#more starkid stuff. sorry-not-sorry to everyone else on here

[theoldaeroplane]

I inbox you the following: I must know what compels you about Link. I trust that he is Good and Excellent, but I simply yearn for an essay on what little niche trait makes you wanna fandom the fuck out of this little guy. 5-10 paragraphs of hyper fixated ramblings preferred, but not required.

ohhh starkid you've given me A GIFT. a GIFT.

So some background first, I think. I've always liked the Zelda games, in the way you play a mainstream game and are like "yeah that was good!" I played Ocarina of Time and Windwaker as a kid. I played Breath of the Wild when it first came out and had a fun time with it. Yeah. Good games! Fun mechanics. Characters seem a little flat, but they aren't why I'm here. What was the story again? Oh, right---yeah, they gave Zelda an actual personality that doesn't start and end with "princess" in the new one! She's a scientist! How neat.

Then Tears of the Kingdom comes out. I've just gotten a Steam Deck for my birthday and wow, turns out you can emulate TOTK already?? I try it out immediately. It's janky, but I love messing with emulators, so I keep going. I certainly don't have the cash to buy TOTK properly.

And in TOTK, for me, it starts with Zelda. It starts with this young woman barely out of her teens being flung into a horrible, frightening situation, and being forced to make an absolutely terrifying choice. And it turns out if you start looking at her more closely, that choice only becomes more and more viscerally upsetting as you incorporate things about her from the previous game.

It got me invested, and I still adore Zelda. I could probably write just as long a deliberation about her. But we're talking about Link.

I read a little bit of BOTW fanfic back when it first came out. It was almost all Sidon/Link stuff, because I liked the ship for a number of reasons, and one evening after another night of mainlining TOTK I decide to go look and see if I can find some that I remembered being good. I did, and they were still mostly good! But there was one in particular, with one line in particular. "You're Always Almost There," by Polyhexian. (On mobile so no link, sorry!)

'One hundred years ago,’ Link signed, 'A Guardian shot me through the chest,’ he grimaced as if in pain from even mentioning it, 'I died with everyone else, and then someone else decided to bring me, and only me, back to life to fix everything, to save everyone. I have to stop the Calamity. I have to save Hyrule. I have to fix the world. I am not a real person. I am everyone’s unfinished business.’

I had read it before. When I read it this time I closed my browser, opened Typora, and started writing. It wasn't more than a random narrative sifting through half collected ideas, and I neither finished nor posted it, but it got me started. A few weeks later I started writing To Be Well, which among other things directly addresses the idea that Link does not think of himself as a "real person"---and that he isn't sure if he wants to.

As I've written him, I've found more and more about him and his setting that fascinates me. Part of this is certainly that Link is intentionally designed as a "placeholder" character (word of God is he was deliberately designed to be androgynous to make it easier for more people to project on him). At first I was really fascinated by his relationship with Zelda, and wanted to look at that through a queerplatonic lens. In doing that I found myself trying to work through some problems of my own, which it turns out is just how I write fanfiction I guess: projecting! Huzzah! I decided to lean into it, and wrote "You do not have to be good," which is a story that takes some liberties with the canon to explore the subject of toxic purity and the toll it takes. Also, the logistics of kissing someone with a beak.

What makes Link compelling to me is ... what do you do, when you aren't allowed to be a person? What do you do when you've been told all your life things are like this and this and this, and that you must behave thusly?  What if you learn it was never true? How do you go from "perfect" to "real"? What does it even mean, being a person? How do you start? Is it even worth it?

I feel like I'm only scratching the surface, haha. I also love Link for whatever the hell he's doing with gender, and I've been having an absolute blast writing him as predominantly communicating via sign language. I'm playing fast and loose with a lot of things that only get half-mentioned in canon, and having a good old time playing in the sandbox of Hyrule. They're huge games and there's a lot of space for me to set up shop!

[writing-is-a-martial-art]

30 questions tag!

Thank you for tagging me, @mel-writes-with-her-dragons @aditiwrites and everyone else who tagged me! I'm sorry it took a while.

Rules: Answer 30 questions and tag 20-ish blogs you want to know better!  Post the answers on a separate post.

1. Name/Nickname: Len, Martial, Marsh (by Wiz), Mishi (by Aksha)

2. Gender: no :3 (they/them agender)

3. Star Sign: Aquarius.

4. Height: 159 or about 5'2 (gremlin-sized)

5. Time: 16:20

6. Birthday: 23d of January.

7. Favorite Band: Rare Americans, probably?

8. Favorite Solo Artist: I might actually not have one? (Does Bill Wurtz count?)

9. Song Stuck Stuck In My Head: Join Us and Die from The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals, a Starkids musical (please look it up, it's so so good).

10. Last Movie: Wish Dragon. What can I say, I love smooth animation and feel-good, the-power-of-friendship stories.

11. Last Show: Trese.

12. When I Created This Blog: October 2020 (oh wow, almost a year already??)

13. What I Post: My writing, writing-related rambles, and the occasional weapon appreciation post (I just love pretty stabby things)

14. Last Thing I Googled: name Yi Wen (trying to name a Chinese character and probably failing)

15. Other Blogs: @lens-library is an abandoned blog for reblogging stuff, and @draw-your-weapons is an artblr I created and... that's it. I haven't posted anything there yet.

16. Do I get asks?: Sometimes! I love them all please send asks ^^

18: Following: 316

17. Why I Chose My URL: I like writing, I like martial arts, I like the idea that writing can be powerful/have the same effect as a well-thrown punch :-)

21. Lucky Number: 5, 6, and 12 are numbers I love, even though I wouldn't call them my lucky numbers.

19. Followers: 237 (what are all of you doing here?)

20. Average Hours Of Sleep: 2-10. There is no schedule here.

22. Instruments: I would love to learn to play the didgeridoo and the accordion, but those are just dreams. No musical talents here.

23. What Am I Wearing: A red hoodie-shirt - like a T-shirt, but with a hood - and sweatpants.

24. Dream Job: Sinologist, or historian specializing in Chinese history. Mandarin-to-Russian translator and/or Mandarin tutor is the backup plan.

25. Favorite Food: potatoes! Anything made primarily out of potatoes is automatically my favorite food for the day.

27. Nationality: Russian I guess? Both of my parents are from Uzbekistan but I was born in Russia so there's that.

28. Favorite Song: It might be Monster and Men from Black Friday (the musical)

29. Last Book I Read: The Water Margin! Still reading it and I love it.

30. Top 3 Fictional Universes I Would Like To Live In: oh boy.... @47crayons's world (I love it too much), the She-Ra world seems interesting enough, and, of course, Len's Cinematic Universe, the highly disfunctional collection of worlds where all of my stories are set. Castlevania would be here if I could hope to last more than 0.5 seconds, which I cannot.

Leaving an open tag!

[someone-somewheresomehow]

Delayed Flight

After 5 months, I’ve finally posted another fic. Are y’all proud of me yet?

Characters: Roman Sanders, Virgil Sanders, Logan Sanders, Remus Sanders

Ships: Intrulogical

Content: Christmas fic bois, also Creativitwins (not ship!!)

Word Count: 3540 (exactly)

AO3

“4 hours?” Virgil groaned. “How can a flight be delayed that long?”

The flight attendant shook her head. “I’m sorry, sir. We could transfer you onto a different flight, if you want?” She offered.

 “No, it’s okay.” Virgil said. He scanned the airport lounge. “I’ll wait.”

 Spotting an empty corner, he walked over and sat down, slipping his backpack off of his shoulders and placing it beside the couch. The rest of the lounge was nearly empty - everyone else had obviously taken the transfer offer. That was fine with Virgil - it meant that it was quieter. Leaning over to his backpack, he pulled out his headphones, connecting them and putting them on. He slipped into the music, the rest of the world fading out around him, pulling out his sketchbook and starting to draw.

 Only a few minutes later, someone came rushing in, disturbing the peace with the huge racket that they were making. Virgil looked up, annoyed, and watched as the person ran over to the desk. “Am I late?” He asked the attendant. She shook her head.

 “No, the flight has been delayed for 4 hours. You’re actually early!”

 The man looked startled, before he composed himself and grinned. “Nice! I’ll find a seat, then.”

 He turned around and surveyed the room. Virgil took this opportunity to look at him properly. The man had tanned skin and light brown hair. He seemed to hold himself as if he believed that he was better than everyone else, and he looked very confident, even if he didn’t mean to.

 The man looked in Virgil’s direction, and Virgil quickly turned back to his sketchbook. But it was too late - the man had spotted him watching and started heading in his direction.

 The man sat down next to Virgil. “I’m Roman.” He said. Virgil stared at it for a moment before shaking it. He looked up at Roman and noticed that his eyes were a bright bottle green that sparkled with excitement and humour.

 “I’m Virgil.” He replied. "Uh, why are you going to New York?"

 Roman’s eyes lit up. “I’m going to Broadway! I’m gonna see Hamilton! They’ve reunited for a tour!” Virgil smiled faintly at the other man’s excitement. “Oh, I’m also visiting a couple of friends. Why are you going to New York?”

 “I’ve also got a friend that lives there. I’m visiting him for a couple of weeks.”

 “Oh, neat! Do you like Hamilton as well?”

 “It’s okay, I guess. It’s kinda overrated.”

