#are we even watching the same show????

[gregmarriage]

on a tomgreg betrayal, i honestly don’t think it will actually happen. the chances of it genuinely happening seem very slim. i think there’s probably gonna be the possibility offered to one or both of them, one or both of them will get scared the other will actually go through with it (most likely, tom will be worried that greg will turn against him somehow) honestly? i just imagine a boar on the floor style situation where it’s tense and there’s a moment where you think one of them will betray the other, but they don’t. this later solidifies their relationship and could perhaps lead into the meaty stuff, i.e, the romantic side of things.

[ruporas]

captain's warm hugs! (id in alt)

[edandstede]

rip to anyone thinking the show has nothing left to give like did you not listen to djenks when he said he has a 3 series arc in mind, did you not see ed gazing at stede during lucius and pete’s wedding because that man wants to put a ring on it so bad, were you not there when zheng very loudly said she wants to find ricky and kill him for what he did, do you think they can just slaughter a dozen british and escape by the skin of their teeth and that be the end of it? there is still a giant fucking looming threat to the pirates and it will absolutely extend to ed and stede’s ramshackle inn whether they think they’ve truly retired or not (not to mention the new conflicts they’ll face trying to get this new venture up and running, that will be a sitcom in of itself). anyway revenge is still on the water and i don’t just mean the ship and i cannot wait to see how it all goes down. praying we actually get to.

[theoldkyokodied]

Uploading all my Tomgreg art at once from the past few week before season 4 hits, who knows in what kind of mental state i'm gonna be once it does :')

[floq]

you know, a big reason i kinda drifted away from the phandom last year was because of how prevalent dp x dc content had become. at the time, i was more of a marvel girlie and i didn’t know much about the batfam or dc content in general. but this year during my (somewhat unintentional) hiatus i coincidentally got really into superman media, which then spiraled into an interest in the batfam and dc as whole and oh god I GET IT NOW

I GET THE APPEAL

dp x dc content creators, keep it going, y’all are doing wonders for this community

[buddiesmutslut]

LISTEN. If we get a bisexual!Buck arc, I will ACTUALLY LITERALLY CRY, I’m already emotional just thinking about it, it will literally bring me so much joy

BUT

I don’t want it at the expense of an Eddie coming out arc…

Bc listen, I read a post talking abt how the writers probably won’t give both of them a really flushed out Queer Realization Arc bc it would be redundant, which like, okay sure, yes, I can see why you wouldn’t want to have two main, male characters going through the exact same thing, so sure, whatever, BUT -

I feel like, out of Buddie, Eddie is going to be the one that really struggles with coming to terms with his sexuality.

Eddie, who had to be The Man Of The House at 10 years old. Eddie, who grew up in the Deep South. Eddie, whose family is Catholic. Eddie, who already had a strained relationship with his judgmental parents. Eddie, who had a WIFE. Eddie, who says that what he had with Shannon was magic & compares every relationship he had to her. Eddie, who was in the military, which is infamous for DADT. Eddie, whose aunt constantly pushes him at random women because he needs to not be alone. Eddie, who canonically suffers from comp-het, saying that dating women feels like putting on a performance, not that he understands why. Eddie, who dated Ana & was planning on staying with her, even though he was unhappy, for his son.

I think Buck would be way chiller with realizing he’s queer - if he doesn’t already know, which is my fav head-cannon - & I feel like he wouldn’t struggle as much bc it’s Eddie, & Eddie is his best friend, and gender wouldn’t play as big a part for him as I think it would for Eddie.

I would love for them both to have an arc where they worked through their expectations when it comes to relationships & realize that they’re queer, but idk man, I feel like Eddie is going to be the one to really struggle & he deserves to really have that flushed out.

