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carewyncromwell · 2 years ago

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“Everyday people, in their own sweet way, Like to add a coat of paint and be what they ain’t! That’s how our little game is played, Livin’ like a masquerade, actin’ a bizarre charade, While playing the saint!”

~“Facade” from Jekyll and Hyde

x~x~x~x

Ahhh, no!! Carewyn!! D:

Ahem -- yeah, this is a counterpoint to a piece I’ve done in the past about Jacob and how he got ensnared by Charles Cromwell and R’s web...but this is going to take a little bit of explanation! First, though, my musical accompaniment while working on this includes Things Are Not What They Appear from Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World, Elsie Lovelock’s cover of Trust in Me from The Jungle Book, and Wolfsong by Omnia. 😊

Okay, right to it. Those of you who know Hogwarts Mystery, there’s a moment toward the beginning of year 6 where MC meets Jacob in his old room at Hogwarts, after following Sickleworth the Niffler, who’s carrying a white quill that it turns out is a threat from R, reminding MC that R still intends to “collect” on one of their friends’ lives. Well, this scene has always bugged me, because Hogwarts is supposed to be nigh impregnable, to the point that even Voldemort couldn’t get inside during the First Wizarding War -- so how does a non-Hogwarts-graduate like Jacob get in so easily?

My answer -- that is not really Jacob. In my canon, the person Carewyn instead meets is an agent of R, who -- with inside help from another agent who plays as the newest Defense Against the Dark Arts professor -- was able to sneak into the school and impersonate Jacob with Polyjuice Potion. And this agent impersonating Jacob is none other than Carewyn’s maternal uncle and heir to the Cromwell Clan, Blaise.

Blaise Cromwell is a character who -- quite honestly -- I think deserves multiple punches to the face. He is ridiculously possessive of his family, seeing them as akin to prized toys that no one else is allowed to touch but him, and his sister Lane and her children are no exception. Blaise is just as determined as Charles is to force Lane, Jacob, and Carewyn back into the fold of the Cromwell Clan, and he has no moral compunctions that might temper that desire. He’s more than willing to lie, deceive, torture, or even kill to achieve that goal. And because he was raised by Charles -- who like Jacob and Carewyn was born with immensely powerful Legilimency -- Blaise became a master of Occlumency at a young age, all in the effort of maintaining some privacy in and control over his own mind. This Occlumency and Blaise’s rather convincing act makes it so that Carewyn at first has no idea that she’s not speaking to her brother...at least, not until Blaise as Jacob collides with her in Knockturn Alley, while Carewyn herself is disguised as Patricia Rakepick. But for now, Carewyn is completely unawares...not just because Blaise was so good at capturing Jacob’s mannerisms and overall attitude, but because he sounded so sincere, speaking of his desire for their family to be as it once was. It made it so that when he so “reluctantly” accepted her help with the Vaults on the condition that she not involve her friends “unnecessarily” the way he did Duncan and Olivia, Carewyn didn’t suspect anything amiss. And well, Blaise does want his family as he once had it. He wants his sister Lane back at the Cromwell estate...and he does want her children there with them. Sure, for her and them, it’d be a cage, but they’d learn to accept it. They were family, after all -- the Cromwell estate, and the Cromwell Clan, was where they belonged.

For however terrible of a person Blaise is, however, I will point out that the moment Blaise collided with Carewyn in Jacob’s old room was the first time he’d really been able to interact with his niece. And however much he was focused on his goal, it didn’t mean he felt nothing, seeing her for the first time.

Lane had been Blaise’s favorite sibling when they were young -- admittedly largely by default since they were closest in age and Lane was both intellectual and disinterested in social gatherings enough that Blaise enjoyed her company -- so her departure had a profound impact on Blaise, just as it did the rest of the Clan. He missed his third sister dearly, and hearing that she’d not only married a Muggle, but that that wretched man then proceeded to abandon her and her children upon Jacob’s Hogwarts letter arriving at their door, Blaise felt a surge of overprotectiveness toward both Lane and her children. They deserved better than what they’d had to live with -- they deserved to live well, not in poverty; they deserved to be treated like high society, not like freaks; they deserved a real home with the Clan, not living in a Muggle gutter. Jacob and Carewyn’s experience with their father should prove to them the superiority of wizardkind over Muggles -- not drive them further into the arms of Muggle lovers like the Weasleys or Mudbloods like Olivia Green or Ben Copper. With Blaise himself a widower and single father, he’s imprinted some of those twisted paternal instincts onto both Jacob and Carewyn as well -- and when he met Carewyn for the first time while disguised as Jacob, he witnessed her capacity to love first-hand. For while he wore her brother’s face, this usually stoic, pretty little teenager fussed over Blaise, fixing his robes and expressing sincere and open concern for his safety. The closest comparison point Blaise had for Carewyn’s behavior was that of his own deceased mother, Marilyn -- and yet there was no sense of asserting control here, with Carewyn. Charles only used “concern” as a means to an end -- to get a better read on who he was talking to. Even Marilyn would express concern by taking some authority over her children -- telling them to sit up straight, fixing their collars and hair to make them look perfect, because she wanted them to succeed, which would also reflect well on her. But not Carewyn. Her caring was given with no caveats or conditions -- no semblance of dominance or control. It was so...selfless.

Blaise had had no concept that any relative of his could be so weak-hearted. And yet all it did was make him want to bring her into the fold more.

People are rife to take advantage of a child like this. The people around her already have taken advantage of her. These ‘friends’ of hers that she’s so desperate to protect from us...what have they done, to deserve her caring? Who are they, to deserve her loyalty? Muggle lovers, Mudbloods, paupers and orphans...they are not her family -- we are her family!

The thought made Blaise’s inside flare with resentment and anger.

And I intend to treat her like it.

At one point during their meeting, Carewyn asked the man she thought was Jacob if something was wrong. Blaise tried to play this off, simply claiming he was lost in thought. Sensing Carewyn might be starting to pull away from him, Blaise offered a shred of vulnerability.

“...It’s just...the last time I saw you...you were only a child. You still would be a child, if not for the Cursed Vaults...”

Some resentment slipped out despite himself. As much as he wanted his family back together, and as much as he knew his father Charles’s word was law so long as he was head of the Clan, Blaise really hadn’t wanted his son or any of his nieces and nephews to be involved with R. He’d fought hard to keep Tristan and Pearl and Claire’s children out of this whole mess.

“...I wish I could shield you, Pip. I wish that...things could be just the way they were.”

Carewyn’s eyes softened. Feeling compassion in her heart for who she thought was her brother, she then opened up her arms and encircled “Jacob” in a hug. The gesture made Blaise flinch.

“Me too,” Carewyn murmured.

The warmth of her embrace flooded Blaise with a strange, trembling kind of pain -- an ache he hardly knew the origin of. He so rarely received hugs as it was, but this kind of hug in particular -- however much it comforted Carewyn as much as him, once again, there was no sense of transaction, no sense of control. She was just offering him comfort, and she found comfort herself just in giving it...such a weak-hearted gesture, and yet expressed by such a firm, warm embrace.

Abruptly, before he fully knew what he was doing, Blaise had lashed his arms out and seized hold of Carewyn, cradling her against his chest the way he did his own son, Tristan. The strength of his hug made Carewyn give him a light squeeze in return, which in turn made tears clutch at Blaise’s throat. Forcing them back fiercely, the heir of the Cromwell Clan simply held on tighter, resting his head on top of Carewyn’s as a choked song drifted absently from his lips.

“The other night, dear, as I lay sleeping, I dreamed I held you in my arms... When I awoke, dear, I was mistaken, So I hung my head and cried.”

Blaise hardly knew the origin of the old song anymore, aside from it being his main choice of lullaby for his son, Tristan, when he was young. Carewyn seemed to know it, though. Her lips even curled up in a small, sad smile of her own as she sang the chorus with him --

“You are my sunshine...my only sunshine... You make me happy when skies are gray... You’ll never know, dear...how much I love you... Please don’t take my sunshine away.”

Patricia Rakepick had told Blaise that Carewyn was a true Cromwell, when she sang. Seeing what she meant, by hearing the warm, trained tone of his niece for the first time, made Blaise squeeze Carewyn that little bit tighter.

Oh, if only his mother could’ve heard her, Blaise thought of Marilyn at the grand piano so many years ago...if only she’d had the chance to hear Lane’s daughter sing...

“We can’t forget Laney’s baby. We must get something for the baby...”

When Blaise finally forced himself to let go of Carewyn, he cleared his throat, trying to pull himself together as he turned away.

“...I should go. The longer I’m here, the more of a chance someone’ll see me. Can’t afford to get you in more trouble, on my account...”

Carewyn frowned. “Mm...”

Even with how disappointed she looked, she still nodded. Blaise turned to her much more seriously.

“Best not tell anyone I was here, Pip,” he said. “If your friends are anything like mine...I doubt they’ll just stand back and watch, if they know you’re helping me with the Vaults.”

Carewyn’s eyes fell away as she nodded again grimly. She clearly didn’t need to be convinced -- she’d already come to that conclusion herself.

Good, thought Blaise coldly. The more she separates herself from them now, the easier it’ll be for her to let go of them and return home to us. Then she’ll know what home and family truly are.

The memory of trying and failing to completely modify Ben Copper’s memory outside the Ice Vault -- of seeing him fearfully mumbling Carewyn’s name in his sleep in the Hospital Wing, after he was recovered -- made Blaise’s fist clench around his wand as he left the room and disappeared down the hall.

Everything would be the way it should be, Blaise thought, once he brought Lane and her children home. He’d make sure Lane, Jacob, and Carewyn had everything they could ever want, once they came home to the Clan. He’d make sure they were content -- that they’d have everything they needed, at home, where they belonged.

Then they’d stay. They’d stay, and never leave again.

#hphm #hogwarts mystery #my art #my writing #carewyn cromwell #jacob cromwell #blaise cromwell #lane cromwell #charles cromwell #gdamnit blaise you big walking bag of issues #yeah he's definitely not a good person but he's still way more human than charles #marilyn cromwell honestly is where a lot of the cromwells' love of music came from #though charles actually really enjoys it too -- he just sees his family like songbirds that can sing for his entertainment #marilyn was a musical prodigy #she could play the flute violin piano and of course she sang #and she *loved* hearing her children sing #music basically = love to all cromwells even the really messed-up ones #writing this though i couldn't help but smirk thinking of how blaise would react to what evan did to lane #honestly I think if evan collided with jacob again he'd somehow still be safer than if he collided with blaise #jacob would beat him up but blaise would be close to crucio-ing his arse #you hurt his family he'll f*** you up #though to be blunt if *he* hurts his family he just gaslights TF out of them so they'll stay so again -- perspective >>#this guy is not a good person :I #also yes of all of carewyn's friends blaise hates and mistrusts ben most #because 'mudblood' and also he was one of carey's very first friends #that's part of the reason ben ended up r's initial target though him trying to protect Carewyn so much definitely affected that decision too

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maleyanderecafe · 3 years ago

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Hey there was a mobile game I wanted to recommend you check out! It’s called MazM: The Phantom of the Opera. Obviously the phantom himself is a well-known character and prime example of a yandere, and this version’s Raoul also takes on that trait a little (although it’s mostly because Christine is in a life or death situation and this he’s protective over her), he’s very sweet and doesn’t wait a moment to shower her with praise. Anyway it’s a pretty faithful retelling of the original book and was extra fun for me as a yandere-lover as you play as Christine caught in between the yandere and the actual boyfriend. I think it’s coming to the switch soon as well if you want to wait for that.

...Are you sure that Raoul just takes on this trait a bit...?

Joking aside, sorry it took me so long to answer this ask. I was originally going to watch a walkthrough on youtube, but then I realized that you said it would be on switch and since I just got my switch emulator, I ended up playing with a friend. I will say that there is a lot for me to say about this game, so this will be a long read.

First things first, I'll admit that I've never actually read or watched the Phantom of the Opera before, so I genuinely have no idea what happens in the story. This is where my friend who I was streaming for comes in because she has read the story so she helped fill me in on what happens (she's also making a yandere vn in the future which I will be spamming the heck out of because yandere vn). I think from what she told me, most of the story is relatively accurate, though some parts are changed for one reason or another (for instance, The Persian has a name in this game, but in the original, he doesn't), which has some pros and cons for some characters. Overall though, the story was pretty good for a first timer like me since it really let me experience what the Phantom of the Opera is truly about. I think the creator Mazm did a good job for historical detail, which makes sense considering their platform is about creating games that reinterpret famous stories (they've also done one for Wizard of Oz and Jekyll and Hyde which I sort of want to play), and there are a lot of different notes the player can collect in the game that give more historical insight into what is going on.

The story for the most part is pretty linear. There are some choices you can choose, but except for two, they don't really affect the story. For the most part, the game plays as a visual novel, though you do have to walk around to talk or interact with things to proceed the story. There are cats and notes that lie around the game too, with the notes giving more historical insight and the cats being used as hints in case you don't know where to go. The story is about a detective trying to find out the truth of the Phantom of the Opera at a request of a client whos husband was a victim of him, but most of the story is played through a flashback.