 Roman gave a dramatic gasp, placing one hand over his chest. “Overrated?! Virgil, I can’t believe you! Hamilton is an excellent musical, with beautiful songs performed by the wonderful Lin Manuel Miranda, Leslie Odom Jr., Phillipa Soo, and everyone else in the cast!”

 He continued ranting for a few minutes, while Virgil sat in silence. When he finished, he sat, panting from the passion that had taken over him. Virgil stayed silent for a couple more seconds, before smirking. “I never said it was bad. I just said it was overrated.”

 Roman gaped at Virgil. Virgil looked at him for a moment, soaking in the satisfaction that he gained from the flabbergasted look on Roman’s face, before slipping his headphones back on and returning to his drawing.

 Roman waved one hand in front of Virgil’s face, but after Virgil responded with a glare, he moved away, taking his stuff and sitting somewhere else. And for the next few hours, Virgil sat in blissful peace.

 After the flight, Virgil arrived at the airport. He got his luggage from the baggage area and made his way to the exit.

 Outside the airport, he checked his watch. Logan had been prepared to pick him up, but because of the delay Remus, Logan’s boyfriend who Virgil had never met before, was picking him up instead. He was supposed to be here in a minute or two.

 The sky was a cloudy grey, and looked at if it might start to snow. It certainly felt cold enough. Virgil shivered, glad that he had put his coat on before coming outside.

 “Virgil!” Someone called out. Virgil turned, and saw Roman walking towards him, his own luggage in tow.

 “I’m sorry about what I said earlier.” Roman said when he reached Virgil.

 “It’s fine, man. It wasn’t that big of a deal.”

 “I feel so bad, though! Can we meet up sometime so that I can make it up to you?”

 “You really don’t have to-”

 “I insist! We can go out and see the sights together, or maybe see a movie or something?”

 “Fine, sure, whatever.”

 Roman perked up. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, and after a few swift taps, he handed it to Virgil. “Can you put your number in for me? That way I can call you about our plans!”

 Virgil took the phone and entered his number before handing it back to Roman. “Who are you waiting for?” He asked, changing the subject.

 “A friend of mine. His boyfriend was originally meant to be coming, but he couldn’t make it because of the delay of our flight. Annoying, am I right? Anyways, what about you?”

 “Oh, same here! I don’t know his boyfriend, though, so that will be a new experience. I think his name is Remus?”

 Roman gave a start. “Remus? Is his boyfriend called Logan?”

 “Uh, yeah?” Virgil replied, confused. Then it dawned on him. “Are you being picked up by them as well?”

 “Yeah, I am! This is awesome! We can get to know each other properly!” Roman was practically vibrating in excitement.

 Suddenly, a voice called out their names. “Roman! Virgil!”

 They both turned, to see a man running towards them. He had light brown hair, with one grey streak running through it, and had the wisps of a mustache that was just starting to grow. He was wearing a green tank top, along with a pair of black shorts, as if he were immune to the cold. He jogged towards them, one hand waving in the air.

 “Virgil,” Roman sighed. “Meet my brother, Remus, Logan’s boyfriend.”

 “It’s nice to meet you, Virgil!” Remus greeted. “Good that you two have already met! That way we can get the boring ‘making acquaintances’ stuff out of the way!”

 He turned back towards the way he had come, and gestured for them to come with him as he started heading off. “This way!” He called.

 Virgil and Roman set off after him, heading into the carpark. When they reached the car, Roman called shotgun, leaving Virgil to sit in the back. They drove to Logan and Remus’ shared apartment, the way mostly filled by Remus’ constant chatter.

 When they reached the apartment, Roman and Remus led the way while Virgil followed behind. They had started bickering over which musical was the best, Roman going for the obvious choice, which was Hamilton, while Remus went for Beetlejuice.

 Just as they got to the door, Roman turned around. “Which one do you think is better, Virgil? Beetlejuice or Hamilton?”

 “Hmm…” Virgil thought for a moment. “Personally, I think that Beetlejuice is better than Hamilton.”

 “Ha!” Remus crowed triumphantly. He opened the door and turned back to Roman. “I told you so!”

 “But!” Virgil interrupted. “Starkid musicals are better than both of them.”

 “No way!” Remus and Roman both said at the same time.

 “What are you lot yelling about? Hurry up and come inside!” A familiar voice called out from inside the apartment.

 They went inside and were greeted by Logan, who was wearing his usual black shirt and pants. The room was dimly lit, a few overhead lights having been turned on and the rest of the light coming from the soft glow of fairy lights on a Christmas tree in one corner.

 “Hey Logan!” Roman greeted.

 “Hi.” Virgil greeted Logan as well.

 “I’m glad to see that you two are acquainted. I apologise for not being able to pick you up, but the delay put me in a difficult position, as I was unfortunately busy during the time when I would have needed to get you. I also apologise for not telling either of you that the other was visiting.”

 “It’s fine, man. We’re practically best friends now!” Roman threw one arm around Virgil’s shoulders.

 “So you’re dating Remus?” Virgil asked, shrugging off Roman’s arm.

 “Yes.” Logan confirmed. Remus walked over to him and they shared a kiss. Roman and Virgil stood awkwardly, unsure of what to do until they broke apart. Logan’s face was flushed, and he had a lovesick smile on.

 “Did you wear a shirt and shorts in the freezing weather again? One of these days you’ll get sick, and when you do you better not claim that I didn’t warn you.” Logan told Remus quietly before turning back to Virgil and Roman.

 “Let me show you where you’re sleeping.” He flapped one hand aimlessly and led them away.

 The rest of the week was filled with fun - they went shopping together, saw Hamilton on Broadway (which was wonderful - Roman was talking about it for two days afterwards), and even went ice-skating together at a local ice-rink, making sure that they all bundled up to protect themselves from the cold winter’s air. Remus was an excellent ice-skater, and Logan and Virgil weren’t too bad either, but Roman was absolutely terrible, holding on to the wall most of the time. When he mustered the courage to let go, he had to cling on to one of the others to stay upright, often making both of them fall. There was lots of laughter that day, and Roman’s nose turned red from the cold (definitely not from embarrassment, Roman told them), but he restored his dignity when they bought hot chocolate to get warm and Remus tripped over, spilling it all over himself.

 On Friday, they were sitting on the couch, watching TV, just lazing around doing nothing. They had spent the day exploring whichever parts of the city they hadn’t already seen, and were happily resting.

 “Oh!” Roman suddenly cried out. “I just realized! Virgil, I need to make it up for you!”

 “Wha- oh.” Virgil said, realizing what he meant. “No, it’s really fine, Roman, we’ve spent the entire week having fun together, you don’t have to-”

 “I insist! Really!”

 “What happened?” Remus asked. “What did you do, dear brother of mine?”

 “I- in the airport, I kind of maybe accidentally took something he said wrong and went off on a rant about it?” Roman looked down guiltily.

 Virgil sighed. “The dumbass that he is went off on a rant about how I was wrong for saying Hamilton was bad when all I said was that it was overrated. Which is not the same thing.”

 “And now you have to make it up to him?” Remus looked at Roman, a huge grin on his face. Roman nodded slightly sheepishly, and Remus’ grin widened. “Well, there’s a nice cafe around the corner. You two could go there together. It’s new - I’ve been meaning to take Logan there.” Logan and Remus shared a love-filled smile.

 “Wow.” Roman looked back at Remus. “For once you’ve actually had a good idea.”

 “I- for once?!” Remus spluttered. He looked at Logan. “Can you believe what this man is saying?!”

 “Virgil, unless you have other plans, tomorrow I invite you to come to the cafe with me in order for me to make it up to you!” Roman said triumphantly before Logan could reply.

 “Um, sure, I guess.”

 “Fantastic! It’s a date!”

 The next morning Roman and Virgil set off for the cafe. They left Remus and Logan at the apartment, as they were doing… other things.

 The walk to the cafe was a short one, and was filled with talking. For a man that short, Roman sure had a lot to say.

 The bell above the door rang as they entered the cafe. The air immediately warmed up, a stark contrast to the cool Christmasy air outside. The smell of hot chocolate filled the air, and they breathed in deeply.

 The cafe was loud with chatter as Roman and Virgil approached the wooden counter. They waited in line for a minute or two before they were at the front.

 “Hi, what can I get for you today?” The employee asked cheerily, even though they were probably dead inside like most retail employees are.

 “One caramel frappuccino for me, a small black coffee for him, and one slice of apple crumble to share please!”

 They paid and went to their table to wait, chatting a bit more. Their names were called out, and they got their items, before returning to the table.

 “So, do you live in Gainesville?” Roman asked, downing half of his drink in one sip.

 “Yeah, why?”

 “I live there as well! We can meet up sometime after we go back!”

 “Neat! When are you leaving here?”

 “I’m here over Christmas, so about 2 more weeks. You?”

 “I leave tomorrow.”

 “Noo!” Roman cried dramatically, attracting the attention of a few people nearby before they quickly turned back to their own conversations. “So soon?”

 “Yep. I’m celebrating Christmas with my roommate, Patton. He’s a good guy, I don’t want him to spend Christmas alone.”

 “Oh, dang. I get it. Spending Christmas alone isn’t great.” He sighed. There was a short, awkward silence before the topic quickly changed.

