#meena caste meena

[caliphoria17]

0:01 Discussion RE: Joining the cast

1:41 Discussion RE: Avatrice kiss

Be More Super: The Podcast – Meena Rayann

[yioh]

GUYS look at my wha oc😎

[mxmeiyun]

Meena dubbing herself in different languages (so cool) and nerding out over it is so in character

[hoperays-song]

Double Negative

*The teens hanging out at rehearsal, Johnny has his arm wrapped around Ryan’s shoulders*

Meena, cautiously: Are you two dating?

Johnny, instantly panicking and dropping his arm: No!

Ryan, panicking and choking on his coffee: No!

Nooshy, not even looking up from their phone: Double negative, that's a yes.

[alhaithamhabibi]

𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖗𝖑𝖔𝖙𝖙𝖊 𝖆𝖌𝖗𝖎𝖈𝖍𝖊 𝖍𝖊𝖆𝖉𝖈𝖆𝖓𝖔𝖓𝖘

ᴍᴇᴇɴᴀ ɴᴏᴛᴇs : i couldn't resist okay- anyway, my baby charlotte needs some recognition so pls accept these small crumbs

𖤝‌ after the incident with roxana's butterflies, charlotte despised the winged creatures even three years later. she's more cautious around them but she will have panic attacks should those red-colored butterflies come too near and she loathes that, seeing it as a weakness. and having a weakness in the agriche household means punishment or death. and she's an agriche, charlotte has to survive to make it here.

𖤝‌ charlotte's preference for weapons is her whips. and yes, she had named them. they were gifts from her father ( surprising, right? ) from his trip after she successfully tortured people in his stead. and she cherishes them. now she thinks the sentiments were useless but don't underestimate the girl and her whips. she can still knock people off their feet and place them under her easily.

𖤝‌ when younger, charlotte was much easier to manipulate out of all her siblings. because her mother spoiled her so much just so she can use her daughter to protect her when danger comes. eventually, charlotte was able to see past her mother's manipulation and break free from it. her father is nothing worth to her and her mother was just using her so isn't it fair if charlotte starts putting herself first?

𖤝‌ charlotte was also compared to roxana by her mother a lot because she was lante favorite daughter and a true agriche. she looked up to her older sister for all her accomplishments but deep down, she also resented her as she couldn't attain roxana achievements as her mother pressured her to. the constant comparison grew worse and after the butterfly incident, her feelings for the blonde went from bad to worse.

𖤝‌ charlotte used to hate her looks. she looked nothing like her father which her mother used to criticize a lot. and she wanted to please her mother a lot so she tried to resemble more of lante in terms of personality. though after charlotte left her mother's mind games behind, she learned to appreciate her emerald green eyes and fiery red hair. she may resemble her mother more here but she's starting to look at herself as just charlotte.

𖤝‌ charlotte holds grudges for a long time added to her anger issues and her prideful nature, it's a really bad mix. but after the house fell, she's learning how to work with her issues and try to be better. she's sixteen, of course, and she's gonna make mistakes and say things she won't be able to properly apologize for. but of there's one thing that makes it up for it, it's her persistence to be better. at least better than her parents.

𖤝‌ after the agriche manor fell, charlotte left the house and decided to become free of her family's wretched name. yes, she grew up as a standard agriche but as she grew older, she learned more about the world around her. and that came with a longing to experience it. and when the time came, charlotte escaped the manor with the money she obtained and jewelry she had 'borrowed' from her mother. she doesn't regret it. after all, her name means free and that's what she will be.

