#you can obviously interpret this how you’d like but. this should go in my

[tragedykery]

longing for moonlight

i stand underneath the moon’s watchful gaze in a night that feels too much like ink. it fills my lungs with shaky breaths yet slips and i am left bereft longing for something i can have. something i can hold.

i think if i reach out through the threshold of my window, through this pitch-black emptiness —not quite styx nor lethe, existence nor oblivion, this something-nothing defined by absence— if i reach far enough, my outstretched hands will catch on moonlight spidersilk unspooling at a gentle, desperate touch.

if i tried, if i could i would have something real. something that doesn’t crumble in my carelessness, something kind and steady and tangible. something to hold and be held by.

yet i stand still. do nothing but sing into the quiet night a skylark’s song of longing or sorrow and hope the moon will hear —but know she cannot soothe my worries and i will have to make peace with the light that is supposed to (but does not, cannot) shine within myself.

i stand underneath the moon’s watchful gaze clutching my chest to keep my shadows from spilling out into the nothing-night once again defined by inability or inaction.

fuck it. have a (mostly) unedited poem

[luvrxbunny]

I need something borderline illegal. Like dark and twisted. Like I want to question my moral compass but read on.

Am I asking for dad’s best friend!Joel? pshhhhhh. Am I asking for bratty! reader?? Pshhhhhh. Am I asking for anything???

Am I asking for smutty smut?! Yes I am.

Ofc if you are uncomfortable with any of these don’t hesitate to ignore this and also no pressure ily ❤️

a/n: reader isn't bratty, im sorry! i forgot :((

sleep

pairing: dbf!Joel Miller x f!virgin!reader

summary: Joel can’t stay away from you any longer.  

warnings: 18+ MDNI, alcohol, voyeurism/somnophilia + dub-con, dry humping, cum in pants

wc: 4.0k

a/n: i hope this is dark enough!! the only reason the ask is a ss instead of the actual thing is cus i formatted the whole story then realized i forgot to put it in the reply to the ask (loosely proofread)

It’s 2 am and Joel can’t stop thinking about you. How you’re sleeping soundly in his room, in his bed, in his shirt as pajamas because you had “forgotten to pack some”, something you both knew was a lie. He knows you’re toying with him, you started a bit before, but since you’ve turned 18? It's just been on rapid fire. 

He pulls out his phone and scrolls through your text thread, scoffing at every other conversation. It was so apparent, in every text, how badly you want him. 

Mon, Aug 16 at 4:41 AM

bbg: big man! text me when u wake up i have a joke

You: Why are you awake at this time?

bbg: wtf why are YOU awake 🤨 

You: I have trouble sleeping, you know that.

bbg: aww poor joey 😢

You: Are you going to answer my question, darling?

bbg: im doing skincare and stuff

You: You have to wake up this early for that stuff?

bbg: can’t put a price on feeling bonita 

You: Why are you speaking Spanish now?

bbg: nevermind lmao

bbg: so have u tried meditation

You: What?

bbg: for your sleeping troubles

You: I’m not that kind of guy.

bbg: what about getting off

You: Excuse me? 

bbg: like masturbation n stuff

You: I know what you’re saying.

You: I don’t understand why you’re talking about this with me.

bbg: we haven’t even talked about it 😭 

bbg: obviously we can end the convo if ur uncomfy but its a very good way to fall asleep

He remembers needing a pause after he read that text for the first time. It had only been four months since your birthday and you were already drastically different. Joel never expected it, he always thought your feelings had already reached their limit but it turns out you were holding back because you weren’t of age. Now that you are… He doesn’t know what he’s going to do. His morals may not be strong enough for the thought of  “ his best friend's daughter” to hold him back. He’s already rationalized himself out of the “daughter's best friend” thought. You’re not even going to school together anymore. Sarah lives on campus so you guys never see each other and you barely ever text. 

You: I have not.

bbg: what? literally how? 

bbg: you should

bbg: it totally works

You: That’s good to know. 

You: Get back to your skincare, honey. I’ll message you later. 

Mon, Aug 16 at 5:03 AM

bbg: joel? 

Mon, Aug 16 at 5:37 AM

bbg: are you masturbating? 

You: Sweetheart. You can’t ask me things like that. It’s not right.

bbg: u didnt answer! i got curious

You: Still.

bbg: i dont see the problem we’re both adults 🫢

You: Barely.

bbg: dont be mean

You: Do you need something

You: I said I’d text you later

bbg: wow no punctuation?

You: Busy

bbg: getting off? 

He remembers staring at your text, unbelieving that you’d send him something like that, so forward, so dirty. He remembers the thought that you were joking. Obviously, you don’t expect him to say yes, that’s why you asked in the first place. Maybe his perverted mind was interpreting your behavior as flirting but you’re just being yourself around him. All these thoughts were swirling in his head but the feeling of his hand flying over his cock, pretending it’s yours, that you're in his ear whispering to him... That thought was stronger, that feeling was stronger. 

You: Yes.

bbg: good. have fun, joey

He gets up for his fourth beer, hoping to drown the impure thoughts, starring you, that plague his mind. It’d be so easy to have you, you’ve been throwing yourself at him since you turned 17. He’s been ignoring it, adamantly. It wasn’t right, despite the age difference, the fact that you’re his daughter’s best friend and his best friend’s daughter. On top of that, you only just turned 18. 

You’ve been staying at Joel’s for a month. He takes the guest room because you say that his bed is better. You haven’t gone home because your dad is still working on your birthday present/room renovations and he doesn't want you to see it until it’s done. He offered up Joel’s house to keep you, knowing his best friend wouldn't mind, unknowing that his best friend was corrupt for his daughter. 

Joel was trying to ignore the way his body was heating up, still scrolling through the texts. He remembers that conversation perfectly. He remembers the adrenaline that was coursing through him as he confessed. He remembers how hard he came at your response. When thinking about this conversation he also remembers the guilt, it’s the most vivid emotion he remembers, usually. But the alcohol seems to be drowning that part out, and Joel scrolls on. 

He finds a patch of texts that he actively avoids, usually. It’s picture after picture of you in the most adorable outfits in the most suggestive positions. There are plenty of you lying on your back, some with your head turned to show off your perfectly curved, unmarked, un-bitten, neck. There are a few where you’re sitting down with the camera angled up, giving Joel too many situations his head can come up with. Then there’s the worst one, his favorite- he doesn’t even know how you took this one. You’re sitting on your knees, hands rested on your thighs and you’re looking up at the camera with a shy smile. 

There are two things about this photo that really fuck him up. 

First, your smile, the way it lets him know that you’re trying to fuck him up, you know what you’re doing with this pose, this positioning, you’re even embarrassed by it, a little nervous about it but you still felt the need to take the photo, for him. 

Second, the height, and the way the camera is positioned shows him that these photos were specifically crafted for him because the height the camera is at is exactly how he’d see you if you were on your knees like that for him. 

You made sure that he noticed because the very next day, you needed him to tie a bow in your hair and instead of waiting for him to get off the couch you placed yourself on the ground, between his legs, in this pose. He had to hide his erection until you left and then fight the urge to get himself off in your room for the rest of the night. 

He glances at his room door, you’re sleeping so soundly in there.

She wouldn’t even notice if someone went in there right now. She definitely wouldn’t notice me… Hell, as if she’d mind either way… I mean- Would she?

The alcohol clouds his thoughts, gives him bad ideas, and then convinces him that they’re good- this one being one of them. He grabs his almost-finished beer and heads to the fridge to grab a fifth one, knowing he’ll be in there for a while. 

He does this sometimes, you look so peaceful when you sleep… it’s the only time he can admire you without putting all his relationships at risk. He reaches the door and turns the knob slowly to avoid creaking. He enters the room, his socks padding his footsteps, and the darkness gives him no shadow. He moves one of your tops off of his desk chair and turns it to face your sleeping figure while placing his beers down. You’re already bringing a smile to his face. You’ve got your face shoved into one of his pillows, your arm tucked under it, and your leg is pulled up to your waist, sticking out from under his tan comforter. You’re wearing one of his hoodies for sleepwear—

Fuck.

and it doesn’t look like you have anything on your bottom half. It’s a little cold in his room so little goosebumps have bloomed over your exposed skin. He takes a swig of beer, finishing his fourth as he examines you. Your face twitches for a moment, your eyebrows furrow, and your nose twitches like a rabbit before calming back down. He opens the other beer and fills his mouth with it, hoping that the alcohol stops the fluttering in his stomach while he drinks it down. 

You shiver a bit but your leg doesn’t move, the goosebumps just become more prominent. His hand is reaching out for you before he can think, rubbing your calf gently to soothe and warm you up a bit. You let out a relieved sigh at his contact and your leg presses further into his warmth. He has to take a deep breath as his mind runs wild, convincing him that this is some sort of sign, that even in you’re sleep you’re trying to be closer to him, that he should just give in. 

No, she’s your best friend's daughter. Sure she’s her own person now, legally an adult, an’ can make decisions for herself… an’ yeah she’s not owned or controlled by anyone and just cause I’m friends with her father ain’t a fair reason to completely rule her out from being a potential partner… Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad… maybe it’s actually more fucked up for me to avoid her just cause of who birthed her. That’s totally not fair to her! I mean I know I wouldn't want anyone judging me based on who my parents are y’know? Maybe I should put myself in her shoes. 

His breathing speeds up as he breaks through his last piece of resistance. Now he’s just trying to figure out how soon he can have you. 

I’ll have to court her first, flirt with her a bit before asking her out to dinner, then maybe she’ll accept my offer to be my girlfriend by the third date… From there maybe she’ll have sex with me for the three-month anniversary… she might be a bit more timid than that but we’re looking at a four- five-month plan… That can work- I can definitely work with that.

