms of them still being focused on him. you would think that they’d reach the acceptance stage of dennis leaving after 1.5 YEARS...it’s the gang i guess and this episode showed they really can’t handle not having each other, but it could have been shown a bit differently?

seriously why isn’t anybody angry at him for leaving in the first place? mac should’ve punched him! also as the audience we’re mad at dennis for leaving so it sucks that we didn’t really get that satisfaction, doubled by never finding out what frickin happened to dennis all this time!!!

also this episode feels particularly wooden and this is mostly definitely on purpose - i.e. to indicate that the show’s flow is disrupted by glennis not being there, thus the gang is off without him - and while i do think this is a smart choice, it can possibly sacrifice the humour of the episode and make it weaker due to the unfamiliarity 

i love mindy khaling as much as the next person but her role in this episode although interesting in terms of gang dynamics really isn’t very funny - i don’t understand why they would have mindy khaling on the show but give her a really boring role

tldr: the gang makes paddy’s great again is a brilliant look into the gang’s growing codependency and drives the message that however toxic they may become, they are each other’s fate.

[winstonhcomedy]

“Dope A-F” - 8/29 - 9/16 - “Headlining in Roanoke/Fairfax, and a 9/11 show ”

Well I am officially tired of doing this blog. I am fatigued. Keeping up with my new schedule is almost impossible. Three blog posts a week coupled with new videos, new material, shows, and my day job is proving to be too much. So I am going to do this blog until I am not going to do it. It has been almost a year since I started keeping track and I think I have grown so much as a comedian since then, but it is just becoming super hard.

So without further ado let’s hop right into it and check out what’s been going on the last few weeks with #cutecomedy. Come on LAYDEES!

8/29

I headed up to Roanoke to close out a show at Blue 5. Chaz Blevins was putting on the show and he had a pretty solid lineup. Johnny Camacho was hosting, and the openers were Chaz, this dude Zack White, and Melissa Douty. So I knew I was going to have to bring my A game. 

I got up there a little early to set up my camera. The room is amazing. It is downstairs at the restaurant. It is like a cool tucked away speakeasy.  After setting up my camera I went upstairs to grab a bite to eat. I had some egg rolls stuffed with bar b q and Mac and cheese. It was delicious. 

When I went back downstairs people had really started to fill in the show. It was going to be a super fun night. We started about 15 minutes late to give people a chance to get seated and get drinks. Then Johnny got on with it. 

Johnny had a solid set warming up the crowd. He got some pretty big laughs, and had the audience as ease before he brought up Chaz. Chaz then did well. The crowd was super supportive, and he basically started his set shitting on Johnny which was funny. Then I told Johnny I was waiting for the callback shitting on him. Then 5 minutes later Chaz did it and Johnny and I busted up laughing. He went on to have a solid set.

Then Zack White went up. I had never seen this dude before and he was definitely funny. He was definitely alt and weird, but it really worked with this crowd. He threw a baseball into the audience and then faked an injury and laid on the ground.

Then Melissa Douty went up and she absolutely destroyed. I mean tore the roof off of the place. Everybody loved her. She did about 20 and it laugh after laugh. She was going to be incredibly hard to follow. She is from the area, and definitely was able to relate to the audience and get them on board. So after she slaughters it is my turn.

I go up and realize I know have to reset the room. So I use the first 5 minutes of my set to kind of ease people into what they are about to see. I do some crowd work, and try to get them on my wave length. This starts to go well and I am building up momentum.

I talk to a few audience members and get some pretty big reactions. I then weave in some material and it is killing even harder. I think talk to a few more audience members including a girl I found out later was Chaz’ daughter. I was really having a lot of fun. I was only supposed to do 30 but I went well over that. I was able to do a bunch of new at the end and get a good response and actually work some stuff out which felt nice. I’d totally give this set an A-. I felt good being able to follow Melissa after how hard she killed.

After the show I talked to a few people and then went over to a bar to hang with Johnny, and a few others. After hanging I hopped into my car and headed home.

8/30 

The next night we had The After Show. Which is our political comedy roundtable show. This time Chris wanted to focus this one on sexuality. So I booked Jason Kusterer (White Cis/Het comic), Katherine Malone (black trans female comic) , Samantha Padgett (white female trans comic), and Sammy Major (black/gay/Non-binary) to be on the show. 

