#it's not bad by any means bc this cast does such a good job with these characters already

[forever-rogue]

hello! I hope you’re having a fantastic week😌

I was wondering if I could request something? Maybe Eddie having a soft gf and she goes to one of his band’s concerts and just rocks out and has the best time and Eddie is just in awe bc his soft girl is singing along and jumping with the rest of the crowd?

AN | I am so soft for Eddie and his sweet girl🥺🥰

Warnings | Language

Pairing | Eddie x Fem!Reader

Word Count | 1.6k

Masterlist | Main, Eddie

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"No fucking way," Gareth's statement caused Eddie's attention to leave the guitar he was tuning to the other boy. His brow furrowed as he tried to figure out what had prompted the outburst, "we have a few…interesting fans in the crowd."

Eddie peeked around the moth-eaten curtains of the Hideout's stage, scanning the crowd. All the regulars were there, a few new faces that he doubted were there for them, but then, sitting towards the back he spotted you. He'd recognize that pretty pastel pink sweater just about anywhere.

You were sitting there with your good friend Robin Buckley, the two of you giggling about something. 

"Ahh," he feigned confusion as he looked back at his friend. Gareth scoffed and shook his head, "what's wrong with some fresh blood?"

"They shouldn't be here," he shook his head, "they're probably just coming to make fun of us."

“Relax my sweet summer child,” he gave his friend’s shoulder a squeeze before casting one last look out into the audience. You must have felt him looking because you turned your head and caught his eye, the smile on your large and breathtaking. He shot you a quick wink which prompted you to shyly turn your head, “I think we’ll be just fine. Not everyone is always out to get us.”

Gareth opened and closed his mouth a few times, confused by his friend’s sudden cheery and positive demeanor. He swallowed any remarks that were on the tip of his tongue and followed Eddie backstage to finish setting up. 

“If you weren’t so cute, I’d say you were disgusting,” Robin teased as she clinked the rim of her warm beer glass against yours. They might have been lax about selling beer to the underage, but they made up for it with shitty quality.

“Why?” you asked softly, knowing you weren’t able to hide anything from her. She grinned before nudging your arm, “I just really like him is all.”

“I can see that,” her voice had a singsong lilt to it that made your heart flutter, “you’re in love with Eddie Munson. I think that’s adorable.”

“I didn’t take you for such a romantic,” you shook your head softly, “thought that was Stevie’s job?”

“The dingus isn’t romantic,” she joked, “he’s just pathetic. I’m the romantic one. Besides you apparently. Never thought Munson would be your type.”

“I don’t think I have a type.”

“Well, if you did have one, I’d think he would be the last man you’d go for,” she teased as you took the cheap, terrible beer and took a long sip, “you’re so…soft and gentle. Like…Marie from the Aristocats. I mean, your favorite color is pastel pink and you wear pretty dresses all the time. He’s the exact opposite…black leather and metal. Not that that’s a bad thing of course. It’s just..interesting. But I can see how happy you make each other, and that’s all that matters.”

“He does,” you agreed softly, “he makes me so happy. I…I love him a lot, Robin.”

“Love,” she sighed wistfully, “you’re precious, cutie.”

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Eddie never really paid much attention to the crowd during their weekly little gigs. It was a multifaceted thing; there were usually the regulars in attendance and it kept him focused on playing. But tonight? Tonight was different - tonight had him staring out in the crowd more often than not.

Why? You were the reason, pure and simple. You were no stranger to Corroded Coffin’s music, having listened to Eddie practice many times, watching as he strummed away on his guitar and sang softly. But he’d never realized just how intently you had apparently been listening to him. 

Every time he looked through the small sea of people and found you, you were singing along with him, bobbing your head happily and swaying in your seat. The normal adrenaline that he felt from performing was doubled and then some from seeing you; he was pretty sure his heart was full to bursting. At one point, you’d caught his eye and waved, with a beaming smile on your face. Was it possible for him to fall even more in love with you? He was pretty sure he did then and there. 

He was pretty sure that was their best show ever; maybe his sweet, soft girl was his good luck charm.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

It took the boys a little while to pack up and get ready to leave, but when they started to walk through the place, he found you sitting at the bar, nursing a glass of cola as you waited. Steve had come to pick the two of you up, but you’d stayed behind and promised you’d get home safe. Steve didn’t know that you were dating Eddie Munson and you weren’t in the mood to go through all of that tonight. All you wanted was to see Eddie, to hug him and to kiss him.

You slurped up the last of the syrupy liquid when you saw that familiar mop of curls from the corner of your eye. You swiveled in your stool before sliding down and almost running over to him. He set down his guitar case just in time to catch you and wrap you up tightly in his arms. 

“Eddie bear!” you sounded so excited as he squeezed you tightly, inhaling your soft smell that always made him melt. You pulled back and put your hands on his shoulders before leaning up to press a small kiss to his lips, “you guys were amazing! You did so well!”

“Really?” his cheeks flushed a pretty shade of pink as you nodded eagerly, unable to stop yourself from peppering kisses all over his pretty face, “you think so, pretty girl?”

“I know so,” you promised. You opened your mouth to say something else, but were quickly stopped when you heard a few small sounds of surprise. You looked behind your boyfriend and spied the rest of his bandmates standing there with various looks of surprise on their faces. Your face warmed up as you held up your hand in a small, tentative little wave, “hiya!”

“Are you…lost?” you couldn’t help but giggle at Gareth’s question as Eddie turned around and looked at him in amusement, “Eds? Are you…”

“Dating? Yes,” he answered as he wrapped an arm around your shoulders and pulled you into his side, placing a kiss to the crown of your head. You looked up at him with nothing short of pure reverent adoration, “that’s why she was here tonight. Not to make fun of us.”

“What?” you looked between the two of them in surprise, “I would never! You guys, all of you, were amazing tonight. I really enjoyed all of it. I’d love to come to more shows, as long as its not a bother.”

“Totally,” Gareth held out his hand to you and you eagerly fistbumped him in return, “never thought someone like you…or anyone would date Munson!”

“Very funny,” Eddie lightly smacked the side of his head with a laugh, “dick.”

“Well,” you wrapped your around Eddie’s waist and snuggled into him, “I happen to love him very much.”

“I guess opposites really do attract!”

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

“Is something wrong?” you reached over and gently brushed a few rogue locks of hair out of his face. Eddie turned to you with those big, brown eyes looking worried, “you’ve been quiet since we’ve gotten back.”

“‘m fine, angel,” he promised as the corners of his mouth quirked up into a small smile, “really.”

“D-did I do something?” his face fell at the worried expression on your face, “should I not have come tonight? Was I too much?”

“No, no, no,” he shook his head fervently as you loosened up slightly. He shifted on his bed so he was facing you. Eddie tenderly took your face into his hands before he leaned in and pressed a kiss to your forehead, “it’s just that…back at the bar. Y-you said you loved me. Did you mean it?”

Oh. Oh. You hadn’t really thought about it when you’d just said it out loud. The two of you had been dating for some time, and you were positive you loved Eddie…but you’d never exchanged those three little words. You showed him how much you loved him through your actions everyday but there was still something special about hearing you say it. 

After a moment of hesitation, you grinned at him softly before nodding, “yes. Of course I did, Eddie. I love you. I really, really do.”

He felt a slight stinging at the back of his eyes as you touched his face and tenderly brushed your thumb over his cheek. He took your hand in his much larger one and brought it to his lips, pressing a kiss to your knuckles, “I love you too, angel. Lots and lots.”

“I know, Eddie bear,” you whispered, moving to wrap your arms around him and accidentally pushed him over so he was on his back with you on top of him. The two of you broke into a fit of giggles as you looked down at him with a wistful little sigh, “you’re so wonderful. I love you in every way, my sweet boy.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Duh,” you teased softly, “always, Eddie Munson.”

“Always sounds perfect to me.”

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL

June 2023 Wk 2

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs. Organized by which ones (in each category) I’m enjoying most.

Ongoing Series - Thai

Step By Step (Tues WeTV & Gaga) ep 7 of 10 - I really adore the family/household dynamics in this show. All the relationships between siblings are so well executed. All the tension and sub text and covert glances in the first “modeling” sequence was so good. I really want to watch the BL within this BL. Bruce is THE BEST. Jeng shutting down everyone with a cool few words is genius (especially given the curt sharp flat way he speaks Thai). Why does nobody have parasols or sun hats or sunshades or sunglasses or anything? I’m actually not mad about seeing an attempted reunion with the ex, bc we are getting to see both that (and how) they once were good together, and also the cracks that drove them apart (and will not allow them to ultimately be together a 2nd time around). I do feel sorry for Jeng, he moved too slowly and lost the 1st round. The captions were not good in the trunk seen, but trust me it was totally hilarious. 

