#no amount of planning and strategizing makes it so that they will actually show up

[h0neyfreak]

***

[moonsaver]

Imagine instead of 4ggravate being a kpop boy group and reader being the fangirl, its the other way around

4ggravate forms a groupchat particularly because of you, their bias, who is also the least recognized in your group and is often overshadowed by others, leading to a desperate convergence of your fans in finding out the itty bitty stuff about you that's all on blast when it comes to the other idols in your group. They're like detectives trying to figure out whether you liked the specific flavor of ice cream on a show you participated in with your group. Each of them keep tabs on any official updates about you, recording and clipping parts of your group's lives in the tidbits where you come in, and forming a wall trying to defend you from majority of the fandom when you get backlash from false rumors. That's just how the group came to be.

Kaveh is the oldest fan amongst them – he's been there since day 1. Claims he knows the most out of all of them and tries to prove it via quizzes and guessing games. Sometimes he wins, most times he doesn't. Also the poorest of the four. He spent so much on buying your specific merchandise he didn't plan for the future concert you group was holding in his area, and ever since then he's had to tearfully decide constantly between buying albums, your photocards, new lightstick versions, etc.. and your concert that may or may not even be held in the area.

In the rare chance that he does attend your concert – he tries to get the most out of it. Front row, headbands, fanchant at the top of his head, lightsticks in both hands. When you notice him and exchange a few words over the loud crowd, he swears he's going to pass out, looking up at your crouched figure on the stage makes you look almost like an angel to him, the light highlighting your figure perfectly. Suffice to say, he eventually made an impression on you at least.. because he passed out and the crowd had to surf him to a security guard. He's deeply embarassed about it, and can't really escape it now that he's become a bit of an inside joke in your fandom

Cyno is the second older fan. Like Kaveh, he prides himself over having a good amount of knowledge about you that's not exactly easy to find – old, old, old images of other kpop idols in which you appear for a fraction of a second, spotting the products you use in your lives and being able to find out the brands is his specialty. If Kaveh has the knowledge, Cyno at least has the detective skills. He has his own individually run fanpage where most other fanpages, even your group's fanpages, refer to as a trusted source. Has also managed to create several fancams of you that were incredibly hard to get ahold of. He's those fanpages on twitter who thoroughly collect evidence and manage to pinpoint future events you're going to take part in before they're announced, and he manages to predict it correctly almost all the time. He's well known within the fandom, but due to how busy he is in 4ggravate trying to form a cumulative plan almost all the time, rarely does he find the time to respond to other fans and fanpages, and most other admins don't usually approach him either.

If anything, at least he's got more resources and money than Kaveh. I imagine he actually also is in a lot of other groups besides 4ggravate.

Alhaitham, out of everyone, is the one who's actually talked to you the most. He was originally just interested in the music, didn't really care until he realized how less and less your lines became the more songs your group churned out. So in his mind, to "make up for" the lack of lines on your end, he decides to simply just pay extra attention to your solo activities. It's not soon before you become his bias. Unlike Kaveh, he was pretty strategic and managed to plan ahead for scheduled fancalls, fanmeetings, appearances in public, etc..

he leaves a lasting impression because.. he doesn't show his appearance. At all. There's many fans out there who get your attention by doing strange things with their appearance, but Alhaitham refuses to even take off his mask just to talk to you. In fancalls, he decides to cover the cameras, always wears hoodies that cover him completely when he meets you in public. At some point, the fandom falls in love with him instead (which drives Kaveh insane), and it's not soon before there's all sorts of rumors about you two. The rumors get more wild when he only ever takes his hoodie off once when you meet him face to face. Personality wise, he sticks out because of how easily he's able to spot changes in choreography, voice, pitch, writing style, etc.. and even more so, because of how upfront about it he is, without actually being creepy about it. He gives good advice without making it sound like unwelcome criticism.

Tighnari is actually the normal one. He just generally likes the music and likes your voice specifically because he thinks your voice suits the concept the best, but because of a few injustices (which he sarcastically comments on many fancams, to which also many fans agree), he finds himself doing something similar to Alhaitham. Albeit, less.. detailed? Is what he thinks. He's actually a bit of a keyboard warrior when it comes down to it – replying to group threads that intentionally leave you out, having the sassiest comebacks to mean or rude comments about you, piecing together timelines and locations to prove false rumors wrong, working especially close with Cyno in these kinds of cases. If there's a fancam of you, Tighnari is under it fighting some or the other hater, or just blatantly commenting on the event itself that intentionally disrespects you or your group.

He's probably the only one who actually leaves a long lasting impression on you. When your car drives by a bunch of your excited fans, he's the normal one who's looking on calmly and waving to you with a stoic face. Whenever he comes to fanmeetings with Alhaitham, or has fancalls with you – it's fun! His humor is easy to accustom to, conversation goes lightly, and overall he's the tamest out of everyone. He gives you some skincare advice which you gladly accept, and somehow, despite not being as incriminating as the others when it came to detail, they're salty about how he seems to be the one who's closest to you. It's not unnoticeable the way out of all four of them, you recognize him by a first name basis. Ohhh boy.

[amber-sekio]

Relationship Headcanons

Fandom: BSD -Bungo Stray Dogs

TW: none? I think? 

DAZAI 

I said it in my Soukoku fic, Dazai wouldn’t know affection if it slapped him in the face ten times 

Like he might realize when someone is showing interest in a sexual kind 

And he would probably notice if someone is crushing on him 

But like, if he likes them back? 

No 

Man is blind 

He’s too busy panicking over read denying his own thoughts and feelings over you to analyze your actions 

He’s busy trying to think of anything but how pretty you are when he sees you -thank you very much 

No joke though, this can be applied to pretty much anyone he cares about 

I mean he practically had a heart attack when Atsushi gave him flowers 

Anyways if he finally admits to himself that he likes you then I could see him trying to push you away if I’m being brutally honest 

He doesn’t want to lose you and he believes that anything he wants that he obtains, will be striped from him sooner or later 

But…, in a perfect world he would eventually work up the courage to ask you out 

He would probably avoid directly asking you but this is Dazai so he could defiantly figure out some round-about way to ask 

As for the relationship? 

He would still be his teasing self 

But he would tone it down 

Not because he doesn’t want to annoy you but more so because he actually lets some of his masks down when alone with you 

He defiantly is very clingy to you 

Man has been touch starved for a long time and he fears attachment too much to be touchy with the ADA members 

But now he has you, who not only tolerates him but has decided to stay with him? 

Of course he’s not going to let this chance slip from his grasp before all this inevitably ends (he’s still in denial) 

He never cared much for holidays like Christmas or Valentines 

But now he wants to experience them, with you 

He’s always thinking, plans and outcomes racing through his mind, what ifs and regrets  

But like, if you ruffle his hair, his brain just stops. 

Like no thoughts, he short circuits 

When his brain returned to him the first time it happened he panicked 

Like, who gave you that amount of control? 

After that first time he continued to try and get you to do it without asking 

He needed his brain to shut up every now and then, and now he has a reliable source 

Anyways, he likes to be a spoiled princess 

No one can change my mind 

For all his predictions he will never be able to predict your love and kindness for him 

CHUUYA 

Someone give this poor man a hug 

Ugh, my heart 

I can‘t imagine him wanting to date a normal citizen, too much of a risk 

So you’d probably have to work in the Mafia 

Even then, dating you would still be placing a huge target on you 

He would actually take you out on dates before asking you out 

Dates with him would be romantic 

Like dinner by candle light vibes 

He’d be strategic on where you guys sit 

No need to be precarious on what you order, it’s all on him 

When he does ask you out he would be slightly flustered but it just makes him adorable 

Say yes, he doesn’t deserve to be hurt any more 

He would spoil you to no end 

If you want it, you can have it 

You’re the only one allowed to call him short 

He might get flustered from PDA in the start but will gradually warm up to it 

Nothing clingy, just hand holding, a hand around your waist, a quick kiss here or there 

But if he sees some guy hitting on you? 

Down right possessive, arm snug around your waist, shoulder to shoulder 

And if he’s drunk? Even worse 

Like he’s pulling you onto his lap just to make sure that asshole knows your taken 

If you do work in the mafia with him, he likes going on easier missions with you 

And while he knows that you can handle yourself just fine, he can’t help but imagine something bad happening to you when he isn’t there to save you 

He’s lost too many people in his life, please, don’t leave him as well 

He loves when you rest your head on his chest and listen to his heartbeat 

And while you do that he’ll run his fingers through your hair 

Chuuya loves to spoil you rotten as I stated, it’s his love language 

So sometimes he’ll just hand you his black card and let you go shopping with friends or something 

In fact, he encourages you to buy what you want 

FYODOR 

Honestly? Where do I start with him? 

Like congratulations if you meet him and make it out alive 

I don’t know if I should congratulate him taking an interest in you though 

I feel like he believe that the interest he had in you was purely innocent curiosity 

But I also don’t think he would try to delude himself for as long as Dazai does 

Eventually he would notice that something was different about his interest for you than usual 

And while he would hesitate to put a name to it so quickly he would eventually give in after realizing there was no stoping this feeling from festering in him 

After coming to terms with his romantic? Feelings and interest in you he would definitely begin to manipulate you into feeling the same way for him 

If you don’t already that is 

If you don’t confess then he’ll definitely do the same thing Dazai did 

And when you agree, he of course knew you would, he makes you move in with him 

He can’t let his dearest other slip from his finger now can he? 

I feel like before ever getting into a relationship, you would have been made aware of his ‘work’  

Please, make sure the man eats 

And takes his iron pill 

Nikolai is getting a little tired of that daily routine despite how much he loves to be around Fyodor 

Anyways, dates aren’t a very common thing in fact, very, very rare 

I mean… what did you expect? 

Man’s a literal terrorist 

That being said, from time to time he’ll leave his ‘lair’ to spend time with you 

If you ask, he’ll gladly play the cello for you 

If he snaps at you for ‘bothering him with pointless things’ when you bring him his iron pill or food just listen 

Don’t bother him with such things 

And then same thing the next day 

And after some 4 or 5 days he’ll stumble from his room 

Staggering as he tries not to collapse or faint from both his lack of energy and his iron deficiency 

And when he walks into the kitchen trying to get the iron pill bottle open? 

Let him stumble his way over to you and ask for help before you finally do as such 

And he realizes just how dependent on you he’s become 

It’ll happen again eventually 

But as of that moment, it’ll at least be awhile before the cycle repeats 

(That last part of Fyodor’s was based upon some fanfic I read for him. I'm not sure who it was by, but I’ll tag it if and when I do find it.) 

A/N: anyways, believe it or not, I love Chuuya just as much as I do Fyodor and Dazai 

I’m just not as confident in his character. Since I’m a lot like Dazai, he comes easy to me and by substitute, Fyodor does as well 

But Chuuya? Despite him being one of my 5 favorites along with Dazai and Fyodor, I just don’t resonate personally enough with him to write him really well

[another-lost-mc]

When It's MC's Turn to Cook THE DEMON BROTHERS x gn!MC | 1.1k words | SFW Rating/Warnings: Mostly fluff and silliness. Some jealous/possessive behaviour if you squint. [ Obey Me! Masterlist ]

Belphegor

It’s not surprising that he’s the least interested in helping you in the kitchen since it’s exhausting cooking for so many hungry demons every night

He complains when it’s your turn to cook because it means he has to nap alone

He has trouble napping when you’re not with him, so he’ll wander into the kitchen with a yawn and ask if you need a hand (but you both know it’s a hollow offer - he’s just trying to be polite)

Depending on how sleepy he looks, the most you ask of him is to help you set the table 

Instead of returning to the attic for a restless sleep, he’ll simply go to your room instead where he can hear you in the kitchen while he tries to doze off

You let him know that dinner’s ready first by waking him up with a kiss, followed by relentless tickles if he still pretends to be asleep

Beelzebub

Cooking is challenging entertaining when Beel is around, but you need to strategize if you want food to actually make it to the table for everyone else

You have some quick snacks ready by the time he walks into the kitchen to see you - there are some sandwiches, cut up veggies and dip - light fare that won’t ruin his appetite but will keep his hands and mouth occupied

He’s one of the brothers that won’t shy away from making requests for certain meals, especially if there’s something he heard about that he wants to try (only if he thinks you’ll like too - he appreciates its hard work)

He likes going to the shops with you after class to help you pick out ingredients, and he’ll carry all the bags home without breaking a sweat 

Asmodeus

Asmo loves spending time with you in the kitchen, but he’s more like your personal cooking cheerleader than a hands-on helper

He sits on a stool nearby and keeps you company while being out of the way - this also prevents him from getting his clothes or hair dirty if something splatters or spills

He talks about new pictures and gossip he sees on Devilgram, and calls you over to look at his DDD when he comes across something really interesting or scandalous 

He knows you don’t like having your picture taken so he takes candid shots of your dinner-in-progress with your blurred form somewhere in the background 

You can guess when he’s posted something on Devilgram because more of his brothers (particularly Mammon) come and visit you in the kitchen shortly after

