#Me watching the show: Wow she like. Sucks. In any other show this role would be reserved for the sucky chad older brother who bullies his

[hadesknockedupintheunderworld]

"We need more messy/awful/cringefail female characters!"

You guys couldn't even handle Wanda Whipple...

[zoe-oneesama]

Hi Zoe! I see you're done with Party Crasher. If I'm not wrong, Frozer is up next. What do you think about the episode?

This episode is a prime example of why Season 2 has nearly no rewatch value after you've endured Season 4. It's so hard to watch with hindsight.

So, the biggest funk of this episode was definitely Chat Noir - it was him when the episode came out and it still is now. Literally opening the episode with another romantic gesture when Ladybug confirms this MUST be post "Glaciator" because she very gently and sadly reminds him that he knows she's in love with someone else.

Well, he took the rejection SO WELL in "Glaciator", so why should we expect any different here?

This episode (paired with "Glaciator") is the episode that launched the "Nice Guy(tm) Chat Noir" idea. He says things in this episode that I swear were pulled right from reddit. He decides they should go solo because she turned down his rose... "We don't always have to do everything together, after all. It's not like we're a couple." Seriously dude? All this time together, our partnership, our relationship, our friendship, it all means nothing because I don't want to be your girlfriend? Because I was honest about having feelings for someone else? THAT'S the kind of person you are? What a great role model.

But then he's over it, like, immediately. I'm so confused as to why this was even here. To make Chat Noir look like a dick? Way to sell your main love interest, show~

So Sadrien sadly takes his sad rose to fencing practice and gets his sad ass handed to him by Kagami, who's like "wtf kicking your ass is boring if you just let me" and he asks her "do you ever feel like you're stuck, replaying the same story over and over again and hoping for it change but nothing ever does?"

And Kagami's response is her infamous "the biggest mistake a fencer can make isn't choosing the wrong technique. It's choosing the wrong target. Change targets" advice.

First of all, her metaphor sucks. Fencing is a 1 vs 1 sport, you can't "change targets". You can switch from aiming for the chest to aiming for the leg, but it's still the same opponent, weirdo.

Second of all, nothing about what Adrien just asked you suggested he was talking about a person or a romantic suitor whatsoever. Your only hint was that he was holding his Reject Rose, but even so, why wouldn't your first thought be that he's talking about his father???

Seriously, this could've been a good lead in for the Adri////gami set up if Kagami had assumed he was talking about Gabriel and responded with empathy. "Yes, sometimes I feel like that with my own mother, but I realized I don't like feeling like I'm waiting for change to happen. I make my own change happen. If you want your story to be different, maybe it has to come from you."

And Adrien, still thinking romantically, is struck. 'Wow' he thinks, 'she understands me in a way that honestly? Not a lot of people would.' And he declares that she's right, he's going to change his story starting now, and hands her the rose, starting their romance story.

But no, sure, a bad fencing metaphor about how he should forget other hoes and look at her, that works too, who needs BUILD UP amiright? I was a fool to think that maybe Kagami would need a REASON to be into the Writer's Pet Adrien when he's OBVIOUSLY already PERFECT.

Not that any of this matters since Adrien all but tells Kagami to her face "I had a great time but I'm sticking to my original pick." and she says she'll wait for him, girl, have some self respect.

But that's getting ahead of ourselves. After the two part ways, we have a scene with him and Plagg about Adrien maybe switching targets, and uh..

Look, I noticed a real problem with the dialogue in this episode - there's a lack of connectivity throughout the episode with the things people say. I know I make jokes about the show having five writers per episode who don't communicate with each other, but here it reeeeeally feels like maybe that's not a joke.

Like here: Plagg suggests that Adrien is going to start pursuing Kagami and Adrien rejects this idea because he's in love with Ladybug ("No, no way. Ladybug's the only one I love), and it probably wouldn't work with Kagami anyway because it's his technique that's wrong and he needs advice on what to do.

This seems to suggest that Adrien isn't going to go after Kagami, and if he did, it would be to test out a technique on her. Like going out with Kagami would be practice. Now that's obviously not verbatim what he said and could justifiably be seen as reaching, but do you see my confusion? Not once does he say anything about being into Kagami or wanting to go after her (though admit-ably he did give her the Reject Rebound Rose).

But then two scenes later when he's asking Marinette for help, he's describing Kagami as if he's in love with her, as if he's really interested in her. Where did THAT come from between scenes?! Writers! COMMUNICATE!

Also he says in the French version that they have classes together, and in English that they study together, and I would just like to see WHEN?!

There's another example when Marinette goes off to the bathroom after Kagami gives more..."advice". Tikki asks why she's sad, and instead of pointing out the very obvious "Oh, I don't know Tikki, my crush asked me for advice on how to get close to another girl, I'm third wheeling his date and am forced to watch them skate around holding hands, she practically claimed him when Phillipe was trying to recruit Adrien for his ice rink by reminding him AND me that Adrien is with HER, aaaaand I fell on my butt in front of him, her, and the guy who I also have caught feelings for but am feeling bad about potentially leading him on because of my lingering feelings for Adrien. And then my crush's date basically told me it's my fault that all these things are happening to me because I 'hesitate'. That might have something to do with why I'm sad."

But instead her answer is she likes Luka but doesn't know if what's between them is that they're just friends, like with Adrien????

Even if that WERE a part of it, that's not the thing that started this or even the thing that set her off. So why is that the thing they made her stuck on??? That's like the fourth thing on the list of Things That's Made Her Upset. Her answer sounds like it comes from a pre-edited script or something.

So yeah, the dialogue is...weird. But that's almost normal for Miraculous Ladybug at this point.

So anyway, Adrien vows to get advice from someone who is Not Plagg and realizes very quickly that every adult in his life is utterly worthless so he scouts out his friends. Except of the 4 couples he zones in on (Marc and Nathaniel, Ivan and Mylene, Alya and Nino, Juleka and Rose) 3/4 of them are together because of Ladybug and an akuma.

"Hey bro, I need some advice, how'd you and Alya get together?"

"Oh, Ladybug locked us in a panther cage during an akuma attack after you tried to set me up with her best friend."

Maybe it's not as crazy that he went to Marinette as I initially thought.

(That said this gave me flashbacks because for some reason all my friends came to me for relationship advice despite being chronically single for most of high school, so, I felt that pain Marinette.)

And just...wow, writers, I know Marinette is your punching bag but this was just cruel. Having her crush, the guy YOU'RE SELLING as her true love go off about how pretty and special and amazing this other girl is right to her face? Is this supposed to be an equivalent heartbreak to what happened in the first scene? Because this doesn't feel equal, this just feels malicious on the writer's end. Ladybug didn't grind into Chat Noir's face how AWESOME the mystery boy is and at least Chat Noir got to throw a tantrum about it, where's Marinette's tantrum?!

I'll say the one point I give to the Girl Squad is them telling Marinette she's crazy for agreeing to third wheel this date and that she should definitely cancel on Adrien. If he can't handle being alone with the girl he wants to date, that sounds like a them problem, there's being selfless and then there's being masochistic, girl.

But then they lose that point for yelling over her when she tells them she's going to try being Just a Friend for Adrien.

The Girl Squad scene is also frustrating in this way that Miraculous is continuously frustrating in that the characters just don't quite say the thing that makes sense (like in "Maledictator" with Marinette calling Chloe "useless" instead of things that would actually stick like "bully"). Marinette says she's giving up on Adrien because she stutters around him and dating would be impossible if she can't even talk to him, and that she's calmer when she's trying to be his friend instead of dating him.

But what she should have said was "he just asked me advice on how to ask out someone else, he's clearly not into me!"

She has a good point with the stuttering thing, but that puts all the weight on HER for the relationship not taking off. It's HER that can't get it together, it's HER that can't get her words out, it's HER that's stopping them from being together. Meanwhile Adrien's over here asking out other girls, calling her "just a friend", not showing up to meet ups that she'll be at... Hell, he tried to set HER up with SOMEONE ELSE ("Animan"). He doesn't want to date her! Message Recieved!

So she brings in Luka, (which honestly, smart move, because how much would Kagami have REALLY hated Marinette if she showed up by herself on THEIR date) and we get The Metaphors.

Marinette is clumsy, this is a known fact, yet the only times she's clumsy at the ice rink is because she's focused on Adrien - when she focuses on Luka, she's smooth, easily let's him guide her, and is pulling off professional moves. ALMOST like he's a good, calming influence compared to the chaotic energy that Adrien brings.

The "problem" (if you're writing for this show and want to encourage Adrien and Marinette being together) is that the episode never challenges why this should be a bad thing. They want her to be with Adrien, soooo why are they basically visually proving why Luka is the better option? Why does this whole episode feel like it's actively trying to turn Marinette away from Adrien?

I mean obviously they're starting the Love Rival drama, but I mean long term. With the Skating Metaphor and Marinette bringing up how her own inability to think clearly around Adrien is a problem, and then never COUNTERING those problems, why are we supposed to root for them again?

Oh because Luka gave his consent in the end, not because of any merit that Adrien brings to the table, got it.

Then there's the obvious Two Guys Reaching Out to Help Marinette Up and She Hesitates Because Her Heart is in Conflict Metaphor. I only give this one props because at least none of the characters explained that one, they just let that one speak for itself, even if it was obvious.

Though that one accidentally extended when the reason Marinette doesn't choose is because Phillipe forces his way into the interaction to beg Adrien to join his rink - kinda like random, out of pocket shit that she has no control over is CONSTANTLY MESSING UP HER ATTEMPTS TO MAKE MOVES.

Gosh Kagami, maybe Marinette would've made a choice if she'd gotten five seconds between them without INTERRUPTIONS! Maybe she even would've grabbed BOTH of their hands, then what would you have done?

Sighhhh, I'm sorry Kagami, I don't mean to rip on you. It's just that you were so freaking RUDE in this episode to anyone who wasn't Adrien (and also a little bit to Adrien tbh). You can turn Phillipe's offer down without telling him his favorite sport is basically trash. You can help Marinette up without rubbing it in that you got the guy first. You can let Adrien turn Phillipe down himself without peeing on him, as if you're jealous of a this guy just for asking Adrien to join a sport ("he already fences with ME!"). Let the boy speak for himself - maybe he actually was interested, did you check in on what he wants?

Yes, Adrien shouldn't just go along with people to make them happy, but he's not going to learn to stand up for himself if you just speak for him.

And Luka...well you're just here for a good time, aren't you? So patient, so kind, so the only person in the room who can read the writing on the wall. At least someone in this group isn't lying to themselves.

I'm losing steam, so let's rapid fire:

I knew I'd hate Phillipe as soon as I saw him and I was right. He's annoying and I bet he's the reason no one wants to come to his stupid ice rink because he's lurking there interrupting other people's dates. I was on Andre's side when he ragged on him for trying to force people to join (though dude you gave him ten minutes, what did you think would happen?)

Luka's so magical he can play electric guitar without an amp or any sound amplifying device, impressive. Or the people on this show have never touched an instrument.

Also Luka, your advice to just be natural and go with the flow is great and also WASTED on Adrien, his "natural" is a DISASTER.

Adrien panic-lying that he brought Marinette to teach him how to skate was pointless. Maybe Kagami would've thought it was endearing you were too nervous to go on a date with her alone if you were just honest about it, but now it's just Another Thing Kagami has to turn into a competition because she sees Marinette as a RiVaL (which honestly amazing jumping to conclusions because wut, where'd you get that idea?)

Also, does Kagami shoot a bow? She says she only participates in "noble" sports, like bow or fencing, but I can't tell if she's listing sports she considers noble, or listing sports she participates in. Also what does a "noble" sport even mean?

S-stalac-Tikki...and Plagg-lagla. I know it's Plagg-Glacier in English, but it's Plagg-lagla in French and it sounds like Adrien's VA is gargling or stuttering when he tries to say it.

What happened to Luka and Kagami, you're not even going to show them frozen?!

Frozer is so ugly omigoooood not looking forward to drawing him.

So yeah, anyway, Frozer is hard to watch, especially with hindsight, the bad parts with Chat Noir are really bad but don't stick around long, so there's that, and while it doesn't feel like the characters are being too bad during this whole "dating" fiasco, it suuuuure feels like the writers were~

[fullmetal-scar-simping]

Alright, my Brotherhood character tier list. There are a few characters I could shuffle back and forth between the lower tiers, but thus is the nature of finding most of the cast to be unseasoned and bland.

A mountain of salt and indifference lays ahead:

First tier: No one should be surprised about my top pick. He's the one character I was absolutely rooting for from start to finish, and WOW did I hate what this narrative puts him through. The way this show takes every opportunity to kick him in the ribs while the war criminal characters are given so much sympathy was a ride (derogatory). The absolute anxiety this anime has around what Scar's character represents is palpable and it sucked so hard. In spite of these massive issues, he still managed to be a rich, layered character, and he was the absolute highlight to what was otherwise a trainwreck of an experience. I nearly dropped this show multiple times, with the scene in the abandoned Briggs town being the one that nearly turned me away completely. There are only two reasons I kept watching: to better articulate my opinions on this adaptation, and because of Scar. If he was removed from the story I would have absolutely ditched this mess. Though the disappointing conclusion to his story, post-Promised Day, as a military collaborator and reformist? Hurts my soul. Scar, babygirl? Sweetheart? You're fantastic and you deserved infinitely better than *Hand waves at the entirety of Brotherhood*

Second tier: I really was quite surprised how much I liked these two! Hohenheim was an actually well written character, he was complex and sympathetic, his arc had an emotional weight to it that the show's writing frankly bungles for the majority of its other characters. A very different character from the version of him I'm familiar with, and I liked this one quite a lot!

As for Mei, I won't lie. When she first got introduced I rolled my eyes, thinking she would fall into the "peppy mascot-adjacent kid who brightens up the dour characters and pays no mind to anything around her" role. And although she does match the archetype to some extent, she doesn't end up hollow. Her zeal for combat, her passion towards saving her clan, the care she shows for others and her unabashed friendship with Scar won me over. I really appreciated that she seemed less concerned with ruling an empire and more with securing the safety of her people. Watching her fight was always a treat too (that choreography, man), though I wasn't remotely invested in the romance angle presented with her and the Elrics.

Third Tier: An odd grab-bag of characters that I still liked enough, but on a comparatively superficial level. Izumi was cool but (like half of the Brotherhood cast) was often played up more for comedy relief when she wasn't doling out beatdowns (and often the comedy was because she's such a powerhouse). There wasn't enough here for me to be more invested in her than I would prefer.

Scar's brother is a brief glimpse of a character in any version of fma, so it's not like he has much of an opportunity to shine on his own versus what he provides for the plot. Still, I like him well enough. Too bad he's the "positivity even in the face of imperial aggression" guy, as a key antithesis to what Scar symbolizes pre-reformism.

Greed's effortlessly cool, and although I can appreciate that this time around he has an ongoing role in the story versus FMA 03, I wasn't won over by his particular arc. I can see what Arakawa & co were going for regarding themes of community, and Greed is a big part of that contrast against the other isolationist and war-mongering homunculi, but I'm gonna be real here: the "power of friendship" story is not something I come to fma for. (Jokes on me, that was pretty much what the manga and its direct adaptation are all about.) It can be done with some gravitas, but it felt more... Juvenile, simplistic. Still, I liked the "greed doesn't need to be a bad characteristic" bit, regarding the desire for other people in your life. That's about as interesting as it got for me.

Yeah, McDougal is more a vehicle to kickstart the show than he is a character. And yeah, he's an example of how this show regards radical actions against the state without working within said state. But I'm always gonna stan any character that seeks to destroy the seat of power in an empire, even if that character is meant to be an anti-radical strawman. So fuck you, Brotherhood, McDougal was right. He was the single Amestrian war criminal who actually took the correct actions against the institution he once served: he abandoned it instead of reaping the class benefits from its rampant bloodshed (y'know, unlike our "valiant" heroes, Mustang et al), worked to destroy it, and nearly accomplished exactly that.

Paninya! What can I say, I like Paninya. She's clever, fleet of foot, sweet as can be, and a solid fighter too. What's not to love? No version of fma provides enough Paninya content, and that's a bummer. Also, stfu Winry with your "stop stealing" crap. Damn.

Here's where we start to get controversial. The fourth tier:

I know Ling's a core character. I know he's a fan favourite. I know he's meant to be a paragon on what a "righteous ruler" ought to be. I can't yawn hard enough. I don't hate the guy, and he's got enough entertaining moments for me to mostly provide a polite shrug if asked for my overall opinion on this character. But man, the amount of "the system can be good, we just need good rulers/soldiers" that comes packaged with his character arc and its attending themes gives me critical organ failure.