La Pluie (Sat iQIYI) ep 7 of 10 - I finally figured out why I am so tense around this show. In openly taking to task and challenging the soulmates trope, this narrative is telling viewers not to trust it’s core trope - which means we cannot trust the main couple to end happily, nor can we trust those characters who believe most strongly in fated mates (Pat & Mai). This means I, personally, not only can’t rely on an HEA but (as someone who also does not believe in soulmates) I am not entirely sure I even WANT an HEA. This has NEVER happened to me before. It makes me uncomfortable because that’s a core part of my identify with these shows. I mean, good job La Pluie, but also.... huh. Back to this ep: Uh oh. The crush is obvious and the soulmate knows what’s up now. The sex scene twist was v interesting, v gay, and v unusual in a BL. Unfortunately it’s still a BL so the faen fatal just HAD to appear. Will there ever be one out of Thailand where this trope doesn’t show up? Next week is the tried & true uke damsels off into the woods alone. Sigh. 

Our Skyy 2 (Bad Buddy & 1k*) eps 12-16fin - Jimmy, baby, why so hot in an engineering smock? Please have mercy. Aw, Marc is back in yet ANOTHER BL. Definitely the current record holder for most BLs at any one time. (His filming schedule must’ve been insane at the beginning of this year!) PatPran are still great, and their eps this had me hooting with laughter (startling the cat). I forgot how much I enjoyed this show and cast. (Ohm looks great with longer hair, but also he’s lost a lot of weight. I hope he’s OK.) OhmNanon give pitch perfect LTR energy. Throwing EarthMix into the, erm, mix is fun if awkward. NO SINGING. 2 damsels in the forest! Also PatPran = geniuses at mock fighting. So much flirting. It was all quite adorbs. But me-thinks Chief & Tian have been eating moonlight chicken. Full review below. 

Be My Favorite (Fri YouTube) ep 3 of 10? - was enjoying it up until the last bit, why so digusted by smooches? Bad GMMTV no green tea for you. Trash watch here! Rollercoaster about to go DOWWNNNN. 

Luminous Solution (Sat Gaga) ep 3 of 6 - I still only like the high school characters + Dome (WHY so gorgeous?). Is he a magical spirit too? Also, the subs were well off kilter. 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Our Dining Table AKA Bokura no Shokutaku (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 10 fin - God they’re so cute. This show used the manga as a storyboard, so I knew the “crisis of faith over possibility of loss” would happen. Still in live action this felt tonally off. While understandable given Yutaka’s character, and ultimately particularly important for the dad and a relationship with the family, I don’t know we needed it in this BL. The book does have a better ending second scene, but it wouldn’t be possible to do it on screen easily. Ultimately, this show had a simple, touching, quiet end to it. That’s very like the show as a whole. I did love it - it’s been top of my list all along. Full review after the special airs. 

Love Tractor (Korea Weds iQIYI) eps 1-2 of 8 - I LOVE IT SO MUCH. IT IS EVERYTHING. SHUT UP I AM FERRIL FOR THE BEAUTIFUL CITY BOY AND THE YOUNG FARMER. Come on. Korea. SRS? Plus some language play? I just go die now. 

Star Struck (Korea iQIYI & Gaga) ep 7-8 fin - Man this was a difficult show for me. I know we’re supposed to identify with HanJoon but I really felt for YooJae. I’ve been in his position more often than I care to count, and it’s terrible to lose a friend because they caught feelings and you did not. It’s an awful thing to hold a friendship hostage on condition of a romantic relationship. Especially if the other person is not sexually interested in you! All that said, the boyfriend ep was okay. Not sure I believed in this relationship, but it was cute enough. The final ep was (how do I put this?) a loser. We spent a lot of time with terrible home lives and then a semi happy for now final scene? Whatever. Full review below. 

Vian the series (Vietnam YouTube ) ep 6 of 12 - somehow I keep missing this one, I’ll catch it next week. 

Naked Dinner AKA Zenra Meshi (Japan Fri Gaga) ep 9 of 12 - I think the Taiwanese boss is my favorite character. Japan rarely (if ever ) trots out the faen fatal trope. I mean I named it with a Thai word for a reason, it’s not from origin yaoi at all. Yet still there she is. Sigh. This show. 

Stupid Genius (Vietnam Fri YouTube) ep 1 of 6 - RL Studio (Stupid Boys Stupid Love) bringing us yet another high school set VBL. It’s actually not bad. I see a lot of common faces whom I’ve enjoyed in past VBLs. 

It’s Airing But ...

House of Stars (Thai Mon iQIYI) 12 eps - I bounced at ep 3. Will binge if told it is worth it at end.

Stay (Pinoy YouTube) 7 eps - It’s mostly in English and set in LA so I’m not bothering but the first one did drop.

Ever After (Pinoy ????) - I got nothing. 

Takumi-kun Series 6: Nagai Nagai Monogatari no Hajimari no Asa (Japan Sun ????) 10 eps - NO ONE ASKED FOR THIS and no, I have no idea where to get it, why would I? (Say it with me everyone: Oh Japan, must you?*)

Boys Love Omegaverse (Japan ????) - honestly tho? Who tf cares? You’ll still tell me if you find it, because inquiring minds... Irony of this airing at the same time as Takumi-kun. Full circle much, Japan? 

Tin Tem Jai Special (Thai ????) - honestly I checked Gaga & iQiyi in my territory (craptastic hotel) and neither had it listed so I quickly gave up. I mean OF COURSE I WOULD LIKE TO SEE Lee Long Shi in a bathtub, who wouldn’t? But... 

Just because I didn’t watch the special doesn’t mean I can’t gank Lee Long Shi wearing nothing but soap bubbles for you. 

I’m not a monster. 

Ended This Week 

Our Skyy 2 final 4 eps thoughts: This was an interesting combination, and don’t get me wrong I very much enjoyed it, but it felt like the story was carried by PatPran’s characters while the setting and narrative followed an ATOTS arc - ultimately disjointed. OhmNanon are so bold and vibrant they’re too stark a tonal contrast to EarthMix’s more refined and elegant approach, so for me the screen presences and the style of story clashed. It was like a bouquet made up of tulips & roses: they are both flowers and they’re both pretty, but I feel like they actually belong in different vases. Still, enjoyable. And I got a crying kiss. Always makes me happy. Definitely the best of this bunch, and probably the best Our Skyy (and I genuinely loved both the NLMG historical installment and SOTUS.) 8/10 

Star Struck. A friends to lovers story that felt more friends to tolerant yet disinterested partner. It was more about challenges with parents and class strife. I would’ve been disappointed if the show hadn’t come out of nowhere so I had no expectations. But as KBLs go, don’t bother. 6/10 

Next Week Looks Like This:

Starting:

6/15 Tokyo in April AKA Shigatsu no Tokyo wa (Japan Gaga) 8 eps - Based on a yaoi, this is a reunion romance that takes place in an office. Japan does Our Dating Sim? Yes please.

Still Coming - June 2023

6/22 About Us but Not About Us (Pinoy movie from 2022 on Prime) - A professor grieving the loss of his partner meets an ambitious literature student.

6/24 Why You (Khmer BL ????) - Billed as a horror romance, not sure if this is a movie or a series where it will air... nothing except that it exists.

6/24 Tie The Knot AKA Under the Same Sky (Pinoy movie on Prime) Trailer - I guess Prime is coming for our Pinoy BL? From OXIN Films (Rainbow Prince), announced for 2022 based on a true story, Briggs's family runs a bridal business but he has never had a chance to fall in love until he meets Shao, a groom to be.

6/25 Dinosaur Love (Thai iQIYI) Trailer 5 eps - from Ultimate Troop about a uni student, Rak, whose partner cheats on him with Rak's best friend. This gives bad boy hazer Dino an opportunity to hit on Rak at last. From The Yearbook people so I will not watch this as it airs. After Remember Me? Never again with them.

2023 forthcoming BL master post (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED)

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Bruce is so damn fantastic in this show.

