#thinking so bigly about them...

[meatriarchived2]

yknow im probably going to sound a bit overdramatic for a moment with this sorry but,

ive said like two lore streams ago or w/e that im not going to let myself get as heated as i did at the start with how gun's been handling ( read : forgetting she exists ) maria all this time bc at this point i consider my portrayal of her an oc, as i essentially feel across the board with my other texas muses frankly but like.

i do think, while i was obviously thrilled to no end that they announced maria & she was playable etc, i do think the execution of her in-game really sincerely disappointed and pissed me off so badly. like yes end of the day shes a bunch of pixels etc etc whatever sure but its like. genuine frustration at how absolutely sidelined she has been since day one. and i know theres plenty of valid arguments for other characters receiving similar treatment ( ie. sonny ) in a variety of ways, and i do get the angle of maria initially serving as a haunting of the narrative, haunting her friends and sister and being more of that sort of invisible presence rather than physically there in the moment like they all are - but its severely disappointing to see just how little they give a shit about her, both in lore & in gameplay etc.

model-wise? shes completely fine i adore how she looks and everything shes beautiful shes adorable shes exactly as babygirl as i hoped and imagined her to be & look. but shes otherwise both so underwhelming and so borderline useless ( being generous ) and her ability is just the most uncreative pointless thing i feel they could have thought to give her. like. theres so many pieces i can rip apart for just that alone but i dont wanna yap for an eternity lmao

i just wish they gave an ounce of a shit about her. and like sure yes they could easily alter things or add on things on for her in the future etc. sure, yeah, fine and all but its just... i dont think im going to forget how sloppily put together they made her. or how they've consistently forgotten & disrespected her all these months. and with them branching away from her & the friendgroups' story into other victims' as time passes, their already sheer-ass attention spans are only going to grow thinner across the rosters and i guess in my eyes theyre just never going to make up for any of how they treated her character. and like yes thats fine bc i & others will do her infinitely better justice than they ever will but its still just like... its still disappointing.

like so much went wrong with that release day that i think i was just trying to cling onto the excitement of her just being playable but everything else, certain other complaints etc i wont get into, made me think that disappointment in how she was executed was an exaggeration on my part bc im too attached to her lmao and so i kinda just internalized the disappointment i think but it really is just like man. i feel like ive lowkey been in mourning of her since she was released. no faith at all that they are ever going to give her an ounce of dignity outside of how her model looks.

and again. i know i and the fandom do her infinitely more justice than they ever will at this point and that fact alone does make up for this all, i just wish she was remotely fun to play as and didnt feel like such a slapped together, zero-thought, near copy-paste non-asset in-game. i play her bc i love her but she also just makes me fucking sad LMAO

.

[starlightweave]

The BG3 companions if they were in Middle-Earth:

@window-on-the-west highly valuing your input here!

EDIT: I FORGOT ASTARION how could I, my 2nd favorite romance and I completely forgot about him 😭: a Sindarin elf of Rivendell I think, fought in the Seige of Mordor during the Last Alliance of Elves and Men and was badly scarred, physically and emotionally, by the war. Was taken prisoner for some time, tortured and enslaved ;_;

Wyll: a ranger of Ithilien who's lowkey in love with Captain Faramir (bc who ISN'T). Cries his eyes out at Aragorn's coronation

Lae'zel: ALSO a ranger of Ithilien, but originally a foreigner, a woman of Harad or Rhun, who was part of a very tiny minority of ppl who were against allying w/ Sauron (recall Sam's/Faramir's musings over the young dead Southron man, if he believed in the cause of Sauron, or if he only wished to be home, and was threatened/forced to fight). She escaped and made it to Gondor. The type of ranger who's like we should do a suicide mission into Mordor and end this once and for all I'LL tear down the foundations of Barad Dûr MYSELF

Gale: the approach I think most ppl would take is to make him a figure like Feanor, super talented but arrogant, flying too close to the sun and pissing off the gods lol. However 1) Feanor was a dick, not at ALL charming like our Gale 2) I think he needs to stay human (as I think the fact that he wants to accomplish SO MUCH in his life but has less than a century to do so cannot be discounted when we speak of his ambition). In which case he'd be like a Renaissance man of Gondor, like Faramir. Deeply learned in Gondor's lore, but also highly skilled in battle. Also thinks the Ring "is a gift," BIGLY. YUUUGELY in favor of using it against Sauron, CONVINCED his good intentions and knowledge of lore would allow him to master it for good (but also to grow his own power)