There are also small minigames as well that aren't too difficult, though I honestly felt like some of the minigames got to be tedious at times, specifically the one minigame where you have to press the order of the mirror combo which I found really annoying because besides the fact that I'm bad at those games, you had to do it every time you wanted to enter under the Opera house, which was just... ugh. The game itself seems much more optimized for mobile than it was for switch considering how slow the characters move (and its really slow walking to different places sometimes) as well as the fact that it takes forever to load between different scenes and there's no touch screen option for switch (that I know of). Plus the buttons for moving and pressing hints were annoying to deal with (though this could just be because I'm using an emulator). I also kept getting confused when I was playing, since sometimes I would walk around the entire opera house trying to figure out what to do next, only to learn that I was suppose to talk to someone that was literally five steps from where I spawned. The last thing I found annoying was the fact that there's no option to skip dialogue which is really annoying when I wanted to replay a specific part of the story to take some screenshots. If you play this game, it's probably better to play it on mobile than on switch.

In terms of artwork, Mazm's Phantom of the Opera is really gorgeous, from the overworld sprites to the dialogue sprites to the background and CGs. I love how cute the overworld sprites are (I think Jammes and Raoul's are my favorite, they're both so cute) and every background is really nice to walk through and gives a good atmosphere of what it's trying to show. The character sprites for each characters are nice and varied. I can always appreciate characters that have recognizable faces and shapes, since a lot of times I have face blindness when it comes to characters that look way too similar. The CGs of course are super well done and I love all of them. Overall, the artstyle of this game is very solid and I love the way it looks.

The main character of the story was Christine, who looks really good ( I really love her hair), was for the most part alright initially. While I found her to be a bit naive (because she believed that there was an actual Angel of Music when it was just... the Phantom), she was for the most part alright, and even ended up saving another character from the phantom. However, I found her actions annoying after she met the phantom, specifically the part where she agreed to stay underground with the phantom for two days and would be released as long as she didn't touch his mask, and guess what. Right as she was literally about to leave, SHE TAKES OFF HIS MASK, AND FOR WHAT? YOU WERE JUST ABOUT TO LEAVE?? The other thing that bothered me was the after being trapped with the Phantom for about a month, she is given free reign to go back above ground, under the conditions that she only goes to the opera house and at home. During this time, she's expected to break it off with Raoul, so she fakes a honeymoon with him before he leaves for the artic. However, during this time, she doesn't tell anyone, not even Raoul about what the Phantom is up to. She has an entire month, an ENTIRE MONTH to tell someone that the Phantom is likely to hurt people (as previously he had dropped a chandelier on top of the audience) and she just... didn't. Understandably, she might have been afraid that the Phantom might have heard her, but still, what is he going to do to the possible 100 people that Christine could have told about him. She could have saved people from death if something like that were to happen. Near the end, she does get proper character development and learns to choose things for her sake and not others, which was pretty nice and does stand up to the Phantom after all the trauma (and doesn't get stockholm sydrome, thank goodness), but I still think that a lot of her actions could have probably been written better to make her less naive (since apparently in the original she was about 16ish while in this remake she's about 20 so it's less awkward between her and the phantom).

Raoul is the next character I'll be talking about, because even though he is very adorable, he also has one braincell and talks about Christine way too much. My friend and I actually decided to make a counter on how many times Erik and Raoul say "Christine." Erik says Christines name 128 times and Raoul... says it 340 times. This isn't even counting his introduction and only starts up to when Erik is introduced as a formal character and also doesn't count any time he says it in the overworld. 340! My friend kept on joking around that because Raoul says Christine so much, his brother Phillipe became an alcoholic because he's so tired of Raoul talking about Christine. Raoul only really has like three things going for him: the fact that he was in the military, the fact that he's part of the Chagny household and Christine, and that's it. Throughout the story, his goals are pretty much always related to Christine, whether it be to give gifts to Christine, being worried about her or trying to protect Christine from the Phantom. When the chandelier drops on half the crowd during one of the performances, instead of being worried for them or trying to get out of the Opera House, he instead looks for Christine, who is on stage and quite literally in the safest location within the theater. I would consider him a redeemed/protective yandere though, considering his priority is always Christine (he even gives up his own family name to be with her) and he's always trying to protect her. There's a part of the story where Raoul becomes really unhinged when it comes to protecting Christine, lashing out her her friends and other members of the Opera house. He does some really dumb stuff because of the Phantom, specifically throwing away Christine's ring that she got from the Phantom (that she also literally told him before that as long as she's wearing the ring she wouldn't be harmed by the phantom and he just...?? okay??). When he's tortured in the mirror room, he hallucinates Christine blaming him for her capture, and he even cries while hallucinating that Christine friendzones him (which I though was actually really funny, even if it was a tad bit stupid). His redemption comes near the end of the story where he apologizes for being so emotional and realizing that he was a bit of an obsessive beast, and in one ending he lets Christine go to travel the world. To be honest, I don't know if Raoul would continue to be as protective and obsessed with her even after the Phantom's death, but I guess there's not really any way to know.

The Phantom, or Erik (which I know is his cannon name but it makes me laugh because he really doesn't look like an Erik) is the main villain of the story. Unfortunately, in this version, I don't think I can call him a yandere, for one simple character: Melek. Melek, as far as I know isn't in the original story, is a prisoner that Erik has after she refused to marry her. As a character, I do actually like Melek since she's the one of the more sensible characters in the story and she's the more rational one between her and Christine, but her role in the story basically deconfirms Erik as a yandere, at least in this version. For one, Melek is a blind maid of Erik that he did fall in love with and trap, similar to how Christine was, which kind of comes off as Erik being the kind of person who would trap any girl that he likes. Even if this is the case, I don't understand why Erik would keep her alive even after she fell for Christine. Supposedly the reason is that Erik wanted to make Christine feel despair and he did attempt to kill her, but Melek survives and he just... doesn't do anything with her. Honestly, if Melek were straight up not in the story, I would have put him as a yandere because pretty much all of his other actions point to a more possessive/worship type of yandere, but because of Melek it's just not possible in my eyes. Besides that Erik sort of reminds me of a chunni in this version (he's like this absolute darkness is my curse! Like people with 7th grade syndrom seem to have), it was kind of hard for me to take him seriously in certain times. He is very intimidating when he threatens Christine, but his overdramatic nature (which I know is something he's always known for, just this version is uh...) really makes him seem like a child. Erik is for sure suppose to be more antagonistic in this version, considering the addition of Melek and his general actions of possession towards Christine and his disdain for Raoul, but near the end we do see more of his story and we see just how devastating his life is from the moment of birth. I did feel really bad for him when Hatim/The Persian keeps on mentioning the prince he used to work with because its really obvious that he still has trauma from it (and he keeps begging him to not talk about his past and the Persian just... keeps traumatizing him I guess) and the fact that he was treated so badly because of his appearance, but this doesn't excuse his actions in the story. Christine does try to sympathize with him using her own tragic backstory, which Erik kind of pushes away (like bro, we're not trying to see whose parents are worse, she's just trying to sympathize with you, dang) as not being tragic. I think that Mazm did present him pretty well in this story, not showing just his antagonistic side but also his more tragic side. Sadly, like I said, I can't consider him a yandere because of the addition of Melek, at least not in this version.

In terms of other characters, I really like the trio of Meg Giry, Sorelli and Jammes- the friends of Christine. From what I can tell, they're all a bit more aged up in this version, with Sorelli being the oldest and Jammes being the youngest and I feel like they gave more character to them than in the original version. Sorelli is the head of the dancers and the dating partner of Phillip de Chagny, Raoul's older brother and she's the mature and strong willed one of the group, wielding a blade that she uses to protect her friends. I like the fact that they made her a bit more protective and in one of the overworld sprites its mentioned via rumor that Phillip fell in love with her after he saw Sorelli swing her dagger, which I thought was pretty cute. At the end though, after Phillips death, she realizes that she was struggling too hard to climb up the social ladder and decides to forge her own path. In the beginning she attempts to protect her and her friends from the Phantom, declaring that she'll stab him if she sees him. Next is Meg Giry, and from what my friend told me, she was very young in the original books and kind of scardy cat. In this version, she's a bit older but maintains the scardy cat position, and is very terrified of the Phantom. She does gain more character development during the story, standing up to her mother and the managers and overall being a more assertive and confident person, which I thought was a nice touch. Last but certainly not least is my best girl Jammes. In the original story, she barely makes an appearance, but in Mazm they made her quite literally the best character. For one, the canonical reason why there are so many cats hanging out in the opera house is that Jammes keeps on feeding them and letting them in and she has named all of them after the Opera House staff. Jammes loves to spin and has a cute animation and while she can be loud and a bit strange sometimes, she can be smart and assertive when she needs to. Jammes always pushes the other three into being better and protects them when needed (for instance, when Phillip lashes out at Sorelli, she steps in and demands that he apologize for his actions) and can be really smart at times (she's the only character that attempts to at least cover her mouth when the Phantom's fragrance, a hallucinogenic gas, starts to fill up the box seat, despite others who have been in there not even trying) and is the one who stands up for Christine's abuse as well as for the dancers at the opera house being treated unfairly by the manager as she organizes a strike against them. She also becomes part of the women's suffrage after the events of the story. I could go on and on about Jammes, but instead I'll leave a cute picture of her at the end of this entire analysis. Besides those three, I did like Carlotta, the original singing lead of the opera house. Originally, she became an antagonist towards Christine after she became the lead singer, however, she did apologize to her afterwards and befriended her once more before traveling the world. I love her interactions with Raoul because she basically said that Raoul only has Christine and military training and when he gets angry and lashes out, Carlotta glares and him, causing him to cower (this actually does happen multiple times), and I just found that really, really funny. Mifoid, though useless in the story is actually pretty cute as well, I love his bouncing animation. The last character I'll talk about is Phillip because he became meme material for me and my friend considering he probably is so tired of Raoul talking about Christine (we joked that the reason he was sent to military was so that he didn't have to hear her name again) and while he is mostly a decent but strict character in the story, his last appearance really makes him out as a jerk. I did think it was kind of weird that Phillip was so willing to let Raoul go to the Artic mission considering nobody that has gone there has ever returned, and he was rather elitest towards him, not letting him marry Christine because she's of lower

class but during his last chapter before he dies, he goes on a frenzy after he and Raoul have a fight, revealing to Sorelli that he only dated her for fun and not to actually settle down with her, which is just horrible. It's a bit sad though that Raoul only saw him as someone who tried to get rid of him considering that Phillip did raise Raoul and that his last actions were an attempt to save Phillip from the phantom, and yet Raoul barely has a reaction after seeing his body and doesn't even go to his funeral. It's really sad that Raoul didn't even really cry after seeing Phillip's body, considering that he was basically his father figure.

Overall, it's a good game to play and a good retelling of the Phantom of the Opera. I wouldn't consider the Phantom to be a yandere in this game, but I do think that Raoul is one. Thank you for this recommendation!

#asks #male yandere #yandere boy #yandere #recommendation

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neroushalvaus · 3 years ago

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Top 5 things you'd change in Frank Wildhorn's beloved musical spectacle Jekyll & Hyde, go

I'm pretty sure you know this but when I reblogged this I was silently chanting "please somebody ask me about jekyll & hyde" in my head

So even though all the points I'm going to list have probably been discussed several times, I am really really grateful

5. Make the father thing make sense. In the musical Jekyll's want to create his potion is rooted in him wanting to cure his father's Mental Health Problems Disorder™ and I am not saying I am completely against that. However, after he has transformed for the first time, he seems to forget all about curing his father. At most we get him saying "forgive me father" or something during the wedding scene (if I'm missing a version of the script where this is explored better, I'm sorry). Jekyll's wish to cure his father ends up feeling like a flimsy excuse to try his potion. I would either remove the whole thing and let Jekyll just play around with science and morality because it interests him, or have them have like one scene together after the one scene in the beginning. So we could see Jekyll didn't just forget about his father after he started having way too much fun murder-murdering.

4. This will be elaborated below so it is kind of a filler point but: Please someone do something about the portrayal of women in this musical, dear God please. The whole Madonna-whore thing Emma and Lucy have going on is. Bad. The Bring on the Men/Good and Evil scene is, in most versions I've seen, bad. Whether it's changing the characters of Lucy and Emma or gender-bending Jekyll or something, if I truly had a magic wand I could use to change this show, this is a thing I would tinker with.

3. Give Emma something to do. Or at least make her relationship with Jekyll more interesting. As things are, she's supposed to be one of the most important relationships in Jekyll's life but she's in the dark about her boyfriend's problems until the very end. Both Lucy and Utterson see the both sides of Jekyll during the musical and that makes their relationships with Jekyll feel more captivating, at least in my opinion. Whereas when Emma never gets to know anything about Hyde or why Jekyll does the things he does, it feels random when she's so prepared to talk Jekyll back to himself in their wedding and it feels kind of undeserved when he poetically dies in her arms. I still like the idea you once had about combining Emma and Utterson into one character. If there was a character who was somehow a combination of Jekyll's best friend who is concerned about his dealings with this mysterious Mr Hyde and his fiancée who loves him enough to instantly gently cradle him in her arms as he dies (after he has violently killed her ex, no less!), that would be a truly interesting character. So. Emma Utterson when??

2. I want to make the board of governors sympathetic. I know it is super convenient for Jekyll that the people Hyde must murder are all classists, ableists and sex offenders, but it is so so so boring. I'm not saying they all have to be saints, but it is kind of silly that the first person Hyde kills is someone some people would say "i do not support death penalty but" about. The board is full of cartoonishly evil and selfish people and I get that if they weren't, it wouldn't be so fun to watch Hyde murder-murder them in whimsical ways, but it's bad and goofy writing. If I were to write them, I would make them people with reasonable concerns about Jekyll's potion (because, you know, they are right actually!). And maybe during Murder, Murder! they could say horrible things, because sometimes people do that. And Hyde would see and kill them at their worst moments. Then Jekyll could feel perfectly justified in his actions but I maybe wouldn't die laughing every time because of how eeeviiill the board is.