Consent comes in all different forms. (both Step by Step) 

Fight fight fight!

Sex sex sex blow job! (both La Pluie) 

Smartest boy in the show. 

Not enough InkPa... never enough. Never never never! 

Love the suit.

All from the Our Skyy 2 BB + ATOTS cross over. 

(last week)

Current Kpop earworm? IVE’s I Am

[angelthemanspanker]

10 and 24 for the violence ask game!! i want the drama!!!!!

also your askbox name is so funny like are we supposed to submit guys xander might've fucked or what cause if so can we go cross-ip or is it just buffyverse people

asfgjkl my thought process was basically if anyone is coming into my ask box to talk about literally any guy my stance is that xander probably fucked him at some point. the cross-ip thing has potential tho who did you have in mind bc I personally think Xander could have the stupidest babies with Scott Pilgrim

10. worst part of fanon

There is this. version. of Buffy Summers that I see in fics. Mainly tbf ones not about her, usually mlm stuff bc that's what I'd be reading but I feel like pops up a lot in general where she's like. This judgmental bitch who looks down on everyone and could do with being brought down a peg or two. With a big vibe being that the Scoobies are all a bit sick of her attitude but no one's willing to call her out until the writer has somebody turn to her like Buffy shame on you, how could you fail to consider that Spike is sorry now and he's so hurt by your rejection of his five minute redemption, Buffy why do you always have to be so stubborn, Buffy why do you always see things in black and white. And just. Who IS this girl. Its like people base Buffy’s entire personality on the I Am The Law speech out of context, that she is undeniably fighting for good but just wants to kill everyone who steps out of line and has no capacity for forgiveness, her friends can't and shouldn't go to her with their problems bc she'll immediately judge them, and she always needs a rational word from Giles or Willow or somebody to reel her in and see someone else's perspective. It makes me unwell. Negatively.

24. topic that brings up the most rancid discourse

literally any attempt to hold a character accountable for capital E Evil they commit, to explain why a ship is bad or why fans of that character are bad or whatever. Not saying people can't swear off a character who did something they can't stomach but more the idea that stuff like Angel eating Holtz's family or Anya's history of horrific punishments against guys she admits did Not all deserve it or yeah, even that a not-insignificant percentage of the cast have committed sexual assault should mean the characters should be written off. Obviously this comes up most in Spike vs Angel wars as a way to say which one is the worst when their body counts really truly do not matter on the character front. If Angel has killed like a thousand more people than Spike does that really mean fucking anything if Spike has still killed thousands of people. This is a 'verse where The Forces of Evil are very much like. A thing. Demons who kill people for no reason that we need to fight once a week exist. But hey what if one of them like Angel or Anya or Spike suddenly had to stop killing and get a job and try to maintain a friend group. That's what this shit is all ABOUT. Its FUN. And it vitally requires a cast full of people who have DONE HORRIBLE THINGS. We would have no story if they hadn't

Thanks for the ask 🤟

[ssaalexblake]

Hot take but the kneel scene in spyfall is literally Tame for the doctor and the master, and I could provide a multitude of examples why and how (but not, I have to get ready to go out), but if This is your deal-breaker in context with All of their crap in general then it says far more about you than the show or the doctor and master's relationship on the whole.

I've seen people whine she's being submissive when no, she was threatened, if you want a submissive doctor look at ten who had the spinal strength of a wet strand of spaghetti when It came to the master. I've seen people use actively racist rhetoric around the whole situation. I've seen people use actively misogynistic rhetoric over the situation. Less seriously, I've seen the most media illiterate takes on the situation I can fathom that would have actively involved literally ignoring whole parts of the sequence to justify. I've seen some utter bullshit, basically.

Because as I said, for these two, him saying she kneel, her looking like she was planning a murder and doing it and then him immediately sinking to the floor with her and her immediately gaining the upper hand is the tamest of the tame. She then grinned like a shark bc he got injured, btw.

And I guess the question is, if you have an issue with this, and did Not with the two of them before this casting. Why not? This for them is tame, it was objectively bad, yes, but if this is bad then why isn't anything with the last two pairs on the shitlist? The master is a bad guy, first and foremost, to want him to behave well is naive as hell. To claim they'd not do this stuff to a white male doctor is patently false cuz we've seen them do it before.

The doctor and the master's characterisations have not changed here, the casting has. Any attempt at toning it down because the doctor is a poor waify blonde woman now would have been actively offensive in the kind of way you can't explain by saying this guy is a bad guy doing bad things. He does bad things. Of course it's offensive. It would actively be playing into sexist stereotypes narratively if you changed their dynamic bc the poor lady doctor can't handle the mean man.

I'm really sick of this discourse. If you're mad at chibnall era for making the master all Awful and Horrible bc they made 13 kneel at his feet, I have some bad news for you about how disgustingly simm treated ten. But most of the people saying this Do know that he did that and think it was a super cool plot.

Just because your clocking of abusive and toxic dynamics depends solely on the gender and/or race of the participants, doesn't mean it works that way for the rest of us. They've always been like this! Maybe use it as a learning experience. How about 'wow abusive dynamics are bad in any configuration' instead of 'this is obviously So Much Worse because the mean Asian man victimised the poor helpless white lady'.

The scene is not meant to portray something good. Literally even baby shows have characters do bad things to teach you how not to do things and to show how much they suck. Beyond that, it's not actually media's job to teach you morals anyway. You are not supposed to view a clearly bad scene as an endorsement of bad things, and if you missed that in lit classes, I'm not sure anybody can help you here.

[gyllenhaalstories]

So I HAVE to ask!!! What's your thoughts on presumed innocent?!?

HI!!! my thoughts are i love this show because it's so good and i hate this show because it's so good. it's so stressful, i don't even know how i'll survive the finale! but it's so good. my favourite part has to be the way the trailers told us so much yet so little and how most of the more important scenes came up in the first 2-3 episodes so we've had a lot more to discover with the rest of the episodes! so much is intertwined too and the editing is really good. how they transition and/or focus on different characters after important scenes and dialogues is so! wow! i mean, how was i going to hate this? we've seen jake's ass more in this one series than in the last decade. we have been BLESSED. i would have been satisfied with just jake standing there and looking hot with his glasses but the show is really good. the cast is so strong! the story too. i really love it! i don't think it's something i will gravitate towards after it ends, i don't see myself wanting to binge watch this heavy and stressful show on a random tuesday, but there are certain scenes i'll enjoy watching just for the fun of it. i do want to watch it again, but it's certainly not an easy watch. i will definitely miss having new jake content every week and having something to haunt my thoughts in between episodes!

i have so many thoughts about who could have done it, i'll put them under the read more. but i'm curious to hear your thoughts, anon!!! have you watched the show or did you wait to binge all of it before/after the finale? do you have theories??? let me know!!! 🥰💖

i don't know if you're asking about who i think is responsible for carolyn's murder, but i'll just keep on rambling about it. i've stated multiple times how i fall into every single trap they set up before me. i hope it's barbara. she would be the most logical choice although i have no idea how they will target her since she's been so meticulously kept out of people's minds. not a single person accuses the wife who was cheated on for months perhaps longer? who's husband would not hesitate to dump their family to start one with the woman he loves (who CLEARLY does not love him back)? like why? if it was the other way around, with the wife having an affair and killing the other person the husband would be the FIRST SUSPECT. i don't know. it's like the way the show is edited points at barbara yet no one in the room dares to even consider her as an option. it's giving fake feminism as in "women are all fragile and tiny and weak they can't commit bad things". is she going to call herself up to the witness stand like "the people call me hehe" and just go "i kill that woman because my husband fucked her and i want to ruin my husband's life too with this gruesome murder". if she did... absolute boss. i love barbara.

my second theory is tommy. something something he was in love with carolyn she hated him he knew rusty was having an affair with her AND rusty had the job he wanted (and that carolyn wanted as well, sorry for not believing you right away rusty but you were right about that xoxo). easy peasy lemon squeezy. he could have killed two birds with one stone (or well, one fire poker). it would not be as satisfying as barbara, but satisfying nonetheless. this man who is going mad trying to accuse rusty being the one who did it all along? nico would lose his shit eating grin. and they have initiated that possibility with eugenia explaining how the only complaint ever made by carolyn was towards him. the door is slightly more open for tommy than it is for barbara.

any other option, to me, sounds less exciting. rusty? pointless. 8 pointless episodes just for him to go "teehee i killed her bc i got angry snap snap <3 but if i had known she was pregnant with my baby i would have hit her with a proposal not a fire poker :(". carolyn's ex-husband? boring. it would be less boring if SOMEONE OTHER THAN RUSTY had started to dig around on carolyn like hello? her son's messed up and she's got no contact with him, the husband looks depressed as fuck. someone! should! have! pushed! this! i'm not just saying this because i disliked carolyn from the start and i made it very clear she was creeping me out, but also because it's so strange how no one is digging deeper about this (the same way no one is thinking of the possibility of barbara doing it). liam reynolds or brian ratzer? so boring. the kids??? hmm. creepy. michael is a strange one, looking up sketchy crime websites to keep up with his mother and THE bunny davis case in particular is... interesting... could the dad have killed her in a fit of rage (he is also capable of snapping! like rusty! carolyn had a type apparently) and the son visited the scene quickly after to finish the job and make her look like the bunny davis case he studied with such interest? hmm. disturbing. but. kyle and jaden are also interesting, kyle has his father's temper and he's a mama's boy. jaden cares so much for her father who's she's really close to. but i don't really think jaden would do this. the kids would be interesting but again, very disturbing.

