#even my mum is asking to cast on tv the following eps

[fujunfuren]

[yourfavouritetragedy]

I was adding onto the DSMP Actor AU post, but it turned into Wilbur musician AU, haha rip me, and I only know SBI anyways so here’s a separate post. (It goes back to actor AU at the end.) It’s hypothetically still in the same universe though, and obviously inspired by it. If anything’s phrased weirdly, it’s cuz this was originally an addition to that. 

tbh I kinda adhered to their IRL careers too much compared to the OP but whatever it’s fine. 

Also frick the “Dream SMP” for not having a better title lmaooo

Wilbur is an indie artist really on the come up

Your City Gave Me Asthma was pretty good for a first release, popular with both new fans and fans of his acting.

He had starred in a short mystery/thriller-ish series that started off disguised as a normal sitcom: Chilly in Lincolnshire {Editor Wilbur ARG}

It had a prominent release because of Jack Massey’s involvement and previous fame, but production was abruptly scrapped before it tied everything up with a bow on top, so to speak. It’s still unclear if this was actually planned in order to tell the story the way they way wanted. 

Even before that, critics had mixed reviews, either applauding the storytelling and acting or calling it “irrationally confusing, an amateurish attempt to box unconventional storytelling into a conventional medium.”

Also SootHouse was a sitcom that achieved a cult following during the two seasons it ran before cancellation. Either you’re a fan or you’re never heard of it, and people constantly forget Wilbur was in it. 

(He was a few other old shows on his resume too. Wilbur always focuses on the newest project, so everyone always forgets about what he was in before.) 

Maybe I Was Boring EP was initially just bonus tracks on his website, but his fans liked it so much he gave it a wider release

In between, he had a few comedy songs go viral on youtube. Everybody was so confused when they realized it was the same Wilbur as musician/actor Wilbur. He laughed about it in an interview, saying “How many Wilburs do you know?” 

That’s when it came out that “Wilbur Soot” was actually a stage name. (”Ha, fair, only one.” “Make that zero-- my name’s not really Wilbur.”)

He kinda disappeared after that?? Didn’t do anything, really inactive on social media. It was semi-confirmed that he was both working on his mental health and prepping some stuff (music, auditions).

But anyways he just released a series of singles, combined into Digital Love {E-girl trilogy}-- he’s transformed his image yet again, but this time he does take ownership of all his past ventures.

The release of Digital Love bridges the end of SMP Earth and the beginning Dream SMP. 

But before that there was MCC and the other stuff.

They are shows where celebrities team up do stuff-- you know the type 

but Minecraft Monday is still inexplicably Minecraft Monday. Some Youtuber just managed to get all these up and coming celebrities to play a Minecraft tournament. 

And that’s where the Sleepy Bois (minus Tommy) met IRL so that’s where they meet here. 

SMP Earth, like Minecraft Manhunts, is also a former show they were on. I’m going to call it World Domination. Don’t @ me; I know that’s trash lol. 

They and the Dream Team met up because of their shared fanbases and were even talking a crossover, but it didn’t really work that well for the stories so they scrapped it

They make a non-canon cross over episode anyways {no IRL equivalent, I think}

Everybody loves the cons. Everytime there’s a con, five friendships are made and eight ideas are created. 

Techno backstory time

He’s done a lot of long running, though not exactly popular, serials and sitcoms: Blitz, Survival Games, and Sky Wars. 

Winstreak: 1000 {Bed Wars 1000 winstreak} was so popular they made a second season, but it never got as big as the first. He worked nearly exclusively with Hypixel Studios. 

He was doing lots of random content for their new Sky World universe {Skyblock} -- the small studio was big on experimentation -- , when a fictional documentary, The Great Potato War, went proper viral. 

They made two sequels WHILE he was doing those celebrity team challenge shows and then World Domination, and they were actually good sequels.

Got a reputation for being shallow and a sell-out, but he makes a joke of it so much he gets away with it and constantly self-promos.

Also a kinda scary to work with for the first time because of how single-minded he can get, but once you realize how socially awkward he is it’s okay.  

Now that’s he’s in a lot of stuff with worldbuilding, he practically has the wikis memorized. 