1. Lucy's death. You knew it would be this one. It couldn't be anything else. And how would I change it? Make it make sense. Somehow. Give Hyde a motive for killing her, any motive at all. At the moment my favourite version of this is the one we discussed once, about it being Jekyll killing Lucy and not Hyde. So maybe I would change it to that. Let's have Jekyll thinking that actually Lucy is the reason he can not control Hyde. Because you know, Lucy has the gall to exist as a woman Jekyll is attracted to, and because of her doing that Jekyll simply must turn into murdery monster man every once in a while so he can fuck her. As one does. So to make Hyde disappear Jekyll must remove the thing that awakens him. So he kills Lucy. Maybe have the Sympathy, Tenderness reprise be genuine instead of mocking, or something? It could be kind of cool actually. Anyway I like this version because it would show how desperate Jekyll is and how utterly selfish he can be. Also how well would it go with Hyde's lyrics in The Confrontation? "Can't you see? You are me", literally. So yeah, I wouldn't just let Hyde kill Lucy so Jekyll can be horrified about it. I would write an actual reason for her to be killed.

Send me a show/book/fandom/anything and I'll say the top 5 things I would change about it

#there are so many plotholes i am pretty sure i missed many #i. won't be as chatty about other fandoms. jekyll&hyde just is something very special when it comes to stuff i'd like to change #starlene #jekyll & hyde #ask memes

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dinosaurtsukki · 4 years ago

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BSD x university au hc’s | pt. 2

part 2 of the university au hc’s !! i am obviously a slut for chuuya and fyodor so don’t mind me. i hope you guys like this !!

check out pt. 1 here

***********************************************

Akutagawa Ryuunosuke:

i love akutagawa ryuunosuke my angst child but i’m just like ‘hmmmmmmm’ when it comes to what his course would probably be

after extensive research aka reading his character page on wiki i feel like maybe he’d be a history major because,,,, he likes antiques?

well his clothes do seem very dark academia-esque and i can see him liking something as cool as history

akutagawa’s probably into something like war history but he’s not weird about it he just finds it really cool how different strategies work or analyzing what exactly makes the winners win

he absolutely HATES the fact that he keeps having to read the Iliad for class

he’s also that classmate who INTENSIVELY DEFENDS achilles for being a bit of a little bitch (but he fully agrees that patroclus and achilles were gay af ok this was random moving on)

akutagawa has practically no social life. he doesn’t go to parties, he doesn’t talk to his roommate, he doesn’t even like to eat in the dining hall

BUT he absolutely loves being in debate team because WINNING

he’s such a nightmare to work with though but he just delivers so well when it’s time for him to speak. like, if he’s on a negative and it’s time to hash out rebuttals, just prepare to get MURDERED

other debaters: “esteemed scholars and adjudicators...”

akutagawa: “you, sir, have no idea how wrong you are.”

that is until dazai decided to randomly show up at a debate tournament all ‘la di da da’ like and completely crushed akutagawa along with his ego

from then on he started stalking dazai and just SOMEHOW managed to end up in his circle of friends

even though he’s antisocial in real life, akutagawa 100% runs a dark academia aesthetic blog on tumblr i’m right and i don’t accept criticism

it’s actually really good he has a ton of followers and even does requests for moodboards if someone asks nicely

atsushi was the one who actually found out about it but he’s nice so he didn’t tell akutagawa about it

kunikida probably follows that blog

Chuuya Nakahara:

if this part sounds like i’m just thirsting for chuuya then you’re absolutely right i love wine man

don’t get mad at me but i can ABSOLUTELY SEE HIM MAJORING IN FASHION DESIGN I MEAN LOOK AT HIM

he’s just always had such a good eye for fashion and he’s veryyy meticulous when it comes to snipping and putting together clothes

chuuya also carries a sketchbook full of designs and his drawings look amazing and he isn’t afraid to just show them off

that said he doesn’t dress like a tired uni student at all, like he just always looks so on-point and unbothered by his five million deadlines

dazai: chuuya, i said this was a CASUAL LUNCH

chuuya, dressed in what looks like silk pajamas: THIS IS CASUAL

tbh if he just wore a white t-shirt and jeans i would die maybe he’s actually saving us from this ordeal

he has so much talent though as a designer he’s probably had several internships with design companies all throughout his years at uni

i feel like chuuya’s also really active in extracurriculars and has been in leadership positions in some of them (he probably runs the student org for fashion design)

chuuya in a student band though oh my gosh i can’t breathe i can’t breathe him as a VOCALIST?? and wearing torn jeans and eyeliner and that same hat in concerts ican’t brEATHE

okay in all honesty he would thrive being in a band chuuya loves the attention and the creativity of being able to design their whole look and write songs

tbh i don’t know if he’d have a roommate chuuya’s probably the type who’d rather have one of those single rooms or just rent a flat for him to stay in even after graduation

because his social life is super vibrant, he does have a lot of friends and he does make an effort to get to know all of them individually

but he’s more open around those who he’s been friends with for a really long time and as much as he’d like to say dazai isn’t one of them, he is

also chuuya is definitely the type to party hard during the weekends and has more than once crashed in someone’s house after drinking too much (dazai drew on his face on more than one occasion)

Oda Sakunosuke:

i love this man SO MUCH you guys have no idea i would literally die for him

100% this guy majors in creative writing because this is supported by FACTS and not just me wanting to be coursemates with him in this fictional world

super serious and diligent with his work especially since he’s passionate about writing. he loves to read in his spare time and is such a fan of classic novels about social realism or philosophy

oda spends 99% of his time in second-hand bookshops that the owner probably knows him by name at this point

he’s super old school when it comes to writing though, like he still keeps and writes in a notebook before typing it up on a laptop and no matter how many times dazai tells him its impractical, oda just keeps doing it

lmao whenever workshops come around he’s super nice with his critique. i bet a lot of his fellow classmates like sending their writing drafts to him

he draws smiley faces and always adds ‘nice work’ on people’s drafts omg i love odasaku

he’s such an old soul, he probably doesn’t do a whole lot of partying but he likes more quiet, private social events like drinking with close friends or just hanging out and talking at other people’s houses

he and dazai probably met when dazai decided to take an intro to creative writing class and wrote a long poem about double suicide on his first day that kind of put off everyone in the class from wanting to sit with him

odasaku was the only one who wasn’t exactly bothered but he did give dazai some comments to help him with his poetry and dazai instantly wanted to be his friend

in terms of extracurricular life, i can definitely see odasaku joining a writing organization and even the campus newspaper. he does find joy in interviewing students for newspaper articles

he’s also pretty into photography and uses a really old, second-hand camera that he bought at an antique store and fixed himself. at one point he won a prize in a contest

odasaku would be the best roommate. he’s super sensitive to when you have a bad day and will invite you to sit on his bed and hug his pillow and talk about your problems

scratch that, everyone talks to odasaku about their problems and now your room is like a therapist’s office

Edgar Allan Poe:

i swear this was the only gif i could find other than actual edgar allan poe

ANOTHER CREATIVE WRITING BUDDY AHHH I WOULD LOVE TO BE BESTIES WITH HIM AHHH

well actually i feel like since he’s super ambitious and already has a fixed idea on the stuff he likes to write, he’d probably double major in something like forensic science because he’d use it to write his mystery novels

omg that’s where he meets ranpo and now pretty much every main character poe writes is slightly based on on ranpo

it’s a problem. his professor brings it up more than once during his classes but it’s poe’s Thing now

he also has such an unending passion for gothic literature and he wears those white, long-sleeved blouses and waistcoats on a REGULAR BASIS

chuuya probably saw him once and was like ‘hmm, i could pull that off’

poe’s daily route is just going to the library and to class and then go home and that’s about it

he ended up working as a student assistant at the library because he’s just super familiar with the book collections and it’s a job that’s peaceful and quiet

more than once though, he’d just be really in-deep with his writing to the point that he doesn’t even notice that the library has closed or that he hasn’t eaten the entire day

that’s alright though because ranpo always passes by the library at night to check on his friend and (reluctantly) give him some snacks

also since poe’s pretty much a recluse, he doesn’t go to any social event UNLESS it’s a halloween-themed one

he loves going all out with his costumes because he’s a Drama Queen like that but the problem is he keeps dressing up as gothic novel characters and nobody gets it

dazai, trying to guess his costume: umm,, Two-Face from Batman?

poe: IT’S DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE

there was this one time when poe took it upon himself to host the halloween party and it was EPIC

he basically designed it as a murder mystery night wherein everyone who came pretended to be guests at a house and then a murder happened

the only problem was that ranpo was conspiring with poe and it was pretty much unfair

except for the fact that ranpo was frustrated at how bad everyone was at deducing that he ended up solving the mystery for them

Fyodor Dostoevsky:

one of my favorite scenes of him in s3 was of fyodor playing the cello because god damn that is beautiful and therefore i am hc-ing him as a music major and you can’t tell me otherwise

fyodor is an absolute music genius and he was definitely scouted by the university’s music program and then he was granted a scholarship (because in this ideal university, the arts are valued)

he purposely decided to go to a university rather than a music conservatory because he’s also interested in learning a bunch of other things

aside from his music classes, he ventures into comparative literature and philosophy, even a bit of computer science at some point

people always assume that since he’s a music major he probably wouldn’t do well in other subjects but SURPRISE BITCH

anyway, fyodor’s a genius because god clearly has favorites

aside from attending class, he’s even part of an official orchestra and has even landed a few solos

that said, he’s quite busy and very preoccupied in his own work to actually have a social life either

you’ll often find him rehearsing by himself in an empty classroom for hours and hours on end (someone pls bring him food he’s also the type to forget to eat or even drink water)

if you are able to catch him perform at an orchestra or just practice by himself, it’s quite a mesmerizing sight. his eyes are often closed so he could focus on the sound alone and his fingers move so elegantly along the neck of the cello

(sorry i just love people who play any form of stringed instrument)

fyodor also takes such good care of his cello. also he would probably kill you on the spot if you touched his bow

he has a fairly small group of friends and they like playing chess together (even though fyodor is better than all of them) and just talk about um,, idk philosophy and stuff (whatever it is smart people do idk i’m not one of them)

i have a feeling he actually follows akutagawa’s dark academia blog and loves his content, even to the point of requesting ‘cello player moodboards’

also because he’s a cello player he needs to take care of his fingers so he wears gloves a lot (idk why i find this hot)

***********************************************

taglist (check out my post for details on being part of my taglist): @waitforitillwritemywayout @tpwkatsumu @laure-chan

#bungou stray dogs #bsd #bsd writing #bsd headcanons #bungou stray dogs writing #bungou stray dogs headcanons #akutagawa ryuunosuke #chuuya nakahara #oda sakunosuke #edgar allan poe #fyodor dostoevsky #bungou stray dogs university au #bsd uni au #bungou stray dogs scenarios #bsd scenarios

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twistedtummies2 · 3 years ago

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Ele-May-ntary - Number 2

Welcome to Ele-May-ntary! All throughout the month of May, I’ve been counting down my Top 31 Favorite Portrayals of Sherlock Holmes, from movies, television, radio, and even video games! Today, we cover our penultimate entry on the countdown. Who it is may be surprising… Number 2 is…Basil of Baker Street.