Satan

Satan is a fantastic partner in the kitchen when you’re in the mood to try cooking something new or adventurous

He learns about a lot of human world food from the books and TV shows, so sometimes he requests things even you haven’t cooked or eaten before

He likes to help you plan things ahead of time so he gathers a couple different recipe options to see which one you want to use

Once you’ve chosen the recipe, he goes through the ingredients and adjusts the amounts on your shopping list so it'll be enough to feed everyone + Beel + leftovers (if you can hide them from Beel fast enough, anyway)

Satan is skilled with a knife and eager to show off help with the prep work

If you ask him to teach you a particular technique, he stands behind you while he holds your hands in his as he guides you through the motions until he's satisfied you can repeat it safely

He has a short fuse if Mammon his brothers barge into the kitchen and flirt with distract you while you're cooking together

Leviathan

Levi is happy enough to sit in his room and wait until he’s called for dinner, cooking isn’t a task that appeals to him and he’d rather spend his time catching up on new anime releases 

Some days if he feels particularly social, he’ll sit on a chair like Asmo does and play his handheld while you cook

If you’re not sure what to make for dinner that night, usually you’ll ask Levi - he never asks for something that’s complicated or takes too long

More often than not, he suggests ordering takeout instead - the sooner you eat, the sooner you can play games with him

He likes to cuddle with you in his tub while you keep an eye on the delivery tracker app 

Mammon

Mammon isn’t the most skilled at food prep or cooking, but when his brothers aren’t around he’s with you in the kitchen the entire time you’re preparing dinner

After he’s helped chopped some vegetables for you, he brings them over with a faint blush on his cheeks and mumbles that it’s harder than it looks

He’ll flash you cocky smile when you tell him he’s done a wonderful job, and he says that’s why you should just ask him for help whenever you’re cooking instead of his brothers who obviously aren’t as gifted as he is

Sometimes you have to slap his hand away when he tries to stick his finger into a dish to taste it 

When you tell him to use a fork or spoon if he wants to sample something, he surprises you when he holds it to your mouth expectantly so you can have the first taste

It’s hard to resist when he offers you something you know he worked really hard to help you make, after all

You remind him to use a clean utensil for himself, but he pops yours into his mouth as soon as you look away

Later when you ask him how it tastes, he says it’s perfect (but he’s not referring to the food)

Lucifer

RAD business often keeps Lucifer on campus later than everyone else, so some nights you rarely see him before dinner is finished and served at the table

You’ve mentioned in the past how you had special family dinners on Sunday nights growing up, and when your cooking night falls on Sundays in the Devildom, you try to uphold the tradition

Lucifer is usually less busy on Sundays too, so cooking together to create more elaborate meals becomes something of a ritual you both take comfort in

He takes you to the market himself and helps you when you’re unsure of which Devildom ingredients to choose; he’s also more knowledgeable when it comes to choosing and cooking Devildom meats, so that is his responsibility the nights you cook together

It’s not practical to drag the record player into the kitchen, but music streams from your DDD while you both work quietly on prepping and cooking that night’s meal

Lucifer is surprisingly relaxed in the kitchen - the top buttons of his shirt are undone, his sleeves are rolled up, and he has an apron tied around his waist

When he works beside you at the counter or walks past you to retrieve something, you can feel his hand brush against you gently, an affectionate gesture that leaves a pleased smile on both your faces

[itwasthereaminuteago]

|| The Distraction ||

Matt Murdock x female reader

🚨🚨🚨 LOVE CONFESSIONS, IDIOTS IN LOVE, ITALICISED OH, AWOOGA AWOOGA! I made Frank a himbo sorry lol 🚨🚨🚨 IF U LIKE PLS REBLOG

You nonchalantly slink into the near-deserted bathrooms where Matt is waiting for you, holding out the passcard with a huge pleased smirk on your face, the music of the party fading as the door closes behind you.

“Piece of cake!” you say, but you don't miss the terse look on his face as he takes it from you. “What's the matter, Murdock? It's going to plan.”

Matt huffs out a short, strained laugh. “You were getting pretty friendly with that security guard.”

“Uh yeah, I kinda have to Matt, that's how I get the goodies, you know that.”

“Yeah,” he mumbles, and then with a slight hesitance, “but did you need to fawn all over him so much? It could have drawn unwanted attention. You could have been caught.”

You raise a brow. “I ‘accidentally’ bumped into him and apologised while i unclipped the pass, I wasn't fawning,” you hiss quietly in response. "Don't be so dramatic."

Matt rolls his eyes and leads you out of the other door at the opposite end of the restrooms, both of you quickly making your way towards the office you were intending to break into before the admittedly hot security guard realises that he's been duped.

“You were practically hanging off him, and you called him ‘big boy’…”

“You heard that? Well, did you see him?! He was massive!”

Matt grits his teeth as you both climb the back stairs, trying to hide the green seeping into his eyes. “You were squeezing his bicep, sweetheart. He liked it.”

“I was distracting him!”

“He was more than distracted by what you're wearing… I thought I said pick something simple.”

You shrug your shoulders, glancing down at the black sheath of close fitting fabric with strategic slashes and cutouts that clung to your body. “It is simple!” You defend as you near the room you're looking for. Matt listens for a moment, checking there’s no-one nearby and then swipes the card in the access panel, allowing you entry.

“He gave you his number…” he continues with a whisper, as you start searching the place for where the ledger might be.

“Yeah, well-” They usually always did.

“You put it in your purse.”

Your mouth opens wide at his accusing tone.

“Yeah I did, It's just for show, Matt! I'm not actually gonna call Frank!”

“Oh, it's Frank now is it? Why not? You seemed pretty into him.”

You stop feeling around the wall panels for any secret buttons and face up to Matt. This was nuts. You'd had enough of his ridiculous behaviour. He'd never acted so bothered before now.

“Fuck Matt, what the hell is with you tonight? You're never usually like this on missions!”

“Nothing, I'm just- it's nothing.” He bites his tongue and changes the subject. “Lets just find the book.”

You halt him, your hand firmly on his arm, turning him back to you as you step up closer. “Are you jealous?”

He scoffs, shaking his head. “Jealous? No… not-”

“Matt…” you jibe, a little smile on your lips as you see his neck flush with pink. “Aww, are you? That's so sw-”

You're cut off as Matt's hands reach past your waist, stepping in so close your noses are almost touching, almost taking your breath away with the sudden movement. Your ribcage rises and falls as your breathing becomes extremely shallow as you feel like you're waiting for a bomb to drop.

Matt lets out a sharp breath, tilting his head the tiniest amount to the side, his lips are mere millimetres away…

“Here.” He says flatly, lightly tapping the wooden paneling behind you. You swallow as he pulls his arms back but stays close.

"So..." You begin to say, but he cuts you off.

“Look, maybe… yeah, I am a little jealous,” he admits, and it's your turn to feel hot and bothered. “but we make a good team, and I don't ever want to compromise that if me having… feelings for you isn't something you're happy about.”

Your eyes flicker as you look at his face. He's entirely serious as far as you can tell, waiting for you to say something in response. There were a million things you could say, you had always had a little hidden flame burning for Matt but he had always kept your team ups so professional you never thought there was a chance that you could ever actually date. Yeah, there was the occasional sassy or silly banter you shared and adored, you loved his sense of humour, but you never dared hope that he might feel the same way towards you as you did for him. But now this thing, tonight, was a complete revelation. A bolt from the blue. You didn't think you had ever seen him so nervous confessing to you.

You have to say something, anything.

“Matty,” you breathe in a whispered tone, “we have to get the ledger and get out of here before someone finds us!”

Fuck. You feel so awful. This was completely the wrong moment for confessions and realisations that you might just be each other's lobster but you really had to hurry the fuck up and get gone.

Matt's shoulders slump slightly as he backs up, and you move to give him room to open the safe behind the secret door and retrieve the thing you came for in the first place.

“Alright, hide this in your purse and let's go.” is all he says.

The two of you casually walk out of the gala with no-one any wiser. Your arm is hooked around his and you pull him sharply into an alleyway once you're a couple of blocks away.

“Hey! What are you-” Matt starts, but you shh him.

“Matty, listen to me. I don't want Frank the security guard or the beautiful Elektra who works at the bar,”

Matt lifts his head, slightly confused as to where you're going with this. “Uh, okay…”

“because I'm glad you're jealous, I'm actually fucking ecstatic because when you flirt with other people I'm jealous too!”

“Oh.” he replies, "Oh..." the corner of his mouth tugging up into that familiar smile that always makes you melt inside.

“Matty, I have feelings for you too. I just never thought that in a million years you'd ever be interested in me that way!”

Matt can't help bursting out with laughter. “you'd think us working together for this long we'd be a lot better at communicating.“ he jokes.

“Yeah, just a bit.” you chuckle in response.

You're both standing so close together again, your fingers brushing the lapels of his coat, but you're not gonna let the moment get away this time.

“Can I-” Matt starts to say...

“Kiss me?” You finish for him. He immediately swoops forwards, his hands coming up to frame your face as soft lips press against your own, his thumbs stroking and caressing your cheek and jaw as you experience something that never thought would happen between you. Your own hands snake around his shoulders and neck as he kisses you deeper as your nails scratch at the shorter hair at his nape as you grab for him. The tip of his tongue teases along the line of your mouth, and you open to let him in, a soft moan escaping as he probes deeper, tongue dancing sensually with your own. You press up against him, the sculpted muscle that you had only ever seen from afar now right beneath your fingertips, Matt seemingly feeling the same excitement at being able to touch you as one hand holds you at your waist under your coat and the other comes up gently behind your head to pull you even closer. When you finally break for breath you're both grinning like idiots.

“Maybe we should get back to mine?” You suggest, panting ever so slightly, your eyes dilated and almost as black as the shadows in the alley around you. “We need to get this book somewhere safe, and uh, yeah, I think my place is pretty safe.”

Matt gently leans his forehead against yours, an exhalation leaving his nose in an amused puff of air. “Yeah, totally safe, that's uh… a really good plan.”

You can't wait. You want to get him back to your apartment and kiss him some more, and... maybe other things...

You can't help yourself, angling your head and kissing him again. He's such a fucking good kisser. It's starting to rain. You should really get a cab.

“We should get a cab.” Matt eventually says for you, still focussed on kissing along your jaw to the spot just below your ear and then making his way down your neck as your legs feel like they're about to give out from the bliss you're feeling.

“Mmhm!” is about all you manage before he's guiding you back towards the wet main street and hailing a taxi. Once you're in and it pulls away, you put your hand into your purse, rummaging around and then winding down the window to throw something out.

“Hey, what was that?” Matt asks as you roll the window up and lean into him in the back seat.

“Frank's number.” you reply.

“You sure you don't need that?” Matt checks.

“Yeah, I'm pretty sure.” you smile.

[zweiginator]

all this boy bestfriend patrick content is so yummy. it’s like a fun little au

the drama…the tension…YUM i am eating it up

i have so many thoughts…like does reader get jealous too? when does patrick finally tell her? how does their relationship progress after that?

Patrick is open about his jealousy to anyone and everyone who will listen. He will go on dates with girls to try to take his mind off of the fact that you’re on a date of your own and he will talk about you … the entire time.

Patrick will strategically plan a date around yours, desperate to make you jealous. Your date is running late; you’re sitting alone at a booth when in comes Patrick and his new girl-of-the-week. She’s pretty and you’ve met her before—but something about her is pissing you off today.

And you sit up straighter to wave at him. Since when does he wear nicely pressed shirts and why is his hand on her lower back? But he pretends not to see you.

Patrick actually has a good time on the date; they’re laughing and he holds her hand under the table the whole time. Your date showed up twenty five minutes late and you didn’t really pay attention to him. You were busy counting the amount of times Patrick leaned forward to brush his date’s hair away from her face or feigned a laugh at a shitty joke she made.

The next time you and Patrick hang out you’re a complete brat. Giving him the silent treatment, facing away from him in the car in a way that is so deliberate that it’s pissing Patrick off.

“What the fuck did I do?” He asks you.

You shrug. “Why don’t you go to your girlfriend’s house? It’s rude to hang out with other girls when you’re taken.”

Patrick stifles a smile. “My girlfriend? Who would that be?”

“Don’t play stupid.”

“That girl I took to the Italian restaurant?” He asked, holding his hand out for you to give him a sour patch kid.

You gave him four of his least favorite flavor.

“So you knew I was there!” You shove him. “I knew it. Why did you ignore me?” Now your lip is wobbling and god, why are you acting like this and having a fucking temper tantrum? You were on a date too.

“Sweetheart,” Patrick says, mid chew. “We were both on dates.”

“But she’s not your girlfriend?” You ask. You sound so stupid and desperate.

“No. And he’s not your boyfriend?”

You shake your head, until you realize he’s busy looking at the road and he can’t see you. “No he’s not.”

“I’m supposed to go on another date with her tonight.” Patrick says it like a confession. And it’s scary for him to open up this can of worms. His heart is beating out of his chest but the way your eyes were watering, how big and glassy they are—it makes him think maybe he isn’t delusional anymore.