Tommy mainly did limited series and movies before World Domination, where he met the SBI.

He’d had been a fan of Wilbur for a while, and was super star-struck at first, but got over it really quickly in his Tommy style

He still is a total fanboy at concerts and whenever a new music video drops. “I’m friends with the guy! I know him, Wilbur Soot!” “Tommy, you’re famous too.” “Yeah, cuz I’m practically in the video!” “No--” 

Wilbur takes Tommy to one of his concerts and he’s so hyped the entire time, especially to go behind the scenes and on the stage. 

Sometimes he gets stressed about the pressure of being a child star, but Techno, Philza, and Wilbur promise to stand by him and they make him feel protected 

One time Wilbur’s drunk and almost hands Tommy a drink before swearing and going, “You’re a bloody child! You can’t have that! God, what would Philza think?” Tommy’s not sure whether to be relieved or disappointed. 

Philza laughs at the story and actually lets Tommy try a little in a more controlled, responsible situation. Tommy texts his mum first, and then hates the drink anyways. (”This is rubbish! I am a man, but I’m not drinking this!” Techno: “Alcohol is disappointing. I drink orphan’s tears instead.” “Techno WHAT--”)

Philza had been the star of a zombie apocalypse show: Golden Core 

He did canonically die to a child zombie in the movie version. Yes, they made a movie version of the TV show, because the Golden Core franchise actually has had many other shows {other hardcore series}. 

Everybody tries to get the child zombie props near him because of that (they’re puppets)

He’s done a lot of other things, like in the original actor AU post, but none of them came close in popularity. 

He gives the rest of the SBI the knowledge he’s gained from being in the biz for so long. 

There’s also a running joke about SBI meaning “Spy Boys Incorporated” and them starring in a comedy spy movie

The fans would very much actually like this to happen. There’s so many fanons for it (maybe I’ll write one....) 

Back to the DSMP. Maybe I’ll call it Dreamland or smth. 

Wilbur constantly asks Tommy if he’s okay after any difficult scenes

Especially when they were hanging out together a lot in the exile arc.

All the brother scenes were cut because Wilbur kept breaking down and crying in them.

Sometimes people actually ask Techno and Tommy if they’re actually brothers. Tommy tries to go along with it half the time on the basis of “it’s be funny,” so there’s a subset of casual fans that genuinely don’t know. 

After Alivebur was killed off, Wilbur was going to leave the show to concentrate on his music

But he missed the SMP and hanging so much that he just showed up on set one day saying “I’m a ghost now,” and everyone just rolled with it

Alivebur was so popular that, seeing that Wilbur was willing, they decided to bring him back for Season 3. He’s been avoiding doing heavy scenes, but he still seems really invested and like he wants to come back to the show.

Wilbur talks with Techno about writing and lore a lot

it’s one the few times Wilbur actually seems like the older one

Wilbur attempted to get a D&D group going in the cast, but the show was already close enough, with the amount of improvisation they can get by with

Tommy’s Pigstep cover happened, but the background was Philza clapping barely in time with just Wilbur on bass instead (and of course Techno’s “BAHP”s)

It was a charity stream. They had put on their costumes (clothes only) for a previous goal. 

This one was simply called “We rap.”

Some people were almost disappointed that Tommy was the only one actually rapping, but he was so funny it made up for it. 

Okay I spent the whole morning on this and it got way too long but I think I’m finally out of ideas. sorry haha hope you enjoyed! ^_^

[tellywoodtrash]

Heyy! I really loved your analysis on The Great Indian Dysfunctional Family! Could you give your honest review on it? I mean how did you find it's plot, the story, acting, directing all in all the show and what would you rate it? Thank You! Have a nice day! :)

Hello anon!

I’ve got to thank you for sending in this question, coz I did mean to do an overall review for the show beyond the lbs, and was just dragging my feet and being a lazy POS about it. You’re keeping me honest. :)

Tbh, I’m not sure how exactly to rank or rate this show. Until Ep 6. (the one with the big reveal) I really liked it. I really really liked it. But then the show just took a bizarre turn after the reveal. The plot went kinda off the rails, most of the characters were acting very strangely, and I was just left wondering why they built all this up and made me care about these characters just to bring it all crashing down like this.