How many of us were introduced to Sherlock Holmes by “The Great Mouse Detective”? I know I was! I knew about Basil of Baker Street before any other take on the World’s Greatest Detective. Now, some of you may call foul on this, because Basil isn’t TECHNICALLY Sherlock Holmes: it’s revealed in the film that he actually lives in the actual Sherlock Holmes’ house. But…come now. Aside from his name and the fact he’s a rodent, this little guy IS Sherlock Holmes: the look, the mannerisms, the personality, EVERYTHING about him is very obviously meant to be Holmes, just as Dr. Dawson is very obviously Watson, and Professor Ratigan is very obviously Professor Moriarty. In my book, he most assuredly counts. This 1986 Disney film is, apparently, adapted from a children’s book series…which I know basically nothing about, except that Basil apparently plays the flute in that version instead of the violin. How similar or how different the books are from the movie beyond that point? Don’t ask me, I have no clue! The role of the titular character was played by Barrie Ingham; Ingham had a long and storied career both on the screen and onstage. Musical theatre fans will probably recognize him best for playing Sir Danvers Carew in “Jekyll & Hyde,” or perhaps for his role as Herbie in the Original West End production of “Gypsy.” Prior to this movie, Ingham actually appeared in the role of the very Holmesian Dr. Thorndyke, in an episode of the series “The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes.” Coincidentally, John Neville – who played Sherlock in “A Study in Terror” – played the same character in a different episode of the show, while Douglas Wilmer – who played Holmes in the first season of the 1960s BBC series – played an altogether different character, Professor Van Dusen, in another episode. I’m sensing a pattern. As a kid, of course, “The Great Mouse Detective” is a fun animated flick; it’s a highly underrated Disney picture, in my opinion, with one of the company’s best villains in the form of Ratigan (he’s played by Vincent Price, how can you go wrong?), memorable side characters, and some really strong animation. Again, it’s more action-adventure than a true mystery, but that doesn’t really spoil much. As an adult, now deeply immersed in various takes on Holmes, what I love about this movie is the respect it has for the source material, and seeing the things that influenced it in various places. I also have to admit that, even nowadays, Basil remains – at least to me – one of the most definitive takes on Holmes. Naturally, because this is a Disney film, Barrie Ingham’s Basil is not as dark and brooding as the Holmes in the books could be; there’s no cocaine habit (Lord knows Disney would NEVER get away with that), and some of the side characters – most notably Inspector Lestrade – are missing. But I think that, for what Ingham is given, and what the movie could manage, they really created a strong depiction of the character, buckteeth or not. I love how ENERGIZED Basil is; Holmes has always had a quality to his character that’s sort of a big, overgrown kid, but I don’t think I’ve seen ANY version latch onto that idea so strongly since this version until “Moriarty the Patriot.” I guess it makes sense, since the kids would want to identify with Basil, and while the character is an adult – in fact, his client in this story is a lost little mouse girl – his attitude is often pretty childlike. He’s careless, distracted, a showoff, and above all – for lack of a better word – he’s ANIMATED. Literally and figuratively! He’s constantly bouncing off the walls, literally leaping from one idea and moment to the next, often to the point where you can’t tell if he’s entirely stable, to be blunt. He can actually be a little scary in some places with how intense he is. Just like Holmes, however, he’s not happy all the time; he has moments where he slows down, most particularly when he feels defeated. When he gets depressed, he gets REALLY depressed, all that energy and vitality just seemingly getting sucked out of him as he goes very still and becomes very, very glum. And while he’s often way too wrapped up in himself and his own mind, he’s not totally coldhearted: at first he doesn’t much care for young Olivia, but eventually he starts to like her. At the same time, he and Dawson do form a very genuine and warm relationship, despite Basil’s colossal ego. The rapidity with which his moods shift is so drastic and intense that, again, it’s a little bit startling, but you also feel every emotion and the sincerity behind it. Basil’s Holmes was heavily inspired by the version played by Ronald Howard (even more than his namesake, Basil Rathbone; coincidentally, archival audio of Rathbone is used to provide the real Sherlock’s voice in one brief scene). The film actually has a couple of references to the Howard series, but I think in some ways, this one surpasses that version. Basil is a little colder than Howard – though, again, not so cold he becomes unlikeable – while still being eccentric and enthusiastic. He gets much more frustrated and cynical, and because of the medium and the company involved, the scope of this picture is far more grand. Neither Basil nor Dawson – and CERTAINLY not Ratigan – feel like ripoffs of earlier interpretations; they are strong takes on the characters in their own right, and I think that’s the true power of this movie. It IS a legitimate Sherlock Holmes picture without being at all conventional…and while it may be PARTIALLY due to nostalgia that Barrie Ingham remains one of my personal favorite takes on the character, and perhaps the quintessential voice in my mind (I always read the stories with his voice in my head, believe it or not), I still think he deserves high marks here. One last thing before I finish…out of all the properties Disney has made sequels and spin-offs for, how come THIS movie has NEVER spawned an animated series? Imagine doing “mouse-ified” versions of some of the classic Holmes stories! Think of the fun you could have with tales like “The Hound of the Baskervilles” or “The Blue Carbuncle” using these characters! I guess one could argue that it would be difficult to manage, since most of the major cast members in this film are sadly no longer with us, but surely it wouldn’t be TOO difficult to find replacement actors! Disney does it all the time! Maybe someday this dream will come true…but till then, oneshot though it may be, this is still home to one of the best takes on Holmes I’ll ever see…cheese-nibbling and all. Mickey Mouse, eat your heart out. Well, that was a long one, wasn’t it? XD The countdown concludes tomorrow. Who will be our number one choice? Check in and find out!

#ele-may-ntary #top 31 sherlock holmes portrayals #sherlock holmes #basil of baker street #gmd #great mouse detective #basil #barrie ingham #number 2 #disney #HE COUNTS

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margridarnauds · 4 years ago

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I know you prefer a-cast, but what are some pros to buying m-cast instead? There's a bit of a war going on abt which is better. I heard m-cast is better bc the cast is more senior and experienced, but I don't know what to believe. Is a-cast or m-cast just a taste thing, or is it abt smthing else? Would you mind making a chart or smthing for the pros and cons of both versions? Maybe ratings per category? I know you have a preference, but I just think you are quite nuanced. Thanks in advance!

I am very honored that you would think of me as someone who’s fair and nuanced!

Before I begin, I’m going to say one thing that might or might not be considered....well. Very American of me, from the perspective of Japanese fandom: I do not believe, when it comes to spending the amount of money that these cost, on holding back information in order to appear diplomatic. I’ll try to be diplomatic, for the sake of people who might like anyone I criticize, but, also, if I dislike an aspect, I will try to find SOME way of making said displeasure known, because, again: The amount of money required to buy one DVD, let alone two, is quite a lot. I personally like to buy both, since it lets me compare and contrast, but my God, is it a bit of money (and this year, with the exception of the 2016 Elisabeth, I’ve had to cut down quite a bit while I’ve been abroad: I haven’t touched Frankenstein or Phantom...at least not yet.)

Also, I am always willing to arrange streams of either/both casts, since this musical is my baby, so that anyone reading this now can see whether what I say is true or not, as well as in order to determine your own preferences.

Alright, so that disclaimer out of the way, let’s start off:

I kind of disagree that M cast is more experienced, as a whole. Let’s compare:

Marie

Rena Sasamato (A Cast) - Had her debut when she was ten years old, in 1995. She is a Toho veteran with many, many musicals under her belt, including The Woman in White, Love Never Dies, Jekyll and Hyde, Les Miserables, West Side Story, Rudolf, Fiddler on the Roof, and, of course, the original 2006 production of Marie Antoinette, where she played Margrid Arnaud.

Hanafusa Mari (M Cast) - Almost needs no introduction, such is the fame that she has. And I say this as a detractor. My personal feelings about her personality, acting, and singing aside, I can admit that Hanafusa Mari is a living legend in the Japanese musical industry. She certainly lives up to her title of “Empress”, in all senses of the term. She had her debut in 1991 (after, admittedly, undergoing the training of the Takarazuka Revue, so I will give her that she had experience beforehand, just not in acting and singing on stage), and remained there until 2006, when she retired in conjunction with her fellow top star, Yoka Wao. From 2010 onward, she appeared in non-Takarazuka roles, including my very first exposure to Japanese theatre, Dracula, in 2011.

Now, of the two of them, I won’t deny that Hanafusa has more experience, however I also feel like saying that Rena has less experience is making it sound almost like she was some starving waif that Toho picked off the side of the streets in order to star in their new musical, as opposed to a seasoned actress in her own right who, on top of having an impressive number of musicals under her belt, also has experience in the musical itself. Hanafusa, when it comes down to it, only has four years’ more experience than Rena, though she is almost a decade older and undoubtedly, when she premiered, had more polish than 10 year old Rena. But, on the other hand, she DID remain with the Revue an impressively long time, which is very intense as far as how many musicals they perform on a yearly basis (most Top Musumeyaku only last about...2-3 years or so), she was the original Elisabeth in Takarazuka (a legendary role in its own right), and, my snark about her having the best career money can buy aside, I am willing to say that, for the most part, she’s earned her status as a legend.

And I want to say that I’m not ripping YOU apart when I say this, I want to make that absolutely clear. You’re asking me a very good question, but it is something I tend to find quite a bit of when I talk Japanese musicals, in the sense that there is often this...assumption that actresses who started off in non-Takarazuka musicals (also a moment of silence for the Shiki actresses, who I almost never talk about but who are kicking ass as Disney Princesses) are somehow...lesser, or that they have less training. Takarazuka is and remains very prestigious, but it’s hardly the be-all, end-all of all musical theatre, and, in many ways, I would argue that Rena has more experience than Hanafusa, in terms of the world of Toho musicals, which require a different style of acting and singing: Less stylized, less affected, more what you would expect from a Broadway or West End show. It’s actually something that I find quite a few Takarazuka actresses struggle with when they come to Toho, as they have to adjust how they’ve done things for a new audience.

Now, what does this have to do with the overall point? Well, a lot of people bought Marie Antoinette FOR Hanafusa to begin with, since she does have a huge following. I have seen plenty of people admit that they only bought it for her in the first place and didn’t bother with the other cast. I have even seen, in the past, people argue with me on the idea of a musical that DOESN’T have Hanafusa in it getting a proshot, simply because, for them, she IS the world of Japanese musical theatre. Coming from that perspective, of course Rena is less experienced, because she, simply put, isn’t Hanafusa.

In terms of their overall presentation of the characters, I found that their respective training really impacted how they portrayed the characters: Rena played Antoinette as being very elegant, with a pride that could turn to haughtiness. It made for an Antoinette that is interesting in her own right to watch, which is tricky, since I find that Antoinettes tend to be overshadowed by the other characters, especially Margrid, Fersen, and Orléans. She did include certain aspects of a Takarazuka performance in her performance, since her mother was a Takarazuka star in her own right, such as how to properly use an 18th century fan, but, for the most part, I’m willing to say that she played it much more naturalistically.

Hanafusa, meanwhile, emphasized the tragedy of Marie’s life. Throughout a decent portion of the musical, she can be seen crying, especially during the trial (which Rena played straightfaced, playing a Marie that is totally numbed by grief), and expresses her happy, joyful moments in a very exaggerated, almost forceful way, more what I would expect from a Zuka actress given that Zuka performances tend to emphasize extremes of sadness and happiness. (Keeping in mind, of course, that traditionally, it’s expected for musical/opera singers to act in an exaggerated way in order to be seen from the back.) If you are used to Hanafusa, then you’ll LOVE it, because she is very much there, and it’s very much what you’ve been accustomed to. She does show her training; she doesn’t miss a single note in the entire production, but I do find that, in this one area, her added age over Rena might be to her detriment, as I find that her voice has thinned somewhat with age, comparing her now to where she was in Dracula or during her Takarazuka days. Her vibrato also isn’t quite to my taste. Not BAD, but not for me. She isn’t UNPLEASANT to listen to, and again, if you are buying it to hear Hanafusa Mari’s voice, that is exactly what you’ll get, but I also do think the luster of it has faded.

So, in terms of overall ratings, here is what I would put them:

Rena:

Year of Debut: 1995

Acting: 9/10

Singing: 10/10

Hanafusa:

Year of Debut: 1991

Acting: 4/10

Singing: 6/10

Margrid

Sonim (A Cast) - Sonim’s history has been gone into detail here by my friend, @chibimyumi who, unlike me, has a native speaker’s understanding of Japanese (as opposed to getting lucky with Google Translate), so I’ll leave it to her. But, suffice it to say, Sonim had her musical debut about...2007 or so (she was involved in other stage projects, but for sanity’s sake I’m marking her appearance as Johanna in Sweeney Todd as her musical debut) after the idol industry decided to be cowards and kicked her out because she didn’t conform to their pretty pink princess dreams, was offered the title of Ogosho IMMEDIATELY upon her joining up with Toho, and, since then, has distinguished herself as one of their undisputed leading ladies. She has appeared, to my knowledge, on three proshots, two of which I own: Mozart, 1789, and Marie Antoinette, and has also appeared in Kinky Boots, Tanz der Vampire, FACTORY GIRLS, and Rent.

Natsumi Kon (M Cast) - Natsumi Kon is, admittedly, also no slouch in the world of Japanese musical theatre: She had her debut in 2011, with the coveted role of Juliette Capulet in Romeo and Juliet, and has since been in Les Miserables, Grand Hotel, the Addams Family, The Fiddler on the Roof, and The Secret Garden, as well as being the voice actress for Belle in the 2017 Beauty and the Beast. She has been praised as essentially being “the next generation of the musical world”.

By the same standard I’ve set re: Hanafusa and Rena, there isn’t THAT much in terms of their ages, since they have the same difference in debut time (though in this case, it’s in Sonim’s favor, and I also think that it’s much more dramatic in terms of younger musical performers as opposed to older ones.)

I feel like, of the two of them, more people would have come for Sonim, since she is an Ogosho herself, being at the same level of ranking as Furukawa and Hanafusa. What I suspect, in fact, is that Toho, in a CLASSIC Toho move, split the cast that most people would have wanted, with Hanafusa, Furukawa, and Sonim, but I can’t confirm and, honestly, I feel like Hanafusa’s very expressive Antoinette would have clashed with Furukawa’s more aloof Fersen, but that will be dealt with down the line. As it is, M cast has Hanafusa, and A cast has two Ogosho-level performers for the price of one with Sonim and Furukawa. (Meaning that, on a purely technical level, it has the most starpower behind it.)

Sonim has a strong belt and has a reputation for playing scrappy girls, possibly because she herself easily qualifies as a bit of a “scrappy girl” herself. Her Margrid is bitter and cynical, not necessarily kind. The years on the streets have warped her into someone who is primarily motivated by herself and her own personal revenge. She uses “the people” as a self-justification to pursue her own vendetta, only realizing by the end what it’s done and cost her. She doesn’t care for social norms AT ALL, and would be the exact type of person that you would see on a tabletop counter at 2 AM, legs spread out, trying to stuff an entire pizza down her mouth. She’s distrustful, especially towards men and, even for those that she trusts, she has a low level of tolerance for. She is, frankly, a bit of a bitch. And I adore her for it, because it’s more realistic to what I think someone would be like after undergoing what she has. She’s a kind of female character we get relatively little of, really. I do think that, on a few occasions, Sonim perhaps outbelts herself here but, in general, I feel like it suits Margrid’s personality more.