I got to the show early and tried to set everything up. I put the furniture on the stage with Kat. I then ordered a grilled cheese, and set up my camera. I had a really fun time catching up with Kat. I hadn’t seen her in a super long time. 

Then Samantha showed up. We all went to the green room and got situated. We tried not to talk about the topics for the show too much, but we did come up with some interesting things to cover in the show.

Then everyone else showed up. It was a good hang going on. We didn’t have a huge crowd. Honestly it was one of our lighter attended shows. I’d say there was about 25 to 30 people there. I also took a few polaroid “Eddie Pooks” pictures that turned out great.

After about another 20 minute wait we started the show. I went out there and brought everyone else out. Then we went right into it. 

I am always torn because of this show. I think it is important and interesting, but it isn’t always the funniest show. The audience is tight because these are hot button issues, but when you do get a laugh it feels so damn amazing. I had some pretty good lines, and really it was kind of an amazing show. I think we learned a lot, and laughed quite a bit, but I don’t always feel good during or after this show. This is one of those shows where I need people to tell me it was good. I’d give this one a C. Good jokes, great subject matter, but not a ton of laughs. 

After the show I hung out with some friends and caught up. Got a few drinks and then went to Waffle House. Where I met a drunk rapper who was surprised to find out I was a comedian. He kept trying to brag and put me down. He was like if you're a comedian why aren’t you at The FunnyBone. It felt so good to be like I am there in two weeks. He was wasted. After this I headed home and got a good night’s sleep.

9/1

I headed up to Fairfax with Paige the next day. I had asked Taylor O’Sullivan to come do a guest spot, but he didn’t respond in time. Paige and I listened to a horrific true crime podcast, and just talked about comedy. I had also asked my buddy Dom Grayer to drop by and do a spot on the show, and I extended a guest spot to a Pittsburgh Comic named Joe Esch.

John Coulter had booked me to headline his room at Blue Iguana. I had asked for the night even though we were going to have a poor attendance due to the holiday.

We get there and we get a nice hang going. There is only like 8 or 9 people there, but honestly I am just excited to do around 30 minutes. I love longer sets. I set the lineup after I find out Joe and Dom can’t stay after their sets. So I set it up as a piggyback show with Joe, Dom, Paige, and then I'd close out. I also tell them to work a little cleaner up top. The only reason I said this was at the behest of Coulter. He said it is a little older crowd, and they're conservative (not in their politics, but just keep it cleaner). 

Joe said he could do it, and then he went up and didn’t work clean. It was some pretty sexual material, and honestly it didn’t seem like he wanted to be doing the show. This might just be his energy, but legit it was like why did I give this dude a spot? I get it. It’s not a huge crowd, but I offered you time because you were looking for time. He did fine, but John made me light him early just due to the subject matter. He then brought up Dom Grayer to the wrong name, and I legit was like well shit. 

Dom went up and cracked them though. He had some solid pops, and he had a good set. He was followed by Paige who did well as well. Nobody did terribly. It was just a light show.

Then it was my turn. I went up and did a lot of crowd work up top. I’d say 10 minutes or so before going into my material. It was all working really well. I was able to connect with these people and understand that even though there was only a few of them they wanted to laugh. I got everyone involved and a few more people walked in.

All of my stuff was working. The jokes, and the crowd work was dope. I tried a few new things, and then got off stage. After this Coulter asked me to do an encore because 6 other people had just walked in at the end of my set. So the audience cheered and I went up and did 25 more minutes of crowd work, and new jokes. This was awesome I got some huge pops, and I got them sit in the front row. it was truly a special night. I’d give this set an A-.

After this Paige and I headed back to RVA. I hit up Taylor again and he met us at Denny’s for a late night meal. Then we all headed our separate ways. 

9/4

After a few days off there was a new mic in town. I went over to Isley Brewing to do their mic after work. I got a beer and did some writing before the mic. It was a fun night because I got to see and hang with a bunch of my friends. Buhe was hosting, and we had Paige, Taylor, Adam Chiodini, David Luzader, Samantha Padgett, Jake Snyder, Carlton K, and a bunch I know I am forgetting.

Buhse shows up and gets the list ready. He tells me I am up first. There is an ok crowd, but the setup is weird. It is really bright in there because it starts at 7 and it definitely seemed like these people were surprised comedy was happening. 