[psanders2217]

Warrior Nun is such a well done show I can't even believe how good the writing is. There's jokes that flow well with the characters and then heartbreaking scenes that fill you with such emotion is is hard to not look away. I love this show dearly and so many others do as well. This NEEDS a season 3. The cast is incredible and have great chemistry that adds to each scene, the whole cast is wonderful in every way. The ones not on screen are fantastic too, the stunt team worked hard to make sure the actors could perform action that is so exhilarating. The actors did many of the stunts themselves in S2, and that is incredible in of itself. I am glad Simon and the directors made this show, it is truly wonderful. The story is a queer slow-burn that is so beautiful I felt numb after finishing it. I have made a post like this before, but I need another one to really show how well done this show is. The antagonists are also incredible, complex people that you love to see the protagonist fight. I advise anyone that sees this to watch the show now because this show deserves a season 3. It's been in the top 10 on Netflix, without the creators spending a dollar, it's been just a fandom. If that doesn't tell you we all love the show and that you should watch it, I don't know what does. The show also portrays multi nationality well, with multiple languages thrown in there in a way it flows with the English script. I am not sure what else to say besides watch this show. It is all I can think about.

[joethetoonfanandoutcast]

Sing: Do They Know it's Christmas (2017)

In 2017, I came up with a song-fic of the cast of SING joining together to cover the Band-Aid benefit Christmas hit, "Do They Know It's Christmas". It is inspired by the music video of the SING cast covering my favorite Paul McCartney Christmas song, "Wonderful Christmas Time", with Jimmy Fallon, the Roots, their own voice actors, and Paul McCartney himself. It's also inspired by the Muppet Bohemian Rhapsody music video and the 2009 BBC Children in Need Medley.

Originally, this was to be an all-Disney-character (excluding Star Wars and Marvel cover, because I thought 'what if Disney characters got together to help inspire us to help the world in need like Band-Aid and the BBC characters did'? I'm surprised no one else has thought of that. However, with the humongous amount of Disney characters in general and so little time to decide, I couldn't decide which ones should sing which lyrics. It would've been helpful if someone else did a character cover fic of the Band-Aid song first so I could use it as help.

However, it was less complicated with the pre-sequel SING cast, so I decided to do a version with them first.

To anyone who doesn't know, Band-Aid is a group of artists who don't ordinarily sing together but do so only to sing a song benefiting for special charity needs, like USA for Africa who sung "We Are the World". Band-Aid did four different versions of the song; and the fourth recent one in 2014 is the one that the animals of SING will be doing more, because it had more meaningful lyrics than the original.

Well, enjoy and hopefully this will inspire you to do a version of your own. I do not own the characters (except for two OCs) or song, they belong to Illumination, Universal and Band-Aid.

-

The short fic begins in the world of 'SING!', where anthropomorphic animals exist (like Robin Hood, Zootopia, etc.) and we go to Moon Theater where programs are held, and we go to an office, where a koala named Buster Moon was inside as he noticed us, and spoke to us.

"Oh, hello there. I'm Buster Moon. You all know me from last year's animated hit, 'SING'. In case you may not know, most of the cast, including yours truly, appeared in a music video covering the classic Christmas tune 'Wonderful Christmas Time' with Jimmy Fallon, the Roots, our acting teachers and even Sir Paul McCartney himself. Awesome, right? Well, we thought we would do another Christmas music video covering another classic yuletide number, and for a noble cause. You see, there are those in your world suffering from diseases, and can't manage without your help. That is why we animals are joining together, for your fun, delight and inspiration, a cover of the yuletide benefit song, "Do They Know it's Christmas" by UK charity supergroup, Band-Aid. We don't, however, have any celebrities or other characters joining in the chorus, but we hope you enjoy it all the same."

-

As the video begins, the light shines on a gorilla named Johnny, the first singer.

Johnny: It's Christmas time, and there's no need to be afraid At Christmas time, we let in light and banish shade

Next, we see a porcupine named Ash.

Ash: And in our world of plenty, we can spread a smile of joy

Even Buster himself had a part to sing.

Buster: Throw your arms around the world At Christmas time

The next ones to sing, appearing separately in the following order, an elephant named Meena, a female pig named Rosita, a male pig named Gunther and an unnamed male cat character who was not in the film but is in this.