SO MANY THEORIES AND POSSIBILITIES. i hope it's barbara i want it to be barbara. raymond can give her his title. barbara "the slay" sabich. it has a ring to it.

[supercantaloupe]

Magic Flute Thoughts

i liked nathalie stutzmann's conducting a lot more in this than i did for don giovanni. granted i am much less familiar with zauberflote than i am with don g so i'm not like hyper picky about tempi or whatever yet but anyway i liked her

flute soloist! glockenspiel soloist! FLUTE SOLOIST!!!

i just like lawrence brownlee man idk what to tell you. i think he's neat. i think he's singing something here in the winter and i'll definitely try to get tickets to that if so

i really liked erin morley as pamina! actually i thought all the main cast did a good job no one stuck out to me as being particularly Amazing or Bad. kathryn lewek got a HUGE applause (and standing o) tho and i mean kudos it was her fiftieth performance like damn.

interesting choice to play the queen as physically frail as she did; i think it works and the performance is very good, although the heavy age makeup sticks out a bit on hd cameras lol

the queen's three bitches. i'm free on friday (twirling hair)

also i hope those three kids who played the old men get to borrow their outfits again come october because they have the funniest possible halloween costume opportunity in the world now

VERY funny to me that papageno's costume makes him look like he's drenched in bird shit

okay speaking of costumes. do i 100% Get It with the like suits and colors and everything....not really but i don't think i can say that i Get a lot about this opera tbh. what i did get was the very obvious dark/light symbolism going on with pamina and tamino wearing white and the queen and her cronies wearing all black. and i think zauberflote does benefit from some heavy handed symbolism bc what else is this show about actually without that....then again the fact that sarastro and his priests or whatever are all in dark colors too kind of undermines that a little so 🤷‍♀️

same thing with the whole reason vs superstition thing too like...sure you can claim Truth And Reason as good all you want sarastro but the constant invocation of isis/osiris and Mysterious Rituals kind of undermine what you're going for there lol. i think my point is that i don't feel like i really Get what zauberflote is like...going for, thematically. i mean i get the Themes but not a clear Point. maybe if i was an enlightenment era freemason i'd get it lol but alas i am not

that said......i didn't go into this one expecting a rock solid plot and honestly who does....it's zauberflote....it is very obviously not designed to work or be interpreted on a literal level and i appreciate that it never tries to ground itself in reality. that its plot and characters exist in a completely fantastic realm works and it works with the weird plot and its vague theming.

which itself is of course accomplished through good design and holy SHIT. this is truly the shining strength of this production. the design is INCREDIBLE.

the orchestra isn't totally onstage but they are raised up in the pit to the point where they are fully visible the whole show. i love an onstage orchestra so this made me very happy. and it allowed for actor/orchestra interaction which i also love!! like tamino coming down into the pit to hand the eponymous magic flute to the flute soloist and bring him onstage with him (i was wondering during the overture why the flutes and oboes were swapped places seating wise -- it's so the flutist can easily get onstage! delight!!), or when papageno brings his glockenspiel to the percussion soloist to play (the player being 'missing' at his last solo, making papageno play by himself, and he enters late with a cup of coffee...lmaoo). also stutzmann giving a big ol grin and thumbs up to papageno during his duet with papagena at the end. so sweet

also blocking around the orchestra seating of the audience and up the aisles! so much fun we love immersive theater

the set itself had this big flat platform in the center hoisted at each corner by a cord so it could raise/lower/tilt in any direction. made for some very neat staging with levels and slants and i enjoyed that, especially since the production forgoes any kind of traditional set pieces

papageno's birds were done in such a beautiful way omg...they have an ensemble in black wandering around stage and following him about when he's doing stuff and they each have a 'bird' made of a folded in half piece of paper that they flutter about stylistically (some of the orchestra members have some too that they flutter during his entrance aria). description does not do it justice, this was a beautiful way to stage it...so simple and evocative.

the designer was saying in the interview between acts that this production was meant to combine the high and low tech aspects of theater to connect present performance practice with the opera as it was originally done (hence the visible orchestra) and i looove that philosophy. and it worked here really well i think

THE FOLEY AND PROJECTION ARTISTS. STARS OF THE SHOW. i am not joking

they get to be onstage (albeit off to the sides) the whole show too and i love it. i love that the cameras on the broadcast kept cutting to them periodically to show off their work.

the use of live projection art was really well done -- he managed to make Writing On A Chalkboard captivating!!

and the foley. the FOLEY!!! i've done sound design and a bit of live foley before so i have a soft spot but wooow she did an amazing job and it was SO much fun to see all the props she played with to make the scenes come alive sonically. plus her little interactions with papageno were very funny. give her a tony award

i do think there were a couple of small moments here and there that didn't entirely work for me or a scene or two that dragged out longer than necessary but overall it was a joy to watch. the beautiful and whimsical design of the whole thing totally makes it worthwhile even if the plot itself is a bit lacking.

easily THE coolest production design i've seen the met do yet, and the best lighting and projections from them for sure. when it comes on demand i am forcing anyone i can to watch it with me bc that SET! the LIGHTING! the SOUND! the STAGING! it ticks all my boxes it hits all my buttons it was MADE for ME SPECIFICALLY

[retrograderesemblance]

top five adaptations ? (maybe good ones. or just ones you vibe with)

tops 5 things! // @widowshill

I took this to mean movie adaptations, so I went with that...

1. Emma (2020) Feels like a bit of a cheat picking this bc the dash is well aware how biased I am towards this movie xD No, but seriously, I adoooooore the subtle changes the film made from the book. I think it does a perfect job showing Emma's relationships with the other characters, and incorporating period appropriate humor with the plot without it feeling overdramatic. The nose bleed will forever be one of the best things in any Austen adaptation! And Johnny Flynn is Mr. Knightley, I'm sorry, I don't make the rules.

2. L.A. Confidential (1997) A perfect adaptation, as far as I'm concerned. The book is hella dense and while all the plotlines do make sense, it's just waaaaay too much for a 2 hour timeslot. The decisions the writers made with alterations to the plot and with characterizations makes the story digestible for book readers and movie watchers going in blind. I really wish this adaptation was released in any year but 1997 bc unfortunately that year, Titanic swept all the categories for movie awards -_- and it's too bad this this deserved to win more than just "Best Adapted Screenplay".

3. Holes (2003) No one really talks about this movie outside of studying it for school, but the film really deserves to be talked about more. Love the way the timelines are balanced and the flashbacks are presented (like it better visually in the movie than in the book). The casting was amazing imo.

4. Normal People (2020) Really disliked this book when it first came out. When I tried the show, I felt like I finally got itTM. Casting was 10/10 but more importantly the screenwriters took all the subtleties that Rooney had sprinkled throughout her text and built upon it so that everything and everyone felt realistic.

5. Million Dollar Baby (2004) This is based on a short story by F.X. Toole. I read the short story collection its in and this is the best story by far. The short story is sort of comparable to Brokeback Mountain where the story is written in a way that it's almost a perfect blueprint for a screenplay. I cried reading it which is odd considering how short it was and how little time I'd spent with the characters. The movie expands on the tragedies and makes the ending so much more heart wrenching than it already was. Also, this movie has really good casting.