“Oh.” You say, softly.

“But maybe I should take you out.” You didn’t realize where you were, that the car had stopped. He took you to your middle school tennis courts. There was a tree by a picnic table where Patrick had etched your and his name into the bark inside of a heart, 11 years before. You had never seen this before.

“On a date?” You ask. Patrick rubs his thumb over your hand, nodding.

“Yeah, on a date. I’m going to be honest, if I see you go on another date with one of those douchebags that always asks you out you’re gonna have to bail me out of jail.”

You lean in to give him a kiss, but he closes his lips. “Oh, I’d never kiss a girl before taking her out. That’s rude.”

You slap his arm. “You’re a piece of shit.”

And the thing about Patrick is if you asked his former girlfriends and lovers about him they would say he’s annoying and self-centered and not very romantic. But he is for you. And he uses all of the restraint in his body to wait to fuck you. It’s not like you’re not begging him to. He lasts for three weeks and 5 days before he can’t take it anymore.

[the-cat-and-the-birdie]

I had coffee my thoughts are all over the place it's not gonna make sense and I'm probably gonna change my mind about some of the things I said later but here's my ramble.

I'm so mad right now. There's so many things that piss me off with Peter B. I keep thinking about all the mess he keeps pulling throughout the first and the second movie. The fact that he betrayed Miles not once but twice BUT THREE TIMES (typing Miles up in ITSV, not telling him about the Spider Society or that he was an anomaly, CALLING HQ ON HIM BECAUSE HE WANTED TO SAVE HIS FATHER. Technically that's 4 but moving on.)

He refuses to acknowledge Miles as a fellow spider(which is probably why he didn't feel bad about finding Miles was an anomaly now he has a reason to not take Miles seriously.) And he keeps trying to insert himself into a mentor role when he's yet to do a whole lot of mentoring. What also throws me here is how he had the audacity to say the trauma builds character while being a mentor to help guide Miles into becoming Spiderman so Miles' could avoid the mistakes that Peter made.

I WILL NEVER BE OVER THAT CHAIR SCENE IN ITSV. How is it you as a grown man. A grown white man no less took a black teenage boy who you viewed as so much of a liability that you had to tie him up. And I know multiple people have talked about everything that's wrong with this scene but there's still something so haunting about watching him just nonchalantly be tied up kicking and screaming about how he wants to be let go that bothers me so much. And I find it hard to believe that this was just a scene we're supposed to just move on from. Did they do this on purpose? Was this supposed to showcase something about Peter's character that I'm not picking up on? Because I find it so hard to believe that the writers who made sure to explicitly show how Gwen's Peter is Christian because he later turns into a lizard wouldn't understand the implications of this scene.

I also don't think he's a strategic as he thinks he is. What do you think was going to happen when you forcefully tied this boy to a chair? You thought he was going to sit still? Also would you think the boy who's trying to save his father was going to do? Actually listen to your words? Sit back and be like, oh you're right I should just let my father die. (This is me going off my reasoning that he didn't plan out that one scene in ATSV. I think that he thought that because he's Miles' "mentor" he could get through to him in a way others can't. Which pretentious much?) His actions do more harm than good and it just works out for him somehow. (For instance Miles saving them in ITSV because he came late.)

These are my thoughts do with this what you will. All the stars decided to align today ig because I haven't been able to come up with coherent thoughts like this in a minute.

(I really need to rewatch itsv. So if there's anything here that I'm wrong about regarding itsv it's been like 5 years since I've seen it.)

I GET THISS SOOO HARD (I waited until I had coffee to answer this lol)

BUT YESSSSS Because like I can understanding giving Peter the benefit of the doubt, it makes plausible sense for a movie to have a certain amount of wiggle room plot wise.

But with writers who clearly understood punk enough to accurately show it in Hobie's arc, repeatedly put in the work to respect Cockney and Puerto Rican culture, who wrote every one of Hobie's lines with PERCISION - would just overlook the glaring hole in their story that is Peter.

Because we as a viewer are continually told we SHOULD look up to him and we SHOULD trust him - but in doing so they accidentally make him the exact opposite. Like.. It doesn't make sense to me.

The Focus on Jess & The Absence of Peter:

aka GODDAMN I hate Peter B. Parker [yet another rant about 'bad' writing, plotholes, and Peter not showing up for Miles or Gwen.

For example,

Jess is Gwen's mentor, and we see her mentor style is extremely different from Peter's and that's suppose to be a contrasting dynamic between them and the relationship between Miles and Peter. Okay, makes sense.

But by NOT having Peter be Gwen's mentor, the writers are implying that he didn't step up as an emotional mentor when all this given - HE SHOULD. Because he's the only adult that she knows, and she a freshly homeless teen who needs to be around people she trusts, rather than working at a society with an auditorium of adults.

But by trying to show off how much we should judge Jess, the writers have inadvertently given us a Peter who just..didn't take responsibility. That's what they're implying - that Hobie and Jess were the ones who came to get aid. And we're suppose to look the other way. I... can't do that, sir.

"Look at how mean Jess is, why not blame her-" Jess is doing her job. Where's the adult she actually knows and trusts. Can we get some dialogue about what he did for her? Or did he just do nothing?

Did they just forget to include that, or did Peter just forget to help?

For me, that's two points in the bucket. Not housing Gwen, and not being her mentor. He could've done one, the other or both.

But because he didn't, we're left asking "What WAS he doing in the Society?"

Missions, I assume. Cause he wasn't mentoring her, so he must have been off putting in legit work for Miguel, I assume.

If we're looking at the characters as full-rounded - which I would hope they are considering the depth of Gwen, Miles and Hobie, it's not a large jump to ask 'How involved was Peter in Gwen's time at the Society? Why is he not her mentor, or why is she not living with him?"

Gwen..should be staying with him. If you're an adult who knows a teen and they become homeless, and it is within your means - yeah, I do think it's a moral obligation to open your home to them, at least temporarily. If you care about them. But that aside, let's extend the benefit of the doubt. Maybe Gwen didn't want to see him.

But then the ratting Miles out thing. This, I can't get around-

Some may say that it was simply for plot development and that Lyla spoke suddenly as a mistake on her part.

And I gotta call bullshit.

Firstly, because this is the same movie where we're shown Hobie stealing parts prior to learning what the parts are for. The same film that literally animated a fight accurately to Bushwick down to the very street. Let's cut it some slack here.

And moreso - I could understand the justification that it was a mistake on Lyla's part.

If Lyla was human. She's not.

She's an AI, and a very sophisticated one at that. Lyla runs on protocol, because that's AI's do. She's made to do things the way that is mathematically most effective, based on her analysis and her code.

It's easy to see Lyla as just an avatar, and a comedic one at that - but Lyla is literally one of - if not the - smartest 'person' in the multiverse. She's the only one who can track Spot in real time. If Jess and Miguel need aid on a mission or with Spot, they call Lyla. And she's handled every Society mission prior to the chase.

Her speaking out of turn suddenly and giving Peter away is an understandable plot mistake, if she was subjected to human mistakes.

So far, Lyla isn't. It doesn't make sense, based on what Lyla is.

I think Lyla would know better than to give Peter away suddenly by detecting Miles' presence and still speaking out loud.

A lot ask 'What motive does Peter have for ratting Miles out?', but we also should also ask "What motive does Lyla have for ratting herself out?'

It's her goal to find Miles no matter what. She doesn't care, she kinda can't - she's an AI. She just has to find him and send Miles' location to Miguel. Her objective.

So her locating Peter without his knowledge and then giving herself away to him doesn't make sense - especially if Lyla knew Miles was that close, from a human standpoint and definitely from the standpoint of the most sophisticated AI in existence.

So I was under the assumption that - like you mentioned now, that before when he gets Miles alone, he may genuinely be trying to convince him still, but by the time they get into that space, I think that's around the time that it becomes a 'Okay, let's just get Miles back to HQ and talk about this' situation.

He genuinely ratted Miles out. In my eyes.

Because at this point, Miguel hasn't assaulted Miles. That comes later. So realistically speaking, his goal was probably to calm Miles down, and get him back to HQ however he could, and talk to him there.

Peter could've helped WAYYYY earlier.

People give Peter credit like 'Oh but he came over to Miles' side at the end-'

NO. YOU DO NOT GET A COOKIE.

Peter could've helped SO much earlier, and if anything, he was THE ONLY ONE in a position of helping.

Gwen can't do anything, like they physically restrain her when she tries to. And there's no point after they come to HQ that Gwen has the chance to turn around and help Peter.

Gwen doesn't get that chance. Peter DOES.

Had Peter helped Miles HERE, IMMEDIATELY, Miles would've gotten away without being assaulted by Peter.

If Peter had turned around and changed course in this moment, Miles would have been better off.

Fuck Peter B. Fuckkkkk hiiiimmmmm. NAWWWWWW

If Peter had let him go here, or helped him escape - Miles wouldn't have been taking hits up on that train. That's crazzzy.

But he wasn't trying to help Miles escape. If he wanted to, he would've. He could've just said "Matter of fact Miles, I think setting the WHOLE Society on you is a bizarre move and you should probably get out of here until Miguel can calm down and I can talk to him."

But he was like 'Nah, hold my baby. Matter of fact lemme tell you story in this pivotal moment when you're actively in danger. Here, look at me. What do you mean - I'm not stalling? I didn't rat him out on purpose.

Like either you did. And even if you didn't you didn't help him when you were literally the only person in the universe who could. In fact, he got away slower because of you. Lovely.

Peter is a grown man. He's not an idiot.

He knows Miles is in active danger. Why would an adult turn the conversation in that direction - about his baby - KNOWING Miles has no time.

As soon as Miles got his hands on MayDay, Peter is trying to change the conversation. Suddenly he's joking and laughing.

Even though Miles is freaking out. Why is Peter joking? He knows this isn't a joking situation. But here he is wasting Miles time, either accidentally or intentionally.

Because that'd be some good ass stalling.

There was nothing stopping Peter from helping him leave. But Peter was still on The Society's side, so he didn't. If he was on Miles' side, he would've helped him. He should've, but he was still for Miguel, because at this point Miguel hadn't assaulted Peter yet.

Congrats, Peter. Big L. Humbling Reality Spider-man everyone.

Like combine all this. AND THEN THE SCENE IN ITSV.

LITERALLY AND PHYSICALLY PETER IS ALWAYS HOLDING MILES BACK.

You cannot expect me to believe that the writers of a movie I can write 10k+ words about, just so happened to leave these two glaring plot holes for ONE character.

That I'm just suppose to ignore that Peter restrained Miles, a black boy, in ITSV. That he betrayed Miles for months, wasn't very active in Gwen's time at the Society, and he actively hinders Miles escape - if not actively ratting him out.

It baffles my mind.

It doesn't make sense, that these writers can write Hobie, Jessica, Miguel, Officer Stacy, Rio, and Jeff as fully rounded, well-thought characters. But for some reason, when it comes SPECIFICALLY to Peter B. - they just forget how to write. They just stop thinking about him the second they don't look at him.

IN BOTH MOVIES?

I don't buy it.

To have every other character be thoroughly thought through but have one of, if not these most iconic character full of plot holes...

I think the likely answer is they wrote him that way on purpose and he's just a bad person.

I'm sorry, and I'm laughing while writing this but like.

Either Peter is the ONE singular character who has a series of emotional plotholes - or he's just a bad mentor. It's one or the other. And it's open to interpretation.

But I wanna cut the writers some slack and say, No - they thought it through. And No, Lyla did not just randomly speak out of turn, he contacted her first off-screen before she replied to him.

And by waiting till the very end to come around, waiting until the person who looks up to you is deeply wounded to finally turn around - that's the same arc Officer Stacy goes through.

And we're not supposed to clap for him. It's lovely, but he doesn't get an award. And neither does Peter, not at all.

Maybe if had helped Miles escape in that moment. Maybe if he was Gwen's mentor or he housed her.

But as far as we know he spent those months of Gwen in the Society doing fuck all. We've seen no sign of his contribution anywhere.

And in a story about mentorship, that says something.

Anyway. This is long. Again fiosfgihrgirturetuier I'm SORRY

Once again, Fuck Peter B. All my Hobies hate Peter B. (not a typo)

He's worse than Jess.

And he's not worse than Miguel but I like Miguel more and it's not because of the ass that's just a bonus Miguel is cool (but also very wrong. but like personality wise we're cool).

Ummm I feel like I got off track here. Oh well!!

Damn he be doing Miles dirty. SMH

Bye.

[accirax]

initial thoughts on DCAS episode 18

it means that you have to vow to love and cherish him in sickness and in health, for better or for wo--

...? like, i know that some of Riya's 9 wins are definitely due to the Yellow Team, but especially when combined with Riya's tendencies to sabotage and cheat her way through the game, i truly fail to see how Ally could possibly be considered the bigger threat. Jake when he's lying.

was anybody else really confused by them using the wrong rig in this scene? the hair tie already fell off AND Riya picked it up, there's no way it should still be on Connor's ankle.

i'm glad to see that Ally and Connor can still have fun together despite it all :)

see, and then this plan ALSO doesn't make sense because (if the animation rig was correct) Ally and Connor should have assumed that the hair tie found on the ground was the same one that fell off of Connor's ankle, meaning the Jake and Riya had equal opportunity to destroy the challenge. and in that case it DEFINITELY would have been Riya!!!