You whine and stretch your body, your legs straighten and your arms spread out, you turn and rest one arm on top of your head before you lift your leg, bending it above your waist but with the other one this time. The new position leaves the blanket covering nothing but one of your inner thighs and to add insult to injury your raised arms lift his hoodie, revealing a beautiful sliver of your stomach. 

Or I could have her now.

The thought is too powerful to stop, his opportunity is too perfect, Ellie is out with whatever girl she’s currently entertaining, and Sarah doesn’t live here anymore. Your father would never be awake at this time and Joel is hard, wanting, and so so ready for you. He’s crawling into bed beside you after downing half his beer for the nerves. 

He shouldn’t. He knows he shouldn’t. 

He settles next to you and your leg presses into him again, searching for him and his warmth. You slowly turn to him as he stares at you, watching how sluggish your movements are in your sleep. You snuggle into the pillow in front of him and take a long inhale of its scent, a little smile resting on your lips while you breathe out. Your face is inches from his, and his hand is down his pants in an instant. 

The relief is heavenly, he’s been throbbing for you since he read those texts. He can’t help the way he reacts to you. He can smell your toothpaste on your breath as you gently snore in front of him. He wraps his warm hand around his cock and his soft lips part into an ‘O’. His eyes roll back for a second but he immediately focuses them back on you. He’s tugging at himself violently, not even thinking about savoring this moment, just needing to cum for you. He’s trying to hold in his sounds but you look so pretty, just seeing your face while he’s touching himself makes everything better, somehow you’ve turned his sensitivity as high as it can go.

Little whines and whimpers slip into your dream state. You’re confused by the sound, the rustling that coming from—? In front of you? Your brows furrow as you try to open your eyes. “Fuck” You hear someone say. It sounds like… 

You open your eyes just in time to see Joel yank his hand out of his sweatpants and scramble as far as he can get from you before falling off the bed. You’re still confused as you take his form in. His shirt has ridden up a bit, exposing the salt and pepper hairs on his tummy. His hair is sticking all over the place, he stinks of beer, and his eyes are wide, focused on you. “Joey?”

Despite the horrid situation he’s in, his cock is still leaking for you, pulsing at the nickname. He can’t answer, he has to bite back a moan as he feels himself leak into the fabric of his pants. “Joel? What—” Your eyes flutter, almost falling shut but you shake yourself out of it and— Fuck.

You move closer to him. 

You’re too snuggly when you’re sleeping, too cute, and too dumb. You’re not even questioning why your father’s best friend was in bed with you while you were sleeping. You don't want to risk him leaving and you don’t mind in the first place, you actually thought you were dreaming at first. Your heart almost stopped when your fingers actually latched onto his shirt after reaching out for him. He’s stiff as a board, deterring your touch so you pull your hands into your chest and bury your face in his. 

Joel is almost shaking in exertion as you press your soft little body against his. It’s just your upper half, leaning into him and finding wam solace in his chest. He can handle this, he thinks. He can calm down, and be with you like this. He’s supposed to court you first anyway, he can’t believe himself. Was he really going to just get off with you in the same bed? What kind of pervert would even try something like that?

You hike your leg up over his waist, half asleep, not realizing your motions. 

All his perverted feelings return with a vengeance. 

You wiggle around a bit, trying to get comfortable but his cock twitches, flicking into your soft lips for a moment. At first, you really didn’t know what it was, all you knew was that the sensation felt good. So of course you chased it. Your hips grind into his cock arrhythmically, trying to find that same angle again, not realizing that you’re basically fucking him through your clothes. His hands have to come to your hips, gripping painfully for your eyes to snap open and your hips to freeze. 

Your eyes widen further when you finally process the situation, and even in all your teasing and sensuality, at the end of the day, you’re still just a virgin. You never had any real intention of acting on your desires, especially if Joel wasn’t the one initiating. 

Oh fuck. What did I do? What do I do? He’s just staring at me… Maybe he didn’t notice, I didn’t! But it felt so good. Will he let me? Maybe if I—

Your hips tilt into his before you can process whether this is actually a good idea or not. His hand tense over yours, like another shock of clarity through your bones. You shut your eyes tight, not wanting to see the disgust or uncomfortable pity in his face. “I’m so sorry, Joel. I didn’t… I-”

You try not to let tears well in your eyes as you whimper and pull back from him. But he doesn’t let you. His arms tense, his muscles flexing as he keeps your body pressed against his. You open your eyes, a bit shocked at his refusal to let you go but still too scared to meet his eyes. Your gaze is on his stomach, the way his gray shirt rode up, exposing the way his belly keeps tensing with every breath. “I-” He manages to get out before letting out a shuddering sigh. You finally look at him. 

His eyebrows are pulled taut in between his eyes, his gaze is something you’ve never seen before, and he almost looks angry. It’s desperate, but sorrowful, with the added haze from his intoxication. He keeps biting at his bottom lip, worrying it red as he tries to form a sentence for you. His hands tense over your hips again but this time they tilt you into him again. His face is a hard grimace as he slowly presses you into his raging bulge. You watch him fight with his expression, it keeps breaking into something weak before he goes back to his angry pout. You can’t help the way you press into him, you want to feel it again, that fire in the pit of your stomach that spreads to your soaking pussy the more he pulls you in. You watch his face contort into something heavenly. His brows pull up, almost shocked at how good you feel as his eyes roll back and shut. His entire body shakes as he melts into the pillow. He’s breathing deep and slowly, trying to regulate the pleasure he feels. 

Now he’s focused on savoring the moment. He wants this to last as long as it possibly can. You’re making him feel incredible,  he’s so sensitive, it’s like he’s been edging himself for you. You whimper, high-pitched and muffled but it’s so beautiful that he forces his eyes open. You have one hand gripping the bedsheet like it’s your lifeline and you have the other bitten between your teeth to hold your sounds in. Your hips are grinding into him at an uneven, unsteady, desperate pace and he’s mesmerized by the sight.

He knew you wanted him. He didn’t know you needed him. You’re fucking yourself against his cock like you’ve been waiting for it your whole life. Your hand comes up to grip his shoulder instead of the bedsheet. He grunts and tilts his hips further into yours, a sadistic smirk coming to his face at the sound of exclamation that shoots from your mouth once you’re able to grind your clit against his shaft. Your thrusts start to stutter at that, your body constantly wanting to fold in on itself from the assault of pleasure but you try and will yourself to keep going. 

Unfortunately, your pace is ruined by your pleasure. Your sensitive body can’t handle how good his clothed cock is making you feel. You lose your pace and your pleasure becomes rocky and teasing. He watches as your face changes from pleasured to pouty. Little whimpers and whines of frustration slip from your lips, growing in volume and frequency the longer you’re unable to grind against him properly. Joel’s watching you through hooded eyes, fingers digging into your hips painfully at this point and all he wants is to not cum yet. He wants to make you cum first, he needs it, he needs to see it, to hear it. 

He’s been telling himself it’s fine because you’re grinding against him, not the other way around. You’re choosing this, there’s no way he’s manipulating you, or swaying your decision if he stays completely indifferent. But you’re begging him now. You’re gripping desperately at his shirt, removing your hand from your mouth to grip him harder and pulling yourself closer, wrapping your arms around and moaning right against his chest. He shouldn’t. He can’t. But he does.

His eyes shut tight as his hands leave your hips. You almost climb on top of him in protest, whining a loud “N- Please.” into his chest as your leg hikes higher onto his waist. One of his hands cradles your head, pulling you further into his chest, muffling the moans you’re already letting out at his touch. His other hand goes to the small of your back, pressing you against him perfectly and guiding your rhythm as your hips start up again. He dares to speak. “S’this okay, baby?”

Your reaction to his voice is visceral. Your hands shoot up to his shoulder and hair, pulling yourself up a bit to bury in his neck, getting a new angle from his cock, now fucking him against your leaking hole. “So good, Joey. Thank- Thank you s’much. Thank you, thank you.” Your gratitude is like a searing knife through him. His entire body is set alight as he tries to regulate his breathing. He can feel goosebumps break out on his skin, his pleasure filling every molecule in his body, ready to overflow for you. Fuck. He’s definitely going to cum before you. 

“Mm. Good, good girl. Just- Keep going, sweetness, take what— Shit. Take what you need, darlin’.” His breathing quickens and shudders as your hips increase their pace against him. He’s leaking continuously now, he’s getting in his head, trying to stop himself from cumming but every thought that pops into his mind just brings him closer to the edge. He can’t focus on anything but you. You’re moaning for him, grinding against him, this desperate for him. 

The hand on your lower back migrates to the back of your neck, gripping you there, holding you in place as his hips begin to thrust into yours. “M’gonna cum, darlin’. Fuck, I wanted t- wanted to last for y- Mmm oh fuck.” His entire body starts to tremble as your nails dig into him so painfully he’s sure they drew blood. Your eyes are comically wide as your body tenses in his hold before breaking down into a shudder that overtakes your entire being. You’re cumming. 

He explodes at the realization. In all his desperation, intoxication, and pure need… He was still able to make you cum first. He buries his face in your hair, huffing the scent as he floods his sweatpants. His eyes shut as tightly as they can as his orgasm tears through him. He’s been waiting so long for you to make him cum and now that it’s happening, it feels even better than he planned for. His low grunts turn into shocked moans when his orgasm doesn’t stop after shooting two ropes of cum against his sweats. You’re already coming down as he hits what feels like his second peak. You can feel his hands shaking over where they’re gripping you and you get an impulse that you act on without a second thought. 