The story

Nothing new, it was basically a Kapoor & Sons ripoff; right down to the whole vibe; everything from the setting at this hillstation-esque area, to the house parties, to the interpersonal dynamics (the feuding brothers, one of whom is oblivious as to why the other one is so resentful of him; the chill idgaf elder with the shenanigans; husband-wife tension; one of the characters is gay…) to how it all played out (reveal at a fun party right after a troubled marriage got a second wind, sudden untoward death of a parent, brothers making peace after…) all seemed straight up taken from that movie. They adjusted it a little here and there to accommodate the characters and make it seem different, but overall, it was just Kapoor & Sons, the TV version.

The plot

Like I said above, I really liked the way the show was written till Ep. 6. They built up the world really nicely; the family dynamics were uneasy yet stable in a manufactured way, and it all goes to hell with the entry of the ‘outsiders’ Samar and Sonali. I liked their relationship; they seemed like a couple who not only loved each other romantically, but also genuinely liked each other as who they are as a person. They’re still in their honeymoon phase, unaware/blind of each other’s more icky personality traits. Their coupling is so perfect, that even his own mother feels vindicated when they have a minor tiff, claiming no husband and wife are ever THAT happy. On the other hand we have Vikram and Geeta, who are barely holding on to their marriage; their tension is out in the open, even as much as Geeta tried to play it down. I liked how they paralleled the two couples. They also built up the suspense well; it was pretty obvious that there had been infidelity on Geeta’s part and Mridul’s paternity was in question, but the way they ramped it up was good. All this playing around Addu’s coming out, and the social ramifications of such an act in small town India, was well done. It’s after Ep. 6 that everything goes downhill. Samar and Geeta’s characters get reallllllllly unlikable. Their only regret seems to be that everyone found out, rather than the actual deed. And neither of them seem to be really apologetic? Samar kinda brushes it off after making two, three guilty faces/dialogues, Geeta picks fights with Vikram who’s trying to make peace with her despite the fact that she slept with his brother? Ek toh chori, upar se seena jori. Just distasteful. The pace of the show also suffers post ep. 6; everything just unfolds so quickly, yet nothing is really happening, and I was just confused as to what the point of all this was, and how the characters would eventually resolve this emotional quandary. But also, with the insufferable way most of them were acting, I didn’t really care either. I was just like eh, whatever, you’ve made your beds, now lie in it. The writing for all the characters just made me apathetic to their fates. The convenient killing off of PL was just dumb and contrived. Also confusing, because they had this story-telling device of starting every episode a little bit in the future and then flashing back to the point that led to this. Idk why in just that one episode (#9) they start with that scene of her at home, high on pain meds, signing to Begum Akhtar in her sleep and then suddenly it was cut to her dying in a hospital? Just weird, and it really bothered me. But again, I was just so done with these dumbasses that I didn’t actually care.

But I do have some questions about stuff that was faulty/left unresolved:

Why was Geeta talking to Kashyap on the phone saying she “needs” him and asking him to take her away from all this? Just a random red herring to throw us off? That’s pretty bullshit.

The “clues” that Sonali used to put together the secret were pretty shaky at best. He apparently lied about landslides in the area (which… is a weird lie to keep telling over and over about a place? But also the policeman who stopped the vehicle in the earlier ep. clearly stated that it was because of a landslide. So he wasn’t even lying…) and about when/why he learned sign language? How does that lead you to ‘OMG Samar’s the father of Mridul’?? 

The whole Mridul is premature thing and was conceived when Vikram wasn’t in Kannuri thing. Geeta/Samar clearly slept together when Vikram was there. So……… That whole plot point is just null and void. He could be either brother’s kid.

Did Addu get to go to Delhi afterall? I hope she did. She deserved to get outta this close-minded small town and go live her life in a place where she could exist on her own terms. 

What were we supposed to make of the ending for Samar/Sonali? I mean, the show seemed to imply they stayed together; but from what we’d seen of Sonali as a character, she didn’t seem like the type who could make peace with disingenuity like that… Even if Samar and Sonali did stay together, it was highly unlikely she would be able to hang around with Geeta/Mridul ever again. Idk, they just left that hanging up in the air, and it was unsatisfying.