[simmyfrobby]

I have to ask have you ever considered the Matthew & Jesus dichotomy for Marchand & Bergeron bc you get both the reviled apostle (tax collector/resident ice pest) & the worshipped savior (Bergeron the same in every interpretation) + Matthew (along with other apostles) took on some of Jesus's role after his death to spread the gospel (to be a good leader? What does it mean to inherit Bergeron's legacy) - this being a much more obnoxiously optimistic approach to both Marchand + Bergeron and the post-Bergeron bruins ofc

Okay so first of all this is a much kinder interpretation of Marchand so I actually really like it. It still touches on a lot of the same notes (saint/sinner, love, devotion, loss, legacy) without having to deal with the betrayal. Excellent take. Thank you for sharing it!

"Bergeron the same in every interpretation" made me feel so !!!!!!!!!!! and also it reminded me of this:

(Last Days of Judas Iscariot.. again)

Now here comes my defence of Judas as Marchand

(.. again)

(I'm sorry)

(I love talking about it)

So part of the reason Judas is an easier fit than St. Matthew is because there is just so much more written about him in terms of poetry

(and theatre, which I assume from your ask you've already read my other post about so I won't repeat all that)

Here's a few of my favourite Judas lines:

To: Judas Iscariot, Thérèse Naccarato

"Damned to hell, damned in verse, damned to an eternity without him."

The Sacrifice, Frank Bidart

"Wiping away our sins, Christ stained us with his blood—; 

to offer yourself, yet need betrayal, by Judas, before SHOULDERING 

THE GUILT OF THE WORLD—; 

… Give me the courage not to need Judas."

The Judas Passion, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

"I was called to sin-as-virtue, to virtue-as-sin… of course with a kiss: kiss of repentance, kiss of inexpressible sorrow"

Sadly there are less poems about the other saints/disciples. I did initially look into St. Peter (Jesus washing his feet, Peter cutting off someones ear in the Garden of Gethsemane), but I ultimately found it less compelling than the Judas narrative.

(the three acts of denial killed it. Marchy never shuts up about Bergeron, actually)

It's just.. the DRAMA of it all. BETRAYAL WITH A KISS. Killing the one person you love more than anyone in the world. This idea of Judas, who is universally seen to be the worst person in the whole entire world, just being so Human and Flawed and wonderfully relatable. Judas' REGRET after the fact when its already too late!!

It's just so !!!!!!!!!!!

There's doomed by the narrative and then there's damned by the narrative.

(somewhere on this app there is a post about how as a kid who grew up Different, seeing monstrous and unloved things makes you go: "but what if I loved them. what if they were secretly good. just misunderstood. what if I gave them a hug." and so maybe there's an element of that in there too)

Marchand's narrative arch needs some violence and some villainy and awfulness and questionable decisions I'm afraid (said with love). It is important to me that Judas' crime occurs AFTER he's gotten to know Jesus. It is not a Part Of His Life Before. One of my favourite things about the Bergeron / Marchand dynamic is that Bergeron sees Marchand exactly for who he is - good and bad - and loves him anyway. He doesn't try to change any part of him. That's love baybey!

Also Marchand fighting anyone who even looks at Bergeron funny?? Where is that post that goes: it my fault my love language is acts of service and all I know how to do is kill?

But ok sorry for rambling. Back to your ask: the retirement point you bring up is something I've been playing with as well. I'll post the first draft of this poetry post because the original poem was actually a LOT MORE BLASPHEMOUS, but it also does a better job explaining the parallels between the narratives..

Full poem can be found here.

It's just.. casting Marchand as Judas and Bergeron as Jesus doesn't just change the way I look at their dynamic, it also changes the way interpret the Bible story. OF COURSE THEY LOVED EACH OTHER. Because look: Bergeron and Marchand love each other.

[blueberry-lemon]

Persona 5 Tactica non-spoiler First Impressions

I'm honestly pretty burned out on Persona, specifically the P5 cast, at this point, BUT...I figured I'd give them one last rodeo with Tactica. Especially bc I like seeing different takes on tactics RPG gameplay.

I'm liking it so far! Its closest parallel game is definitely Mario+Rabbids, but I think I prefer this game more than that series.

If you're wondering if you can play this game without playing Persona 5, I would say yeah probably. Maybe read like a 1-sentence synopsis of who the Phantom Thieves are so you know who the cast is?

Non-spoilers impressions below:

Love the art style. Love the dialogue portraits and the 3D cutscenes, which I honestly like more than their counterparts in actual Persona 5. I was unsure of the character designs when Tactica was first teased, but I grew to love them. Everyone's really expressive.

New character, Erina, is great. Love her.

Fun tactics gameplay. Definitely leans slightly in the direction of "puzzley tactics" rather than "all-out brawl" tactics if that makes sense. What I mean is that like, battles can take a hard swing for the good or the bad depending on whether you made a huge mistake. I did one side quest that definitely felt like a "puzzle", in that there was a specific way to beat in the required amount of turns. The main story missions are a nice blend so far. I guess I would call Final Fantasy Tactics an "all-out brawl" tactics game.

If you play this game, definitely make sure you digest the main mechanic of the game: knock an opponent away from cover, then hit them when they're out in the open. That gives you an extra turn. This is absolutely crucial to surviving.

But on that note...the game generously offers, like, 5 different difficulty choices!

Character customization is nice and streamlined. I don't think the game cares at all if you're a nerd about Persona fusion, you can kind of just go with the flow. Your choices are a combination of equipping Personas and also leveling up a character skill tree.

I honestly like how the Personas themselves are handled in this more than in Persona 5. Each character has their signature Persona at all times, PLUS equips one of your homemade fused Personas. So Joker can have Arsene + Jack Frost, for example. To account for this, I think each Persona only has 2 Skills each.

Each party member has their own, like, "Ultimate" ability and Passive ability that's unique to them, so that's nice.

No hub world to run around in, which for me is a HUGE plus. Just a pleasant hub menu with things to do in between battles.

The game does a GREAT job of slowly unraveling the mechanics so that it doesn't overwhelm you all at once in the beginning

The story is whatever so far, if I'm being honest. But it's inoffensive and you can easily skip a few cutscenes without missing any crucial information.

I don't think the game is gonna blow any Persona fan or tactics fan's mind, but I think it's successful so far. It feels like an alternate choice to Mario+Rabbids, with a slightly different take on how to make a similar game.

Good job Atlus!

[hylaversicolor]

thinking about tobirama today and how he is described in the databook as "self aware" so he must Know about his own biases but he just refuses to acknowledge that they're there lol.

the founders generation had a really rough transition from war to peace. the senju and uchiha clans have not known peace for thousands of years; war is their life. so they had a brief period where nobody knew what to do whatsoever and then war broke out again anyway, on a larger scale than had ever been seen before. so tobi never really got to slow down and look at the good of the village in individual terms, during real lasting peacetime.

therefore his rule was characterized by a kind of wartime harshness that you can see in the way he defends his decisions to put the village > everything else (including the uchiha clan). to tobi it's only logical that inhabitants of konoha cast aside their identity as members of clans, because that strong clan identity was the reason there WAS war for thousands of years before this. he argued in favor of the collective over the individual clan i think not out of a desire to subjugate the uchiha (but so be it if he did, he outright says), but because by putting the village above clans, survival rates will be higher and ideally war will not be as constant (but when it comes, oh boy it's bad, bc now you have nation v nation rather than clan v clan).

ofc in hindsight we can appreciate that these policies led to the extermination of the uchiha, which i DON'T think tobirama set out to do at all. he is very surprised when sasuke reveals that he's the last uchiha left. it's not just that the uchiha clan was exterminated, it's that they were exterminated to maintain the balance of power in an era where clans could no longer afford to exist because nations/villages have replaced them. assimilate or die, basically.

but i don't even think this is anyone's fault in particular (i mean it was specifically hiruzen's fault for not acting soon enough, and tobirama's fault - slightly less directly - by establishing the anbu/police force/other institutions of konoha). the shinobi world had just gotten completely out of hand and was too massive of an issue for any one person to try and fix, especially because of the economics of war that kishimoto just NEVER ADDRESSES.

also it's important to remember that the naruto world does not share our morals. naruto universe shinobi kill and die for a living and this is totally normal. it's their job but it's also their lifestyle, their identity. even hashirama, the one person whose morals come closest to resembling those of our world, can't completely detach himself from this concept. he NEVER tried to get rid of shinobi as a whole, he just didn't want kids fighting in wars. and he's the most radical person in the naruto universe!! he still 100% wanted kids to grow up to become shinobi eventually because that's just what you do!!

basically everything that happened in naruto canon is just What Happens when shinobi whose collective identity is tied to killing and being killed try to define and structure society.

and ultimately it was madara who looked at the shinobi of the world and said fuck the whole thing, this cannot be fixed. but he too is a shinobi, The Ultimate Shinobi if you will (in that fighting is paramount to who he is as a human being). but he also seeks to rid the world of shinobi. the more he fights the more he loses his humanity, but also the more he fights the more he knows who he is and is able to show the world who he is. he’s the PERFECT final villain for a series about identity and violence, and what it means to be a shinobi and to be a good person, and if those two things are reconcilable at all. madara’s infinite tsukuyomi maybe wasn’t ultimately about izuna (though izuna was the initial catalyst for it), it was about humanity. madara realized that he cannot be a protector and a shinobi at the same time. he wants to be a protector but fighting is the only thing he’s good at, so his only option was to take over the world.