 They ate the cake and drank their drinks - Roman finishing his quickly and trying to steal some of Virgil’s, with Virgil having to hide it away from him to be able to keep it for himself - before going back to the apartment. They had decorated it during the week, as the only decoration that they had arrived to was the Christmas tree. Now holly was strung up on the edges of the ceiling and fairy lights hung over doorways. Remus had tried to put up mistletoe everywhere but was stopped by a loudly protesting Virgil. Of course, he would still put it up occasionally, but it was dutifully ignored.

 Virgil knocked on the door, and was greeted by Remus.

 “You guys can’t come in yet! Go away!” He told them, grinning, before shutting the door in their faces.

 Virgil and Roman stared at the plain wood in front of them, as if that would make it magically open, but it didn’t, because doors don’t work that way.

 They exchanged glances. “What was that about?” Roman asked. Virgil shook his head - how would he know?

 The door creaked open a crack, and Remus poked his head out, this time looking disappointed. “Logan said I have to let you in. You just have to wait a moment.”

 “Sure, I guess.” Roman replied as Remus closed the door again.

 There was a short pause while quiet shuffles could be heard from behind the door. “Move it to the bedroom.” They could hear Logan whispering. Loud crumpling pursued, fading off.

 Logan opened the door and Virgil and Roman jumped slightly backwards from where they definitely weren’t listening with their ears to the door. There was an awkward pause, before Logan said, “Come on in.”

 Virgil and Roman shuffled in sheepishly, not bothering to wipe their boots on the mat before pulling them off their feet along with taking off their hats, scarves and jackets.

 “What-” Roman started before Virgil whacked him with a glove, shutting him up.

 “It’s pretty obvious, just use your head and don’t spoil it!” Virgil hissed. Roman turned bright red but didn’t say anything. They both entered the apartment and spoke no more about it.

 The next day, Virgil was standing in the living room, saying his final goodbyes to Remus and Roman before he left for the airport. They had had a wonderful time together, and would certainly be missing each other.

 Remus and Logan stood together. Logan whispered to Remus and Remus nodded before running to the bedroom and coming back, carrying something behind his back.

 “Since you can’t stay for Christmas, we bought something for you slightly earlier!”

 He pulled out a present, neatly wrapped in red with a green bow tying it all together. Virgil took it from him and held it, trying to guess what it was. It was flat, and not too thick - maybe a big book?

 “You can open it now or when you get home, we don’t mind!”

 “I’ll open it now.” Virgil smiled and unwrapped the present, revealing a sketchbook with a plain, cardboard.

 He looked at it for a moment, before flipping through the pages, admiring the plain white pages, ready for him to start drawing.

  “Do you like it?” Logan asked. “We thought you would like it, but if you don’t we can give you the receipt. It is a bit plain.”

 “No, it’s great! Thank you!” Virgil drew both Remus and Logan into a hug, and after a moment where they were overcome with surprise, they hugged back.

 After they broke apart, Roman stepped forward. “I also got you a present, but I’m not sure if you’ll like it as much.” He held out another present for Virgil, this one wrapped in white wrapping paper that had golden swirls all around it with a red bow slapped on top of it. Virgil slung off his backpack and carefully put the sketchbook inside, ready for use for whenever he mustered up the courage to ruin its perfectly white pages with his drawings, which like with every notebook will immediately make him feel bad before he goes on a drawing spree, filling it up with wonderful art.

 Virgil took the present from Roman and unwrapped it, struggling for a minute with the layer of tape that was wrapped around the entire thing before finally tearing it off, along with the wrapping paper. Virgil felt a bit guilty about doing it so crudely, but ignored the guilt and focused instead on the present. In his hands was a pack of pens - a giant packet, with every colour imaginable.

 “I- you bought this for me?” Virgil stammered, shocked.

 “Yeah.” Roman rubbed his neck awkwardly, looking slightly embarrassed. “Do you like it?”

 “Like it?” Virgil carefully put the pens on the couch, making sure that no one would sit on it before launching himself at Roman. Roman nearly fell over, and if Virgil could see his face he would have noticed how red Roman had become.

 “I love it. Thank you so much!”

 Roman stood awkwardly for a moment before embracing the hug, hugging back. They held the hug for a moment more before Virgil stepped back, picking the pens back up and holding them close to his chest for a second before placing it into his backpack, even more carefully than he had put the sketchbook inside. When he straightened back up (though he was still as gay as ever), the room was practically lit by his smile.

 “I have presents for you guys as well!” He handed each of them a package, each one badly wrapped in the same wrapping with the words Merry Christmas printed over and over on it in red and green writing. Logan, Roman and Remus took each of theirs and began opening it, Roman and Remus ripping the wrapping to pieces while Logan completed the procedure more carefully.

 Remus revealed his first - soap and deodorant. He bit into the soap, as he usually did, and was delighted to find that it was made out of chocolate!

 Roman came next - he got a packet of paints. There weren’t as many colours as the pack of pencils, but he was still super happy and excited to use them.

  Logan finished opening his last, the wrapping paper falling away to reveal the dvds of the bbc series Sherlock. Logan was practically vibrating with excitement to watch all of them.

 There were a few minutes of hugs and thank-yous before Logan stepped forward. “Though I hate to be the one to do this, I’m afraid that we have to depart now if you wish to make the flight. Have you got all of your things?” He asked Virgil.

 “I do.” Virgil replied, picking up his backpack and pulling it onto his shoulders.

 “Right, well then.” Logan started heading towards the door.

 “It was great to meet you guys!” Virgil told Remus and Roman, waving before he turned and walked towards where Logan was holding the door open, pulling his suitcase behind him.

 He exited the apartment and waved one final time before Logan closed the door and they headed down to the car.

 They drove together, chatting with each other as music played on the radio, until they reached the airport. Logan walked with Virgil as far as he could, until they had to part.

 “It was great seeing you!” Virgil said.

 “It was! I’m glad you could make it.”

 After a moment they hugged, holding on for as long as they could before letting go. Virgil waved, and started heading off.

 He went through the rest of the process and finally settled onto his seat on the plane (fortunately the flight wasn't delayed this time).

 As the plane started lifting into the air, he looked out the window, headphones placed comfortably on his head, and headed back home.

[maggiewrites]

team starkid's “black friday” musical

feel free to edit where necessary!

"Don't be scared!"

"His belly is so squishy!"

"He's all that you wanted! He's all that you needed!"

"Do the wiggle!"

"Doors open at 7am,"

"Lose your mind!"

"Drop dead!"

"How many times are they gonna play that ad?"

"Relax, it's just a toy,"

"Cabbagepatch Kids were just toys, and there were RIOTS over those things. Literal riots."

"Well, we're here. So you can get off your soapbox,"

"I mean, he is an asshole."

"Hey, everything's going to be okay, okay?"

"Who are you?"

"Well, we haven't put a label on it yet!"

"But we are intimate."

"That stuff is for little kids!"

"I do not get flashbacks, I remember bad things vividly."

"I didn't do for you."

"I don't have a drill press, and even if I did, how would it fit into the sedan?"

"This kid deserves one fucking thing that he asked for."

"Even now it's a dream. the kind that makes you question reality."

"Someone's gotta pay for it."

"I couldn't hold him still enough to teach him guitar."

"I hit replay on that night, over and over again 'til it gives up the fight. But there's no end - there's no end - there's no ending in sight."

"What have I done?"

"I don't say it enough. I'm scared you blame me. I'm scared you blame me for your luck."

"I'll give up both of my arms to get you on track."

"All I need is getting you walking towards the paradise you dream."

"Excuse me, you think it's okay for me to park here?"

"I was hardly valedictorian."

"How does it feel to be a role model?"

"You know, I could. But that would be violating company policy, and everyone's telling me I should be more responsible lately, so I'm gonna go with them on this one."

"These little friend-o's are gonna take you so far into the black, that you ain't never coming back."

"You are gonna make a killing!"

"You'd think that a drop-out with a record would be thankful to have a job."

"See, she CAN be taught!"

"We'll see who's laughing by the end of the day!"

"Where's my sister!?"

"Do I have to put a leash on you, like a dog, or my cousin Oliver-"

"Is today a good day or a bad day?"

"Oh great. Now we gotta talk to the imaginary spider from outer space."

"Bad blood. Crossed. Black and white."

"Can you translate? I don't speak crazy."

"Don't you fucking laugh."

"Cross my heart. Hope to die."

"I'd make a great dad, I'm just saying."

"Seven fucking thousand!"

"My mom's a bitch!"

"It beats being broke."

"That's not how cameras work, babe."

"We're missing in action!"

"Get yourself a new trailer. 'Cause this one is broke. as. shit!"

"Let's go, I need a cigarette."

"I did not cut, I bought my place in line!"

"That's called a bribe, and it's illegal...Or it should be."

"I hope you don't get a toy. I hope you fucking die."

"Well, my children were accidents. You don't see me pushing my problems onto anyone else."

"Not that ra ra school spirit cheerleader bullshit that you never grew out of."

"Did you think your neighbours didn't notice you wearing sunglasses on cloudy days? Turtlenecks in the summer? Well, they knew what was happening, they just didn't care."

"What do you say when you love each other? What do you say when years have past?"

"Just skip to the fucking!"

"Nah, I'm shopping for myself, I like dolls... I'm just kidding. I don't like dolls. Least not, like that."

"We're not liable for anyone who dies."

"You should be ashamed of yourself, you disgusting little pervert."

"It's mine! It's mine! It's certainly mine!"