Shadowheart: a bit tricky since we don't have an abundance of cults kidnapping people, but what if she was a Dunedain girl, kidnapped at a young age by agents of The Enemy, and then sent back years later as a spy for Sauron

Karlach: another tricky one. Perhaps if she was a woman of Rohan, captured and badly wounded in an orc raid. Arwen's mother was so physically and emotionally scarred after she survived an orc attack that she left for Valinor; it's clearly a traumatic experience, so what about someone who couldn't run away to Valinor? Who has to live with what was taken from her in this attack, and then learn Wormtongue, one of her own people and the king's own advisor, whom they all trusted, was a spy for Saruman? And then learn that Saruman, who was supposed to be their friend and protector, sold them out to Saruon. Nobody gets betrayed like Rohan in LOTR so that's my argument for placing her there.

Minthara: one of the Noldor elves in the First Age who was captured by Melkor but survived and escaped Thangorodrim. I recall that these elves' old communities didn't always treat them well, finding them too traumatized and changed to accept them again :(. Fits w/ the taken hold of an evil cult and then made an exile. She'd start her OWN resistance against Melkor, with blackjack, and hookers!

Halsin: one of the Beornings. OBVIOUSLY. For those who don't know, in the Hobbit, Beorn, after whom the Beornings are named, is a giant mountain man who can shapechange INTO A BEAR. He lives with highly intelligent animals, can speak to beasts, has a giant garden with giant flowers and giant bees, and lives off honey cakes and cream. He also HATES goblins (ie orcs) and only offers his help to Bilbo & Co because they have fought and killed a whole bunch of goblins (also he knows who Gandalf is ffs don't trust his shitty adaptation in the movie 🙄 that scene is so much funnier and better done in the book)

Jaheira: a Silvan elf of Thranduil's realm. veteran fighter against orcs. Totally wanted in on the council of Elrond but she pissed off Thranduil with her lecturing about how did you let Gollum get loose lol

Minsc: also a Boerning. I know he's not a shapechanger but his animal companion, ability to speak to beasts, and the fact that he is GIANTIC and all muscle, pls, he fits right in with the mountain men. He'd also love living on honey cakes and cream, as would Boo lol. Being a Rider of Rohan also works for him imo - altho he looks way to big to fit on a horse lol, their culture surrounding war and martial prowess has parallels w/ Rasheman

The Emperor: a ringwraith 😂 THEE fucking ringwraith in fact, The Witch King of Angmar himself. No man can slay me 💅🏼 Thanks to @oryndoll for this one lol

[the-meme-monarch]

Not sure if this has been asked before, but how do you feel about people drawing the dandy’s world characters (particularly the handlers/founders) with your headcanons? I have no particular motive for asking this by the way. /jjj

SMILES BIGLY. YEAH YOU CAN DO THAT :] depending on what headcanons you’re referring to they might not even be wholly originally mine so idk i don’t think you have to credit me abt any of them

[cyberdragoninfinity]

> do not test me and my endless well of ''what kind of ttrpg character would this yugioh guy play in various campaigns.''

I saw this in your old asks and I feel like testing you tonight Dana. :)

So of the protags you've met so far, what TTRPG characters are Yugi, Jaden, Yusei, Yuma, Yuya and Yusaku bringing to the table?

I LOVE THIS ASK IT MAKES ME FEEL LIKE THIS. SLASH POS

dont even remember where I said that but on god I will deliver. for the sake of simplicity we're sticking with fantasy ttrpg classes/character types, your d&d and pathfinder and related fare. this is probably going to inevitably just turn into "what kind of ttrpg player is each yutag like, to me" but it's all good. let's goooo

Yugi: kind of crazy that we basically have a canon answer for this with Monster World, huh? I love that he played a half-elf, he has huge 'elf and the like' enjoyer vibes. Definite inclination towards spellcasters, "Beast Tamer" makes me easily see him making some kind of ranger or druid character that makes heavy use of magic and animal/monster befriending. Preps pretty thoroughly, gives character a pretty substantial amount of lore and backstory, probably has DMing experience so he always tries to be respectful to the gamemaster and what theyre trying to do (providing it's not. trying to kill you with demon magic) and likes to tie his own character into the lore of the world as best he can. Spitballs character ideas with Atem. (You know Atem's characters have Dense backstory and are roleplayed with the immense gravity of an oscar-winning drama.)