The cast

Kay Kay as Vikram: It’s completely his show. His character is the best written, and the most satisfying one to follow from start to finish. And he plays all the different facts of Vikram well: the angry, bitter man who’s lost himself as well all emotional connection with his family, the exasperated dad trying to come to terms with Addu being gay/Mridul’s effeminate tendencies, the more charming husband/loving big brother he was in the past before all of it went to shit… He plays all of it really well. You start off disliking the character, but the more you see of him, you gradually come over to his side. It’s not that he hasn’t made/isn’t currently making mistakes of his own, but you grow to sympathize with him. I also loved his brief bits of comedy. I’d like to see Kay Kay in lighter roles like these more often.

One qualm though; idk why they had him wear those tacky light-coloured lenses (reminding me of that 2006 -2010ish time in tellywood, when everyone wore those damn lenses. The entire cast of DMG used to wear the same colour and it just looked bizarre.)

Swaroop Sampat as PremLata: She was the actor is was most excited for in this show, and they just fucked me over so bad. She’s hardly in the damn show. I don’t understand why they would underutilize her talents like that. Also I’m not sure of how to feel about PL as a character; she did seem to love her family a lot, but was also very hands-off and just a witness in the bg to everything? She just seemed very uninvolved in whatever was going on, to the point of apathy, just caring about her daily chais and nothing else. But whatever few scenes Swaroop did get, she was radiant and lovely in, as expected.

Barun Sobti as Samar: I always enjoy watching Sobti. Especially in the role of a straight-man to all the madness around him. He’s so enjoyable with his genuine reactions of perplexed and exasperated and amused. But I feel like… Other than in IPK, he isn’t really ACTING. Both in Tu Hai Mera Sunday and here, he plays this chill dude, which is just who he is IRL. It’s just toooooo easy breezy, and I can see that he’s not really putting any major effort into it; compared to Arnav, whom he played in a very measured manner. Also Samar as a character stops being likable after the reveal. His reason for sleeping with Geeta is hardly compelling enough, and so is his demeanour towards Sonali after the reveal. He just doesn’t seem to understand the gravity of what he’s done. The character didn’t deserve to get the easy resolution that he did, especially because he didn’t do any work for it. Bas sabne aise hi maaf kar diya.

Eisha Chopra as Sonali: She’s a revelation. I think I’ve seen her here and there in some web sketches, but this is the first time I’m REALLY seeing her. She’s very charming and confident and a delight to watch. I’ll surely be watching her web series What The Folks in the coming days. Sonali as a character is kind of a mixed bag though. She seemed like a strong, intelligent woman coming into the show, but her bizarre turn into becoming an obsessive snoop who just wants to uncover the family secrets gets pretty annoying. There’s also a brief bit where she’s being a whiny brat for no real good reason? Other than that, I really liked Sonali as a character.

Shriswara as Geeta: A good measured performance. Her character wasn’t clearly defined in the promo, and I thought she’d be a long-suffering wife, but I’m glad she wasn’t. She did keep mum a lot to keep the peace with Vikram (because of her guilt?) but did counter him when required. Her bond with Mridul was the purest, but it was strange how she had no connection with Addu at all? Most of Addu’s parental interaction is with Vikram, despite their tension. She seems to have zero relationship with her mom. I also disliked the turn Geeta’s character took after the reveal. Like I said before, there was no real good reason for her to sleep with Samar. It was just such a flimsyyyyyyyyyyyy plot point. Upar se, she didn’t even seem contrite about it. Like, idk where she got off having that tone with Sonali asking her what her problem is, for wanting to leave after the reveal. It was just jarring. Overall I liked how Sriswara played all the different bits of Geeta; the patient wife just on the brink of losing it, the indulgent mother to Mridul, the woman in a million different clubs because she’s just trying to fill the void in her. As an actor she was very likable, it’s just that the writing for her character was shaky af.