Your hand slides down from his shoulder quickly, over the sliver of stomach he’s showing off, and right down his pants. You don’t know what you’re doing so you just grip him, wrapping your hand around his shaft but it seems to do the trick. He lets out a sound that resembles someone getting kicked in the gut. His face is pulled from your hair as his head is thrown back. He arches into you a bit before his hips start thrusting into your fist, desperately prolonging his already overwhelming orgasm. It’s embarrassing; how long he was cumming for, the way his body was violently quivering for you, the ludicrously large dark spot spreading over his pants, showcasing how much he came for you. 

He moans gently when he comes to. You’re stroking over his chest with a soft, sleepy, nervous smile. He pulls you in for a kiss before he can think about it. You guys haven’t discussed anything. Neither of you knows what this means for your relationship but you know that neither of you has felt more comfortable than when you’re in the arms of the other. So why question it now? 

You fall into a deep sleep listening to Joel’s heavy snores, getting rocked to bed by the way his chest expands. It’s the best sleep of your life. 

thank you so much for reading!! please please please give any feedback you may have! I want it all! also if you liked it please take a look at my masterlist!

psst psst. hey you!! i have a part 2 if u want 😏

[coloursflyaway]

hi this is ouija board anon ☺️ so glad to hear that my prompt will get two different interpretations! how fun!! feel free to use this ask to answer with the second fic if you’d like 💘 thanks for sharing!!

Hi and thank you so much for reaching out! I'll use this ask now, just so I can keep the original prompt until the other one is written 😊 And thank you so much for sending it in in the first place, I had a lot of fun with it!

“Charles”, Edwin starts, and there is something in his voice, something in between bewilderment and quiet displeasure, but still fond somehow. It’s one of the things that Charles likes about him most, that no matter how annoyed Edwin might get with him, there’s always an undercurrent of affection when he talks to him.

Charles might have had to question most relationships in his life, but he’s never had to question this one. Edwin likes him, has liked him for over ten years now, and Charles has vowed to himself never to take that for granted.

“Yeah, what’s up?”, he asks, sitting up straighter, just in case whatever is bothering Edwin will need more attention than a quip and a smile. It seldom does, especially when they are between cases, but one never knows.

“Why is there a ouija board in our office?” Edwin demands to know, holding the box up like it has personally offended him. It’s kind of cute, in a very Edwin kind of way.

“Oh!” Charles gets up, suddenly excited, because even if Edwin is the clever one between them, he’s actually proud of this one. “Isn’t that mint? I picked it up in one of the shops around the corner – and yes, I did leave some money behind, don’t worry – because I thought it might come in handy in future cases. You know, we could talk to someone who’s alive with it?”

“Why would you want to talk to someone who is alive?”, Edwin asks, prim in a way that means he hates the words coming out of his mouth, and usually, Charles can read him like an open book, but there is something strange about him now. A bit frantic, maybe, a bit unmoored.

“They might have something interesting to say?”, Charles offers, confused, and gets up so he can walk over to Edwin, pluck the ouija board from his hand. “See, they have this little planchette thing, we could move that around to ask a question-“

“But why would you want to ask a living person anything in the first place?” There is something slightly shrill tinting Edwin’s voice, and Charles wants nothing more than to soothe it, even if he doesn’t know how to.

“To find out if they know something for a case?”, he tries, but it’s obviously not the right thing to say, because Edwin’s thick brows knit together, his lips thin from how tight they are pressed. Charles frantically rifles through explanations in his head, because there has to be one, but he’s coming up short.

“But are we not the Dead Boy Detectives?”, Edwin challenges, and the shrillness is still in his tone, masking something else, something Charles has the feeling might hurt.

“Yeah, sure”, Charles agrees, and looks down at the ouija board for a second. It’s nothing special, just pressed wood and paint, nothing that should upset the most brilliant boy in the world like this. “What’s really going on, Eds? It’s just a toy, and if you hate it so much, it’s not like we have to use it or anything.”

“I’ve told you not to call me that”, Edwin starts, but there is no actual heat behind it, and now that is proper worrying. “It’s just…”

His voice trails off and he deflates; Charles has to force himself not to rush in and gather Edwin up in his arms, hold him close.

“…you have, in the past few weeks, occasionally referred to the fact that you miss aspects of living”, Edwin eventually says, after far too much time, soft and almost defeated, still saying the last word like it has personally offended him. “I was wondering if the acquisition of this… thing is part of that general displeasure with being dead.”

General displeasure with being dead is what he says, but when Edwin looks up at him, that’s not what is written on his face, and suddenly, Charles can read him again, as clearly as if Edwin had spelt his thoughts out to him, letter by letter.

“Edwin”, he answers, as softly, as warmly as he can, and there is so much worry, so much hope in Edwin’s eyes that Charles’ chest aches with it, both with affection and the pain of Edwin having to be hopeful in the first place. “There’s nothing about being dead with you that I would want to change.”

And it takes a moment, but then a smile blossoms on Edwin’s lips, and Charles needs to bite his own to stop himself from thanking every deity that might want to answer for it, for Edwin believing him.

“Truly?”, Edwin asks still, but there is no hope left in his voice, because it is not necessary anymore, just a need for reassurance. There is nothing Charles would rather offer.

“Absolutely”, he responds and the word comes easy as breathing, as easy as a heartbeat would for a living person, a breath.

And Edwin nods, looking brave and calmer and happy, and when the affection Charles feels for him threatens to overwhelm him this time, he just gives into it, pulls Edwin close and against his chest and holds him tight.

And this time, unlike most others, Edwin goes willingly.

[purecommemasolitude]

There’ve been criticisms about Darry being too mean or too cruel in the musical, and I get where those people are coming from, but — and speaking as someone who hasn’t seen or listened to it but has listened to the soundtrack and follows the information account like the paper — I think this phenomenon stems from two things

First, on the side of the discussers, a lack of exposure to the musical as an actual piece of material instead of (occasionally very out of context) lines or screenshots. Obviously seeing the musical, even if one lived in New York, would be expensive as all get out, and even audios and boots are pretty hard to find for this show, but there are many details and contexts that change how lines on the page should be interpreted that simply cannot be gleaned through, well, lines on the page. As someone who has dabbled in acting & directing, and has spent time analyzing play texts in depth, delivery and direction can change everything. The entire sentiment of a line can be the opposite of what you’d expect if you took the line at face value, and unless that’s explicit in the stage directions, it can go unrealized if one is merely reading the script (which, as an aside, is exactly why I find analyzing play excerpts tricky — because without a performance or direction, scripts are often so ambiguous and versatile that they could go any way). And honestly, despite also being someone who unfortunately does not benefit from first hand knowledge of the musical, I feel like this is very evident in discussion of Darry in the show. For example, none of his lines in, say, Runs in the Family (Reprise) should be taken at face value, because if you’ve even listened to the song you can tell he’s completely spiralling and hitting a breaking point. This is a state that, historically, causes people to say things they’d never believe in real life. We’re not meant to believe Darry would ever walk out on his brothers, we’re meant to hear him talk about it and understand how deep of a breakdown he is having. As a less obvious example, from what people online have said, Darry spends the last twenty or so minutes of the musical in tears. Again, the things he says here aren’t necessarily the things he believes, or things that he’s expressing coolly or off-handedly because they line up 1:1 with his worldview, they’re things he says when he’s desperate and struggling and has no idea what the correct path is when his brother & responsibility has effectively been comatose since the deaths

Which brings me to my next point!

One of the most known things about the musical, even to people who aren’t very familiar with it, is that it goes more in-depth on Darry’s trials and tribulations, so to speak. He gets one solo at status quo, another (mostly) solo when he gets his breakdown, and a (mostly) duet in his own self-described darkest hour during Pony’s absence. All three of these songs go into detail about what his life is like and how much he’s been struggling, and even songs that aren’t about him emphasize this feature of his more than in the book: his description by Ponyboy in Tulsa ’67 & Great Expectations reminding the audience of his life’s path, his verse in GGAH making it clear that his life is a very different one with arguably more severe burdens compared to the other boys. Other than the three most important characters of the original narrative, he is now undoubtedly the most important and developed character — which makes sense in a musical format, because with the story of The Outsiders it would’ve been pretty much impossible to do a true ensemble cast other than the main three while doing any of them justice, especially if they’d kept Steve as a principle (rip king). But I digress. In my opinion, being clearer on Darry’s hardships actually gives the musical space to show him as saying crueller things, to have him make more mistakes and mess up worse. In the book, we’re clearly meant to sympathize with him by the end, but we only get Ponyboy’s infamously flawed and unreliable narration as the lense through which to view him. As such, if we went too hard into Darry messing up, while 3/4 of the book have Ponyboy going “yeah Darry’s a rock and doesn’t love me or anyone”, he ultimately would’ve come across a lot worse and a lot harder to “redeem” in the eyes of the reader (personally I never disliked him, but I’ve seen enough accounts of people who hated him on their first go at the story to know it is not an uncommon sentiment). He already slaps his brother and argues with him all the time; it would’ve been even more legwork to make him liked if he’d also been saying harsher things and making more mistakes. In the musical, however, we get that objective perspective that’s missing in the book. Ponyboy’s not narrating to us the lyrics of Throwing in the Towel, he’s not even present for the events of Throwing in the Towel! It’s a lot easier to understand and forgive mistakes if one is familiar with the psyche behind those mistakes, and the musical delivers that psyche to us at every turn. Because the audience understands Darry Curtis and how hard it is for him to hold on, the audience also has more understanding and forgiveness for when he’s spiralling. It’s also just a more specific proof of his plight — three songs with first-hand, emotionally explicit lyrics penetrate the uninvested understanding a lot easier than a second-party description of circumstances. Due to its nature and promotion of Darry’s importance, the musical simply gets more freedom to show an arguably more realistic version of him.