"You never should settle for a lifetime that is handed to you. There's always a line to be cut and someone to barrel through."

"Let go! Do you have a death wish?"

"This is not the type of place you can haggle."

"Don't do it. Two doors, not one."

"Bad place. Black and white."

"Look, I know you're nervous to leave home. But you gotta trust me. It's gonna be so much better for you out of there."

"He's got a knife!"

"No, I'm not frightened! I'm annoyed!"

"Oh, I don't know if you wanna wanna wanna wanna wanna wanna fuck with me."

"And you - you are the most special person here."

"You keep looking for it in the arms of other men, or the smiles of your ungrateful little brats. But you have been cruelly denied it."

"That's the kind of bullshit you feed to your therapist or your life coach."

"Shut the fuck up!"

"Back off or I will send a laser guided ballistic missel to your house in Denver, and you will be scrapping what's left of your kids off the fucking pavement."

"I will bite your nipple off."

"That was a joke, sir."

"Behind the veil of the universe you perceive, are entities both ageless and foul. And these eldritch forces are rising. There's a creature at work here, one with designs on humanity far worse than any nightmare we can comprehend."

"There are monsters and there are men."

"When the clock strikes three, see you at the rink!"

"-the fuck I am watching?"

"Maybe he crawled for help."

"You've got to forgive yourself, 'cause if you don't, how is anyone gonna forgive me?"

"You look just the same as I always remember."

"Take me back in time to love you."

"You don't look the same at all as I remember. The light has left your eyes."

"If you asked me, I'd still go to prom with you."

"Hold me closer than before."

"Tell me something Santa would know."

"This is the best movie ever!"

"Bet you didn't guess that the lord of despair would be so cute and cuddly, did ya!"

"That's heavy."

"You want to send me to the fucking Twilight Zone!? To have a sit-down with the devil? Fuck that, fuck that, that's all folks!"

"We're trying to stop the birth of a god."

"If we have faith, we will be rewarded with a cuddly toy."

"Kill them! Fucking kill them!"

"I dislike that word. 'Cult'. No, it's a new exciting religion that I started."

"I've met God. He had nothing nice to say about you."

"I demand your love and worship too."

"I will destroy everything, and then I will destroy everything."

"I'm in the black and white now. It's just like California, it never rains."

"I swear on my own grave."

"You're being a rotten little banana. I'm going to have to peel you. I'm going to split you in two. I'm going to eat you."

"We don't get tricked. We're grown ups."

"You don't scream at a child, it frightens them. You lure them in delicately. And you put them to sleep."

"I'm sorry, babe. No dice."

"The poor get poorer, and the rich, well, they keep getting richer."

"I can't be evil, I'm a status quo democrat."

"It happened on your watch, your time is running out."

"There's something that's beautiful, being awake for my funeral."

"Is there some lesson to learn? Should I even have wanted?"

"Only my ashes will see the sea."

"I'm authorizing you to use my firearm."

"Look me in the eye, and make a solemn vow to become your best self now."

"Gather your forces. There's a warrior of light trapped in deep sleep. Wake the warrior, kill the prophet, save the world."

"I hope they didn't tow my car."

"Kids don't want that thing. They're all into Fortnite now."

"Everyone's dying, and that includes me too."

"I failed you once, and I will fail you again."

"You're not that cute, in fact, you're real fucking ugly."

"Wake up! Belittled you isn't as fun if you're not upset."

"You've been outfoxed by a fucking moron."

"Oh, the plans he has you and me, me more favourably."

"Do you see what I see?"

"Tomorrow will come."

"Tomorrow won't come."

[graceschasity]

i think the paul chat has completely died 😔 it’s not fun to be around anymore and no one actually talks about paul or even starkid and no one uses the personal chat and everything seems so heavy that you can’t even bring up musicals without disrespecting someone else. not to hate on any of the newer people but the overall vibe has completely changed and i’m honestly considering leaving even though i’ve been here since the good times. i hope you understand. i don’t know if you can do anything 🥺

Okay I'm sorry if you didnt want me to answer this publicly but since you're on anon I cant dm you about it or anything. (I also gave you like, 6 hours to come forward so I could respond privately and you decided not to)

I'm sorry I cant control 200 people. I've tried. I wish the chat could talk about what I orginally intended it to be, but its moved past that. I thought the personal/vent chat was a good idea, I didnt want to be the person to own it because seeing that stuff and feeling responsiblity towards it is bad for me. But I made it anyways in hopes to get things back on track. That didnt work. Because theres 200 people in there.

I'm sorry you want to leave, I obviously do not want you to go. But honestly I get where you are coming from and it's why I spend my time in the discord now instead. It's more organized, theres less people, it's easier to talk about starkid topics and personal stuff at the same time.

I made this chat at midnight when I was drunk during quarantine because the person I had been talking to about paul had gone to bed and I still wanted to talk. I did not expect it to get this large. I am in no way saying that I regret making this chat. I do not. Starting this chat lead to me making friends and meeting people who I am now close to and to me meeting my co authors and to me acting again after 4 years. I love this chat. I owe it a lot. I love all of you. But I still feel like when I try to get things back on track, I get shot down. I am happy everyone there found each other, I am happy you feel safe talking about life.

But that is what the chat is about now. Life. Not paul, or starkid, or musicals. It has turned into a friend group chat. Hell, I, the chat owner, even get ignored or shot down when I bring up tgwdlm stuff. Unfortunately, people arent interested in talking about it anymore. With 200 people, it's big and confusing and easy to get lost. And such is the nature of group chats to evolve.

I'm sorry if I sound like I'm hating on the chat. I'm not. I'm sorry if I sound like I'm annoyed with you. I'm not. I just cant control all this anymore. Theres nothing else I can do. Theres so many people in there and I can not be in charge of it all the time. I hope you stay, I hope you're happy, if leaving the chat is what you need to do, I understand. But I don't really control things there anymore, it's more public owned now.

[hard-boiled-criminal]

PM: Complete General Information

Hello dear Readers! This chapter is some background information/context about the reader/MC (or whatever you want to call the reader that is gonna be in the story) and the contents of the story. Some of it is necessary, some of it is not. I might end up repeating myself sometimes, sorry about that. Please read parts c, e, and f. They are marked below and are the most important things you should read in this chapter.

This was created in order to inform the readers ahead of time what things they can expect to see so they can see if anything listed here may keep them from enjoying the story. I want this story to feel safe and inclusive for everyone.

Please remember that this is a story. Suspend your disbelief.

1.       Table of contents for the topics that will be discussed in this chapter. I’ve bolded the most important ones that I would suggest reading.

a.       Short Summary of All the Topics Listed Below

b.       Modern Witchcraft in Our World That is Used in This Work

c.       What Will and Will Not Be Specified About the Reader

d.       Reasons for Specifying and Not Specifying Certain Traits

e.       Important Aspects That Cannot Be Removed

                                                               i.      Please Read this one to see if any of these aspects may make you uncomfortable. The purpose of this is so that nobody will have dedicated time to reading this work, only to have to stop due to a major aspect or plot point making them uncomfortable.

f.        Warnings for General/Common Triggers That Appear in This Work and Mental Disorders the Reader Will Exhibit

2.       Extra Information Unrelated/ Vaguely Related to the Story

a.       About Reposting and Plagiarizing Other’s Works

b.       Extended Information About Previous Sections/Words with an Asterisk (*) Indicator

A. Short Summary of All the Topics Listed Below

              Do not attempt any of the spells or witchcraft mentioned without doing the proper research first. Most physical descriptors about the reader-character are unspecified, along with other traits, their gender, and their pronouns. It is up to you to imagine what the reader looks like. Some of these decisions about traits have specific reasons. There are certain aspects that cannot be removed, but they are partially flexible in a sense. There are some common triggers that will appear in this work, please check what they are.

B. Modern Witchcraft in Our World That is Used in This Work

Whether you believe in witchcraft or not, or if it really works is up to you, I'm not writing this fan-fiction to turn people into witches. (Also, I use the term witch as a gender-neutral title.) I bring this up because many of the spells the reader uses, and other methods of witchcraft are based off of what I believe to be real spells and rituals and the like. Many of the reader’s practices of magick can be found by researching them. If you would like to know the exact sources for my knowledge, contact me, and I can provide an online source or two. Do not attempt these spells or practices without doing the proper research first, as well as learning how to protect yourself. I am not going to be reckless and put out any spells I consider to be on the more dangerous side. It is for this reason that I am establishing that the reader is a beginner witch (or ‘baby witch’ as some may call them), so that I can reasonably have the reader have limited knowledge on witchcraft, and therefore limited knowledge on spells and the like. Practice witchcraft at your own risk. Leave your pride and ego at the door. Be reasonable and be safe.

C. What Will and Will Not Be Specified About the Reader

·       Unspecified

o   Sex (as in what the scientific male and/or female body parts they have)

o   Gender/gender identity

o   Ethnicity/race

o   Details about the reader’s skin (e.g. color, dry, oily, soft, rough, etc.)

o   Anything about the reader’s hair (color, type, texture, etc.)

o   Body shape and weight

o   Eye color

o   Romantic and sexual orientation

o   Religious beliefs and the like (this will never even come up)

o   There will be next to no specific physical descriptors

·       Specified

o   Reader is under 6’0”/183cm (or is at least shorter than Malleus)

o   Reader practices some mild/beginner Witchcraft (like spell jars, for example.)

o   The reader likes to sleep. They don’t appreciate being woken up.

o   The reader is at least somewhat romantically interested in boys

o   The reader is an adult. The exact age is up to you, but the reader is at least 18 years old.