Sanaya Pithawala as Aditi (Addu): I don’t really relate to teenage angst anymore and get annoyed by it, so I can’t really say I connected with her character, but I did feel for her and her heartbreak when Nandu crushes her brutally. I also liked her cool ‘deal with it’ attitude post the incident and the confidence with which she navigated her coming out. The plot with that boy Shashi though, it was confusing… There seemed a legit moment where she was into him. I guess she’s still really figuring out who she is as a person. Her best scenes have to be with Vikram, whether they’re clashing, she’s purposely taking the mick outta him, or trying to make up with him. She was fine, watchable, but I was very distracted by her bad wig.

Prithviraj Sarnaik as Mridul: The purest. The face of an angel. The only character worth rooting for in the show. (I mean Addu too, I guess, but I found her kinda obnoxious at times.) I normally do not like child actors, but this kid was very adorable. He really seemed to have a maturity to him; silently observing and taking in everything. Other than PL, he’s the only one who really gets everything that’s going on here in this shitshow of a family. I felt really bad about how all these badly behaved adults probably traumatised the kid for life. But overall, it was a charming little performance and I wish they’d made him the overarching narrator of the show, coz I loved his little voiceovers every now and then.

Overall

Overall, I’d say this is okay for a one-time watch. It will disappoint you towards the end; because you just stop caring for these characters, which is a mark of crappy writing. But it does have an able star cast that does the best they can with the material on hand, so if you have some time to kill, and like these actors from other stuff, it’s worth a dekko (esp. since each ep is only about 15 - 18 minutes long; you can be done with the whole show in about 3 hours…)

[rkxluda]

☆ mga Season 4, ep. 2

2:14-3:23 + 1:06-1:27 outfit + hair/face

The girl couldn't hide the fact that she felt really, really nervous. At first, honestly, she'd only decided to join this whole thing because she wanted to see, if she really had a chance to pass the audition. The girl hadn't even had professional classes in singing for all that long. But now where she sat down in front of the TV, she could feel her stomach doing all sorts of weird stunts,. She wanted to at least go one or two rounds further.

The show started... and as more time went by, she doubted she'd made it. Until she DID appear and DIDN'T make a complete fool of herself, Luda couldn't believe it.

The young girl stared at the TV in disbelieve. Could she really have made it? The girl sat unmoving for a bit until her mum walked in.

“Luda... is that YOU?” her mother asked in disbelief – not surprising as Luda had kept her audition a secret in case she'd fail.

“I made it!” she screamed, jumped up and hugged her mum.

After the initial shock passed, Luda found herself facing the next problem: she hadn't expected the need to prepare anything else, as she hadn't expected to pass the audition at all. They only gave her a week and she needed to do fantastic. There was a 90 second limit which she had to use to it's full potential, to leave a huge impression on the judges.

Enough of an impression, to be accepted into the next round. She would had to find something that would show her current skill well- no! Make it seem like she was better than she actually was, because with her current skill, Luda thought she would get nowhere. But was there even a song like that?

Furthermore, the girl worried because only her performance had been shown – was she too boring? Not charming at all? She wondered what skills would be best to show and how to make herself stand out without appearing dislikeable.

Singing? Yeah, she'd definitely have to do that to even stand a chance. And she loved singing.

Dancing? She really wanted to dance, but she knew she didn't yet have the skills to learn both in a week and be able to impress the judges, even if it was only 90 seconds.

Rapping... that was a definite no, if she wanted to make it into the next round, but only singing didn't seem like enough. With a sigh Luda sat down in front of her computer and started to watch as many idol performances as she could and see which she liked most and why.

After a frustrating 2 hours of watching performances and another 2 of watching casting programs, she came to the conclusion that all those she liked most had one thing in common: they pulled attention to themselves in an unforced kind of way; were incredibly charming – whether they oozed confidence or were cute and bubbly, they all had something that just initially made them likeable, even if their performance lacked.

The girl groaned and leaned back in her chair. How was she supposed to be charming? How did one even become instantly likeable to others? While she hadn't been unpopular, she'd never been super popular either...

The girl was so nervous, she honestly couldn't concentrate on anything around her. How the entrance hall looked? She couldn't remember. Did she know any of the other contestants? She hadn't had the nerve to check. Simply put, she was a nervous wreck.