After his set he brought me up and I think I did as well as I could have. I had a lot of new stuff, and it all did pretty well. I tried one thing for the very first time and I am so happy that it worked. I wasn’t killing and I stumbled in a few spots. There was a giant Jenga game on stage so after every joke that bombed I’d take a brick out and drop it on the floor. This got a couple laughs, but I mostly did it for me. I give this set a C.

I watched a few more sets and then Paige and I headed over to Home Sweet Home. I got some writing done, and ordered a delicious dinner. I got to see some other friends like Patrick Nowaczyk, Taylor Baldwin, and Jason Kusterer. Jason had me going up like 5th which I was excited about.

There actually was a tiny little crowd there. The best part was they were into the show. They were having a fun time. After a few comics did ok it was my turn. Kusterer gave me a funny intro and I just tried a bunch of new stuff. I did some of the earlier stuff, but changed the inflection and tried adding some tags. it worked ok. I enjoyed my set. I’d give it a C+. 

I went downstairs and talked to my friends a little bit more, including Beswick. It was a dope night. I then packed up, said goodbye, and headed home. 

9/6

On Friday I had a spot on Wabi Sabi. I hit up a few people to ride with my but only Taylor could go. We headed up and had a good time. He was actually able to grab a guest spot. 

The lineup was going to be Klingman, Liz Carr, Taylor, Torrey, me, Luray and then Wingle. It was supposed to be a packed show. So we knew it was going to be fun. 

The show starts, and they're a rowdy crowd. Klingman has a pretty good set. So does Liz. Taylor only did about 90 seconds he had freaked himself out so much, but he didn’t bomb. Then Torrey had a pretty hot one. By the time he got off stage the audience was wasted. They were loud, and wanted to interrupt the show. 

I go up and legit don’t get a single joke out. I am in a battle with the audience for 15 minutes. I am battling drunks and hecklers. I am shitting all over them and being mean. It is killing. The audience loves it. Which is frustrating to me. This goes on and I get some huge laughs, but I am not having fun. I was glad I overcame the adversity, but hated that I had to. I'd give this set an A-.

Then Luray and Wingle went up. I didn’t watch their sets because I was so freaking upset about mine. I got to decompress and then I got ready for ‘Sex With Me Is Like”.

We all got back on stage after (except for Liz and Luray who didn’t want to). Jaye Toler got on stage, but hadn’t done a set earlier. it was a super fun game this time. I had some huge laughs and only one joke didn’t work. Every time they said something about me I had something about them. I got Taylor involved and I had the last joke. I made fun of Jaye and it destroyed. 

After the show I drove Taylor back and then headed home to pass out. 

9/7

The next night I was one of the headliners on Castleburg. I had been ‘banned” the previous month by Mike Engle because I had bailed on it the previous two to do paid gigs.  Which wasn’t a big deal at all, and made sense. I was so excited to be tasked with being a part of the two year anniversary show. 

Mu Cuzzo and I were the headliners. I had invited a few coworkers and told myself I was only going to do new stuff. There was a pretty good sized list of comics. 

I was stoked to see my coworkers, and super stoked to see some comic friends to hang with like Mike, Anthony, Adam Chiodini, Jack Parker, Ben Oliver, Heather Joyce, Danny Dunlea, Jake Snyder and plenty others I am sure I am forgetting. I set up my video camera and told people if they wanted their sets I could get them for them. I had a few people take me up on the offer. 

I love the bartenders here. They are so nice, and so much fun to talk to. They look forward to and enjoy the show. Definitely a dope venue with killer staff, and good beer.

There was a pretty good crowd, and since I knew I wanted to have the freedom to do new stuff I asked to be the first headliner to go up. I knew that Mu would be doing his best stuff, and really bringing it so even if my new stuff failed at least he could pick up the slack and it wouldn’t be a shit show.

The crowd was pretty good. They were into it from the beginning of the show. Mike had a good set and so did the comics in the first round. The winner of that was Heather Joyce. Then it was my turn to go up,

I had a dope set. Almost all of my new stuff worked. I was able to work on wording, and got some solid laughs. I was super happy to do 12 of my 15 minute set as new. It feels like I am progressing and becoming a better comic. I didn’t murder, but I had some jokes get really good pops, and I felt like I broke the crowd open a bit. I'd give this set a B.

