#this whole cast is great but Alex is DEEP in character they always know just what to say that’s funny and pathetic

[deanmarywinchester]

also why is hank green kind of slaying they shouldn’t allow men who were vloggers in 2007 to do that

[dentpx]

7/7/2023: Hadestown again

Still genuinely my favorite show, I feel really lucky to have seen it on Broadway twice now. I was itching to see it again after the tour, which was still really good but had to reblock things which I missed dearly seat stuff: - row F floor seats on the left side of the theater, and on the left side of the row. pretty good seats, but I'm glad this wasn't my first watch of the show. - for the most part I could see all the major action. the only time i couldn't see was during Chant III (I think) where I couldn't see Hades at all for his dialogue at the bottom of the stairs or heading up them because Hermes was standing stage right. - only actual complaint about the seats is that there were a lot of times where I wanted to see the facial expression of an actor during a scene and they were facing the other direction LOL, which is just always the gamble on non-center seat. - it was pretty nice being close to the front, not gonna lie. Pretty sure I made eye contact with Hermes at the start of the show when she was doing some crowd work, also think I made eye contact with one of the fates during We Raise Our Cups - also. HUGELY GOOD SEATS for if you're doing stagedoor because they exit you on that side of the theater, which is also directly next to stagedoor. we were able to get out very fast.

cast stuff: - Reeve and Eva are still there <3 was able to catch a lot of cute moments this time. they're always so cute on stage. favorite was during Livin' it Up, they were sitting on the tables, he was holding her and they were whispering things to each other. it was so cute that after the show I googled if they were dating and they were LOL - Eva is so great, caught more little moments from her too, like when Persephone hands her the flask. She sniffs it and then her whole face is like "oh my god? how is she drinking this." When they throw her into the dance break in Livin' It Up, she's like "nooo I don't want to, I don't know what to do". - Reeve great as always. so obsessed with him. i think he's the only character in the show who doesn't acknowledge the audience at all, even when he looks out, he doesn't connect in the way that other leads do (which is for sure a character choice). - fave thing I noticed from him was during Wait For Me when he's dodging the lamps, just some great facial expressions and body language in that number. really communicated that this is representative of a long and hard journey. - first time seeing Lillias White as Hermes (cats fans make some noise), I LOVED her. I like that she's doing a different thing with the character. Her Hermes is "rooting" for Orpheus and Eurydice more - when Hades says he'll let them go, she visibly sighs in relief, and then is upset when he names the condition. I really got the sense of her struggle as the storyteller unable to change the story. Her dynamic with Persephone was great. She also has an incredible voice ofc. - Jewelle again as Persephone, she is just show-stopping. Her physicality when she dances is INCREDIBLE. Way Down was a personal fave from her this time. - Alex Puette was Hades, he's an understudy. i really liked him. he's not a super deep bass the way Hades normally is, so he had a more musical performance and less spoken word. I think he had great body language. He was sort of a silly Hades? there's a moment where he runs up the stairs in victory and he sort of made a little walking motion with his fingers on the arm rail like he was doing a victory lap lol. - he also did a line read in a way i have NEVER HEARD BEFORE: he read "oh, it's about me" in an "oh no, this is embarrassing" way instead of the "this kid is stupid" way most people do it.

set/blocking/misc stuff: - i really do think this show is best on Broadway because of the turntable and the circle trapdoor. the way that they use it is so smart and effective. commented on this last time but Chant (Reprise) is so good because of how they use the turntable to put Orpheus, Hades, and Persephone against each other. the ending is also better with the trapdoor. - being on the floor this time meant I couldn't see where the trapdoor was in terms of height when they used it, which actually helped with immersion haha. when Hades and Persephone leave after Way Down, the workers look at the floor where they disappeared in awe, and even though logically I know the turntable probably came back up already you picture a giant hole in the earth. - broadway set also rules because of the scale it has, so when it splits apart in Wait For Me it feels earth-shatteringly cool. - was glad to see the acoustic guitar again. on tour they give Orpheus an electric guitar because they're going to theaters that are too big to mic an acoustic one for i guess? but the acoustic guitar looks better and fits more with the tone of the show IMO. happy to see it. - i actually think Epic III was my favorite song this time. it is so beautiful when everyone comes together, it just feels magical.

[unofficial-book-of-quotes-tm]

My thoughts about series 8 below the keep reading.

I think I have to make a concession about series 7, I like it a lot more than series 8 and have always liked it more than series 8. Out of all the series that I’ve rewatched for this blog, series 2 and 8 are my least favourite I think, but it’s not even close between them. Like, in my opinion, this series is one of the few times where the casting was somewhat off. I think Lou Sanders and Iain Stirling would have been a lot better off in a series with more competitive and argumentative (is that the word?) people, whereas Paul Sinha, Joe Thomas and Sian Gibson could have done with a bit less loud people.

This time I’m gonna start with the person I liked least. I don’t want to say all of my gripes I had with series 8 come down to Iain and his behaviour, but I think he’s the main reason why I find it so tedious. I know he went through a sort of redemption arc during filming the studio bits and became less irritating by the end, but by God, the first few episodes were rough. I think it took me two weeks alone to get through the first episode because whenever he went off on another contestant, I just had to take a break. I understand that it can be difficult to find one’s footing within the show and with the other contestants, but surely you have to realise when they don’t like arguing back and rather accept the decision made?! A certain amount of competitiveness is needed and I don’t mind contestants defending their choices and justifying their deeds when Greg asks them, but where the fun stops for me is when one has to always attack the others. The most prolific incident is the one with the puppets, but during the first lets say four or five episodes Iain contests almost every decision Greg makes or has a comment to make about the others. I think it was Tim Key in series 1 who often argued with other contestants and Greg and Alex about the rules, but he didn’t take it too seriously, mostly he was doing it for a laugh because he did a lot worse oftentimes. Iain is serious. Where James’ and Rhod’s squabbling is funny because it happens on one level (as in they’re both equally ferocious when arguing back), it’s quite clear that rarely anyone wants to answer to Iain. And this is where I think Iain might have fared better with a different cast (and I don’t even want to get into what a massive bellend he was during the team tasks, especially the hammock and the being one person one). The team task in series 4 where Noel, Lolly and Joe all have to do different things to the bath and have a bit of a fallout because they don’t communicate is fun because it’s a one off. I just don’t find it funny when one person yells at others in order to establish dominance or whatever the fuck Iain was trying to do, although I do have to say, Iain’s fail-ocano still makes me unbelievably happy and yet I feel a bit sorry for him. He looked so devastated it was hilarious (and good on Greg for recognising how sensitive Iain was about it and not making more fun of him even if there was a lot left unsaid I believe).

I don’t have much to say about the other contestants, because I think Iain overshadowed all of them. Joe was incredibly awkward and I don’t know whether that’s a character he played or if he’s genuinely that way, but throughout he reminded me of Simon Cooper (the character he played in the Inbetweeners). I found his awkwardness combined with Alex’s awkwardness quite entertaining, and his whole down-beat, self-loathing, doubt and whatnot honestly spoke to me on a very deep level. I keep forgetting Sian’s name, she sounds like a guinea pig when laughing / excited and I liked her a lot. Lou was horny, there to wreak havoc, delivered on both and also won, so congratulations to her. But overall, she was a good contestant, I think she and Kerry Godliman are what great contestants should be. Then you have Paul. He said he had shoulder surgery about a week before filming the tasks and he didn’t seem too well, thus I think he would have done better, yet I did like him even then. He had quite the calming influence, though he didn’t do too badly?

I like the Greg and Alex we see in series 8. This time Greg seems to be more of the tyrant (not just with Alex but with the contestants as well), but not throughout and he kind of switches it on and off. I like what he did in later episodes (I honestly can’t remember if he did it in the first five episodes as well) when he tells Alex to recap what happened before the break but either shout it, lick his lips, wink after every word with the letter e, etc. So seeing their dynamic getting back on track after a wobble in series 7 was nice.

Series 8 had, in my opinion, some of the best tasks and my absolute (possibly all time) favourite has to be the one in which Alex is on the bridge and tries to spot the contestants who have to get as close to him as possible. The location tasks / the location in and of itself was great and definitely an upgrade from forest™ in series 7. I didn’t mind the forest, but trains are definitely more interesting and the change in set while in the train yard was great.

So, yeah, this was series 8, not a fan. Well, it’s not that bad, and there’s definitely a lot to like about otherwise I wouldn’t have stuck with it. As I said above, I think a different assembly of cast would have worked better for me at least. Looking forward to what series 9 has in store. Thanks for sticking around!

[knickynoo]

Hey, I gotta ask! What did you think about the Uncle Ned episodes? I’ve been rewatching the show and just watched The Fugitive Parts 1&2 from season one and I know he’s got one more episode in season 2 where I think he’s got a drinking problem? Anyways, I was just wondering what you thought about him as a character! I thought he had potential if they fleshed him out a bit more, and I really wish they would’ve gone into his and Alex’s relationship more! What do you think?

Hello! Sorry that this took me a week to get to.

I love Uncle Ned. He was a fantastic character for those three episodes, and I also wish they would've included him in at least a couple of additional episodes and fleshed him out more. There was really so much they could have done with him. His serious drinking problem in his 3rd ep aside, he brought such fun to the Keaton house. Uncle Ned really lived to shake things up; he was hysterical and had excellent chemistry with the whole cast. It would have been great to have had more of him. Like, yesss, give us the super fun uncle who is constantly cracking jokes and also on the run from the FBI for embezzlement. There is really so much you can do with a guy like that.

And yes, his relationship with Alex was a high point of his appearances. You could really see how much Alex loves and looks up to him, and I would've loved to see that dynamic explored more, especially in the aftermath of "Say Uncle." I was always bummed that we never got closure on that. I mean, we spend "The Fugitive" parts 1 & 2 really seeing firsthand the lengths Alex would go to in order to protect his uncle. There's clearly a deep bond between them that's established and they make such a good pair! Then, Uncle Ned shows up again in his 3rd (and final) appearance, and he's even more fun! Yay, we love Uncle Ned!! Until, oh...he's acting that way because he's a wildly depressed, raging alcoholic. And then we just watch him self-sabotage at every single turn until his family confronts him, at which point he reacts by slapping Alex across the room in a fit of anger. And even though that's the wake-up call he needed to realize he has a problem--because he's so completely horrified at hurting Alex--it's just. SUCH a bummer way to end the episode and then straight up never see him again.

What happened after that? We know he calls a center for alcoholics and wants to get help, but does he?? Does he go into a program and get better? Does he work to mend the broken relationship he now has with his family? How does he deal with what he did to Alex, and how does Alex reconcile it with the uncle he loved so much? What becomes of Uncle Ned? It's just kind of weird that it was never wrapped up completely. Even if they hadn't been able to work him into another episode, they at least could have thrown in a little line or two to let us know his fate. Like, "Oh, I got a letter from Uncle Ned. He's doing so well in his rehab program and sends his love." Something like that, at least.

Idk. Family Ties dealt with so many serious issues over the run of the series, and this is one that they definitely could've taken further. Explored those complicated family relationships and showed the impact of having a close family member who deals with addiction. And even if the whole thing ended painfully, with Uncle Ned continuing to drink and the Keatons having to pretty much remove themselves from his life, I think it still would have been worth taking a look at.

Thanks for the ask!

[ange-de-la-musique]

My thoughts on the Hadestown US tour 2021.

Orpheus and Eurydice: I loved loved loved Nicholas Barasch as Orpheus. I went in not sure about him, especially since Orpheus is my least favorite character, and came out absolutely adoring him. He has the voice of an angel and I’m pretty sure he was singing slightly higher than the score just because he could. He really put a lot of thought into the character and clearly knows how to work with a script to engage with the audience well. Personally I liked Reeve Carney but enjoyed Nicholas a lot more. Morgan Siobhan Green as Eurydice was probably the weakest cast member but she was still wonderful so that says a lot about how good the cast was. Her voice was phenomenal, her only downsides were that she seemed a little nervous and stiff at times, probably just needs some time to get settled into the role. However by act two she was absolutely killing it in the acting department, especially Flowers and her return to Hadestown after Orpheus turns around. Also we love a short queen, the ensemble would be kneeling and she’d be standing and still be the same height as them.