Natsumi Kon took a more tragic bent to the character. Her Margrid IS a good person, at heart, but she lets her desire for justice, along with her own revenge, steer her towards a course that just causes more suffering. She is more like an 18th century Eponine from Les Miserables, the street girl who, if she’d JUST had the upbringing that Antoinette had, could have been a great lady like her. She seems to play up the love triangle with Fersen more, getting a little closer to him at different times, giving him more longing looks, while also seeming to have...some sort of dynamic with Orléans, with the two of them often touching and laughing with one another. She does have a very smooth, strong voice, though I feel like, on some level, she has never quite escaped playing ingenues, and, rewatching it with a critical eye, I think that, as the musical continues, her voice starts getting a little breathy and strained. I don’t really know whether this is by intent or simply because of the musical being very vocally demanding for the Margrids, but I do think that, if Sonim overbelts at times at the beginning, Natsumi has some issues by the end; the notes aren’t coming out quite as clear or as strong as they should be. Her Margrid has a little bit more of a polish to her and, in general, seems a little younger and more naive compared to Sonim’s. I do give her credit for really being willing to go UP CLOSE to her fellow actors in stand-offs, giving her Margrid the sense of being a little bit of a bull in a China shop; during the duet that Marie and Margrid share, there’s one point where it seems like Natsumi is only INCHES away from her face. I know that it’s out of style to make Harry Potter analogies, but Sonim plays Margrid as a Slytherin; Natsumi as a Gryffindor. She didn’t do a BAD job as an actress, and in fact adds some nice touches to Margrid that I do like, but she doesn’t really do anything too new with the character.

Now, why does THIS matter? Well, for one, I think that, if you go in expecting the best of everyone, Sonim’s Margrid can be like a dose of cold water. Natsumi is more...palatable. Less conflict, less difficult questions, especially since it becomes that much easier to separate Orléans-As-Villain from Margrid-As-Heroine.

Overall:

Sonim:

Year of Debut: 2007

Acting: 10/10

Singing: 9/10.

Natsumi:

Year of Debut: 2011

Acting: 8/10

Singing: 8/10

Fersen

Furukawa Yuta (A Cast) - Probably one of Toho’s most bankable male leads at the moment. His presence in a musical is generally a VERY good sign to me that Toho is planning on a proshot, since they know that fans will buy anything he’s in. (To illustrate: I wasn’t PLANNING on buying Marie Antoinette, I had more than my fair share of doubts after the disastrous German run, but then I saw Furukawa Yuta and Sonim were signed on and I promptly got both casts. Best insanely rash move I’ve ever made in my life.) He had his stage debut in 2007 with The Prince of Tennis series, and since then he’s played in the Black Butler (Kuroshitsuji) musicals, Elisabeth, 1789, Romeo and Juliet, and Mozart. Though he initially made his name with his dancing and acting abilities, along with his personal charisma, he has since worked on his singing, putting himself through Hell and back to earn his spot as Ogosho. While Mozart was his official debut, I would argue that, in some ways, it was as Fersen and then, later, Romeo that he REALLY got to demonstrate what made him star material.

Mario Tashiro (M Cast) - Mario Tashiro, like Natsumi Kon, is absolutely no slouch either. He has a full, operatic voice that he uses to excellent effect, making him very recognizable even if you don’t know who exactly he is. Plenty of times, I’ll be listening to a trailer on Youtube and hear this BOOMING voice and go “MARIO TASHIRO?” He has been very prolific on the Toho scene, taking roles in Sunset Boulevard, Chess, Love Never Dies, Elisabeth (marking the first time in known history that Fersen is locked in a love triangle with Fersen for Marie Antoinette and then seduces Fersen’s son, Fersen), The Great Gatsby, Jekyll and Hyde, and Sweeney Todd, among others.

In terms of approach, both men took very different approaches to their role. Furukawa played Fersen as much more aloof and distant, which makes for a contrast with Marie’s sunny, naive personality. He has a dry sense of humor and has a long-running cat and mouse game with Orléans where both understand, on some level, that they’re on equal ground. His love of Marie, while definitely a real, true love, is also very idealistic: Marie represents a world that, for Fersen, is slowly dying out, she represents the best part of humanity for him, especially after being gone during the war. I do not believe, looking at Furukawa’s Fersen, that he and Antoinette ever actually slept together, rather that it was very much a courtly love. He cares for Margrid, entreating her to have compassion, but there’s just enough wiggle room to wonder how MUCH of it is genuine VS him needing something from her at the time, and he’s very aware of his status as an aristocrat and makes use of it. It’s really unlike any other take on Fersen I’ve seen, in any media, and it’s part of why I ended up leaning towards this production, since it’s generally a MASSIVE feat to make me like Fersen. Furukawa’s voice in the role is softer, lacking the strength of Tashiro’s but still making for some very impressive low notes.

Mario Tashiro, on the other hand, focuses more on Fersen as a romantic hero, full of dash and daring. He has a notably dramatic take on Fersen, with flourishes and exaggerated movements, which, as an opera singer, are probably part and parcel of his acting training. If he’s aware of Orléans’ general presence, he doesn’t seem bothered by him, with their being really little sign that Orléans has any respect for him at all. He loves Marie as well, but it is much more of a sort of fairytale, Rose of Versailles love. There’s not as much moral gray areas to his Fersen, even though he makes the exact same decisions as Furukawa’s and, like Hanafusa Mari’s Marie, tends to go through extreme emotions. His voice was, as always, phenomenal, I give him full and complete credit for it, however, unfortunately, when put up against Hanafusa Mari, I found that the two of them had the tendency of trying to outbelt one another, leading to a distinct lack of chemistry during romantic scenes. (And you’ll notice that, despite generally being weighted against Hanafusa, I am NOT giving her the full blame for this one.)

Furukawa Yuta (A Cast)

Year of Debut: 2007

Acting - 10/10

Singing - 9/10

Mario Tashiro (M Cast)

Year of Debut: 2009 (He had his singing debut in 2007, but his overall musical debut was 2009)

Acting - 7/10

Singing - 10/10

Louis

Takanori Sato (A Cast) - Probably the baby of the group, in the sense that he had his own debut a little while after the others, in 2015. In his case, and his case alone, would I say that there was a REALLY strong case for him not having as much experience compared to his counterpart. He has played in Titanic, Elisabeth, the Scarlet Pimpernel (the one with Kazutaka Ishi), Mata Hari, Legally Blonde, and Chess, the latter possibly most impressively since he did the entire thing in English.

Yuichi Harada (M Cast) - I’ll be honest, I’ve never in my life been tempted to look up his biography before, but when I did, I was impressed to find that he’s actually been working in the world of musicals since 1992, when he was in Anne of Green Gables and then again in Les Miserables as Gavroche. He has had a long career with Toho, too, being in musicals such as Les Miserables, The Sound of Music, Titanic, the Beggar’s Opera, and La Cage Aux Folles, none of which I literally had any idea about until today, but that is very impressive. Massive props to him, honestly, as well as working as a director for Bare: The Musical, which...well. Props to him for branching out. I will never understand the love for Bare worldwide, but you know what? Almost all musicals deserved to be loved by SOMEONE. He has an impressive track record, I’ll give him that. One of these days, I’ll probably have to dig deeper, since I suspect that there’s a lot more to him than meets the eye.

Takanori has a very smooth, strong voice, without the projection of Mario Tashiro. I found that his take on Louis was quite charming, tender to his wife, a normal man who Marie respects even if she doesn’t love him in the same way as she loves Fersen. (Honestly, can I just say: While we all know that Orléans has my entire heart....if Takanori’s Louis asked me to marry him....#PhilippeWho.) He’s a steady man, not really dumb, but well-intentioned and occasionally oblivious to the real danger, and it’s that that kills him, in the end.

Yuichi’s Louis is much more...confused throughout the thing and, while I think Antoinette has some compassion for him, I don’t really feel like it’s love so much as...affection, mixed with a certain amount of pity. He does show moments where it looks like he knows a lot more than he lets on, but in general, I think he did play it as much more humorous, a lot more...well, dumb, at least until the second act. He does have a solid voice, I give him that, but in general, it felt like there was a little less subtlety in how he interpreted the role. There’s something almost childish about the way that he grasps Orléans’ hands when he’s asking him to intercede for them, whereas in Takanori’s case, it’s more him realizing that his cousin is...well. Orléans, but knowing that he has to do a little bit of crawling if he’s going to survive.

Yuichi’s Louis DOES still get sympathy from me, but it’s in a way that is kind of insulting to him as a character, mainly because it’s less about HIM and more like “......god. Killing him is a bit like kicking a puppy. Like, you could do it, but my God, why would you?” Like, I do kind of want to write a fanfic where he can just......be safe........far, far away from everything, because I’m not sure if he would notice if they took him any place else, but it does kind of...take away his complexity? I will say, in his defense, looking over his entire performance, that seeing him constantly trying to smile as he’s being led while Marie panics, trying to let her know this is all going to be alright, is a tearjerker, though I still feel like his Louis is played a bit too much like the caricature of Louis that, at this point, I’m kind of used to seeing. That being said, while I don’t necessarily like all of the DIRECTION he took Louis, I can see that he put genuine thought into constructing the role, so I’m not going to nuke him too much in the acting category.

This one, more than any of the others, is probably YMMV, because I know people who were genuinely shocked to realize Louis is double-cast at all. Mainly because it isn’t like the role leaves THAT much of an impact, overall, having only one major song. I honestly think that the 2021 cast is making the right call in splitting Orléans and giving Louis one role, all things considered.

Takanori Sato

Year of Debut: 2015

Acting - 10/10

Singing - 10/10

Yuichi Harada

Year of Debut: 1992

Acting - 8/10

Singing - 8/10

The Case for M Cast

Now that we’ve gone through the rankings, it’s time for the original question: What are the pros of M Cast? And, if you just listened to me laying all this out, you would think that I wouldn’t have much positive to say. That being said, when I was back in the States and could spend an hour or two watching musicals every day, a LOT of the time, I would watch M Cast. There has never really been a point where I said “You know? I regret getting that cast, I wish I’d just had A the entire time.” If I was dangling off a cliff and I could only save one cast recording, I would HAVE to choose A (and then promptly sob), but I do, genuinely, like M on its own and would recommend getting both simply to compare.

- Mitsuo Yoshihara. Now, this is going to be odd for anyone reading, because I can hear it now: “But he wasn’t double cast! Wouldn’t you get him on A too?” Yes, you definitely would. But he is a very unique type of Toho actor in the sense that he changed up his performance for EACH cast he was in. If you look at M cast, he has a much warmer dynamic with Natsumi’s Margrid, either as a paternal substitute (making up for her own aristocratic father) or as a prospective love interest. He is MUCH more hurt in the final court scene, very clearly viewing Margrid’s decision as a personal betrayal. As the admitted and confessed Morléans shipper, I have to eat the angst up like it’s candy. The two of them have a nice amount of familiarity and chemistry with one another, presumably due to having worked with one another on other projects before.

- Mario Tashiro’s voice. This deserves its own section because it is REALLY, REALLY phenomenal. You know whenever you’re seeing Mario Tashiro in something simply because that voice is VERY distinctive and is totally overwhelming each time you hear it. I noted my misgivings in his section, but overall? It is very much worth the price of admission just to hear him.

- Different shots. I’m still figuring out exactly WHAT shots dramatically change from each cast, but M cast does contain some shots that A doesn’t have and vice versa. M cast doesn’t have this shot of Margrid and Antoinette, and A cast doesn’t have the one here of Antoinette and Fersen’s hands touching, which is a wonderful little bit of cinematography. I do think that, depending on the shot, you can get more or less of a character’s motivations in that moment. A personal favorite is Hébert trying to get Margrid alone during the scene just before the ball and Margrid shoving him off, which foreshadows what happens near the end of the second act.

-Hanafusa and Natsumi’s voices actually do go quite nicely together at the end.

-Mario Tashiro does make for a very splashy Fersen; yeah, you might not spend too long dissecting what he’s doing when he’s on stage, but he is fun to watch swish around in his 18th century officer’s outfit.

-My griping on Natsumi’s Margrid aside, I do think she has a lot of charm. No, it isn’t my FAVORITE take on the role, but I do actually like what she does, she adds quite a few nice touches to it, and she does make the song “Enough is Enough”, near the end of the first act, her actual bitch, adding her own riffs onto it to give it a sense of individuality. The parts where she’s smiling, hanging onto Orléans’ arm, make even my wrinkled, shriveled heart grow three sizes. I’ll be genuinely excited to see her return to the role in 2021 to see if there’s anything she changes, though I doubt I’ll be able to see any part of it in person.

-If you’re a Hanafusa Mari fan, you get to see the kind of performance from her that you’ve grown to expect and appreciate. If you’re not, you get to see her get splashed in the face with champagne. Win, win, win.

Overall, I think that it will depend on what you’re looking for. I really enjoyed the realism and the grit of the A cast, but not everyone WANTS grit, and in that case...I suppose M cast would appeal more, since M cast relies on everyone involved being much better human beings than A cast, though I do want to emphasize that everyone in A cast is still redeemable. (Except Hébert. Because fuck Hébert.) M cast is....easier to digest, in many ways. There’s a good queen, a stupid-yet-sweet king, a dashing hero, and a misunderstood-yet-angry-poor girl, manipulated by the siren’s song of the Revolution and her unrequited love for Fersen, who bullies the poor, downtrodden queen when she gets a chance before realizing the error of her ways. I think that, for many people, that’s perfectly fine, and that’s what they wanted, especially if they’re already used to Rose of Versailles. I do still LIKE it, because it’s a production of one of my top 2 favorite musicals, but I do think that, if it was the ONLY version of the musical available, I wouldn’t have spent so much time picking it apart. (Though I still would have thought it a MASSIVE improvement on the German.)