The rest of the show went well. Mu had a really good set. His material was clicking and he used his energy to his advantage. It was cool to see him pull that set together and put something tight together. 

The rest of the show was fun. Anthony had a hot set, and Jake Snyder ripped a mic stand in half and just held half of it on stage. It was hilarious. All in all a super fun show.

Afterwards I hung out with some comics, and talked shop. I got to sit and hang with my coworkers a bit to which was really dope. I had such a wonderful night. It all ended with Jake, Danny Dunlea, and I going to Denny’s to have a super late meal. Afterwards I headed home to pass out. 

9/8

The next day I went to Busch Gardens and had an absolutely wonderful time. Legit just a great experience. I haven’t been all year and can’t wait to go back in October. Afterwards I had time to go do some time at the competition at Hof Garden. 

This show is hosted by Mu, Jameson, and Kate Carroll. Everyone does five minutes and they grade your set like American Idol at the end of the show they have the last month’s winner close it out, and then they go announce the winner from this month. 

I was definitely the most experienced comic at this show. I should have just done a set and not put myself in for the contest, but one of the things you win is a spot on a live podcast that has a pretty good following and I could use that.

I was up 3rd or fourth and there was a nice intimate crowd there. I asked Ryan Mather to record my set and he obliged. The first few comics did ok. They got some good pops, but the crowd was ready to laugh. I told myself I was going to only do new material. I didn’t want to do my best polished shit because that doesn't accomplish anything, and this way even if I lose I can be stoked that I worked out material.

I went up and had a super fun set. I didn’t kill, but all of the jokes worked. I riffed some good stuff, and added on to some bits. This was an extremely fun, and productive sets. I wish all open mic sets felt like this. 

After I got off stage I went and hung out in the back. I didn’t feel like watching a ton of sets. I got to hang with Brian Mann (who had a really good set), Ryan Mather, Melissa Harris, Ben Oliver, Bryan Williams, Taylor Baldwin, and a few others including a comic I hadn’t seen in a long time. He came to hang and not perform, and support his buddy who was closing it out. 

I had a female comic ask why I didn’t give notes and I had to explain I don’t give them usually to female comedians. I don’t want to come across as “mansplaining” comedy, and I've had female comics ask for notes and then I watched them throw them in the trash. It is just easier for me, and better business to not really do that. Last thing I need is someone who doesn’t know me saying they saw me telling a woman how to do comedy. 

After everyone had gone up they went to add up the scores. Brock then went up and he had a solid set. He did a new song thing, and people seemed to dig it a lot. 

After this they brought, myself, Beth Tucker, and Brian Mann on the stage. They all said really nice things about us, and then announced the winner. It was me. I was super stoked. Afterwards I hung out with a bit, but headed out pretty quickly because I had work in the morning. 

9/9

The next day I headed up to The Southern after work. I got some flyers from Jeyon for our show we have in October at Holly’s. I set everything up and got ready for the show. I was pretty stoked because I had a friend from college that I haven't seen in like 9 years say they were coming. When they showed up it was super fun to finally catch up

We had a pretty good crowd show up actually. They were into it from the beginning. I got to see a bunch of my friends go up. Like Brandon Beswick, Alex, Paige, JR, Chris, and plenty of others. Everybody does pretty well. 

It is finally my turn. I go up and thoroughly enjoy my set. I am getting in a good rhythm of trying new stuff, and keeping what works. The new really hit pretty hard tonight. I didn’t destroy, but the jokes are getting better. The progress is amazing to feel. I’d give this set a B-.

After the show I headed home because I was exhausted. I said goodbye to my friend and dipped out. 

9/11

Tonight I had a 9/11 benefit show put on my Nick Deez to do in Newport News at Cozzys. I was co-headlining and was excited for it. I headed down right after work.

I met Nick, Ian Nightengale, and Torrey Huggins for dinner. We talked shop and ate some pizza before headed next door to Cozzy’s to record my podcast before the show. The episode turned out great. I had Ian and Nick go up against Rock and Torrey. Super funny episode and I cannot wait to release it. 

We then get ready for the show to start. The lineup is Torrey, Ian, Rock, Nick, Tim Macklin, AC Smith, Brent Schreiber, myself, and Fred McKinnon. 

We were worried about a crowd, but honestly we got about 25 people in there. Which is super dope for an off night. The show got started and it was dope.