Also, I do believe that Darry in the musical is just that much closer to the edge than he is in the book, which is a valid character choice in an inherently emotional and transformative medium such as the musical adaptation 🤷🏻‍♀️

[snailpastaenjoyer35]

Every snipbit of Soriel in Undertale/Deltarune (spoilers obviously)

This is just a collective post with every “soriel” moment, but I’d like to say first that soriel can just be them being platonic friends or romantically invovled, it’s really up to how you interpret their dynamic. Keep in mind that I could be missing some more obscure things that are outside of the games and such, but I did try to be as extensive as possible. 

-

    - Before anything else, I’d like to mention Toriel’s joke book in the RUINs, which has a joke passage cirlced of skeleton jokes and the game reads you this one:

“Why did the skeleton want a friend? Because she was feeling BONELY.” 

    -   Next thing to talk about is Sans’ dinner story at MTT Diner, where he recalls how a lady answered his knock knock jokes at the RUINs door. Sans talks about how he’d go there all the time after that. Sans also mentions during his talk with Frisk that he gave a promise to Toriel that he’d protect them on their journey, even though he doesn’t really do promises. 

Full scene:

    -   Some one-note remarks are throughout the game as well. For example, it can be implied that Toriel was giving Sans cooking advice to some degree because of 1) the “weird quiche” that Sans out-of-the-blue tried to make at home and 2) the snail pasta that Sans bought.

     - There’s also the fact that Sans “hasn’t been around much” at Grillby’s, but this doesn’t necessarily mean it has to do with Toriel, but it could if Papyrus is anything to go by.

Now to the endings.

    -   Near the end of the true pacifist route, there’s Toriel and Sans’ apparent in-person meeting before Flowey comes in which you can watch below. They recognize each other’s voices and introduce themselves, Toriel says Sans told her a lot about Papyrus while at the door.

    -   After the player beats the game on a true pacifist route, there’s a TON of dialouge with Sans and Toriel, so watch the video below to see all of it:

This video also has all of Toriel’s text messages in it, a lot of with are with Sans as well, some of which I’ll put here but there’s a lot more in the video (they start at 9:15)

    -   There’s also the neutral route with Toriel and Sans ending up living together, or the “Exiled Queen Ending.” To get this ending, you have to kill Papyrus and leave Undyne alive. In the phone call, Sans talks about how Undyne banished Toriel back to the RUINs after Toriel tried inacting a ‘no killing humans’ policy and Sans ended up going with her. Sans brings her books from the library and says she’s a “good roomie.” (Time stamp: 12:56)

    -  In the opposite of that, if you leave Papyrus alive and kill Undyne, Toriel stays ruler and Sans and Papyrus visit her in the castle. He talks about how they play games and read books together, and even convincing her to leave the castle a couple times. (Time stamp: 14:11)

    -  If you kill Toriel in a neutral route, Sans will talk about how he doesn’t get a response when he knocks on the RUINs door anymore and says the she might not be feeling well. If you also kill Papyrus in this route, he’ll say: “Or maybe she’s not feeling anything at all. . .? You’d better watch yourself, kid. . .”

Here’s a video where you can see all of this:

   -   In Deltraune chapter 1, when you talk to Sans about who he should be friends with and pick Toriel, he says: “Too late, I already befriended your mom last night. She’s great, came to the store to buy chocolate kisses. Said she’s gotta lock her door to stop you from eating ‘em.” 

     -  In Deltarune chapter 2, there’s a scene where Toriel goes into Sans’ shop to get eggs she left on the counter and they share a lot of egg puns. Toriel leaves though when Asgore comes in with possibly the funniest joke ever. Also I love Asgore calling Sans bone man. I cannot do the scene justice, it’s one of my favorite things from Deltarune, you can watch it below.

-

  -   Moving on from games, Undertale had a cancelled alarm clock app that had a lot of dialouge from characters, but it can all be found on the undertale website. There’s a lot of moments with Sans and Toriel, but I’ll fit what I can. Here’s the website if you want to look for yourself: https://undertale.com/alarmclock/

 -  In the first winter Undertale newletter, there’s this:

-   In the 5th Anniversy stream, they have a commerical for some Undertale merch and I just thought Toriel wearing Sans merch was pretty cool.

Well I hoped you enjoyed my rambling but that’s it for what I have. okay bye i hope you enjoyed my delusion

[verityswritings]

1 Year Anniversary of My Blog Next Week!!!

Thought I’d post a set of general headcanons for 12 different characters as celebration.

I would do something more special like a prompt list or something, but I can’t think of anything rn lol 😭

Part one:

Yandere Naruto Uzumaki Headcanons

Definitely head over heels in love, like the boy is definitely obsessed when he gets a crush on you. And he wouldn’t even realize it either. He’d think that he liked you a normal amount and that all his feelings were completely normal and justified. I mean it’s just a crush, right? That’s totally normal.

Naruto would want to know all about you. What you like, what you dislike, your favorite things, everything. Every detail about you is just so interesting, he needs to know it all! And perhaps you’d even like him better if he knew all about you!

He’d be pretty delusional about his feelings, of course. Naruto has no idea that there could be anything wrong with the way he acts towards you or the feelings that he has. He just has a crush, okay? There’s nothing wrong with that and no one would be able to convince him otherwise because he is just so confident in this way of thinking.

A very love sick boy. He’d be totally star struck by you. You swear you can almost see the heart shape in his eyes when he looks at you. You’re just so amazing and pretty and cool! How could he not be completely and totally in love with you? You’re just too amazing for him not to be.

Naruto would cling to your side like glue 24/7 whenever he had the opportunity. He would be extremely clingy and would follow you around like a lost puppy. In his mind, you two are 100% totally in love so you should obviously be spending all of your time together because that’s just completely logical.

In his mind, anytime you two hang out together that’s a date. Oh, you’re going to go out to lunch? Well you should definitely go with him to Ichiraku’s.(by the way, this is definitely a date because you two are going somewhere together.) Anytime you’re going anywhere, Naruto wants to go too. And that therefore means it’s a date because you two are going together as a couple. Even if you aren’t a couple at this time and have no idea it’s a ‘date.’

He’d realize at some point that you probably don’t interpret everything the way that he does and that you haven’t been on as many dates together as he thought you two had. But he nonetheless assumes that there is still a romantic undertone to your relationship and that you’re just too shy to make it official with him. But that’s okay, he understands! He’ll just ask you to be his s/o instead.

Even if you reject him, he won’t give it up. Even you say to his face that you don’t like him or something, he’ll just warp it in his mind to mean something else. He just has to keep trying! I think he’d also be pretty desperate so he definitely wouldn’t give up on you. Or in a scenario where you two were together but you wanted to break up, he wouldn’t accept this easily. He needs you! Everyone else in the village has rejected him before but he can’t accept that from you! Please please love him!

If you rejected him or didn’t pay attention to him enough, he’d act out towards you so you’d notice him. It didn’t matter if his antics made you mad or dislike him, you paying attention to him negatively was better than no attention at all

I also think he’d be really overprotective, no matter what your relationship is with him. It’d be his number one priority to keep you safe. It’s just so dangerous out there especially with the Akatsuki out there. He’d go out of his way to try to protect you no matter if you were a normal civilian or a capable ninja.

A/n: I think this wasn’t my best work lmao and it wasn’t proofread 😭

[wanderinghedgehog]

Okay, so Javert is dead. Time to do a line-by-line commentary/analysis of Javert’s Suicide in the musical with some book comparisons. Yippee!

“Who is this man?

What sort of devil is he?”

I think this line would feel more appropriate right after Valjean frees him at the barricade. This will begin a trend of Javert’s suicide being very focused on Valjean here. Also, in the book, this is the chapter where Javert compares Valjean to an angel, so it’s interesting that he is called a devil here instead.

“To have me caught in a trap

And choose to let me go free?”

This was Valjean’s choice. He didn’t really have much to gain from freeing Javert. In fact, it’s potentially detrimental to him. This is an act that you can’t see for anything but what it is, kindness.

“It was his hour at last

To put a seal on my fate,”

Javert truly believes that Valjean could have killed him. For an audience who is aware of Valjean’s nature, it’s a bit strange to imagine.

“Wipe out the past,

And watch me clean off the slate.”

Valjean literally gives you his address so you can arrest him. I don’t think he’s looking to just get away.

“All it would take was a flick of his knife.

Vengeance was his and he gave me back my life!”

He’s not happy to not be killed. It kinda ruined his day :(

“Damned if I'll live in the debt of a thief”

I don’t know if the musical gives this context really, but I interpret this line as a rejection of his changed opinion of Valjean. At this point in the book, he’s started referring to Valjean more respectfully. But here, he denies any semblance of that.

“Damned if I'll yield at the end of the chase”

This deserves a quote from the book. “Enormities such as this can happen and nobody should be punished? Jean Valjean, stronger than the entire social order, should be free and he, Javert, continue to eat the bread of the government!”

“I am the Law and the Law is not mocked”

This line will be relevant again later.

“I'll spit his pity right back in his face”

The oddest thing about this is Javert is meant to be pitiful. The book literally describes him this way, but in a moment when he is very sure of himself, when he goes to arrest Valjean in M-sur-M. Javert is pitiful because he is horribly wrong and oblivious, not because he is helpless. Valjean helping him when he is in need of help is not the sort of pity you’d expect to be shown to a man like Javert.

“There is nothing on earth that we share”

On the one hand, are you sure about that? On the other hand, this really speaks to how Javert’s worldview allows for two types of people: superiors and inferiors. When Valjean is seen as a criminal, he is nothing like Javert because Javert couldn’t possibly have something in common with a convict. oBvIOusLy. But when Valjean has proven he’s a good man, he is nothing like Javert because he’s better.

“It is either Valjean or Javert!”

I told y’all the “I am the Law” thing would come back. This is Javert’s ultimatum that he’s given himself. He must choose between Valjean (the reality of humanity) and himself (the reality of the law). He doesn’t give himself the option to become something other than the law.