Winry. Oh, Winry. As much as I like having more screentime for her, I just. Ugh. I really dislike how she got written into being the heartbroken white girl who rises above hatred and revenge, as though she is the ultimate victim of the Amestrian genocide of the Ishvalans. She "breaks the cycle" (ugh) because "her hands weren't meant to kill" (ugghhhhhhhhhh). She's still a headstrong, passionate character, skilled in a complex trade, and overall a kind person. I like that about her! But fuckin' YEESH with that brazen ploy to make Scar look less justified in his actions by throwing the Rockbells and Winry into his backstory and ongoing arc. Like Ed, she exists to be Broho's "moral" backbone, which ruins any potential for complex interiority. Also, I don't care about the good-little-future-wife shtick either. I appreciate that she remains an automail mechanic even after starting a family, but I'm bored to tears that this was the ultimate payoff to her narrative.

On paper, Truth and the character-specific Gates are interesting concepts. In execution, Brotherhood manages to render Truth into a rather goofy entity who happens to dole out consequences for alchemic taboos. And my bias is that fma 03's non-personified Truth-as-concept and a Gate that is wholly indifferent to human suffering, and wholly unsolvable > a personified Truth with a circus theme, cracking jokes while waiting for you to solve their grand Riddle.

So I'm putting Greedling as a separate entry from Greed and Ling 1) because he's a different enough character from both while still serving as a vehicle for both of their arcs, and 2) because WOW was I disappointed with the entire twist of Father 'granting' Ling his wish, monkey's paw style. And my disappointment stems largely from the fact that Ling maintains himself. Like. This body snatching ends with a teary friendship speech, Ling getting his body back intact, a philosopher stone, and his seat as the new emperor of Xing. Greedling, as an amalgamated character, never properly feels like a combination of the two, nor does he come with any real downsides or repercussions for Ling (for Greed, the mind reset from being liquidated is where he suffers tragedy, not from being given possession over a human being's body). Oh no, Ling has become Greed! Now he gets to argue with his new homunculus pal in the interim between this minor setback (where he's become physically stronger btw) and getting everything he wanted! Riveting.

Fifth tier: I won't go into every character on the average tier. I don't dislike them, I'm mostly neutral to em. They're fine. Sid, Pinako, Madame Christmas, Trisha, and Sciezka could all stand to be more fleshed out. I have a soft spot for Pinako, and I love the concept of Madame Christmas (the head mistress of a brothel who helps undermine the state? And a grade A hot older, larger woman who isn't designed to hide her age and stature? Hell yeah!) Sciezka's fun for the one episode we see her, but she's just a one-off, unlike her 03 counterpart. Shame. And the kids are cute and inoffensive, and Gracia's there too.

Sixth tier: Brotherhood's famously bloated cast will inevitably have characters that, much like the previous tier, are average due to having very little meat on the bones character- and plot-wise, or whose presence don't ultimately add or detract from the story, BUT! The dedication from those fans who see something more to those characters can really enhance my appreciation for what would otherwise be more additions to the average tier for me. Shoutout to Manfred (of Funny Bido Comics fame) for his lovely comics and artwork centering the Devil's Nest cast. At least now I can look at these guys and fondly think "Fuckin' sweet". As for the military chimera dudes, I wish there was more to them in-canon for me to better enjoy what they could have added to the cast, but while watching Brotherhood it felt like a lot of bloat. Still, charming fanart has managed to make me look at them a bit more favourably. (I should have put this tier above the basal Average tier, but I'm a fool and a charlatan, so.)

Seventh tier: Critters! Not much else to this one. They don't really count as characters per say (Xiao Mei being the closest one I could call a character, kinda), but hey, they're cute. To be honest, this tier should exist outside of the hierarchy since they don't really fall above or below most of the tiers, barring the top and bottom 3.

Eighth tier: The "both sides!" clutch that Brotherhood rests so much of its goddamned weight upon. Great that they helped wounded Ishvalans! Shit that they're not really characters, they're just perfect white martyrs for Winry's and Ed's character arcs, and a repeated shitfest for Scar's arc. Not all Amestrians, but definitely all Ishvalan rebels, amirite Arakawa?

Ninth tier: Compelling is perhaps a strong word here. They could have been compelling. Father, in Brotherhood's vacuum, could be an antagonist rife with symbolism and pathos. The attempt is there. But instead he ultimately feels more like a cardboard cutout that acts as the RPG final big bad. Bradley and Pride are at least more interesting as characters, and I felt Bradley being a human long possessed by the Wrath homunculus worked far better as a concept over Greedling. Overall the Brotherhood homunculi are flat tires, and as I said in the tier name, they're meant to exonerate the military apparatus by being the core problem with it. (Anyone else notice how much more sympathy the narrative gives King Fuhrer Bradley over Scar? He has a WIFE you know. Isn't he so soft? Man, what a good show /s)

Tenth tier: Easily forgettable. I don't even have anything unique to say about most of them. What I can say is: I wish I liked Lan Fan, Barry and Gluttony are whatever, I don't feel pity for the genocidal dictator's wife, and Sloth was a soggy wet fart.

Eleventh tier: The "you are all so thoroughly overshadowed by your 03 counterparts that I can't feel anything but a numb indifference or disillusionment for these versions" tier.

Al just. Feels too prim and quiet here. He disappears in the backdrop of 400 characters vying for screentime once you hit the halfway point of this show and he hardly re-emerges from that point onwards. Even when we switch back to his side of the journey he's overshadowed by everyone around him. Him meeting his dad in Liore, being puppeteered by Pride and his subsequent mutual entrapment with Pride seems to be all I can recall about Al after splitting from Ed in Briggs (until the final showdown with Twink Father). Characterization feels so flat, especially since I've got years of 03 Al lodged in my brain, and that version is just phenomenally written. Sorry but Broho Al inspires nothing for me, and he doesn't leave 03 Al's shadow one bit.

White Rose haunts my nightmares. And having her gush about how grateful she is for Ed showing her "ignorant" ass the True Way Forward (even with the decimation of Liore) with Winry (while the audience gets to ogle Winry taking a bath lmfao) was just. 😐

Calling Brotherhood Rick a "flash in the pan character" would be an overestimation of his extremely brief presence here. I forgot he was even in this show. F

Maria Ross may not necessarily be the most done-dirty of all the mutual characters across the two fma anime, but man, she just doesn't hit the same high notes as 03 Ross. Brotherhood did manage to get me worked up when I thought Mustang had murdered her, but after that was cleared up, she gets bookmarked until she can return as just a cog for the coup to commence. Sure she had this important role in-universe, but overall her actual impact on the core characters and the broader story was negligible. I get it, she's simply not supposed to be That Character in this version (much like Broho Sciezka vs 03 Sciezka). It just sucks seeing her be more formal and uninvolved with the Elrics, unlike her bond with them in the first anime which really made her shine. As it stands, Envy taking on her form to kill Hughes felt like her most memorable contribution to this story lol

WHAT THE FUCK DID THEY DO TO YOU, LUST?! OMFG WHY?? I still can't believe this version of her exists. Holy shit, I was not prepared to be so thoroughly rocked by how badly this character was going to be handled. She was nothing more than a sexy henchman with a D Plot about a feigned "relationship" with Havoc (which was a steaming load of nothing btw, since we only see this for one scene that lasts, what, a few seconds?) We get a joke about how much Havoc can't resist her massive titties, replete with water sloshing sound effects and anime jiggle physics, and then she fails to kill a pair of idiots which leads to her getting flambeed to death. All while being horny for Mustang's declaration of Immense Rippling Manhood with strong undercurrents of Monogamous Codependent Dedication for Riza. Just. What the fuck. What the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the actual fu-

Twelfth tier: Fuck these guys. Love how much screentime the characters I beloathed got. Truly stupendous. I don't hate them all equally, but my dislike was palpable every time any of these assholes were on screen. And keep in mind, I hate them most for what they are for the themes, conclusions, and plot of the show far more than merely how I perceive them as individual characters (which doesn't completely eclipse the fact that I also don't like them as characters either lol).

Miles: One of Arakawa's many mouthpieces for her great takes on reforming a racist institution and why radical violent retaliation against an imperial giant is WrongBad. Make the genociders more diverse! "Did ya ever think of JOINING the military so you can CHANGE MINDS in the boonies at a military base on a border with another empire we're warring with, huh Scar? What were you doing while the military was genociding you and our people in Ishval, hm? Why did you fight back instead of making more gains for this monstrous apparatus? Shoulda signed up to be a pig instead of getting blown up, idiot." -Miles

This Ed is a fucking travesty. I cannot believe the monumental poor taste of the fma fandom for seeing this Ed as a better written, more human, worthwhile character than the 2003 version. It's inconceivable! This pompous, chauvinist racist is your guy? He becomes a meat-headed comedy relief character post-Briggs/pre-coup, which is great because I already couldn't take this version of him seriously. You'd think I'd have more to say, but honestly? 03 Edward Elric already exists. Therefore this jackass is fully irrelevant to me.

I waffled between putting Buccaneer in either the 10th tier (Literally Who Cares) or this one, and I thought "Y'know what? If the other core Briggs cunts are in the 12th tier, then why not keep the loyal squad together?" Piglet, nothing more to add.

The fact that the conclusion to Alex Armstrong's character arc was apologizing to his frothing nationalist sister for not doing enough genocide at his country's behest lands this coward here. A coward not for making a (meagre, failed) attempt at saving some Ishvalans, but for being a sniveling aristocratic boot-boy with no principles to compel him to turn away from the source of his family's generational wealth.

Cornello was an inept clown here. An easy "Literal Who" in this version, but hey he still exploits the Liorans for his own gain. With nothing else to his character or place in the story (which is arguably quite redundant given Brotherhood's handling of the timeline of events), the bin is the only place for him.

Shou Tucker. He's a monster, we all hate him, and yet he still committed markedly fewer atrocities, including against children, than any one of your military faves.

Overrated trash Olivier, the peak patriotic liberal wet dream. She's a top-cop who girlbossed her way to a male-dominated field (warmongering and genocide! But "feminist™")! She spouts pseudo-progressive (progressive if you squint and don't have standards) rhetoric while supporting her nation's imperialist agenda! (Optics>material actions, just how libs love it.) She has no qualms with ethnic cleansing but she doesn't see colour, so obviously she's a 'badass' babe who can dommy-mommy you whenever she even deigns to look your way! But she also has a heart of gold, because she cares about the porkchops under her command soooooooooo much! Wow! 🤢🤮

Riza, everyone's waifu (Mustang's, the show's, and yours too). Super cool how Roy committing genocide wasn't a good enough reason to blow his skull into chunks the way she claimed she would if he ever used her father's flame alchemy for ill. Love that she even joined the military so she could gain that sweet, sweet angsty backstory with her main squeeze while slaughtering hundreds of thousands of brown people. She regretted it so much as the carnage was being carried out that she made sure to do an amazing job of sniping Ishvalans! Because she's conflicted and nuanced.

Pfft. Mustang. Refer to the above. And what gets me is, yeah. He (and Riza) are written to be as charming and lovable as possible. They're both practically the unofficial main duo of this show. And I can't stomach these clowns. Love that nepotism will ensure he gets to be fuhrer of Amestris once Riza's grandpappy kicks the bucket. Btw cool eyesight bro, how many alchemically murdered Ishvalans did it cost? :))))))))))))

Guys guys guys, Hughes! He's the best! He'll sign up to murder as many Ishvalan families as it takes to keep his own (at the time hypothetical) family safe (in the militarily dominant imperium for which they were never once in any danger from the ethnically different occupied country)! Good thing Brotherhood and the manga both RESPECT Hughes, unlike the 2003 anime's movie, which made him a racist pro-genocide jerk!

I don't even remember this guy's name. Genocide doctor one.

And genocide doctor two. Marcoh makes up for his unforgivable actions of making philosopher stones out of Ishvalans for the Amestrian government by giving a philosopher stone made out of Ishvalans to the future head of the Amestrian government.

Hey, does anyone recall that scene where Grumman practically Evil Monologues to himself about his chance to snatch the Fuhrership once Bradley is deposed, so that he can run the military dictatorship? No? No one? Not gonna talk about it? Not even the fact that he got exactly what he wanted? Hello?

Envy could have easily been in the tier with Bradley, Pride, and Father, or even the tier with Al, Lust, etc. But the weird pathetic shtick during his demise, where Ed makes a grand speech about how tragic Envy is, after everyone (including Scar because we gotta highlight how ~reformed~ he is) stops Mustang from killing them, and we're meant to sniffle along to the super sad 'nuance' of this character like??? Nah. Super funny how Riza then thanks Scar for making a pacifist speech at Mustang because he helped stop Mustang from "needlessly" killing Envy, when she herself failed to do exactly that in Ishval AND while staining her hands in the blood of innocents. And Ed feeling so much heartrending empathy for Envy, despite Envy having tried to kill him numerous times, they tried to kill his friends and allies, and they had murdered scores of human beings prior to all that. Yet mere moments earlier Ed was offended that Mustang and Riza had him team up with Scar. ... .... .... ....Did I mention how fucking badly this show treats Scar? So anyway I can't feel anything but disdain for this version of Envy, as yet another key point of Brotherhood's oozing hypocrisy.

Only good thing Olivier ever did was kill this guy and bury him in cement. She shoulda jumped in too. What was his name? Raven? Bah, who cares. Obviously screw him and the entire council of politicians surrounding Bradley.

Genocide doctor three.

Kimblee's a no-brainer, he's a proud fascist through-and-through. But you all know he was right about how naive and stupid Riza, Roy, and all the other idealist soldiers were for thinking their job, as a SOLDIER, was anything other than carrying out the orders of their superiors with the utmost violence. Like. You know he's correct about that, and only that, right? Because apparently even Arakawa didn't think he was right about that particular truth either, what with the Good Cop vs Bad Apples bent to her manga. Yeah so anyway, why the hell did we get a "Fuck yeah, humans rock!" speech from this pus-spewing sack of garbage, in support of Ed, after he had been eaten by Pride? Why did we get a friendship speech from fucking Kimblee?!

Disclaimer: Do I think anyone who likes or dislikes the characters I like/dislike are evil? No. Do I think anyone who likes Brotherhood (or the manga for that matter) are evil? No. Do I hate this show? ✨Yes, absolutely.✨

[katnissdoesnotfollowback]

How could you translate Katniss' internal thoughts to screen?

If you become the screenwriter for the new adaptation, what would you do?

Are there any movies or tv series which have good example of this type of narration?

Thank you 😊

@curiousnonny

Oh tough question @curiousnonny. I've literally been sitting on this one for at least a year because I've been trying to figure out how the heck I would translate more of her internal thoughts to the screen. I will say this...

I have such mixed feelings about what Gary Ross and company decided to do for the films. I get why they did it, but man did it suck at times. What I mean by that is, they turned Katniss and Peeta into The Watson character. By that, I mean that in the original Sherlock Holmes stories, Watson's role was primarily to ask questions and doubt Sherlock's theories in order to give Sherlock a chance to explain what happened and show off his so called "genius."

Haymitch has to explain certain things about the Games to Katniss and Peeta that, in the books, THEY ALREADY KNOW because they live in this world and are not idiots. And the thing is, the movies showed that the film makers DID grasp the concept of how to show us a little and trust the audience to figure out the rest. Gale's thirty second rant in the woods about "What if everyone just stopped watching... It's sick. You root for your favorites and cry when they die" (paraphrase). Movie!Gale tells us something about the Games that we get from Katniss's internal thoughts in the books. And that is that while the districts hate the Games...they partake in them. Katniss tells us about how people in 12 ENGAGE in the betting. It's become a cultural thing so that even though there are people who know the tributes, even though it might one day be you or your sweetheart or your child in the arena, the Games are STILL treated as a form of entertainment on some level...even in the districts. And Katniss knows this, which the movie shows when she tells Gale "That'll never happen" (another paraphrase).

There's also the odds board that we see very briefly in the Capitol. Now we the audience know, just from those handful of seconds, that there's wagering on the Games, without Katniss telling us. More brief scenes like that would help with the world building.

Which leads me to... it works better as a tv series. It's written by a television writer and the story is blocked and paced like a tv series. And I cannot believe that I am saying this, knowing that it winds up being so hated by so many of the fans by the final season, but Game of Thrones the tv series, at least in the first season, did a phenomenal job of translating an entire book to screen. I've only read one book and watched two seasons, so I cannot speak to later seasons/books, but wow. Just... do THAT with The Hunger Games. The added length of a tv series gives you the advantage of more scenes and less of the book being cut out. You have the luxury of included so many of the characters that got cut from the movies, which all of that will naturally bring more of Katniss's thoughts and feelings, and understanding of her world, to the forefront.

But you can't stop there, you need an actress who, at a rather young age, can tell an entire story in just a few facial expressions to play Katniss. Not to bash Jennifer Lawrence because there were some parts of her portrayal of Katniss that were excellent, but I felt like her acting was hit or miss sometimes, and at others her portrayal suffered because of both the script and the editing. Sorry not sorry. So casting is key to bringing her internal thoughts to life through acting.