Jaden: ZERO prep, just decided to join the game two hours ago and maybe skimmed the rulebook at most. Whatever class he plays he's playing that thing fast and loose and way sillier than the DM anticipated for this game. Warrior/monk/physical fighter build type enjoyer, plays a furry race like a tabaxi cuz they Look Cool and Fun, definitely shows up with a jokey joke character named Boots McScoots or something that everyone gets attached to bigly by the end. Kind of player just happy to be having fun with his friends ^_^ *inadvertedly blowing up every possible plan the DM had in mind for this campaign* (Yubel writes a five page doc of insane traumatic backstory if given the chance to make a character themself)

Yusei: puts a lot of thought and care into his character, even if they're ultimately a little bit of a self-insert (hey aint nothin wrong with that.) Probably gravitates towards something like an artificer, wizard, or a paladin, firmly something in the 'good' end of the morality spectrum. Could get really into complicated magic systems I feel; reads over spell lists and carefully picks out what he thinks could be the most beneficial for the upcoming situations. A bit shy wrt RPing his character, no silly voices or anything, but plays his character with so much heart they feel real and lived in right out the gate. I feel like he could really vibe with playing a dwarf, dont @ me

Yuma: Rolls up with a big shiny Super Cool Overpowered character he loaded way too many bells and whistles onto despite being told REPEATEDLY that everyone was starting at level 1 and is subsequently crumbling into little pieces over having to scale them waaaay down. Absolute warrior/fighter preference, you look me in the eyes and you tell me Yuma has the attention span or desire to sit and do complicated magic management he wants to swing cool sword and fight bad guy. Has trouble picking what sort of fantasy race to play and ends up with, like, a gnome. Gets really into the game and playing his character, there's probably not a Huge amount of deep backstory to them and probably has poor group synergy but he's giving it his 110%. (Astral is doing some insane dual-class magic and math heavy character he thinks about very much outside of the game, and is always tweaking them and excited to bring them to life.)

Yuya: I think Yuya's the only yutag I could see actually trying to play a more evil-aligned character--I don't know if he'd actually be able to RP them well, but I think he'd like the idea of playing a character very Unlike Himself. Gets a little caught up trying to come up with a 'cool' enough backstory and ends up with something kind of barebones. Probably a little scattered actually at the table, but you know his character is Loud and Full of Personality. It's bard or bust with this kid, cmon now. I feel like he's playing either a twinky whimsical elf or a dragonborn he thought really really hard about the design of. (re: the other yuboys: Yuto's character has 25 pages of lore and backstory that is full of tragedy and vengeance and redemption. Yugo's playing some funnyguy he came up with in ten minutes. Yuri makes some big show out of implying he's just going to play a violent freak that's here to dissemble the DM's entire campaign but then he gets genuinely caught up in a political intrigue sideplot and starts conspiring with the DM for a grand epic twist with his character)

Yusaku: now THIS is the guy who spent hours quietly researching the best subclasses and spells and builds for whatever particular party his character is meant to slot into; every choice he makes for his character is much-deliberated and carefully chosen. Shows up at the table with a well-balanced human paladin/similar swordwielder with spell slots on deck. Doesn't really RP per say, but definitely slips into the Playmaker vocal range when announcing choices and actions, and his character has such a powerful cool as fuck aura it's almost a little intimidating to play alongside them at first. His character is selfless does nothing out of malice because why wouldn't it be? That's his natural first choice. (Ai razzes yusaku nonstopt for playing the NERD ROLEPLAY FANTASY game for NERDSSSS but if you sat him down in a oneshot he'd bust out his tumblr sexyman-ass flamboyant half-elf half-tiefling bard (who's also a vampire) character that he DEFINITELY did NOT make months ago waiting for the chance to play him, noooo no sirree)

[ravenousgoblin]

Dungeons and daddies characters that I think wouldn’t care if I called them “girl”.

KEEP IN MIND THAT AT THE TIME OF POSTING THIS I HAVE NOT FINISHED S2 SO I MAY INCLUDE SOME STUFF THAT IS MAYBE CANONIZED LATER OR EVEN DISPROVED LATER IN THE SEASON. OTHER THINGS ARE ALSO JUST HEADCANONS SO FUCK OFF.