“How can I now allow this man

To hold dominion over me?”

The musical speaks much more of debt than the book. In the book, Javert doesn’t worry about the debt he owes Valjean for saving him because he’s already been repaid. Javert showed him mercy in turn.

“This desperate man that I have hunted”

I think this is an oddly sympathetic way for him to talk about Valjean.

“He gave me my life. He gave me freedom.”

The key word here is “gave.” There was no trade or deal as Javert had initially assumed.

“I should have perished by his hand”

He was too willing to die then. That’s not noble sacrifice, buddy. You just don’t value your own life very much.

“It was his right.”

It was also his right to not kill you.

“It was my right to die as well.”

Time for another book quote. “To have called the other insurgents to his aid against Jean Valjean, to have forced them to shoot him, that would have been better.”

“Instead I live -- but live in hell.”

Yeah, I bet suddenly having to think about things when you’ve gone the rest of your life with your mind as blank as printer paper isn’t exactly a fun time.

“And my thoughts fly apart.”

Same

“Can this man be believed?”

Javert in the musical is much more confused than Javert in the book. In fact, in the book, sudden clarity is arguably part of the issue.

“Shall his sins be forgiven?

Shall his crimes be reprieved?”

I will once again refer you to the line “nearer angels than men.”

“And must I now begin to doubt,

Who never doubted all those years?”

This is my favorite line in the song. It’s similar to my favorite line from this chapter in the book, “to be granite and to doubt.” Both lines really express the scale of this emotion so well.

“My heart is stone and still it trembles.”

This reminds me of a misconception I’ve seen a lot. For whatever reason, some people think that Javert intends to be emotionless. I think that referring to his heart as stone is not to say that he doesn’t feel, but that he is unshakeable. Hence the line “and still it trembles.”

“The world I have known is lost in shadow.”

Well, what exactly is the world he has known? That seems to be a difference between the musical and the book. I’m sure a lot of other people have explained that difference better than I could.

“Is he from heaven or from hell?”

And another quote. “…this monster, this infamous angel, this hideous hero, who made him almost as indignant as astounded.”

“And does he know

That, granting me my life today,

This man has killed me even so?”

I’ve found that this song has trouble really communicating why Javert would want to kill himself, but this line brings up a certain sentiment from the book that I think explains it pretty simply. While it can’t be said that Javert had only one reason for committing suicide, the book does say, “He felt that he was emptied, useless, broken off from his past life, destitute, dissolved. Authority was dead in him. He had no further reason for being.” He kinda thinks of himself as already dead.

“I am reaching but I fall”

Despite the fact that this song already had the same melody as Valjean’s Soliloquy as well as some similar lyrics, this is where I notice this parallel the most, at the moment when the two narratives really begin to differ. In Valjean’s Soliloquy, this verse is where he talks about the death of his former self and how this will allow him to start again. This verse is far more literal in Javert’s Suicide. He does not intend to start again and redeem himself.

“And the stars are black and cold”

Stars callback! Yippee!

“As I stare into the void”

Another line shared with Valjean. It’s really interesting to hear these shared lines sung so differently in the same show.

“Of a world that cannot hold”

I think I like this line for a similar reason as “and must I now begin to doubt.” I’d have trouble explaining it though.

“I'll escape now from that world”

Often, antagonists are given the chance to redeem themselves through death. Javert does not do this. He doesn’t ignore these revelations and be wrong knowingly, but he certainly doesn’t become a better person outside of his own head. By taking himself out of the equation, he has remained static, something he’s been doing his entire life.

“From the world of Jean Valjean.”

I’m not sure how I feel about this one. This isn’t Valjean’s world. Valjean just lives here.

“There is nowhere I can turn”

Not the line itself, but the music. Maybe the chaos of it does work well for the musical. I don’t know. But I always preferred the quiet of the scene in the book. You get so used to hearing his really noisy thoughts, but then he’s just some guy standing on a bridge in the middle of the night.

“There is no way to go on...”

I want a portrayal of this but that isn’t silly. This isn’t the line’s fault though. “There is no way to go on” had nothing to do with some of the goofy staging I’ve seen.

[starified-lizzy]

VERY SERIOUS AND PERSONAL POST BELOW. DEAD DOVE; DO NOT EAT.

Do not EVER call your impulsive thoughts “intrusive.” Especially around me.

Why?

Well, as stated in the SS above, if you actually acted on REAL intrusive thoughts, then you’d be a criminal.

I know this one post won’t change public perception of the damned “trend”, but if I can enlighten some people that having Intrusive Thoughts is an actual mental illness (most commonly associated with OCD) and not a silly little thought you had one day, then I’ll be happier than a pig in shit.

I want everyone to be aware of a few things:

1) yes, everyone gets genuine intrusive thoughts from time to time. However, the difference between just one random Intrusive thought to someone suffering from it, is how repetitive, and insistent they are. If- for example, someone pisses you off and you just *really* want to strangle that person that day, that’s normal, everyone gets that way from time to time. But if the thoughts keep reappearing and won’t go away no matter how much you try to distract yourself… *that’s* when someone’s suffering from it. Obviously, I am not a doctor, so I don’t know how intrusive thoughts are actually diagnosed, this is all my personal interpretation of it as someone who *does* suffer from this.

2) Having/suffering from intrusive thoughts *DOES NOT* make you, or anyone else, a bad person. The only time it does, is when you or someone else *ACTS* on those thoughts or intentionally fantasizes about doing it, if it wasn’t illegal.

Onto ways that- I have learned and believe- differentiates Impulsive thoughts from Intrusive thoughts.

Warning for mentions of murdering and using guns but only because it’s for an example on the difference between intrusive and impulsive thoughts. Dead dove; do not eat.

To discern what the difference between the two types are, I have these few simple questions to answer;

Will you get hurt/die if you act on it?

Will someone else get hurt/die if you act on it?

How severe of trouble will you be in with the law if you act on it?

Can you *seriously* see yourself doing this?

By your religious/moral standards/rules, will you still be holy/a good person if you act on this?

If the answers to those questions look something like:

No

No

None

Yes

Yes

Then those are IMPULSIVE thoughts.

If the answers look something like:

Yes

Yes

Extreme

No

No

Then those are INTRUSIVE thoughts.

Content examples of the differences between the two-

Impulsive:

I should dye my hair

I should get a tattoo

I should throw this egg at the wall

I should paint my walls a piss yellow color for shits and giggles

I should get a motorcycle license.

Intrusive (they will be in 2nd POV as this is typically how they sound- in words- to me)

You should kill that person.

You should take a gun and shoot that (living being).

You should run those people over.

What if you drove into a ditch?

You should (do unspeakable act) against that person.

!!!!Intrusive thoughts are not a trend. They are a genuine mental illness that people suffer from, and could get someone (or you) seriously hurt if you actually “let the intrusive thoughts win.”!!!!!!

!!!!Having/suffering from Intrusive thoughts DOES NOT make you a bad person. It’s ONLY when you ACT on them, or intentionally fantasize about them that makes you a bad person!!!!

[thereaderinsertlady]

For the questober thing, meta knight trick or treating with s/o ^^

Yeah!! Love me some Meta! I hate that there's so little content of him lol. In this fic, he can be interpreted as his regular ball-shaped form (which I much prefer), or as a human depending on how you'd want to perceive him. Here's the link for this on ao3, and I hope you enjoy!

ㅤ

Meta Knight x Reader - Silly? Nonsense!

“This seems... silly,” Meta Knight admitted to you as you and him walked up to the first house. 

You raised both your brows, looking at him oddly as your costume was lighted up by the house’s porch lights. “Silly?” You repeated. “Whatever do you mean?” 

He let out a small huff, looking to your costume before glancing towards the door. “It’s... silly, to dress up and beg people for candy.” 

“It’s not begging!” You pouted, going over to ring the doorbell. “It’s asking very nicely, and receiving candy!” 

Meta Knight squinted at you now. “Couldn’t we just... buy candy at the store?” 

“What’s the fun in that? It’s a... an adventure to get your own candy. Adventures are fun!” 

Although Meta Knight was wearing his typical mask, you could see in his yellow eyes that he didn’t seem very... interested in going trick-or-treating. He wasn’t really wearing much of a costume either— he was only wearing the pair of cat ears that you bought for him. Though, he likely was only here because you wanted him to come with you, which... was very sweet of him. 

He was going to say something, but the door opened before he could speak.  

“Trick-or-treat!” You exclaimed widely whilst smiling, staring at the woman who opened the door. 

“Oh hello!” She smiled back. “I like both of your costumes,” she said before slowly plopping some candy into yours and Meta Knight’s buckets. She waved you goodbye before closing the door. 

Meta Knight slowly blinked, peering down into his bucket... before letting out a soft grunt. “What if we get... err, what if we get candy that neither of us like?” 

You... shrugged. “I dunno, give it to other people? They might like it.” 

Meta Knight slowly nodded to that. “I’m sure Kirby will be happy to take my candy,” he said, looking over to you. 

You pouted. “I’m pretty sure that boy would be happy to take anyone’s candy— and it’s cute that you’re thinking of him.” 

“C-Cute?” He repeated, seeming just a little flustered. 

You slowly grinned. “Yes, very cute,” you teased. “It’s also very sweet of you that you came out here to go trick-or-treating with me, since you really didn’t have to.” 

Meta Knight... cleared his throat, obviously trying to seem unfazed by your teasing. “We should move onto the next house,” he said a bit firmly. 

You tried not to laugh. “O-Okay, let’s go to the next house...” 

Slowly, you walked with him down the sidewalk, feeling very glad that he decided to come with. Like you had said, he didn’t have to come at all, and you’d be left trick-or-treating by yourself. 