Idk, I’ve been thinking about this ever since I saw that post & nobody I know watches 9-1-1 😭

[soniclion92]

People gotta understand that the whole 'slow motion break up' thing from s4 isn't Jonathan saying he doesn't love Nancy anymore, it's him admitting that he's terrified that he's going to drive Nancy into hating him the way Joyce hates Lonnie. He's depressed and doom spiralling! He literally starts off the season by proclaiming how much he loves her (at the same time as Nancy ranting abt how much she loves him) !! That boy LOVES Nancy so much he really doesn't want to lose her but has convinced himself that he will! Also, this is the first thing he does upon seeing Nancy again, if he didn't love her, would he really have greeted her like this:

Jonathan Byers loves Nancy Wheeler and Nancy Wheeler loves Jonathan Byers, your honour. I rest my case.

[houseswife]

house’s cane is grotesquely underutilised sexual style in fanfics considering that 1) it’s a long phallic object that he is constantly handling and 2) he straight up joked about fucking wilson with it that one time

[reluctantbylerblog]

call me crazy and controversial but I don't think nancy did anything wrong, nor is she fundamentally a bad person for what happened to barb in s1, and I absolutely do not think she needs to be redeemed. the end of her character arc should always be about reaching a point of self-compassion and forgiveness—specifically by healing enough to allow herself to move past her guilt and belief that she caused barbs death by letting herself become close to others and form intimate friendships. especially with robin (who imo she was cagey with in s4 because of her trauma around barb)

[kirby-the-gorb]

[polin-erospsyche]

I saw someone say that the mature thing to do is to realise that Debling is the better choice because it took Colin almost loosing Pen to realise his feelings and honestly I’m flabbergasted.

I mean yeah sure, I know there are people out there who prefer Debling. But they’re really out there trying to convince people that he is the better choice? When he essentially said « I don’t have time for this, I don’t have time for you »? But just with a nicer smile and a softer voice. To be convinced that the better option is the man who will not give you the time of day. To be convinced that a life without love is a better option than one with it. To be convinced that it is alright to sacrifice what you hope for the most out of life. A love like the one in the books you read. And for what? A lonely, isolated and cold life? Pen was ready to sacrifice her hopes and dreams and happiness for that. And the saddest part was she was miserable when that slipped out of her grasp. Because she was in a position where a loveless life in a big empty house was better than a miserable one with her family. She was in a position that affected her mental health so much that she was willing to sacrifice herself. And I know that the time period is not the same, but I’d like to think that even back then you’d try to find someone who you could at least become friends with if you had a choice in the matter. Not someone who was going to marry you and pin you up like a doll in his perfectly manicured doll house.

So I’m sorry but if you think for one second that the prospect of a life like that is a better choice than one by the side of someone who is utterly lost in love with you, who was in the middle of loving before he even realised he had started to fall, who wishes for your happiness above all else, who knows you better than anyone, who is a mirror to your soul, a home for your heart and a best friend who will weather any storm right by your side than we are not watching the same show. Or we just don’t want the same kind of love.

[alicenpai]

COME ON BOARD AND BRING ALONG ALL YOUR HOPES AND DREAMS...! stickers here in my shop until oct 17 🏴‍☠️

[matt-the-radar-techncian]

Was pearl always a slave to rose?

Lol no, not even a question. It's probably more productive to ask "was Pearl ever a slave to Rose?"

From the very beginning, Rose talked to Pearl, asked for her input, and encouraged her to share her feelings. The idea to spend time on Earth together and for Pink Diamond to take on the form of a rose quartz in the first place was Pearl's idea. Along with Rose and Pearl were the founding members of the Crystal Gems. Pearl and Rose would both step out of the roles that gem society forced on them and tried to create a new world together where they can be free to enjoy life as equals

Even after all this, Pearl still can't help but have doubts, that her new path is somehow "wrong," and that being independent and even thinking for herself is a bridge too far, and asks Rose to order her to stop being independent and free

And how does Rose respond?

"Please, don't ever stop."