D. Reasons for Specifying and Not Specifying Certain Traits

·       I want to keep any physical descriptors as vague as possible so that everyone can comfortably immerse themselves in this work.

·       I won’t say anything regarding hair because there’s so many different kinds and combinations of hair, some people don’t have hair, and some people may wear an article like a hijab.

·       Religion is absolutely never going to come up or be mentioned in the story, so don’t worry about that.

·       The reader is under 6’0” simply because I want to be able to specify some of the characters being much taller than the reader, but the reader will not be given a specific height.

·       The reader being a witch is kind of a huge part of the plot for this fic, so…

·       If you don’t like sleep, I don’t know how to react.

·       I will not budge on the age of the reader in regard to romantic scenes. No adult x minor here.

E. Important Aspects That Cannot Be Removed

              Any underlined text in this section signifies an aspect that absolutely cannot be changed. Everything else in this section is flexible and can be changed if wished.

If any of these points have something that makes you uncomfortable, please let me know and I will attempt to find a word-around to the best of my ability.

If the reader ever refers to themselves in third person (It is extremely unlikely this will happen), they will use they/them/their(s) pronouns.

There will be a notifier/warning before any scene with actual romantic content so that if you don’t like the specific character, you can easily skip it. As of now, romance scenes will not directly affect the plot.

No smut will be present in this work.

The reader is uncomfortable to an unspecified degree at the prospect of having to attend an all-boys school. The reason for this comfortability is unspecified and can be anything you wish (Some possible examples: the reader does not identify as male, the reader is not heterosexual and/or hetero-romantic, the reader has female organs/body parts in the scientific sense, the reader doesn't feel safe being surrounded by men (especially men who can whip out fireballs whenever they desire), etc.).

Since Night Raven College is an all-boys school, the other characters will assume the reader is a male and will use masculine pronouns when referring to them in the beginning, but this will change as the story goes along. When a character learns the reader's reason for being uncomfortable, they will immediately switch to using they/them pronouns for the reader ( I will use "(raison d'être)*" as the fill-in space for the reader’s reason for being uncomfortable). If those are not the pronouns you use/are uncomfortable with them, I apologize. The main reasons for this switch in pronouns are: 1) to be inclusive no matter anyone’s gender or identity. 2) signify a change in relationship, to signify that this character knows the (raison d’être), which can be helpful to keep track of which characters know and which don’t without having to look through different chapters to remind yourself. 3) to show that the character is trying to be respectful and considerate of the reader, not wanting to assume anything else about them.

The reader does not want anybody they don’t trust to know their (raison d’être). The reason for why they don’t want anyone to know is up to you. Every reason is valid, no matter how it seems like. Whether you or others regard it as a big reason or little reason does not matter. Any reason at all is okay.

The (raison d’être) causes the reader to try to fit in in a way that doesn't garner suspicion to the best of their ability when around people who don’t know the (raison d’être). I believe that the reader character would not want others to suspect that they are attracted to men, because they know that some people may then avoid them and/or ignore them simply because the reader is attracted to men while going to an all-boys school. (I’m not actually going to make any of the characters act like this. I put this reason in because I know that there are some shitty people out there who will immediately break friendships once they learn someone’s sexuality. I think that the reader would fear this possibility since they know it happens back on Earth. Maybe it has happened to them before.) This done for various other reasons as well: in order to fit in better, not garner suspicion, to prevent others from getting to curious—which could lead to them learning the (raison d’être) before the reader is ready to tell them—and so on and so forth. I’m assuming that if you’re reading this fic, you wanna romance some boys, meaning you'll be in a school full of pretty boys.

The reader is at least somewhat attracted to monster-like/inhuman features some of the characters have, like horns or fangs and such. How much of a monsterfucker the reader is depends on you. (I am very much a monsterfucker with naga/nagas being my favorite.)

The reader knows Disney stuff. They are quite familiar with Disney and they are definitely going to be singing some Disney songs sometime. I won’t just copy and paste all the lyrics to certain songs. It’ll most be just a mention that the reader starts humming or singing a certain song, or they emphasized a certain line of lyrics for some reason.

Reader is a fan of Starkid and their musical Twisted. I highly recommend it. You can find the whole performance on youtube. You might know Starkid from one of their most famous works: A Very Potter Musical.

Reader is from this Earth. Our Earth. The one you’re living on irl. Or at least an Earth that is nearly identical. Like so identical that the only difference is that someone coughed at 12:04 on a certain day but on the other Earth that person coughed at 12:03.

        F. Warnings for General/Common Triggers That Appear in This Work and Mental Disorders the Reader Will Exhibit

·       Triggers/Content Warnings

o   Nothing super prevalent yet. Please DM me any triggers you have if you’d like me to know them. That way I can place a warning if it ever comes up.

·       Mental Disorders

o    (These are based on what I have because I feel most confident in my works if it feels genuine. The best way to make characters feel genuine and like real people is to base things off of personal experience. Especially since this is a reader insert, I’ll end up slipping in these traits without even realizing it, so I think it’s best to incorporate them anyways.)

§  Social Anxiety Disorder—I’ve had this disorder for the majority of my life, so my writing reflects that because I don’t really know how to write otherwise. So the reader will have social anxiety. There will be instances where the reader will spiral.

§  Depression—there will be hints of depression paired with social anxiety sometimes.

§  Some aspects of ADHD, like the need to fidget with something or thoughts bouncing from place to place.

  Extra Information Unrelated/ Vaguely Related to the Story

Reader is a witch— as in modern Earth’s version of a witch: making spell jars and sigils, not the flashy kaboom magic where they’re hurling fireballs around or like the magic in Harry Potter. I'm sorry, but the reader won't be able to yeet wands out of others' hands.

I use ‘y’know’ instead of ‘yanno’ when I write.

Will Mothman make an appearance? Who knows? Maybe if I feel like it, he’ll show up.

Uh…spoilers. There’s gonna be spoilers for the main storyline of Twisted Wonderland. And also the Disney villains I guess?

Will the reader be the founder of fantasy OSHA? Because if it exists, it's clear that Crowley doesn't believe in it.

  About Reposting and Plagiarizing Other’s Works

Do not plagiarize anyone's work. Never plagiarize. Always cite your sources. If you plagiarize or fail to give proper citations, you can face serious repercussions. Some years back, a college student plagiarized a scholarly work on the subject of music and got away with it for years. They were found out many years later when a student at my college was using the original work and the other person's plagiarized work as sources for a project. This eventually lead to the plagiarizer having his college degree rescinded among other consequences. As you get older, the repercussions for plagiarism only get more severe.

Extended Information About Previous Sections/Words with an Asterisk (*) Indicator

*I know that 'raison d'etre' means 'reason of being/ purpose of existence.' Think of this 'raison d'etre' as being shorthand for 'Raison d’être mal à l’aise,' which means 'reason for being uncomfortable.'

[alwaysahiccupandastrid]

SPOILERS: Aladdin (2019) - Review/Thoughts

So I just watched the new Aladdin at the cinema where I work (yay for free tickets, am I right), and I just wanted to do what I usually do and discuss some of my thoughts after seeing it.

Just as background, I of course grew up watching the animation; while it wasn’t my favourite Disney film, it was still one that I watched often and knew well. When they announced that they were remaking it, I was very apprehensive because obviously no one can beat Robin Williams’ Genie - no one. He improvised a lot of his stuff and there was hours of content that were unused because of how brilliant he was. So in that sense I’m a bit biased, but I’m not such a hardcore fan that the slightest deviation from the story makes me mad.

Anyway, moving on!

!!!SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

I’m honestly glad they didn’t just remake the original frame for frame - I always feel that remakes should at least try to improve on the original, or try to change a few things just to keep it more original.

Naomi Scott as Jasmine...I mean WOW. We are blessed. I was so thrilled to have a slightly more active feminist Jasmine - obviously in the animation she’s pretty feminist but in this they made her more so in all the right ways

Mena Massoud did pretty great as Aladdin to be fair, though I was surprised Aladdin was way more awkward at certain points in this film

The soundtrack is so good, to be honest - I’m not as familiar with the songs in Aladdin as I am with other Disney movies but I still think all of the songs had a nice charm

“Speechless” — I LOVED BOTH TIMES THIS SONG WAS SUNG, I AM SO GLAD JASMINE HAD HER OWN SONG

I am very curious about what happened to Jasmine’s mum?? They say that she was killed but never expand on it - I was half expecting to learn that Jafar offed her or something

I feel like they tried to imply a backstory to Jafar...but all I got from it was that he was tired of being second best and that he wanted to be all powerful

I mean, Marwan Kenzari wasn’t a bad Jafar, he just didn’t come across as scary or threatening as he probably should have

Oh god I love Abu 🐒

Shoutout to the Magic Carpet for making me think it was really dead at the end, oh my god my heart stopped

I wasnt quite sure how I felt about Jasmine having a handmaiden in the film since I’m the original the point is that she’s alone and has no one but Rajah to talk to. But I actually really liked the addition of Dalia to the film in a weird way

I KNEW right at the start that the Genie had married the fucking handmaiden and had kids with her, they didn’t show her face but I KNEW, IT WAS SO OBVIOUS