As you walked, you took a good glance around, checking out other people’s costumes. It was a bit early in the night— the sun had sunk below the horizon a good hour ago, but there were plenty of people walking around. A few people were wearing some really expensive looking costumes, but as you glanced back over to Meta Knight, you were just glad he went along with wearing the cat ears. 

“So,” you began, “How late do you want to stay out, Meta?” 

He paused in his step... before continuing walking while shrugging. “I don’t know... However long you want to stay out here.” 

“That’s such a you response, Meta,” you said with a wide smile.  

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He huffed, though he likely knew that you were only messing with him.  

“Nothing, nothing,” you giggled, moving ahead of him. 

He rolled his eyes, following a little behind you while glancing around, also looking at everyone else’s costumes— and likely surveying the area for any threats as well. Meta Knight was often cautious in areas with lots of people, probably figuring that bad things can happen in areas with large crowds... Well, that’s your running theory. Perhaps something happened in his past involving a lot of people in an area. Maybe he’s worried something will happen... And you also may just be reading way into him when he probably just doesn’t like semi-crowded areas. You... probably should ask him about it later. 

You and him went through a couple of houses, collecting more and more candy. However, you must’ve picked a good neighborhood because your bucket filled up fairly quickly... Or maybe some people just knew Meta Knight and gave you and him more candy because of that— but, all in all, it only took you half an hour for your bucket to get completely full. 

“Geez,” you began, sifting through your bucket, “We got a lotta candy really fast.” 

Meta Knight looked over to you. “Do you usually not get this much candy?” 

“Well, I only end up with a full bucket towards the end of the night,” you hummed, glancing over to him. “You must have good luck or something.” 

Meta Knight huffed, lightly rolling his eyes. “I’m sure it’s just beginner’s luck— I doubt I’ll be so lucky next year.” 

“...Next year?” You repeated with a smile. “You’re gonna go trick-or-treating with me next year too?” 

Meta Knight hesitated for a moment. “Would you... like to go next year?” 

Your answer was easy— “Of course! I enjoyed spending time with you tonight... though... The night is still fairly young... There’s still plenty else that we could do together, like... watch movies, or go to a haunted house.” 

Meta Knight cringed at the mention of a haunted house. “I... erm.” He cleared his throat. “I wouldn’t mind watching a movie with you at... your place, I assume?” 

You giggled. “How forwards, inviting yourself into my own home,” you said, watching him become a little flustered. Before he could say anything, you continued, “But... yes, I’d prefer to watch a movie with you at my place. I have plenty of good ones we could watch together.” 

He... let out a sigh, relaxing just a little. “Okay,” he said, and— and grabbed your hand. 

You slowly blushed, but... didn’t mind his decision to hold your hand, instead happily leading him back to your abode... 

[deltatraveler]

I would like to point out some constructive criticism, if that’s okay! If you’d rather not, or if you’ve heard this a thousand times before, please feel free to delete this :3

I would like to point out a criticism regarding this game, in spectacular to the Section 3 demo. While I love the mechanisms, unique designs, and personalities you’ve gave to this new interpretation of Underfell, I feel as if Susie’s personality is out of character.

It always felt off how Susie stops being so depressed/cynical so quickly, and I’ve found that other’s agree that it is out of character. Obviously, nothing is perfect, and everyone has different character interpretations, and it’s completely fine! However, I feel as if the transition from Depressed Susie to Trying-To-Hold-It-Together Susie should be more smooth if that’s the approach you’re going, since it seems a little forced.

If you want to, once again, you can delete this if you feel condescended or anything else like that! I love your game, I really do— it’s what got me into Deltarune— and I just wanted to add my two cents to this discussion.

I can’t wait until the next part comes out! Happy game making, and I hope my criticism is useful to you, if you choose to apply it :)

Take your time, and remember to take care of yourself!

Sorry if this offends you in any way :( /genuine

idk, i feel like susie shouldnt be like "oh, kris is dying..... whatever."

[c4rdsharp]

     insights on how i would build a d&d character sheet for luck.

     Class: Rogue ( inquisitive OR mastermind subclass. )

Personally, I’m much more a fan of Inquisitive Rogue than Mastermind for Luck, but I can see either depending on how you want to interpret his skillsets. If you want to lean more into his investigative and insight work for the Gandors, than you should definitely pick Inquisitive. However, if you’d like to focus on his more social skills as the face of the family, than Mastermind ought to be your pick. In my opinion, though, Inquisitive has a much better set of skills that work into Luck’s characterization -- he can’t roll lower than an 8 for insight checks, and Insightful Fighting is a great cover for his mid - Dexterity scores.

     Race: Human / human variant

MOST of the races would work for Luck, but if we’re going straight from canon, then it’s got to be human. You can definitely custom build a human variant, though, to have him included as an immortal or just to spice him up a little! This one isn’t really that important compared to his class or his skills.

     Stats: INT > CHA > DEX ≥ WIS > CON > STR

Regardless of which subclass you go for, Intelligence HAS to be Luck’s highest score, if you’re going to reflect his canon personality. Charisma should be a close second, but it’s definitely not his best stat. Dexterity & Wisdom are actually interchangeable. I would probably put Dexterity a little higher, due to the fact he’s slightly more impulsive in canon, but the two of them can be swapped around. Ideally, I think they should be equal rolls, though. Constitution & Strength are last to reflect the fact Luck is a weak fighter ( obviously ).

     Skills: Insight, Intimidation, Investigation, Sleight of Hand OR Stealth

For the rogue class, you get to pick 4 skills. These are the main 4 - 5 I would lean towards, personally. Between Sleight of Hand or Stealth, I’d go with the former to reflect Luck’s proclivity for cheating in card games, but I could also see him being decent at stealth under the right circumstances. Or, if you just want him to be a useful rogue. That too.

Intimidation SHOULD be his main charisma stat, though. You COULD go persuasion, if you really want to ( i’d recommend that for a mastermind interpretation actually ), but Luck’s idea of persuasion in canon tends to just be thinly veiled threats and/or a gun to the face. Or just straight up torture. I think that falls more in line with intimidation than it does persuasion by DnD standards.

DON’T put anything towards Perception, though. He tends to be pretty bad at noticing things in his immediate environment.

     Expertise: Intimidation, Investigation OR Sleight of Hand/Stealth

Since you get to pick 2 skills to have double proficiency in, these are the ones I would lean towards. To be honest, you could make an argument for any of them, so this isn’t a hard - and - fast rule, but I would consider what Luck does regularly enough for him to be quite skilled at. Considering he’s a mob boss who regularly collects protection money and handles torture, intimidation ought to be one of his expertises. The last one is dependent on how you’d prefer to play him : investigation for his high intelligence & his natural work as a strategist for the Gandors, OR sleight of hand for how subtle & skilled he is with cards. One or the other would work well for Luck’s characterization.

     Feats: Lucky, Alert, Gunner (if available), Keen Mind, Skulker, Tavern Brawler

Not all of these feats are necessary, these are just some suggested options for his build if you want him to use one. A lot of these speak for themselves (Lucky, Alert, Gunner, and Keen Mind). Skulker could be fun as a rogue option, if you want to prioritize his usefulness in combat situations.

Tavern Brawler is less for usefulness as so much as a colorful character choice because Luck would be used to that given his background! On top of that, he canonically uses improvised weapons (like chairs and his own detached hand). This would give him some level of proficiency in that, so it’d be a very good reflection of canon material I think!

[m-o-o-n-thatspellsblog]

Hi, I just wanted to say that the concept of the cafeteria tables in Mr. Harrigan's cellphone is not literal on the phones but more on the price, the richest kids have iPhones, they sit together, a symbol of status the poorest kids, with no cellphone don't even go to the cafeteria. At least that's how I read it.

Hi! Thanks so much for the ask! I’m basing my response on the movie only, because in my tags, I was only talking about the movie.  It has been over 2 years since I read the story as I read it when it first came out. I'm also using this as an opportunity to lay out some of my thoughts on the movie.

I definitely agree that phones are a status symbol. Their (parent’s) financial status would obviously correlate with what kind of phones they have. However, it seemed to me that the ease by which they obtained the phones was not important. I don't think it mattered to them how much money the other kids at their table had, as long as they had the right kind of phone. The seating seemed to be based solely on their phones. And considering the overarching message of the movie was that 'we don't own phones, phones own us', the students’ implied financial status was more of a secondary theme. Definitely relevant, but not really the main focus.

Additionally, if the overall message was intended to be encouraging people to interact outside the bounds of their perceived financial status, then that should have been more prevalent throughout the movie.  However, whenever something that possibly could relate to that came up, it was solely based on phones. I can totally see where you're coming from, but I don’t think that point came across clearly in the movie. At the end of his character arc, Craig nearly abandons his phone, saying “In the 21st century, I think our phones are how we are wedded to the world.  If so, it’s probably a bad marriage”.  He doesn’t directly acknowledge any kind of moral he may have learned about not judging someone based on the amount of money they have.

Unrelated but I also did not like how the teacher talked to Craig about Kenny’s death.  She tells Craig that Kenny had “psychological problems” (meaning that he had mental health support needs, possibly unaddressed) which is absolutely not Craig’s business.  There is no reason she should be telling him that.  But then she also goes further to say “I can never be glad when a child dies, but I can be glad it wasn’t you”. Basically saying that Craig’s life is more valuable than Kenny’s.  Yes, Kenny was a bully, but he did not deserve to have his capacity to grow and change revoked from him.  That is a wildly ignorant thing to say about a child who you obviously know had a lot to deal with.  He needed someone to help him find healthy outlets for his anger and frustration, and resources for his mental health. It hurts me to think that someone who could have potentially helped him did not think his life was as important as Craig’s.  It may have just been a bad choice of words, but as a professional who works with vulnerable children in your everyday life, you need to be more conscious of how your words can be perceived.