Meena: But say a prayer and pray for the other ones

Rosita: At Christmas time, it's hard but while you're having fun

Gunther: Zhere's a world outside your window, und it's a world of dread and fear

Male cat character: Where a kiss of love can kill you, and there's death in every tear

The next part was sung by a snail named Raymond, who sat on top of the mike, while singing.

Raymond: And the Christmas bells that ring there are the clanging chimes of doom

Next, a mouse named Mike, sang a line.

Mike: Well tonight we're reaching out and touching you

We then see a split screen of Johnny and Ash on each side.

Johnny and Ash: Bring peace and joy this Christmas to West Africa

The next ones to sing separately in the following order are Meena, an elderly lizard named Ms. Crawly and Buster.

Meena: A song of hope when there's no hope tonight

Ms. Crawly: Why is comfort to be feared Why is to touch to be scared

Buster: How can they know it's Christmas time at all

Then the scene changed to showing Buster, Johnny, Ash, Rosita, Gunther, the bunny triplets and an unnamed female dog character who didn't appear in the actual film in different squares, singing together.

Group #1: Here's to you

Female dog character: Raise a glass to everyone

The scene changed to Meena, Mike, Ms. Crawly, the unnamed cat character, one of the frogs, a sheep (the one who sang "Kiss from a Rose"), Raymond, and the giraffe who sang "Ben" (though he was lowering his neck to get his head in the shot), were in different squares, singing together as well.

Group #2: Here's to them

Raymond: And all their years to come

Meena: Can they know it's Christmas time at all

Then a square with the crocodile (who rapped "Humpty" in the film) appeared, with the reptile rapping and free-styling.

Crocodile: I don't need any gifts, I'll give 'em away Ooh-ooh…Don't worry, I'll be okay I save them all for an emergency 'Cos I want everybody to be happy

Then a tech expert animal, one who was working the whole video the whole time, pressed a button to move all squares away, revealing to show all animals we saw, along with more animals(including the ones who didn't make the cut in Buster's singing competition or others who weren't in the film and just added in here) together, singing the final chorus of the song on the stage of the Moon Theater.

All: Feed the world, let them know it's Christmas time again Feed the world, let them know it's Christmas time again Heal the world, let them know it's Christmas time again Feed the world, let them know it's Christmas time again Heal the world, let them know it's Christmas time again Heal the world, let them know it's Christmas time again Feed the world, let them know it's Christmas time again Heal the world, let them know it's Christmas time again Heal the world

Then the song ended, before the scene went back to Buster alone speaking to us again. The koala smiled to the readers, "From all of us, the animals in the world of 'SING!' and the other cartoon staff at Illumination, we strongly recommend all of you to help those in need this holiday season, and have a happy general winter holiday!"

The End

--

Well, that's my short Christmas fic and first cover fic of the Band-Aid Christmas charity song. Hopefully I'll make some more in the future, provided I get help from anyone. It almost makes me think Illumination should've done this themselves.

The male cat character and female dog character are two random OC's of mine that served as an in-joke to my Bremen jukebox musical retelling idea which I dreamed of and wanted to be an actual animated film, and maybe be given the same continuity as SING and maybe have the four animals leave the human world and end up in the SING world where no humans exist.

The crocodile's rapping part is from the TV Allstars cover of the song, it is in none of the Band-Aid versions.

[ashwinkumar1989]

Thou Art A Great Soul

I just cannot stop waxing eloquent about my idol Meena Kandasamy; award-winning author, poet, translator, academic and anti-caste activist. Here goes another poem: Thou art a great soul I respect you above all Because, really are you an allrounder A poet and a writer An academic and a translator A truly intersectional feminist And last but not the least A thoroughly dedicated anti-caste…

[itneedsmoregays]

Treat my friend better or else...

Buster: You know, Meena, I've noticed Darius is being a lot less... "extra" during your rehearsals than when you met him a few days ago.

Steff: And he's actually calling you by your name instead of "Gina".