I do put a lot of it on Hanafusa Mari’s influence, though, because of the prevalence of her fanbase and the general belief that no one could ever come close to their star, so why bother getting another cast. Especially given how....devoted the Takarazuka fanbase is in comparison to the Toho fanbase, and the Thing I’ve noticed where fans try to argue that there is some sort of empirical reason for their bias as opposed to simply liking one more than the other.

#Anonymous #long post #toho stage #jmusicals

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geminiblackout · 4 years ago

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{Random HPCs} All the icons cause i'm too lazy to add them all!

|| RANDOM HC MEMES (Finished!) || This is a long, long post. So everything will be under read more!

🥳 -How do they spend their birthdays? Jackson: He loves a small outing with his friends. Bowling, dinner out, video game cafes, he really does not need a lot. However, he’s not a very social person, and would prefer to keep these outings to close friends only. Even the idea of people coming up to him to wish him a happy birthday is a little nerve wracking, he doesn’t like all the attention. Holt: Holt doesn’t really understand what a birthday party is supposed to be since he didn’t have a lot growing up (He was only able to be out at night, when most of the other kids would be asleep depending on the time of year). Now, he would prefer to throw his own party or event and invite anyone who wants to come.

🎃 -What’s their favorite holiday? Reasons? Jackson: Jackson has always been a fan of horror movies, so he really enjoys Halloween. He is definately the type to not get scared because ““he knows exactly what is going to happen next”“, and his personal connections to monsters allows him to pick fact from fiction. He still enjoys the genre, and doesn’t mind dressing up for the holiday either. Ironically, he really enjoys taking on a character outside of himself. Holt: Holt used to really enjoy Halloween, but after certain events he feels somewhat melancholy about the Holiday. He likes the party scene and the energy the holiday brings, but there’s still a part of him that’s a little iffy about it all. But, compared to the other holidays in the year, this is one of the best ones.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 -What’s their relationship with their family like? Oh dear. Their family is where they are canon-divergent kind of. They only have one parent, Sydney, just like in the books. However, like in the webisodes, Sydney is the Jekyll and Hyde monster and their father is an unknown fire elemental who left when they were extremely young. Technically, Jackson and Holt are the sons of Sydney’s Hyde and their father. They only have a connection to Heath’s family because of Sydney’s research and her desperation to get help once Holt appeared around age four. Emma, their grandmother, was completely clueless on how to raise a half monster child, and when Sydney became a mother, she was even more clueless on how to raise a half Hyde half Fire Elemental child. Heath’s family was extremely helpful in this, even if Jackson spent far more time with Heath than Holt ever did (Queue: Heath didn’t even recognize Holt when they were reuinited). Jackson: Jackson had an extremely close relationship with his mother. She was extremely protective of him and he trusted her, even looking up to her as a scientist (or, in her case, science teacher). He never got into much trouble growing up and shared a lot of information with his mother. However, after discovering Holt, this relationship was damaged. Sydney gave him very little information on his grandfathers and on who Holt was, leaving him to have to do research for himself. Though he still loves his mother, there is a little bit of resentment there. Sydney generally lives her life as a normie and her Hyde does not come out very often, so Jackson has no relationship with her Hyde side. Holt: Holt has an extremely poor relationship with his mother. She projected a lot of her hatred towards her own Hyde onto him, and was scared of what Holt would mean for Jackson. Sydney did realize he was still apart of her son, and so still loved and treated him like her own, but the favoritism was very apparent. Holt was always getting into trouble as a kid, and he didn’t care much for school. He wasn’t too surprised that she had kept the secret from him, but there was a lot of frustration there. Unlike Jackson, Holt really didn’t care to know about his past, and from what little he does know, the idea of being related to Edward makes him uncomfortable. He aims to make the Hyde name his own and something unrelated to the man and the two Jekylls he lives with. 🚿 - What are their bathroom habits like? (How long do they shower, what do they do in the shower, what’s their bathroom routine, etc.) Jackson: Jackson is very clean, he’s a casual athlete and spends a lot of his time around chemicals, so he really can’t afford not to care for himself. Being part fire elemental, he really enjoys hot showers, so hot they would burn any normal human. His mother specifically got a shower to fit his needs, which much confusion from the plummer. Henry typically isn’t depicted with facial hair, so it is very likely Jackson cannot grow any. Beyond redying his hair and other basic hygiene, he doesn’t do much to care for himself further. Holt: Holt hates showers, but luckily for him Jackson usually handles that aspect of self care. Fire elementals and water don’t mix well, and the bathroom usually just ends up as a mess of steam and smoke. Water doesn’t hurt him, but it’s not a comfortable sensation. He is a bit more concerned with his appearance compared to Jackson, and will take more time to fix up his hair in the mirror and take care of his piercing. Holt occationally does wear eyeliner for outtings, but it is not part of a daily routine, and he wears very little of it. The mark on his face is a birthmark and does not need to be redrawn.

🧼 -What’s their hygiene like, what do they smell like? Jackson: Jackson has to be more careful with fragrances since he works with so many chemicals and around lab mice. If he is working in a lab around animals, he tends to skip the cologne. But, when he’s not, he usually smells like spice and woody scent. Holt: He just looks like he wears axe, and Holt is absolutely the type to go hard on the cologne. It’s very sharp and distinguishable. Sometimes, their two colognes clash with one another and creates a scent unique to them.

🛌 -How do they sleep, how much do they sleep? Jackson and Holt, as a single monster, need less sleep than the average normie or monster would. When one side of the brain is activated, the other gets to rest. When one of the boys is out, the other personality is essentially in a semi-conscious dream state. This means that they only need to sleep enough to allow their body to rest since all the muscles are shared between them, so they really only need a few hours of true sleep a night. Jackson tends to take on true sleep more than Holt, and being part fire elemental he loves to sleep in warmth and will cacoon himself under blankets to make a little oven. Holt on the other hand really can’t sleep that well with the music blasting in his ears, though occationally he will take small naps. Both of them do sleep in very similar ways, and with the muscles in their face relaxed, the simularity between them is striking.

🧸 - Do they have any collections? If so, what? Jackson: Jackson is a huge nerd, and in my HC, really enjoys collecting Magic the Gathering Cards, D&D Dice and Books, and console videogames. He used to collect Pokemon Cards as a kid (And maybe, absolutely used to play with Heath), but he stopped collecting them when he started focusing on MTG. Holt: Holt really isn’t a material person, but he does collect records that he guards with his life, especially now that the trigger switched and he doesn’t have to hide himself from Jackson. He’s not a huge fan of old music so he doesn’t have a lot of vintage records, they are mostly new alblums.

💲 -Do they have a lot of money? What do they usually spend their money on? Jackson: Jackson doesn’t have a lot of money. It mostly comes from his family for birthdays and holidays, and since in my headcanon, he only has his mother and Heath’s immediate family, that isn’t much. Even though he’s fairly confident in getting scholarships, he tries to save most of his money for college (or, in older verses, grad school), but will occationally splurge to buy himself cards or games. Holt: Holt makes a good amount of money DJing. A single night can get him hundreds of USD. It’s certainly more than any monster his age should have. However, like I said before, he is not very materialistic, and he mostly spends it on equipment or nights out, but he does end up saving most of what he makes.

🎼 -Do they play any musical instruments? How good are they if so? Jackson: The last instrument Jackson played was the recorder in third grade. He doesn’t have much interest in the arts, not that he can learn any instruments at the moment anyways. Holt: Holt taught himself to play the guitar and can play both accoustic and electric very well. Not so much an instrument, but he is also fairly skilled in remixing music over a computer. He’s not that tech savy, but he knows how to use the application.

🍔 -Favorite foods and drinks? Jackson: Just in like canon, Jackson really enjoys mac and cheese. He doesn’t really have a favorite drink, but with his mother being British and the weird timeline skipping that went on, he does drink tea. Holt: Hot wings, the hotter the better. He doesn’t really have a favorite drink, but he does enjoy anything spicy.

🕒 - What’s their morning routine like? Jackson: Jackson is usually the one to handle the mornings, because he is the only one allowed to drive. He usually showers to get out all of Holt’s product from the night before and combs out his hair to a messy mop before getting dressed and going, minimal effort required. Generally he doesn’t eat the meals given to him by the school just because it can be a little hard for normies to digest (or, even stomach) monster food, so he does try to grab some kind of breakfast before he leaves. Holt: Holt is usually not out in the morning, but in the rare occation that he is, he usually fixes up his hair, throws on a shirt and his jacket, and packs on the cologne.

#13xwishes #ask answered #//adfs thank u for this heres my life essay #//abuse mention #//animal testing mention #jj #hh #headcanon

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emixion · 5 years ago

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if we’re dropping eah AUs I'm gonna bring back my Raven x Jackson AU real quick if that’s cool

High Key inspired by this fic by Spina where Raven accidentally gets transported to New Salem while using a mirror portal and Jackson finds her. Except I ship the hell out of them and liked the idea of her staying at MH too much. -so raven uses a mirror portal to visit home (as she usually does) but it malfunctions and sends her to MH before completely crapping out. -she ends up in the attic (the 13 wishes attic, even though this is the webisode!school) and is like ???? -so she goes to investigate and the first person she happens to run into is Jackson -he asks where she is and he’s like “New Salem??” and she’s like “oH SHIT” -she explains that there’s been a mistake and she’s not supposed to be here (she knows she’s in the “modern” world where she reaaalllyy shouldn’t be for the sake of the stories) and Jackson offers to take her to the headmistress -since she planning on visiting home she has a small trunk with some of her things in it and her guitar so she’s not completely screwed -bloodgood is like “oh wow wtf yeah that's weird” and offers her a spot in the dorms while they figure this out -she doesn’t really have a choice and they’re being really nice so she’s like “yeah okay” -bloodgood has some idea about ever after but no one else does and raven doesn’t say a thing -for once people don’t know her as the evil queen’s daughter. she can just be raven -she and Jackson grow pretty close. he was the first person there who showed her kindness and they have this sort of underlying understanding of each other -Jackson also doesn’t tell her about him and holt because he’s afraid of her backing away or treating him differently since like most people blame him for shit that he can’t control -She relents information to him little by little before completely breaking down one day and telling him the whole story -he has a newfound respect for her after hearing everything that she’s been through and realizes that he trusts her enough to tell her about Holt -Raven’s like,,, not fazed at all she’s literally like aight, much to Jackson’s relief -they grow even closer after that, becoming best friends -raven’s super chill about Holt. like if Jackson he can’t make something or their conversations get interrupted because of him she’s very understanding. she and holt end up becoming friends as well -her magic actually has a special sort of sense for music since she loves it so much and she can feel a song’s tempo and decibel, so she can easily keep her music at an appropriate level around him and warn him if he’s in a situation where music is escalating -Raven also strikes up friendships with Venus, Operetta, Rochelle, Robecca, Billy, Clawd, Heath and Deuce. -Venus and Robecca are dating btw -Raven, Op, Venus, Deuce, Heath and Holt all come to the conclusion that they should start a band because they are all friends who love music so let’s do it yes -Billy, Rochelle, Clawd, Robecca and Jackson all help out and end up becoming their crew -The band is named Rebel Cause (ba dum tiss) -Raven’s magic is very foreign to the MH world and a lot more powerful then they are used to -it’s so powerful, in fact, that she plays a big part in splitting Jackson and Holt for good -now separated, Jackson and holt actually get along really well and regard themselves as twin brothers -eventually, once holidays start rolling around and Raven has no family to back to, Jackson’s mom invites her to come live with them. -she’s practically family at this point and it’s such a waste to have her held up in the dorm when they have the room right there. -she gets a little emotionally -so Raven moves in with the Jekyll’s and is very happy -the band is doing pretty well locally and even starts putting their songs on social media -the band members themselves are at the point of considering all of them family, including the crew. -also holt and billy start dating -the actual musicians rarely refer to the band without also including the crew -they nickname themselves “the cause” and “RB and Co.” -meanwhile Jackson is having an absolute crisis because Raven now lives with him and he can now actually go to the band’s gigs and he realized that she is very very pretty and he doesn’t know what to do -Holt laughs at him -little does he know that Raven is also freaking out because she lives in a normal household for once in her life and her closest friend being domestic is very very cute and she doesn’t know what to do about that -venus laughs at her -shenanigans ensue but eventually somebody get their shit together and confesses and they get together yaaaay -the band is so fucking relieved -at some point the eah kids, who have trying to figure out where raven is for months, figure out her location and go find her -so she has to make a big dramatic decision if she wants to go back or stay here -she ultimately ends up staying but the eah kids visit often -fin

#ever after high #monster high #eah #mh #mh x eah #hhhhHHHH #this is 4 years in the making #jackven #raven queen #jackson jekyll #au #rebel cause au

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mst3kproject · 5 years ago

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The Manster

Who has two thumbs and is back on terra firma with working wifi? This MSTie!

As for my chosen subject this week… I don’t think I have to justify this one. It’s called The Manster, as in a portmanteau of man and monster. It was directed by a guy who mostly made cheap-ass jungle movies, and stars a bunch of embarrassed actors who don’t know how they ended up here. It’s old and it’s dumb and it’s often pretty funny though never on purpose, and the perfect stinger moment comes very early in the film… you’ll know it when you see it.