From there, I hate to say it, but at some point, you do have to trust your audience to be able to pick up on things. I think you do need to include a few flashbacks, but you can slow roll them. Show us Peeta giving her the bread in flashback then cut back to Katniss on stage looking slightly horrified and confused. Peeta's trying to talk to her on the train, return to the flashback and show his mother hitting him. Let current Katniss show just a flicker of guilt followed by slight annoyance and determination. You can even keep the flashback silent, if you want. Peeta's helping clean up drunk, vomit covered Haymitch and tells Katniss that he doesn't need her help and doesn't want the Capitol attendants. In her train compartment, Katniss shows us the whole thing, starting with her Mom being nonresponsive, an emaciated Prim, a picture of her father on the mantle with the black ribbon over it and a picture of the whole family next to it. Ah yes. Audience can now deduce that Katniss's father is gone and Mom's a wreck, the family is falling apart. Then give us the sound. Katniss pawing through the trash, Mrs. Mellark screaming at her, and the gift of the bread. Your audience is smart enough to take it from there.

You'd have to give us the dandelion part later on, too, but I actually think you could work that in somehow during the arena. Have Katniss find some dandelions after the girl from 8 dies. She can stare at them, cut to the flashback of the day after the bread. K&P share a look and then end it. She sees the dandelion. Prim can mention the bread, causing Katniss to look away from the dandelion, maybe ask how Katniss got it, and then Katniss goes into the woods to gather dandelions for her family to eat. Cut back to Katniss in the arena, confusion playing on her face until she remembers she's on camera and drops the mask back down. There is so much that can be done with one second of emotion that quickly changes to something else in this situation, and while they did manage some of that with Jennifer Lawrence, I don't think they used the technique to its full advantage.

The problem is that the movies were inconsistent with how they handled this problem of translating what Katniss tells us/says to us onto the screen. At times, they spoon fed us too much and did it in the form of spoon feeding information to Katniss and Peeta that they would've already known, making our protagonists look like idiots. At other times, like with the bread flashback, they didn't give us enough, so we don't understand the stakes and the significance of that moment. Fix the inconsistencies, and I actually think they were kind of on the right track with the movies, they just didn't follow through completely or effectively.

[exoticalmonde]

I've seen one (1) Shenpai video of her playing Baldur's Gate 3, alongside creating a character with @notanegrill for his second play (first play didn't work out so well) and I am already in love with Astarion.

I'm an Astarion enjoyer and damn it not again with the white hair and pointy eared guys who can charm my shoes off in ten or less words. He sees us as food that should not be as attractive but he is a little babo shnookums and he is such a pathetic little thing that I can't help it. He can't say 'CAN I HAVE JUST A LITTLE TASTE' with those tired watery eyes and not expect me to cave in like a caprisun you sucked the air from.

All to the reluctant acceptance of some.

And the support of others.

Can't wait to dream about him.

On the flip side of the 'See mode' tab,

Speaking of dreams we got a real handsome boy this time around and they're so adorable!! I think we named him Asher and he's a Bard, which V didn't expect would matter too much until he realized that being a Wizard was easier to study that alien technology/language while trying to save that other woman. Wow names will be so hard starting from now.

I didn't save any screenshots of his final looks but maybe V will be able to provide eventually. Until then, have some of our conversations during the 2 hour long character creation.

---

V: *Reconsidering his Invitation to have me watch his stream and help make a character while I force him to check every class and read their traits so he could learn*

Me: *Waxing about the traits of Elves/Drow/Half-elves being the same which leaves him with aesthetics to work with.*

V: *Checking out the male and female body types of them in silent appreciation.*

---

Me: *Having hoped he'd show me the genital options because I saw way too many memes and was curious.*

V: *Doesn't even take their clothes off other than to show female dragonborn have cake*

Me: "Fighter is... Well... The most generic role, I guess, around the Archer/Ranger class"

---

V: *Sincerely* "I don't want to be a cutie patootie."

---

V: "Imagine, someone made a human fighter in this game."

Me: "That's like asking for bread with salt."

---

V: "Mmmm... I don't think I like the Monk class very much."

Me: "Surprising, considering you're such a monk-ey. Ahaha- Haha-" *Noticing V stopped moving the mouse around* "V, no, V, don't hang up! Pleasepleasepleaseplease... don't hang up, please!"

---

V: "Are these *points at purple* the shades of a Drow?"

Me: "Generally yeah, I think?" *Surprised I see the 'general' skin shades are also going into normal human skintones*

V: "What if I- OH! NO!"

Me: *Guffawing at snow white princess drow*

---

V: *Clicking through every imaginable hairstyle top to bottom* "This is the first game where changing the hairstyle actually makes the character look different."

Me: *Watching Asher go from pig tails to balding head* "Yeah, yeah, it's like it's a different person every time you click on one."

Both of us: *Silently admiring two hair styles, one of which is very ME and the other being very HIS type*

---

V: "How about we make the Guardian your style now!?"

Me:

---

I don't know if she's meant to have a name but she is so pretty, I think we ended up making her a Wood Elf so we played along with the forest aesthetic.

I love her.

Also this is the Shenpai video. I forgot Im a fan of her content because it's so fun to watch and the reactions are 1 to 1 with what I would have done. Love the content, the creator, actually the bestest experience of actual gameplay.

[rookie-critic]

When You Finish Saving the World (2022, dir. Jesse Eisenberg) - review by Rookie-Critic

When You Finish Saving the World was almost completely unbearable. The film follows a mother and son, played by Julianne Moore and Finn Wolfhard, as they struggle to understand one another (and Wolfhard's character Ziggy Katz frustratingly struggles to understand practically anything about the world around him) and connect in the way they used to when Ziggy was younger. It seems like a standard coming-of-age comedy-drama on the surface, but man, do all of these characters suck. I spent almost the entire film just sinking deeper and deeper into my theater chair until I thought I might just phase through it into the floor. It seems like every decision the central characters make is built around the idea of making you unbelievable uncomfortable. They are, in a lot of ways, horrible, self-serving people. When I saw it with a friend on Sunday, we were the only two people in the theater, and I think I said out loud, multiple times throughout the film, "Wow, I really hate this family." I will state that the characters are written this way almost assuredly on purpose, I don't think Eisenberg wants you to like the Katz family (the father included), they're all extremely flawed. I'm not opposed to unlikable protagonists in films, I thought Red Rocket was an extremely effective movie that had an absolute dirtbag as its central character, just to pull an example from last year. Granted, even that film I found a tough pill to swallow, and even though I really liked it I'll most likely never watch it again. Here, in When You Finish Saving the World, I don't get any kind of effective message. I'm sure that Eisenberg is trying to say something worthwhile about "white liberal" activism and the privilege that comes with being raised in a white, well-off environment, as well as the way that privilege plays into the exploitation of others to further selfish ends, but none of it really comes across for me. I see all these points and I don't have a problem with them being made, in pretty much all cases I agree with the points as written on paper, I just have absolutely nothing to latch on to emotionally. Nothing resonates with me at all because I could not care less about these characters. When the film ends the characters don't seem to have really changed at all (MINOR SPOILERS in the next sentence). Sure, they seem to have a renewed interest in each other's lives and a willingness to make a connection with one another again, but that doesn't show any kind of actual remorse or change in their ideology from all of the absolutely cringey and horrible things both of them have been doing the entire rest of the film. There's one scene involving Ziggy and a poem that his crush wrote that is almost too much. It comes out of absolutely nowhere and does nothing for the story except highlight just how completely out of touch Ziggy is and how appalling he is as a person. All of these things would be ok if the film actually portrayed them as the villains of the story, but it really seems like Eisenberg wants the audience to empathize with them by the time its all over, and I just can't understand how that's possible.

Sitting here, writing this review two days after having seen it. I'm genuinely rifling through my memories, searching for something good to say about it. I did take note of some pretty decent camerawork at a few spots in the film. Nothing that blew my socks off, just a couple of shots that caught my attention as being pretty good. Julianne Moore is, of course, a great actress and, given the material she had to work with, does a good job. Finn Wolfhard also showed a surprising amount of promise in his performance. I've been a fan of Wolfhard's, like most people, since he showed up in Stranger Things. While I do like him and think he's got talent, I feel like he's struggled to find roles as he gets older that play to his strengths, and even though I vehemently hate his character, his role in this movie does play to those strengths. I will also give it up to Alisha Boe, who plays Lila, a girl at Ziggy's high school that he has a crush on and is also one of maybe two likable characters in this movie. Maybe if the film had been about her and her struggles to deal with this completely inept teenage baby the movie might have been way better. Also, a quick aside, I feel like I've been harping on Wolfhard's character a lot in this review, but Julianne Moore's character Evelyn isn't any better. She basically spends the entirety of her portion of the film stalking a teenager.

I will acknowledge that, based on the reviews I've read, whether or not you like this movie hinges entirely on if you find the characters funny or grating, and a lot of people (my moviegoing companion included) leaned on the side of finding them funny. I'll admit to laughing at a decent chunk of the film, but it was really more a 50/50 split of genuine laughter and that anxious/nervous laughter that we all sometimes do just as a coping mechanism and a means of trying to diminish how uncomfortable we are. It's almost akin to laughing at Michael Scott in The Office doing something unbelievably awkward and upsetting, which is completely valid and, again, a lot of people really enjoy that kind of humor. After seeing When You Finish Saving the World, though, I can definitively say that it's just not for me.

Score: 4/10

Currently only in theaters.

[sunatooru]

hello!! was wondering if i could request smth? i’m assuming most schools (esp japanese ones) would be quite strict in terms of piercings and stuff so maybe smth w nekoma getting a new manager and it’s like a running joke within the team about her constantly having her hair down and she wont even tuck it behind her ears to make sure she hides her ear piercings lmaooo or if she has to tie it she ties it in a low pony making sure it covers her ears so she doesn’t get in trouble (this was me in high school oop) OKAYY so basically at training camp it’s not as strict ??? i’m assuming SO she wears her septum and her belly button piercing, maybe a tongue one too, and nekoma + other team’s reactions hehe thanks so much, if this is too long dw about it AHAHA

Hellooo this was so fun to write and I low-key relate with hiding piercings haha. Thank you for requesting and let me know if you like it xx

~

You knew the minute you pierced you ears you wouldn't be able to show them. You knew your school would never allow them but that didn't stop you. Not the first time, second time and many many times after. It was an obsession. The semi second of pain meaning nothing as you admire the final results.

You were almost bitter at the fact you had to hide your piercings. The jewellery left on your bed at home as you walk into school. You tried to remove anything that was directly seen. You figured it was too much of a hassle to take off and put on your earrings everyday, so you settled to tie your hair in a low pony. Hair covering your ears as if they didn't exist.

This of course was an unusual look. You were receiving looks from everyone. Teachers could say nothing, however, it's not like you were breaking any rules. It fact you was making sure you wouldn't break rules.

When you applied for manager for Nekoma's volleyball team and got the role, you didn't expect to get along with them so well. But that didn't mean they knew about your piercings and they made sure to tease you about your choice of hairstyle.

"I'm convinced you don't even have ears." Kuroo grinned.

Rolling your eyes you collect their towels. This wasn't new. Each team member had come up with a theory about your ears, how they looked and if they were even their. Kenma even commented on how he wished he didn't have ears so he could enjoy silence. You made sure to check up on him after that. Somehow, the nickname 'muffle ears' replaced your name. Yaku mocking how your hair covering your ears acted as mufflers. Oh how strongly you agreed with Kenma's comment in that moment. The dynamic with the team was always playful, however, only really being intense for matches or if there were any injuries. You'd brush off their comments and even call them out. Your ears were covered, not your mouth.

You learnt that in the summer the team would meet up with other school teams at Tokyo, practicing and playing matches to train better. The thought of not having hair making your neck itch,and finally letting your hair out for the day, was comforting. You also gleamed at the idea of getting to show off your piercings, knowing how much of a surprise it would be for the team. But mostly, you just missed how you look with your jewellery on.

On the first day you were too busy with setting up and scheduling that you couldn't even greet your team or the visiting ones. You didn't think it would get as busy, or how hungry boys could get.

"Hey, does Y/n have a twin?" Lev ask as he enters the gym.

"What kind of question is that? No she doesn't..do you even pay attention to information?" Yaku replies, Lev standing straight as he remembers how he forgot Yaku's advice the previous game.

"But then who's the girl who looks like Y/n but with the crazy piercings?" This piques the teams interest.

They get Lev to bring them to your so-called twin. Their mouths open in shock. They watch as you slowly push your hair behind your ears. Your earrings sparkling from the sun. And then they look at you, staring really, and see light shimmering above your lip.

"Is that-is that a septum piercing?" Yamamoto gasps.

"What the- muffle ears!" Kuroo shouts.

Your head snaps to the direction of his voice. You try to hide your smirk as they look at you with widen eyes. You give them a wave before they are stood in front of you.

"Hey guys, are you hungry?" You motion to the laid out of snacks but their gaze don't waver. Their eyes almost bugle out when they catch the silver on your tongue.

"How many piercings do you even have?" Kuroo asks and the rest of the team eagerly wait for the answer, except Kenma, he's somewhere avoiding everyone.

You grin as you show off your piercings and they just watch you excitedly point and answer their questions.

"Wow! You look so cool!" You turn and see a boy with black and grey streaks of hair approach you.

"Bokuto!"

"Kuroo!" They greet each other and you watch as a boy with dark hair quickly come behind Bokuto.

"Is this your manager? I thought your school didn't allow piercings?" Bokuto looks at you.

"Oh they don't. I just take them off or hide them." You answer and the boy, who you learn is called Akaashi, watches you attentively before flicking his eyes to your piercings. You blush under his gaze, not use to having this many people (boys) staring at you.

"Oh we have a game against you next, so let's go." Kuroo states, him and the team starts to walk away but he stops and turns.

"Save some food for us, muffle ears!" You suck in your lip.

"So you're not going to change that name?!" You huff and he grins.

"Nope." He gives you a quick wink and you feel your face get warmer.

The day goes on, more people asking about your piercings and more people looking surprised. Everyone was nice though. No judgement just pure curiosity.

It's finally break time. You watch as high school boys swarm the snack tables. Everyone grabbing a slice of watermelon to cool off the summer heat. You try to clean up but one of the boys almost run into you. You hold the tray you're carrying high so nothing drops, making your shirt lift. This catches Kenma's attention.

"She has a belly piercing(?)" he mumbles but Kuroo hears and instantly looks at you. But he's not the only one. The jewellery reflects off light and gains everyone's attention.

"Is that really Y/n?" Yaku chooses to ignore Lev, not wanting to waste his energy for the next match.

[blessednereid]

Pity the Living

Daniel Sharman x Reader Series

A/N: The Much Requested, and By Requested, I mean @rogershoe wanted me to write this, MY DANIEL SHARMAN FANFICTION!!!!!! The character that Y/N plays is based on my OC for FTWD and is not an actual character in FTWD. Basic Premise of the setting for this chapter is that they're in high-school/ secondary school. But for the majority of the story(minus flashbacks) it's set in 2016/17 when s3 of FTWD was filmed.

Story Summary: When (Y/N) (L/N) reunites with a high-school friend on the set of the job she's been working on for the past 2-3 years, not only is she excited to work with the guy who inspired her to go into acting, but to hear about what he's done since she's seen him. But the more they talk, the more she realizes, this reunion is not going the way she had planned.

CW: Cursing? brief mention of alcohol, anxiety, mentions of food, fake dagger, fake blood, bets,

☆◦ 。＼｜／。◦☆

Career Day

☆◦ 。／｜＼。◦☆

Most of the students around you were chorusing to the tune of your school anthem, but not you. You had heard the melody and sung it almost a million times. Whether you were exaggerating or not, not even you knew. Instead, you were whispering and laughing with one of your best friends, Daniel Sharman.

You met Daniel when you first came to the school. You didn't know many people. You didn't even know yourself in this place. It was a completely foreign experience, but he stuck by your side and showed you around.

Since then, you had made friends, joined the swim team, learned your way around the school without ending up in the boys' restrooms instead of the girls' ones. Despite not needing Daniel to show you around anymore, he still provided plenty of comedic support and pick-me-ups and was a great mate all around.

Your teacher had just finished introducing all the parents who were presenting at career day. The assignment being after the presentations were finished, you were supposed to think about what you wanted to be in the future. You had no idea what you wanted to be. But of course… Daniel did.

"An actor."

"An actor?" he nodded. "Like Macbeth?"

"No, Macbeth is a character. An actor is a person who plays the character."

"Why an actor?"

"Dunno. Just seems right."

You frowned. "Huh, that's nice. Knowing what you want to be."

"You could always try acting. It's worth a shot."

"Hah, if I ever tried acting, it would probably be when I'm old, senile, and look like Betty White."

"Oh, come on. You're a great actress!"

"What's that supposed to mean, Sharman?" you gasped.

"Just that you tell fibs and stories as if they were the truth. That's all acting is."

"I DO NOT!"

"How did you convince your mum that your dog jumped onto the table and ate the cake without making any noise last weekend, then?" You opened your mouth to speak before closing it.

"Cat got your tongue?" he teased.

"Shut up, Sharman."