Hades and Persephone: Kevyn Morrow was a great Hades. Like Nicholas showing off his upper register, Kevyn was clearly having a lot of fun showing off his lower register. He clearly knows the value of restraint in acting, as he didn’t have a lot of movement at times but made it work in such a way that it came across very regal rather than stiff, then energetically burst out with action during His Kiss, the Riot. Kimberley Marable was such a fun Persephone, she didn’t play it quite as drunk as Amber Gray, but it still worked. She was a riot, absolutely having the time of her life and she stole the show every time she was on stage. Even in the more serious moments that she was in the background for she was clearly focused on what was happening in the story and how her character would react, such great energy and stage presence.

Hermes and The Fates: So Levi Kreis as Hermes was the cast member I was the most worried about, given how extremely different he is from André De Shields and how the character was originally envisioned. However I should have trusted the actor, as Levi clearly was aware of this and worked hard to make his Hermes a very distinct, new character from Broadway. He played the role very camp, almost feminine at times and it worked extremely well. He has a hell of a voice and played around with the notes throughout the show to show it off. He really knows how to play up to an audience, but did a perfect job of balancing the comedic moments with the somber ones, to the point of his voice actually cracking in a near sob during the finale. The Fates were exceptional, very talented, and very good at reacting to their costars, with beautiful and elegant body language. Watching them in the background of scenes was always very interesting as they were always doing little things to add to their characters.

The Ensemble: As with everything else, the ensemble was amazing. I’m pretty sure I got to see Alex Lugo, one of the the swings, in the worker’s chorus. I can definitely see why Will Mann is the Hades understudy, even when singing in the chorus his voice was so deep it stood out amongst the others. While passing out the mugs during curtain call for We Raise Our Cups, Jamari Johnson Williams tripped over a chair and went sprawling on the stage but he played it off so charmingly and amusing that I could feel the whole audience instantly fall in love with him.

The staging: It was very interesting to see what they did for a touring stage as opposed to the stage built into the theatre on Broadway. While they still had the turntable, it did not rise or lower in the center to function as the train. Instead they had panels in the back of the set under the balcony that opened with smoke effects and lights facing the audience when they opened to act as the train. In some scenes this worked great, even better than the Broadway version - such as Hades’ entrance being made all the more dramatic that all we could see of him was his silhouette wreathed in lights and smoke until he stepped forward into the light. However for some scenes it was less than ideal - the panels stayed open during How Long and watching the ensemble run off and on stage before and after that song definitely spoiled the effect. For the most part though the change made little difference to the quality of the show and my enjoyment of it, and served as a good alternative to the rising turntable. The rest of the staging is the same as on Broadway (I think Eurydice danced slightly less, but that may just be me misremembering exactly how much she danced on Broadway).

The merch: Overall pretty standard merch, however there were two necklaces for sale that were absolutely lovely. They were also selling mugs in the same style as used in the show with the Hadestown logo, which is insanely cool.

Overall an extraordinarily amazing performance with an exceptional cast, definitely worth going to see!

[sparring-hyena]

Ok remember Book 2 where Becca auditions for the Role in James play . Well this time she gets the role instead of Kait and MC keeps her role. But there is it the kiss in question. So Becca invites MC to her room to rehearse in private and they get to know each other. Soon the kiss comes and once Becca kisses Mc she nor the Mc pulls back and keeps kissing forgetting about the play. Can turn into something more or Becca says she liked MC from the start.

the cast list gets posted on a snowy Tuesday morning.

Becca pushes her way through the throng of people and vaguely hears James say something about how all casting decisions are final. which is fine. she’s reasonable like that.

when she reaches the bulletin board, Becca skims the list and learns that Alex got the lead. typical. but that’s fine. she’s reasonable, remember? and then she finds her name and she’s playing the role of— oh no. the love interest. Alex’s love interest. well, not Alex’s love interest. it’s her character’s love interest, and the distinction is important, she notes. because she would never be Alex’s love interest. would never want to be Alex’s love interest.

but the fact remains, she’s going to have to pretend to be in love with Alex.

“looks like we’re gonna be stage buddies.”

Becca turns around and finds herself face-to-face with Alex. Alex who is grinning like this isn’t the worst possible thing. Alex who is shaking the snow flurries from her hair. and Alex who is flushed from the cold and manages to have the audacity to still look— whatever. it doesn’t matter how she looks.

Becca takes a step back, searches for James to talk some sense into him about why the fuck would you cast the two of us as the leads? when she spots him, he glances over and has the gall to smile and restate what he said before.

“all casting decisions are final!”

fuck.

“so, do you wanna exchange numbers so we can meet up to practice?”

“why would we do that? we’ll rehearse with everyone else.”

“no, yeah, i know that. i just figured it might be a good idea to get comfortable with each other since we’re, y’know—” Alex gestures to the casting sheet.

“fine. are you free Thursday at one?”

“yes.”

“great. meet me at the sorority and we can run lines or whatever.” she leaves then and pretends that she’s not the tiniest bit excited for Thursday.

-

Thursday arrives and it’s about as pleasant as a root canal. they argue and bicker and Becca cannot fathom why James thought this casting choice was a good idea. she has half a mind to march right over to his apartment and demand answer. demand that he swaps one of them. but that wouldn’t be reasonable. and she is reasonable.

so, she takes a deep breath. collects her thoughts and frustrations and tucks them away for now. she rolls her shoulders and stands up straight, preparing herself to run through this scene again.

“are you ready?” Becca asks, leaving little room for argument.

Alex seems almost surprised by the sudden switch, but she nods and rolls with it.

they run through the scene, and it’s a romantic one. the one where they profess undying love, and it surprises Becca just how easily the words leave her mouth.

there’s a kiss in this scene and she can see it coming, can feel it coming in the way that they speak and move. they’re standing very close together now but are unwilling to go any further.

Alex says her line, something to the effect of i love you and i will always love you and then pauses and waits. because this is where Becca says it back and then, well—

“we don’t have to, uh… i mean, we do have to. eventually. but not now.”

“right,” Becca says, her voice just a smidge bit higher than it usually is. she clears her throat and tries again. “you’re right.”

“that’s a first.” Alex smirks. “you agreeing with me.”

“don’t let it go to your head.” Becca smiles too and is so glad for the shift in conversation. although she wonders why this feels so easy and natural.

Alex’s phone buzzes then, shattering whatever it was between them. Alex checks her phone and curses. “sorry, i’ve gotta run.” she gathers her things and pulls her coat back on. and once she’s ready to leave, she stops in front of Becca and offers a smile that feels genuine. “this was fun. i’ll see you later.”

and then she’s gone and Becca’s alone, wondering when her room suddenly got so cold. and okay, maybe today wasn’t as bad as a root canal. but whatever. that’s hardly the point.

-

the point, Becca realises a few days later at the first official rehearsal for the play, is that Alex is infuriating. infuriating for a few different reasons but the main one right now is how easily she steps in and out of her role. how easily she plays the role of a woman in love.

the touches and the looks all mean so much when she’s Alex pretending to be someone else. and maybe that bugs Becca because how can she just put our feud aside so easily? doesn’t it mean something to her?

“Becca,” James says, and Becca suddenly realises she’d zoned out. everyone’s staring at her now. “it’s your line.”

“oh, right. sorry.” she clears her throat and finds her place on the page again.

the rehearsal carries on and once they finish for the day, Alex finds her outside in the cold and asks if they can meet up to practice again.

Becca surprises herself when she says yes.

-

their meetups become something of a weekly thing. it happens by accident, Becca insists. and maybe that would mean something if she didn’t also insist that Alex’s very presence annoys her. because it hasn’t for a while now, and Becca’s starting to wonder if it ever did. wondering if what she felt was just misplaced frustration. but that’s too big to unpack right now, so Becca focuses on the scene they’re practicing.

it’s the scene. the one with the kiss. and there’s been a knot sitting in her stomach since she first read the cast list all because of this one fucking scene.

Alex is holding her hands in her own, squeezing every so often when she wants her words to impact. and it works. she feels each and every word as though Alex were speaking them to her from the heart. and then Alex goes off-script.

she says things that couldn’t possibly relate to the play and Becca doesn’t care. she allows herself to get sucked in and just forgets that the whole purpose of them being together is to rehearse for a play. so, when Alex leans in to kiss her, Becca meets her halfway, and then the whole entire world just falls away in a snap.

when they pull apart, Becca realises, in horror and elation and everything else in between, that the kiss definitely meant more than two scene partners playing a role. she runs from her room, from the sorority, from Alex, before she can tell herself no, and goes to the one person who can maybe give some insight.

-

Becca is fuming by the time she reaches James’s building. one elevator ride later, she’s standing in front of James’s front door and knocks until it swings open.

“why did you cast us?” Becca says as soon as the door opens.

“excuse me?”

“why did you cast me and Alex as the leads?”

James seems to understand the question for what it is. he steps aside and motions for Becca to come in. she follows him into the kitchen and stands somewhat awkwardly as he makes two cups of coffee.

“i don’t know if you noticed, but the two of you have real chemistry. i’ve seen how to two of you interact with each other, watched how you argue, and there’s so much passion there.”

“there’s not—” Becca laughs. tries to brush it away. “we don’t— i mean, believe me, there’s no chemistry between us.”

James smiles at her, almost sad that she can’t see it. “well, why do you think i cast the two of you as my leads then?”

“to torture us.”

James laughs, the sound deep and full, and pushes a mug across the counter to Becca. “i assure you, that’s not why.”

“then why?”

“i told you why,” James says, firm yet understanding. “deny it if you want, but the two of you work well together. you have a very special type of chemistry that most people spend years searching for but never find.”

Becca sips her coffee, mulls over James’s words, and then says, “i doubt people spend years looking for what we have. we argue and shout and call each other names.”

“i think there’s more to it than that.”

“there isn’t.”

“okay.”

“okay? what’s that supposed to mean?”

“it means okay.”

she places the mug down, fixes James with a steely gaze, and says, “we don’t have chemistry. we’re just—” Becca stumbles over her words, doesn’t quite know what she’d been trying to say. “thanks for the coffee.” and then she leaves.

-

she mulls over James’s words on the way home. realises that maybe, maybe, he has a point. she goes to the quad to clear her head and is surprised to find Alex there too.

“you ran,” Alex says, and her tone conveys just how hurt she actually is.

“i know.”

“why?”

Becca doesn’t answer. doesn’t know how to answer. what answer could she give that would explain running like that?

“i’m sorry that i said those things,” Alex says. “obviously it made you uncomfortable and i didn’t mean to do that. it all just sorta… spilled out.”

there’s a reasonable way to respond, Becca realises. reasonable would be letting whatever flicker of a flame is between them fade out. reasonable would be carrying on with life and never thinking about Alex again. but fuck being reasonable. being reasonable is boring, and that kiss they shared and those words Alex said made her feel more alive than ever before.

“don’t be sorry,” Becca says, taking that leap. she steps closer to Alex and brushes their hands together. “i’m sorry. for running, for being a bitch, for everything.”

Alex smiles and steps closer too, bridging that final distance between them. she loops her arms around Becca’s waist and Becca places her hands on Alex’s shoulder.

“you weren’t a bitch.”

“i dropped my iced coffee on you when we met.”

“every couple has a meet-cute.”

“oh, so now we’re a couple?” Becca says, her tone light and teasing.

“if you want.”

“what i want is for you to kiss me.”

and Alex does.

[thealexchen]

Hey there! It's Anonymous again, coming back with some Headcanon questions! Since we've talked about Chenrich headcanons, what would you say are some personal headcanons about Gabe's relationship with Charlotte? Any headcanons of how Alex's relationship with Charlotte would develop after Gabe's death? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Hello there! Wow, this is interesting. Thank you for asking!

I think Gabe and Charlotte complement each other because Gabe has such a positive, laid-back nature while Charlotte is more of a serious, ambitious go-getter— even when meeting Alex for the first time, she still says she has to leave to finish up some art pieces before they’re due— and they both uplift the other.

Gabe can be a little forgetful (and I think that’s the source of the whole “Gabe Chen buys makeup flowers for angry girlfriend” line) but he always cares and makes sure to show it. Since Alex and Charlotte are both so artistic and creative, it would be funny if Gabe doesn't have a single artistic bone in his body and is instead really great with numbers— he takes care of all the budgeting and logistics in their little family unit. He’s learned to be satisfied and fulfilled with his bartending job and looking after Ethan. It’s nothing glamorous, but it’s really all he needs, and Charlotte is happy that he’s happy.