That being said, I enjoyed the movie overall! It’s okay to like things and think they are a little silly at the same time. I’m not hating on the movie, I just thought that the cafeteria hierarchy seemed a little bit like something you’d see in an over the top coming of age movie (which is not a bad thing within its own context, but seems out of place in a horror movie).  And I could absolutely be wrong in my interpretation. If I watched the whole movie over again, I may notice some things that I missed or forgot. 

Thanks again for sharing! You definitely helped me reflect on the movie more deeply. I apologize for this essay length response, I just had a lot of thoughts. 

[prismatranslates-cue]

Yuzuha [Neorealism!] Part 1

Kirika: Today your assignment will be a study based on the film Bicycle Thieves.

Yuzuha: Coach, over here!

Kirika: Yes, Kujo-san?

Yuzuha: I had my bike stolen once.

Kirika: I’m sorry to hear that.

Kirika: Despite the title, the protagonist is actually the victim of a bike theft.

Yuzuha: Oh, just like me then.

Kirika: The film was made quite a few decades ago, so keep in mind that the value of a bicycle was different from what it is today.

Kirika: You would do well to take note of the historical background, the social classes of the different characters, and the relationships between parents and their children.

Yuzuha: Coach, over here!

Kirika: Yes, Kujo-san?

Yuzuha: Who are the thieves?

Kirika: You can see for yourself when you watch the film.

Kirika: Your assignment is to watch the film and pick one scene to reenact as a group. You may take liberties with the script if it better suits your own interpretation.

Kirika: Furthermore, I’d like to assign the scriptwriting to…you, Kujo-san.

Yuzuha: Okay.

---

Chisa: Kirika-sensei’s really figured out how to handle Yuzuha.

Yuzuha: Hm?

Chisa: Oh, nothing. Have any of you ever watched this movie?

Yuuki: Nope.

Airi: I think it’s from Italy, and from before films were in colour.

Chisa: It’s not one of those silent films, is it?

Airi: I don’t think so…?

Yuzuha: Hmm, I’m not that great with Italian.

Chisa: You’re not…thinking of writing our script in Italian, are you?

Yuzuha: You think I shouldn't?

Chisa: Uh, obviously!

Yuuki: I don’t see a problem.

Chisa: Huh?

Yuuki: I know a bit of Italian myself! “Buono!” and all that.

Airi: Oh, that means “Yummy!” right?

Yuuki: Yep yep. …That’s pretty much all I’ve got.

Chisa: And that one word is enough for you to feel confident doing a whole script in Italian…?

Yuzuha: Mm, sorry Yuuki. I’m really not confident enough with Italian, so I’ll stick to Japanese.

Yuuki: Well, you gotta do what you gotta do.

Chisa: Why do you sound so ungrateful?

Airi: We should go rent a DVD of it on the way home!

---

Yuzuha: Hey, I found these two copies of it from two different aisles. Which one should we get?

Airi: I would think either one is fine…?

Chisa: What, do you think they were sorted separately because they’re that different?

Yuuki: If you’re really worried about it, we can always just rent both.

Yuzuha: Good idea! Let’s do it ♪

Chisa: Is there really a point to that…?

---

Chisa: That’s how it ends, huh…What a downer. I wish it was a bit happier.

Yuzuha: Mmm.

Yuuki: He never got his bike back in the end.

Airi: Poverty is definitely a key theme.

Yuzuha: Which part should we do a reenactment of?

Yuuki: Yuzuha probably can’t even imagine what being poor is like.

Yuzuha: Should we try to focus on acting out being poor?

Airi: It’s an integral part of the story, there’s no avoiding it. The characters had to pawn off their bedsheets to even be able to afford food.

Chisa: Just thinking about it hurts my heart.

Yuzuha: I guess the hardest thing for me to relate to is how worked up they got over that bicycle. For me, someone stealing a bike might as well be stealing a cheap umbrella, you know?

Chisa: You really are something else…

Airi: Maybe you could try imagining something in place of the bicycle?

Chisa: Yuzuha, what’s something that you’d hate to have stolen from you?

Yuzuha: Hmm…maybe my bag.

Chisa: Your bag, huh. Okay, so what would you do if it did get stolen?

Yuzuha: Buy another one.

Chisa: Right? But the protagonist in the film couldn’t do that, so he was desperately searching for that one bicycle.

Airi: Especially since he needed it for his job. Without that bicycle, he couldn’t make a living.

Yuzuha: So something that I can’t do without because I need it for my job…oh, like my voice?

Chisa: What are you, the Little Mermaid?

Yuzuha: Maybe my script, then?

Yuuki: Would that be a big deal?

Chisa: Uh, yes it would be, but who’s trying to steal that in the first place?

Yuzuha: Oh, I know. Self-confidence!

Chisa: That’s definitely important, but…that’s an abstract concept.

Yuuki: How about money?

Yuzuha: I’m sure I’d always have more.

Airi: I guess we really can’t find anything comparable for Yuzuha-chan…

Chisa: It’s hard to believe, but I guess so.

Yuuki: So Yuzuha can’t get anything out of this movie, huh.

Yuzuha: Wait, then what am I supposed to do about this script? What scene do I use?

Yuuki: All up to you!

Chisa: Please and thank you.

Airi: Sorry for the trouble.

Yuuki, Chisa, and Airi leave.

Yuzuha: Hmm. Maybe a rewatch will help.

To be continued...in Part 2

---

Notes

"Neorealism" in the card title refers to a film movement from post-World War 2 Italy. Bicycle Thieves is a notable example of a film from this movement.

[euphoricfilter]

hi long post anon… again😭

yes “rule” is more so used as “unspoken boundary”

and its a lil concerning anon didn’t pick that up when the explanation is right under that specific quote they picked😭

like have fun but don’t get caught up in thinking that just because you write something that is fiction that your muse is gonna wanna see it

not only is this just to be safe/respectful morally but even legally in terms of copywrite

thats why mainstream authors don’t want people to send them fanfic because the author may accidentally add from the fic subconsciously. Or coincidentally they added it because it was an idea that you two happened to think of at the same time before you ever sent the fic or the author opened your letter/email.

this leaves people to then be able to claim the author stole content whether intentional or not.

but also in terms of morals, it just says that you respect how an author views their relationship with THEIR work by not making your interpretations aware to the author. many authors work hard to establish their worlds/characters and may feel put off if they feel someone has mischaracterized their work or morphed it into something they don’t recognize within the canon of their universe. not to say that the fic isn’t good but essentially you dont come into someone else’s home and tell them how to decorate.

and in terms of real life people, it keeps your muse from seeing how you characterize them which may not be a reflection of their own self-actualization. and again it can mess with how people see themselves. or almost feel like they’re being harassed to reveal something about themselves because fics with certain characterizations are being thrown in their face. like “i know something about you, you should just say it already.”

its not to say that a nonbinary or autistic headcannon isn’t valid but sending it to someone may feel like projection to that very real person.

like jungkook may not take offense to being called nonbinary or trans but if thats not his actual lived experience, then sending him fics or making him aware that you’ve “headcannoned” him as such would be crossing a line.

its like saying “oh im going to disregard how and what you’ve being willing to share about yourself publicly until you possibly give in and out yourself.”

we saw this with the actor who plays the bisexual boyfriend in Heartstoppers. people -mainly other queer people- couldn’t separate the actor from his role and kept poking him to come out until he actually did. just because the internet was right about him being queer, doesn’t mean they were morally right for pressuring him.

its like receiving a “love” letter from an unreliable narrator in which they detail how you smiled at them once which meant you were “obviously” flirting; when in reality, you -the person who knows your own feelings- only smiled cuz you were just being nice. doesn’t mean you aren’t a lover; it just means that your love hasn’t been extent towards them.

if Jungkook is nonbinary, he’s is for himself; not to reaffirm some preconceived notion Army have. he exists outside our collective thought and doesn’t need fic to convince him of his identity or lack there of.

basically this rule is a “curtesy” that we should extend to ALL people. so unless they ask, don’t show your fanfic to your muse, friends.

ugh i keep ending up long winded😭🤦🏽‍♀️

but this has been fun discourse and hopefully it enlightens someone cuz that what social change is supposed to do💜

thank you for explaining a little deeper, my lovely.

literally i’d go missing and you’d never hear from me again if bts were to read anything i’ve written, it’s not made for them 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️ my worst nightmare is them perceiving me LMAO

and i think i can speak on behalf of most writers that what we write, either it be bts as gay or anything of the sort, is no way for us as writers to push the boys to come out or feel as though they should identify a certain way. as i’ve reiterated like a million times within the last couple of hours, it’s all a story, not there to project onto anyone in real life. i don’t sit in my bedroom and scheme up ways to force an agenda onto bts, i’m just trying to have a good time and little fun and if i’m doing something wrong then at least i’m aware now and can improve as a person

i’m not saying, as a straight fact any of the members are gay, or that they specifically go by they/them pronouns. if he does identify as anything above then that’s super cool too and he doesn’t owe me or anyone else anything, and that’s fine!! but me writing a non binary jungkook is in no way me saying that is how he should be or is in real life. idk why that point hasn’t come across for some people yet 🏃‍♀️

anyways, thank you again for taking the time to explain!! you definitely deserve a yummy snack after all this, and you’re super cool and very smart!! so thank you for taking the time out of your day to talk about such a kinda weird but very interesting topic with me 🫂

[dodger-chan]

B for the ask game! & also C if you’d like to answer 2 😊

B) are any of my stories inspired by my life?

Events, no. Though my first kiss with my darling spouse was me being tired of subtle flirting not giving me enough information and just kissing him (from his perspective) out of the blue. I've had characters do that a few times and I tend to let it work out for them.