As for the vow to keep the truth about Pink Diamond a secret, I think it's more than just than Rose not wanting Pearl to tell anyone, it's that she truly wanted to leave that part of herself behind forever. Keeping the truth a secret effectively made sure Pink Diamond, and all the parts of herself she hated, were truly "dead." It's no surprise that Pearl was willing to keep the secret, even from people like Garnet and Bismuth. But when Steven comes along and starts asking more and more questions, Pearl makes the choice to help him learn the truth, even if she can't directly tell him herself. (If she didn't want to help him or couldn't, she simply wouldn't have)

Even after Rose's death Pearl keeps fighting to protect the world that she and Rose worked so hard for. They had spent their whole lives, on the order of 6,000 years together, and Rose was the one who helped her gain freedom and to choose her own path. When Rose does give up her life (which, keep in mind, isn't something that immortal beings like gems would usually have to deal with or learn to accept) for some reason Pearl doesn't fully understand yet, it takes her time to overcome the pain of loss, and overcome it she does. Pearl isn't a slave, she's just mourning, I think she's deserved it a little

[gallners]

benson + randy - the meeting place happy birthday, @hofmanns

[alyona11]

Ok time for my big Hadestown hot take and that’s that West End Hadestown doesn’t give you a 100% Hadestown experience. It’s still ridiculously good and 100% worth seeing, don’t get me wrong (I used my opportunity and saw it twice and will likely see it again if I’m in London), but it kinda made me realise a couple of things about OBC production that will always be my Roman Empire and make me deeply upset Broadway is too greedy to give us an OBC proshot.

So, here are some of my thoughts and reflections based on seeing Hadestown live on West End + seeing different versions (including London National theatre proshot) in boots. I think you can pretty solidly say that in Hadestown there are 2 main stories: Orpheus/Eurydice and Hades/Persephone. And even though arguably Orphedice is the main most important story, it my opinion it also wins from Hadesphone story being strong. Which works perfectly in OBC due to Amber Gray and Patrick Page delivering a very deep nuanced performances as their characters.

I think part of the success of Hadestown when it works on its fullest is how it creates a very deep emotional journey. And I feel that regardless which pair of Orpheus and Eurydice you have (if we take Broadway/tour/West End take on the characters) it’ll still work! Like you need to try really hard to mess up orphedice the way people wouldn’t root for Orpheus or wouldn’t empathise with Eurydice because they are so relatable and cute. You instantly love them, they are so so lovable. So orphedice part is one thing in Hadestown that imo works if not always then in 99% of the cases.

Hades and Persephone’s part of the story in the contrary is VERY hard to nail on 100%, in my opinion, and this is literally driving me crazy. Maybe seeing Amber Gray and Patrick page in professional recording awoken some feelings in me, I don’t know. I will state straight away that I also do enjoy other actors’ takes on characters and I do see some very interesting character moments there and there. However, I keep returning to the thought that Amber/Patrick’s characterisation works SO WELL for the main narrative. I’ll try to explain why I think so. Consider it my love letter to the OBC.

First and foremost, I feel like Hadesphone story has a very fine dynamic that the actors have to nail, so you would feel that: 1) these two still love each other; 2) these two are buried under their problems and see no way out, only a miracle (aka Orpheus and his song) can save their marriage.

And if the first one usually works at least due to Epic 3, the second one, imo, often (at least partially) falls victim to acting/directing choices which can cause troubles with point 1 as well. I think one big thing I’ve noticed is that often Persephone’s alcoholism gets forgotten in the acting performance. Like yeah sure her choreography includes drinking from a flask but in comparison to Amber you never get a feeling that she is absolutely wasted. Which, is in my opinion something that you should feel when you’re watching the show and something I was constantly forgetting about when I was watching the show on West End. I feel in Amber’s performance you can constantly see that her Persephone’s feel good attitude is a façade of a broken person who knows that her marriage is going to hell in front of her eyes yet she is too passive and hopeless to try to make an active change (well, she does try in Chant and nothing happens), so her only way is to chase the sense of normality that the “medicine” gives her. But when she is alone, if you get to catch a moment when people are not looking at her, you can see a deep sadness under her positive front and her memory of the old days when everything was more simple. Nevertheless, the main point that the lyrics literally say is that Persephone is blinded by the river of wine. And this is crucial to her character and her relationship with Hades because the story states that even though Hades is a problem and he is an active actor in creating more problems, he is not the only failure in this relationship. Persephone needs to be woken up from her apathy almost as much as Hades does and this is something that we see during If It’s True.