Besides their interests and personalities, I think Gabe was drawn to Charlotte the same way he was drawn to Haven Springs and Ryan and Steph: a deep need for connection and shared, painful pasts. The “Meet the Cast” blog post confirms that Charlotte is 28 and had been a single mom to Ethan. Ethan is currently 10, so she was a teen mom and has probably been through a lot, just like Gabe. Now, she’s turned her life around, just like Gabe, and is a beloved and successful artist and runs the medical marijuana dispensary in town. Gabe is always there to support all of her endeavors. Charlotte is also 3 years older than Gabe, so Gabe respects Charlotte deeply. Like Ryan, Gabe is a total gentleman and knows how to flatter with chivalry and genuine affection. I don’t think this is the first bouquet of flowers he’s bought for Charlotte, and he’s probably bought gifts or made her dinner to apologize for the smallest arguments. She always finds herself shaking her head in disbelief and saying, “I can’t stay mad at you,” with a smile.

Gabe has also become a total family man and very proudly calls himself “like, dad plus” (which Alex laughs at, but probably secretly appreciates, because that’s why she’s in Haven now!). Gabe initially turned to cooking to work through the grief of losing his parents, but by now it’s become a great hobby of his and he loves cooking all types of worldly cuisines, much to Charlotte and Ethan’s delight. But what’s interesting is that Charlotte’s character description in the blog post specifies that “she helped bring Alex to Haven,” showing that she wants to welcome Alex in as family as well. Charlotte is warm and welcoming to Alex from the start, saying “So glad you’re here, Alex. I’m looking forward to getting to know you.” Since Charlotte is 7 years older than Alex, she becomes an older sister figure to Alex, which she sorely needs after so many years in foster care with a well-meaning, but not always available social worker (Dr. Lynn).

Alex would be happy just watching Charlotte paint for hours, listening to soft grainy tunes on Charlotte’s handheld radio, sipping a drink from the Black Lantern, all in a comfortable silence. When Charlotte describes how joyful and free she feels while making art and a golden aura starts to form around her, Alex nods and smiles because yes, that’s exactly it. That’s just how she feels when she’s holding a guitar and a song is on her lips.

Charlotte helps fill in the gaps after Gabe dies. In the days immediately following his death, when Alex would cry at every thought of her brother, she approaches Charlotte with tears in her eyes and begs, “Tell me about Gabe. Why did you love him?” It’s painful at first, but over time Charlotte recounts every story she can think of, and Alex learns more about the man Gabe became and the boundless love he shared with everyone around him. Sometimes it’s late at night and they’re just sniffling on the couch. Other times, it’s warm and sunny, and with Ethan’s head in Alex's lap and listening to his mom tell stories, Alex feels herself healing.

The grief never truly goes away. The spring festival is a night of budding love and joy, but for Charlotte it makes the sting of her loss even sharper. So even though Alex is bursting with excitement and nerves about her concert, and possibly confessing to either Ryan or Steph with a rose, she still goes over to put a comforting arm around Charlotte’s shoulders. After Gabe died, Alex was devastated at the thought that she had no remaining family left because her parents were already gone. But as time goes on, Alex realizes that she thinks of Charlotte and Ethan as family too.

[adiwriting]

So I’m going to preface this by saying that I love Jeanine, Tyler, Vlamis, Heather, Trevenio… the entire cast. I love this cast, but they are human and like most of us, they make mistakes at times. None of them are perfect.

Still, it’s okay to hold people accountable for their mistakes. We don’t have to cancel somebody over them, but it doesn’t make you an anti-fan to question an actors questionable actions and ask them to do better next time. And herein lies the reason for why I’ve been so uncomfortable lately in fandom spaces (fandom spaces in general, but for today, I’m talking about RNM). Fandom has this unhealthy culture where you either stan somebody so hard they can do no wrong and excuse every mistake, or we cancel somebody over a single mistake. We don’t allow actors, writers, anyone in the business to be human… and because of that, I don’t think we leave much room to grow.

2020 has been a year many deeply seeded issues in our country have finally started to receive the spotlight they deserve - racism being one of them. And in that, I’ve been doing a lot of reading about the importance of calling people in rather than calling people out. But I’ve also been reading about how we as a society have to do better about calling out racism wherever we see it.

It’s alright to question your favorite show and still watch it. It is not out of line to question things like why the show allowed themselves to write a storyline that put a black woman in the middle of a queer endgame ship as if nobody could have guessed that it would pit the queer community (another oppressed group) against the only black woman on the show. I don’t think it’s out of line for a fandom to question why the show was allowing so much torture porn for their queer characters. Or ask if the show considered casting a disabled actor to play a disabled character.

If we don’t ask these questions, how is change ever going to happen? It doesn’t mean we have to stop watching (though it’s valid if you do). It doesn’t mean that we harass the show’s cast and crew to the point of being mean. We can criticize actions without criticizing people.

So that brings me to the point I’m trying to make… Or perhaps the question I’m trying to ask.

This past month, we learned from Tyler Blackburn himself that he is not Native. Now, before everyone jumps down my throat about DNA testing, let’s look at the facts Tyler himself gave us. On the Pretty Little Wine Moms podcast, Tyler informed us that he took a DNA test during S1 of RNM and discovered he has no native blood. One of the moms was quick to point out that those tests aren’t always accurate especially if they don’t have much native DNA to test you against. I’m not here to argue that fact or argue the accuracy of DNA testing that tribes themselves rarely use for determining membership. I’m here to discuss what he explained afterwards.

Way back when PLL was casting for Caleb, the casting called for an ethnic actor. Tyler went up for the part. He didn’t get it originally because he wasn’t ethnic and the show was looking to expand it’s diversity. Now, things should have ended there. The show should have been able to find a POC to play Caleb. The casting team should have held to their promise to bring in a more diverse cast and regardless of Tyler’s background, cast a POC, specifically a non-white passing actor. Nobody can tell me that there wasn’t a single POC talented enough to play that part. If they couldn’t find one, they weren’t looking hard enough. And that’s a big red flag on that PLL team and to Hollywood as a whole because these stories are so common and why Hollywood has such a deep problem with race.

The fact that Tyler was cast instead of a POC is a problem with the PLL casting team. But back to Tyler. The PLL team came back to him after they couldn’t find anyone to play Caleb and asked him if he was ethnic. Tyler, not knowing if he was ethnic (pointing to the fact that he had no connection to any non-white culture) went to his grandmother. And his grandmother told him a story. A story many of us have heard… A story of his native american heritage. A heritage that he didn’t know of or have a connection to until he suddenly was up for a job. And a heritage he claimed in order to get a job intended for an “ethnic” actor.

Does Tyler really have native heritage? He claims no. In his own words he says that he’s not native. Even if his grandmother was right, he’s at most 1/32 native with no tribal or cultural connection. But even that seemed like a giant question mark since the people he would need to ask to verify have all passed.

Tyler was cast as Caleb, and later cast as Alex, based in part to a native background he claimed for himself that he now says is not part of his culture or heritage.

This isn’t a stain on Tyler. It’s questionable behavior of a white boy raised in a society that has been racist since it’s founding. We are all guilty of committing racist acts because of this upbringing. It’s not mean to say that Tyler’s actions were questionable and racist. It’s fact. Doesn’t mean I can’t love and forgive him, but it does mean I’m no longer going to allow myself to use “But Tyler is native” as a defense against my own racist comments towards other cast members. And I would hope the same would hold true for the rest of this fandom as well. It’s simply not true and unfair to anyone that actually is indigenous to allow ourselves to defend Tyler as a POC. Especially when we have other cast members of the show who are native with tribal connections. And cast members of color who are repeated cast as villains on the show or otherwise put into very difficult positions that invite racial hate.

I hold the show accountable for casting a white-passing boy as a native. When they decided to cast Tyler, they should have changed his heritage and his disability. Or they should have cast somebody more diverse. That’s on the casting team. 

I’m hoping that Tyler’s admission on this podcast means that he will no longer allow himself to be cast as a POC, taking jobs away from POC who still struggle in Hollywood cause of racism. I hope he learns and grows from this cause I think he’s a great person and a great role model and has the platform to push others to do better.

My frustration with fandom comes in the fact that this podcast and admission has gone ignored. Even those that heard the admission, continue to make excuses for him and defend their right to call Tyler (Not Alex, TYLER) a POC. Yet, other actors continue to not get the same freedom to be human to make mistakes. Vlamis is dragged over the coals for profiting off of the LGBTQ community. I don’t even know if I can go into how badly Heather is treated. I guess I’m just confused why we can forgive some of our cast and not others for very questionable decisions?

I’m not here to drag Tyler. I love the guy. He’s a good Alex. I’m just tired of the double standard and the racism I constantly see in this community. I love this show and I love this cast. I’m not trying to call anyone out, I’m just hoping to call us in and ask our show, cast, crew, and fandom to do better.

[tangledstarlight]

work in progress wednesday 

hello hi! okay so i’m working on a few different things right now because i have no self control but i’d thought i’d show you the rough outline i have worked out for my reincarnation au since i just gotta super excited about the idea of it again. and also part of this juke fake dating au i have because i feel like if i post it somewhere it might make me actually finish it

reincarnation au

i work in a really annoying way in which i have to physically write stuff out first, so i’ve basically got all this on flashcards with extra information/plot details about each decade/century. and also a flashcard for each of the main characters, colour coded, with things that stay the same in each life, and points that tie them all together (i’m literally so close to ordering red string and creating a crime scene murder board for organisation hfj). 

i’m sticking with the greek gods vibe, mostly because i love a bit of greek mythology, which means rose is Hestia because the home, hearth & family vibes are strong in the molina household if you ask me. i havent settled on a god for caleb yet but i’m leaning towards one who deals with chaos? it’s still a little up in the air.

i’m still trying to figure out what’s going to happen between 300bc and the 1300′s because there’s gotta be at least one life in there somewhere yknow?

i have to say i’m most excited about writing the willie interlude chapter and boys as cowboys, they just feel like they’re gonna be fun. 

juke fake dating au

i really like what i have, and i love a fake dating au but i just...idk the motivation to actually finish it seems to have vanished and that makes me sad

“So. I’ve got a... proposition for you. Or a request I guess. A deal? An idea of mutual beneficial rewards?” Julie frowned, head tilted to the side as she thought about it. During all her rehearsing of this moment she had completely forgotten to think about how to actually approach the topic. 

Now she was just sounding crazy if the raised eyebrows Luke was shooting her way were any indication. 

“I’m listening. Unless you’re about to ask me to help you commit some kind of crime, then we might have to do this somewhere a little less,” he twirled a finger in the air and leaned in a little closer, lowering his voice to a whisper “public. Don’t wanna get caught.” 

He said it all with such an easy smile, calming her racing nerves without even realising that’s what he was doing. Or maybe he did know. Everyone always joked about how Luke was constantly wrapped up in his music, he didn’t notice much going on around him, but he could be surprisingly in tune with his friends' emotions when he wanted to be. Which is part of the reason why Julie was doing this, she reminded herself. There was a reason it was Luke she was asking. 

“I think we should fake date.”

The words hung in the air between them. And, now they were out in the open, Julie realised just how mad the whole idea sounded. The sight of Luke’s smile freezing, eyebrows rising higher as his eyes grew wider (a look that, under other circumstances would have made her laugh) had Julie rushing to get out her explanation before he could completely say no. She had put a lot of thought into this! 

“No, no, listen! I know it sounds weird and silly and completely crazy. But it makes sense! Dad and Carlos have been worrying and Tia is convinced I’ve sworn off relationships because I’m scared of getting hurt because of mom and what happened with Nick and Flynn is constantly trying to set me up on dates. Even though I’ve told them all I’m perfectly fine! There’s nothing wrong with being single and alone, and it’s not even like I’m alone-alone. I have friends. I’m not some kind of crazy recluse.” Julie felt herself spiralling into a rant and had to take a deep breath to pull herself back. Luke still hadn’t moved since she’d started speaking, though she could swear his lips twitched in an almost smile. 

“And! You’re always saying how your mom drives you mad about how you’ve never brought someone home to meet them. And Alex and Reggie are always teasing you about not being able to keep a date because you’re always scaring people away with your crazy intense music obsession and how you’re going to be forever alone surrounded by guitars instead of cats.” Reggie had gone into scary details about how he thought Luke’s life was going to play out, it was both terrifying and hilarious. 

“If we pretend to date for a few weeks it will get them all off our backs, we wouldn’t even have to change all that much about what we do now. Maybe just, dinner or something, hold hands. You already spend all your time here anyway. And then in a month or something we can have an amicable break up. Everyone wins.” She ended her speech a little out of breath, having rushed through all her thoughts. Luke is still looking at her, his eyes still wide and his smile frozen in place. But he was still sitting at the counter, which Julie was going to take as a good sign. 