They were a little tight for Torrey’s set, but he woke them up. Then Ian had a really strong set as well. This just kept building. AC had a hot one, then Brent, then Rock had a super offensive set. Nick did some newer stuff during his set. Then Tim went up before me and it just didn’t stop.

I went up and went straight into crowd work. We were running a little behind, and I didn’t want them to get tired. So I just addressed the crowd for about 10 minutes, and it was working really well. Like I was killing with the crowd work, and then at the last ten minutes I did a bunch of newer stuff that hit really hard too. I got off feeling really good about how it went. I’d give it an A-. 

After my set I packed my stuff up and hung out until the show ended. Fred had a good set, and I got to go outside and talk shop with the guys. We talked about some comedic frustration and limitations that we have to put up with. Sometimes it is good to just vent a bit, and then you feel way better. Afterwards I got in my car and drove back to try to make McCormacks in time. 

I luckily did. I got there with only one comic left so I got to squeeze in before him. The crowd was dead. Like two people paying attention, but I did brand new stuff. I just needed to say into a microphone to work on it. I bombed super hard, but a couple ideas got a few laughs so I know where to start. I’d give this set a D-. 

As soon as I was done I headed home to pass out. I had a long day the next day.

9/12

I drove up to DC to host for my buddy Dan Lamorte at DC Comedy Loft. I got there a little before showtime, and got to meet the other comics. Which included Maggie Crane, Michael Terry (who I had met with Dan in Richmond last year) and Trevor Wallace (IG comic) who was headlining downstairs but popped up for a guest spot.

It was a light crowd, but they all were fans of Dan’s so they were into it. Dan was doing a guest spot downstairs as well so there were a lot of moving parts. I went up and had a good hosting set. They liked me and I didn’t have to do any crowd work.  I just did some newer and older jokes. They all worked, and I had the crowd warmed up. I’d give this set a C.

Next up was Trevor. It was obvious that standup wasn’t his first love. He got huge on IG and he had a great stage presence and was extremely likable on stage. It just didn't seem tight at all. it looked like a dude doing what he thought standup was supposed to be. He is huge, and selling out rooms. I respect he is working on the craft, but he is definitely an internet guy that jumped over to standup because it was another avenue to make some money. 

After his set I brought up Maggie Crane. Michael Terry told me that I would need to do some time in-between comics because Dan might not be back from his set downstairs. So after her set I went up and did a few more jokes. They also went well. I was just worried that if he wasn’t back when Michael got off stage then I’d have to stall again. 

Michael went up and had a solid set too, and right before he got off Dan showed up. I brought Dan up and sprinted over to Big Hunt to try to get another set in before my night was over.

I got to go up pretty quickly after I got there and I felt pretty good doing newer material. The crowd was weird, and they didn’t dig everything and I went too hard no anti-vaxxers apparently. I’d give this set a C. 

I then sprinted back to Comedy Loft and caught the end of the set. I got to hang and chill for a bit before packing up and heading home. I was stoked because this was the earliest I'd gotten to leave DC in a while. 

9/13

I was so excited because this weekend I got to feature at the Richmond Funny Bone. This was going to be my second weekend featuring there. I was so ready for it to be better than the last. I was extremely nervous, but knew it was going to be fun because my friend Anthony Thompson was hosting. I was also worried because the last time I featured there my dad was at the show. So this was bringing up all kinds of memories. 

The early show was Vicki Barbolak (America’s Got Talent) headlining. It was an ok sized crowd. Nothing crazy, but definitely close to full. It was the whitest I have ever seen a crowd there. I am used to this club being more of an urban club. I knew I was going to have to adjust my material, and was worried this might end up being a long weekend. 

The show starts and Anthony goes up to warm them up. Then I go up. I do ok. I could not get in a good rhythm. I was scared and I felt like all of my stuff wasn’t working. I powered through and did my time, but I was not happy with this set. I’d give it a C-. 

Afterwards I watched some of Vicki’s set, but mostly got a bite to eat and tried to decompress before the second show. After the show ended I didn’t even really talk to the people coming out. I was too ashamed. I didn’t kill, and I didn’t feel like I deserved to be there. I did here from several people that I did better than I felt, but that doesn’t mean much. 

The second show the headliner was James Lawson. It was definitely a black crowd, and I was ready to show what I can do. Anthony went up and we could tell this crowd was going to be better.