☆◦ 。＼｜／。◦☆

L/N Residence

☆◦ 。／｜＼。◦☆

You and Daniel were both swimming in the pool in your backyard when Daniel asked you the question.

"Did you think about it?"

Still floating, you asked, "About what?"

"Acting."

You laughed incredulously. "You were serious?"

"Of course I was." He swam closer to you and pulled your leg down, making you flop around and splash water.

"WHAT THE HELL!"

"Was just trying to get your attention," he remarked innocently.

You coughed. "You had it."

"Picture this," he waved you off. "Us, on the red carpet-"

"Who's red carpet?"

"Does it matter? We'll be each other's dates anyways."

"Why is that?" you asked.

"Because we're best friends."

"What if one of us has a boyfriend or girlfriend?"

He shrugged. "Ok, whatever. We're on the red carpet separately. It's both of ours red carpet-"

"So, does that mean we're in a movie together?"

"Yes, Y/N," he muttered exasperatedly.

"But that's impossible?"

"Why do you say that?"

You leaned closer to his ear. "BECAUSE I'M NOT BECOMING AN ACTOR."

He jumped away from you, proceeding to splash you with water.

"Mark my words. I know talent when I see it."

You sighed. "Could this just be you not wanting to be lonely in the acting world?"

He jutted his lip and spoke in a whiny voice. "Maybe…"

You laughed before splashing a giant wave of water at him. While he still had water in his eyes, you dove under and pulled him down.

He flailed around before his head popped up, and he calmed down.

"WHAT THE HELL!"

"PAYBACK, SHARMAN!"

☆◦ 。＼｜／。◦☆

Announcement

☆◦ 。／｜＼。◦☆

The intercom gave a heavy buzz, and static-y noises ran amok over the building before a voice actually came through the speakers.

"Hello, Teachers, Students, and Faculty. Welcome back to school. We hope that you all enjoyed your holidays and got the rest you needed to pay attention in class today," the last part was passive. Your principal gave more announcements for clubs and sports around the school, such as upcoming games or reminders for students to buy the school yearbook.

You were nodding along interested, or looking for interest really when something caught your best friend's attention.

"The school will also be hosting its first-ever play, Romeo and Juliet. Interested people should report to the music room before the end of the week to receive information."

You saw Daniel's eyes widen only moments before he spoke up. "Hey," he waved at you. "You should audition!"

"Daniel, are you insane?"

He chuckled, "No, but I think you'd like it."

You tried arguing, but he wasn't taking no for an answer. "You're the one who said you didn't know what you wanted to do after you graduated. Doing this cannot hurt."

"Yeah, it can't hurt until I trip on my costumes and break my neck!"

"That rarely ever happens," he said exasperatedly. "Ok, how about this? You audition, and if you end up getting a role and actually doing the play, I'll give you fifty pounds."

You squinted. "Do you even have fifty pounds to give me?"

"Do you even have to ask," he feigned shock in the accusation? You gave a sour face before he truthfully answered. "Fine, I don't have it now. But I will by the time the play comes around."

"What do I get just for auditioning?"

"I'll convince my mum to make that cake you like."

"Fine."

"BUT!" he exclaimed. "You have to audition for Juliet."

"You're kidding?"

He laughed. "No, I'm not. You have to audition for Juliet."

"I hate you," you mumbled before sighing a whispered 'fine.'

He gave a toothy smile. "Then we have a deal."

☆◦ 。＼｜／。◦☆

Auditions

☆◦ 。／｜＼。◦☆

You reluctantly walked onto the stage, Daniel's widening grin so visible in the audience. He said that he only put his name on the audition sheet so he could watch the auditions. He would've already been gone by the time it was his turn.

"Hello, My name is Y/n L/n, and I am auditioning for Juliet," your lips pressing into a straight line after saying the sentence.

You stammered through your first few lines. "Sh-Shall I speak ill of him— that is my husband?" You said with a laugh.

"Ah," you paused and clicked your tongue. "Poor my lord, what tongue shall smooth thy name… When I, thy three-hours wife, have mangled it?"

You said your following line in an accusatory manner. "But wherefore, villain... didst thou kill my cousin?" you said, though your voice squealed trying to pronounce 'didst.' "That villain cousin would have killed my husband."

"Back, foolish tears, back to your native spring!" Your voice rose and fell several octaves. "Your tributary drops belong to woe, Which you, mistaking, offer up to joy." Fake tears spring to your eyes, your voice cracked, and you began slowly falling against an invisible wall.

You looked down at your paper for what to say next. "My husband lives, that Tybalt would have slain; And Tybalt's dead, that would have slain my husband. All this is comfort; wherefore weep I then?" You wiped your cheeks dramatically.

"Some word there was, worser than Tybalt's death, That murd'red me. I would forget it fain;" your lips quivered, and you sucked in deep, heaving breaths before speaking your line.

"But O, it presses to my memory. Like damnèd guilty deeds to sinners' minds! 'Tybalt is dead, and Romeo--banishèd!" You shouted.

You stood back up in a startling jump, and with a proud smile, you said triumphantly, "And Scene!"

The directors and some students in the audience, especially Daniel, gave a round of applause before the director dismissed you.

You took the steps to the stage and sat next to Daniel as the director called the next student to audition.

"You were amazing! The director might as well have given you the role right then and there."

You laughed, "Hang on, charmer. There were a bunch of Juliet's who literally said that entire thing so… fluently. I stammered through the whole thing."

"But you showed more emotion than anyone else. You only had a week to prepare. The actual show will be like child's play."

"They want people who can memorize and recite. The emotion can be added later, but it's worth nothing if they forget their lines."

"There is such a thing called improvising for a reason," he reassured.

"Who in their right, bloody minds wants to improvise Shakespeare?"

He turned his head and chuckled before waving a five-pound note in front of your face. "Here, I got to go before they call me, but you earned this at least."

"Five pounds for being forced to audition for a stupid play so you can prove a point? Wow, you must really fancy me, huh, Sharman?" you said sarcastically.

"Goodbye, L/n," he whispered before sneaking out the back door of the auditorium.

"Alright, next up. Daniel Sharman!" The director shouted your friend's name a few more times before giving up.

☆◦ 。＼｜／。◦☆

Headmasters Office

☆◦ 。／｜＼。◦☆

A week after your audition, you were called to the headmasters' office. Thus is the cause of the curious looks from your classmates. Oohs and Aahs flooded your ears as you grabbed your bag and headed out the door to the front of the school.

When you got to the front of the building and went into the headmasters' office, you saw the Theatre director, Ms Parker, standing behind the desk. "Headmaster Leo allowed me to use his office to do this. Isn't that cool?"

Ms Parker was one of the younger teachers in school. She was twenty-four, and this was her first year teaching after receiving her bachelor's degree in education and a master's degree in music production. A fact she could astoundingly ramble about for fifteen minutes. As proven at the auditions.

"I didn't want to call you to the theatre room. That would be too predictable, correct?" You'd come to realize she was a very eccentric woman. "I have called you in here to inform you that you have been selected to perform in this year's play of Romeo and Juliet."

A wave of shock coursed through your body, and you were sure it reflected on your face. "Are you sure?"

"Darling, I'm positive!- your audition was totally spectacular! So brilliant-in fact- that I am completely sure in my choice to make you our female lead- Juliet!"

"What!" Your eyes widened into a blank stare. Your thoughts were running rampant in your mind. You thought that performing on the stage would be a breeze when you weren't the lead.

"Ms Parker, I didn't actually want the part of Juliet! It's just that my friend dared me to audition for Juliet! Is there no way I can get a smaller part? I'm no Juliet. The show would be ruined," you rambled.

The directors' facial expressions softened, "Darling, you are the only choice. None of the other people who auditioned can even compare to the amount of passion you produced in that audition. I am determined to have you as our Juliet."

You whimpered out an "Ok." Professors had a strange way of convincing you to do extra credit assignments or things that aren't necessary.

"We have a chemistry read for you and a few of our other choices for Romeo after school today. Do you need to contact a parent to let them know where you'll be?"

"Uh, yes, please."

After you made your call, you walked back to your classroom with shaky hands. The class period was almost over, but you had to tell Daniel that you had gotten a part in the show. Not just any part- THE PART!

You shuffled into the classroom reluctantly. All eyes were on you as every student had assumed you'd been in trouble. Either suspended, expelled, or told your parents were going to have a sit-down with the headmaster.

You took your seat next to Daniel before taking out a piece of paper and writing out a note, encompassing the words, "I got the part!"

You slid the sheet discreetly onto his desk. When he read it, his eyes widened, and he quietly moved his hands toward yours, beckoning for a high five.

☆◦ 。＼｜／。◦☆

First Rehearsal

☆◦ 。／｜＼。◦☆

After the chemistry read, the role of Romeo was given to a kid named James Mercer-Allen got the part. Though it was more because the directors were starting to become tired.

The next day was the first rehearsal. Swimming season was last semester, so there was no clash in schedules with the play.

"Alright, this rehearsal is to get acquainted with the stage, your fellow actors, and directors," she insisted. "Now, let's introduce ourselves. Can our Romeo please stand up?"

James stood up and gave a brief introduction. You were called on next. You stated your name, "I was on the swim team last semester, and I'm in my thirteenth year. I hope I can do this role justice."

More students stood up to introduce themselves. The entire process took more than thirty minutes.

The next thing to happen was that the rest of the students were called to recite lines for various roles. The only parts that had been cast preliminarily were Romeo and Juliet.

You and James had sat on the wooden stools unless there was a scene going on that needed Romeo and/or Juliet.

By the end of the first rehearsal, the majority of the speaking roles were cast. You went home exhausted but not expecting the conversation that waited for you.

☆◦ 。＼｜／。◦☆

The Talk

☆◦ 。／｜＼。◦☆

"We're moving?" you shouted at your parents from your seat across from them in the sitting room. "What do you mean we're moving."

"Honey, your dad got a job in the states, so we have to move," your mother argued.

"But what about school? No school will take me in the middle of the year, and it's my last year of secondary school. I don't want to spend the rest of my last year knowing nobody."

Your dad, the man of the hour, spoke up. "Dear, we're moving at the end of the year. After school ends."

"But- What about Uni?"

"You said you were taking a sabbatical year!"

"Yes, so I could intern in London!"

"Can't you intern in California?" Your mother whined.

"We're going to California? It's the furthest state?"

Your dad attempted to reassure you but failed. "Darling, it won't be that bad. Maybe you'll like it there more than you like it here!"

"I could never like anywhere more than I like it here!"

You agreed to go to your room and spent the rest of the day there. Later on, after you finished moping, you ringed up your closest friends to tell them you were moving. You did that until you were so tired you fell asleep on the phone with Sarah before you even called Daniel.

☆◦ 。＼｜／。◦☆

Confrontation

☆◦ 。／｜＼。◦☆

"Why am I hearing from everyone besides you that you're moving?" Daniel appeared out of thin air behind you, and the accusation was an assault on your conscience.

You could lie and tell him that you wanted to reveal that to him in person, or you could just tell him the truth- say you fell asleep. Mix-and-Match? You ended up just telling the truth. "I fell asleep when I was making some of my other calls. I was going to tell you, I swear!"

"Why didn't you call me first. I'm your best friend?"

"That's why! It was too hard. I kept putting it off and putting it off and putting it off because I didn't want to tell you, I don't want it to be true, and telling you of all people would make it feel real."

"Why can't you stay for Uni?"

"I already told my parents I was taking a gap year. I didn't apply to any colleges."

"Crap!" he sighed. "Ok, well, we're going to have to make the most of it. And! You're getting a going away party!"

"Daniel, I don't need-"

"No debate! You are getting a going away party!"

☆◦ 。＼｜／。◦☆

Opening Night

☆◦ 。／｜＼。◦☆

Four months later, after all the rehearsals and memorizations of lines. After much running around the entire film department, it was finally opening night, and your nerves were shot.

You were scrambling all morning to find everything you needed. All your costumes were at the school, but you still needed to bring your black leotard, skin-coloured tights, and wear your hair in an up-do style.

You decided to do your skincare routine, but your panic got the best of you, and you forgot what every single product was used for.

Daniel came over and helped you get ready but found you practically hyperventilating.

Your parents drove you both to the theatre, and when Ms Parker told you that Daniel couldn't be backstage, you promptly told her that he was your emotional support. After much arguing, she finally let him backstage.

Around an hour before showtime, the director told Daniel that he had to go wait in the audience if he already bought his ticket or that he had to go do it now.

Before he left, he gave you a pep-talk. "Hey, so one time, I was in this play, and the idea was that I was expelled, and there was a piece of paper I had to give my 'mother,' but I lost it. So we had to improvise, but I couldn't find the paper, and I felt horrible. So just know, even if you forget your lines, you must improvise, and remember, it still probably won't compare to the embarrassment I felt that day. So you can laugh at my humiliation. "

You chuckled, "I will. Ok, go before you get in trouble."

"Ok, me, our parents and all your friends will be in the front row. I've already reserved the entire row. I brought a whole bag of jackets just for that reason!"

"You can't do that," you said in between cackles.

"For you, I'll do anything," he grinned.

A few hours later and the show was almost done. "What's here? A cup, closed in my true love's hand? Poison, I see, hath been his timeless end," you wept.

"O, churl! Drunk all and left no friendly drop to help me after? I will kiss thy lips; Haply some poison yet doth hang on them, to die with thine restorative." You leaned over James and let your hair fall to the side of your head to cover your face. You pulled back without actually kissing James.

"Thy lips are warm."

A whispery voice came from offstage, "Which way?" The cue for you to take the poison, which was actually cranberry juice.

"Yea, noise? Then I'll be brief. O happy dagger!" You grabbed the dagger and brought it near your chest. "This is thy sheath;" you drew the fake knife back three inches from your chest and stabbed it to where the bag of more cranberry juice was and punctured the bag. 'Blood' soaked through your dress. "There rust, and let me die." You fell dramatically onto the altar and waited for the scene to end as the crowd cheered.

After the show, you dashed into the crowd where your friends and family waited for you. Ovations and Applauses were passed, lauded boxes of chocolates and gorgeous roses were given.

When you got to Daniel, he practically tackled you with a hug. "I actually thought you died for a split second. The blood looked so real."

"Daniel, most people don't bleed that fast, do they?"

"I don't know but fear kicked in, and I couldn't make sense of anything."

You grinned and almost went to your parents before Daniel grabbed your arm. "You don't have a date to the Leavers ball, do you?"

"No, I don't. Why?"

He sighed. "Well, I was thinking that you could go with me. I don't have a date either."

You squinted, thinking there was some ulterior motive behind his actions. "Ok, I'll go with you if you give me the money you owe me before then."

"It's right here," he smiled.

Your face scrunched up, but you reluctantly agreed. You only had a month of school left, and you might as well spend it having fun with your friends.

☆◦ 。＼｜／。◦☆

The Leavers Ball and the Getaway Party

☆◦ 。／｜＼。◦☆

You were dressed in a light blue, pleated, Mikado prom dress that cut off at mid-thigh. You had black wedges on your feet and a black pearl-beaded bracelet on your arm.

You were wearing a half-up, half-down style that framed your face and a silver necklace with a circle-shaped diamond.

You were sitting in the parlour when Daniel rang the doorbell. He was ten minutes late.

"Sorry," he said when your dad answered it. "I know I'm late. I was picking up Kat and James."

Kat and James were your and Daniel's respective friends who'd started last year after you and Daniel introduced them.

"Hi," you popped out of the shadows. "Alright, Mom, Dad, we're late, so we're just going to get goi-"

"Wait! I have to take pictures! Go get Kat and James."

"No, Mom. No pictures!"

"It's only right. I just want a few. We can take it outside."

You sighed but reluctantly caved into your mother's will.

The four of you took pictures outside of Daniel's Jeep Wrangler. You took ones with silly faces, just girls, just boys, and ones with all four of you before your parents allowed you to leave.

You were forty minutes late, and the ball was already in full swing by the time you got there.

You got on the dance floor immediately because one of your favourite songs was playing, but the DJ switched the song as soon as you found a decent spot. It was a slow song. You chuckled, and Daniel put his hands on your waist.

"Well, this is awkward."

A few minutes later, Daniel posed an interesting question.

"Did you know that I had a crush on you when you first came to school?"

"Uh, you stammered. "No, I didn't know that."

"Yeah, I did. It was short, though. Surface-level."

"Oh," you said. "Should I take offence to that?"

"What?" His eyes widened in realization with what he said. "No, that's not what I meant. You have an amazing personality. I just meant that… I just meant I like you more as a friend than to ruin that with any of those feelings."

"Oh, ok. You wouldn't have, though."

"I wouldn't?"

"No, everyone needs an ego boost every once in a while."

"Haha!"

"And besides, I've had feelings for you at one point too. But it was very cliche, so I tried to shake it as hard as I could."

"Oh?" He raised his eyebrows. "And did you?"

"Like I said, as hard as I could. If it's still there somewhere, it's buried very deep, so much so that I was embarrassed."

"Embarrassed to like me?"