“So? What do you think?” She chewed on her lip, casting her eyes down and trying - and failing - to not fidget with her fingers. Luke still hadn’t responded, hadn’t moved. Oh god, he thought it was a terrible plan didn’t he? 

Now he was never going to want to hang out with her again, he’d avoid coming to the cafe and stop inviting her to their gigs and she’d be down to only Flynn as a friend and she really would be a recluse. 

Was there a limit on how many cats you could adopt at once? She didn’t think her apartment building even allowed cats. Great, now she was going to have to move as well!

“Hey,” Luke’s voice was gentle as it pulled her out of her spiraling thoughts, and he must have been trying to get her attention for a while, she thinks, because one of his hands is reaching out to settle on top of hers that had started tapping insistently on the counter top. Julie hadn’t even realised she was doing that. 

“You put a lot of thought into this whole, fake dating thing, huh?” He says the words ‘fake dating’ carefully, slowly, like he’s worried about something. But Julie doesn’t know what. She nods her head though, blowing out a breath and raising her eyes again until they land on Luke’s own. 

“Even made a powerpoint. There were pictures and graphs.” 

Luke laughed at that and Julie felt all the sudden tension leave her shoulders. She’s reminded, again, that this is Luke and there is a reason why she’s asking him to part-take in her crazy plan. 

“I mean-” He pauses, tilting his head a little to the side, his eyes unfocused as he seems to think something over. Julie waits, forces her hand, that is still underneath his, to be still lest she seem impatient for his answer. Which she is, but Luke doesn’t need to know that. It feels like an eternity has passed before he’s blinking, eyes focusing on hers and a wide grin breaking across his face. Julie can’t help but smile back reflectively. 

“I guess it wouldn’t really change all that much about our lives, huh? We’d just get to hang out more. And it would be nice for my parents and the guys to get off my back about never going out on dates.”

It takes Juile a moment to realise what exactly Luke is saying. 

“Wait, you mean you’ll do it?” She had hoped he would agree, but actually hearing him say it is a whole other thing. 

“Yeah, of course I’ll do it. And hey, it could be kinda fun!” There’s an infectious excitement in Luke’s voice and Julie grins, impulsively turns her hand over on the counter top so she can link their fingers together and squeeze his hand.

[meangirlsx]

I saw Beetlejuice for the second time recently, and like I shared some things about Mean Girls with you all after I saw it, here are some thoughts and notes and fun facts about Beetlejuice:

Toward the beginning of the show, Beej has a joke where he says he feels invisible and powerless, like a gay republican

It takes people a second, but the audience bursts out into laughter

And then he nods, like he’s saying, “Yep, I said it” and everyone breaks out laughing again

And he does the nod again and gets another break of laughter

And once more, and you can already tell the audience is like in the palm of his hand

He also makes a joke that seems self-deprecating and then deflects it onto an audience member in the front by saying, “This guy knows what I’m talking about!”

He does that a few times throughout the show

And at the end of the show, he makes a joke at the guy one final time and then switches out of his Beetlejuice voice and back into Alex just long enough to say, “Thanks for being here!” to the guy

Dana was on for Lydia and y’all she is so incredible

I feel like with Sophia’s Lydia, you get that the character was always strange and unusual and got more so and darker after her mom died, but at least to me, I get the impression that it wasn’t a far leap for her as a character

Dana’s Lydia has a sweeter, softer, higher voice just by virtue of it being Dana

But she also plays her a little softer and more innocent and more like you really get the feeling that she was a good deal different when her mom was alive

Both are totally valid and fantastic interpretations, so it was fun to see this other version

It also felt a little less shocking then when Lydia thinks Adam’s ultimate dad joke is really funny and says she likes the Maitlands

It really gut punches you that she just wants a healthy, happy, stable family

In Ready Set, Not Yet when Barbara goes, “Look at these jugs!” Beej whips around with wide eyes, realizes she’s talking about actual pottery and not her boobs, makes a disappointed face, and no one processes it until he walks off and then they’re just dying laughing

Then at the end of the song, when Barbara says they’re maybe 80% ready and Adam says 78% instead, she nods like she’s totally in agreement

In Fright of Their Lives, when Adam tells Barbara her first “best primal scream” is brilliant, Beej turns him around to face away from her

Adam looks like he’s trying to be good and make Beej happy by not interacting with Barbara in that moment but as soon as she tries again, it’s like he can’t contain himself from loving and supporting his wife with everything in him

David’s Adam is just really freaking adorable, guys

He really embraces the whole “I’m a huge dork and madly in love with my wife and that pretty much sums me up” personality

Also someone posted on here a while back that they think the severed head that pops out of the trunk looks like Nic Cage and I was pretty close to the stage and I still back this

During Beej’s soliloquy, on the album he doesn’t go all operatic until, “I know that beggars can’t be choosers” but at this performance he did it right away from “I want freedom” and it was so overdramatic it was amazing

Once the Maitlands fight with him and he storms out of the attic, they start getting so angry together, and Adam gets all worked up like he’s going to yell something insulting but instead just yells that Beetlejuice needs therapy and he hopes that he gets it

Like they’re so nice and pure they can’t even be mad without hoping for good to come to the person they’re mad at

In “No Reason” when Delia says, “life coaching, nailing it,” she bops her little hair bun

I’m also fairly certain she tries to dab at some point during the song

And at another point in the song, she does that Fornite dance where you pump your arm and leg on the same side while like hopping?

Tbh a lot of her little quirks are her trying to be cool and relatable and just not fully understanding the current culture or the fact that Lydia is very much not into it

In Say My Name, he shouts, “Fake cartwheel!” and then twirls behind Lydia like he’s pretending to do a cartwheel but wouldn’t land it if he actually tried

Then when he yells “assassinate,” he pulls the top part of his wig back to reveal a brain, and he doesn’t cover it back up until a good moment after Lydia says, “No!”

At the start of Day-O, when Delia calls Charles an “amazing, amazing man,” she straight up starts crying

So now we’re into Act II

Presley comes out for Girl Scout and the entire audience just cheers because who doesn’t love Presley

The first time she turns her back to the audience, you see that her backpack is just O V E R F L O W I N G with Thin Mints

When the music changes for a few seconds after “they had my back if anything went wrong with me,” she’s like freaking out and breathing heavy and trying to calm herself down

And then she jumps RIGHT back into her happy place when she hits “jamboree, soda pop” and everyone in the audience like lost it over that

In the transition between outside and inside the house, Sky says it’s so dark and pulls out her flashlight because she’s always prepared

She holds it beneath her face and says “boo” and then “just kidding, hope I didn’t scare you”

And then something scares her and she starts breathing and counting and Lydia just goes, “You’re fun”

It takes Sky exactly 0 seconds to reply, “I like you, too”

I can’t remember if Dana does this as Sky, too – she probably does

But when Alex sings “clean, white shorts turning brown” Presley spins on the landing of the stairs like she’d been trying to get to a bathroom and just couldn’t make it and wow it’s funny but your heart goes out to her in that moment even though you know it’s not real

Also for anyone who’s been curious or concerned, Sky is totally fine by the time she leaves – she doesn’t die or get hurt or anything

Lydia pays her for some Thin Mints and she leaves, like honestly the girl’s got some steel bravery

Presley and Dana are just so cute onstage together, like you can tell they’re loving it

Later, in “What I Know Now,” Presley is back as the Dead Rider and in a moment where everyone is watching Leslie as everyone has sort of crowded around Lydia, Presley reached out and held onto Dana’s arm for a minute

Then she turned it into her character moving Lydia because the ensemble members move her around in that part of the song

They’re so supportive and proud of each other

Right after Charles proposes to Delia, Lydia comes running in trying to tell him that the house is haunted

So Delia hides under the covers instead of in the bathroom or closet or whatever and takes her vape with her

And Lydia tells her dad to grab everything so they can get out and she pulls the sheet off the bed and sees Delia and after a long pause, Delia says, “Hey” and sooooo much smoke comes out of her mouth and her voice is all deep

Back in “Barbara 2.0,” when Kerry first sings “Say hello to Barbara 2.0,” she leans one leg on a box and flexes her arms down in front of her stomach and it’s adorable

Then when Adam sings, “the old one’s fertilizer,” Barbara just totally giggles

They’re so in love

Kerry and David have a slightly different vibe than Kerry and Rob but they’re already such great scene partners and so sweet together

Toward the end, when they’re all trying to trick Beej and Adam yells for everything to stop because he has something to say to him, the entire audience gets so excited and then so quiet, waiting for him to own Beej

And when he starts by saying that Beej has been harassing him the entire show and pauses at, “And I gotta tell you”, you can tell everyone thinks we’re about to get a comment on sexual harassment

And Adam finishes by saying, “It. Has worked.” and EVERYONE goes insane

And then he’s full-on making out with Beej and Beej is just in AWE and the audience can barely breathe

Barabara tries to do it, too, but she leans in and she just can’t bring herself to do it

During “Creepy Old Guy,” Alex gives Beej the most innocent, hopeful look that makes you almost happy for him and almost forget that all of this is Very, Very Wrong

It looks like Adam is Beej’s best man and Barbara is Lydia’s maid of honor and like Delia is probably like a bridesmaid

They get to the “I do” and you can feel that everyone kind of can’t believe it actually happened and it’s like this creepy, shocked feeling that settles over everyone but then immediately all the tech goes crazy because Beej is becoming alive

As a very briefly alive Beetlejuice, he goes on this total anxiety/emotional spiral from “the world is so beautiful” to “what if I’m never happy again” to “we don’t teach men to process our anger and that’s a sad truth that indicts all of us” to “so maybe, maybe I’ll just try murder”

Tbh the entire show is an impressive showcase for Alex but that moment is a rollercoaster and a mini masterclass in portraying different emotions and making social commentary and maintaining the humor all at the same time

He puts on this ENTIRE persona for the entire show, which is obviously very common for most characters/actors but like this is a whole other level, I think

The way he moves, of course the way he talks and sings, the way his eyes look, literally everything is different and it’s so, so clear that he put SO much work into creating this character

Okay that’s my Alex Brightman stan rant now back to your previously scheduled programming

At the start of his goodbyes, Beej mentions a possible future “vision quest” to find his dad and just goes, “Sequel?” and then does his puppet hand like he did for the Handbook for the Recently Deceased and in “Say My Name” and makes a “squa squa squa” noise like those horns people play from their phones to back up their own joke (I’m so sorry I don’t know a better way to explain it or if there’s a real term for it because y’all it slays the audience)

At the curtain call, everyone in the audience is of course screaming for Dana and the entire cast is just so proud of her and they’re doing everything they can to show it

Alex, especially, just fucking bows to her and claps like he’s in awe of her

And the last note I took down is a tech thing so if you don’t want to know how they do the lifts of Barbara and Lydia, just stop reading here

I didn’t catch it when they lifted Barbara up the wall for the exorcism

But I caught it when they lifted Lydia up the stairs and I’m guessing it’s the same mechanism for both

There’s like this black seat attached to the wall beneath the railing

I only noticed it because I was up close and on the side and looking for it but like you really don’t notice it

So she can like casually straddle this thing and rest herself on it and it will lift her up safely

I’m sure there’s more to it than that to make it totally safe, and also she can bring her legs and feet pretty close together while she’s up in the air so there has to be some explanation for that, too, since that would be difficult if she were sitting and she’s also clearly standing and not sitting

But it’s awesome

And Adam has been hanging out near there with a mop and mop bucket, cleaning up little things onstage, which is totally on-brand for him and you don’t question it for a second

But then when Lydia comes down and steps away from the stairs, Adam just dances right over to the seat, stands in front of it, and knocks it into the bucket with the mop

Again, I was looking for it

They do a really great job covering that kind of stuff

Guys this show and the entire team that puts it on is just so, so incredible

If anyone has any questions about the show that I didn’t address here, feel free to ask

And if I don’t know the answer at first, I’m seeing the show at least one more time and can pay attention to something more specifically to get you an answer

[gra-sonas]

Hiiii! What are you thoughts about RNM finale! How do you feel about it? I'm glad Alex was happy and I kind of understand why Micha walked out in the middle of the song even though I know some people didn't like it... Anyways! Hope you have a great day! 😁

Hi nonnie!

Am I having a great day, running on roughly 2 hours of sleep and sheer force of will? Debatable. :P

I’ve been listening to Tyler’s song all day tho, that has definitely improved my mood significantly. I’ll never be over the beauty that is this Malex song. WE GOT A MALEX SONG, Y’ALL!!!! And Tyler’s voice... yeah, the absolute best thing ever. I’m at peace just listening to him. 🥰

WOULD YOU COME HOME is without a doubt the best thing of this episode, the best thing of the season tbh. With that being said, I wrote down some more things.