Meena: Yeah, I feel more comfortable now. I just don't know how it happened.

Ash: Oh, that's 'cause I pulled him aside and talked things over with him calmly.

Steff: (notices Darius glancing at Ash nervously while rubbing his behind) ...You jabbed him with one of your quills, didn't you?

Ash: I jabbed him with one of my quills.

Meena: ASH!

Ash: No thanks are necessary.

Buster: You can't just injure fellow cast members!

Ash: (folds her arms proudly) I will not apologise for defending my friend's honour.

[korrinhorizon]

Sibling/Young cast Chaos:

Johnny: has anyone seen my skateboard?

Nooshy who accidentally broke it when she went out: (ok, Nooshy act dumb) What’s a skateboard? (NOT THAT DUMB)

——————

(The Young cast doing homework together)

Ash: So what answer did y’all get? I got 76

Nooshy: Wait really?! I got Italy

Johnny: I got the year 1990s for some reason

Zotz: (who did the homework at school and went to sleep)

Ryan: I got 180 degrees, I don’t know how

Meena: . . . . . Y’all?? This is Biology homework???

——————

(During the majestic tour)

Ryan going through the fridge of their hotel: WHO TOOK THE LAST TWO OF MY ICE POPS I‘M GONNA KI-

Johnny and Zotz: It was us. . . Sorry. . .

Ryan suddenly changes into a loving tone: -Kiss you and get you more! Is there any flavor you two want? It’s completely fine!

[thelovetheystole]

Randomly wondering why Emmerdale hasn't brought in any long lost Sugdens; real, adjacent (Merricks!) or retconned, in these last 10ish years or so, besides Robert. And I'm not even talking long-term, just at all!

Let's see.

When Robert arrived back, he was tacked-on to a family he was only related to by marriage-to-be, the Whites. They were wealthy, powerful and had a three generation dynamic he wasn't a part of, as Lachlan wasn't his child (we got to meet Donny later). Of course Rebecca completed the White line-up.

Making Robert a dad was super important to TPTB, but even then, Robert lost Seb to Liverpool long before Ryan Hawley gave his leaving notice.

In contrast we have the Dingles and the Dingle add-ons. Here is what I could think of right now; A secret daughter for Marlon in April, Kyle came back to live in the village, they brought in Aaron's sister Liv, then we had Faith re-cast, Mandy came back + Vinny, brand new secret sons - Ryan for Charity (and his son Oscar on top of that!) and Nate for Cain, and finally Caleb, his wife Ruby and their son Nicky.

Not to mention the people who have married and/or had kids with Dingles.

They brought in several Bartons, relatives by marriage to Moira, but blood relatives to her children; James, Ross, Pete and Finn + Emma, then a return from Holly, Matty and finally a brother for Moira; Mackenzie.

Tates: they started with Joe (and Graham who was very entangled with the whole family) followed by Kim, then Jamie, Andrea and Millie (and Millie's maternal granny), and also Caleb and his family who are both Dingle and Tate adjacent.

The Anderson family was extended with daughter Naomi, mother Claudette and father Victor, and we even got to meet the mum/ex-wife.

We got two new Sharmas in Amit and Suni, plus the return of Archie, a couple of extra King kids in Elliot and Carl + nephew Tom, Meena was Manpreet's sister, Chloe was Kerry's secret daughter and Amy's sister, and Paddy got a brand new dad in Bear. Vanessa and Tracy were made sisters and got a joint dad in Frank. Rhona's mother Mary came and stayed, and then there was Gus and a new biological baby with no cheating story!

Heck, we were even subjected to Wendy's creepy ex-husband, Russ, making the total Posner count four characters + they made one of them "father" to Harry!