From Hades’ side I feel like it’s not a good decision to make him a total villain because when he is irredeemable you don’t feel like the whole “song that will fix the world” has any chance of working long term. I think Patrick nailed a deep antagonist very well. His Hades is weird and lowkey creepy and alien. He does objectively bad things but when you look at him you can’t stop thinking that he doesn’t operate in regular human logic or morality. When I look at him in Chant, it feels to me that his words about building stuff to impress Persephone are absolutely sincere, and I can absolutely see that his Hades doesn’t understand why she is so upset about it when his intentions are so so clear. Maybe it’s my vision but even before Epic 3 when he is so far gone and buried in his projects and messed up ideas I don’t have a single doubt that Persephone is a single motivator and goal of Patrick Hades’ life and that he literally doesn’t need any other being to care about. And tragically this fixation is what makes him blind to all other things he does even if those things ruin Persephone’s life (and other people’s but tbh I don’t think he cares).

I feel like by removing Persephone’s Chant 2 verse Hadestown created more problems for Hades and Persephone part of the story making it a much harder job for the actors to prove to the audience that Hades and Persephone have a chance to make their relationship work. Like I get that maybe it was a necessary things to do (even though I think the show is much better with it) but it made it so much harder to empathise with this particular part of the story unless the actors use the choices that work in the narrative. Because for example when I was watching the show on West End part of me was wondering “what is Persephone’s deal in all of that, what does she win by staying with Hades?” With the verse, and with Broadway Previews or London 2018 in particular this part was clear: Persephone still loves Hades and believes that he has the opportunity to change and become a better man he used to be. Without the verse, however, the actors should give you the same idea during the show which is a hard task considering Hades and Persephone have only 2 big conversations together (Chant and How Long). So apart from those songs there are only subtle mostly silent moments they get together through which the actors have to convey the same thought which is hella difficult and probably hardly will be appreciated by anyone apart from the people who sit closely.

So, maybe because in the actor combo I saw (Zachary and Lauren), I got a feeling that even though they were great separately, I didn’t feel much chemistry between them as a pair. I think, Persephone seemed pissed and tired of Hades all the time until How Long and I didn’t feel that she still believes in his willingness to change. And Zach Hades despite being entertaining, kinda gives the impression of Hades who has other options, he is not into Persephone enough. The only sparkle appears between the two in Epic III which is still cute but I’m not sure if it works just as well if that’s the first time you see the show? Also considering Zach Hades gives more malicious intent in His Kiss, The Riot it seems that he is not even slightly interested in Orpheus having any opportunity to succeed with his quest. Which is not bad, don’t get me wrong! But in comparison to Patrick who is deeply self projecting into Orpheus to the point where you could see that even though he doesn’t want to let him go, part of him does because it would prove he too could succeed in his challenge of waiting for Persephone, this take seems a bit lacking. And overall because of His Kiss, their promise in Wait For Me doesn’t seem as giving much hope that the story won’t repeat itself next Sunday. Which in its turn makes Orpheus’ sacrifice feel a bit… worthless. If on Broadway, when Orpheus turns, but spring comes again you feel like it is the start of something new: hopefully a kinder and softer time. On West End the show also wants you to feel it but when you think about Hades and Persephone you feel…less certainty that this sacrifice will have a long term effect?

I guess the creators wanted to concentrate on Orpheus and Eurydice more and forget about Hades and Persephone by making them more secondary story or maybe there was a lack of director’s involvement to give the cast some hints on how to make this particular part of the story work better, but it feels to me that in its current state the show works in its 85% power which is still great but once you know there is something missing you can’t stop thinking about it and wishing the show would give you those 15% you crave.

[dollypopup]

i choose to live in denial about the fact that there are so many desires for 'Babies Ever After' in Polin immediately following the conclusion of season 3 because like. . .this woman is nineteen!!! at the start of it all she should be at the club having a panic attack! and at the end, she should be getting railed up and down the European coast by her hot husband who has miraculously good pull-out game!

we are not the same!!!