Derek and Trevor have been camping together before? that's not typically something you do with just a coworker. how long have these two actually known each other?

this line KILLED ME when i first watched it in the episode. "i need to take a break to spend time with the ones that matter, which definitively doesn't include you, pseudo-boyfriend. :) mind if i abandon you here while i hang out with people i like better than you? which includes a haunted marionette?"

genius reason to explain why Ally has Ashley, actually.

the fuck else was she supposed to do at this dead end

LET'S GO YAU MAN LOGIC!!! this has to be a reference to Survivor, right? although, my sister said that Yau Man advised people to hug the right wall.

I THOUGHT YOU GOT OVER THIS!!!!!!

this was really fun, actually :)

okay, so, uh... i didn't like this turn of events, obviously. i understand what they were going for: they wanted to re-raise the tension between Jake and Ally before the finale, both so that it's more up in the air of whether they can come together to defeat Riya, and to up the personal stakes if the finale does end in a 1-v-1 Jake vs Ally showdown. however, they shouldn't have done that by making Jake's character suddenly regress this hard out of nowhere.

i've enjoyed how Jake's character development has been taking a "two steps forward, one step back approach," because it feels more realistic than Jake only ever becoming a better person and never making any mistakes after he realized that he had a problem. however, this close to the end of the show, the viewers need to feel like the time that they've invested in watching Jake grow actually means something. if we think he's finally about to take one step forward to cross the finish line and instead he suddenly starts running backwards towards the start, we're going to start to question why we were ever rooting for him to win in the first place.

i know that part of the issue here is that i'm not taking into account that Jake may have preferred for Riya to win immunity over Ally, but as i explained beforehand, that decision doesn't make any sense. it especially doesn't make sense when the last thing we JUST saw with Jake was questioning if Connor would even want to keep Jake in the game over Ally. sure, you might prefer it if Riya wins and then you vote out Ally, but if you're insecure enough to believe that Connor might instead send the votes your way, it's smarter to play it safe and all vote for the easy target. Connor would obviously vote for Riya, and Jake could as well, meaning that in that situation Jake gets thrown into a tiebreaker at worst.

therefore, that means that this decision was a purely emotional one as opposed to a strategic one (as they tried to brand it), meaning that it feels like Jake has learned nothing despite copious amounts of time spent teaching him things. i don't think this was a good writing decision at all.

this was crazy actually. shouldn't she go to jail for this? either way, ConRiya is so over.

just want to reiterate that i don't have a conceptual problem with Jake regressing at all, i just don't think that he should have done it that hard or for seemingly no reason.

WAIT YEAH SHE'S OUTRIGHT SAYING IT HERSELF! how the hell is Ally a bigger threat than Riya?!

this is really interesting staging. despite being the one threatening Connor, Riya is smaller and lower in the frame. that makes the viewer subconsciously think that she has less power, which is kind of true, given that her villainous attitude has destroyed all of the lasting relationships she could have had. i wonder if it was intentional or not.

dude didn't you see the lie detector helmet challenge?

what happened... to you being worried that Connor would take Ally instead of you... and feeling remorse after being rude to Connor... and overall being insecure and anxious.......

alright, so despite my earlier complaining, i actually really like the decision to have Connor quite here. because, it's true, he couldn't win after his foot got broken! Connor's overall character arc has been accepting that he's aged and he can't always keep up with the young folks, so entrusting Riya's defeat to the younger generation is fitting. there are also some mirrors to how he felt that, with his business, a lot of power was handed to him that he didn't deserve, so now in the game he's taking that sentiment and stepping down from the blessed role of easily being taken to the final 3. speaking of parallels, there's also obviously the parallel between Connor quitting the game to save Riya in season 2, and now quitting the game in an attempt to ensure Riya's loss in season 3. that part is really fun!

i was really not enjoying this episode at the time that Riya won immunity, but with this ending, i'm a lot more positive/neutral on it overall. i think that the ending they wound up at is an ending well worth telling, but in many cases, the sacrifices they made along the way to get to this ending weren't necessarily worth it.

this screencap is pretty hype, ngl. also, as @venus-is-thinking again pointed out, it is true that this season started with 18 contestants, 6 of which were former finalists. thus, mathematically, it makes sense that 1/3 finalists before would be finalists again. i still overall wish that Riya wasn't a repeat finalist, but hopefully Riya's ~amazing~ performance in the finale will cause me to take back my words. not amazing winner, mind you. just amazing in terms of entertainment and payoff.

Derek has just been, like, a really cool dude for the latter half of this season. no wonder he has the moves to pick up Kristal and Trevor.

add another tally to the kiss jumpscare tally, boys!

this was very sweet, and also an indicator that krisrek is TOTALLY dead as a (canon) ship. to be honest, i wonder if they're supposed to have essentially broken up already, what with Kristal's exclusion of Derek as someone who matters. that would be a great instance of subtle storytelling.

[paralleljulieverse]

70th anniversary of Mountain Fire Liverpool / Leeds / Bournemouth / Birmingham 30 performances (18 May 1954 - 12 June 1954)

This month marks the 70th anniversary of a significant, if curious, milestone in the early career of Julie Andrews: her 'straight' theatrical debut in Richardson and Berney's Mountain Fire. A notorious flop, Mountain Fire lasted barely 30 performances in a month-long provincial tryout, closing ahead of a planned West End bow. The play would likely have sunk without a trace were it not for the fact that its female lead was on the cusp of international stardom.

While the ill-fated Mountain Fire was on the road, it was formally announced that Julie Andrews had been signed to helm the Broadway cast of The Boy Friend (Chit Chat 1954, p. 8; Mackenzie 1954, p. 4). The stark contrast between the disastrous failure of Mountain Fire and the star-making success of The Boy Friend has become part of the mythology of Julie Andrews' career. Even the Dame herself is fond of playing up the angle. "I had done one bomb in England," she recounts in a 1966 interview, "an incredible disaster...between Cinderella and The Boy Friend. I accepted a very limited engagement, thank God, and played a Southern belle from Tennessee...I can't tell you what went on. It was a disaster" (Newquist 1966, p. 141).

Four decades later in her 2008 memoirs, Julie was still cringing over the experience:

"The truth was, the play was not good, and although the company tried to make it work, we all sensed it was going to be a flop. I also knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that had the eminent London critic Kenneth Tynan seen my performance, it would have been the end of any career I hoped to have. Mercifully, Mountain Fire folded out of town" (Andrews 2008, 160).

Legitimate, at last!

Self-deprecatory humour aside, Julie actually received very good notices for her efforts in Mountain Fire. The Stage declared: "Julie Andrews scores a particularly fine dramatic success in her first serious portrayal, as the ill-starred Becky, bringing rare maturity to the difficult and exacting role" ('American folk play' 1954, p. 10). The Liverpool Echo similarly enthused: "Julie Andrews scores a personal triumph as the young girl and, in her first 'straight' role, reveals herself as accomplished an actress as she is a singer" (H.R.W. 1954, p. 5). While the Yorkshire Evening Post opined: "Julie Andrews gives a beautiful and moving performance as the luckless Becky" (Bradbury 1954, p. 8). Though the production might not have panned out as anticipated, Mountain Fire was a strategic step in Julie's ongoing pivot from child stardom to adult performer. Much was made in show publicity about Julie’s "graduation" from juvenile entertainment to mature dramatic fare:

"Brilliant stage and film children are always a little heartbreaking. So few of them amount to anything after they have reached the colt stage...One of the most happy exceptions is Julie Andrews--the once plain little girl with buck teeth, a slight squint and pigtails who astonished us all by singing operatic numbers in a sweet, clear coloratura when she had reached the ripe age of 12...Now, Julie is to make her debut as a straight actress in a new American play to be presented here by Peter Cotes...called Mountain Fire...Cotes says: 'Julie has a wonderful role and I believe her to be a young actress with great possibilities.'...[A]s she has both singing and dancing to do in her first straight play, this might well be the chance of a lifetime for grown-up Miss Andrews" (Frank 1954, 6).

'A hill-billy Bible story'

Mountain Fire couldn't have represented a more "grown-up" change for Julie. Billed as a "new play with music in 14 scenes", it was the latest offering from rising American playwrights -- and cousins -- Howard Richardson and William Berney. The pair had scored an early success with Dark of the Moon (1945), a fantasy verse play about witchcraft, love, and social intolerance in colonial-era Appalachia. They followed with a second collaboration, Design for a Stained Glass Window (1949) about religious persecution and martyrdom (Duncan 1966, p. S-7; Fisher 2021, p. 248-49).

Mountain Fire trod similarly heavy dramatic ground with a mix of religion, Southern Gothic stylings, and social commentary. Described by one critic as "a hill-billy Bible story", the play was an allegorical retelling of the Abrahamic legend of Sodom and Gomorrah with the "cities of the plains" transposed to "rival colonies of mountain dwellers" in the backwoods of eastern Tennessee (Mackenzie 1954, p. 4).

The scriptural elements of human wickedness and divine retribution were adapted into a laundry-list of stock Southern vices: a Hatfield-McCoy style feud, moonshine, teen pregnancy, arson, murder and, even, a Ku-Klux-Klan lynching ('New American Musical' 1954, p. 12). Punctuating this cavalcade of backwoods iniquity was a series of Greek choric tableaux where Lucifer and the Archangel Gabriel, dressed in mountainfolk mufti, debate the spiritual problems of the characters on stage.

At the heart of this heady mix, Julie was cast in the "Lot's wife" role of Becky Dunbar, a winsome but headstrong teenage mountain girl described in the script as "grow'd up wild as onion weed" (Richardson and Berney, 1954, Act 1, Scene 2, n.p.). Becky finds herself pregnant after a brief dalliance with Joe Morgan, a charming but unscrupulous travelling salesman. She is torn between her passion for Joe and her moral duty to Lot Johnson, a virtuous widower who marries her because "it's the Christian thing to do" (Richardson and Berney, 1954, Act 1, Scene 5, n.p.).

Julie often jokes that "You've never heard a worse Southern accent than mine" (Newquist 1966, p. 141) -- and the script's hillbilly argot certainly would have proved a challenge to her crisp Home Counties consonants and rounded vowels. Becky's very first line, for example, is: "I ain't been gallivantin', just skimmin' rocks at Turkey Creek" (Richardson and Berney, 1954, Act 1, Scene 2, n.p.). Not exactly typical RP phraseology!

On a less challenging note, the show also featured a series of musical interludes with ritual dances and allegorical songs. Sporting titles like "Lullaby to an Unborn Child", "The World is Wide" and "Oh, It's Dark in the Grave", the musical numbers may not have been cheery toe-tapping ditties, but reviewers typically singled out Julie's singing as an all-too-rare highlight.

"Julie Andrews..prov[es] her undisputed musicianship by taking one song on high E flat, solus, and in perfect tune," marvelled one reviewer (Bradbury, 1954, p. 8). Another chimed: "We are inclined to think poorly of Becky until we realise how well she is to be played by Julie Andrews...Sodom and Gomorrah...seem to sweeten because of her presence... and she sings very pleasantly on the few occasions afforded to her" ('Midland entertainments,' 1954, p. 17). Given the Biblical source material, the story of Mountain Fire could only end in grand tragedy. And, lo, by play's end the backcountry villages have been consumed by fire and our poor Julie is turned to salt. If naught else, the last scene of Mountain Fire certainly gave Julie a scenery-chewing finale for her straight dramatic debut:

LOT (Offstage): Remember the warning, Becky! Don't look back! The hoot of the owl is heard. BECKY starts up the hill. She stops, hesitates, almost looks back. Music builds. Again she goes forward, stops, almost looks back. Music continues to build. The third time she turns and does look back. Music crescendo. The lights dim, then rise again. BECKY has become salt. She lies motionless reaching towards JOE. Blackout CURTAIN (Richardson and Berney, 1954, Act 1, Scene 2, n.p.)

From Sodom, Tennessee to the Scepter'd Isle

The background saga of bringing Mountain Fire to the stage was almost as feverish as the storyline. The play began life in 1950 when Richardson and Berney completed their first working script under the original title of Sodom, Tennessee.

The play was initially optioned by Jack Segasture, a 23-year-old would-be Broadway producer who had managed Richardson and Berney's previous work, Design for a Stained Glass Window. That production proved a misfire, closing after just 8 performances, but Segasture was keen to back the playwrights for a second attempt at Broadway success (Watt, 1950, p. 47). 