Putting this incoherent mess behind a cut tho (I’m LJ years old, it’s a cut, not a Read More :P), fingers cross Tumblr doesn’t botch the damn thing.

Hmmmm, I’ll admit that last night (I watched live at 3am, which probably was NOT the best idea, but then I’m an adult, what else am I supposed to do other than make TERRIBLE LIFE CHOICES...), I really hated it.

Nothing made sense, too many questions were left unanswered, Malex were robbed of saying “I love you” to each other first, they were also robbed of an opportunity to talk (dear god, when will they finally TALK, it’s literally all I want), Michael was made to leave IN THE MIDDLE OF THE LOVE LETTER ALEX WAS SINGING TO HIM IN PUBLIC (omfg, I’m still so fucking PISSED about that, I’m FUMING) by the writers just to keep the ~drama going, Malex were robbed of a first public kiss, in one moment at the bar it looks like Michael took the handkerchief off, but there’s no way of telling whether they simply forgot to put it on him, or if it was deliberate and he actually took it off and we were robbed of that very significant moment.

Also ngl, Jesse’s death? Underwhelming. I mean, I’m glad he’s finally gone, but his whole storyline this season was underwhelming and so was his death. Oh well, underwhelming is my rating of S2 overall, guess it makes sense for this super villain to go out with a meh instead of a bang.

Blah, I'm still not super happy about the finale, and I especially wanted Michael to hear the WHOLE song, mainly the final two lines

You were the best of me You are the best of me

but since we can’t have nice things it’s not surprising that I’m not a huge fan. At least it wasn’t as devastating as 1x13, or as gross and triggering in 2x06, small mercies, I guess :P

Ngl, the Forlex kiss didn’t spark joy for me personally. I’m a mono shipper, and just like I hated seeing Michael kiss someone else, I hated seeing Alex do the same. But I understand why he did it. Michael left halfway through the song, and Alex was so relieved and proud of himself that he sang it, and Forrest was right there (wearing his Deep Sky ring 👀).

And hey, Alex asked and Forrest gave enthusiastic consent, I appreciate that very much!

I also really liked that Alex and Michael got to destroy the damn shed. I absolutely ADORE that Gregory was there when Alex sang,  alive and looking like the proudest big brother ever (like you don’t even know HOW MUCH I love him!!! ). Tanner’s such an amazing addition to the cast and I hope we’ll get to see him more often next season!

I’m glad that neither Alex or Michael were burdened with Jesse’s death, I hate that Gregory is carrying that burden now, but he seems to be better equipped for it, and I think he’ll be okay living with it.

Also a glimmer of hope for my baby Flint and a possible redemption arc? I like it (mainly bc I adore Kiowa, I just want him back).

The Echo breakup was long overdue, IDK, I haven’t cared that much about them as a couple for a long time, they’ve been lying to each other throughout most of the season, insofar it makes perfect sense that they go their separate ways now.

Rrrrosaaaaaa!!! My girl, I’m so damn PROUD of her!!!! She’s doing absolutely amazing, and I hope they’ll bring Iris back for her in S3 as a real friend. She deserves to spend time with people other than the “alien circle” at large.

M/M breakup... let’s just say I’m glad that particular nightmare is finally OVER. Time for Michael to work on himself. He didn’t get much opportunity to do that all season.

I’m a bit worried that due to the larger time jump between S2 and 3 we’ll either not get to see much of his development, or - even worse - he hasn’t worked on himself when we meet him again. That’s why I really rather hate S2 for him as a character. Oh well, that’s something to worry about in a year, I guess.

KYLE. I was happy about the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Kylex moment, but overall S2′s done him dirty. Constantly sidelined, stuck in a relationship I still don’t care about even a little bit. And now Liz even played “god” and saved Steph (which in itself is a good thing, but Liz has been doing this all season, and no one’s stopped her, and I find that worrisome.) I guess with Steph being saved she’s also going to be in S3? Meh, I couldn’t care less, but also something to worry about next year.

Isobel didn’t get to do all that much this episode, but I love her, she’s had an amazing journey this season, and I feel she’s in a really good place right now. GOOD FOR HER!

SANDERS! Not in this episode, but damn, I love him, and I’m SO glad that MICHAEL’S DAD HAS BEEN INTRODUCED TO US THIS SEASON!

Jenna & Charlie AAAAAAHHHHHHHH, I’m so happy for them! And I’m excited to hopefully see both of them again next season! They are amazing, and as a duo a force to be reckoned with! Excited for Riley’s show Hightown to be renewed, still hope she’ll find time to travel to Santa Fe to be in several episodes of RNM.

Max... Ngl, I’m not a fan of the character. Never have been. And while Max 2.0 was nicer than Max 1.0, I never really warmed up to him. Let’s see how things with “Mr. Jones” and Max will go next season.

Maria... Let’s see how things with her go next season. Maybe she’ll finally be allowed to have a storyline that doesn’t revolve around other people.

Circling back to Alex. I love him, I love him the most. He’s on par with my other favorite character of all time (Derek Hale, in case that wasn’t clear). He’s so important to me, and Tyler did the most exquisite job playing him. S2′s been a difficult season for him and I hated that for him.

The writers held him back at almost every turn, he wasn’t allowed to move on, instead Michael got to “dump” Alex every second episode. Man, it got old real fast. But Alex’s resilience finally hammered it home to Michael, that Alex is not leaving again. He’s right there, and he’ll even show up when Michael calls him. New experience for him, I’m sure.

IDK, this whole season was such a mess, so many things that weren’t resolved in the end, the lack of a main plot kept bothering me, and I hated that some of my favorite S1 friendships were completely sidelined.

I hate that an entire season was wasted on Malex being apart, especially wasted for Michael who had a lot of shit on his plate I hoped he’d get a chance at working through (at least in part) in S2, but that didn’t happen. He had some lightbulb moments, but overall he’s still pretty much in the same spot he was at the beginning of the season.

And while I agree that he’s not ready to be with Alex atm, I hate that he did not communicate that to Alex properly, and instead left halfway through Alex’s song.

IDK, I just feel like pretty much every fanfic writer in our fandom would’ve done a better job at writing them this season, they would’ve been allowed to move forward separately, but still towards a common goal.

I know, they are endgame, there’s no doubt about that, but I’m TIRED of them not talking. And especially after Alex’s performance.

Either way, I don’t think any of this makes much sense, coherent thoughts, I don’t have them atm. I’ll need more time to think things through, and maybe my overall negative opinion of this season won’t be quite so negative anymore. Who knows.

I’ve always wondered whether I’d feel like finally watching S2 once I know how it ends, and right now I can answer that question with a firm NO. Canon exhausts me. I’m looking forward to fandom getting time to take a deep breath and process this season. 

I’m excited that we get to take care of the characters for the next year. It’s time for some good development, for tons of fics where Malex actually talk to each other, where Gregory is an awesome brother, Sanders adopts Michael and a million other things.

If there’s one thing I’m grateful for is, that the finale didn’t ruin Malex entirely. I’d been really worried about that.

THEY ARE OURS AGAIN, FOLKS! \0/

[stranger-who-writes-fiction]

So 5x18...

...Well hot d*mn.

Man when Supergirl fires on all cylinders...HOO BOY.

Case in point: *gestures to all of 5x18*

To be clear: I liked this one.

A WHOLE LOT.

Not that I disliked 5x17, necessarily. It’s just that 5x18 was more... Entertaining? ...I dunno. I dunno how to explain it.

...Okay yes I do and that explanation is: Someone remarked on Kara’s use of language and Kara overcompensated on the ‘NOooOOooOO I’m totally 100% normal!’ AND there was a musical quote AND it was WHILE TEAMING UP WITH ALEX TO FOLLOW A LEAD.

But I’m getting ahead of myself let’s backtrack...

TO THE TOWER! WITH ALEX! NIA! KARA! AND M’GAAAAAANNNNN!!!!!!

June Foray voice: WOULD YOU LIKE TO STAY FOREVER?!?!?!

I know I’m not the first person to make that reference but it’s always fitting and, for real, recurring character status WHEN. (I mean. Obviously I would prefer series regular but that feels like a big ask considering that all future TV production is...uh. Ah. Erm....

...Up in the air. At the moment.)

And then we check in with the Luthors and Non Nocere isn’t working???

I am shocked! Shocked, I say!

And then we’ve got Obsidian doing something ill-advised which is basically the company’s MO at this point but KELLY AND WILLIAM ARE ON THE CASE REGARDLESS.

(So that’s kinda the one thing I’m sad about re: the Crisis reset; Andrea’s character development. But she’s sticking around for next season so I’m not too upset that she remains...kinda...one note for now.)

And THEN the library scene. 

It was so gooooood.

Then Leviathan and okay. Alright. Okay. Huge points in this episode’s favor: Rama Khan feels like a far more significant threat. And I feel like 80% of that is the fact that they just let him wear normal clothes. Thank you, show. Thank. You.

Also the rock effects were way better in this episode because they weren’t footing the bill for a giant crossover episode this time around

I am a little confused, though, by what has and has not happened with regards to Rama Khan on Earth Prime. Did the pre-Crisis stuff...happen? The dialogue...kinda made it hard to decide one way or the other. ‘He hasn’t been seen on this Earth for 100s of years’ but then also, ‘a chilly place you know quite well.’ So...he...did go to the Fortress. And fight Kara? But...all that stuff before Crisis...???

...Not gonna bother with that right now.

POINT IS...Leviathan is finally like...invested in killing Supergirl* and menacing in a very real way which both raises the stakes and makes it personal and that’s way more interesting than ‘nebulous evil organization that must be stopped.’

*I know they kinda sorta already did the whole, ‘let’s kill the Kryptonian!’ and invaded the Fortress but I don’t know what to tell ya, it was just lackluster.

J’ONN AND M’GAAAAAANNNNN

I am firmly in camp: I don’t care if they’re never green again I love seeing them in the super suits with their human faces IT’S GREAT.

Love that Nia’s snoring interrupts the moment.

Also love the deck of Rama Khan playing cards, that must’ve been a fun project for the graphic designers.

Then we’ve got William and Kara at CatCo and it’s baked goods! A hilarious line delivery by Staz! A ridiculous fabrication involving a shy, violent cat!

...Now I want Alex to actually own a shy, violent cat!

“Cats love me, for some reason.” “Of course they do.”

Side note: Love Kara’s blazer.

And then it’s ALIEEEEEENS TO THE RESCUE!

WHAT A TEAM UP, FOLKS.

We love to see it.

The interrogation scene is good n’ tense and ramps up to a very impressive showdown in the DEO (but BEFORE the sparks really start flying we get that rad shot of Kara leaping through the window and doing the superhero landing and it’s just

Perfection.)

Also perfect? Lex playing a game of transmatter pickle with the prisoners.

Then we jump back to the DEO where things are not going well!

Like, really really bad! 

But J’onn and M’gann save the day! If not the building!

RIP DEO. 2016-2020

Obituary: The DEO headquarters is survived by its elder sibling, the DEO desert base.

Look none of the favs work there anymore save for Kara and Brainy and they’re both gonna be better off working freelance for J’onn but I do expect Brainy to at least pick up some additional cash by working as a Lyft driver next season.

Me, watching the characters struggle to make it in the gig economy: I feel so seen.

The final portion of the episode is just ALL ACTING and I must say...good stuff.

Like. This cast, man. They take the plot points I’ve been ‘meh’ about all season and they turn in some stellar performances and suddenly I’m like STANDING OVATION, CAN’T WAIT TO SEE WHERE THIS GOES.

Also, reason #342 I love Jon Cryer’s Lex: that scene with Lena.

Terrifying.

Full disclosure: I went in to this episode fully prepared to be really annoyed with whatever was going to happen with Lena and I still don’t...love the trajectory of this season, being so tied up in her personal drama but. 

But.

Katie McGrath’s performance...went an awful long way here. In making this...not as bad as it could have been.

Like tearfully admitting she was hurt? And that hurt was the basis of all the nonsense she pulled? Finally owning up to the fact that this was never truly about the greater good but that it was all rooted in some personal issues and OUTRIGHT STATING SHE WAS BEHAVING LIKE A VILLAIN????

I am. Extremely impressed.

EVEN MORE IMPRESSIVE THOUGH: Kara remaining distant both physically and emotionally throughout that scene! Not in like, a cold uncaring way, but in a, ‘I have emotions and I have a right to feel them and set boundaries in regards to my trusting you right now given all that has transpired’ kind of way.