"I mean embarrassed to try and make my life seem like some movie."

"Oh, well, if you did, it would've just made you that much better as an actress. Speaking of that, would you consider acting in the least?"

"Maybe, now that I'm leaving, it's basically the last thing I have to connect me to you."

"No," he said, pointing to your bracelet. "You have that."

You had forgotten that it was Daniel who gave it to you, but the realization brought a smile to your face. "Oh yeah, I'll never take it off."

Later on, long before the ball ended, you saw many of your friends leaving.

"Hey, are you ready to go?" Daniel approached you.

"Where is everyone going?"

He wriggled his eyebrows. "Afterparty!"

"But it's not over?"

"Quit being a party popper and just come with us, L/N!"

You gave in, something you did a lot, and you all started driving. When you got there, you realized you were at Daniel's house.

"The afterparty is at your house?" you asked.

"Well…" James answered.

Kat joined in. "It's really an afterparty!"

"This is your going away party!" Daniel finished.

"But I'm not going away for another month."

"Well, now you have an entire month for people to give you gifts and stuff, and you don't have to worry about the party!" He reasoned.

"But why did it have to be after the Leavers ball?"

"Because you're already in a dress, and it has to be a surprise! Surprise!" Kat exclaimed.

"Alright, fine!"

The entire night you partied and danced, and though you didn't drink alcohol, plentiful amounts of pop and mocktails were passed around. The music was a delight to your ears with all your favourite songs. There were chips and pizza with all your favourite toppings.

"This party is awesome!"

Daniel grinned. "Well, I am an amazing party planner if I do say so myself."

☆◦ 。＼｜／。◦☆

Airport

☆◦ 。／｜＼。◦☆

Daniel's parents drove your family to the airport. Your parents had sold the car. Your dad would return in a week to close a deal on the house. Everything was official, and now you were leaving.

You got out of the car, and the tears forcefully began to fall.

"I'm really gonna miss you, jerk," you said disdainfully to Daniel.

He chuckled. "I'm going to miss you more."

"Impossible!"

He wiped the fallen tear from your eye, and for a moment, you could see every single multi-coloured speck in his eyes and noticed how sometimes they looked blue, and at others, they looked grey or green.

You noticed the curvature of his smile and the chisel of his jawline.You saw the hurt in his eyes that said, 'why do you have to go? You're killing me,' and wanted to never move from that position.

He continued to rub the tears that fell onto your cheek, and the sad moment was as sheltered as it could be. You felt safe with him, in his arms, just looking at his face and being reminded of how he comforted you in a place that felt as familiar as Oz felt to Dorothy.

"What am I gonna do without you?" you whispered.

"Get at least one acting job, get an assistant and an agent, I'll do the same thing, and then either one of us has our assistants reach out to our agents, so we get back in touch in case we ever lose touch."

He sounded so grave that you couldn't help but laugh. "That's assuming I do become an actress, Daniel."

"You're right," he whined. "But don't forget me."

"I promise."

And you tried to keep that promise. Throughout your first year, you interned at UCLA, working in the lab. You then applied to go to school there, and you still tried to keep Daniel in your mind. Maintaining a social life on campus combined with schoolwork already wasn't easy. However, you still wouldn't let yourself forget your best friend.

It wasn't until you entered your senior year and you were about to graduate that he started to wane in your memories. The things you did together became obsolete as new friends and memories replaced the old. The things he taught you were thrown out to make space for the new lessons you learned each day.

Even when you did become an actress, you never really remembered why you decided to. You remembered that your friend pushed you to do that play, but it was almost ten years ago, and for the life of you, you couldn't remember his name.

But you did do it, first as an extra, then a body double, and then you started getting l roles on smaller shows. But your big break was getting a quasi-lead role on the spin-off of a big television show, The Walking Dead. For two years, you enjoyed going to conventions and playing the complex character, Valeria Bishop, and you thought you had it all figured out.

But life has a funny way of coming full circle and throwing you a curveball that knows you off course and changes your life.

[daltonacademia]

There’s A Time For Daring - 1

charlie dalton x fem!reader [post events of the movie]

word count: 1.7k

warning: allusions to sex / slight sexual harrassment? drinking, mentions of neil’s suicide, horrible parents 

Charlie couldn’t help but emit a low growl as his vomit-inducing, picture-perfect, high-society mother and father, whom he despised, prodded him towards the expansive front entrance of Nealson Preparatory School located in southern Vermont. His fuschia-lipped, cakey-faced mother, Cynthia Dalton, was a well-dressed, dignified housewife by day and charming socialite by night; she was particularly harsh as she trampled his pen-stained oxfords with her spearish kitten heels. His eyes shot daggers at the snow-strewn path below, a familiar fire burning in his core.

There were many things Charlie was tempted to furiously spit out at his parents, but instead, he managed to keep his jaw clamped shut, his pearly whites digging into the light pink of his lips hard enough to draw blood. No matter what he shouted, cried, pleaded, they wouldn’t budge. They never would. And it was infuriating.

“Charles! Being expelled from such a prestigious school is no laughing matter, young man. That school cost us quite the pretty penny! How dare you defy the rules to the extent of expulsion. It’s disgraceful, and I will tolerate it no longer!” Charlie’s mother shrieked, furious tears smudging the thick mascara that coated her eyelashes.

“You’ll be shipped off to Nealson Preparatory School in February, and if I hear so much as a single mention of your name not followed with overwhelming compliments, you can expect nasty, nasty consequences! Go pack your things, you’ll be staying with Aunt Barbara until the first of February finally arrives!” The rims of Charlie’s brown eyes stung with anger, frustration, and furthest down, sadness. He was diminished to nothing but an image-ruiner to his mother. The person who was supposed to love him, protect him, save him from the horrors of this hell called Earth.

Mr. Dalton silently observed the boisterous outburst from his expensive leather armchair across the den, a glass of strong, half-drunk whiskey in his palm. Charlie couldn’t bear to see their despicable faces any longer, and as his body felt no longer under his control, stomped up the stairs in a huff, rapidly swiping away the glassy tears spilling from his eyes. Thoughts of running away, escaping it all, flooded his unstable mind. ‘I get why you did it, Neil. I really do. But did you have to go so soon?’ 

But instead of lingering on the image of Neil any longer, he hastily threw his bare necessities into his suitcase, which was still covered in an array of Welton Academy stickers.

The grounds of Nealson were unsurprisingly well-maintained; it reminded him a lot of Welton. The impeccably manicured lawns, gleaming, icy blue lake, the gothic stone arches and pillars. It was eerily similar to Hellton, even down to the ice-cold blanket of snow coating the distant rolling hills. It’s beautiful, Charlie thought, surveying the slow sprinkling of snow, No, it’s hideous. 

Before he could fully vomit at the vile grounds of his new school, his parents fiercely shoved him inside the Headmaster’s dingy office, politely taking the vacant mahogany seats beside him. Charlie couldn’t be bothered to listen to a word his parents said with pearly white smiles, which were no doubt tooth-rotting, sugar-coated lies about the real reason he was expelled over a month prior. 

He knew that they couldn’t just be transparent and tell the Headmaster that he had socked the utterly vile Richard Cameron’s face in (rightfully so, in his opinion), or that he was a star member of the infamous Dead Poets Society, or that he had gone to the extreme lengths to stage a phone call from none other than God himself. It didn’t work like that. 

His mother’s cheeky, artificial voice sounded precisely the same as it always had: carefully rehearsed and slathered with naivety. Seemingly without hesitation, the catty woman could deflect any less-than-pleasant questions or insinuations about her “golden role-model” son, who’s admittedly “a little misguided at times”. 

The new headmaster seated across from him appeared to be around the same age as Mr. Nolan, which, as far as Charlie was concerned, was older than the Cretaceous period at least. His pale-as-a-ghost skin was wrinkled and paper-thin; his patchy, gelled side-swept hair was (very obviously) dyed a deep, midnight black, reminiscent of an off-brand Elvis. 

Charlie’s ears continued to mute the awkward conversation happening amongst him, his focus instead shifting around to the various awards and certificates lining the ivory walls. They all seemed so phony; ‘Best Headmaster- 1947-1959’, ‘Nealson Academy: Exceeds Expectations’. The Headmaster had even framed his high school superlative: ‘Voted Most Likely to Succeed’. What a pathetic-

In a swift blur, his parents rose from their seats, his mother clutching her magenta purse with matching pursed lips. Charlie was handed a hefty, stapled packet packed full of school rules and guidelines with a denture-toothed smile from Headmaster ‘Campbell’. This’d make some decent kindling, he thought as he yanked the packet from his clammy clutches, leafing through its pages with a smirk, this garbage’s almost laughable.

A syncopated rhythm of raps on the door, followed by a gravelly, ‘come in', presented his new dorm escort. His chauffeur just so happened to be you, the accomplished and universally admired student body president in the same grade as the newcomer. You were dutifully donning Nealson’s horrendous uniform: a crisp, white button-up accented with a blue and silver tie was topped with a depressing grey sweater vest. An equally loathsome pleated skirt concealed your thighs, and your ankles were shielded from the chilly February air with black crew socks. 

You extended your perfectly manicured, soft hand out to your brand-new peer with a yearbook-worthy smile, introducing, “Hi. Welcome to Nealson, I’m Y/N Y/L/N.” You swore you heard the brunette mutter something disrespectful under his breath, but nonetheless, he, rather unprofessionally, shook your hand with an eye roll. Things between the two of you were not starting off the way you hoped, but you were determined to make a good impression. The best impression possible.

“Charlie Dalton,” he replied with a mischievous smirk. The brunette standing in front of you reeked of cigarettes, and there was the slightest smell of cheap beer clinging to his clothes. His brown hair was messy, springing out in every direction, despite the water furiously combed through it. His eyes glinted with rebellion, a look so alluring yet dangerous.

“I’ll be showing you to your dorm, which you’ll sleep in for the remainder of the year.” Since Dalton was starting in February, he only had five months of studying before long-awaited senior year. Mr. Campbell waved the two of you off, and with that, you trekked towards the Boys’ wing, Dalton sauntering at your side. 

The walk through the main corridor was silent and awkward. You had tried to enchant him with fun facts about Nealson and its (extensively selective) history, much to his obvious boredom and dismay. His umber eyes glazed the walls, uninterested in the decor. His mind seemed to be elsewhere, but for all you knew, it could be on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. 

After a while of treading through the high-ceilinged corridors illuminated with fleeting pale rays of sunlight, the boy next to you made no attempt to hide him drawing designs up and down your body. 

“I’ve never been to a school with both boys and girls,” he drawled with a smirk. “Do things ever get exciting around here?”

You shook your head no while indiscreetly tugging down the hem of your skirt uncomfortably, and he said, “Do you think you’d maybe wanna spend the night with me in my dorm? Make sure I’m all settled in?”

Your whole body, from head to toe, froze. The audacity of this… creep! Your tongue poked, nearly stabbed, the back of your teeth, wanting to unleash a select few words to the disgusting Dalton beside you. But alas, if he were to tell anyone of your fiery wrath, you’d be demoted from class president faster than you could explain what really happened. It’s a corrupt system, sure, but even with the power that comes with such a title, there was no way to mend it.

Eventually, while you were wrapped up in the furies of your mind, Dalton revealed a small, autographed golf ball from his trousers pocket and began throwing it up and down above his head casually with every step. 

“Can you not?” you snapped at the chestnut-haired boy after he tossed the sphere up and down again in an arch. “Don’t wanna get in trouble on your first day, do you?”  

“You think this’ll get me in trouble? Have a little fun, it won’t kill you. I promise.” Dalton turned his gaze towards you, an annoyed but smug grin painted on his lips. He slowly tossed the golf ball to your hands, intending for you to catch it. However, the small ball evaded your grasp, instead bouncing around the hardwood floors below you, creating a series of loud, reverberating thunks.

“You were supposed to catch it, you know,” Dalton teased, nonchalantly watching you chase after the rogue orb. After it was finally safe in your clutches, you stomped over to the no-good newbie, irritated. 

“Nealson’s strict. They don’t let stuff like creating an awful lot of racket go unreprimanded.” You were seething; red-hot blood pumped through your veins. Dalton didn’t look anything but utterly amused.

“Wow, you’re just about one of the biggest suck-ups I’ve seen in a while.”

“A what?” you growled.

“A suck-up. A rule-following poster child of excellence? A bratty, know-it-all? Anything along those lines?” He sputtered insults so nonchalantly, it made your blood boil and eyes sting.

“You better watch it, Dalton. I don’t know who you think you are-”

“I’m the best thing that’s happened to this school, by the looks of it.” 

You had nothing left to say to this conceited shuck of a boy who really thought that he was all that and a side of fries. Well he wasn’t! Not in the slightest! And if his first day of classes wouldn’t drill it into him, you would.

The rest of the walk was pin-drop silent and tense. No more fun facts about Nealson escaped your downturned lips, just the light patting of his beat-up oxfords and your pristine mary-janes on the polished wood floor. The hallways seemed more depressing than usual, their framed portraits and condensated windows didn’t fill you with the motivation that you came to expect.

After finally arriving at the boys’ dormitories, you grumbled, “well, this is it. Have a swell life, Dalton.”

“Right back at ya, Y/L/N. Let’s hope this isn’t the last time we meet.” He gave you a cheeky wink before slamming the door in your face.

[princessphilly]

Word Count: 1975 (you know I start small then build up)

Tag list: @newlibrary , @luvsherleafs @spine-buster , @m00nlightdelights @lovethepreds @myhockeyworld87 @Defiant-mouse, @callllumhood @yzas-stuff , @stars-canucks @laurenairay @cutiesara23, @besthockeyfics @hockeyallthetime @tazerass , @markymarkstrom @letsgobaby, @himbos-on-ice @hockeywocs @bloodthedevil @nhlboyshavemyhart88 @whatishockey @dreamer1430 @shelbsatans

CW: people failing to be mean, some angst. We are still rated pg-13 but we will be hitting NC-17 soon.

Add me to the tag list!

It’s okay to admit that you are enough. It’s also okay to struggle with admitting that to yourself. At least, that’s what I learned when Meghan Markle still had her old blog, The Tig, up online before she became the Duchess of Sussex. Honestly, she’s one of my goals; her father is a trip and she’s managed to live well despite his issues. I’d like to be able to do whatever she did with my mom. - journal 9/2

**

“The man over there says thanks.”

Jamila looked at the waiter, confused. “Um, okay,” she questioned as she looked where the waiter was discreetly pointing. A tall, brown haired guy raised a whiskey neat in salute. Jamila gave him a tentative grin. After the waiter left, she hissed, “I didn’t send him a drink, Lisa! What the hell?”

Jamila had to admit he was attractive but not her usual type. Her type was the outdoorsy type, the kind who could fish, hunt, and actually be able to live off the land if society collapsed overnight. This guy… he looked like money and power, the kind to hire someone to take care of him.

After a moment, it became obvious what happened as Alyssa and Frances came back over. Jamila put on her best movie-star fake smile as those two came by. They were the worst kind of people; backstabbers who even when they got caught, still got away with it because they knew how to suck up to the people in power. Jamila knew exactly why they didn’t like her: she had enough fame left over that she didn’t need to be their friend to earn a good reputation in their phD program.

“Meet any nice guys,” Frances asked with a sly smirk on her face.

Jamila gave Lisa a sideways look as Alyssa said, “I mean, there’s Jonathan Toews, he’s single. I bet he’d be interested in a washed-up actress.”

“Hmmm, I have no idea who you are talking about,” Jamila honestly said.

Alyssa smirked as she replied, “He plays for the Blackhawks, Meena.”

Jamila grit her teeth as Alyssa used her first name. She hated when people used her first name, it brought up too many bad memories. Before she could reply, the attractive brown-haired guy was standing next to her with a faint grin on his face. “Um, hi,” Jamila said as Lisa, Alyssa, and Frances stared at him.

“I figured I’d say hi after you sent me that drink. I would have bought you one but I don’t know what you’re drinking and it wouldn’t be nice to assume. My name is Jonathan,” he said with a flirtatious wink.

Jamila hesitantly replied, “My name is Jamila and I’m just drinking merlot tonight.”

“Another glass,” Jonathan asked, his deep voice doing things to Jamila’s insides. She bit her lip as she looked at him, trying to decide if she wanted to encourage him or not.

“Sure.”

As he found a waiter, Jamila looked at Lisa. Lisa motioned to her phone and Jamila checked her screen. That’s jonathan toews, the guy those bitches were talking about. He plays hockey and is the captain of the blackhawks

Jamila texted back, what is hockey n y should i care

Then the waiter came with a fresh glass of merlot and Jonathan passed it to her. Jamila took a deep sip, loving the taste. Merlot was truly her favorite and they had a good house vintage. Jonathan asked, “Are you new to Chicago?”

“I’ve been here for a year. It’s alright,” Jamila replied. “This is my first time going out on the North Side though.”

Jonathan gave Jamila a slow smile and her breath caught. He definitely was attractive but not her usual type. He said, “Then that’s why we’ve never met til now. I would have definitely remembered such a beautiful woman if I saw you before.”