Luda was too focused on hoping what she'd prepared would leave a good impression and that she'd made the right decisions. Singing was a given for her, but preparing the charming part really had been difficult – especially finding time for it. She'd started carrying a hand mirror around with herself and whenever she was taking a break from singing, the girl practised her expressions.

At first she'd decided to sing while signing, but as her knowledge of Korean Sign Language was very basic, she was worried that she'd do something wrong. The girl didn't want to offend anyone.

So she decided to sing the song in different languages instead. There was a bigger chance to find translations online and she felt her skills were better. Of course, now, she was worried that in the first part of her performance, she wouldn't move enough and wondered if she should've chosen the first option after all.

At the same time Luda was also worried, because she'd decided to include a short dance in the second part – it would only last 20 seconds, but that was more than enough to make her hands shake.

If she couldn't at least show a little bit of dancing, would she be able to show a better performance than at the audition? Was her worry, so she eventually decided to risk it, “go hard or go home”, or something like that.

While waiting for her turn, the girl tried to distract herself with watching the other contestants – it would only be polite to pay attention. The other contestants were amazing and she couldn't believe how they'd prepared everything they showed in just a week – the same amount of time she's had. Luda really was scared she wouldn't stand a chance.

Whenever there was an amazing long or high note, her eyes would widen in awe, when someone danced incredibly well, she held her hands in front of her mouth, so the cameras wouldn't catch her jawline dropping and whenever someone showed their incredible rap skills, she couldn't believe her ears either and she often leaned forward in her seat a little.

The girl barely noticed all the expressions she made, and while she was wowed by the other performances, her nerves slowly calmed down. But that wouldn't last long.

“Contestant number 4033, Lee Luda...”

As soon as her name was called it felt like all the blood in her veins disappeared and her expression went blank. On the way to the front, she tried to re-collect herself. She just had to pass!

You can do this!

“Hello, my name is Lee Luda and I will sing and dance for you!” she bowed, probably deeper than needed. She looked up and her eyes landed on the judges – her first thought was how intimidating they looked. Their presence really changed the whole atmosphere in the room.

Whereas her blood felt drained just seconds ago, her heart seemed to pump it with unlimited speed now. She cleared her throat and a short chuckle left her lips – had she gone mad now? Embarrassed she covered her mouth again with one hand and quickly regained her composure. Her expression got serious. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as the first of the two songs she'd prepared started.

The first song was the one where she would only be singing, though and that was her main skill to perform after all. She'd also change between different languages, only leaving the English parts and one Korean part as is. First she started with Japanese.

My life is a beauty

The flower petals grow dark

I have lost my strength

I follow a small light

To a distant day, send me away

She gave it her all right from the beginning and put all her heart into it. Her voice was pretty stable, even though her insecurity might still have shown. Earnestly, she wouldn't be able to tell if she'd ever put quite as much ambition into anything as she did into this. It had started out with the thought of “Let's see how far I can go, how much I can do.” But for the past week Luda's mind had been completely occupied with the thought of advancing and showing everyone what she was capable of.  The next part she left Korean, feeling it suited the song best and she loved singing it in Korean the most.

I'll fly brilliantly

The light pouring sky

With newly made eyes

Into the distance, I fly

Fly high

With my very own beauty

Even if she might not have been perfect, she was proud of the build-up and the difficult note that she managed better than she'd thought and she noticed that she wasn't even quite as nervous anymore and the girl couldn't quite hide a big smile, even while singing.

The moment I closed my eyes

Time stopped

And again, I floated back

The last part, she finished in French. Luda was earnestly a bit sad that her voice suddenly got a bit shaky after the high note. Especially as the last part was quieter and she hoped it wasn't too noticeable.

The song was over and her smile made another appearance. She wanted to let out a big sigh until she realised she wasn't quite finished yet – she'd chosen another song after all. And it included the scary thing called dancing.

Her focus was theoretically still on singing, but as her dancing skills weren't quite up to par, she'd focused quite a lot on getting the dance down, making her worry whether she'd balanced learning both well

It was only 20 seconds long and she could do this!