In the summer of 1950, Segasture mounted a series of workshops of Sodom, Tennessee at various regional Pennyslvania theatres (Talley 1950, p. VI-13). Reviewing one of these early work-in-progress performances, the critic for Variety ventured that "with some doctoring, [it] may have possibilities for Broadway, where it is headed" ('Review: Sodom Tennessee', 1950, p. 40). In late-1950, Segasture announced that Sodom, Tennessee was set to start rehearsals the following January ahead of an anticipated New York opening in the spring ('Set Broadway", 1950, p. 26). Robert Perry was contracted to direct, with Robert Lowery and Jean Parker in discussions for the leads ('Film player,' 1951, p. 57). However, in April 1951, Segasture was suddenly drafted into the Army, and plans for the production were promptly scuttled ('Producer drafted,' 1951, p. 15C).

Over the next few years, various attempts were made to resurrect Sodom, Tennessee, but with little progress. In mid-1953, a lifeline came in the form of a pair of second generation producers: David Aldrich, son of famed producer, Richard Aldrich -- a.k.a. Mr Gertrude Lawrence to fans of STAR! -- and Anna Deere Wiman, daughter of Dwight Deere Wiman and heiress to the John Deere family fortune (Shanley, 1953, p. 10). Wiman had come into a sizeable inheritance on her father's death and she effectively bankrolled much of the production's initial $80,000 investment (Franklin, 1953, p. 9-E). Wiman and Aldrich tapped Peter Cotes -- a British director who had scored a recent New York success with A Pin to See the Peepshow -- to take on directorial duties (Calta, 1953, p. 14). They also invited Pulitzer-prize winning composer, Lamar Stringfield, to write the musical score ('Stringfield asked,' 1953, p. 7). At one stage, the producers were allegedly in discussions with none other than Marilyn Monroe to make her Broadway debut in the role of Becky but, wisely perhaps, she declined (Winchell 1953, p. 19).

In early 1954, plans for Sodom, Tennessee underwent a dramatic change. For reasons unknown, Aldrich was suddenly out of the production team. In his place, director Peter Cotes was promoted to co-producer status with Wiman. Possibly because Cotes was British, it was decided to relocate the production across the Atlantic and launch the show in the UK ('News of the theater' 1954, p. 6). Another factor was that production costs were lower in the UK than New York, something which would see the American Wiman remain as a London-based producer for several years (Hatwell 1957, p. 19; Wilson 1956, p. 10). Additionally, Richardson and Berney's earlier work, Dark of the Moon had enjoyed a fairly successful West End run in 1949, so the producers possibly reasoned that the new show might fare similarly well with English theatregoers (Darlington, 1949, p. 5).

Either way, Sodom, Tennessee was now set to make its world premiere in England -- though still with hopes of an eventual New York transfer ('Romantic comedy,' 1954, p. 17C).

'Not fit for the marquee of a British theatre'

Once the production team hit London, they set about preparing the play for its British bow. The first thing to go was the title.

Up until 1968, British censorship laws required all plays intended for public performance to be submitted to the Lord Chamberlain's Office for review and approval (Shellard et al, 2004). It seems the Lord Chamberlain did not approve of a play called Sodom, Tennessee, "an immoral name not fit for the marquee of a British theatre". Initially, the production team toyed with Brimstone as an alternative title, but finally settled on Mountain Fire (Talley, 1954, p. VI-5).

It was also decided that the show needed a musical overhaul. Some incidental music had been composed for earlier iterations, including piecemeal efforts by Lamar Stringfield. One or two of these pieces were retained but, for the most part, the producers opted for a new score. For this task, they contracted Stefan de Haan, a young German musician and composer who had come to study in the UK after the war and stayed on to work with various regional orchestras. De Haan not only composed a new score for Mountain Fire, including three new songs for Julie, but also signed on as music director and conductor (Bradbury 1954, p. 4).

Other key creative appointments were Michael Stringer as set designer and Daphne Kiernander as choreographer. Stringer came to the project fresh from working on the hit Rank comedy, Genevieve (1953), and a host of other film and theatre productions. He designed darkly stylised sets for all 14 scenes of the play, as well as orchestrating special effects for the final destruction sequence (Bishop 1954, p. 8). Kiernander was a classically trained ballerina who had performed as a principal in many West End shows and revues before shifting to choreography. For Mountain Fire, she created two set dances, broadly patterned on 18th century folk dances, and oversaw general staging for the songs ('Chit Chat', 1954, p. 8).

In early April 1954, Howard Richardson and William Berney arrived in London to help make revisions to the script. They also served as dialect coaches for the cast (Talley 1954, p. VI-5). During this early rehearsal period, Julie worked closely with Cotes' actress wife, Joan Miller who, as Julie relates, "tried to help me find the nuances that were needed for the part" (Andrews 2008, p. 171). Indeed, to hear Cotes tell the story, "Julie Andrews...was taught how to act by Joan Miller" and it was "Mountain Fire and Joan Miller between them [that] gave Julie the much needed groundwork..to erupt onto the Broadway stage" (Cotes 1993, p. 23). Not sure Moss Hart would agree, but anyway... Later that month, Cotes and Miller hosted an official launch party for Mountain Fire at their South Kensington home with local theatre and high society luminaries in attendance (Candida, 1954, p. 2). The show's schedule was set with a month-long tryout starting on 17 May in Liverpool, followed by one week runs in Leeds, Bournemouth, and Birmingham. The show's London opening was scheduled for Wednesday, 16 June at the Strand Theatre, Aldwych.

In mid-April, the tour was formally announced with ticket sales opening immediately:

"On May 17 at the Royal Court, Liverpool, Peter Cotes and Anna Deere Wiman will present the world premiere of Mountain Fire by Howard Richardson and William Berney. Making her debut as a straight actress in this play will be 18-year-old Julie Andrews. Other leading roles will be played by Jerry Wayne, Andrew Cruickshank, Gillian Lynne and Charles Irwin. Music for this production has been composed by Stefan de Haan. Decor will be by Michael Stringer, and choreography Daphne Kiernander. Peter Cotes is directing, and following a short tour the play will be presented in the West End" ('Chit Chat: Mountain Fire' 1954, p. 8).

'Every night it was a new show...'

The function of an out-of-town tryout is to put the finishing touches on a show ahead of its official "big city" opening. Cast and crew get to see how the play is working with live audiences and revise things accordingly. In happy cases, the tryout is a relatively easy process of fine-tuning elements and smoothing out wrinkles. In other cases though, the process can be far more tumultuous. Seth Rudetsky (2023) relates that New York theatre-folk popularly joke, "if Hitler were alive today, his punishment should be doing an out-of-town tryout with a show that's in trouble" (p. 152). Even Adolph might have blanched at the Mountain Fire tryout. A sign of early trouble came days out from opening when the producers suddenly announced a 24-hour postponement of the Liverpool premiere from Tuesday 17 to Wednesday 18 May (H.W.R. 1954, p. 4). Rehearsals had revealed serious structural issues with the show and the production team needed every hour they could muster to hammer it into shape.

Worse still, the key creatives couldn't agree about the source of the problems and how to fix them. Director Cotes believed the biggest problem was the script and he wanted major rewrites. For their part, Richardson and Berney felt the musical sequences were at fault.

Jerry Wayne, who took the male lead of Joe Morgan, recalled:

"[W]e ran into trouble with the American authors. They objected to the musical numbers that had been written into their story. We opened at Liverpool on a Thursday night as a musical. Then we were told to cut out the musical numbers. On Friday night we opened at 7.30 as a straight play. With the music cut, the curtain ran down at 8.15" (Greig 1955, p. 9)

The songs were duly reinstated, but competing revisions were trialled to staging and orchestration. In her memoirs, Julie relates:

"Our director couldn't decide whether he wanted the orchestra in the pit or onstage, or no orchestra at all. This was a play, after all, so he then thought maybe one instrument, a guitar, would be enough. We tried the show a different way every night" (Andrews 2008, p. 160).

Another member of the cast, Neil McCallum, similarly recalled the snowballing desperation of the tryout tour:

"Everyone hoped it would get better, so the authors and the director got together and decided to revamp the whole show. They kept writing new scenes every day...every night it was a new show until not even the cast recognized it...Pretty soon the authors and the director weren't speaking. Two days later the authors and the backer weren't speaking. Finally, no one was speaking" (Tesky 1954, p. 6).

A comparison of scene synopses printed in programmes for Mountain Fire across its month-long tryout reveals the extent to which the production altered across performances. During its first night in Liverpool, the show was comprised of three acts and fourteen scenes. The following week in Leeds, it was still three acts but down to only ten scenes. In Bournemouth, it was back to three acts with fourteen scenes. By the time it got to Birmingham, the play was suddenly just two acts with thirteen scenes!

'Call down fire and brimstone...'

Given the panicked disorganisation that plagued the tryout, it should not surprise that reviewers took a rather dim view of Mountain Fire. Indeed, other than praise for Julie and fellow cast members, critics were mostly scathing in their assessment of the show -- with notices getting progressively more brutal as the tour continued:

The Liverpool Echo: "When the new play, Mountain Fire, opened with a dissertation by the Angel Gabriel and Lucifer on the delights of being good and bad, it was obvious that this world premiere at the Court Theatre last night would provide something unusual -- and so it proved. But whether this modern parable of Lot's wife will meet with general approval is problematical, because in attempting to lighten high drama with a smattering of musical numbers plus one or two dances, the American authors, Howard Richardson and William Berney, have achieved a curious hotch-potch which is neither one thing nor the other" (H.W.R. 1954, p. 5).

The Stage: "The Liverpool audience could be forgiven for their puzzlement over this provocative, somewhat bewildering, production, which rather inclines to fall between the two stools of allegorical drama and musical entertainment, lacking the virtue of anything in the way of a hit tune" ('American folk play' 1954, p. 10).

The Yorkshire Observer: "Symbolism on the stage is meat only for those who can stomach such food and, it is difficult to live on meat alone. So it might be that Mountain Fire which, in the second week of its production, is now at the Leeds Grand Theatre, might easily die as quickly as the symbolical fire it portrays, no matter how brilliant the cast" ('Symbolistic musical' 1954, p. 6).

Birmingham Daily Gazette: "Mountain Fire, a somewhat disastrous item which arrived at the Theatre Royal, Birmingham, last night, is an odd mix of sex and religiosity which, I fear, will prove seriously offensive to many...The whole thing is meant to be an allegory, with a deep application to our atom-bomb age. But it is all expressed in such appallingly banal language that it leaves one convinced that the underlying thought must be equally banal...One can only have sympathy for the very talented performers who struggle with this material" (Mackenzie 1954, p. 4).

Evening Despatch: "Howard Richardson and William Berney are evidently generous-minded men. In their play, Mountain Fire, at Birmingham Theatre Royal, they include murder, two burials, the Ku Klux Klan..., Lucifer, the Archangel Gabriel, religion and, of course, sex...Directed by Peter Cotes, this is a bewildering story of sin among the backwoodsmen of Tennessee...Somewhere in all this there may be a moral. At first I found it difficult to keep up. Eventually I gave up trying" (Holbrook 1954, p. 6).

The Birmingham Mail: "The conscientious critic of the drama will find that there are certain troublesome questions which are created in the mind by Mountain Fire, the new play by Howard Richardson and William Berney. How, for instance, did it come about that it reached the stage of the Theatre Royal at all and how is it that next week it is to occupy the stage of a West End theatre, however short its tenure there may be? What is more to the immediate point is how one ought...to deal by way of notice with so poor an offering. Ought one to call down fire and brimstone or, refusing to treat the piece seriously, as did many of the audience last night, rend it with ridicule?" (C.L.W 1954, p. 4).

'Mountain Collapses'

With this level of bad press, the prognosis for Mountain Fire was bleak. Ticket sales were sluggish and the cast often found themselves playing to half empty houses. Even worse, audience members were increasingly audible with their displeasure. As Neil McCallum relates:

"One of the lines at the last of the play is 'Lot, don't turn back.' Came a voice from the audience, 'I don't know about turning back -- I want my bloody money back.' In the interval, the ushers were mingling with the audience saying, in ringing tones, 'isn't it terrible...don't you wish you hadn't come?'" (Tesky 1954, p. 6).

By the final week in Birmingham, the writing was on the wall and producers decided to avoid what would surely have been a critical and commercial bloodbath in London. On Thursday 10 June, barely 5 days before the show was scheduled to open at the Strand, Wiman and Cotes issued a joint statement saying they were cancelling the West End premiere of Mountain Fire:

"In view of the inadequate public response during the tour of the play, it would be unfair to the authors and the actors and other members of the production that it should open in London, at least without substantial variations" ('Play is off', 1954, p. 3).