Jamila giggled. “That’s a good one. You get one point for that.”

“Just one point? Is it an assist or a goal?”

“Um,” Jamila stalled. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

The sly smile on Jonathan’s face turned into a wide smile. This girl was not only hot but he could tell that she was truly clueless about hockey. Tonight was a win-win for him. “I’m going to assume it’s a goal then.”

“Okay.” Jamila shrugged as she took another sip of her wine. “I’m still not completely impressed so you still need to work on it.”

Jonathan laughed, causing some people to turn towards them. Jamila caught Alyssa and Frances giving her the evil eye and she smirked. Reaching out a hand, she touched Jonathan’s upper arm. Jamila had no idea what hockey was but whatever it was, he definitely was built. Jamila turned slightly as she rubbed his arm, making sure that those two bitches could see that she was touching him.

“You like what you feel,” Jonathan asked, his voice slightly deeper with a sultry tone.

Unable to resist the bait, Jamila replied, “Of course,” licking her lips. There was no problem in flirting with him, she thought to herself as he smirked at her.

Jonathan’s eyes were on her lips. She had full lips, made for kissing. Jamila wasn’t his usual type but Jonathan didn’t have a problem with that. “There’s more that you can-,” he started before someone bellowed, “TAZER!”

Jamila whipped around towards the sound, annoyed to have been interrupted before her attention was caught by the kind of guy of her dreams. He was tall, auburn haired, and looked like a lumberjack. He was perfection and he came over to them.

“Duncs,” Jonathan called.

The lumberjack said, “Heyy Tazer.”

Jamila smiled. Maybe this whole drink mix-up thing was working out for her, she thought until she saw her LA friend, Shan, come up behind this Duncs guy. Shan’s brother Alex was with them, his ever present backwards cap covering his hair.

Jonathan loved Duncs as a brother but right now, he was annoyed and pissed. He had been close to sealing the deal but Jamila was now looking at Duncs like he was the last man on earth. Then Jamila gave him a brilliant smile and Jonathan suddenly realized that he was totally fucked.

“Hi,” Jamila purred, forgetting that her hand was still on Jonathan’s bicep. Duncan looked at that and raised an eyebrow at his captain. Jonathan gave him a glare and Duncan made a motion with his hands.

Before Duncan could reply, Shan yelled, “Jamillllaaa!! Long time no see!”

“Hi Shan,” Jamila drily replied, glad she used her preferred name instead of her first name. Shan was a fellow child actress, a Canadian who managed to get supporting roles at Disney over the years before transitioning to a character actress when she became an adult. Shan was the only one whose parents were actually on-set all of the time and paid attention to what was going on. Consequently, Shan was the only one who didn’t have substance abuse problems, etc. and the only one from her former shows that Jamila kept in contact with.

Jonathan looked at Shan and Jamila. “You two know each other?”

Shan drunkenly giggled as Alex closed his eyes. “We were both Disney kids back in the day.”

Jamila sardonically smiled. “Those were fun days.”

“I’m sorry,” Alex replied. “Shan’s got a role in one of the next Marvel movies so she decided to celebrate.”

“Congratulations,” Jamila sincerely stated. Getting a role in the MCU was a steady check and something to celebrate. Then Jonathan took a double take and looked at her and Jamila groaned. He bit one of his thin lips and then he smirked before putting a finger to his mouth. Jamila exhaled and gave him her biggest smile. He recognized her but he didn’t say anything. Jamila leaned over and whispered into Jonathan’s ear, “You just got a second point.”

“Then maybe you should let me have your number,” Jonathan purred into Jamila’s ear.

Jamila smirked, rolling her eyes but before she could respond, Shan slurred, “Wow, Jamila, you waste no time. You were just telling me yesterday that you didn’t know a damn thing about hockey and tonight, you’re talking with Captain Serious.”

Jonathan wanted to shake his teammate’s sister because Jamila shut down, pursing her lips.

Oblivious, Shan continued, “Now, you don’t have an excuse not to go with my brother to the bowling thing.”

Alex face-palmed as Jamila pinched the bridge of her nose. She had totally forgotten about that and of course, when Shan was drunk, she was loud and obnoxious.

Pasting her best fake smile on her face, Jamila said, “I think it’s time for me to go.”

“So soon,” Duncan teased.

Jamila smirked at him, looking him up and down. “I need my beauty rest and to not strangle my friend.”

Jonathan gritted his teeth as he watched Jamila eye his friend. Then she turned to him and blew him a kiss. “It was nice to meet you, Jonathan,” Jamila said, giving him a wink.

Jonathan smiled back and Jamila was taken aback for a moment. There was a promise in those dark brown eyes and she felt her body begin to respond. Then he licked his lips and for a moment, all Jamila could think about was maybe those lips on her body. Slightly shaking her head, Jamila waved her fingers before going to call an Uber. This was a night.

**

After getting home, Jamila tossed her bag onto her front table. She suddenly felt exhausted even though it was barely after 11:30pm. Walking into her living room, Jamila saw her other cell phone glowing. Picking it up, she cursed. There were fifteen messages and ten missed calls, all from Janine. The messages started off nice, asking how Jamila was doing to nasty, calling her all kinds of names for not picking up and giving her “mother” money.

Tossing the phone back onto the table, Jamila sighed. Getting a separate cell phone just for her mother’s calls was the best but it was draining just to look at it.

Janine Brown was a bit actress, stage-mother, and now two-bit manager. Janine had always wanted to be an actress, even when she was attending grad school at MIT for physics. There, she met Jayesh Vyas, a student earning a PhD in computer engineering. Within six months, they were married and expecting a child; after two years, they were divorced after pressure from Jayesh’s parents. Jayesh returned to India and Janine was stuck with an 11 month old baby with dimples made of gold.

By the time that Jamila could remember, she was in front of a camera. Her life as a child was in front of a camera; first as the adorable adopted child in Granger vs Granger, then the youngest kid in The Elliot Show as a young child. Then from age 12 to 17, Jamila starred as Jane Lee in the Disney show, Plain Jane. School was on set. Birthdays were celebrated on set. Everything revolved around a set year round until right after Jamila’s 17th birthday.

The aftermath of that birthday was a stay in rehab, a cancelled show, and living with her dad and stepmom full time in Atlanta.

Jamila promptly deleted all the messages and voicemails before going on online banking. After authorizing a transfer to Janine’s account, Jamila showered, put on pajamas, and grabbed her pink Lepidolite and pink quartz crystals. Sitting cross legged, Jamila worked to calm her anxiety so that she could have a restful night sleep.

But in her dreams, she tried to focus on a pair of blue eyes and a lumberjack look. However, she kept dreaming of a pair of deep obsidian brown eyes, a crooked smile, and a deep voice telling her everything he was going to do to her

[marimopeace]

there's a limit on how much you can be an isekai intellectual...

a bunch of analyses have been popping up before me all day so i wanted to throw my hat into the ring. all love to ppl who are exercising their creative minds + ppl like geoff here who just talk about these things because of fan interest but i feel like there reaches a point where exploring the "types" of isekai is pointless? i've seen ppl list out the different types of villainess revenge isekai or fantasy mmorpg isekai but eh why fit them all into separate boxes like that?

i think it's easier to think of isekai as a "type" (genre) of itself with only two categories: 1) a focus on isekai (lit. another world) 2) tensei (lit. to be reborn). this allows for a variety of applications and thus tropes that ppl see so many trends of!

with isekai - in another world

you see everything from:

pure fantasy (inuyasha, digimon wait maybe not the best example but in my childhood mind i count digimon as pure fantasy, fushigi yugi)

mmorpg inspired fantasy/adventure (.hack//legend of twilight, sao ugh, log horizon, overlord (LOVE OVERLORD!)

otome game-esque worlds >>> this is where it gets complicated with "villainess routes" since i admit there are multiple villainess tropes but this is why it's nice to not think of this as a "sub-type/genre" bc it frees you from those complications! (the saint's magic power is omnipotent, the white cat's revenge as plotted from the dragon king's lap soso cute!, the savior's book cafe in another world, i'm a villainous daughter so i'm going to keep the last boss wait i can't remember if she's reborn in this one lmaooo see this is why rules make everything hard)

with tensei storylines - being reincarnated/reborn in another world as *insert character/role*

you see...

the same tropes!!

pure fantasy (a returner's magic should be special, reminiscence adonis, the lady and the beast, light and shadow, i can't think of a manga off the top of my head for this ah)

mmorpg inspired fantasy/adventure (so i'm a spider so what i stan kumoko so hard, her majesty's swarm, can't name another off the top of my head ah i hate lists shorter than two things...)

self-insert based games/novels (fiance's observation log of a self-proclaimed villainess, who made me a princess, death is the only ending for the villainess, the villainess wants to marry a commoner, honestly games vs novels are different applications but i'm not in the headspace to try to remember a bunch of both lol)

*insert line break to give random ppl a break from scrolling but tl; dr just enjoy things for what they are no need to micro analyze*

similar variations occur in both genres (if ppl want to be super technical i guess i'm arguing that isekai itself is a massive genre that has the "another world" subgenre and "reincarnation" subgenre tl; dr) so i think it's honestly a huge pain to try to separate all these trends into so many different types of stories. for me personally it's easier to not get overwhelmed by this gigantic umbrella of "isekai" that spans light novels, manhwa, manga, and mobile games by just stripping each story down into its trademark tropes (aka character archetypes, story structures) and slapping "oh this is a person going to a world that's not ours" and "this person gets reborn as blank in another world". none of this "omg this power fantasy is such a this kind of isekai moment" or "there are 14 different types of villainess revenge stories and this series fits into this" bc AH labels! limitations! circle-jerks via ppl trying to compartmentalize everything and sound smart for leaving a comment on story analysis instead of ooh-ahhing over a character's face! dividing things into light novel manga vs manga vs korean manhwa ft. female characters!

the last bit is mainly why i feel frustrated by ppl's insistence to group everything?

the video linked at the beginning of the post (honestly good video essay, i enjoyed it, i just kept thinking in my head the whole time "marimo these are tropes do not take the genre talk literally") has a baby comment thread talking about "korean isekai manhwas" as a genre featuring nothing but reincarnated villainess' and i can't.

like i cannot acknowledge that as a genre of any sort. the energy i felt reading through some of those insights takes me back to 2012 when all yt americans discovered k-pop and deemed all korean music k-pop from then on! (ppl still do this now, yes you are seen and don't talk to me pls i don't like you. k-pop is korean pop music and nothing less and nothing more. take a few seconds and try to parse apart aspects of korean culture instead of slamming everything into a monolithic label that has the letter k and a hyphen.) it feels so odd to see a bunch of young ppl on ig and tiktok acknowledge korean media that happens to be in the form of a webtoon as "oh stories all about young girls becoming villains in stories they made/played" bc it feels so reductive u.u

(positionality disclaimer that i'm praying isn't actually necessary: i am a 3rd-generation korean of japanese descent do not fite me i am exhausted irl of ppl asking for validation/verification bc massive shove off.)

breaking news! korean manhwa...is just as multifaceted as japanese manga...bc how can comics as an art-form not have multiple genres...huh such a shocker?!?! same likely applies to media in other parts of the world like chinese manhwa and french comics--not my place to explain either of those i just know those industries exist bc of wakfu and donghua shows by Tencent.

at the end of the day it's not like analyzing any kind of isekai is wrong--absolutely not!! i think it can be super fun to think about how isekai elements complicate a story (MCs trying to go back home, ppl from the og world, reincarnation plot-twists) or maybe even bash a series for including some kind of other world element when they could have just written a super fun fantasy.

insert marimo's brief ramble that hey you can get sick of truck-kun's hitting disillusioned guys who happen to be super duper smart or girls who happen to be master chefs/craftsmen but transporting a fully-grown being into a fantasy setting is the ultimate cheat code for making mundane modern technology seem cool and overpowered, and being reincarnated as a fully grown person in a world with a pre-made story/game set-up completely bypasses the need for an author to slowly flesh out world-building in a natural progression so isekai is actually a really smart writing tool it's just that there are some series where the author didn't use it well at all and it's cheesy or clearly isekai was misused as a vehicle for character/story development and it was pointless *DEEP BREATH OUT*

in this essay i will argue...lol i am such a culture studies major!! if i were an english major i would be talking all about writing but here i am having a side-tangent about world-building via someone being reborn wow i love this for me (don't get me started on when an author has someone reincarnate as a baby and the story is mostly them having warm fluffy moments with their family--typically father figures--and getting lots of powers i could and would and probably will rant about east asian toxicity)

but anyway am i crazy????? like yes for being passionate about the technical use of a word like genre (i am a scorpio rising let me be fussy pls) but i don't think it's a lot to ask for ppl to not unironically see "villainess revenge isekai" as the definition of korean manhwa.

idk as someone who resonates with why japanese isekai is so popular domestically + why a lot of korean manhwa feat. the same tropes (it's not for great reasons lads it's actually depressing tbh) i'm just starting to feel kind of pained by the generalization and need to separate "cute japanese girl in an otome game"/"japanese boy finds a harem in another world" from "korean girl dies and comes back as a villainess" bc they are just! applications to the same story device!!

recommendations for any who makes it this far down below <3

// also gladly recommend any of the examples i've listed in the above rant as i've read/watched all of them and adore them v much! //

save me princess

super refreshing fantasy manhwa ft. a princess and her ex-boyfriend having to save the world!

the beginning after the end

an AMERICAN web novel turned into a comic (but see it being not korean/japanese doesn't really matter when you just consider isekai as a genre...isn't it nice to not overthink it?) ft. a super-powerful wizard king reincarnated into another world and starting from scratch--gives mushoku tensei vibes but huge twists!

the reason why raeliana ended up at the duke's mansion

love love LOVE this story--read the title and you'll learn how this girl reincarnated as the character raeliana in a book gets married to a duke!

trash of the count's family

such a good novel!! a guy gets reborn as a lazy oaf and he takes the hero of the story under his wing...plot twists come up later on!

this time i will definitely be happy!

v good and refreshing for a shorter series! she's been reborn 3 times and remembers every time the hero's stabbed her in the back, and now she just wants to break up with him!

silver diamond

older manga but v good adventure w intrigue! a boy who loves plants get sucked into a desert world with demonic lizards and a mysterious bodyguard by his side. shonen-ai not BL but wonderful vibes nonetheless + great side characters!

the princess imprints a traitor

adore everything in this from the world (not in that way this society makes me so angry) to the machinations at play and the dynamic between the fl and ml

[manchesterau]

my thoughts after reading my policeman: SPOILERSS of course!! (ignore spelling or grammar mistakes) (this is very ramble-y and not as in depth as it could have been sorrryyy lol, if you want specifics send me an ask after reading this)

okay...so i read the book in 3 days....which....im very proud of myself bc it takes me so long to finish books but that’s not why you are reading this.

im not going to lie to you...i liked the book. i love angst, and this had plenty of it and i liked it. if you like books such as: harry potter, six of crows, red queen, red white and royal blue you will not like this book. i know many people found it boring, which yeah i can see that, but i didn't find it boring at all. but mostly because i love boring books but that's beside the point. 

the book flowed easily, there isn't a bunch of raunchy sex scenes that ive seen people say it has (i...the things ive read idk what book they even read????) and Tom does has backward views on marriage and what it means to be a wife. but he is not overtly sexist or misogynist or abusive, or subvertly those things either. to be frank he's a scared gay man in the 50s trying to not get caught and thrown in jail. that's literally it. (ill go more into detail on him later). but if you want to read this book i recommend you go in knowing that there will be homophobia (the word queer is used as a slur....3 times or 4 but no more than 5), expect outing, expect not supportive characters, and remember to have some compassion (more on this later).

next i want to go into characters: starting with tom, then Marion, then Patrick, and then the other characters. so if you are planning on reading this book or just dont want to be spoiled them....don't read the next bit.

Tom:

I'm going to get this out of the way.........Tom (who we never get to know outside of the two-point of views we are presented with, and who is being played by Harry) is a police officer in the 50s UK. to be frank when the rumors first went around I was mad like a lot of people were, which is funny because when we got those pictures of harry reading the book before all the speculation we were....happy, that he was reading a book about a gay man. now...I don't care honestly. I could call out the hypocrites (i won't) and honestly I'm hypocritical myself. I use to watch shows like svu (if you were to turn it on right now I wouldn't turn it off) and I enjoyed watching svu. I know and have seen a lot of mutuals, people on my dash enjoy cop shows like b99, or who like actors who have played the character of police before. so it would be hypocritical of me to be mad at him (this is just my single black opinion) and then go and turn on svu (which I don't do anymore). 