ANYWAY i started this meta with tobirama's biases and got completely off track but i think it's funny how tobi plays favorites with his students (and again doesn't acknowledge that he's doing this) but it just occurred to me: what if hiruzen is his favorite student bc he reminds him of kawarama. i'm going to explode and die

[pallastronomy]

Highkey considering slapping a sideblog together where I do nothing but scream into the void about my OCs. I don’t talk about them here much bc nobody knows shit about them and that’s entirely my fault but they are in my head constantly I have several hundred of them some of them have been here for 5+ years and they Never Leave

Highlights of the plot synopsis roster under the cut (And this isn’t even all of them)

- Zero Escape-adjacent death game but with dogs and mentally unstable divorced women yuri that is entirely an excuse for me to play with my favourite animal ficton tropes (Specifically the sliding scale of to what degree animals are anthropomorphized in fiction and also wanting to dig aggressively into the ‘humans bad nature good’ narrative that tends to be common to the genre) because developing a special interest in Warrior Cats as a kid does something to you once you discover better animal-centric books and this is proof

- Doomed by the narrative but the narrative is the sparklecat comic the protagonist wrote when he was 11. A story about artists and their relationship to art, its meanings, the interconnected web of people who make and consume it, and what defines it at all, wrapped in layers of surreal nonsense comedy. Has my least neurotypical character cast to date which is REALLY saying something

- Entire Warrior Cats fan arc/conclusion to the whole story post-OotS (Feat. The evil StarClan arc we all deserve) that I started writing solely out of spite when past Azure dropped the series after Tigerheartstar got magically resurrected. I’m more attached to these motherfuckers than I have been to any major characters from the past three arcs combined. Also really really proud of the worldbuilding on this one but I’m not divulging details until this motherfucker gets its own behemoth of a post on the potential sideblog

- Hell is real but the supposed eternal damnation for sinners is just being forced into a desk job doing all of heaven’s paperwork for them because nobody else wants to. And also the whole cast is talking cats

- A universe comprised solely of ideas and scrapped concepts I wanted to use for other stories and was too attached to to let go of so I strung them all together into an incoherent mess for the bit

[kanyniablue]

watched newsies (1992); thought i might’ve seen it as a kid but i didn’t remember it at all.

it’s bad.  did i like it?  i’m not sure.  i kinda want to watch it again just to figure out if i did or not.

if i’d watched it 100 times as an eight year old it’d probably be a comfort movie for me.  i didn’t dislike it and i can tell that because i actually watched all 2 hours of it plus the ‘blood drips on newsies square’ movie the cast made (i genuinely laughed a few times and there was overwhelming nostalgia for the stupid movies my friends & i made as kids...if ‘stupid kids making a stupid horror movie’ is something you’d find entertaining, watch that).  i did have to pause repeatedly just because the cringe was too strong, but like i said, i started it again and kept watching; i can’t say the same thing about movies i genuinely dislike.

i like the songs.  i love the choreography, even if at times the sudden musical numbers and crowd dances broke even my musical-theater-loving suspension of disbelief.  king of new york was my favorite part of the movie despite the fact it’s one of the most random scenes.

i was going to praise some of the child actors but actually a lot of them were in their late teens-mid 20s so that’s past my cutoff for “you did a good job buddy!  get yourself an ice cream cup.”  (there’s looking young for your age and then there’s being cursed by a witch to be forever trapped in the body of a 6th grader; max casella, blink twice if we need to destroy any amulets or chant some latin before we throw water on the old hag.)  the actual adults playing actual adults are the worst actors by far; if you just took their scenes and compiled them you’d have a so-bad-it’s-hilarious movie.  the love interest girl was clearly shoved in at the last minute to be Love Interest Girl and even she doesn’t seem to want to be there.

the story’s a hot mess but there’s so much going on that it distracts from how much is going on.  the historical accuracy isn’t.  i found it interesting that no one in 1899 Child Labor City asked whether child labor is itself unethical, both because a) there were real anti-child labor movements at the time yet the characters in this story very clearly weren’t against child labor, just pro-child laborers having rights, and b) it’s a disney movie made in 1992, you’d expect some Very Upstanding Citizen character to bring it up just to mention that of course disney knows it’s wrong to profit off child labor!!!ignore those sweatshops, hail mickey and pass the novelty coke cup.  (sudden thought:  if it came out a few years later there’d have been a newsies game on CD-ROM...)

the technical aspects of like...putting a movie together are just all over the place; the sets and costumes clearly had love put in them (santa fe was one of the points i had to stop bc the cringe was overpowering but in terms of background details/’the show in the character’s mind’ it’s wonderful) but the actual shots have terrible continuity throughout the whole movie (especially the crowd shots, but like, that’s at least understandable--what about details like whether someone has already got a pile of newspapers in their hands when there’s a newspaper strike going on and they are supposedly waiting to decide if they’re going to buy any papers or not?) and there’s several points where they just picked the worst angle (”sleeper!” and yet you can’t actually see the guy they’re talking about until the end of the next shot...) or they play the same visual in reverse/repeat the same audio/very clearly dub audio over someone who’s not speaking...

it didn’t need to be 2 hours long.  no further comment on that.

there were missed opportunities i feel for things like...which newspapers aren’t being boycotted?  (the fact the sun is publishing stories about the newspaper strike means that at least the newsboys for the sun aren’t striking, yeah?  so what does that mean for the kids who are going without pay because they usually sell the world; why don’t they switch publishers, is that not actually an option before the sun stops as well?)  are the customers complaining about not getting the papers they want?  are the printers getting paid less because there’s less demand?  what do the other child laborers think about the newsboys’ strike affecting them (obviously everybody shows up for a triumphant climactic crowd scene, but like, you could’ve had them ask some questions in the first place, and also why would pulitzer have any authority over the non-newspaper strikers?)  90% of these questions came from me trying to justify Love Interest Girl’s presence beyond just being Love Interest Girl:  her brothers are out of school selling newspapers to support the family but are now striking and not getting paid; she mentions that she works as well but we never get an opinion on workers’ rights from her; she only shows up to the strike because...Love Interest (technically she helps print the flyer at the end, although mostly it’s just her being in the same room as everyone else).

anyway.  i know this one has a rabid fanbase so i’m not even touching that tag.

[perhaps-relax]

id like to complain about Barry for a bit.

I came to the show late and didnt watch it as it was coming out, but have been moving thru it over the last month. I have a tendency to just stop watching shows when theres a lull or an arc i dont find interesting, and ive been fighting that urge for two seasons now bc my partner has been enjoying it. we have two episodes left and i cant wait to be done with it. so without having seen the finale, heres where im at:

firstly, its not that the bad behavior of all the main characters bothers me. i was aware from episode 1 that this was not a show about good people, or even about bad people trying to be better. and i kept watching, and really enjoyed seasons 1 and 2, bc i dont need perfect protagonists to remain invested. but. like. the premise was about a hitman getting into acting, right? ...Barry has not acted for the last 10 episodes. they just sort of abandoned that aspect of the character, which was really the only interesting thing about him. ive gone from liking him to hating him to appreciating the nuisance of his character, to literally not caring what he does anymore bc of how often the writers kept flipping the switch on him. hes no longer a reflection of how real people cope with the bad things theyve done. hes just a tool for shocking the audience.