Both Jack and Joe Sugden were away from the village plenty, as was Robert. They could have gotten up to all sorts. Andy had a whole other birth family, but they all disappeared. Robert has two half siblings in Sandie and Tommy (he is something of a mystery), and they are bound to have families of their own. And what about Sarah Sr, couldn't she have a relative or two out there in the world, who would be blood relatatives to Victoria and Harry? Kathy was very much a part of the Sugden family, she had at least one kid in Australia we've only ever heard of.

I don't know if the show doesn't 'dare' mess around with the Sugdens and feel they are a bit 'untouchable' or if they just plain and simple aren't at all interested in them? (Actually I can guess.) But I still think it's weird and the Dingles should never have taken over the whole village like this.

That turned into quite a long post, if anyone made it to the end of it, sorry! 🙈

My brain is pretty fried after this, let me know if I missed/left out anything important!

[hoperays-song]

Out of this World Cast Backstage be like:

I want to draw the Out of the World cast asleep like this backstage, still in their costumes. Like, apparently major musicals can perform 8 times a week. And the cast overwork themselves practically for fun. They are definitely exhausted.

***Clay’s asleep sitting up in a chair in the corner. Buster’s on the floor. 

[astoundingbeyondbelief]

Kaiju Week in Review (February 12-18, 2023)

Kadokawa has revealed the core cast and crew of Gamera Rebirth, and everyone's already despairing at Hiroyuki Seshita (co-director of the Godzilla anime trilogy) landing in the director's chair. Worth noting, of course, that those movies were low-budget productions meant to plug the gap between Shin Godzilla and Godzilla: King of the Monsters and thus could afford to experiment, whereas the future of the Gamera franchise is riding on this show. And ENGI seems to be primarily a 2D animation studio—basically, don't expect a redux. I was also amused to see that there are characters named "Joe" and "Brody", which together form the name of Bryan Cranston's character in Godzilla (2014). So one of the writers is probably among the droves who didn't care for how quickly he was killed off.

Here's the latest episode of Godziban, in which Girly Garlin breaks out the bedazzled dual chainsaws and Gigan draws upon his many training sessions with Little in a rematch against King Ghidorah. This is the 13th episode of season 4, matching the length of the last two seasons, but I doubt this is the finale.

Godzilla Rivals: Biollante vs. Destoroyah, the last Godzilla comic currently on IDW's docket, will be released May 10. Nick Marino's writing and Sean Dove's illustrating (huge props already for the stealthy Gamera cameo). Here's the synopsis:

No need for gloom, just drink a BLOOME! There's an irresistible new beverage, Bio-II from BLOOME, that's taken the world by storm. The lives of two unlikely allies collide as they scramble to unlock the sinister secrets behind Bio-II and halt the rebirth of the strangest botanical beast the Earth has ever seen, the blossoming Biollante! Dr. Meena Shyam is a disgraced kaiju researcher whose radical ideas saw her shunned by the scientific community. Needles is a slacker hacker who's just cracked the code behind BLOOME's proprietary recipe. Together, crisscrossing the moonlit hills and bridges of Pittsburgh, they race against the clock to stop Biollante's destruction as they call forth one of the deadliest kaiju of all time, the dastardly Destoroyah!

Destoroyah as the lesser of two evils? I guess it had to happen eventually. High hopes for this; I'm a big fan of the cartoony style, and Bio-II sounds like what Slusho! should've been.

Bandai's You Choose! Toho Kaiju Sovfi Figure! contest has its three semifinalists: Biollante's rose form, Desghidorah, and Zilla. Of the three, Desghidorah interests me the most, though it would be funniest if Zilla won. Voting kicked off yesterday through the Godzilla Store and will last for the rest of the month. This was announced about an hour after midnight Sunday in my time zone, but the vote will nearly be over by the time I post another one of these, so I figured I'd get it out there now.