Generally, though, not a lot of things happen in most of my fics. They tend to be about going deeper into the characters and if there's too much of me in there then it's not them I'm looking at. Though obviously I interpret them through my own worldview. So for Stranger Things fic, Steve's canonical valuing of normal comes out as massive internalized homophobia and self denial. Eddie's 'I'm weird and I know it' attitude gets and 'I know it will damn me' added to it.

I can and do quote Rocky Horror shout outs in daily life, so I guess that Halloween mini fic should count for this.

C) character I relate to

Well, you asked me this already and got multiple paragraphs on how much I related to Eddie. Which I am currently too lazy to go find and link to, though it's still true. So maybe a non Stranger Things answer.

Ōba Yōzō from Osamu Dazai's novel No Longer Human. I read it in college and my reading process was "oh, I don't think I've ever really related so strongly to a... oh, oh shit, fuck me maybe I should talk to someone about this." I don't think I'd relate as strongly today, but I'm not reading it again to find out. That book deeply messed with my head for a while.

[ridleymocki]

So I finally watched Netflix’s Persuasion and yes, I pretty much hated it, but not for the reason you’d expect. My Austen-loving friend and I set aside a whole night for this. We watched three films as follows:

Appetizer: Persuasion (2007) with Sally Hawkins and Rupert Penry-Jones

Main course: Persuasion (2022) on Netflix with Dakota Johnson and Cosmo Jarvis

Palate cleanser: Emma (2020) with Anya Taylor-Joy and Johnny Flynn

Watching things in this order really threw some things into relief. Now, obviously as an adaptation Persuasion 2022 is inaccurate in ways people have already explained. There are significant disparities between the film and the source text (Anne’s a wine lush now?). There are also egregious anachronisms in costuming, hair, and makeup (through pure oversight the side characters end up being the most historically accurate). But, that aside, in my writerly opinion this isn’t even a competent stand alone film. You know the whole rule of “show don’t tell”? This film is fundamentally incapable of following that rule. Everything its told -- verbally, explicitly, almost condescendingly -- to the audience.

There seems to be a fundamental lack of trust in the audience, and our ability to interpret visual cues like facial expressions and tone of voice. There literally is nothing in this film that is conveyed subtly on good faith that people will understand what’s going on.

This is a faith that Austen herself and previous adaptations had in abundance. A key theme in much of Austen’s work is that because of social mores and the rules of propriety, people couldn’t just say what they meant, but had to obfuscate and convey intention through subtlety like double-speak, tone, facial expressions, etcetera. Think Darcy helping Elisabeth into the carriage in Pride & Prejudice (2005). Emma (2020) also does this particularly well; a good example is when Mr Martin runs after Harriet to advise that the road is flooded and she should take another route - meanwhile their facial expressions are full of an aching longing and pain, and while he’s talking about roads he’s really saying I still care for you even though you rejected me. And the Sally Hawkins Persuasion (2007) spares no amount of film in showing longing, yearning looks between characters, while Hawkins does something I would call ‘lung-acting’ where she conveys emotion merely by how she struggles to take a breath.

Netflix’s Persuasion wouldn’t know subtlety if it hit it over the head. The writers, for example, presume that we need not only the image of Anne crying in the bathtub to understand that she is sad and anguished, but that for proper comprehension we also need Anne telling us directly how awfully terribly sad she is (and this is one of the better parts of narration she has).

The choice to have Anne talk directly to camera, in some misguided attempt to replicate the charm of Fleabag, means that Johnson spends much of her dialogue in pure exposition which is neither interesting nor necessary. Plot points that could be made obvious from making the characters actually, you know, interact are substituted with sweeping faux-prophetic explanations of Anne’s relationship to others from her own mouth.

Moreover, other characters make a particular point to express how wonderful Anne is, verbally and very on-the-nose. I can’t direct-quote because I can’t bring myself to watch it again, but Louisa, Mr Harville, Mr Elliot and others all verbally extol Anne’s virtues in a rather heavy-handed attempt to convince the audience that Anne is really, truly, a very good and clever woman. But the thing is, you don’t need that if your character is behaving in a way consistent with those aforementioned virtues. Because then we can just see it. Show, don’t tell. And fundamentally, Johnson’s Anne Elliot does not behave consistent to how others describe her.

In the 2007 adaptation with Sally Hawkins, we as the audience see her exhibit deeply capable and compassionate behaviour, so that when characters later on sparingly praise these characteristics in her, the audience already agrees with it from the evidence of our own eyes. By contrast, the Netflix adaptation alters some fundamental points at which we see these virtues displayed.

When Little Charles falls from the tree, this is how it plays out in the book: “ Anne had every thing to do at once; the apothecary to send for, the father to have pursued and informed, the mother to support and keep from hysterics, the servants to control, the youngest child to banish, and the poor suffering one to attend and soothe; besides sending, as soon as she recollected it, proper notice to the other house, which brought her an accession rather of frightened, enquiring companions, than of very useful assistants.”

Ron Bass and Alice Winslow (the writers of the script for the Netflix adaptation) have Johnson’s Anne peace-keepingly agree to miss the party and watch over the boy purely to diffuse Mary’s complaining. Then, she gets drunk on a windowseat overlooking the party, presumably while the child himself is asleep downstairs. She opens the window and yells out to Wentworth, ducking down below the window when he hears and looks over. She accidentally knocks over a gravy boat in her inebriated stumbling and the gravy drips onto her head where she sits hiding on the floor.

This disparity between book and film is not just a quibble about wanting the source material accurately honoured. It is a problem because through making this change to the plot the narrative loses the characterisation of Anne that it fundamentally needed in order to be coherent. The audience requires scenes of her deftly handling the crisis with little Charles’ fall in order to validate Anne’s characterisation as capable, good in a crisis, level-headed, and strong. We need to see that this is the case, not merely be told it is so.

For another example, the case of Anne and Mrs Smith is treated thusly in the book (skip to tl;dr if you cbf): “ Anne had gone unhappy to school... and Miss Hamilton... had been useful and good to her in a way which had  considerably lessened her misery, and could never be remembered with indifference... ”

And also: “She was a widow and poor.  Her husband had been extravagant; and at his death, about two years before, had left his affairs dreadfully involved.  She had had difficulties of every sort to contend with, and in addition to these distresses had been afflicted with a severe rheumatic fever, which, finally settling in her legs, had made her for the present a cripple.  She had come to Bath on that account, and was now in lodgings near the hot baths, living in a very humble way, unable even to afford herself the comfort of a servant, and of course almost excluded from society. Their mutual friend answered for the satisfaction which a visit from Miss Elliot would give Mrs. Smith, and Anne therefore lost no time in going.  She mentioned nothing of what she had heard, or what she intended, at home.  It would excite no proper interest there.”

and: “ Anne found in Mrs. Smith the good sense and agreeable manners which she had almost ventured to depend on, and a disposition to converse and be cheerful beyond her expectation.  Neither the dissipations of the past--and she had lived very much in the world--nor the restrictions of the present, neither sickness nor sorrow seemed to have closed her heart or ruined her spirits.”

Tl;dr: Mrs Smith is Anne’s old school friend who is widowed and poorly. Despite being of significantly higher social status than Mrs Smith, Anne goes to visit her in Bath on the pretense it will raise Mrs Smith’s spirits and doesn’t tell her family about it. Anne rekindles an affectionate friendship with her, even admiring her for her optimism.

But... Mrs Smith is erased from the Netflix version.

Again, this is not a quibble about accuracy, it’s about whether the text can actually function coherently.

In losing Mrs Smith, we lose everything that this friendship contributes to the text. We lose the understanding that Anne values the qualities of other people’s characters over their social status or wealth (particularly when we contrast her like for Mrs Smith with her dislike for Lady Dalrymple). We lose that insight that she has this mentality contrary to the values of the rest of her family who are insufferably social-climby -- i.e.: unlike them, Anne’s not a snob. To wit, we lose the evidence that Anne’s rejection of Wentworth eight years ago was definitely not for classist reasons, as here she is having a social connection to a poor and disabled widow without a care for their class difference. We also lose the second example (along with Wentworth) of how Anne’s affection for someone can be long-running and endure many years without contact, and thereby, how in this respect her character is constant and loyal despite the logical conclusion from her mistake eight years ago and Wentworth’s suppositions.

We as the audience not only need these things, the other characters need it, too, in order to judge Anne’s character as highly and praisingly as they do. The showing of these qualities in her through her actions legitimises all the conclusions other characters make about her, and helps those characters and the audience both to comprehend how and why the plot plays out as it does, with Anne and Wentworth’s eventual reconciliation.

The absence of this observational evidence from the Netflix adaptation means that the other character’s insistence on Anne’s virtuousness is compensatory. It aims to do what the movie visually and narratively has not provided. I can only presume that the writers realised they were writing-out these character-building moments in favour of snappiness and comedic scenes, and sought to reinstate Anne’s integral characteristics through dialogue.

But, it doesn’t work.

We end up with characters doing one thing and saying another. And I as an audience member felt particularly patronised for having all the authorial intentions spelled out to me.

And so, even if I put some mental blinkers on and pretend the source material doesn’t exist. Even if I pretend the anachronisms in the worldbuilding, dialogue, costuming and plot are deliberate and considered a-la Bridgerton. Even if I try to the see the merits of the film for themselves (I thought Cosmo Jarvis was quite good and wish he was in a better version, and Mia McKenna-Bruce was kind of delightful as Mary in a way Mary never is). Even with all that, the Netflix version is not a functional text. And it’s not bad because of any of those other reasons, it’s bad because of that. It’s badly written. It condescends its audience. And the facts of the events don’t match the testimony of the characters. It just, makes no sense.