So we have Dr. Robert Suzuki, who lives on top of a volcano. When people have ‘Dr’ in front of their names and live in isolation with a bunch of blinky light machines, that’s usually a pretty good clue that they’re mad scientists. Tragically our hero, Larry Stanford, is not that observant (Larry’s obliviousness would have been a constant target for Mike and the bots and he would have deserved all of it). He’s a reporter who wants an interview about Suzuki’s theories on the causes of mutations, but too bad for him, he arrives just as the mad doctor has run out of family members to experiment on. Under the influence of Suzuki’s injections he’s soon devolving into an animalistic frat-boy, drinking, carousing, and murdering… oh, and he’s growing a second head. Will that be a problem?

So basically this is a werewolf movie with a fake mustache on… or perhaps a Jekyll and Hyde movie of sorts, as discussed in the denouement. It wants to explore the dichotomy of good and evil in every one of us, using the very silly device of a two-headed man. I have to say, I understand the metaphor, but it wasn’t put to nearly good enough use. The movie would have been ten times more fun if we’d gotten to see Larry and his second head arguing over whether or not they’re going to kill somebody. Not better, mind you, just more fun.

As far as just being a movie goes, The Manster is better than a lot of things I’ve watched for this blog. The characters have names and look different enough that you can tell them apart, the story makes sense on its own terms and everything that happens is relevant to the plot. Photography is honestly pretty good and the actors are competent. All this happens to be in the service of a really silly story with awful special effects (I love Larry’s rubbery second head bouncing as he runs) but it’s engaging enough that you want to keep watching.

What I really like about The Manster, however, is that it offers a lot to analyze. I’m not sure much of it is intentional. The Jekyll and Hyde side of the story is elucidated in an ending speech, as Larry’s friend Ian tries to reassure Mrs. Stanford. He says there was good and evil in Larry, and they’ll just have to wait and see which side wins. This is not a very satisfying ending, really. We’ve just seen Larry’s evil side plummet to its death into a volcanic crater… and the surviving good side is under arrest as a serial killer. Dr. Suzuki and his assistant, the only people who could testify that Larry was not responsible for his actions, are both dead. This guy’s going to jail.

The really interesting thing in the movie, though, is one that comes up by accident. Dr. Suzuki’s work is on evolution – his theory is that cosmic rays can induce mutations, producing new species more or less overnight (this is called ‘macromutation’ or ‘the hopeful monster theory’, and lurked on the edges of the mainstream in the 40’s and 50’s) and he hopes to induce the same effect chemically. When he tries, however, his efforts invariably produce monsters. Emiko, his wife and former research partner, turns into something resembling the closet monster from The Brain that Wouldn’t Die. Kenji, his brother, turns into a yeti, and a similar fate awaits Larry. These mutants cannot understand human speech, and their behaviour is irrational and violent.

This implies a couple of things. We hear vague mentions of Dr. Suzuki experimenting on fungi, but his heart is mostly in his human experiments. That tells us that his goal is to speed up the evolution of humanity, and one presumes that this is intended to improve us somehow. Of course, this is not how evolution works. Evolution does not make things better – this is why biologists have mostly dropped the descriptions primitive and advanced in favour of the more neutral basal and derived. Dr. Suzuki’s quest is therefore quite misguided, as illustrated by his monsters. In no way could they be considered ‘better’ than humans – in fact, they’re significantly worse at surviving and reproducing (the thing natural selection selects for) than ordinary people are.

There’s another layer here, though. ‘Evolution makes things better’ is a misconception that’s been around since Darwin, and dates back to even earlier ways of organizing the natural world. When Linnaeus created the classification system for living things that we’re still saddled with today, he did it under the believe in the Great Chain of Being – the idea that you can order everything that exists into a hierarchy with mold at the bottom and god at the top, and that after god and the angels humans are the best thing that exists (as proved by our being the only creatures able to create classification systems). It’s an idea that appeals to human vanity and to our need to impose order on the natural world, and it isn’t likely to go away anytime soon.

With that in mind, perhaps there’s another reason Suzuki’s experiments fail. If you believe that humans are the best living thing around, particularly if you believe we are the image of god on earth, then maybe it’s not possible to improve on us. Any change you make to people that takes them away from humanity will automatically make them worse. This idea does appear to be manifest in the fates of Emiko, Kenji, and Larry, all of whom become more apelike, less ‘advanced’, as they change.

In that case, what does The Manster think makes for a good human? We see a little of Larry before he starts to mutate, so we can compare that with what he becomes. Rather surprisingly for a movie of this vintage, the fact that Larry is white seems to be pretty incidental. He is a foreigner in a faraway place, but this serves mostly to drive a wedge between him and his wife Linda. Except for a couple of rather troubling moments, the film does not present Japan in an exotifying light. We do see things like a bathhouse and a geisha bar, but these represent Larry’s personal slide into debauchery, rather than the country as a whole. We also meet normal working people among both the Japanese and the American expat community – reporters, police officers, and even priests.

There’s a very nice bit, actually, where Larry comes upon a Buddhist priest praying, and when he realizes this man doesn’t speak English, Larry takes the opportunity to unburden himself. It makes him feel better to talk about his moral quandaries aloud, and the fact that the priest doesn’t understand him means he cannot judge him. This is a very relatable and human moment, one of the best in the movie.

Unfortunately, it also segues into a couple of the most distasteful things in the film. As I’m sure you’ve guessed, Larry does murder the priest, but before he does, he stares at a particular statue in the shrine – a representation of a three-eyed, fanged being that I am in no position to identify, although it looks a bit like Vajrapani. Before Larry grows a full second head he sprouts an extra eye in his shoulder, and the implication is that the three-eyed statue draws his attention to the monster within himself. I don’t know much about Buddhism but I do not like the idea of casting another culture’s religious figures as symbols of monstrosity. The west has done plenty enough of that.

But back to the question of acceptable humanity. We watch Larry get drunk, violent, antisocial, lazy, and promiscuous, which tells us that the ‘good’ man is the opposite of these things: sober, peaceful, friendly, hardworking, and chaste. The film pays particular attention to how Larry relates to women. The fact that he’s been faithful to his distant wife is established early on, and one of the first symptoms of his devolution is his willingness to discard her. First he makes out with a couple of girls at the geisha bar, and later he takes Dr. Suzuki’s assistant Terra (who has a tragic backstory but we frustratingly never find out what it entails) as his mistress. On the phone with his wife Linda at the beginning of the film, Larry tells her he loves her and promises to be home soon. Later, when she comes to Japan searching for him, he shouts at her and makes a show of preferring Terra.

One conversation he has with Linda is particularly revealing. He tells her he has no desire to settle down in one place and wile away his time drinking coffee and playing bridge when there’s a big wide world out there. She asks him what about her plans, and he declares he will ‘put her in her place’ and ‘slap her down’. Since this is when Larry is the opposite of what a good man should be, we can take from it that a good man respects his wife and takes her opinions and needs into account. For the late fifties, this is actually kind of surprising – I’ve seen films from a decade or two later that were far more backward about this. So hey, points for that.

All things considered, The Manster is a pretty well-made movie. It’s dumb and full of clichés, such as the man scientist destroyed by his own creation, the femme fatale who sacrifices herself for the hero because she’s fallen in love with him, theremin music to represent the monster’s appearance, etc etc etc… but it’s competently put together and whether intentionally or no, contains a lot of interesting material. It’s the sort of movie I can watch repeatedly and always find something new in. Definitely recommended viewing for the 50’s Monster Flick fan, although with the caveat that there is a scene in which one character urges another to commit suicide.

#mst3k #reviews #episodes that never were #the manster #guys in gorilla suits #tw: suicide #50s

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oneletteredwondered · 5 years ago

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You know that AU where the sides are actually real and ‘play’ their own characters but exaggerated? Yeah that but “Can Lying be Good”.

“Are you sure this is a bad idea?” Deceit looks up from the script he’s been reading over Patton’s shoulders to look at the others. There’s a few smiles given his way and Roman’s boisterous laughter.

“Of course Sir-Lies-a-Lot! It’s the best time to introduce a new character to the scene!” Roman laments dramatically, tossing an arm over Deceit’s shoulder which Deceit promptly shrugs off. He catches sight of Thomas smiling fondly at them all, clearly used to these antics.

“As ironic as it is for me to say this,” Virgil starts to say, putting his phone down for just a moment. He catches Deceit’s eyes to make sure the other is listening.

“Don’t worry about it,” He says. Deceit twists up his nose slightly. When the others told him they wanted to introduce him to the video series, he laughed. A laugh that quickly died out as he realized they were serious. He’s not sure if he’s honored or annoyed that Virgil suggested him to be the first of the “darker” aspects introduced.

“The fans are going to-” Virgil cuts off his statement, a look of sudden clarity comes over him. Deceit raises an eyebrow to his silence.

“Oh god the fans are going to love you it’s going to be annoying how much they love you ugh,” And with that, Virgil flicks up his hood and resumes playing on his phone. Deceit merely pinches the bridge of his nose. He’s not sure what the fans will really do. He’s a far sight different than the others and though he’s not the nicest of sides, this script does paint him more.. less nice.

When Roman originally talked him through the script and maybe even potential plot lines, he couldn’t deny, or try to in any case, that playing the more villain role seemed fun. He may not always be the bad guy, but there’s a certain thrill with watching the others squirm. Still there’s only so much fans can take.

“Virgil has a point. Even when he played a more antagonistic role there were a select number of fans dedicated to his character,” Logan informs him. It doesn’t make him feel better. He doesn’t want to be hated necessarily, even if he might enjoy playing the antagonist. He lets out a sigh and glances down at his feet, well, he would if he could see his feet.

Patton looks up at him. He’s wrapped himself around Deceit’s legs happily, practically sitting on his feet and hiding them from sight. If Deceit were to try and walk he’d surely fall over. Patton lets out a soft giggle and nuzzles his leg comfortingly. That also doesn’t make Deceit feel better, but he does give a small smile in return.

“Don’t worry,” Patton whispers conspiratorially as he holds up an old cardigan. Deceit dutifully wraps it over his shoulders, a wave of his hand changing the rest of his outfit to match the puffball padre in almost exact likeness.

“I’ll help you not be me from right here.” To prove his point, Patton hugs Deceit’s legs almost making him fall over more than he was already prone to. Patton apologizes and laughs, and to make it worse, Deceit copies his laugh almost perfectly, which prompts Patton to keep giggling, so Deceit keeps copying him.

“Are you finished?” Thomas asks but he’s laughing too.

“Sorry Thoma-llama, guess I got caught in a giggle fit there,” Deceit says in a scary mockery of Patton’s voice, complete with an exaggerated shrug. Virgil has to smack a hand to his mouth to stop his snort but Patton lets himself keep giggling for a little while longer.

Eventually they calm down enough and begin to run through the script together. Thomas records his lines first, though Not Patton interjects to give Thomas the proper scare. Then Roman goes next, being even more dramatic than he usually is to play up his character even more.

When it’s finally Patton’s turn, Roman is there with the script as well, talking on and on about feeling the emotions and really getting in character.

“Well heck Kiddo I think I’m already in character don’t ya think?” Not Patton interrupts after a small tirade. Roman blinks at him a little dumbly at first, looking up and down between Actual Patton hugging Not Patton’s legs and trying to figure out exactly who said it. Deceit can’t help the curl of a smirk that crawls on his face at the confusion he’s caused.

“Anyway!” Roman says loudly. The show must go on.

“We wrote this with Patton in mind, so if you have an ideas on how to make it more.. not Patton..?” Roman leaves his statement like question open and hanging in the air. Not Patton huffs and takes the script, looking over the first few lines and stage directions. He glares down at it, then looks at Roman with a deadpan look on his face as he takes a bold red pen from out of no where and begins to scribble on the script, all without taking his eyes off Roman who looks mildly offended.

“First of all, we do not ‘pop in’ instead of rise up.” Roman opens his mouth to contradict but he’s unsure of Dee is saying the truth or twisting it.

“And Patton, darling, how exactly would you feel if Thomas called you any variant of father?” Not Patton looks down at Actual Patton, and Actual Patton breaks into an ear slitting grin at the mention of being referred to as father. So Not Patton makes a note in the script to not be excited by being told ‘papa’s in the house’.

It goes on for a bit, going back and forth and re-writing without changing too much, till eventually Not Patton is desperately trying to convince Thomas that lying isn’t always a bad thing. Truth be told, Dee himself doesn’t always think lying is the best thing, and there’s Patton, rubbing his leg reassuringly from below, to remind him that it’s okay.

Of course Deceit loves his true entrance, the dark chuckle, the dim lights, oh he feels every bit villainous and it’s glorious. He almost breaks character calling Thomas a ‘foolish dummy’ but manages to push through.

Then comes the worst scene of Deceit’s life.

He hadn’t questioned it before, just accepted, and now he regrets that as Patton does ‘rise up’, right underneath him, and causes them both to fall on their butts.

Virgil is the first to break, sputtering into laughter that he tries to muffle in his hoodie sleeves. Patton is a very close second, doubled over on the ground and trying to breathe but he can’t. Deceit is doing his best to not be embarrassed at the blunder.

“That was amazing!” Roman cheers and wipes a tear from his eye. It takes far too long in Deceit’s opinion to get everyone back under control to finish the line but the momentum is ruined. Every time they even get close to the point where Patton is supposed to rise up, someone breaks into giggle. The first time it’s Thomas.

“Sorry sorry, I can’t do it seriously anymore,” He stops his laughter by covering his mouth.

The second time it’s Patton, unable to full stand because he’s just losing it. Deceit can’t help it either, snickering into his cape. They take a small break after that one.