Then I went up and definitely had a better set. I wasn’t killing but I had some pretty good pops. Nothing completely bombed, and that was a relief. I did some fun crowd work and got off on a pretty big laugh! I’d give it a C.

After this I hung out for a bit. I got some food, and just chilled. After James set I got to talk to a few people and actually got to give out some #cutecomedy stickers. After everyone left I headed home to prepare for the rest of the weekend. 

9/14

The next day I relaxed at home, did some cleaning, and watched the Virginia Tech football game. It has been really difficult to do it without dad, but I have to. After hanging out for a while I headed into town ready to have two great sets.

I get there and Vicki is doing an interview with a lady who wrote a book. She is getting like a recommendation from Vicki so she can post it online. She says she is too christian and can’t really watch the show, but she wanted to sit for a while. So her and her husband take the comics table which means I have to take down my camera. Which straight up is annoying as shit. Especially since she wasn’t going to stay for the whole show. There were other tables that had open seats. She could have sat there, but nope. Had to move the camera. 

The show starts and it is almost full. Anthony had a solid hosting set. I went up and had a really strong feature set. I was super proud of it. I didn’t do any crowd work. Just 20+ minutes of my material and they really enjoyed it. I did a new opener and put my old opener after it. Which kept it fresh and gave me two big pops up top. I closed pretty strong too.  I’d give this set a B+

Afterwards I went and ate and did video editing in the green room. After the show I went outside and met with people. I had a good buddy from high school who has come to a few shows show up. He gave me some strong compliments and he said he loved that I didn’t do crowd work. He said it was all material, and it was awesome. That means a lot to hear since I worry my crowd work is way better than my jokes.

The second show starts and they are rowdier than the first crowd. Anthony did well, and addressed a table of hecklers. I went up and had a hot one. The jokes worked, but where I really got them was the crowd work. There were two tables doing ladies night, and I was able to pick on them. One was wasted and the others were classier. There was a dude and his wife in the front who were super into the show. Super handsome dude, and gorgeous lady so I was able to bring them into the fold. Such a super fun set. I’d give this one a B+/A-.

After my set I headed over to meet up with my buddy Kenn for a bit. We chilled and talked and I told him I had to go back to hand out stickers. I had people say I was better than the headliner which is bull shit, but still nice to hear. I handed out a bunch of stickers and got a good number of people to follow me on social media. 

After all of this Kenn and I went to grab a bite to eat and catch up. Then I headed home. 

9/15 

This was a super chill day. I got Pho and hung out with some friends. I also went to Coco and Hazel which is a dope milkshake place in town. They have ginormous shakes with cake and cookies on top of them.

I then headed over for the last show. It was pretty full for a Sunday. I got to talk to Vicki a bit and she was super sweet. She had some kind words for me and said she’d be in touch. 

Anthony had a good set, and then I felt really good about mine. I did a good mix of material and crowd work. They really dug what I was doing. I got some huge pops, and felt the confidence to try a new joke(it didn’t work). The audience was one of the best Sunday audiences I have ever seen. I’d give this a B.

After my set I got my check and dipped out. I wasn’t feeling great, and I was just ready to kind of unwind and relax and go to bed.

9/16

After work I headed to a pretty productive therapy session. After this I headed up to The Southern. 

When I got there I set everything up. I moved the tables, and set up the PA. I had it looking really good. Unfortunately Monday Night Football kind of kills comedy in this area. We didn’t have a huge crowd.

We did have a lot of my friends come out though. Mu, Bryan, Adam Chiodini, Paige, Heather, JR, Chris, Shane Hill, Sam Wood, Samantha Padgett, and plenty of others. 

The show was actually pretty fun. Everybody did ok, or if they didn’t it was good for them. I went up and had a solid set. I did mostly new stuff. I had two brand new bits, and new tags for bits I did last week. So it was incredibly productive for me. I’d give it a C. 

After my set I packed up and headed home. I was exhausted. I ended up not sleeping well. My dad has been weighing very heavy on my mind lately. I doesn’t seem to be getting easier. It definitely feels like it is getting worse. 

I DID IT! Caught up again. I’ll be back Thursday with tomorrow’s shows. I love you laydees and baybees very much. I don’t know if anyone reads this, but if you do thank you! Thanks for supporting #cutecomedy !!! xoxo see you soon.