[mattjacksonsbrain]

Sing - Roundtable Presentation (Animated)

Illumination's 2016 animated feature "Sing" follows a cast of lovable animals with dreams bigger than their fears. In a city much like our own, a dapper Koala named Buster Moon stages the world's greatest singing competition to save his crumbling theater. As the contest unfolds, each character discovers their true voice and confronts personal challenges, showcasing themes of perseverance, friendship, difference, and the transformative power of music. Backed by a star-studded cast (seen below), the musical numbers are fantastic and the emotional depth that is delivered by the characters' performance drives the narrative home. It is a heartwarming, feel-good, family film that ventures into greater themes of identity, belonging, and self-expression.

CAST

Rosita - Reese Witherspoon

Johnny - Taron Egerton

Ash - Scarlett Johansson

Miss Crawly - Garth Jennings

Buster Moon - Matthew McConaughey

Meena - Tori Kelly

Gunter - Nick Kroll

Norman - Nick Offerman

Nana Noodleman - Jennifer Hudson

A jukebox musical, the film elegantly weaves various popular music into the narrative progression, mirroring both the tone of the action depicted on-screen as well as the personalities and struggles of the characters. The various music numbers serve both as a window to their inner-struggles and distinctive voice as well as advances the plot forward. Each performance marks a pivotal point in the characters' journeys, whether it's overcoming stage fright, finding confidence, or reconciling with loved ones. A great example of this can be seen in a particular scene where Johnny, a gorilla trying to break free from his family's criminal background, sings "I'm Still Standing" by Elton John, symbolizing his resilience and desire to carve out a new path.

Songs are chosen not just for their entertainment value but for lyrical relevance to the film's message. This thematic alignment further ensures that the music enriches both the individual character development as well as the overarching narrative.

There is a sense of cohesion amongst the various numbers, underlining the film's central themes of perseverance, self-discovery, and the transformative power of embracing one's true identity.

QUESTION TWO:

Cultural diversity certainly seems to be a central theme of the film. The film features a wide variety of characters, stemming from all different walks of life, each with their own backstory that is intimately connected to their musical performances. For instance, Rosita, an overworked mother pig, performs "Shake It Off" by Taylor Swift, a song intended to be an anthem of liberation and self-expression, reflecting her desire to break free from her domestic constraints. The choice of song, coupled with her performance, speaks to the broader cultural narrative of empowerment and self-discovery.

It's clear to see that, in the various musical numbers, the characters are not treating their performance as an act of escapism. They are wearing their identities on their sleeves and embracing a sense of authenticity to who they are. By carefully matching the songs to the characters' emotional journeys, the film ensures that each performance resonates with authenticity, allowing audiences from different cultural backgrounds to find something relatable, bridging cultural gaps and fostering a sense of universal connection.

QUESTION THREE:

The film strategically incorporates well-known songs and anthems, tapping into the audience's pre-existing emotional associations with these tracks. The choice of music is very intentional, serving almost as a shortcut to evoke specific feelings and memories, enriching the narrative with a deeper layer of emotional resonance. For example, the use of famous tracks like "Hallelujah" or "Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing" immediately sets a tone that resonates with the audience's prior experiences of these songs, enhancing the film's emotional impact.

There seems to be a notion of consistency among character themes as well. Each character in Sing is associated with specific musical styles that reflect their personalities and narratives, using these familiarized styles as thematic leitmotifs. This musical framing helps the audience to quickly grasp the essence of each character, facilitating a deeper emotional connection as their stories unfold. For instance, Johnny’s preference for rock and pop reflects his youthful rebellion and desire for self-expression, while Meena’s affinity for powerful ballads underscores her journey to overcome shyness and find her voice.

More than just linking the musical numbers to character sentiment, the film uses music to frame the narrative's pacing. Uptempo songs propel the story forward, creating a sense of excitement and anticipation during the competition's build-up. While, in juxtaposition, slower, more introspective tracks are used to highlight moments of uncertainty and general dismay. This trade off aligns with familiar Hollywood storytelling rhythms, guiding the audience through the narrative's highs and lows in a coherent and engaging manner.