They get so close the next time but Roman snorts at the last second, which makes Virgil laugh again.

The time after that is the worst, because Patton actually manages to hold it together, long enough to rise up, directly under Deceit in such a way, that Deceit ends up sitting very unstable on Patton’s shoulders.

“Beware the combined powers of Skewed Morality!” Patton shouts and this time it’s Logan who ends up stuffing his tie into his mouth to keep from bursting into giggles. Deceit blinks down at Patton with scared wide eyes but Patton only looks up at him with sparks of joy. Getting down is the hard part and Deceit will not admit that Roman really did need to help him down with hurting either of them.

It takes two more tries before they get it right. Deceit can see the strain of Patton trying not to laugh as he tells Deceit that he’s “in his spot”. To be fair, Deceit has to stuff his own cape into his mouth after Patton tells him a cheerful and plain “bye!” when he sinks out from his own debut.

Patton says the rest of his lines with a smile, Dee curled around his legs an exact mirror of their positions from the morning portion of filming. Virgil goes next and then the end credit scene is thought of and Deceit well, he’s not all that apposed, especially not for a little improve.

“Well since I’m here, I might as well present to you a couple musical puns based all around Deceit,” and if those words and the action he does with it doesn’t make Patton or Roman light up with excitement he doesn’t know what will. He rattles a few off the top of his head, just having a little fun.

“Lies and Dolls, Lying King, Fibber on the roof,” Oh he’s not even sure if the camera is still recording, but he’s having too much fun seeing Patton and Virgil try not to laugh, Roman and Thomas smiling proudly, and that disgruntled look on Logan’s face as the word play keeps coming.

“Jekyll and Lied, totally not partial to that one, Willy Wonka and the Alternative Factory,” He’s being too much, too dramatic, but it’s worth it. He rattles off a few more before he’s at his wits end.

“The Un-Truthers,” Based on the other’s looks, that one might need to be explained.

“The Producers,” he clarifies.

“I think that was my strongest one. That was fun, this was a fun video, I’m so glad I did this,” And Deceit has just enough time to walk off camera before cackling his heart out. He’s only saved by someone else laughing with him. He’s huddled a little, some patting his back and someone else hugging him from the side. There’s also Thomas smiling at him fondly still. He had his reservations before, but maybe, if they wanted, he wouldn’t mind joining them for this experience again.

#deceit sanders #patton sanders #roman sanders #virgil sanders #logan sanders #polyamsanders #fic #my post #what is editing #who is she never heard of her #TAKE MY GARBAGE

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astraphobe · 5 years ago

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[ LAWRENCE “LARS” MALKIN. 40. CISMALE. HE/HIM ] is here! They’ve lived in Silver Lake for [ 20 YEARS ] and are originally from [ OREGON ]. They are a [ MECHANIC ] and in their downtime love [ PLAYING HIS ELECTRIC GUITAR ] and [ WRITING MUSIC ]. They look a lot like [ CHRIS PRATT ] and live [ IN OASIS APTS ]. (ooc: otto, 19, he/him, cst)

hello !! i’m otto and this is my first muse here. he’s garbage but, like, good garbage ?? compost ?? idk. anyway. i hope you guys like your man-children middle aged and with two kids because if you expected anything else you’re gonna be dissapointed.

BASICS.

Name: Lawrence Malkin. Nickname: Everyone calls him Lars, but his mom and dad used to call him Larry. He hated it. Gender: Cis-male. Sexuality: Gay (homosexual, homoromantic). Race: Caucasian. Age: 40 ( 01/10/1980 ). Zodiac: Capricorn. Hometown: Grants Pass, Oregon. Current residence: Oasis Apartments. Career: Mechanic.

Astra inclinant, sed non obligant !

this is the background bit. i didn’t want it to be long but it ended up being long, so if you don’t wanna read it you don’t have to. i did spend a lot of time on it, though. hopefully it isn’t shit. enjoy ( but only if you want ) !

world, meet lars. lars, meet world. he’s ... going through it right now. not a lot of things have gone right for him.

he’s the youngest of five in a strictly evangelical household. everything was about rules and if he didn’t abide by them, he’d be punished. he remembers getting hit with switches and belts and wires. he’d be locked in prayer closets and forced to confess his sinful thoughts. he recited every word of scripture, was slain in the spirit, proselytized to all of his friends, and he got nothing but fear and anger out of it --- it was all very ... carrie, but without the promises of superpowers.

when he started going to a secular public high school his entire viewpoint shifted. he made friends who snuck him into rated r movies to watch him squirm at things he’d never heard of before. he started smoking cigarettes, smoking grass, failing classes, and playing sinner’s music on his guitar. strict parents make sneaky kids, he used to be able to all of this in his church clothes.

after high school lars stopped talking to the rest of his family. he rented an apartment with his friends for a two year stint at community college ( he was an automotive specialist major ) and started a band with them in silver lake once he graduated. he never really wanted to talk about girls or stare at nudie magazines like the rest of them, no. he just wanted to make music. until he met margo and his life fell apart.

he only started to date her because it felt right and she promised to take care of him. no one else has ever made the effort to take care of him --- he’d been locked in closets and hit with willow tree branches for the duration of his adolescence. he just wanted comfort.

after he met her, she was the only thing on his mind outside of his band. it wasn’t love, though, even if that was what he thought it was. everything seemed perfect. it all seemed like a normal he could get used to. until she got pregnant and they weren’t ready. she was 24, he was 25, they were both fucked. this was the beginning of the end of them.

click ... click ... click ... boom ! shotgun wedding. as soon as he signed that paper he felt that straight man ball and chain around his ankle. he felt regret, he felt guilty, and, at first, an eighteen year weight stacked atop his shoulders. what more could he do other than ... grin and bear it.

he stopped talking to his friends, who were all busy having fun and playing music and doing everything he wanted to do and more. separating himself from the men he loved most, even if he didn’t want to say it, made him bitter. he stopped doing gigs to make more mechanic money. after the birth of his first daughter, yael, his life was boring and monotonous. five years down the line, margo threw out her birth control pills without letting him know. this was how his second kid, ruth, was brought into the world. it was also the straw that broke the camel's back.

the divorce was long and messy --- he’s glad his kids don’t really remember it too much. margo and lars ended up splitting custody with yael but because of the bullshit that came with ruth, she’s all his. he started meeting up with his friends for gigs again, rediscovering his passion for music. and also drugs. he’s reclaiming the youth he lost when he started dating margo, even though it’s a little weird. he’s happy but he’s not fulfilled, and his kids could see that, too.

the process ruined him financially, enough for the bank to foreclose his home only a few months after the split. he filed for bankruptcy, destroyed his credit score, and moved into a seedy two bedroom apartment ( which isn’t cheap in the city of angels ) that managed to be just a few blocks down from where one of his old friend lived. he came out while lars was married and he didn’t know until he saw the flag hanging in the window. he was curious about it, but we all know what that did to the cat.

lars doesn’t want to be gay, but everything he does makes him feel like he is. the way he talks, the way he sits, the way he cries while watching the notebook --- he knows these are all stereotypes now, but what would his younger self think ?? two kids, no money, AND he’s queer ?? he wants to push this all down, and he does, but he knows that it won’t do him any good either. he knows that everything will all implode, but that day isn’t today, and with any luck, it won’t be tomorrow. he’ll sit in his idea of normalcy until he can’t anymore.

Per angusta ad augusta !

bulletpoints and headcanons, baby !

lars loves his kids. like, a lot. when he was with margo he regretted them entirely but he doesn’t feel that way anymore. he wants what’s best for him, and he wants to give them everything his parents couldn’t give him. namely: love. he doesn’t want more kids, though. he’s saving up for a vasectomy.

he’s not a perfect parent, though. i wouldn’t even call him a great one because of how often he has to be away from them and how much he drinks his feelings. at least once a year he’ll go on a bender and he’ll have to pay a babysitter more than he can afford because of how long he’d be out for. now that his kids are old enough to pick up on these things, they’re becoming more and more concerned with his behavior. he can tell, it’s just another thing he’s trying to avoid bringing up. it’s just another thing that pushes him back to drink.

speaking of his kids. i love them. i love them just as much as i love lars. yael is fifteen and she’s a mini version of her father. when lars has the time, he teaches her to play the guitar on his old acoustic. she manages to make a’s and b’s and he could never be prouder, especially because he barely graduated high school himself. ruth, on the other hand, is an enigma and he doesn’t really understand her but he tries her best. she says a lot of things that ten year olds probably shouldn’t say, but he lets it slide because it’s funny. he’s had to raise her mostly by himself which has been a gigantic struggle for him, but it’s proving to be successful thus far. she really wants to be a teenager and she emulates teenagers to the best of her ability, but it’s what a ten year old thinks a teenager should act like, so it’s far from accurate. loves cleaning her room, though. it’s the most pristine part of their house and he has no clue why.

margo was jewish, so both of his kids are being raised jewish. he doesn’t really believe any of it himself, but his kids seem pretty happy. yael had a bat mitzvah and ruth is coming up on hers, but he has no idea how that’s going to work out because margo did 99% of the planning for yael and he doesn’t know how any of that shit works. ruth also decided that she wants to eat kosher now. she’s been like this for, like, a year and lars thought it would be a phase but at this point she’s in it for the long haul and there’s a pretty good chance she’s not going back on it.

when it comes to his sexuality ,,,, he has a lot of feelings. he acknowledges that being gay is a possibility but he’s definitely never thought enough about it to make a decision. at the same time, he’s hyper aware of anything that might make him seem gay so he dresses like a slightly grunge dad redneck and makes sure to never cross his legs when he sits down. despite all of this. he has had sex with men before. especially after margo. he fucked his gay friend, too. he doesn’t think they count because he was desperate. they count. don’t tell him.

he has five different guitars. the bulk of them sit in his closet, but he has names for all of them. they were his babies before his real babies. his first two were dr. jekyll and mr. hyde, an acoustic and an electric that took about six paychecks for him to finally buy. yael plays on dr. jekyll and he’s spent a lot of time thinking about how he wants to make it a family heirloom if she doesn’t smash it first. he got a white strat in college that he named angel because of how gorgeous she sounds. i'm gonna stop here because this bullet would be so fuckin long if i didn’t. i like guitars. he likes guitars. maybe i’m projecting. who knows ! not me.

it’s easy to assume that his band never really went anywhere. cause it didn’t. they play heavy, heavy, heavy rock and that’s incredibly out of the mainstream right now. their band, shit and sugar, did get a little bit of recognition in the local underground scene during the early 2000s. now they’re just older dudes that play in diy venues and bars sometimes. lars is pretty sure he’s been called a geezer a few times by teens yael’s age.

despite never really getting off of the ground in the music industry, he’s very good at what he does. there’s not a lot left for him to learn in terms of technique and his style of playing is very uniquely his. big inspirations for him include the likes of rivers cuomo, jimi hendrix, kirk hammett, and dimebag darrell.

all in all, he’s an extroverted ball of energy most of the time. he’s got a lot of ideas and he’s very goal oriented, even if he doesn’t end up achieving them. not the smartest tool in the shed, either. he’s childlike and playful in the best way possible. again, most of the time. this ends up biting him in the ass a lot. especially because of how impulsive he is.

Ars longa, vita brevis !

wanted connections ! i’m definitely going to put one or two up on the main but here are a few that i think would work nicely.

people he met through music ---- even though people don’t know about shit and sugar you’d definitely recognize him if your character frequents local bars and DIY venues in sketchy basements. from friends to enemies, i think this one has a lot of breathing room for ~ creativity ~ and all that.

neighbors ---- he’s a guitarist. it’s a loud hobby. he’s nice to everyone in the complex, but god, that’s gotta get annoying.

men he fucked that “don’t count” ---- some of these could’ve ended seamlessly. maybe they get beers now. maybe your character hates him. maybe your character pities him for being in so much denial about his own sexuality. maybe your character is trying to help him. this connection has, like, no limit and all of the plots can be different and unique i’m so excited for it. he’s a bottom, if anyone was curious.

unlikely pals ---- this character is probably the exact opposite of a fuckup. god knows why they even associate with lars. but they do, and they want the best for him. hey !! maybe lars can break them out of their shell a bit.

potential romance ??? owo ??? ---- i really want this to happen because i want lars to eventually come to terms with his sexuality. all he wants is mutual love and good sex. safety, stability, all that good stuff. shouldn’t come without hardship, though. if you have a good idea make sure to make it angsty because i live off of that shit.

someone he doesn’t like ---- i thought of this one because it’s incredibly hard for lars to not like someone. he finds amazing qualities in most people, but he’s prone to holding grudges. i want a character who he just can’t see any good in filling this connection. how fun would that be, right ??

a jewish friend that helps him out with his jewish kids ---- i’m the knowledgeable jewish friend in 99.9% of my friend groups. most people don’t have a knowledgeable jewish friend out of necessity, but he definitely needs one because he doesn’t know shit about some of the things his kids talk about. i swear, ruth mentioned how eggs are pareve and he short circuited please help this poor dude out.

ok that’s. that’s it. i’m done running my mouth on main, but if you wanna plot or just hear me run my mouth about dumb and unimportant shit hit me up here or on discord ( deus ex machina #2294 ) !!! i’m more active on discord because i don’t have this acc always up on my phone. i’m so excited to write with you all !!!!

#slintro #‛ ———— 𝐋𝐀𝐑𝐒 𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐊𝐈𝐍 ／ ABOUT．#oh this is. so long #i am so sorry #abuse tw

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