The decision to cancel a major production so close to its premiere was not without precedent, but it was sufficiently rare to garner widespread press attention, generating a slew of punning headlines. "London douses 'Mountain Fire'," trumpeted the New York Times (1854, p. 13). "Mountain Collapses" blared the Kensington News ('Theatre Notes' 1954, p. 2). And "Mountain Fire Out!" declared the Daily Post (Daily Post London Reporter 1954, p. 1)

Mountain Fire had two further performances to complete its Birmingham run, and once the curtain came down on Saturday night of 12 June, the production staggered to its sorry close. Richardson and Berney had already taken early departure back to the US, unable to watch the show's final demise. Cotes similarly retreated to London and refused for many years to even discuss the play. Producer Anna Wiman insisted on staying to the very end. "No cast has been more loyal than this one," she declared, valiantly talking up a future for the show. "[I]t's not the end...I believe in this play and I am determined that it shall have a successful run in London. It will have a new director and a new atmosphere" (Mercury Staff Reporter 1954, p. 1.) The following March, a 'news in brief' snippet claimed Wiman was "still trying to lease or buy a theatre, with the Bill Berney-Howard Richardson play, Mountain Fire, as first on her production schedule" (Walker 1955, p. 61). But a year later, she would admit defeat, having lost the full extent of her £40,000 investment in the show (Wilson 1956, p. 10).

In the end, it wasn't just the UK production of Mountain Fire that sank. The play itself effectively vanished with little appreciable after-life. The script was never published, nor is there any record of it being registered with a theatrical licensing company. Only one further staging of the show ever seems to have taken place: a brief five performance run in May 1962, under the play's original title of Sodom, Tennessee, at the Little Theatre of the West Side YMCA in Manhattan ('Premiere,' 1962, p. 14). Billed as the show's "New York premiere", it didn't attract much attention and there are no published reviews. After that, the play's trail comes to a complete halt.

If it weren't for the show's status as a footnote to the career of Julie Andrews, Mountain Fire would likely have been completely lost to history. Even at the time of its cancellation, reports were already framing Mountain Fire as a blip on the way to Broadway success for Julie:

"Julie may have missed a West End appearance, but she is to be compensated by a Broadway lead in The Boy Friend when the show goes to New York in the autumn" ('Theatre Notes' 1954, p. 2).

Within a year or two, Julie's stardom was the principal frame of reference for any mention of Mountain Fire. It even became something of a boast for those behind the ill-fated production .

In 1956, when Julie was riding high on the success of My Fair Lady, an Alabama newspaper crowed that local playwright William Berney "discovered Julie Andrews [when] he was in London...casting his play Mountain Fire...Julie 'was it' so far as Berney was concerned, and a happy unknown made her bow" (Caldwell 1956, p. E-1). Not to be outdone, Howard Richardson was also soon talking up how his "plays have sent many actors and actresses on their way to fame including...Julie Andrews...who played one of her first roles in Richardson's Mountain Fire during its London [sic] run" ('New York playwright' 1959, p. 14).

All of which only proves the popular adage that, where failure is an orphan, success has many fathers!

____________________________

Who's Who of Mountain Fire

While Julie was undoubtedly the biggest star associated with Mountain Fire, the show included a roster of established and upcoming theatre talents, many of whom went on to bigger and better things:

Principals

Jerry Wayne as Joe Morgan (1919-1996): Born in Buffalo, New York in 1919, Wayne was a recording vocalist of some note who even hosted his own CBS radio show in the 1940s. He came to London in 1953 to play the lead role of Sky Masterson in the West End production of Guys and Dolls, marking the start of a British career. He appeared in the 1955 film musical, As Long as They're Happy and made several TV appearances in the 1960s. In 1967, Wayne married the novelist Doreen Juggler and graduated to a second career as a theatre and recording producer. Collaborating with his son Jeff, Wayne had notable success with the 1978 concept album, Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds. Wayne passed away in Hertfordshire in 1996 ( 'Jeff Wayne' 1996, p. 24).

Andrew Cruickshank as Lot Johnson (1908-1988): Born in Aberdeenshire, Cruickshank initially pursued civil engineering before turning to the stage. He made his professional debut in Shakespeare repertory and joined the Old Vic in 1937, playing notable roles such as Banquo in Macbeth, opposite Olivier. During WWII, he served in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, earning an MBE. His varied career included significant roles in the West End production of Inherit the Wind (1960) and the National Theatre's Strife (1963). His best know role came courtesy of television as Dr. Cameron in the popular BBC series, Dr. Finlay's Casebook (1962-71). In later life, Cruickshank wrote a number of plays, and was president of the Edinburgh Fringe Society. He died in 1988 ('Andrew Cruickshank' 1988, p. 310).

Charles Irwin as Sheriff Bates (1908-1984): Born in 1908 in Leeds, Irwin began his career in variety shows and became a comedian and vocalist on radio in the 1930s. He worked extensively in regional theatre and appeared as a character actor in films such as The Third Man (1949), A Tale of Five Women (1951), and Mystery Junction (1951). In later decades, he transitioned to television, appearing in popular series like Danger Man (1960), International Detective (1961), and The Saint (1962). Irwin passed away in November 1984 in Salisbury.

Gillian Lynne as Edith Higgins (1926-2018): An influential figure in British theatre and dance, Lynne was born in 1926 in Bromley, Kent. She began her career as a ballerina, dancing with Sadler's Wells, the English National Opera, and the Royal Shakespeare Company. Lynne subsequently moved into choreography, working on many successful West End musicals. She was best known for her collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, where her choreography was instrumental to the success of shows such as Cats and The Phantom of the Opera. In recognition of her contributions to dance and musical theatre, Lynne was made a Dame Commander in 2014. She passed away in 2018 at the age of 92 (Dex 2018, p. A13).

Richard Ainley as Gabriel (1910-1967): Ainley was born in Middlesex in 1910, the son of famed Shakespearean actor Henry Ainley. He debuted on stage with Martin Harvey's company, before going on to work with the Old Vic and Sadler's Wells. His first film role was in As You Like It (1936), followed by notable roles in The Tempest (1939) and Above Suspicion (1941). Severely wounded in WWII, Ainley had to abandon his film career and could only continue with occasional stage roles. Later, he focused on broadcasting and adjudication, briefly leading the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in the early 1960s. He passed away in 1967 at age 56 (Coe 1967, p. 23).

John Barclay as Lucifer (1892-1978): Barclay was born in 1892 in Bletchingly, Surrey. A tall man with a booming basso baritone, he trained as an opera singer and toured widely with various companies, including D'Oyly Carte. He appeared in several films, including The Mikado (1939) and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941). In the late 1950s, Barclay moved to the US, where he pursued a late career playing strong and menacing character parts in film and TV. He passed away in 1978 at the age of 86.

Supporting Players

Molly Glessing as Miss Deedy Sparks (1910-1995): Midlands-born Glessing began her career in variety in the 1930s as a singer, dancer, and comedienne. She rose through the ranks to become a featured player in comedies and pantomimes. During the war, she gained popularity as a radio player and ENSA entertainer. After marrying a US serviceman, she relocated to California. Dividing her time between the US and the UK, Glessing continued to work in stage productions and amassed numerous character credits in films such as Charlie Chaplin's Limelight (1952), and TV shows, including The Quatermass Xperiment (1955) and Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955-1962) ('Glessing" 1996, p. 33).

Lois McLean as Sadie Ollis (1927-2013): Canadian-born McLean studied drama at the University of Alberta and performed for several years with the Everyman Theatre Company in Vancouver. In 1950, she moved to the UK where she continued to perform, while studying theatre production with the Glasgow Citizen's theatre. In 1953, McLean started work as a manager for Peter Cotes and he cast her in various productions including Mountain Fire (Narraway 1954, p. 34). The pair also collaborated on a book, A Handbook of British Amateur Theatre. In the late-50s, she wed Indian-born lawyer, Birendra Jha and returned to Canada to start a family. McLean continued to perform and teach drama in Edmonton.

Esme Beringer as Old Sarah Johnson (1875-1972): Born in London to artist parents, Esme Beringer was a celebrated stage actress who made her professional debut in 1888. Known for her athletic physique and swordsmanship, she excelled in breeches roles, including playing Romeo, Little Lord Fauntleroy and The Prince and the Pauper. An enthusiastic fencer, she taught classes during WWI and starred in Shakespearean roles post-war. In later life, Beringer moved into character parts both on stage and in film. She died in 1972 at the grand age of 96 ('Esme Beringer' 1972, p. 16).

Neil McCallum as Skilly Sparks: (1929-1976) Born in Canada in 1929, McCallum moved to the UK to study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Following graduation he appeared in a number of stage shows, scoring his greatest theatrical success in 1956 with the West End production of The Rainmaker opposite Sam Wanamaker. In the 1960s, McCallum became a familiar face on British television in series like The Saint (1963-64) and Department S (1969), as well as voicing characters on Thunderbirds Are Go (1966). Transitioning behind the scenes, McCallum became a scriptwriter and producer of some note, helming a number of TV series for the BBC before his untimely death from a cerebral hemorrhage in 1976, aged only 46 ('Neil McCallum', 1976, p. 11). As detailed by Julie in the first volume of her memoirs, she and McCallum embarked on a serious, if short-lived, romance during the production of Mountain Fire (Andrews, 2008, p. 161ff).

Jerry Stovin as Zeke Higgins (1922-2005): Born in Unity, Saskatchewan in 1922, Jerry Stovin served in the Canadian Army where he got the acting bug performing in military entertainments. Following the war, he went to Carnegie Tech to study drama, and moved to Britain in 1955. There he carved out a successful career in radio, television, and film, often playing American roles. He passed away in 1978 at the age of 86 (Peacock 1975, p. 7).

Harry Quashie as Ephraim (1914-1982): Born in Ghana, Quashie originally came to the UK to study law in 1939. He started to act in university theatricals and soon gave up his studies to pursue an acting career. He performed in a wide range of stage, radio and TV dramas and was a founding member of the Negro Theatre Company which helped pave the way for Black theatre artists in Britain. In the 50s, Quashie had character parts in several big screen features notably, Simba (1955), Safari (1956), and, The Passionate Summer (1958) ('Gave up law' 1947, p. 1; Bourne 2021).

John Sterland as Eb Higgins (1927-2017): Another Canadian actor, Sterland was born in Winnipeg to English parents. He came to the UK on a RADA scholarship, before joining the West of England Theatre Company. In a long career, Sterland racked up scores of stage and screen credits including A Countess from Hong Kong (1967), Performance (1970), Ragtime (1981), Bad Medicine (1985), Batman (1989), and The Tudors (2007). Married for many years to fellow actor, June Bailey, Sterland passed in 2017 ('John Sterland' 2017, p. 12).

Creatives

Howard Richardson (1917-1984): Born in Spartanburg, South Carolina, Richardson graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1938 and earned his M.A. in drama in 1940. After serving in the Army, Richardson co-wrote Dark of the Moon with cousin and frequent collaborator, William Berney. The play opened on Broadway in 1945, running for 318 performances. Despite frequent efforts, both in collaboration with Berney and as an individual playwright, Richardson would never match this initial success. In 1960, he earned a doctorate in 1960 and embarked on a career as a drama professor, working at various colleges throughout the US. He passed away in 1984 ('Howard Richardson', 1985, p. 34).

William Berney (1920-1961): Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Berney graduated from the University of Alabama, where he was active in drama. He later attended graduate school at the University of Iowa, where he started writing plays with Richardson. After graduation, Berney worked in advertising in New York, while pursuing his scriptwriting career on the side. During this period, he co-wrote several plays with Richardson, including Design for a Stained Glass Window (1950) and Protective Custody (1956). Berney moved to California around 1960 to write for television, but sadly passed away in Los Angeles in 1961 after a brief illness, aged 40 ('William Berney' 1961, p. 23) .

Peter Cotes (1912-1998): A theatrical polymath, Cotes -- who was born as Sydney Boulting in Maidenhead, Berkshire -- was part of a noted artistic family. His parents ran a theatre company and his brothers John and Roy Boulting became important filmmakers in British cinema. Initially an actor, Cotes shifted his focus to theatre production and directed the original production of The Mousetrap, the world's longest-running play. Other notable successes as director included the West End productions of The Children's Hour (1951) and A Pin to See the Peepshow (1952), and, in film, The Right Person (1955) and The Young and the Guilty (1958). In later years, Cotes wrote books and helmed a number of theatre companies. He passed away in 1998, at the age of 86 ('Peter Cotes' 1998, p. 35).

Anna Deere Wiman (1920-1963): Born in Illinois, Wiman was the daughter of successful theatre producer Dwight Deere Wiman, and heir to the John Deere family fortune. Educated by private tutors, she trained as a ballerina in Paris until a cycling accident ended her dance career. She then shifted to theatre management, initially working under her father. After his sudden death, she inherited a fortune, allowing her to become a self-funded theatre producer. Moving to London in 1954 with Mountain Fire, Wiman remained in the UK where she produced several West End productions, including The Reluctant Debutante (1955), Dear Delinquent (1957), and The Grass is Greener (1958). Despite her professional successes, Wiman struggled with alcoholism. She tragically died in 1963 at her holiday home in Bermuda from a fall down the stairs while under the influence. She was only 43 years old. ('Obituary: Anna Deere Wiman' 1963, p. 27.)