The scene where Aladdin is trying to impress Jasmine while pretending to be Prince Ali? Fucking hilarious 😂 JAMS

I said this before but Princess Jasmine fighting against the men who tell her to know her place? Who tell her to be seen and not heard? I STAN A SULTAN QUEEN

The nostalgia was too real in this movie to be honest, like I feel that if you have never watched the original, you probably wouldn’t feel the same as someone else watching who HAS seen the original

I can’t believe they had Aladdin practically break dance and do back flips in this movie

Other than that, the dancing sequence at the party was pretty cool

JASMINES OUTFITS WERE FABULOUS THATS ALL

I really had to refrain from thinking Twisted/Starkid jokes during the film, I’m so sorry but it’s true

At one point Aladdin is asked to point out on a map where his fake country (Ababwa?) is and the Genie puts Sleeping Beauty’s castle with the name “Fantasyland” on the map - this is so clearly a Disneyland Parks reference 😂 It literally looks exactly like it does on the map for Disneyland Paris

Also, I love that when they showed drawings of the Genie (on the map/hierarchy chart I think) they used a drawing of the animated Genie 🧞‍♂️

“A Whole New World” was very pretty - not quite the caliber of the animated version but still very nice. Obviously there’s more limits with live action than animation, so that makes sense I guess

Iago was SO FREAKY OMG WHY WOULD YOU MAKE HIM THAT BIG EVEN FOR THREE MINUTES

Also way too many shots of Iago flying - like it looked awesome at first but after a while it’s noticeable and tedious :/

RAJAH. THE GOOD BOY. GOOD KITTY. GOOD TIGER. MY BOY 🐯🐅 I LOVE HIM TOO MUCH

Rajah literally nearly took someone’s fucking arm off, I LOVE HIM

Now obviously everyone’s probably wondering about the Genie and like...okay, that deserves its own section because I have some stuff to unpack.

To be fair to Will Smith, he did NOT have an easy job. It was going to be difficult for any actor to play Genie after Robin Williams. He really had a difficult job, and there will always be comparisons being made. I feel for him.

I still prefer Robin Williams’ Genie, but Will Smith wasn’t bad. He was clearly trying to make the character his own whilst still paying tribute to Robin Williams, so I can’t fault him for that.

There were quite a few moments he made me laugh - the scenes where he stands with Aladdin and makes little comments are the best, they had me choking on my Coca Cola!

“I’ve spent 2000 years trapped in a tiny lamp - and this is worse.”

I feel like my only issue with this Genie (other than constantly comparing him to the 1992 Genie) was that he’s such a big character and really over the top - and then the rest of the film is nowhere near as OTT. It feels almost like two different films at times.

I honestly didn’t hate him as the Genie like I thought I would - he’s not Robin Williams but he does his best to make his own Genie and I can respect that.

So would I recommend the film? Sure! It’s not the best Disney film ever made, not even the best remake, and I’m sure lots of people will trash it. It isn’t the best film it could have been either, but as a fun family movie with nostalgic feels, it’s still a good watch. I think people are so prepared to bash it already that they’re not giving it any chances - like I said, it’s nowhere near as good as the original, but it’s still a nice film.

And now here’s a gif of my boy Rajah who wasn’t even a real tiger but still stole the whole movie

[inevitablekickline]

I love the idea of another StarKid Disney parody and I love your cast choices and stuff! I do have another plot pitch with different characters tho: Gaston is angry he isn’t in the Disney Heroes Club. Basically some of the princes and Tarzan and Hercules have a special club and Gaston plots to get in. I know StarKid would never do something like that, but I’m curious what you’d think castwise for a show like that. Have a totally awesome day!

Thank you!!! I’m so glad you enjoyed my ideas ^^

OMG I like this idea! It’s kinda like Wreck It Ralph almost in a way, huh???

OKAY CASTING TIME (plus headcanons based off of your tidbits? ;D)

Robert Manion as Gaston - I mean, this was a given, seeing how he’s played it before, and he’s got the voice down pat ;D But yeah, basically expanding on the Gaston part of Twisted, he’s mad that he’s viewed as a villain, when one of the guys in the Disney Heroes Club literally kissed an unconscious girl and then got away with it!!! Like what the heck???

Joey Richter as Flynn Rider - I cast Jon as Flynn in the last one, but for this show, Joey would be the perfect Flynn Rider. Kind of an asshole, but somehow still endearing??? Aka at least half of Joey’s parts, so it’s perfect. He can almost see why Gaston wants to be there, but he’s also like “dude…you’re a jerk, and that’s coming from me”

Jeff Blim as Tarzan / Aladdin - Let him run free as a monkey man. Okay but no I just think that Jeff would be great in this part, and that he would rock the costume. Since Joey already got to do the loincloth look, we’ll give him a break ;) The Aladdin thing would be a tiny bit, more like a “where’s Aladdin?” thing and they all go “fuck him, he’s a jerk!” and such.

Dylan Saunders as Hercules - HE VOICE!!! Okay no but I just know Dylan would kill “Go the Distance” so he gets to be Hercules and I’m sorry I don’t take criticism. Hercules is the “cool guy” of the group, and does a lot of the leading even though Charming started the club. He’s the jock one.

Jon Matteson as Prince Florian - I’m just imagining this guy that seems super chill, boring, beige, and then he sings and BAM there he is. Maybe a little clingy. I mean, what did he do with that sleeping princess again? Also…which sleeping princess? Wasn’t this one basically dead? Yikes, buddy, necrophilia much? Basically, he’s the one everyone’s just like “listen he started the club so we have to let him stay” about. Also…what the hell he has a name? Everyone usually just referred to him as “The Prince” even though there are like…seven of them now.

Corey Dorris as Prince Philip / Prince Naveen - He’s the other one that kissed a sleeping chick. And he fought a dragon to do so. He’s got the personality of Hamlet, which means he thinks over things a lot but also likes stabbing things. He writes poetry and gets a really good ballad song that’s half about how sad he is, the other half about how the dragon is like a metaphor for him having to deal with his problems and getting over things. Prince Naveen would be a bit part in a separate song, but we gotta get Naveen in there, c’mon!!!

Lauren Lopez as Kylo Ren - Wait…who let him in? Does he actually count as a Disney character, let alone a Disney hero? Well, that’s what he tries to prove the whole time. Badly. Lots of whining. Uses lightsaber as a euphemism many times. Explains how he is technically a prince since his mother was adopted into Alderaanian royalty, even though his grandfather blew up the planet like…almost forty years ago, now. Yikes. (Okay but Lauren Lopez as Kylo Ren though, who wouldn’t want to see that???)

Brian Holden as Prince Eric / Woody - He fucked a fish! “He didn’t fuck a fish–” He wanted to fuck a fish! …Uh yeah that’s about it I don’t know what else to put here. Woody would be a bit piece, but I want to see Brolden as Woody and I don’t really know why LOL.

Brian Rosenthal as Prince Charming / Fix-It Felix - Ahh, Prince Charming. The most perfect prince in the land…with a foot fetish. And he’s actually a huge mamma’s boy. He paid his way into the club, and funds all their meetings and outings, which is the only reason he’s here. Super stuffy…nobody likes him. Fix-It Felix would be a bit character, but omg Brosenthal as Felix would be adorable so I had to put it in here???

Mariah Rose Faith, Jaime Lyn Beatty, Rachael Soglin, and Meredith Stepien as the Princesses/Heroines (various) - They come in when needed. Certain characters I need from them include Mariah as Megara, Jaime as Jessie, Rachael as Rey, Meredith as Cinderella, and shuffle the rest around. Maybe include a few others?

BUT okay that was fun, and I kind of love this idea you had! Thanks for letting me riff off of it! ^^

[westcoastbroadway1443]

Be More Notes: my very long ramblings on BMC as I finally listen to the whole thing

Ok!  I’m finally doing it!  Now that the cast album is out I’m going to really give all of Be More Chill a listen, try to put the things that annoy me about the show aside, and give it a fair chance.  And have decided to do running commentary here for the nobody who gives a shit lol.  Going in I wanna say I’ve heard 4 full songs and random bits of other songs from the original soundtrack.  And I’ll be listening now to the OBC album plus watching a b**tlg, I’m not totally sure when it took place I just know Will Roland is in it so at the very least New York.  Keep in mind whatever I think of this show, if I end up hating it, if you like it you’re right.  My opinion in no way invalidated anybody else’s or is above anyone else’s in my eyes, frankly I don’t enjoy not liking things, it just means I don’t get to come to the party and that’s not fun.  So I might be poking fun at the show sometimes but if this speaks to you, that is fucking awesome!  Also I’m old now and I guess no longer the target audience for stuff like this.  

Spoilers for those who haven’t watched the show and don’t want to know stage stuff because I’ll be commenting on that.  This ended up being really long, eh.  