RELEVANCE TO ARMSTRONG:

It's worth mentioning that this practice of 'musical framing' is not always executed in a positive way. Robin Armstrong's article "Time to Face the Music: Musical Colonization and Appropriation in Disney's Moana" provides a critical perspective on how certain films (namely Moana) use music to present a culturally authentic narrative, which simultaneously falls into patterns of Western dominance and appropriation. In the article, Armstrong critiques Disney's approach to representing Polynesian culture, highlighting how, despite efforts to engage with Polynesian musicians and cultural experts, the musical score ultimately frames Polynesian sounds within a Western musical context. This 'framing' technique, where unfamiliar Polynesian music is enveloped by familiar Western musical traits, not only limits the audience's exposure to authentic Polynesian music but also subtly reinforces Western dominance over the depicted culture.

As you can see, a similar technique of 'musical framing' that Sing employs has the potential to both enhance narrative direction and character sentiment while also posing a risk of steamrolling cultural influence, compounding it into a homogenous form, a reduction of it's original form.

I'm not sure I see a whole lot of this issue present in Sing. The film does not intend to focus on a single cultural or ethnic narrative.

@theuncannyprofessoro

[countryrebel1995]

Among the ruins of Moon Theater, Buster Moon and his talented cast decided to have one last talk among themselves before they got down to work, tidying up the premises.

Buster: I'll admit, I'm still kind of surprised you could all forgive me so easily, after what happened with the bears and the prize money...

Ash: Oh trust me, Moon, we were all really pissed at you about that for a while. Weren't we, guys?

Every animal present except for Buster nodded affirmatively, much to the koala's embarrassment.

Ash: But we couldn't just let it end like that.

Meena: You're our friend, Mr. Moon, and you inspired us.

Gunter: Ja!

Rosita: You pushed us out of our comfort zones, and encouraged us to never give up on our dreams.

Johnny: You helped me find the courage to go for what I really want out of life.

Ash: And if I never entered that crazy contest of yours, who knows how long it would have been before I realized just how much of a deadbeat loser Lance really is.

Rosita stooped down to Buster's eye level and cupped his paw within her own, smiling warmly at the koala.

Rosita: We started this thing with you, Mr. Moon, and we want to finish it with you too.

Johnny: (smiling) Besides, I almost robbed you blind a few nights ago anyway, so I figure I can't be too mad at ya.

Buster grinned widely at every animal present, feeling truly touched by their show of camaraderie.

Buster: Aww, you guys, that is so sweet. You know, I really appreciate this, and I promise you that this show will be one for- Wait... Wait, Johnny was what that last part?

The gorilla simply chuckled and patted the koala on the back.

Johnny: Let's get cracking, shall we?

[lemonisntreal]

heyo! Just found your blog and I was scrolling through your stuff and noticed your AU tone deaf. And I haven't found anything about what it is or what your idea is behind it. So I wanted to ask if you could give me an introduction to your AU!

Oh! And I absolutely love your artstyle and how you draw Buster! Anyway, hope you drink enough water and have a good day/night! ;)

Dear god this has been in my drafts for a while-

Hiya! Sorry for that lack of info lol, I'd been inactive for a long time, and the time that I actually WAS posting consistently was back when things were still being sorta fleshed out. But I've got a pretty good idea of how every single part moves at this point, so sure :D I'll give a not-so-brief summary lol [under a cut because I couldn't not dump multiple paragraphs teehee ~_~]

--------------

Tone Deaf is like a dystopian version of Sing, if I were to put it super duper simply. One where Buster's issues get more emotional focus, and we get actual bonds with the cast because the movie forgot to do that.

Buster is, also, a lot more unhinged, fair warning. This fic's gonna contain violence and tackle some darker subjects [adjacent to grief and denial more specifically] so if it feels like I jumped a lot of sharks, it's because I 100% did.