Seasons 1 and 2 thrived on the revolving cast of antagonists, which was a fun way to demonstrate the endless cycle and escalation of violence that barry's trapped in. The absurdity of the martial arts master and his feral child was excellent and imo the high point of the show, and they were only in one or two episodes. but by season 3 and 4, the introduction and immediate execution of new characters gets incredibly stale, because we stop expecting them to matter in any way. the kid actor, the tall blond gal, albert, bong, any chechen or bolivian, they keep setting us up w characters and the impression that they will be important to the leads, and expecting us to be impacted by the subversion of this expectation. and im just...not. im bored of it.

also, I don't like timeskips, it strikes me as a bit of a cop-out that just...kills the momentum of any arc leading up to it. Like the writers put themselves in a position and decide they dont want to deal with writing their way out of it. then they can just waste a bunch of airtime on where-are-they-now exposition instead of actually resolving or elaborating on the existing conflicts or themes they were pursuing earlier. better call saul almost did it right, but even that was a boner-killer of a finale. And the way Barry skips into the future to do some kind of half-assed commentary about 'where society is going' reminds me too much of the toothless politics of parks & rec. the whole podcast Christianity homeschooling thing is pretty interesting, tho.

and finally let me jsut go ahead and say that it was incredibly unfair what they did to cristobal. the electroshock therapy scene was horrific, but the very next episode, hes fine. he never even talks about what that did to him. no, instead, we're supposed to focus on how traumatized hank is from the whole tiger incident or whatever. like, gene's son leo lost his job, and we never talk about why, or what that means for him. and then he gets shot, cool cool cool, really cool wow, so interesting. the black and brown characters are not necessarily unique in how disposable or otherwise unimportant they are, compared to secondary white characters like Katie or Annie or Kristen, but its still pretty gross how the writers seem a little more willing to subject them to violence and trauma.

[jestpoll]

JUST found out that the usual Lupin III dub cast recently dubbed part one and let me tell y'all it's certainly A Trip

[slipperyskell]

Assorted Monty HCs 3

(Running under the assumption of Organic Monty unless specified otherwise)

- Sometimes will just. Read random things for the sake of processing information. He’s not super big into reading otherwise but sometimes he’ll be bored and see some fine print or something on a poster or slip of paper and decide to snoop just to give himself something to do 

- That being said, this gator has vast hordes of random knowledge that may be of use to you... if you can get it out of him/he remembers said information at the given time you ask 

- If you’re hired on to be Monty’s handler/personal assistant, you gotta be cool with a lot of things really fast. Namely a surprisingly energetic and VERY charismatic reptile who can and will get into mischief, regardless of if he is under supervision. He can and will try to rope you into his shenanigans too 

- He will also insert himself into any job you’re doing and help, even if you didn’t ask him to. ESPECIALLY if you’re working up in the catwalks bc he cannot stand the idea of not keeping an eye on people up there to make sure they’re staying safe since the last incident. Had he not been in Gator Golf at the time that last employee fell... 

- he is very protective of his fellow employees, human and bot alike

- also just.  No thoughts, head empty somedays. He sees something that sparks even slight interest and oop! There he goes, off to go investigate - usually with you in tow bc as his assistant it’s your job to keep an eye on him so nothing bad happens (this isn’t just a Monty thing either - all of the animatronics have assistants for this exact purpose)

- He can be a handful but not for the reasons management provides (which usually focuses on his more destructive tendencies and nothing else). He’s just a very energetic person who needs a lot of things to keep him entertained. As long as you can understand that, you will get along with him swimmingly as his assistant 

- deadass if you treat him nice or really just don’t treat him or his friends like a piece of property like so many of the other human employees tend to do to the bots in the Plex, you have become his Bestest Friend in the Whole Wide World and he will straight up ride or die for you 

- If he had any use for money he could probably convince you to give it to him tho. This guy would be a god at scamming 

- I mean he can usually convince you to give him pieces of your food or drink so I would imagine he could just be like “hey can I have that pen” or “hey you should give me that clipboard” and you just give it to him. he just has it now. he doesn’t need it at all, he has no reason to have a pen or a clipboard, but he has it

- Generally speaking he tries not to get too much in the way of your work, but some days he wants the extra attention and other days he’s just feeling particularly chaotic (and some days, while he won’t admit this aloud, he gets very clingy and doesn’t want you to leave) 

- Since he’s a new addition to the Fazbear cast (and the band itself for that matter) he doesn’t actually know that much about the history of the Fazbear company beyond what he had programmed into him for the sake of some fun Faz-Facts. So if there were an AU where Monty is the guardian this man straight up does not know what’s going on. at all. He’s just chillin (same with Roxy for that matter) 

- Anything else that he does know, he finds out through Freddy, Chica, and Bonnie when he was still there 

- His mowhawk has a similar texture to that of an iguana’s. Surprisingly soft, would be very floppy if he didn’t use some kind of product to keep it up. He thinks he looks silly with it down so he tries to avoid not having it up in public (spoilers: he doesn’t look silly at all) 

- Give him hand massages bc his claws get achey sometimes 

- His tail is VERY solid/heavy. A good smack from it will definitely leave a bruise at least, so he tries to be as careful as possible, so he doesn’t accidentally hit anyone with it 

- Gators don’t typically use their tails to emote afaik (at least not the same way that other reptiles do) but I do like the idea of the tip of his tail still wiggling around when he sees something he likes, or he gets excited.

- The only time his whole tail is thrashing/getting smacked around is when he’s REALLY upset about something - like about to throw down or start breaking shit kinda upset

- he would absolutely use it in a fight if need be - it’s got enough weight to it n he can put enough force behind it so that he could easily knock someone over. And should he use enough force, he could probably break someone’s leg. 

- It’s pretty hard to lift it off of the ground straight up (he’d probably end up pulling a muscle in his back somehow) so he usually just lets it drag along on the ground behind him like gators normally do. If he needs it off the ground for some reason he would probably need someone to help him, or he might be able to grab it with his own hands, but since his tail isn’t very flexible that might end up hurting him

- Speaking of a not-particularly-flexible-tail, if you’re someone he’s really fond of there’s a good chance you’ll start to notice his tail loosely curled around where you’re standing 

- if he’s feeling really sneaky, he likes to come up behind you and blow a breath of air on the top of your head to get your attention. You’d be surprised how often he’s able to do this without you noticing

- Also has a tendency to sit his chin on the top of your head or shoulder so he can get a better look at what you’re doing (though if this makes you uncomfortable, he backs off) 

- He has his big boisterous laugh ofc, but he also has what I affectionately refer to as the Windex Cleaner laugh. He also tends to stick out his tongue when he laughs like that too which is great

- If he has access to a phone he will send you so many god damn memes. This dude is scrolling through TikTok like no tomorrow and sending you the funniest and most cryptic shit at 3am, when the both of you should DEFINITELY be sleeping/charging

- Something something the Glamrocks do have access to some kind of cell-phone like device or program so they can contact their assistants in case something happens (unless a certain asshole rabbit lady decides to cut off access to any form of internet), though they all end up using it for more casual things with their assistants should they be on good terms

- Monty also will send you very cursed pictures of himself with the camera right up against his snout so he looks like he has a really big nose

- and the MEME SPEAK THIS MAN USES. absolutely off the shits 

- He’s just got a mental meme soundboard in his head that he plays whenever something happens and it’s really the only thing keeping him from going nuts during busy days at work 

[sonianvmd]

thh characters with a crush on you

warnings: none, maybe some swearing but otherwise nothing major

oH and mentions of murder and death but this is danganronpa so im going to assume u expected as much

a/n: so we kickin this blog off with a bang, writing for LITERALLY THE ENTIRE TRIGGER HAPPY HAVOC CAST LMFAOAOAOAO (excluding hifumi, yasuhiro, and the two despairs doe bc i’ve already made that clear)

also some character’s sections are shorter than others im sorry i just couldnt think of as many bullet points for them *tiktok cry emoji*

edit: I FORGOT CELSESTE FU K SORRY

spoilers under the cut!!