1. Glenn Close. You can’t tell me that as a bff or significant other of Glenn, if you ran up to him to spill the tea and were like “GIRL” or even “bitch guess what” he wouldn’t immediately get excited and be like “omg girl whaaaaat”

2. Henry Oak. We all known Henry tries his best to embrace all and all his hippie shit, however I believe this is because of a few things. Henry isn’t afraid to be in touch with that femininity, henry has canonically had at least 1 bf and has slept with at least 1 other male alongside his wife, you can’t tell me Barry Oak and probably quite a few other Oakvalians aren’t homophobic and transphobic and that they wouldn’t refer to him as terms trying to be derogatory but Henry takes them in stride and says fuck you.

3. Nicky. Whether we’re assessing Nicky pre or post Jodie, I don’t think it matters. I am a firm believer in transmasc Nicky and I think while he is a cutie lil trans boy I find it hard to believe he wouldn’t love the idea of being included when you are spillin the tea or being a silly and call him ‘girl’.

4. Scam Likely. Girl, Scam be scammin and Scam, while usually referred to as male, is a cousin of the library, a horrific eldrich being. Scam is Heckin shapeshifter brother. I think, like Nicky, he would just enjoy being included. Me and Scam be sippin tea every Wednesday at lunch and he calls me “bitch” “whore” and “babe”. I call him, or them rather, “babygirl”, “girl”, slut”, and “bestie”. They also love when you tell them they’re serving cunt

5. Taylor Swift. Now, I hate this. Taylor I believe would love it, HOWEVER, I take 1d20 psychic damage minimum when Taylor opens his mouth, so I wouldn’t hang out with him, let alone call him ‘girl’

6. Normal Swallows-Oak-Garcia. Now, with this, I think that it only lasts a little bit. I think that while Normal is trying to find who is he without Teeny the Teen, he questions a lot about himself, sexuality and gender identity at the very least(see: obsession with Hermie). With this I think he would absolutely try out some different pronouns and such, even tossing the idea of she/her or she/they etc around. Overall I think he sticks to he/him, but he definitely tried it and asked to be referred to as such while he was going through this period of finding himself and is OVERJOYED when you comply and treat him like the girlypop he is for as long as he is comfortable with before reverting.

Some honorable mentions are: Paeden, Yeet Bigly, and Mark Likely. However, they were not included for specific reasons.

Paeden was taken into consideration, however, two factors disqualified him. 1. He has the soul of Frank Wilson and I don’t think any of the omega daddies would let you get away with calling them “girl” and 2. Paeden is very proud of who he is, both as Paedon and Frank and would prefer you refer to him as what he sees, which is fair.

Yeet Bigly was taken into consideration, however, I believe Yeet would only allow his sister, Killa Demall to do it. They are very close and I think they gossip all day long and have a great time, but I think only Killa could get away with it. It’s special sister privilege.

And Mark Likely was taken into consideration, mainly because of the relation to Scam and The Library, eldrich beings and such. However, not all eldrich beings are girlies(see: dood) and I believe Mark Likely having taken on the form of my bf Dennis Anderson and also staying as identifying as he/him(as far as memory serves) as Mark Likely, I don’t find it likely that Mark would be a girly. That is not to say that he would be mad, just that he would ask you not to.

[twothpaste]

Showing (as opposed to Telling) how much 2 characters respect & cherish & care for each other is one of my fav things to write. like a little silent gesture of support. or remembering fond stories about times they spent together. or teasing in a way that they know will prompt laughter instead of hurt feelings, implying they've learned the nuances of each other's boundaries. i love tryin to see how bigly i can convey deep affection without dropping phrases like "she cared about him" in prose or "i love you" in dialogue (except for rare & special occasions where i think it hits harder). and i'm really used to writing characters (especially siblings) who love each other simply and obviously. so i get to weave in lots of sappy little moments like this. it's fun, and sweet, and i like it :'D

porky & agnes are complicated because the unconditional familial love is there - it's there despite them both knowing better and it hurts like hell - but there's so many layers of strain and distance and trauma between them that neither can say so. they can't let themselves think it, so i have to tiptoe carefully around it in the prose. they can hardly even show it, except just by the mere fact they chose to be present with each other at all. throughout their conversation they both make lots of little sacrifices & concessions for the other's sake, and it's kind of up in the air whether these are strategic ploys to keep things civil, or expressions of genuine care. they're holding this tense unspoken truce that whispers "i care about you whether i want to or not. we suffered a lot together. i understand why you've done the things you've done. you and i did deserve better." but that love is not enough to save them - least of all porky - on its own. and they both know it. even though by now they know how to maintain surface level courtesy like grownups, there's a thick air of mistrust and guilt and pity hanging over the whole thing.......