I'm not saying that no one can be mad, I'm not saying that the anger people have at him playing this role is bad or not needed or valid. all I'm saying is.....is that I don't care. I got angry over this months ago, and all that anger I felt I don't have anymore, and I can't tell you why. Harry is playing an abusive demented husband who traps his wife in a simulation, and then he will play a gay policeman trying not to face persecution..........and that's that. nothing I can say will reach him, he's playing these roles and there is nothing I can do. will I watch them (pirating of course) yes.

anyways let's get back to tom's character (do not use my opinion to silence other black people I will find you....don't do that shit weirdo): tom is......tom?? like I literally was expecting the worst when I read this because of what other people had to say. but as I'm reading him through the eyes of Marion (his wife) and through the eyes of Patrick (his...true love, fuck the 50s I hate the 50s) one word came to mind constantly: scared. Tom is very scared that he will be found out and his life will be ruined. His family knows about him, which is why I think his father (more on him later) pushed him to be in the national service (where he was a cook, which disappointed him). you don't realize his family knows and then his sister says something and then you go 'wait....THEY KNEW???' and then you will go 'oh so that's why-' 

tom does have old fashion views that you would expect of any man at that time (gay or not it's the 50s and gay men are still capable of saying sexist shit). when asked by Patrick if women should still work after having a kid he said no it's the men's job to provide, Marion said she would like to keep working, he said no when they do have a baby (they literally never did, and idk why he thought he could be intimate with her for that long to produce a baby lol). that's....the most sexist thing he said in the whole book (there maybe some small things im forgetting but nothing that really stood out). that's it. I know it's not small and that was a legitimate issue in the 50s but yeah. Just in case you were apprehensive about Tom's character being a raging woman-hater, no,....he just wasn't a true feminist yet (???? I don't know that's like..the most this book says about an issue women were facing at this time). It's still bad what he said (you'll see how Marion justifies it in the book and both Patrick and her don't agree and try and challenge him on his view).

i dont want to go too in depth but it is very obvious from the beginning he has no and i mean ZEROOOO interest in her at all (you can tell when it hits him that he needs a wife and he starts to act a littleee different but it's not romantic at alll). 

i feel like my review on tom is shit but like!! we don't really get to know him without bias from Patrick and Marion. I think Harry will play a wonderful Tom (even tho he doesn't not fit the description for Tom...at all....like at alllll).

To summarize Tom: very scared gay man from the 50s who is trying to do everything he can to not be found out. his family knows, even he knew at a young age, and yes he does quit being a police officer but it doesn't happen as soon as id like but then again he wasn't one for that long if you pay attention to the years.

Marion:

😑 

i just...if yall could see the notes i made on her.....

To summarize Marion: SHE IS LIVING IN LALA LAND, TOM LITERALLY SHOWS HER NO ROMANTIC INTEREST AT ALLL, AND WHEN SHE METS PATRICK FOR THE FIRST TIME SHE FREAKING NOTICES THAT HE'S ALL BLUSH-Y AND SHIT LIKE...GIRL.....

this is a note i wrote that sums up her and tom's relationship (which is more like friends then anything romantic i mean god their honeymoon was horrible and he proposed to her....nvm 😑)

listen...i can't lie and say i didn't feel sorry for her up until the end when she (spoilers: she outs patrick to his employer which ends up with him getting arrested). after that...ive never hated a character more in my fucking LIFEEEE like oh my god i was pissed

all she does is have fantasies about him being romantic with her (holding hands, hugging, etc) and none of them come true...BECAUSE HES GAYYYYYY i really....the author could have done a better job because there were so many damn red flags.

she's fucking annoying and whiny and yeah it sucked to be a woman in the 50s but you literally outed someone your husband was in love with and thought that you could just go back to being married like he's not devastated and instead of telling what you did you stayed unhappy and made your husband thing that at any point they were coming for him too.......*****

Patrick:

PATRICKKKKK

Patrick and tom deserved a fighting fucking chance i hate the fuck 50s fuck you 50s!!!! I absolutely LOVEDDD his pov and seeing Tom through his pov like it was just so damn refreshing seeing the world through his eyes and how he navigates his queerness in the society they live in. (the dichotomy between a proud gay man and a scared maybe proud but fear overrules that (talking about Tom here) gay man).

There was a lot more to say on how gay men were being persecuted at this time than how women were treated in this particular book. There were some little things here and there about what was expected of Marion as a wife and of a girl/woman at that time but it wasn't the focus.

I loved seeing the way Patrick navigated through his world of art and creativity. And how Tom seemed to fit right in with him.

I hate the things the author made Patrick go through (outed, sent to prison, stripped of his job, and later on in the present day he has had 2 strokes in his 70s). it felt a bit much but it's not too distracting (Patricks pov takes place in the past as he writes in his journal). 

Patrick and Julia (more on her later) are my two favorites in the whole book (Tom is third bc he's a very multi-facted character, Marion is not even on the list) and I wish we got a lot more of Patrick's pov.

Other characters!! (speed round bc this is wayyy too long):

Syvlie (Tom's sister): SYVLIEEE IM MAD AT YOUU I WAS ROOTING FOR YOU WHYY WHYYY

Julia: JULIAAAAA QUEEENNN (you'll see why i love her at the end) 

Tom's parents: his father is abusive point-blank. or at least i think he's abusive (verbally). as im writing this i am now realizing that the way Tom's mom reacts to him (sometimes crying) is bc they knew he was gay omg wow.

tom's dad is very much a man's man guy?? Picture a sexist man from the 50s....now picture him with a gay son.....yeah, I'm not surprised Tom went into national service then to the police force. you can tell he didn't want anyone to find out about Tom so he pushed him to do what he thought best and Tom went with it, scared. 

overall: please do not go into this book expected things to be all flowers and rainbows...this is a book about two gay men in the 50s yall.....

there is something to be said about the tragedy that is in a lot of queer stories, I'm more interested in how white these stories are (that's a rant for another time). but I don't mind my policeman, and i think stories like this should be told. because this actually happened (here is a link to em forster's story where the author takes inspiration from, he really had an affair with a policeman!!! who had a wife!!!).

the ending is bittersweet, and i couldn't help but curse for what could have been. Marion could have not outed Patrick (which she instantly regretted), she could have gotten a divorce (she even contemplated it), they could have been more secretive, Julia could have not said what she said. I think Patrick and Tom were sadly doomed from the start, I just wish they had more time together because I loved seeing their love (the little glimpse we got) bloom into something bigger than them.

thank you for reading!! here are random screenshots of my notes as i read this lol enjoy!!

can’t*

[benevadeca]

Relistening to razia's shadow bc I belatedly realized they posted their new version of it and not that they changed any of the lyrics or plot but hm! Just as confused as I've ever been and honestly fr guys am I missing something. I do not understand the plot lol my feelings for it are very "makes no sense. compels me tho" i mean

all of this critism coming from someone who has no knowledge of any possible lore that may or may not exist abt this and has never interacted w anyone about it but just listens to the album sometimes and has seen the youtube puppet play <3

OK so the whole theme being "the unrelenting constancy of love and hope can rescue and restore you from any scope" aw <3 except it literally never does lol like Prophecy Boy dies in both acts.

It's truly the unfeminist of albums I mean. My 2017 memories of making an entire AU where I change the lyrics to all the songs with our #girls bc they suck TBH. honestly I just need to break down my gripes song by song okay so

>missing piece

OK!! so they were both very gifted but it's only arima and his man angst that goes off committing arson??

>life is looking up

it's literally Oh The Scientist being cringe and creepy like give ur son boy some encouragement damn :/ guy who caused it: I'm staying out of it. also the "but the sculpture of the earth was looked upon by jealous eyes" okay so there's always trouble in paradise got it, but the whole "dark and the light" theme is so confusing

>spider and the lamps

i hate the "crawl inside her" line soooooo much i think of it in my head as "crawling insider" like...he's a spy a creep a guy offering a new (worse) perspective on a guy who's at a mental low under the guise of helping him when he's really manipulating him. etc.

>toba the tura

literally in 2018 i had a whole animatic planned where the reason nidria leaves is bc she's literally a leader to her people and it's her making the tough choice to choose the responsibility she has to them who are now, idk refugees or whatever? etc etc. so yeah the irony of ari being the guy who's like "when i die you will realize" only for his terrible actions to be what forces nidria, who never even expressed any real desire or felt any necessity to Show Off Her Skillz, to take this active leadership authority figure role. anyway what was i talking about.

oh yeah uh, ok so i love toba bestie <3 love that they're a #girl in the new version like yes feminism. we love a genderfluid goat and i loved the singer but the "my words will tear through the air" line which is SO powerful in the original was kinda mediocre ngl. so yeah disappointed there but otherwise <3

i had a whole character concept for them in the far past but i've forgotten it honestly and relistening and watching wow they're kind of a cop huh? this is me going with my 2017 AU where the dark v/s light thing is a veiled xenophobia metaphor taking inspiration from the mechanisms high noon over camelot album. but yeah in this view the "every dark corner will soon see the light" is very civil servant performing their duty that, oops, kind of involves a punitive judgemental form of justice that negatively disenfranchises some more than others.

but again, the dark v/s light thing is so unclear like rly acting as if it's unpopulated when he's ari is banished or whatev ("desolate throne" but people do live there?? or once the light-people leave the land gets re-populated by the dark-people who were possibly implicitly expelled from there? going w the fantasy racism theme + the weird unexplained sickness thing i think the disparity between them is at least partially due to physiological differences in a nocturnal vs diurnal creatures kinda way. vampires who can't stand light vs guys who would wither away without it. etc etc.

But also again fuck Oh The Scientist the entire "you've broken the trust of your father's love" when was that love expressed?? and hello NIDRIA??? who has like a whole song about expressing her love!!! not even a "the truth of those you love" more encompassing kind of lyric just the very narrow vision of it is so :(

>the oracle

lots of nitpicks bc i'm a hater on this one <3 but another contender for worst line in the musical "in her lock he will turn the key" makes me GAG. not even like a "together they will turn the key" in a "these TWO guys will fulfill the prophecy bc it's a TOGETHER issue bc we all saw what happened last time when prophecy was left up to Just Some Guy, with a girl also there"

ALSO the "Their true love will be strong enough, To erase the wrong we've done" line i'm so bleh over? Like it's not abour ERASING the wrong it's about being able to look it in the eye and move past it! facing it and confronting it in order to work together to build something that learns from the mistakes of the past that is more equitable and lasting. so yeah idk just simple lyrical changes like "to move past"

Also the "will be strong enough" is so hamfisted....add some ambiguity or a touch of hopefulness or desperation bc we already saw prophecy isn't all it's caked up to be! "with their love, may it be strong enough" or smth. idk man!! idk!!

>the exit

the new ver literally has pallis like. push him to the ground at the beginning? BOO!! he's shown to be not understanding but still caring through his coldness, and also it's unclear what the prophecy is but in the beginning and the end "you really are the chosen one the calculated sacrifice" LIKE?? no wonder he was against it!! either knowing ur brother will die and/or being the killer??? yeah i think i'd be unhappy too abt my younger brother chasing a suicide mission.

and as for adakias and how literally his whole thing being feeling trapped, not fitting in, forced to fill a role he doesn't feel suited for, yearning for understanding and newness, etc.

and anura ALSO feeling those things!! self-recognition thru the other etc, and then for the next song to like immediately pivot to "and now they are going to settle down and have kids :)" it's SOOO infuriating. "to float away, and settle down" SETTLE DOWN????? AFTER ALL THAT YEARNING FOR A HERO'S JOURNEY???? WHAT DO YOU MEAN

>it's true love

literally changing all of anura's lines bc again misogyny the musical.

"I never would guess your touch could, Fill me with such thoughts to marry you, have your babies, too" BLECKKKK

TO ME changes to: "...guessed someone could Fill me with such a tender feeling, how, Just to be with you, Is it too good to be true?"

Also the "Adakias, can't you see that I knew at first kiss?" >> "can't you see that without you I'd have never escaped" this line is partially bc i couldn't hear what she was saying lol but it sounded vaguely like this to me and fit with the themes of like. desperation, loneliness, finally finding someone who understands you and the desire to cling to that person, the whirlwind that mixture of things can spur you into making looking before you leap decision making, etc

also more lyric changes but i would simply change "i can't let her learn about my past" to "if i let her learn about my past" with a yes maybe? :) hopefulness to it, that then pivots to the "if she found out where i came from" of the original. the back and forth!! the desire to entrust your full self to the person you theoretically has this magic connection of love and understanding with that you don't want to lie to!! but that is shadowed by the fears of being forced back to a life you don't want. instead of just "oh yeah and i will simply keep this a secret, forever, regardless of how much this endangers the people around me :) what could go wrong"

>meet the king

literally the narration at the end w/ the "the king as his greed" HIS GREED??? bro he literally knew he was hiding something and ofc he was concerned for his daughter making a crazy rash decision based on someone who very well COULD just be after her for status!!! and who did end up getting her sick and almost killed!!!!!

songs written by someone who doesn't get the plot of romeo and juliet. and also addy constantly ending his lines to the king with "You Fool" BRO that is not how u convince ur date's dad to like you!!!!! and way to give away ur not just some commoner who tf talks to royalty like this you loudmouth. KIDS

but also on the other hand what even is the sickness plotline....def puts a weird bit into my xenophobia metaphor plotline but as a plotline itself even without that it's so nonsense!!! means nothing to me!!!!

>holy the sea

i think this song fucks love the boat chorus :) i do think the "sits atop ur family tree" thing is kinda boring like booooo no fancy chosen one bloodlines, i say in a work where the only characters are all monarchists or smth, the reincarnation thing is on thin ice but i'll allow it bc making puppets is hard and i support reusing character designs in a "same guy but slightly different and to the left bc see they are Parallels" i fall for it every time.

>doctor doctor

lol literally i cant listen to this song it's so. like the music is fun but the entire plot and lyrics are soooo

i mean addy was rly gonna just sell anura to the creepy doctor without her consent bc, what? "Trust me, I know how this must go!"??? BRO as if you've trust her with anything!! and if it's not your fault in the first place!!!!

>the end and the beginning

i was always very confused where tf the doctor went in this song until i saw the visual of the door just falling on him. everybody say thank you pallis

the way it doesn't make sense tho lmao <3 "she would never RLY like u bc she's a spoiled princess who needs a prince" BRO?? damn that's crazy where the hell would we find one of those? and if not every character in this song is royalty???

"these two have been on quite an odyssey" :( i would also like to witness the odyssey. also belated question why in the new version are so many of the characters kind of gay (the spider, the king, pallis and his puppet hip thrusts)

and the way the entire song is abt her and pallis forcing her to justify herself to him but she like. barely has a line in it!! also the amount of lyrics i simply have never known bc im looking it up now on genius lyrics and damn where tf was i supposed to get maharaja and maliloquently from

more lyrics i dislike and change in my head: "please listen, I really can explain...Now you know the truth, but that knowledge shouldn't change the nature of our love" > "I really can't explain...Now you know the truth, and though that knowledge may change the nature of our love" the meaning is found in the acknowledgement that ur actions have consequences!! that you can't go back from but you can face up and be willing to accept that they will affect you moving forward!! and ofc the nature of it will change bc it NEEDS to change bc as proven by the lies and harm that's been done, it should change and that change can be something for the better.

the way she has NO like individual lines after the truth reveal tho. feminism loses :(

also the end like "we regained our science" HOW??? WHEN?? sorry i wasnt there for that lol. narrator living in a different sphere of existence. "cause an idea is only relevant if it's being thought upon" sir i have not gotten what the idea is.

anyway thoughts on just the musical as a visual:

i prefer the original spider puppet i just think the black light was better!!

they rly made him green huh....weird.

the weird blurs on the camera sometimes...like when pallis goes in for the stab and it has this weird overlapped motion blur what even IS that.....

i do like pallis and addy's little outfits :) brother who cant dress themselves

them holding hands in the meet the king song is cute. like children at mcdonald's "he asked for no pickles" kind of look.

the very end narration being all "never surrender :)" (image of guy bleeding out on the floor) is. quite the choice

[shortyisweird9]

'Lonely ghost serie'

An interesting night- part II

Tw⚠️: swearing

Corpse stretched as he set up his work station, Pewds was starting another live stream and invited him on and since sleep won't show up anytime soon, he hopped on without much thinking.

He smiled when his friends started to greet each other and him.

"Guys, you saw the video I send you ,right?" Lily asked.

"Yeah but I couldn't get in touch with ghost ,her friend was kind to let me know she might not feel comfortable doing a livestream with complete strangers. "Jack said as the others puffed in disappointment.

"That sucks. I wanted to see if she could have kill us all." Grease spoke as he opens a can of soda.

"You wanted to be killed by her?!"

They laughed as Grease quickly defended himself.

"Hey-Hey, to be killed by someone with that skill is a privilege."

"Simp." Jason concluded.

Their laughter ran wilde as Grease again began to shout.

"Hey,Lily?"

"Yes, Rae?"

"You been quiet. Something's wrong?"

"Whenever you are ready." She simply said, confusing them.

"W-What? Lily are you okay-"

"Hello,gents!"

It was her.

"GHOST?"

"Oh my god..."

"HOW but Jack said-"

"Guys ,guys ,please don't overwhelm." Lily again said, calming the both parties.