GOOD. YES. GOOD.

(Lex’s outburst has that kind of same Nice Guy undertone--albeit more pronounced and rage-y--as Lena’s in the Fortress. Like, ‘I supported you and you still rejected my plot to take over the world’ and ‘I was kind to you and you still messed up my mind control’ which...I dunno I might just be digging in too deep here in order to further justify the character turn but I think Cryer’s performance regardless is a really sobering wake up call for Lena, different than Lex stuff we’ve seen before. It’s close and intense and uncomfortable in a way that really sells the motivation.)

“You’re a monster...but that doesn’t mean I have to be one too.”

Wow. Might be...the first time I’ve liked Lena all season.

...whispers: might be the first time I’ve liked her ever at all

For real: credit where it’s due, that was an excellent line read.

*insert applause here*

CUT TO ADORABLE J’ONN AND M’GANN MOMENT 

D’aaaawwwwwwwwww

But, look, it’s a little undermined by the fact that they both gotta try and embrace in those bulky super suits, I’m sorry, it’s true

...Maybe it’s more endearing that way?

HEY remember how I foolishly assumed that the now-unemployed Alex would simply continue to work with J’onn in an investigative capacity and, ya know, NOT jump straight back into costumed badassery? 

HA. HAHA HAHAAAA.

Those leaked set photos make sense now.

OH NO, WILLIAM!

Real glad Staz confirmed he’s returning. Otherwise I would not be able to DEAL WITH THE STRESS.

I already talked a little bit about the loft scene but some additional points! Beautiful lighting. Wonderful score. Excellent performances all around.

A truly great end to a truly great episode.

Like, it makes me retroactively sad, that we’re only getting 5x19, as opposed to 5x19 and 5x20 because I wish that the crew/writers/actors had a little more space to let all of this good work they’ve done settle and breathe. 

(But also, it was good that they stopped production, from a safety standpoint, so. Can’t be too upset.)

And, regardless of how the next episode goes down (b/c I’m gonna be real, SG always does really great set-ups for their season finales and then kinda...rushes to the finish line and that can only be further exacerbated in this particular case) I’m just really impressed with this effort here.  

...but also LET’S TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE SOME WILD GUESSES. Specifically, what is Alex’s vigilante name gonna be??? 

...

Alright I generally try to avoid addressing specific fandom complaints in these things b/c I generally try to avoid the fandom itself but of course some stuff has already leaked through all of my blocks/muting so:

‘Lena didn’t apologize!’ The words ‘I’m sorry’ were not said, sure, but 1.) season’s not over and 2.) for Lena, admitting she was wrong is huge. HUUUUUUUGE. It’s solid character growth and I really wish various subsets of fandom would recognize that it’s not fun, when fans hold on to negative stuff from characters’ past and refuse to acknowledge that the characters have changed.

‘Brainy should have seen this coming!’ This one is kind of more down to personal preference I guess but I feel like they’ve established that Brainy’s got a bit of a blindspot due to his feelings about his friends, so I don’t take this as a knock against his intelligence so much as him being stretched fairly thin because he’s playing all sides, and worried about the people he loves. YMMV, though. 

All the ‘fix-it’ stuff re: the last scene, by making Kara immediately forgive Lena. Lose me with that nonsense, bleh. 

[akfanficlove]

“Double Feature” - #SeblaineWeek2020

Written for Seblaine Week 2020 – Power Couple

Check out all of my other Seblaine-stories here at AO3 :)

Blaine getting his first feature on Broadway.com and Sebastian being part of the interview. Also, since Santana was one of my favorite characters on Glee and Naya Riveras sudden death and the thought of her baby boy really breaks my heart, in honor of Naya I gave her character a special place in this fic. I hope she feels the love.

“Sebastian, I can’t find my other shoe! Have you seen my other shoe?” Sebastian sighs and puts his phone down. He has been ready for a good 15 minutes, waiting for Blaine to get dressed.

“Sebastian!”

He gets up to go their bedroom where he finds Blaine frantically searching through his closet, shirt still unbuttoned and halfway tucked into his pants. And right there, next to their bed, the missing shoe. He goes over and bends down, grabbing the shoe and handing it to Blaine. There is a nervous energy bouncing from his boyfriend that he hasn’t seen since they moved in with each other six months ago, a year after he came back from Paris.

“B, it’s only an interview, you’ve done this before, remember?” He sees Blaine’s eyes widen in shock.

“Excuse you, it’s not only an interview, Sebastian! It’s my very first feature for Broadway.com, it is huge to get this at my age!”

Sebastian holds up his hands in surrender. “I didn’t mean it like that, I know it’s a big deal. But didn’t you say you talked to the journalist on the phone and she seemed rather nice? Isn’t she even kind of a fan?”

Blaine frowns. “She seemed very nice. Very familiar and impressed with my work, yes. But she’s not a fan, I think if she was, she would not be allowed to do that interview in the first place. Some kind of journalistic standards or something…”

“Makes sense”, Sebastian agrees. “You ready now?”

“Yes!”, Blaine beams at him and starts to make his was down the corridor while he buttons up his shirt. “What are you waiting for? Let’s go, we have an interview to give, Seb!”

  When they arrive at the hotel, there are a few fans outside. They still have a few minutes and Blaine usually goes out of his way to take care of his fans – signs t-shirts and Playbills, smiles for pictures and accepts compliments with a shy smile. Sebastian is usually pretty annoyed when strangers approach him. He doesn’t get as much attention as Blaine, his bit of modeling for fashion magazines more a hobby he gets paid for than a career path he wants to follow full-time. No, he is really happy with his position at the advertisement agency he started with Hunter and Beat four months ago. It had taken a while to get everything worked out, their personalities clashing in more than one way, but in the end they each found their places in the general construct of their firm.

Still, Blaine always seems to have a soft spot for his admirers, his smile big, his eyes sparkling with gratitude and awe that someone recognizes him and likes him enough to want to talk to him.

After the small group of people seems satisfied for the moment, Blaine makes his excuses, turns around and grabs Sebastian’s hand. Together, they enter the hotel and look around. On a table in a quieter area of the lobby two women, one of them with short brown hair, olive skin and a camera bag in her lap. The other woman has long, dark red hair and silver rimmed glasses, pen and paper sitting in front of her on the table. As if she feels Sebastian’s gaze, she looks up and her face breaks out in a genuine smile. He pulls Blaine closer to the table when he sees the redhead get up and take a few steps in their direction.

 “Blaine Anderson! It’s so good to finally meet you, I really am happy that we could both make this work”, she says shaking Blaine’s hand. Then she looks at Sebastian. “And you must be Sebastian Smythe, right? I loved your latest shooting for Vogue, you look very great in black and white – or, well”, she looks him up and down, “in color, too, obviously.” She smiles at him. A little superficial, Sebastian thinks, but he’s not one to turn down a compliment.

“I’m Alexandra – Alex is fine – and this is Chiara, my photographer. Please, sit down, guys!”

They both sit down on the table as Chiara gets up to adjust the setting for the pictures later.

“I’m well aware that you are kind of a pro by now in giving interviews but just let me talk you through how I do it: I have a colorful bunch of questions prepared for you but if you can’t answer one of the right away, take your time or let me rephrase it – this isn’t television and we are not daily business, we have a lot more time than my colleagues in the news usually do”, she says and smiles cheekily. “I try to take notes during our conversation, so there might be some pauses in between when I finish writing after you finished talking and I say this because it’s okay and it doesn’t have to feel awkward. It should take about an hour, then I’ll hand you to the very talented Chiara for some photos. As soon as we are done with the article and everything is approved by my bosses and ready to be printed – which should be in, I don’t know, 2 or 3 weeks, probably– I’ll e-mail you the quotes I used for fact checking. We have limited space to I’d be very grateful if you wouldn’t use that to rewrite the whole story”, she laughs, “but if there is something I didn’t get right or where you have the feeling I misunderstood when I tried to make sense of my thousands of pages of writings – please let me know. Oookay, that’s it, I guess. Any more questions before we begin?”

Alex looks at them expectantly. She has light blue eyes, framed long lashes that can be seen through her glasses and Sebastian thinks, maybe she really is different from all those more-paparazzi-than-journalists-bimbos that try to turn everything into a scandal who Sebastian meets occasionally.

“Okay, then. First of all, Blaine – wait, is it alright if I call you by your first name? Good, great. So, Blaine, your first big Broadway-show just came to an end for you – is there a way to describe how that feels?”

Blaine sits up a little straighter. His nerves might have calmed down when Alex explained how this things would go but Sebastian sees his fingers fidgeting with his sleeves. Sebastian grabs his right hand and slips his fingers through. He receives a thankful smile.

“It’s definitely hard to put it into words. I’m incredibly sad to leave the cast and I loved the role of Ryan. But there is also this side of me that wants to explore and try new things and is excited for what’s to come. Both sides are fighting a war inside of me, seriously, and the jury’s still out on who will win”, Blaine laughs nervously.

“Talking about new things: Rumor has it your newest project reunites you with one of your old friends from Ohio, TV-star Santana Lopez?”

“Yes! I guess, it’s official now, so I can finally talk about it. Santana and I will work together for a short film and she’ll actually come live with us for the 2 months which are planned for shooting. She usually lives in LA and we all know, New York rents are high, so we offered. It will be…” Blaine hesitates and shoots a look at Sebastian. “It will be interesting to live with her, I think.”

Alex’ head peaks up and she stops scribbling. “That was a very meaningful look there. What’s the story? Not so happy with your decision anymore?”

Sebastian smiles. “No, that’s not it. Santana is just a wild ride and some people – “ He looks at Blaine. “Some people might dare to say that we are very similar in certain ways and that together we can be quite a lot.”

Blaine sighs and grins. “Seriously, we both love her, she’s so much fun but Santana and Seb have a special kind of relationship founded on deep respect for each other’s wit and snotty remarks. And when they really start with their banter, they can be a lot to take in and you better get out of their way.”

“Yet”, Alex says, “you offered her to stay with you. So, there must be something you like in her?”

“Oh, there is so much I admire about her! I mean, she’s fierce, she doesn’t take crap from anyone and she really taught me to advocate for myself. When we went to school together, we weren’t extremely close but she was always there, you know? No matter what. Maybe with a loving insult on her lips but deep inside she really cared. I think, that’s probably why we stayed in touch even when I transferred back to my old school.” With each phrase Blaine had gotten more excited which ended with him now sitting on the edge of his chair, leaning in and supporting himself with his elbow on the table.

Alex seems amused by this sudden outburst but she doesn’t say anything. “Since we’re talking about your school life, you transferred three times in four years of high school, right?”

Blaine nods.

“That seems like a lot…”

Blaine blushes lightly but holds her gaze. “Yes, I guess it does when you see it written down on a paper. To be honest, I don’t think about it like that. For me, it was the right decision every single time I made it. I spend most of my high school time at Dalton Academy in Westerville, though, the same school Seb attended and the school were we fell in love with each other. After a lot of high school rivalry and Sebastian being a stupid brat – “, he smiles, “and me being stubborn and a little careless, maybe, but in the end, we found each other and that’s what matters.”

“A stupid brat, huh?” Alex laughs.

“A stupid brat. You may quote that”, Blaine confirms with a cheeky glance to Sebastian. Sebastian just huffs. He still feels uncomfortable when his asshole-actions of his lesser glory high school days are mentioned.

“So, what about the other two schools? When Dalton obviously seems to be so important to you.”

“It is. Well, I attended William McKinley High School in Lima between Dalton and Westerville Central High before I went to Dalton. It’s not easy for me to tell this but I transferred to Dalton after some stupid people decided that being openly gay in Ohio was obviously something that could be punched out of someone and they tried that theory on me, so to speak.” Blaine lowers his gaze. He sounds angry more than still hurt. Sebastian squeezes his hand and slides as close as he can in his chair.

Alex stops scribbling and looks at Blaine with wide eyes full of empathy like she understands what Blaine is admitting out of a sudden. She puts down her pen and paper. “Blaine, if you need a minute…? And remember, you can just say, you don’t want to answer and we’ll go on.” She looks genuinely sorry that she touched such a delicate subject by accident.

Blaine takes a deep breath and sits up straight again. “No, it’s okay. Please, I want to tell this story.” Alex takes her pen again and nods. “Okay. So, what do you mean when you say that someone tried to punch being gay out of you?”

Sebastian feels Blaine’s fingers tremble a little but his voice is strong when he tells Alex the story of the Sadie Hawkins dance.