It kinda started with me noticing how, in the actual movies btw, smaller characters like Buster and Mike had more difficulty getting around places. This led me to ask myself about how species differences could lead to struggles for certain animals since the city just isn't built for everyone [this is NOT Zootopia]. Ash's quills, and Meena's towering size were things I noticed too that would be massive problems, realistically. So after a lot of pondering, now we're here.

The world of Tone Deaf in present day is in a post-war period that's lasted about 50 years now [Crawly is actually a veteran from this war- which was more like complete and total anarchy if I'm being real, since there weren't really any sides until near the end...]

Long story short, the wealthy capitalized off of the war and taking people prisoner- so they purposefully kept it going. A resistance ended up forming to stand against this [Miss Crawly being one of the generals, with that classic missing eye] and after their army stormed the unsuspecting stronghold, the war finally began to conclude. It still took around a year after that to release all of the prisoners of war, and by the end of it all, the damage that had been done to some races was permanent. Even extinction-level in some cases- some animals just straight up don't exist anymore because of it.

Back to Calatonia. Laws that are in place to protect animals from tearing eachother apart are still relatively new, and the criminal underbelly of Calatonia is kinda out of control. Animals get kidnapped/poached, smaller animals are at a huge disadvantage and have basically no power [politically or otherwise], endangered species are a very real thing, poverty is a huge issue for most of the population- and in the middle of all this is Buster Moon.

He's gonna be the main perspective. And the story will also serve as a slight character study on him, mixed with my own grittier and batshit insane changes/headcanons/alternate universe ideas on his backstory. He's a ray of sunshine with a lot of bottled-up feelings that will kinda really take control of the story.

Buster has been arrested multiple times. He's been put in unsuccessful therapy. He's still grieving his dad. He's committing crime and compulsively lying about those illegal actions too. He has emotional difficulties that he hasn't dared try touching on in years, and he has issues with letting go- which, is kinda how all of his new problems come to be.

The threat of his theater being repossessed if his show isn't a success gets a LOT more emphasis too.

But on top of that is the added threat of Buster getting sent out of the city if he can't get his business up and running. Remember how I mentioned endangered animals?? Well Koalas are one of them. One of the big ones, actually. He's the only Koala in a city of almost five hundred thousand, and it's been that way for almost half a decade now. It's been causing issues for the people in charge for half a decade now. Koalas have government-protected settlements far away from here due to their numbers being so few, so if Buster loses the theater? That's the next step for him.

But, to help this poor dude through all the stress of life is the found-family he develops with the cast he hired. He helps them for a lot of the first act, and then they give back his kindness in the second. They connect through their similar experiences, as well as their shared passion for music and performance. And by the end, maybe Buster's okay. Or maybe he's had a complete downward spiral [not gonna speak of act three 🥰]

Other characters have also had a shift in their dynamics. Things in the story have changed. Like for instance- Gunter already knew Buster and was a close friend of him and Eddie before the show, Judith is now the mayor and a main character, Pete has been put in place of the banker in charge of Buster's accounts, Buster unfortunately gets involved in politics, Mike actually gets to bond with the cast- actually the cast gets to bond with the cast point blank period [idc what you say, this just straight up doesn't happen in the canon movies], and to top it all of is a generous helping of angst with a few acts of violence sprinkled in 🤭

The actual Act I summary is this right now:

Buster had been in tight situations before-- suffocating situations, even. He’d been in every kind of trouble imaginable, he thought. With family, friends, local businesses, the law. But he'd always wormed his way out, either through loopholes or by charm. Or usually just by stacking another lie on top of his already crumbling facade. But this time it's gonna take more than a cover-up to fix this. ‏‏‎ Buster’s dishonesty takes him too far once again, a simple typo causing him to unintentionally land himself in a wager that could cost his very life. He has two months to fix this- to ACTUALLY fix this. And the worst part is that he hadn't even meant to lie this time. ‏‏‎ The First Act of Tone Deaf.

TLDR; Buster learns to love again after experiencing the horrors of animalkind firsthand and being healed by theater kids LMFAO