Compared to the first song, her expression changed to a very different one. Her smile disappeared as she quickly got into position and her gaze was a lot stronger. She wanted to show them how much she really wanted this. And she hoped that she could surprise everyone – in a positive way – by showcasing that she could do more than what she'd shown in her audition, including sexier concepts. Luda still chose a relatively “safe” part of the song. She wanted to show that she was versatile and she'd really practised her expressions for this.

My dear, when the full moon rises

Come to see me

Her face stayed serious, unlike before where she earnestly showed what she felt, trying to underline the message and lyrics of the previous song, closing her eyes, looking at the judges and looking into the distance, feeling hopeful.

Before the night is over

Before the sun comes up, hurry

Lips could be very expressive she'd learned, while doing her research. But the girl had to sing, thus focusing on her eyes. It was her goal to look mysterious and a bit longing. A strong gaze and bedroom eyes is what she'd thought suited the song well, without going embarrassingly far.

My dear, when the full moon rises

Give me your love

Somehow she'd managed to sneak in a coy smile – which wasn't actually planned and which she didn't practise, but she felt it'd fit at that moment. Her singing was pretty stable. Her voice was a bit on the higher side, so it was a pretty comfortable range to sing.

Her dancing on the other hand was a little lacking in comparison. She'd expected that, but was still sad she didn't do better. Her moves where smooth, which matched the original well, but she'd made a few mistakes. The mistakes were nothing grave and Luda was able to continue well without getting distracted, but she was sure her lack of experience in dancing did show.

Before the night is over

Before the sun comes up

Come see me

As the song came to an end, she looked off to the side, lips slightly parted and holding the position for a moment, before she bowed to the judges again. Of course her smile came back as well.

Luda felt her singing went really well. Surely she didn't have the same ear as a professional musician would. Possibly, she didn't know about all the mistakes she made. And that made her insecure about how good she really did. But she knew she gave her best and hoped it would be good enough to move to the next round.

[catherine-batty-author]

If Destiel was a M/F pairing they would have been canon years ago... or maybe not. The slow burn TV couples.

Following on from my post The Show Made Me Do it (https://thechroniclesofjudas.tumblr.com/post/166439114361/the-show-made-me-do-it), I felt the need to speak again on a topic that seems to bounce around Tumblr all the time re Destiel – if they were a M/F pairing they would have been canon years ago.

All fandoms have ships and Destiel is not only one of the biggest but one of the most passionate. As I’ve said before and many meta writer’s have said (in far more detail) before me – it is there embedded in the show. Sometimes blatant, sometimes in subtext. But it is there.

I disagree with the notion that it is guaranteed that if they were a hetro paring they would have been canon by now. There have been many hetro (canon) screen couples who have had their relationships drawn out and explored over many years. All too often in TV hetro couples are thrown together within a series or two and then torn apart before coming back together again a few series later. It is a fairly standard trope - one used time and time again by SPN - but of course, it’s not romantic (whatever!).

But sometimes writers make interesting choices and there are canon couple/ships out there that have not taken the standard path…and the Destiel parallels are everywhere. Here are a few I love:-

The Doctor and River Song/Doctor Who

This is a brilliantly written relationship because it is known by dedicated fans and GA alike that they were a couple until her death. They loved each other deeply. She was one of the few beings in the universe who knew The Doctor’s real name. He spent 1 night (on a planet where that lasted 25 years in Earth time) with her because he knew the following day she would die based on their weird timeline, and he needed a way and time to say goodbye. Then, following her death he uploaded her memory into a computer so it was there for all eternity – it’s a beautiful love story told in reverse. Following her death he has kept her photograph with him. He finds it hard to talk about her and shuts people down when they try. But their relationship was not shown in a traditional light on screen. She is known as The Doctor’s wife, they even are shown getting married – however each time their relationship is shown, it is in the guise of something else. Although River was shown “marrying” The Doctor it wasn’t actually him. This was the same when she “killed” him. This follows a general theme of their on-screen relationship. What you see is not always what happened. The Doctor and River Song is basically all subtext but even if you don’t ship them you are not told you are delusional, it is accepted because it is canon.