It was one of the little secrets Blaine whispered to him years ago in the comfort of the dark when they were laying squeezed into his small bed in the Dalton dorms. Back then, he couldn’t see but feel the tears rolling down Blaine’s cheek silently when he told him about the flashbacks he kept having for weeks afterwards, how he flinched when anyone touched him and about Dalton’s strict bullying-police that made him feel secure for the first time in forever when he actually saw it executed 2 weeks after he started at the school. He told him about the Warblers, the brothers who took care of his fractured mind and heart after his broken bones were already healed, about Wes and David who Sebastian had never met, about confidence and unconditional support he was given when he finally started singing and playing piano again. And if Sebastian felt a little more shitty than the already did for how he used the grief and hurt of exactly those brothers after Blaine left, well, he tried to make up for it by tugging Blaine a little closer, holding him a little tighter and brushing away stray tears with his thumb.

Sebastian shakes his head to push the thoughts away just in time as he’s asked “And then you met Blaine and fell for him on first sight? Because, seriously, I could get that, I saw pictures of him in that cute navy blue uniform. Although, the hair, Blaine…?” Sebastian laughs and ruffles through Blaine’s curls with his right hand. Blaine dips his head and glares at him, trying to smooth it down again.

“Yeah, the hair was something. And in hindsight, you might be right, maybe I did fall for him the minute I saw him standing in that Dalton common room door. But to be honest, I wasn’t very fond with the idea of love back then and Blaine was ridiculously in love with someone else. So, as much as there may have been a certain spark or something, we weren’t really ready then. When Blaine came back to Dalton – per my insistence, I might add, there might have been an impromptu song accompanied by a not so impromptu performance – we started becoming friends again. But it took us months to finally admit that we were more than that, to be ready to be more than that.” Sebastian smiles at Blaine and when he sees that mushy expression on his boyfriend’s face he gets every single time when Sebastian tells the story on how they fell in love, he leans forward and kisses him softly. Wow, okay, that was a first, they’re usually never that affectionate in professional settings.

 “Gosh, you guys are too cute… Umm, talking about being ready and cute: We talked a lot about your past today, what about your future? Any romantic news?” Alex smiles sweetly and bats her eyes. It takes everything in Sebastian to not roll his.

“If you’re asking if there will be any wedding bands decorating or hands any time soon, I have to tell you… who knows, we’ll see.” Sebastian smirks at her and she smirks back: “That’s not a ‘No’, so I guess I’ll keep an eye out for any rings.”

Blaine intervenes. “What Sebastian means is that we are very happy how things are right now. Seb is starting his own business, I’m very lucky to be in that short movie with Santana and we’ll go from there. I mean… marriage is definitely on the agenda at some point, so sooner or later, yes, you’ll see wedding bands.”

Little does Blaine know about the small velvet box in Sebastian’s dresser, buried in socks and burning a whole in Sebastian’s mental pocket because, yes, there will be a proposal. He just has to work up the courage to actually ask.

[salvatoreschool]

'Legacies' EP Brett Matthews Teases How Characters Face Their Demons in Film Noir Episode (Exclusive)

It's an episode you do not want to miss!

Titled "There's a Place Where the Lost Things Go," Thursday's Legacies sees Hope (Danielle Rose Russell), Josie (Kaylee Bryant), Lizzie (Jenny Boyd), MG (Quincy Fouse) and Rafael (Peyton Alex Smith) transported to a fabulous film noir world.

In order to deal with all their recent traumas -- including Kai Parker's return and a black magic-filled Josie -- Emma (Karen David) makes them participate in a group simulation where they confront their conflicts head-on or risk the game's consequences. However, like most situations, things don't go as planned and the students come face-to-face with something they never imagined.

ET caught up with executive producer Brett Matthews, who also co-wrote the episode with Mark Ryan Walberg, where he shared the inspiration for the episode, why Professor Vardemus (Alexis Denisof) has returned and teased if there could ever be something more between Hope and Rafael.

ET: What was the inspiration for this episode?

Brett Matthews: It really goes back to a class I took in college at Wesleyan University... Film noir is a genre that will stay with me forever and is something very near and dear to my heart that I never really thought the right opportunity would present itself in this way to explore. I'm really glad it did. It's like an itch I had since I graduated college that I finally got to scratch.

What will surprise fans most about it? Is this a one-off episode or how will this push the narrative forward?

We don't really do one-offs. We do a lot of format break episodes, but we only do them when it's really the best way to explore the characters' journeys and the things that all of our characters are going through as they come to a head. A format break episode or a special episode will do that better than a conventional one. That's when the time's right. So absolutely we are telling this episode because it's where our characters are at coming off of [episode] 12 and 13, and really traumatic events. It's a group therapy exercise that kind of goes awry. It always starts and ends with the characters and they got us into it and the discoveries and revelations that they experience in the film noir world will come to influence them on the other side, when we're back to our normally scheduled program.

Is there a reason everyone has their distinct characters in this episode? Is there more than meets the eye with their film noir roles?

Yeah, everybody is sort of at a point in their emotional journey for the season, where they have some things they have to face, and the therapy sort of puts them in a role which allows them to make the discovery that their, sort of, person needs to learn from, move on and process. Film noir is a really good fit because it has all these tropes and archetypes and it was really fun. Mark Walberg and I, who I wrote the episode with, who's our script coordinator here, really got those characters into those different types based on where they are coming from and where they were headed for the rest of the season. That's really the "why" of who's the movie starlet, who's the gumshoe and who's this. I got to say, it was really fun to put Quincy Fouse's MJ sort of front and center in an episode. That was a really neat opportunity. We really enjoyed to be able to do that.

We see Alexis Denisof's Professor Vardemus back, I thought he was gone? Am I wrong? What's his role in this?

[Ryan] Clark took Vardemus' identity at the beginning of the season and [this episode] sort of gives us the answer to where Vardemus has been this whole season, which is his mind has been locked in the therapy box and his body has been stowed in the school. And inadvertently, the kids end up setting him free and we finally look forward to getting to know the character of Vardemus as Vardemus, and not someone pretending to be him. [We will learn] who he actually is, a scholar with a bit of an edge, who's lived a really interesting life, but has a really great amount of knowledge to share with Alaric and other educators at the Salvatore School. We just really love Alexis and what he did with the character, so we're excited to begin exploring this new facet and get to know the actual Rupert Vardemus.

So he will be sticking around for more episodes?

Yeah, we hope so. We obviously have a lot of characters to service and that's always the hard part about running a television show, there's never enough time. But Vardemus is just a character [we love], and Alexis is one of the kindest, most professional actors you hope to work with in this business. [Creator] Julie [Plec] and I really love what he's doing and he is a character you will see pop up here and there, and we would love to explore more in the future.

Landon is not in this episode, but we see Rafael and Hope together. How much tension is there between them and is this foreshadowing them getting closer in the future?

I think that Raf's takeaway from this episode is that he is part of a very deep mystery that disturbs him and that he needs to get to the bottom of, and obviously feels uncomfortable enough about it that he is lying to people about it. And so, that is sort of what's forefront in Rafael's mind, but he does have this deep relationship with Hope and a super neat and profound relationship with Landon. Both of those characters will help him unwrap and get to the bottom of, and hopefully solve, the situation he's found himself in.

We've seen Josie, Kaylee Bryant, just come out of her shell this season, from a sweet, kind and shy girl to this badass, evil villain. How has it been working with and getting that dynamic range from her?

Kaylee is a wonderful actress and it's not real hard. Dark Josie really makes a lot of sense because it's just that repressed part of the character she usually plays. Josie is a selfless character and puts others above herself, and I think it's a very human thing to have that part that says, "What about me?" or somebody always putting off their own wants and desires, and that often comes to a head and people often snap. That's a little bit of what she's going through. So I think for her it's probably a little more hand and glove than it would be for somebody coming from the outside in because our actors really do inhabit their characters and live in their skin year-round in a way another person doesn't. I think it made a lot of sense to her and then to translate that to the physicality and the surface menace of it all. I think she's doing a great job with it.

How was the cast's reaction when they saw this script for this episode and started getting into their wardrobe?

I think they always enjoy the format break episodes because they allow them to really just do something fun and exciting, and I feel like the whole crew feels that way about it as well. Like Julie said, when I gave her the script, she's like, "They're not going to know what film noir is," and I said, "Well, I don't know if it's that large of a problem." But we did pull a couple landmark film noir episodes that we thought really encapsulated the genre and everybody watched them and did their homework and very quickly, whether they had prior experience with the genre or not, understood what it was and really gave it 110 percent, as did our director Mike Karasick. But the cast, like they usually do, gave it their all and made it shine. I'm sure it was fun for them because of wardrobe and they got to be in another world for an episode and those are always fun for everybody.

Will fans get to see another themed episode like this in the future?

We'll have another one or two over the course of the season. We're doing a really big, exciting musical episode this year, as we try to do one every year. So we're working on that one now and that's something that sort of revisits our history as a franchise. We're very excited about that. So you can definitely look forward to that one and seeing all your favorite characters singing and dancing and all that good stuff.

Last question, both Ian Somerhalder and Michael Malarkey told ET that they would love to work on Legacies. Ian wanted to direct an episode, while Michael wouldn't mind reprising his role as Enzo. What are your thoughts?

I love both of those guys! They are part of our family and like we say to all our members of our family, the door on Legacies is always open. All they gotta do is give me a call and I will certainly, always take that call. I'll always be interested. In terms of characters, you want to make sure that you have enough, you know, like, Vampire Diaries and The Originals, they had their own endings. So just on a character level, it's always a case-by-case basis to make sure that they're respecting the integrity of our cast, but god, if there's a way to do any of those things, we're always inclined to do them. It's just the people you know and the relationships you form and that makes up for the long hours and all these things. We're very lucky people to have worked with so many wonderful, talented artists and we would love to work with them all again in the future.

Legacies airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. on The CW.

[codenamesailordarillium]

I just stumbled across your tumblr & saw the thing where you said you don’t mind random asks, so I hope this ones ok: I got into DW over the past year & am now hardcore RiverDoctor. Unfortunately it seems like I’ve arrived to the party about 10 years late. Which means I stumbled across the section of the fandom that hates on THoRS bc 12 wasn’t “River’s Doctor” & 11 didn’t get to take her to Darillium for the first time today... Would you have any thoughts on that whole thing?

Wow…well, first I wanna say it’s always great to have new people on board. I know it might seem like you’ve gotten into it too late in the game, but trust me, new people in our corner in the fandom are always welcome (as with any fandom, of course). Feel free to send asks gushing about it to people, I’m sure fellow shippers would be happy to welcome you with open arms. ^_^

As for the rest well…this is gonna get long and probably have the potential to piss certain ppl off bc I have Opinions™, so gonna put the rest of this under a cut.

Hoo boy…yeah, 11/River *ONLY* shippers. See, the thing was, initially, back in late 2013/early 2014, when we were fresh off of Matt’s regeneration ep and all, I could sympathize to a certain degree with ppl who were sad about him leaving and were reluctant to see River/Alex with 12/Peter because it wouldn’t be the same or whatever. I didn’t agree personally (tho initially I was p bummed about Matt leaving, Peter started winning me over real quick not long after he was announced), but I understood that people have a certain attachment to characters and specific dynamics shippy or otherwise. 

But to me, River was always the priority when regarding my interest in DW, and I wanted to see more of her in the show again, regardless of which Doctor it was with. I didn’t like how abruptly Moffat decided to end her story, just because the majority of the big reveals unfolded with Matt as the Doctor and suddenly because he and Karen and Arthur weren’t gonna be on the show anymore it meant Alex had to go as well. That didn’t really seem fair to River as a character, ‘cause it felt like we’d only been shown the bare bones of her story, her background/origin, her getting married to the Doctor, and then her dying. It didn’t feel right for her to just…not be there all of a sudden. Certain episodes (and lbr character dynamics) during series 8 and 9 would have probably benefited from her presence (off the top of my head I’d say Time Heist, how the hell did this show have a heist episode with no River using her time-traveling archaeologist sleuthing skills, like dafuq).

So…pre-THoRS, the Doctor/River fandom after Peter took over the role was a bit of a mixed bag. There were the people who only wanted River with 11 and just angsting in general because there wasn’t gonna be any more of that, but there also was a significant bunch of us who were DEEP into wanting River & 12 to happen. People were still in the fandom, writing fic, drawing fanart, what have you, probably at a slower rate than they had previously, but there was still stuff being put out there, simply because we wanted to entertain what that hot Capalston Sex Storm chemistry might look like. So when news of THoRS suddenly hit us in the face like…

…needless to say, a good number of us were suddenly stoked, new life had been breathed into the fandom and there was pretty much constant excited yelling for like the three and a half-ish months after it was announced. Once the episode finally came out and Darillium got switched from that big dreadful moment where River’s story turned tragic (well, even more tragic than it already was) to literally the most warm and fuzzy soft 24 years of domestic marital bliss for River, there were diverging opinions.