"Right ,sorry. Anyway, top of morning to yah ,ghost."

He could hear her swallowing her nerves before she cleared her voice, tingles ran down his back when the Reaper like tune hit his headphones.

"Hello!...This is awkward. Sorry."

They giggled with her as she moved in her chair.

"Ghost? "

"Yeah?"

"Your friend said you will not feel comfortable enough to join us today."

"Well, it's raining so that puts me at ease and your friend, Lily, was very convincing on bring me here."

"*giggle* I just showed you picture of my friends' pets."

"...As I said before, very convincing."

They always laughed especially when the stranger proved to be funny enough to bring that chuckle out of them.

"So ready to rock?"

"Let's roll."

————————————————————

The match was entertaining with couple of close calls, too close for your liking. Corpse was on you the entire time so to pay him for his diligence, you killed him first as he struggled to swipe that damn key card.

Then Jason, then Jack, Rae proved to be a bit harder to kill but you got her in O2, Lily was easy, Sykkuno was all confuse as he watched the crewmates die with him doing nothing, Pewds and Mark were a game of venting and killing swiftly. Speed was the key of your success of killing them all.

You could see they have their microphones on but no one said a thing.

The mischievous smirk that was plastered on your face grew when sounds of confusion came from Jack. Always the loud ones reveal the most.

"Whaaaat?"

"What the fuck?"

"I literally didn't have time to even kill any of you. Ghost came in like: slash ,slash, kill,kill."

You finally cracked at the ridiculous sounds Sykkuno made, a poor imitation of the sabers from Star wars.

"Hahaha"

He heard your laugh, he like the sound of it , the easiness and the innocence it held even though you killed all of them without mercy. What he didn't know if he liked was the stirring in his stomach cause by it. The tightness in his breath, the long smile and the bouncing of his legs as a result of hearing it.

He just shook his curls before paying attention to the group again, you were being put in the spotlight, something he cringed at as he recalled the painful experiences he had while being put under light.

"So, ghost?"

"Yes ,Jason?"

A whine came from the man known now as a simp for deep voices. You giggled, shaking your head and screaming when the black pair of headphones fell down your lap. Luckily you had the mic muted. That will be embarrassing...

You fixed your long hair, putting it behind your ears careful to not tug on your fresh piercings , your headphones back on the top ,you dived right back.

"Can you tell us about yourself?"

"Hmm..what do you want to know?"

You heard him sucking in a breath and to be honest you couldn't blame him, the voice was hot.

"Um ...anything. "

You giggled half embarrassed, half amusement by the pitch his voice turned to ,excited to hear whatever you may answer.

"Oh,okay. Um...My piercings hurt. My right leg is bouncing like crazy and um...I crave jelly candy."

"Piercings?"

"Yeah, my pal just did on my right three helix piercings: forward, mid and low. Plus the industrial on my left ear iches a bit."

"Oh, I am sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry about, Jas. Thanks for asking by the way."

"Oh, don't worry. Do you have any others?"

"Um..yeah. On the right ear ,I have..um. helix , flat, rook and upper. Left ahh..industrial,helix and orbital."

"Wow, th-that's a lot."

"Hah, I just told you about my ears."

A choke cane from him ,probably he was drinking something. It had ice though, you could hear the ice hitting the metal of the glass.

The man started to choke and cough ,making you and the others who listened patiently on your convo worried.

"Easy there ,mate."

"Jay, you good?"

"Easy there ,buddy."

"I-I'm *cough* I am fine. You have MORE?!"

"Yeah ,three on the upper part of my right eyebrow and a ring on the left one."

"Jesus. " He said, calming himself at last.

"Yeah,*giggle*. I also plan to slit my tongue in two."

"Oh, yeah cool.WHAT?!"

————————————————————

The next game you were imposter again but this time Corpse was your sidekick. Or were you his?

Anyway, you decided to let him do more of the killing,believe it or not , you weren't the blood thirsty monster the chat thought of you, all in a joking manner of course. Sabotage and let Corpse do his Kiss of death. Seeing couple of his streams ,you hoped he wasn't too nervous.

"Alright guys, ghost is imposter with us so this time I have to be more careful. They will probably suspect her to be imposter again . Sorry I can't see your message, I need to concentrate on this."

Proving his theory , ghost just sabotaged as she did fake tasks, being a guardian of Lily as he killed so far Mark and Toast.

"W-Where was the body?" His voice came of a bit more nervous then usual.

"In the nav." Dave answered.

"You good ,Corpse?"

He heard you ask ,you were more observant than the others who either lost themselves in the safety feeling of the match or the euphoria of the game, you always pointed suspicious behaviours of the others when they accused him of being imposter. He liked that, gave him time to calm his raging heart.

"Y-Yeah..*cough* I mean yeah, I am good. H-How about you?"

Fuck...

He didn't even want to catch a glimpse of the chat ,having a hunch of what they may be inferring.

"You seem shaky, Corpse. Something happened?"

He didn't needed to see Sean's face to know it will matched a lenny one. Finding an excuse so he is spared of the teasing and/or the allegations he is imposter, is a must.

"Yeah, I am just...ah...freezing. It's cold here. Brr. Brr."

They laughed at his poor attempt to sound like a freezing popsicle, your laugh put him more at ease. He knew however that his attempt of shifting the suspension failed, too bad he wanted to play more with you. I guess the roles are switching.

"He sound sus ,guys. Should we vote him out?"

"Wow, Lily. Thanks."

The girl giggling only stopped when you started speaking.

"He's not sus, guys. He's just a dork ,a stick with crippling anxiety and honestly same."

God, he wished he could fist bump you right now.

"More like a branch but who we voting then?" Sean asked.

" SPEEDRUN!"

Felix sealed his faith however. Your work only left him flustered and with a derpy smile , his honour lost in the vacuum space.

...............CORPSE was ejected.............

"Well shit. Anyway ,guys. Let me see what you been talking about? And I better not see any 'SIMP' comments. "

————————————————————

"How?! How the fuck?! You tricked me!" Lily screamed at you for your betrayal.

"Wow, so now I have big trust issues with ghost." Grease announced.

"Deep mommy, no." Jason said ,bringing a laugh out of you for the thousand of time.

You started to like this guy, he and Corpse will be spared next time you are imposter.

"Sorry ,guys-"

"Who told you,you are allowed to do that?" Pewds shouted at you in a heated but not menacing tone.

"You didn't let me finish."

You took a sip out of your ice tea.

"RIP to ya'll but I am different. Not my fault the only guy I take advices from is Doomguy. And as the legend would say: Rip and tear."

"OH MY FUCK-"

You lowered your mic as they screamed in disbelief ,Corpse didn't said anything however. You were curious as to why?

"Corpse?"

"Yeah ,baby?"

Woah. That caught you out of guard. Like the warmth in your olive cheeks and the deliciously painful and frightening feeling of twisting in your stomach.

"Um..."

You blinked, no words head's empty.

"Oh, shit. Sorry, ghost. I didn't meant to make you feel weird."

"No,no. I am good. Ey, Jas?"

"Yes ,hun?"

"Do you take applications for your Corpse fan club?"

Jesus, what is this night even?

————————————————————

Hey, guys!💖

Hope you enjoyed the second part of the serie.

Anyway have a nice day/night!🌙🌌

Tagged 💖💖: @moolujk

[myth-carver]

Brief thoughts on c3e1 and the new folks........

Overall: Eh, it was okay. CR has a winning formula with their style of actual play, they're almost always a joy to watch onscreen and that was no different last night, but I came away feeling more like I was watching a oneshot or another ep of ExU rather than the new Critical Role campaign proper. Not super into the new cast and very disappointed that literally half the table is reused people we've seen before -- I enjoyed ExU's cast but that was sold as a separate thing and seeing them here is jarring, especially absent the rest of the Crown Keepers. Between reused characters, all the new permanent changes to the format, not even being 100% certain who in this cast is going to stay or later go at this point... It just kinda feels weird :/ But I'm excited for the Marquet setting and it took me a really long time to warm up to the c2 cast too, and it's early days yet. So I'm willing to have my mind changed, and fortunately for me, I'm more a fan of the cast themselves than any particular characters they've played anyhow. Taking a wait and see approach overall.

Imogen: She seems sweet, I love her character design, I'm very partial to purple hair lmao. Other than that I don't find her that interesting so far but Laura is a good RPer so she'll probably be fun to watch. Maybe she'll be able to join Orym in stewarding the group's brain cell lol.

Laudna: Marisha's doing an accent??????? She sounds amazing and I love the performance. Laudna certainly has a lot of intriguing stuff going on, I enjoy a character with mysteries to dig into. She doesn't inspire me fannishly but I'll look forward to finding out what her deal is. I'm ngl I'm super disappointed that all three of our girls this time are really femme though.

Ashton: Kintsugi earth genasi is an absolutely inspired concept that I hope Taliesin patted himself on the back for a lot because he Earned It. That said, aggressive punk with anger/authority issues is a trope I find super super annoying and he's already rubbing me the wrong way constantly :/ I hate that I'm just not into the only human-adjacent nonbinary character on the main cast, it really sucks. It's also driving me crazy how much the colors of his costume intensely do not match his green and purple and gold body even slightly lmao, it's really unpleasant to look at.

FCG: This is now an FCG hate blog, lol not really but holy shit I hate this character so much, Mr. Riegel I'm literally already tired of your joke character after less than 1 episode idk how I'm going to endure a whole campaign of them. Liam why would you do this to us 😩 a lot of people seem to love them a lot so lmao I'm anticipating for me this is going to be a Caduceus situation where my resentment of the character increases due to never being able to get away from posts about him. I don't want any more robots on my fantasy show, if I wanted robots I'd go watch an actual play of a sci-fi tabletop game instead...

Orym: Best boy from ExU returns, which is cool since I super wanted to know more about him in ExU, but wow does it suck they decided to actively make ExU a worse show by not going into half the cast's backgrounds and leaving it literally an incomplete story to accommodate bringing these cast members into c3. If that was the whole purpose of ExU why not just announce that instead of being coy like this??? The way ExU ended left a really bad taste in my mouth and honestly dampened my interest in seeing more of these characters. That said though, my love for Orym at least somewhat remains and Liam is usually the cast member whose character taste matches my own the most, I look forward to seeing where he takes Orym in the future. Also, if our speculation about his OOC origins during ExU turn out correct, cool to have the first gay male character on the main cast.

Dorian: Other best boy from ExU and a surprise appearance by Robbie! All three of the ExU folks I thought meshed with the CR style amazingly and it's fun to get to see him again. Very curious what dirt FCG apparently seems to have on him. And I wonder when we finally get to learn his real name... 👀

Fearne: I overall don't like Ashley's RP, which I know is ironic because I love Yasha so much lmao. But I feel like Fearne is, of everyone Ashley's played on stream, the character that seems to most match with her personal style and comes most naturally to her, it's fun to see her RP with such confidence. She's really good at invoking the fey vibe, both the sweetness and comedy and the undertone of menace. That said, Fearne's general behavior hammers my secondhand embarrassment squick absolutely like crazy lmao and it's going to be rough to have to watch that for an extended period, I find her frequently almost painful to watch tbh. I'm excited that a fey in the main cast means we'll be seeing Feywild stuff though!!! Maybe even my eladrin warlock's old patron Lady Elmenore 👀

Bertrand: Sorry man I didn't care about you in the oneshots and I still don't lmao, too obnoxious for me. It heavily seems like he's here as a guest though -- I just hope this doesn't herald something weird like Travis finishing his appearance and then bowing out of the cast, please bring a second character when you're done being an NPC Travis don't go away :(

[guzhuangheaven]

As much as I am enjoying My Heroic Husband, despite the fact that it’s genuinely laugh out loud funny and the characters are endearing, I do kind of want to nitpick it a bit (a lot). The drama spends a lot of time telling you about how Tan’er is the best candidate to be the seal holder and the boss of the family business. And certainly compared to her cousin she is better because she does have integrity and dedication to the business. But the problem is that it’s episode 16 now, and the drama has yet to actually show much (any) of her ability.

All the clever business things that had happened so far in the drama has been Ning Yi’s idea. In fact, in the very second episode, where Tan’er’s warehouse flooded ruining all her inventory of fabrics, she came up with absolutely zero idea to save the opening day of her shop except to postpone the opening. In the end Ning Yi stepped in the save the day. I’m not saying that Tan’er is incompetent, because in that situation, there was very little that could be done other than postpone the opening. Ning Yi only saved the day because he has the advantage of knowledge taken from modern time and set up a gameshow to trick customers into buying fabric that did not yet exist and getting them to pay up front then pick up the product later. 

The thing is, this solution that Ning Yi came up with – along with practically all the other business models he wowed people with later like franchising, door to door shipping and customer reward cards – can only really work in our modern mass consumerism market. (Like I get that century egg is this novel thing in this world but no one needs that much century egg that it can be turned into a massive franchise a la McDonalds or Starbucks.) The drama handwaves this and assumes these sales models would work in a feudal, labour intensive world. And this makes for a genuinely funny drama because we are supposed to be aware that everything is anachronistic and unrealistic.

I get that this drama is really Ning Yi’s drama, and it’s supposed to be playing up the fact that Ning Yi has the mind and memories of a modern business man who is used to running billion dollar corporations. So the focus on Ning Yi’s business schemes is not necessarily the problem. The problem is that this set up gives Tan’er nothing to do. At this point, Ning Yi is pretty much the one doing all the business and Tan’er is just the symbolic boss walking around nodding at everybody. Yes there are hints that Ning Yi does discuss things with her and clue her in to things, but we don’t get enough of that to really be convinced that this is still Tan’er business that she is supposed to be running and is responsible for. Tan’er shows up when it’s necessary to be the face of the business, but really it’s Ning Yi pulling all the strings.

And this really sums up the problem (maybe problem is too strong a word, but certainly the weakness) in the way this drama is attempting to subvert gender roles. In fact, it’s a weakness in all cdramas I have watched so far that try to do this, The Romance of Tiger and Rose included. These dramas take a very second wave feminist approach and posits that women’s assigned reproductive roles suck and women being confined to the private sphere suck, so gender equality means that women should break out of those roles and into the public sphere and do what men do. Equality, therefore, means women should be like men and do things like men. Which is all well and good when you say that this means that women like Tan’er should be able to head the family business.

What this approach IRL usually overlooks is the fact that reproductive duties in the private sphere DO exist regardless of what women do in the public sphere, and usually women end up being tasked with the reproductive work in the private sphere anyway. This is what leads to women’s multiple labour and triple burden. To be fair, My Heroic Husband does attempt to address this by having the men at the husband school (whatever it’s called in English, I’m not watching is drama with Eng sub so have no idea…) learn things like to cook and sew and take care of children. But this attempt to challenge gender roles is undermined by the fact that 1) these husbands are still established as the minority and this is still assumed to be a patriarchal society and 2) therefore the society in My Heroic Husband still look down on these husbands who live with their wives’ family and learn/do these traditionally feminine tasks. Basically only men who are weak whatever that means/too poor/too pathetic/have no other option force themselves/choose to put themselves into this role. Moreover, Ning Yi is celebrated among the men at the husband school and in the drama in general not because he successfully embraces his reversed gender role and stays home and take care of the house/kids while Tan’er owns a business, but because he…takes over the running of the business himself so that his wife can be a token female boss???

This tokenism is very much the predictable result when the traditional constructs of “men good women bad” and the power relations between men and women are not challenged. Just because you flip the roles doesn’t mean you are challenging the power relations. This simply flipping is what The Romance of Tiger and Rose tried to do as well, and it worked even less for me in that drama. I dropped Tiger and Rose around ep 18 because I was so frustrated with the fact that it shoves in your face this supposed matriarchal society that is literally no different than IRL patriarchy just with the men and women switching places. This “IRL patriarchy but it’s women instead” approach doesn’t work because it doesn’t unpack WHY IRL patriarchy set up men in positions of power in the first place and the traditional assumptions about the biological difference between men and women that underlie patriarchal societies. It does not interest me in any way to see women oppress men in drama in the exact same way as men do women IRL, because that says nothing about…anything, other than assuming that people just suck in general. It also doesn’t offer any solution to how to undo any of that oppression and unbalance of power, which is what these thought experiments with gender roles are supposed to do.

I guess the point of this very long post is to say I’m just frustrated with how Chinese dramas are still stuck in this rather outdated approach to feminism. Throw socialist/Marxist feminist theories in and it only entrenches this approach even further. None of this surprise me, but I find it hard to ignore in dramas such as My Heroic Husband and Tiger and Rose that set out to very explicitly challenge gender roles and then kind of…don’t. Actually it’s dramas that are not so “in your face” about it like The Story of Ming Lan and to a certain extent Nothing Gold Can Stay are the ones that drives across more subtle but clearer messages about how damaging patriarchy is to women.

(Having said all of this, I still do love My Heroic Husband as a drama because it’s still very entertaining. It’s not meant to be that deep of a drama anyway, I just have too high expectations this being my field IRL and all.) -H