Donna Moss and Joshua Lynam/The West Wing

There are soooo many parallels between Josh/Donna and Dean/Cas it’s unbelievable. Seriously, if you’ve never seen the West Wing (why not, it’s awesome and some of the best screen writing, ever) do it just for this.

So in a nutshell, Donna was introduced in the pilot as the personal assistant of Josh Lyman, the duty chief of staff of the White House. She was only meant to be a minor recurring character (like all the other assistants) but her on screen chemistry (mostly snark) with Josh meant her role was stepped up in S1 and then made a main cast member for subsequent seasons. They are also a big ship from S1 ep1.

Despite their snark and sass with each other, they care for each other deeply and are a great team. Their professional and personal relationships bleed over as time goes on as well. Over the course of 7 seasons they are on the same side, opposing sides, they fall out, they support each other, they are jealous when one is a relationship with someone else. They are not a canon couple until late in the final 7th season, but before they finally get together, it is common for their other love interests to ask the other party if they are “treading on any toes”. Third parties are always assuming there is more them because of they way they are with each other. Donna is directly asked in one ep if she loves Josh – we never see/hear her answer as the ep ends but her face says it all. When Josh is shot at the end of S1 she is broken. She doesn’t leave his side. When he survives, after a brief moment of longing looks they return to their old ways.

Interestingly enough; the writers (who had no plans to make Donna into the character she was, it was fan driven) deliberately kept them apart until the last season. Once the ship was known they slowly wrote two interesting characters who gradually came together with their endgame to become canon.

This is just a TINY insight in TWW writing of Josh/Donna but even so… the Destiel parallels are everywhere.

William Riker and Deana Troi/Star Trek: TNG

This really shows my age! (FYI I was 7 when this series started, my mum was sooo excited Start Trek was coming back and wanted me to watch it too. I also loved it from the start.) This one is a little different in that in the pilot it is canon that Riker and Troi were ex’s who still had feelings for each other. Over the course of 7 seasons they were never “together” but they had this sub-textual under current. There was a lot of pining and long looks at each other with occasional kissing. Again there was a lot of jealousy if one party was involve with someone else.  When they comforted one another they refer as “Imzadi” meaning beloved. They continued in this fashion for the full 7 seasons and 2 films, only becoming canon again briefly in the 3rd film and following their marriage in the 4th film “Nemesis” -15 YEARS after the pilot.

Temperance “Bones” Brennan and Seeley Booth/Bones.

This is another couple that took 6 seasons to become canon – even then it was because the writer’s hand was forced. It was clear that the endgame was to make them a couple but their friendship was developed first. As such there were many of the traits mentioned above and shared with Dean and Cas. Their relationship was only made canon after Bones actress Emily Deschanel fell pregnant. They could have hidden it but the writer’s decided to bring their endgame forward. Writer’s are fluid like that – we can change the direction as and when required.

If in 4.01 Castiel had chosen a female vessel (and this was the ONLY) change to the narrative) no one would have an issue with believing this to be an epic love story. But because it’s two men, it’s dismissed. (Technically one man and one being of multidimensional wavelength of celestial intent without gender, but hey.)

As @tinkdw said in her post Cas and Dean could have been totally platonic, (https://tinkdw.tumblr.com/post/163833238972/cas-and-dean-could-have-been-totally-platonic) I would have loved this show even if Destiel was a “family don’t end with blood” story. The brother Dean chose. It would have been an epic love story of a platonic/familial kind and free will. But it has been MADE romantic. The actors, writers, directors, editors, set designers etc, they have MADE this a slow burn romance. It might not have initially been planned that way but that is how stories (and life) work – it’s all fluid.

Even if you take out the favourite argument for it never being canon which is “Dean is straight” (he’s not but I’m not here to dissect that, meta writers have done a much better job at that than I can ever do), you are basically saying “a person/character has no ability to change or have room for personal growth”. And let’s face it, even in canon Dean’s already subverted many of the character traits he’s known for – why not this one?

It’s not AS common to keep a couple from going canon for as long as Supernatural has Dean and Cas, but in the end, I believe they will make the wait worth it. There is precedence after all. This isn’t a long list of slow burn TV couples there are so many we all could list, but these are just some that strike me a good parallels and leaves me hopeful for the future of these two idiots.