Post-TNotD the fandom had come up with all these headcanons about 11 having lost River directly after losing the Ponds, which was why he was up on that cloud for a century and the generally accepted consensus was that Darillium had to have happened with 11. Admittedly, it doesn’t really paint 11 in the best light after the fact that he seemed to have tried dying on Trenzalore without ever having taken River to Darillium like he’d promised. But, looking back, a lot of 11 & River’s relationship as it was depicted in series 5 & 6 was fraught with emotional hurt on River’s end, so for me personally (and some others), it didn’t really seem entirely out of character for 11 once we really started thinking about it. 

Really, it’s more complicated because of the nature of TV and how with a show like DW it’s really impossible to plan out these big story beats ahead of time with different Doctors. Moffat initially tried getting David to stay an extra season after RTD left, and had David said yes, that means a good chunk of River’s story would have unfolded with 10. It kinda just ends up being a case of who’s currently part of the cast and how can we mold this particular part of the story around them. By the time Steven decided on the way in which he wanted to show Darillium unfold, Matt was already gone, so it had to happen with Peter.

(And I mean, if you wanted to put a positive spin on it, you could see it as 11′s big blustery last-ditch attempt at trying to prevent River dying in the Library from happening.)

I was admittedly a vocal cuntface about how much I DIDN’T want THoRS to end on Darillium before “24 years”. I hated the idea of 12 finally seeing and being with his wife only for it to end all unnecessarily angsty again. Moffat managed to completely upend and rewrite my expectations in that regard, fortunately. 

For a lot of us, it was about River being shown to finally have some no-strings-tied happiness with a Doctor who knew her. I think a lot of people wanted that to be with older!11, but narrative-wise, I think regardless of whether it’s older!11 or 12, the point is the Doctor being at a point where he can be the husband who River needs. One whose memories don’t need to wiped after the fact like all the classic Doctors, War, 9, or pre-Library 10. Aside from the whole HELL YEAH SPACE WIVES angle, I think that’s also what fuels a lot of the desire for River to be with 13 as well, a Doctor who knows and loves her regardless of what face their wearing.

For some ppl in this fandom tho, that didn’t suffice because it didn’t happen with Matt & Alex. And I mean, if that’s how someone feels, that’s their prerogative, but I don’t see any reason to rain on everyone else’s parade when it literally brought new life and excitement and joy and FUN into our fandom after what felt like quite a long dry spell without any River content. 

And I mean, not to get mopey and sad about it (trigger warning for some potentially upsetting stuff), but the news about River being back on DW in September of 2015 couldn’t have come at a better time fore me personally, bc that was literally a time in my life where I had sudden and overwhelming/dangerous mental health issues, to the point where daily I contemplated suicide and knowing that River was finally gonna meet the Scottish version of her husband was quite literally the thing that kept me alive, because I fucking HAD to see it. So, I do tend to bristle when I come across opinions that trash that particular episode, because it means a HELL of a lot to me. 

The only thing I can say about dealing with people who stew in negativity is to just try to avoid them. I don’t follow anyone who professes THoRS-negative opinions and in some very rare cases I’ve blocked certain people. In addition to this, bc Tumblr’s blocking system is balls, I use the xkit blacklist extension and literally put people’s urls into it so I don’t have to see their stuff when others unknowingly put it on my dash. (Tho be aware that if ppl change their urls you might need to go in and change it to their current one, but it’s not that hard to do.) Because at the end of the day, you just want to be able to enjoy the ship. You are the one curating your own fandom experience, and once you know what you want to avoid (or who), you gotta just take the necessary precautions.

[dabatcavebyhonie]

Marvel's Runaways- an example of a BAD idea

So imagine you wanted to a great comic book show. You buy a great cheap comic so you break the bank. But then you feel the pressure to have your loved characters appeal to a more modern audience. But there is a rift between the movie universe and the TV universe. So now you are left with a half baked story filled with holes and it is almost unrecognizable to the comics. Let us also not forget their horrible idea of re-writing the perspectives for the mass audiences. This is how you get the "cringy" monster that is the Hulu's adaptation of Runaways.

The first thing you must understand before tackling Runaways is that this Marvel property is heavily ingrained into the Marvel universe. In fact, one character from the comic book cast is the son of Ultron. Ultron, who MCU wrote off as someone short series of events.  Then that means that most of the events that occur in the comics become void. This leads to a rewriting of the events that occur in the TV show.

I broke the aspects of this ongoing show into three parts : Angst- the teen and the parent, stereotypes- I promise we're different,  dialogue- Who am I?

“I had choosen the path of the black sheep rather than that of the unicorns and puppies.”

― Magenta Periwinkle, Cutting Class

Angst- The teen and the parent 

     When you are first introduced to the nouveau-rich families of PRIDE  you see  parents with a wide range of jobs. This includes tech mongers, bio-chemists, and even spiritual leaders. By each family you see various color schemes graced across the screen. I assumed this TV show would be promising. Until you meet the children. I first became frustrated by the dynamics of the children. They're all stereotypes written out of a high school rom-com. At least for shows that Have stereotypes like  Daria you understand they're there to be unrealistic and mellow-dramatic. However this idea isn't valid for Runaways. The show is supposed to be relatable and fanciful at the same time. They're also not stereotypes in the graphic novel they're just themselves. This adds angst to the angst . Which this edgy behavior is supposed to replace the depth in their character. Take the biggest example of this: Nico. Her stereotype is that she's a goth so she's mean and does witchcraft and always cries about dead sister. Then in the later seasons she's hopelessly devoted to Karolina and this is supposed to add depth to her one dimensional personality.Her senitive love for Karolina is supposed to add depth- I just...No,no, no, UGH, Stop, please. I  can't with her. The big thing that makes her DEEP is that she's actually sensitive and gay. They use queer-bating to have her be more appealing. Then her stereotypical goth-ness solidifies the Goth norm-perception, it says,"Yes all goths are this way. They're all tortured and filled with teenage melodramatic behavior.".Her Wicca worship is another Goth stereotype. As a goth myself I do not condone the stereotypes that aren't accurate. I wish her character was more inspired like Abby from NCIS. The actor wantesd the  character to be more authentic and not just a stereotype like numerous other shows have.   Just no. Every time she slams her door a front of her mother's face or steals her mother's staff I'm just dumbfounded.   

   Karolina is the church girl stereotype. She waltzes across your screen in all white and reads Her bible-I-mean-her-religious-texts-that-don't-sound-like-Christianity-at-all. Then when she's tempted by the flesh of the witch! Oh no will they, Won't they? Spoiler alert: They will as we assumed with horrible LGBTQ+ characters as always. Her depth is her love for Nico. To the amount that her dreams while she's trapped in the first two episiodes of season three was her wedding with Nico. Granted it was goregous but her love is her character depth which is dissapointing since their relationship ends in season three.  They're both always moody and mad at each other but it's fine they love each other even though they only give each other a few pecks once in a while. Like don't make the mass audience mad cause we can't have too much gay! HAHA! For me it's less for the LGBTQ+ masses or to show representation it's written to sound and look pretty for the male gaze but hey! 

That's just me spreading my SJW bias like Gert does 24/4! Like is there an off button. Introducing the liberal complete with crippling anxiety and even "NO! I can't love a Lacrosse Jock! I hate the Patriarchy!". While no one shows up for her rally or her bakes sales she crushes over Chase who is rude to her. My father being heavily left-leaning said "Gert needs to go. Like she doesn't stop talking and ruins the show!". Like when I told him I was watching the new season he frantically asked why and asked if I was okay.

I'm getting off track. Anyway, The point is the only ones that love their family to start is Molly, Gertrude and Chase. But don't worry the only one that still loves her parents after is Molly (in some twisted way I guess Karolina.....ehhh). After seeing their parents kill a kid and shove them into a magical space tube instead of calling the police or rationally acting. They gain this amazing attribute called teenage angst. Except for Molly cause she doesn't get it. Granted the first season isn't that bad but the show only gets worse the farther you go into it. I especially have been carrying a special amount of disdain for season two. But I think that maybe the new season has promise since the teenage angst doesn't smell as bad so far but I'll give you guys an update on Tumblr. What was I saying ...So if you don't understand what I mean by the heavy angst take a new scene from season three when Dale (her dad) Has Gert hostage in their cottage. She goes on numerous rants on How much she hates him when like a year ago she was being somewhat rational by trying to think before she shouts and finger wag at her parents but now-speak your mind child! I find the teen vs. parent atmosphere.

However  This idea of teenage angst isn't unrealistic. But how general it is over every character is what makes the angst unrealistic. The original hesitation of Gert makes it feel more natural. Karolina's almost disregard to what they saw originally felt more real. The small responses from characters separates their personalities and makes season one much more entertaining.

Stereotypes- I promise we're different 

Now that you understand the edgy personality of the show as a whole let's move on to the content. You're introduced to a runaway teenager named Destiny she's mugged but "rescued" by the Church of Gibborim. Little do we realize these muggers were trying to save her. Six months later we're introduced to Alex Wilder, a stereotypical nerd, who loves coding. Nico Minoru the person Alex has a crush; her  sister died who was Alex's best friend, so now Nico's a goth. Okay, that's a lot. You then meet Gert, Chase and, Molly. Molly is younger then everyone else so she is disregarded when she tells everyone to become friends. Chase is a lacrosse jock but he's different cause he's smart I guess. Chase loves his family but his dad is emotionally abusive to him and his mom. It gives Chase a leader mentality and he tends to think he knows the right answer.

 Gert is a social justice warrior who tries to make her school a better place. But she's different cause she has anxiety. Tell me if my point isn't getting across, tell me. This show's "thing" is that everyone's a stereotypes but, they're different, I guess;Which would usually be fine if it wasn't apart of such a big intellectual property: Marvel. Granted when it comes to movies and TV I never said Marvel story-lines were ever complex but the shows always Go outside the prior assumptions, it's not all stereotypes. 

Take for instance, Agents of Shield.  Take Coulson who literally was resurrected fro the dead. He is hard and stern like he was depicted in the movies but we learn about his strife and how he worked alongside Nick to build S.H.I.E.L.D. to what it is. He has control issues so he has to adopt the mindset that Nick has. It's new and interesting to the MCU audience. Melinda May, is an Ace pilot and personally my favorite simply due to her character writing. Her divide between her reputation versus who she is. She's known as " The Calvary" after all. She has trauma from a mission that killed a civilian which leaves her emotionally scared. This isn't a new concept but seeing her grow and becoming better emotionally gives the audience connections to the characters.

 Every character is written with steady care and good character writing. We feel sad When Coulson dies yet again. We feel the inner turmoil Skye and May feel. The connection isn't there in these hollow stereotypes. The connection to the audience in Runaways is what's making the show stale. The TV show characters are pale imitations of the comic book characters. It's hurts the show in the long run.  

dialogue-Who am I?

The most important thing that makes this show salvageable is the dialogue. No, I don't only mean the words coming out their mouths but the story-line that's surprisingly controlled by the parents. The superficial cold teenagers that only show disdain towards their parents and easily toppled by their Parents beckoning and call. For instance in season 2, Chase betrays his whole team to have his family back after his dad dies. He thinks they'll lose so quickly when  he's left alone with them. You see their guard come down so quickly around their providers. Yet they can never forgive them. This is obvious in Alex's case. His hatred towards his parents lead him to the arms of his father's enemy become's angry when his mother retaliates and kills Darius, but is vexed when his father is calling him. Responds just by his mother threatens him from jail in season three. Why does Nico stop to talk to her Dad in season three, episode "Lord of Lies". I'm going  to keep watching just because of the dynamic of the kids and parents. Especially as the parents are inhabited by parasitic aliens it's changes this complex dynamic yet again. Along with Nico's inner turmoil involving her magic and the forces that are utilized with her staff headlines the dialogue and plot I love so much. I will continue to watch as this tale unfolds.

Conclusion: This show is complex recycling heap. I find it hard to watch and a grotesque figure I can't move away from. I find it a good surface level adaptation. I find it messy but it's not entirely predictable! I appreciate how invested the actors are in their characters! I hope to continue watching the show to see how  the plot moves.