Stefan de Haan (1921-2010): Born in Darmstadt, Germany, de Haan was a gifted musician who trained in Berlin and Florence, before coming to the UK to study composition at the Royal College of Music. Following graduation, he initially gained prominence as a bassoonist, performing with various ensembles and orchestras. His compositional work includes a range of chamber music and orchestral pieces, often highlighting his expertise with woodwind and brass. His influence extended into music education, where his works are still performed and studied today. De Haan passed away in 2010, aged 89 (Bradbury 1954; 'Stefan de Haan' 2024).

Daphne Kiernander (1921-1998) Born in 1921, in East Preston, West Sussex, Kiernander was an accomplished dancer who rose to fame performing in various West End reviews and musicals such as Bobby Get Your Gun (1938), Let's Face It (1942), and Piccadilly Hayride (1946). She moved into choreography working on a number of stage and TV productions, including Such Is Life (1950) and Puzzle Corner (1953) for the BBC, and the Old Vic's 1955 production of The Taming of the Shrew. In the 1960s, Kiernander retired from dance to marry and start a new career in business and marketing (​Powell 1962).

Michael Stringer (1924-2004) One of Britain's most successful film art directors, Stringer developed a passion for cinema early on. After serving as a RAF pilot in WWII, he trained with Norman Arnold at Rank Studios. There he scored notable success with one of his first independent assignments, Genevieve (1953), and followed it up with other popular Rank titles like An Alligator Named Daisy (1955) and Windom's Way (1957). His success in Britain led to international offers, working on big productions such as The Sundowners (1960), In Search of the Castaways (1962), and A Shot in the Dark (1964). Stringer went on to a distinguished Hollywood and UK career, bringing his talents to a long and diverse list of films, including Fiddler on the Roof (1971), which earned him an Oscar nomination, The Greek Tycoon (1978), The Awakening (1980), The Mirror Crack'd (1980), and The Jigsaw Man (1983). Stringer passed away in 2004. (Eyles 2004, p. 43).

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Peacock, B. (1975). 'Jerry Stovin is busy.' The Leader-Post. 18 July, p. 7.

'Peter Cotes, 86, producer and director of 'Mousetrap'." (1998). The New York Times. 18 November, p. 35.

'Play is off: inadequate support during tour.' (1954). Daily Mail. 11 June, p. 3.

Powell, E. (1962). 'She turns from show business to shops.' The Liverpool Echo and Evening Express. 30 March, p. 18.

'Premiere of "Sodom" Friday. (1962). New York Times. May 12, p. 14.

'Producer drafted, 2 plays in doubt.' (1951). Daily News. 28 March, p. 15C.

'Review: Sodom Tennessee, Guthsville, Pa. Aug. 29.' (1950). In Beckhard, R. & Effrat, J. (Eds). Blueprint for summer theatre: 1951 supplement. John Richard Press, pp. 40-41

Richardson, H. & Berney, W. (1954). Sodom, Tennessee: A play in three acts. British Library, Lord Chamberlain’s Collection of Plays 1954/37.

'Romantic comedy set for October.' (1954). Daily News. 12 March. p. 17C.

Rudetsky, S. (2023). Musical theatre for dummies. John Wiley & Sons.

'Set Broadway showing of "Sodom, Tennessee".' The Chattanooga Times. 19 November, p. 26.

Shanley, J.P. (1953). 'New team follows in fathers' steps: David Aldrich, Anna Wiman to offer "Sodom, Tennessee" as first play in Fall.' New York Times. 3 July, p. 10.

Shellard, D., Nicholson, S., & Handley, M. (2004). The Lord Chamberlain regrets : a history of British theatre censorship. British Library.

'Stefan de Haan'. (2024). Musicalics: The classical composers database. [Website].

'Stringfield asked to pen music for "Sodom, Tennessee".' (1953). The Knoxville News-Sentinel. 4 June, p. 7.

'Symbolistic musical at Leeds Grand.' (1954). The Yorkshire Observer. 26 May, p. 6.

Talley, R. (1950). 'An imaginary Tennessee won is site for "wicked" new play.' The Commercial Appeal. 8 October, p. VI-13.

Talley, R. (1954). 'British actors must learn how Tennessee hillbilly talks.' The Commercial Appeal. 18 April, p. VI-5.

Testy, H. (1954). 'New twist to success story: Neil McCallum on ladder to acting career.' The Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. 11 August, pp. 3, 6.

'Theatre Notes: Mountain Collapses.' (1954). The Kensington News and West London Times. 18 June, p. 2.

Watt, D. (1950). 'Ailing Harrison can't stage play.' Daily News. 7 February, p. 47.

'William Berney, 40, Coast playwright.' (1961). The New York Times. 25 November, p. 23.

Wilson, C. (1956). 'Now Miss Wiman is on "The Ball"." Daily Mail. 20 April, p. 10.

Winchell, W. (1953). 'The Main Stem Lights: Marilyn rejects role.' The Pittsburg Sun-Telegraph. 8 December, p. 19. ©2024, Brett Farmer. All rights reserved.

[tarisilmarwen]

Rebels Rewatch: "The Wynkahthu Job"

The space = ocean metaphor really getting stretched here.

Hoo boy, here we go.

Hondo's converted the Imperial shuttle he stole into his new pirate ship. Mostly by way of strapping cargo crates to the top like it's a minivan lol.

Love how literally no one but Ezra is happy to see Hondo.

"But it all worked out in the end right?" It in fact did not work out in the end my love, you lost the Phantom and nearly fell to your death in a gas cloud.

Azmorigan wiping his earwax off onto the door panel, gross.

Yeah no I'm with Hera on this one I wouldn't want to work with him either.

I SHOULDN'T LAUGH BUT HONDO'S BLIND JOKES ARE ACTUALLY KIND OF HILARIOUS.

Right so, Rebels kind of leans into this whole aesthetic of depicting space with ocean and seafaring metaphors, which I guess ties back into the whole idea that Star Wars is Space Fantasy, not science-fiction, imbued with the romanticism and swashbuckling adventure of weekly serials. We have knights and princesses and pirates, the most iconic weapon is a sword (Ezra's first lightsaber in particular is kind of akin to a rapier, and his fighting style evokes fencing), we have ancient wayfinders (bo-rifles and Lasat culture) and migrating pods of whales. And now we have a shipwreck being slowly drawn in by a whirlpool.

It's a pretty cool reoccurring element.

Ezra still looks a bit uncomfortable with Hondo's affectionate shoulder wraps.

I love that they brought AP for this mission, he's always hilarious.

Oh good we're at scene the first of my least favorite part of this episode, Ezra randomly being an ass for no real reason. It's especially jarring and grating after the maturity he showed last episode so frankly I'm just kind of going to wander away from that plot thread and ignore it whenever it happens, it's dumb and I refuse to entertain it.

There isn't even any real lesson learned??? Ezra never apologizes for being a shit and Hondo proves he is actually a good and loyal friend by coming back for the finale so what was even the point of this contrived piece of conflict? Nglh.

"This is your plan!" "I have factored that in. Without me your chances would be almost zero." <33333 I love him.

Hondo and Azmorigan play off each other hilariously.

Keen-eyed can spot Melch running around the corridors in the background.

I'm remembering why I tend not to like stories centered around or heavily featuring Chaotic Neutral characters, all the times Hondo's double-crossed someone gets very tiring and hard to keep up with.

"You attacked an Imperial ship." "We do it all the time." "Exac--Really?" I DIED. I LOL-ED AND I DIED.

That sighing eyeroll from Ezra in the background there ha ha.

I really am going to have to refrain from quoting Hondo every single time he makes me laugh, but this line about how they used to get none of the truth is hitting me right in the funnybone.

The gag with the door is great too.

Oh! The whole nautical swashbuckling adventure vibe I mentioned? Yeah, now they're gonna fight enchanted skeletons. In the form of the sentry droids.

The cable ziplines make this feel a little like a heist movie.

Ignoring this whole exchange...

Oohhh they are taller than Zeb, that's scary.

AP-5 FORGOT TO INCLUDE THE SENTRY DROIDS IN HIS SCENARIO CALCULATING LOL.

Hello Darktrooper precursor.

AP-5's sullen disappointment when Ezra tells them the first sentry droid got blasted lolol. AP you could have saved everyone a LOT of headache by just forewarning them about the droids.

This whole exchange. <333

Ezra that "I'll catch up." was dangerously close to "I'm right behind you." and also the last time you used that phrase you found Maul lurking in a pit. Do not tempt karma like that.

The sentry droids show a remarkable amount of strategic intelligence shooting the cable out rather than continuing to fire at Zeb and Ezra.

Worried Sabine be worried. :)

"It's okay! Zeb's got him! [Ezra]"

*raises eyebrow*

Interesting specification, Sabine.

This bit is pretty awesome.

And wow that was a quick climax.

Eyyyyy Melch is fine! And taught Hondo a lesson hopefully, lol.

This episode frustrates me because on the one hand it is HILARIOUS and I love the spacemariner and swashbuckling aesthetics of it but on the other hand *gestures to all of that*. With some tweaking this could have been the funniest episode of the series but as it is it just winds up landing as a mixed bag.

We're back to form next time, though, and we really don't stumble again for a good long streak. We're also going to start running into more and more episodes I've already liveblogged through. As I said previously those recaps will likely be shorter, unless I find something I really want to ramble about.

[abigail-pent]

About G--'s Arm

This is very weird. I still do not understand why John took off his arm. Someone in the comments of a previous post suggested it was so he could use it to resuscitate G-- later, but there's something still suspicious about this, because it requires John to be able to grow a whole new body from a piece that does not even have a brain. And we've been hearing this whole time -- lots of times in HTN and I think also in one of the earlier John chapters in NTN -- that John cannot regrow limbs. So how can he regrow a whole body from an arm?

And on top of that: in the sequence where he takes G--'s arm *off*, he GROWS HIM A NEW ARM:

"He said, He didn't feel any pain, and I grew him a new one then and there. Bit of a gamble, but I was sure I could do that by then. I wanted his arm . . . his material. He didn't even ask me to explain. . . . Should still be around here. The arm, I mean. I stuffed it in the morgue so nobody would find it. I've got plans for that arm." (NTN p. 399)

So at this point, pre-Resurrection, John absolutely does know how to regrow limbs; and if the commenter on my previous post was right and the 'plan for G--'s arm' was to regrow Gideon, then John knew he would keep that power post-Resurrection. But that also doesn't quite make sense, because even though at this moment John says he had a bad feeling, he doesn't know about the soul yet, and so even though he's aware that nuclear armageddon is likely, it can't be within the scope of his plans to understand that there's going to be an 'after' the nuclear armageddon. He doesn't yet know he could ensoul a new G--, even if he could create him a new body.

And then post-Resurrection, a myriad later, who can regrow limbs? Not Lyctors, except for Gideon-in-Harrow. John says he can't, but this is maybe a lie -- I think a fair amount of his lies exist to cover his culpability in the death of Earth and the fact that he has achieved perfect Lyctorhood/Grand Lysis whereas he let the others kill their loved ones to achieve only imperfect Lyctorhood/Petty Lysis. (And his culpability in setting Gideon to kill Harrow in HTN.) It's simple to say 'oh, he lies about everything' but I just don't think it's true; I think he lies for strategic reasons, and those strategic reasons are so fundamental to the world that he just ends up lying a lot. If this is true -- what strategic purpose would it serve for him to lie about being able to regrow limbs? It would show that he's different from the other Lyctors, but he wants the other Lyctors to think he's different, and they already think he's different. So did he lose this power, or what? And what does it mean that Gideon can regrow Harrow's thumbs? Does that come down to the fact that thumbs don't qualify as a limb in terms of the nervous system (as I think @dr-dendritic-trees pointed out)? Or does this point to Alecto as the source of the regrowing ability, and something about Harrow achieving perfect Lyctorhood -- or maybe just Harrow losing her thumbs -- triggers these powers from Alecto lying dormant inside her? Powers which John cannot access because of putting Alecto to sleep, or because of Alecto's pact with Anastasia?

If Alecto is the source of the regrowing ability, we actually get into some interesting themes. It points to a sort of cosmic duality: Alecto as source of life, and John as source of death, compartmentalized in a way that they should not be; a highly unnatural compartmentalization. They ought to be intertwined -- two sides of the same coin -- and intertwining is exactly what John did with their souls at the time of the Resurrection; but he tried to separate them when he put Alecto to bed. And they can't be separated, because when death is conquered, what meaning does life have? When you can't die, when you live ten thousand years... we see what that does to Mercy and what it does to Augustine. It's unnatural. You lose yourself. Death and life have to be together to have meaning.