★ 彡 ★ ミ ★ 彡 ★ ミ ★

makoto naegi

when he realizes he likes you, he doesn’t necessarily panic or anything, but he does get nervous

nervous around you, that is

y’all saw how he was with sayaka

if he says anything that might sound intimate then he’ll immediately rephrase it or reassure he didn’t mean anything by it

he really only does have good intentions but his wording just kinda flops sometimes

he appreciates how you listen to him and value what he says

you don't make him feel dumb or inferior compared to a bunch of ultimates with actual talents

he’ll muster up the courage to tell you eventually

let’s hope his luck comes through 😁

byakuya togami

now when THIS man realizes he likes you, he a bitch nigga bout it 😐

he can't believe he fell for a common plebeian such as you

but it was hard not to

the way you preferred to get to the point

the way you were aware of your situation and didn't sugarcoat how you felt about it, although you certainly were nicer with it than him

he's ruthless

anyways

you knew your priorities and spent no time trying to use your resources

he noticed how much you had in common; in you, he saw himself

and we all know how this mf feels about himself 😐

he’ll be quick to defend you in class trials

he won’t realize he’s doing it but he just subconsciously protects you

but just because he doesn't notice it, don't mean the rest of the class brushes past it as well

yeah they on his ass LMFAOO

kyoko kirigiri

kyoko is very good at keeping her composure so she won’t be very obvious

she’ll probably just hang around you more

she’ll also defend you in class trials, calmly

“oh, it couldn’t have been [name]. i remember seeing them in their dorm around the time the murder took place.”

hifumi probably finna say some dumb shit like “aye what was you doin in their dorm doe” but anyways

she finds you respectable

if you have anything to contribute, she’ll let you take the floor

when she tells you, she’s very composed, but also very indirect LMFAO

she’s not too sure on how to express her interest in you but maybe she’ll go about it like “well, [name], now we’ve made it here, would you like to step back into the world with me?” or somethin else along those lines idk

take her hand

pls

toko fukawa

y’all know her whole “master togami” shtick

yeah so 😁😁😁😁

no but fr, toko ofc still has her borderline stalkerish 🧍🏾‍♀️ tendencies

she’ll often find herself staring at you, either in the library or in the morning meetings everyday at breakfast

but she isn’t as straight forward as she is with byakuya

i actually think she’d be mad shy and non confrontational

the whole thing she kept up with him ? yeah, never again

if you approach her first then she’ll be able to get a few words out but for most of the conversation, she’ll just nervously play with her braids

you’ll most likely put two and two together

unless ur a makoto kinnie bc then you’ll have to wait till someone else puts it in place for u but anyways

if you decide to approach her about it, you’ll kinda be backing her into a corner bc she’s just bad at deflecting things lmao

she’ll eventually confess (begrudgingly but hey i mean its better than nothing)

expect much stuttering and a gesture like giving you a small gift

and not to be that writer that uses japanese terms in english writing but toko seems like a tsundere but not really if that makes sense?? so she’d probably shove it in your hands and if you try to say something then she’ll just try to play it off as not a big deal lol

calls u a baka 😍😍

aoi asahina

i know y’all all see how she is with sakura

yeah.

aoi is the kind of person who’d like to spend time with their crush rather than shy away from them

she values you and your friendship very much

bring her donuts

just trust me bring her donuts

she doesn’t really realize she’s into you like that for a while but believe me, she is, the whole time

and yeah i think she’d be nervous to tell you bc that’s just natural but ultimately she’d be cool about it

uh oh looks like we goin for a swim

sakura ogami

similar to kyoko, she’s very calm

despite her big and bad appearance, she really is a sweet girl

she cares for you and your well-being very much

will indeed go on x games mode for you

the way she tells you is very sincere and well spoken

kith her

naow

im sorry this is like the shortest one i couldn’t think of much for her 😔😔

leon kuwata

flirtatious ass mf

and he’s lightskin

so this just cannot go well

y’all know that bit where it’s like the guy yawns and stretches his arms up and then wraps one around your shoulder

yeah that’s literally him LMFAOO

he’s very confident

he was fairly well known with the ladies at his old school so you know he’s rhockin wit it ‼️

but

you feel.. different than usual ??

those girls were just lil flings n dates bc he was nice enough to accept their confessions and it boosted his ego anyway so it was a win win

but you

he was genuinely interested in you since he had saw you the first time

he didn’t just acknowledge your appearance

he learnt about your personality and your hobbies and what you liked and such, and he really cared and wanted to hear you talk about it all

he felt the need to really make an effort to show you how much he respected and had affections for you

he doesn't tell you in a grand way

probably just asks you out to a movie or somethin

he's chillin

mondo owada

you know

for being the biggest, baddest, most respected biker gang leader

or just for being in a biker gang period

mondo’s a huge softie lol

yeah he gets violent but he’s a sweet guy who cares about and is loyal to his friends

so mfs need to be nice to you

or they gettin whooped

when he decides it’s time to tell you how he feels, he thinks over his words and he’s all confident there’s no way you’d reject him but then he sees you in the halls and goes 🧍🏾 LMFAOOO

he’ll push through but it’s like he’ll walk up to you and look away from you because he refuses eye contact and just go

“so y/n, would you wanna.. tch.. come to a drive-in movie with me or somethin’?... dumbass.”

real smooth mondo i think you got em good job

please tease him LMFAOO it’d be so funny

he’d probably yell but you can tell he’s not mad so you just keep going with it

but once you’re done tormenting him, you do agree to the movie, don’t worry 🙏🏾

also mondo would call his s/o doll

that is all

chihiro fujisaki

my fav dude in a dress <3

chihiro would be quite shy, but that’s just how he is tbh so no surprise there

he’s very kind so he’d check up on you often just to see how you are

he cares about you v much

the way he confesses is one that consists of a red face as he offers you a box of candy or something similar

and he’d feel honored that you reciprocate his feelings

he’d be very scared to tell you his secret but once he does, he’s delighted to hear it doesn’t make any difference to you

he doesn’t know how he got so lucky with you

not only because woooo they like me back but also because you like him despite,, well everything about him LMFAOO

sweet lil boy

i’d feel like he’d talk about you to alter ego a lot

and when u meet the program for the first time, he’s like “oh! you must be [name]! master’s told me all about you :)”

sobbing i miss him

kiyotaka ishimaru

okay here’s the thing

if taka were to like someone

i can’t tell whether he’d be more strict because he doesn’t want them to get in trouble (and also so it would hopefully divert any suspicion that he DOES like you since he treats you the same as everyone else, only more)

or if he’d hold back more because he favors them LMFAOO

so imma write a lil bit for both

in the case that he was even stricter:

he’d prefer to be around you because he believes the best way he can make sure you stay out of trouble is to make sure you don’t get into any in the first place

of course it’s impossible to monitor you every second of every day but he does his best to make sure you’re doing well

if he sees you do anything out of line, he’s shutting that shit down IMMEDIATELY

but in the case he let up:

he’d still lecture you but noticeably less than the other students

if your feet were resting on top of a desk, he’d ask you to move them and then leave you alone rather than yell at you and forcibly move them himself

if you notice his behavior towards you in comparison to the other students do not tease him about it he will go as red as his eyes /hj

either way he’s confessing to you with a polite but exaggerated bow while holding out a well thought out letter with both hands

sayaka maizono

she will tell you

idk why but i feel like she’d be straight up lol

she’d make sure she’s sincere

she is the ultimate pop idol and all so she wants to make sure you know that she really does like you and isn’t playing a sick joke on you or anything

ok bc

while i do think she’d tell you

i’d feel like she’d be a little indirect just to see how you feel

like she’d give you a free ticket to one of her upcoming concerts with a kind smile

and naturally, you're like :o

and of course you come to support her

and seeing you smile at her from the crowd and cheer her on was the encouragement she needed to push her to ask you out

for real this time

she asks if you wanna come to a concert with her and ur like “oh yeah i love ur shows!!” bc ur dumb and then she’s like “no i mean.. for another artist” and eventually it hits you that she’s asking you out and ur like “oH YEAH YEAH SURE THAT SOUNDS GREAT YEAH OK” LMFAOO

———

i really hope that this is good LMFAOO this is my first time writing for dr so 😃👍🏾

fun fact i finished toko’s section first and taka’s last 😁😁

and i’d like to thank @mius-imagination @bloodygir n the rest of the discord for helping me figure some of these characters out *simultaneously whips and nae naes*

bye ive been working on this for like weeks this took forever

———

edit: here’s a deleted section bc i kept blanking for this character 😍