More Than Survive -ok this song I’ve heard before, and it both turned me off the show and also made me respect the hell out of it, because much like I give a salute to Black Mirror having the balls to make pig sex their pilot, I salute a musical that starts with jerking off -So far like Roland a little more than the previous guy.  From what I’ve gathered from clips, while that dude is hella talented and cute as a button I kind of buy Roland as a terrified, desperate, frustrated high school kid more   -Man I really do dig the hell out of the score and there is no denying this is catchy but some of these lyrics are so cringe -WHY IS A TEEN IN 2019 REFERENCING JOE PESCI?! -Ok I love the idea of a short bully calling somebody “tall ass” -I do like Jeremy’s body language better in this one. Also does he vocally remind anyone else of Max from Goofy Movie?  Maybe this song just reminds me  of “After Today” for no reason. -“super pimp” “mac daddy game”....OK!  I’m going to try not to list every time I cringe.  I just have questions -You don’t  want to be Clooney...high school child in 2019 is Clooney really your reference for cool?  Sorry I just struggle with this stuff because I keep hearing how this show is so in touch with kids these days but I just see:

-lol Michael came on and people went apseshit in the audience.  All my nitpicks aside I bet this room probably has some great energy. -..Michael the clerk at 7/11 doesn’t pour your slushie, it’s self serve.  Are you trying to seem cool to Jeremy right now? -Aah the boyfriend backpacks.  I know of this ship -Yeah Christine brings the flutes!!!  I was a flute player, we never get love -HAHA when Christine is doing her weird ass dance, in the recording I’m watching somebody right in front of the person recording just went “I don’t get this show”.  Like me too darlin, but you got 2 hours left so suck it up -Oh but sir, check the playbill.  The story is indeed about you -in summation this song kind of encapsulates everything I feel about this show, good performances and catchy as fuck and musically interesting and a lot of me asking “why”.

Play Rehearsal   -Well Christine is adorable -wow wait what?  wtf was that weird self harm comment???  Are we just gonna skip that??? -Ok I was a band kid in HS so I guess I don’t get this level of extra.  Band rehearsal is just tuning and then fucking around until somebody makes you play Bach -...is Christine ok??? -Ok I think at least for now I may hate her.  But I like that Jeremy likes her, likes her passion and such.  I approve of her conceptually!  I just don’t wanna be around her -I thought play rehearsal was gay, Rich?!  WHAT YOU DOIN AT PLAY REHEARSAL RICH?! -...I mean I’ve seen Romeo and Juliet as a zombie wasteland movie, I would watch Midsummer zombies

More Than Survive Reprise -”least I didn’t have a breakdown and have to go the nurse” Ok fair, I can relate to that high school experience -this set is kind of working for me, basic but fun and the floor is neat -I know high school bullies are a thing I guess? But I always just saw them in movies?  Now Middle School bullies were legit and terrible and I got the shit kicked out of me, but by HS I feel like everybody was too into their own shit to care much about anyone else??  Maybe that was just my school -Will Roland’s body language is real good in this show

The Squip Song -Oh!  Surprise Rich lisp. Creative way to show how this thing alters you -..ok now we know about Rich’s dick size.  I mean hon your short, maybe your penis is just proportionate?   -DO I DETECT SOME THEREMIN IN THIS ORCHESTRATION?!   Gimme all the theremin!   -Ok so the squip made him be an asshole?  Does he secretly want to be buddies with Jeremy? -Ok what the fuck are the people in the background doing here?!? -I know people ship Michael and Jeremy but I feel like Rich kinda wants to jump that tall ass??

Two Player Game -Ok the little sign for the game that came up was cute -These guys are kinda cute, even if I wish they’d tone down Michael’s “I’M QUIRKY!!  YOU GET IT?!?” shtick -That is accurate!  Y’all will be cool in college and I don’t see that brought up often -This is the first time I’ve found the choreography fun   -...why is this dad allergic to pants?? -ah.  Depression=no pants.  And now I get why Jeremy’s so desperate not to stay as he is.  Well points for making it not just about the girl -awww Michael is his bae -bro I’ve heard Loser Geek Whatever, you’re tellin lies right now to your buddy -LOL!  WTF IS THIS WINDOWS SCREENSAVER OF A VIDEO GAME?!? -oh wow dancin went off the rails here at the end

Squip Enters -Mountain Dew?  Well, better than Surge I guess.   -Ok the Ecto Cooler line legit made me laugh.  And I guess I could come down on the show for making Michael psyched about a drink that came out before he was born, but I have a pretty intense Crystal Pepsi obsession and that shit came out when I was maybe 4?  So I get it Michael, you go enjoy your liquid ghosts -well that squip thing doesn’t look fun -Oooooh Ok Keanu is like factory setting, alright I’ll accept this.  Though I will say this show would be 35% better if he was dressed like Keanu from Bill and Ted

Be More Chill Prt 1 -Hey stop shitting on Jeremy.  I think I kinda like him -wow Keanu, I didn’t think you’d be so mean -I mean everyone chanting “everything about you sucks” is just how peeps with anxiety feel constantly.  Eminem shirt ain’t gonna fix that -”Jerry-me” ok Will Roland is kind of making this work for me.   -Him repeating everything the squip said is a fun little sequence.  Like I dig this conceptually, scifi musicals are rare and can be neat - Lol the hate who they hate thing is pretty accurate

Do You Wanna Ride? -hey Jeremy what about Christiiiiine

Be More Chill Part 2 -the beginning of this song broke me a little.  Hey!  I’m feelin a thing! -this song is pretty fun!  It works!   -though the cast of like 10 people that just keep putting on different wigs make it feel like a high school play or a starkid production

Sync Up -ok so now I know I’m watching previews?  Because sync up isn’t here -I do think this song is a really good addition.  I mean it’s not like a stand out fantastic song but it does a good job getting across the themes and drives home the whole “everybody has problems” thing too which I like -Ok..dairy line was weird.  

A Guy I Could Kinda Be Into -Ok the weird girl fighting stuff about Jake is unpleasant and sort of unnecessary -a squip gives you a deep voice and the ability to kinda do accents.  Cool -ooo this is catchy, this is gonna make the spotify playlist -the goofy background hearts are cute.  I still don’t know why she’s into Jake or why she’s friends with Jeremy or if they should be together since legit the only thing she thinks they have in common is theater which he doesn’t care about..but this song is still cute -lol squips understand friend zone

Upgrade -DID THIS SHOW JUST KILL EMINEM?! -How did the squip know that?!  Does Eminem have a squip??  I mean it kinda makes sense.. -Don’t you see Jerbear?! The key to popularity is in this girl’s vagina!  Happy they cut the “I’ll tenderly guide you just take me inside you” thing, little creepy -Why did Jake make a kicking motion to illustrate cricket?  I’m like 85% sure Jake doesn’t know what cricket is... -the “feel all the feels” like is a little goofy but I really like the rewrite for this song, showing some depth of character.  Good job, show!  And I’m seeing some chemistry between these two, but I don’t know if I’m meant to? -Oh no!  The whole “you looked at me” thing from Brooke was so sweet and sad.  And the player two thing.  Yeah this OG version of this song can go fuck off, the rewrite is a really good tune.  I’ll admit the original maybe built up the horror a little, the squip sounds more threatening coming in at the end but I like where there going making this about everyone and not just Jeremy

Loser Geek Whatever -Squip blocked Michael??  You’re a dick, Keanu Reeves -I didn’t love this song when I first heard the single but hearing the version on the album and the stripped down piano version, I really really like it.  Gives me some of those old geek feels from back in the day -sort of surprise by how little is happening on stage though?  I sort of assumed something was happening as the song built?  But nope, just Will rocking his wee heart out -LOL!  What is Squip’s new outfit???

Halloween -Ah, it’s this show Big Fun.  This is a lot catchier than Big Fun though -I went to exactly one of these kinds of parties in HS, just replace Halloween with punks after a rock show and add a lot more drugs.  I didn’t hide in a bathroom but I did hide next to the stairs until my mom came and got me.  Memories!!  You know what this show is succeeding I suppose, it’s making me have HS feels -...is Jake dressed as Thomas Jefferson? -Jenna you’re too cute for that costume.  You should get to wear something sexy too!  Unless you just dig clowns in which case enjoy yourself hon -Ooooooh Prince, I get it -this is not this show’s fault at all but I struggle with dancing in shows.  I mean the title of my blog is The Girl Who Used to Hate Musicals because I did, and while I love them now extended dancing sequences still take me out of a show real fast.  I know I’m in the minority here -...what the fuck is that weird fuzzy thing with the big teeth -Hot damn!  Go Rich!  Dancin fool

Do You Wanna Hang? -I don’t like any part of this plot line... -Ok!  Didn’t realized she was dressed like a “sexy baby” so the diaper line sort of horrified me.  I mean it still does!  I just understand it now

Michael in the Bathroom -hey the bathtub!  Ok I know enough to know what happens now -Jeremy why you gotta be so mean -I mean what is there to say, great song.  I wondered if they’d change anything for the new recording and I dig the arrangement, especially the stripped down acoustic guitar and piano parts!! Also as a lady who maybe once or twice since discovering this song has gotten tipsy and sung it karaoke-like, appreciate the slower and the higher.  It’s not a lot, just a bit, but makes it less of a struggle to match.  Thanks bro!