[ochrefic]

more sin-eater talk (also, there are excerpts on the new blog!)

when he meets john, alex has been in the american foster care system for several years

he hates it with every fiber of his being

the second he meets his foster family he hates them too

this town is weird. these people are weird. all of them are so devout and he refuses to go along with it

he's going to wear his punk jacket covered in pride patches to school, because fuck all of you

john has been a sin-eater for years and is repulsive to everyone around him. he has no friends. his siblings sort of love him but it is very hard to be attached to your brother when being in his presence makes you want to throw up and also you are like nine years old. his mother tries to spend time with him anyway. his father mostly doesn't

alex is magicblind and has no idea anything is wrong with john

he sits next to him, and then spends the rest of the day following him around because john did not explicitly reject his attempts at friendship

(john is trying to figure out what the fuck this guy's angle is)

alex, eating lunch and verbally eviscerating this school: john, internally: he's a heathen outsider so this can't be about demonstrating his moral worth or compassion by befriending me. what on earth is this? why is he pretending i am not vile and disgusting? how is he managing to eat while i'm here? who is this kid

(by the time john actually asks about it, and then explains what a sin-eater is, and then defends his religious beliefs for an hour, alex has decided to throw in his lot with john. as part of a complicated strategic plan, obviously, and not because he's attracted to him)

(alex is rather displeased that he's apparently into straightlaced nice young men with secret cores of rage and resentment which they try very hard not to show)

(he thinks a regular amount about messing up john's perfect golden hair)

[callsign-bunnie]

How do you think Soap and Rudy interact with each other?

I have a post that talks about their friendship but I love the idea of them being friends so much that I can always give more

--

Personally, I think they're close friends after the game. Killing Graves together bonded them

Especially because both like to make things go boom

Soap gets excluded from “Guys night” due to being a boyfriend, which he actually doesn’t mind that much because he and Rodolfo just hang out instead

Soap usually finds something for them to do and Rodolfo plans it

Soap brings Rodolfo cool stuff all the time to see if it’s one of the random things Rodolfo knows a weird amount about (Rodolfo usually does)

Rodolfo told Ghost off, once, because he didn’t know that Soap and Ghost flirt by being mean to each other and had Ghost low key afraid, though he’d never admit it

Soap was appreciative but informed him that he had just been mean five minutes before and Ghost was just returning the favor lol

Rodolfo helps Soap with tasks by making lists for him. (Making lists is an insta-dopamine hit for Rodolfo, completing them is an insta hit for Soap. Win win)

Soap joking calls them both dopamine addicts

Rodolfo is dry humor and Soap is wet (??? is that the term???) humor. Both have to constantly explain a joke to the other

Despite Soap not having ASD, still doesn’t understand social stuff and so both end up just staring blankly at people have the time and then questioning what just happened to each other

Soap does invite Rodolfo (and Alejandro) to Scotland at some point and shows him around and teaches him scots and gaelic

Soap sometimes combines spanish and scots. No one is sure how but Rodolfo thinks it’s so funny every time

Rodolfo finds random things all the time that are promising to give dopamine hits and gives them to Soap

Gave Soap a pop-it and it eventually got taken away because Soap was using it during mission debriefings and got distracted too much

Soap is weirdly good at monopoly, Rodolfo is shockingly bad at it.

Both are equally good at Uno so their games last forever

No one is willing to play any card game with them because Soap is so chaotic that it’s a pain in the ass to strategize, and Rodolfo is so strategic you can’t even bother

If Soap goes quiet and Rodolfo starts talking a lot something is wrong, and you’re probably about to get your ass beat

Soap showed Rodolfo reality shows and now they both watch those as well as their telenovelas

[frostehburr]

Finishing the Year by 100%ing Pikmin 4

Yeah, this is the last tumblr post for me in 2023.

I really didn't expect to get Pikmin 4 so soon and be able to finish it before new year. Not to say it didn't have a bit of difficulty, the dandori challenges were a pain in the ass. I'm just surprised by the amount of time I had for this game.

Recently I had to go on a business trip to California and to pass time in the hotel room, I brought a Switch with Pikmin 4. Apparently the time I spent in the hotel room over the week long trip was enough for me to 100% the game! Would love to go on trips more often but it's far too expensive.

Like previous Pikmin games, the main story involves you using pikmin to collect giant every day objects and genocide the local wildlife so the pikmin can take over and dominate the area.

Family friendly Nintendo.

Anyhow, this fourth installment... fifth?... adds the goal of rescuing tourists who came to this planet filled with lethal levels of oxygen (what do these guys breath?) for various reasons such as real estate and looking at flowers. I personally think there are better options than a planet where you're chances of death via suffocation is high but I also know a few people who actively grab venomous snakes with their bare hands so I guess preservation instincts are different between people.

Also half of these castaways turned into leaf people. The pikmin are starting to take over the tiny tiny humans!

These leaf people demand you do something called a "dandori" challenge which is just doing a specific objective in the shortest amount of time available. If you want to 100% the game, you will have to get the platinum medal for ALL dandori challenges and battles!

This is the main reason I expected to not finish the game until next year. The dandori stuff stresses me out so much! Putting a time limit on it was bad enough but grading me on how much time I use just hurts. I hate it!

One more thing, I looked it up out of curiosity and dandori is an actual Japanese word! Yeah apparently it's a word that describes the strategic organization of tasks and working efficiently to a plan...

Basically the entire concept of Pikmin as a whole. Yet I struggled with it...

So they also have a few side missions, a treasure catalogue, and a bestiary. The bestiary was filled out thanks to me running all over chucking Pikmin at anything that moved. Including a massive giant dog that shows up some time late in the game.

Side missions were mostly "find all X crew" which is easily done when completing the caves. Oh there are two that are grow 300 pikmin and make 300 pikmin bloom but those are radiant quests so I'm certain they don't count. I also had to buy all gear and Oatchi skills but I recommend getting them when you can because it makes the game go by faster.

For the treasure catalogue I needed 100 purple pikmin which you can easily do without a purple onion. Yes the purple bois got their own onion this time! However, in order to get the purple and white onion you have to go through the dandori sage trials, which were a nightmare of 10 levels on their own.

I do not think I needed to platinum the sage trials... I never did but I choose to claim that it is unnecessary. For the sake of sanity. Those trials were brutal!

After getting the purple onion I had to find a way to grow 100 purple pikmin which is rather hard to do when you wiped out everything on the maps. Leaving me with the flower pellets as my only option. Took about three days but I got to 100 purple bois and collected the gold bar, finishing the treasure catalogue!

With all that done I just have to say: Pikmin 4 is a very enjoyable game you can have loads of fun with. It's a calming type of game where you can fling plant bois to collect shiny items. However, you should never attempt to 100% complete this game. Attempting to 100% Pikmin 4 will leave you more stressed than the year 2020.

Think I fully understand why Nintendo never bothered with achievements.

[softthrillz]

Endurance Athlete Feedist Daydreams

It’s nearing the end of marathon season and my last big race is coming up this weekend, and I haven’t been able to get this special vision of how a feedist relationship in which one partner is an avid distance runner/endurance athlete might play out. We runners have to eat a lot, and I often have trouble getting in enough calories to maintain my weight, balancing out my energy output with enough input. It’s not been my most grueling training plan, but I consistently run about 80 miles a week, and sometimes the intensity of my workouts can ironically make it a bit harder to work up an appetite. I couldn’t help but wondering what it’d be like to have a fat cutie by my side during this training period, what it might be like in the future.... I envisioned a plush partner who loves to eat and cook, loving baking, experimenting with different macro ratios to optimize for things like pre-workout fueling needs and post-workout recovery--snacking all throughout on these various baked goods, encouraging me when I have trouble eating because of the toll intense training can take on the stomach/digestive system (not to mention the exhaustion). Eating my leftovers is just a bonus, of course. Coming back from a long run on the weekend to a shower shake on the counter and a kiss on the cheek as they’re making the fixing for chimichangas--unquestionably a true breakfast of champions (a shower shake is a post-run shake you can just bring with you and drink in the shower lmao--like a shower beer--needless to say, we runners are weird lol--I mean, we just enjoy running around for hours, no surprise there haha), all the while sipping a shake of their own, because why not? Gotta keep their belly nice and topped off. Don’t mind the bits of tofu scram, breakfast potatoes, and soyrizo they’ve been tasting throughout the morning--that’s just being a proper chef! Gotta taste before you waste. Or something like that. Bringing back burgers, fries, and shakes from that new vegan diner down the street one evening after work, enough for my fill, and a daring amount for my tubby love. I help feed them as they start to slow down, offering them sips of their milkshake in between bites, simultaneously cooling them down and filing them up with an absolutely divine oat- and tahini-based chocolate shake. Rubbing their big, inviting belly, pushing along the sides and upper arch in strategic moves to alleviate errant pressure.  “Good job, baby, you ate so much for me,” I’d say.  After languidly basking in the haze of their hedonistic fullness, they likewise help me, noticing I’ve only eaten half my burger and a few sips of my shake. Knowing I ran 16 miles earlier that morning and that I have a sensitive stomach, one soft-but-sure arm comes around to gently hold me around my ribs, pulling me closer, leaning against their squishy side, their other hand coming to slowly brush gently across my stomach. ”Stomach giving you trouble? You need to finish that darling, let me help you,” they’d tell me. After working through our respective meals, in a sneakily caring plan to get more food into me after an intense week of training, they bring out some Tupperware filled with the pastries and other goods they baked to munch on while catching up on a show that night, ending up eating 3 or 4 or 5 for every one they got in me, but it works for us, for both of our goals, seemingly divergent, but actually at least parallel, harmonious even. Serving one another in this interesting feedist dynamic, where the feedee and feeder live outside of a rigid feedism binary and moreso in a synergistic space of care and affection and heat, realistically adaptable to situational realities, but familiar in many ways beyond those unique personal qualities.  Gosh, I can imagine finishing a race and seeing their cherubic cheeks bunched up in a laughing cheer, holding a sign in one hand and a snack in the other, falling into the soft, plush, pillowy form of an absolute babe, feeling flush and wild and electric with that post-race energy, the crowd still cheering as fellow runners cross the finish line. “I’m so proud of you, darling,” I imagine they’d tell me as I catch my breath, “you made it!” Cheekily, I might look at them mischievously and say, “wanna go help reup my glycogen stores?” And with a brilliant grin they’d reply, absentmindedly rubbing their ever-burgeoning belly in anticipation “of course baby, I’ve been planning this feast for AGES. First we’re going to go to...” I’d lovingly gaze at them as they guide me in my post-race daze back to the car, excited to eat hard after a long 26.2 miles on the road--and ensure my partner more than matches me and then some while we’re at it.... Yeah, I can definitely envision that.😌

[energonbunny]

What Transformer would Stiles become a Headmaster with?

Okay, so, to preface: I do not know much about the Headmasters. I've read, like, one entire fanfic that used/mentioned the premise and I've seen the wiki page, so I don't have much to go off of here.

Just to double check, you mean Stiles Stilinski, yes? Because I'm going to answer assuming you do (Stiles and Stiles, the only other one you could maybe mean is Miles but if so just let me know and I'll type out an answer for him). The thing with Stiles is... there are so many answers to this question that I think could be interesting, even just going off of the limited number of 'bots I see under the Headmasters wiki page. Some of the Transformers (just the Autobots, actually) I see listed are a few I already recognize from my limited amount of comic reading/show watching/fic reading, so that makes it a bit easier in that regard.

After a little bit of reading, I gravitated towards Fortress Maximus. I think that, for the most part, the two could mesh very well, and Stiles could definitely provide new ideas and ways of doing things that Fortress Maximus would never think of. Conversely, when they did clash, they would clash bad. Fortress Maximus would prefer to stop fighting, and just aims to protect. Stiles would aim to protect, but would also aim to finish the fight and would be willing to play dirty if he had to so he could make sure his loved ones were safe and healthy. Plus he would justify it because the other side would play dirty, so why shouldn't he? And Fortress Maximus would hate that.

Outside of that, him and Brainstorm would be a wild combination. Just... constant ideas and experiments and half thought up schemes. I feel like Brainstorm would just make some of Stiles' worst tendencies even worse, and vice versa. What was it that one time? Stiles once wrote that paper on circumcision and it wasn't even the topic? That would just become worse with Brainstorm, tbh. They would be a volatile combination because they would both have a tendency to hyper focus on one thing, which could definitely be bad if they forget about/push other stuff to the wayside for it. But the sheer amount of stuff they would come up with would somewhat make up for it? Someone would just have to babysit them and make sure they listened to rules, really.

Also... can I cheat? Because when I was thinking of Fortress Maximus I ended up thinking that basically FM would be Optimus Prime and Stiles would end up being sort of like Hot Rod/Rodimus Prime in a way, which with more thought was a bad comparison but it stuck because I think out of the three considerations, even though he isn't technically a Headmaster, I would pick Hot Rod/Rodimus Prime to stick with Stiles.

I think he and Stiles would be a fascinating combination! Both of them are rash and full of self bravado but also lacking in self confidence (RP more than HR, but you get it). Stiles would bring more planning and strategizing to the table, and HR/RP would be way better at faking the confidence aspect of things and bullshiting his way through certain things. Also, they would both adore driving certain people insane. RIP to Ultra Magnus and whatever peace he had before this unholy matrimony. Also, I once saw someone mention that it was incredibly funny so many pairings happened on the Lost Light/ended up there and that poor Rodimus had to watch it happen, and it would be even funnier with Stiles sharing his head demanding a play by play/being salty that robots were getting more action than he was.

I'm so sorry if this wasn't the answer you were hoping for! I know very little about the Headmasters as a whole so just had fun with it.