A Guy That I’d Kinda Be Into (Reprise) -Finally!  They’re both giant doofs but I see some connection!  And I mean my roommate and I have noises we always make at each other like a call and response, so I gets it -He asked it!  So proud.  Rejected but proud of the boy, and rejected for good reasons

The Smartphone Hour -Heard part of this song before.  Really like this Jenna more than original Jenna, her performance was a little much for me -This is one of those songs where I really do feel like I’m watching a HS original production..but a good one?  Maybe cause I haven’t seen something like this on Broadway, but that’s a good thing.  Always good to see new kinds of things on Broadway -lol what is the middle of this song?!  I feel like I’m suddenly watching a cheer squad or like a John Waters inspired musical, which from what little I know of Joe Iconis I think he’d be cool with that comparison

The Pants Song -Jeremy don’t be mean to your dad! -Yipes is this the Break in a Glove or Dead Gay Son of BMC?? -....yeah it totally is -”Do you love him??” Has Jeremy’s dad finally given up on finding a girl in Jeremy’s room? -Ok ok I’m gettin the ship

The Pitiful Children -So squip just looks like this now, I thought maybe he was just being fancy for Halloween -Hot damn Jenna!  Why were we savin that voice?! -I feel like I’m missing something with these weird hand motions the squip is always, do they actually mean something? -goosestepping...alright.  Oh no Jeremy did the hand motions, I think that means a thing

The Play -Jeremy is being so creepy but he means well?  I guess?   -lol using the play to spread the squips is pretty clever -wtf red mountain dew?  Really?  You know what fuck it, discontinued drinks for the win.  Maybe my saved bottles of Crystal Pepsi will stop an apocalypse one day! -Michael’s entrance was cute, and hey he just happens to have code red.  I wish ecto cooler was what shut it off. -The glitching voice is crazy when Jeremy is fighting Michael and I love the way Jeremy is sort of bobbing up and down in fighting stance like a video game character,  Fun touch -squip is making Jeremy go all Idle Hands! -I prefer the recording version of the guys making up, the whole “I just wanted to be liked” “I just wanted to be seen” thing -the squip has to be so extra even in death

Voices in My Head -hey lispy Rich is back!  And bi now I guess? -Oh is that why people think Michael/Jeremy are a thing?  The squip blocked Rich’s bi thoughts from him and it blocked Michael from Jeremy’s vision?  I mean it would be an interesting story, I’d take it. -This might be my favorite song and I don’t really know why, I don’t super love that Jeremy still gets Christine in the end but I just love how this song sounds -I’ve never heard a character wearing pants get an applause? -improved lyrics in the Broadway version, and since it got more into the popular kids as people you can kinda see why they’d still stay friend with Jeremy -”I’ll throw you a rope home slice if you need some dope advice” like is this parody?  What is this??  Well..still my fav song despite this line.  A line they liked so much it’s the one original popular kid line they kept in the new version??? -don’t know if I see much future for these two, but Jeremy’s reaction to the kiss was cute -”Of the voices in my head the loudest one is mine” is my favorite line of the show -lol Rich’s little sneak hug.  I feel like Rich always wanted to be friends with Jeremy?  Or had a crush on him and that’s why his squip made him beat Jeremy up?  Is this pairing a thing?

Final thoughts:  This was so stupid long, nobody read this but that’s ok!  It was fun to take notes anyway.  Listening to it all, I liked it more than I thought I would, especially with the lyric changes.  I don’t know if I would like it as much if it wasn’t Will Roland, the dude just really made this character likable when he could very easily not be.  Some of the lines still bug me, there’s still a lot of cringe here but there’s also a lot of good stuff.  This show introduced me to Joe Iconis and I’m slowly falling in love with him from his other work and CANNOT WAIT for Broadway Bounty Hunter because that sounds so like my jam.  Overall I do get why people like this show, especially younger people because you can relate to the characters but maybe you want something a little peppier than DEH.   I don’t think this is a soundtrack I’m going to ever listen to all the way through, but I’m for sure grabbing a handful of songs and sticking them on my musical play list.  And when this thing goes on tour and ends up in LA, I think it would probably be worth checking out if I can, looks like a fun watch.  Though with all the young fans and internet fans if they’re smart they’re gonna record this bitch.

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Christmas at Holmes Cottage - The Sixth Ficlet

The next couple of days went by without too much issue, John thought. If Mycroft had any doubts, he didn’t say anything, and everyone was getting on well. Greg got used to the Holmes family rather quickly - it helped that their parents were much more ordinary than the brothers - and him and Sherlock kept up their act almost naturally at this point.

It wasn’t until Christmas evening, after dinner, that things took a turn. Sherlock had gone off somewhere, John didn’t know where, so he went to the others to ask them. Greg and Mycroft didn’t know, but the Holmes father did. 

“Oh, he went upstairs. Said something about needing to find a place to store his gifts,” the man said, a twinkle in his eye as he spoke. John supposed it was the wine. “Maybe you should go help him. He has a tendency to take a while to sort new things into his systems. One year we got him some new socks and he spent over an hour reorganizing that sock index of his.”

John had to laugh at that, shaking his head fondly. “Yeah, that sounds like him. I’ll go see what I can do.”

Making his way up the stairs, he went into Sherlock’s room, bumping into the man in the doorway. “Oh, hey. You all set with sorting your gifts?” he asked, but it looked like Sherlock didn’t even hear him. “Sherlock? Everything all right?”

“John. Look up.” The detective hadn’t moved his gaze, and when John directed his upward, he understood why. 

Mistletoe.

“How did… I swear that wasn’t there yesterday,” John said, frowning in confusion. 

“No, it wasn’t,” Sherlock agreed. “I suspect it was Mummy’s doing. She does like to be a bit overzealous with it.”

“But why here?” John didn’t understand. “Seems a bit out of the way.”

“Probably ran out of other doorways. She has way too much of the stuff.”

“Ah.” Nodding a bit, John brought his gaze back down and shrugged a little. “Well, if you’re done up here I suppose we can just head back down,” he said, turning a bit and making to step away when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“John, wait,” Sherlock said, voice softer now as his gaze moved to meet John’s own.

“What? Were you coming to get me to help, is that it?” John asked, figuring that was the only deduction that made sense. They’d both agreed that they didn’t have to keep up the couple act when nobody else was around, so he didn’t think that was it.

“No, no, I actually am done. That was an impressive deduction, though, given the circumstances. But incorrect. You lack all the context.”

“Well, what is it, then?” John asked, feeling a surge of hope in his chest. Though he quickly pushed it down; he’d known going in that this was all fake.

“There’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you, that I’ve been wanting to say since we’ve been here, and even a lot longer than that. But I haven’t; I’ve been, well, scared…”

“Sherlock, what-?” John started, but Sherlock put a finger to his lips and he stopped immediately. 

“Please, John, just let me continue. I.. I need to say it now, and I need to say it all at once.” Sherlock waited until John nodded in understanding, then lowered his hand. “You know I don’t make friends easily. I tried, but people never stayed, so I just stopped trying. Until Mike set us up as roommates. I felt like I had a chance at being your friend. Then one crime scene and a chase across London later I was entirely committed and devoted to doing all I could to be your friend. Even if it didn’t always seem like I was trying that hard, I was doing my best.”

“Then when I, er, left, I didn’t say anything to you because I really cared about you. You were my best friend, and though I wished I could have said something, I was scared you would get hurt. I never truly knew how many men Moriarty had watching you, and I didn’t want to think about what they might have been able to do if they had any idea that I was alive and had interacted with you. I know now that what I put you through was far worse than what I had imagined, and I really am sorry.”

“After things got back to normal, and your therapist helped you to see that Mary was doing you no good, I didn’t expect anything to change. We were friends again, and I was happy. But it did change. I.. I’m in love with you, John. I have been for, well, a while. Longer perhaps than I even know. But I never dared to say because of how many times you corrected people who thought we were a couple, and that almost scared me out of asking you to come here with me. The reason I did is because, for a little while, I wanted to know what it would feel like if we were really together. Instead though, all I’ve been able to focus on is how much it hurts that this isn’t real.”

John blinked a few times as he took in everything Sherlock had said, his mind buzzing yet simultaneously stuck on one point. Sherlock Holmes just told him that he loved him. Laughing incredulously, he looked up at Sherlock with a bewildered smile. “Sherlock, I.. Where do I start?”

“I only corrected people because I was convinced that you had no desire for this. That first night at Angelo’s, I thought you were basically saying you weren’t interested in any aspect of an intimate relationship.”

“Then why did you always insist you weren’t gay?” Sherlock asked.

“Hardwired and instinctive response from when I was growing up. My parents were shit. My dad especially. He drove Harry to drink - not Clara - and I was never brave enough to be who I was around them like she had been. Besides, I’m bi. Not gay.”

“So then.. Are you saying..what I think you’re saying?”

“Sherlock, you daft genius, yes. I love you too,” John said, beaming up at the detective - his detective - with so much more emotion in his gaze than he’d allowed himself to show since they’d arrived. 

“Then that makes us a couple,” Sherlock said with a grin that was just as bright. “And I believe there’s a rule about couples standing under mistletoe, is there not?”

John laughed. “Yes. Yes there is. Y'know, I completely forgot that was up there.” Rolling his eyes fondly, he moved so he was properly sharing Sherlock’s space, pulling him down by his shirt collar and kissing him. It was heavenly, and if it weren’t for the fireworks coursing through his entire being he might have thought he was only dreaming.

(that got longer than expected, whoops. but i hope you can agree that it was worth it for these idiots to get together :) )

(submitted by johnlocked-starkid)

(PART 1) | (PART 2) | (PART 3) | (PART 4) | (PART 5)

OMG ARE YOU KIDDING OF COURSE IT WAS WORTH IT!!! <3 I love this so much!!!!!!! THANK YOU!!!!!!