(and on top of all that, porky's still just inherently an asshole. so he has to strain against his bad impulses & insecurities constantly in order to maintain the conversation. which is probably the effort that best shows how much he cares about his sister - hell, it's almost selfless! that's a huge deal for him!! but it doesn't really look like love or kindness, cuz he's so gnashed up and bitter on the inside 🥲)

[ineffablenlghtingales]

Okay, so with episode 3, we get some more backstory of Aziraphale and Crowley in Scotland (and get some of David's natural and maybe a bit exaggerated accent, but I'm not complaining. I loved it).

I died, I absolutely died when Crowley imbibed that laudanum. Not even kidding. 🤣😂

It starts with Gabriel holding a mug (his mug apparently) Muriel unexpectedly appears on Aziraphale’s doorstep and does a not very good job at pretending to be human (not her fault though, her first time on earth). But she's so ridiculously cute! I like her. Also, the exchange between her and the ineffable husbands. I can't.

Muriel *tries hard to be a human inspector constable* Crowley: Oh? You were transferred from another human settlement? Which one? Muriel: ... Crowley *grinning*: First time here on earth? *Thinking to himself* Definitely an angel, that one. Aziraphale: *so done*

She’s sunshine and sweetness personified, with solid comedic timing. Crowley pulls Azi aside and they talk about what's going on.

Then, we have Crowley planning to bring Nina and Maggie together, while Aziraphale is still hellbent on driving Crowley’s Bentley to Edinburgh to pursue his “clue.” Crowley is still reluctant to give him the keys.

Then, back to 1827 Edinburgh. Crowley and Aziraphale meet Elspeth digging up a grave. Crowley is of course, amused, while Aziraphale explains why grave robbing is wrong.

Azi, in the present day, drives the Bentley to Edinburgh and I love how irritated Crowley gets at him when 1) he drives under the speed limit bc the demon can sense when the car's under said speed limit, 2) Aziraphale changed the color of the vehicle from black to yellow and 3) "Are those travel sweets?" Crowley is not pleased.

Back at the bookshop, Gabriel is trying to figure out gravity. Crowley (gawd I love him) can't remember the why of gravity and I really enjoy how he comes down the stairs with a neat pile of books only to toss them in a haphazard mess (shame on you, bad demon, take care of those books! Why do you even both carrying them down if you're going to just throw them like that? 🤣)

Back in 1827, Crowley and Azi meet Mr. Dalrymple and learn more about his night work. Aziraphale, in the present time pretends to be a journalist and enters The Resurrectionists, the pub Maggie talked about. He learns about the records in the jukebox turning into the song "Everyday". Then he shows a picture of Gabriel to the pub owner, and the latter just so happens to recognize it.

Aziraphale notices the sign of the pub and sees Mr. Dalrymple depicted there, with a butcher's knife. He remembers.

Back in 1827, Aziraphale changes tactics and supports Elspeth. Elspeth gets her friend Wee Morag to help them, promising that one body (which she intends to give to Dalrymple) can get them off the streets. In the cemetery, Crowley and Azi notice guns that, set off by trip wire, go off.

Wee Morag accidentally sets on off, gets shot and dies. After some time, Elspeth decides to take Wee Morag’s body to Mr. Dalrymple for payment.

Dalrymple, however, doesn't give Elspeth very much for the remains bc Azi did some work with hastening the corruption, didn't Before they leave, Elspeth swipes a bottle of laudanum from his collection and returns to the crypt to drink the laudanum so she can be with Wee Morag. Aziraphale and Crowley try to talk her out of it. Crowley ingests the laudanum himself, which has a peculiar effect on him. (This was one of my favorite parts). "No. More. Dying. Enough dying. NO. MORE. DYING. NO MORE DYING. " Then, he shrinks, growls at Aziraphale and roars. He makes all these weird noises (I bet David had a good time doing this part, seriously. Crowley's just out of his mind here haha). Then Crowley gets very big and booms at Elspeth, "You have sinned very bigly....be good. Not pretend-y good but properly good!"

Unfortunately, as the demon and angel are leaving the scene, Crowley’s pulled through the ground to Hell, presumably to be punished.

In the present day, we see Azi in the cemetery in Edinburgh. He asks two men if he can use a phone and calls Crowley to reveal he’s in the cemetery and currently staring at the statue of Gabriel. He also tells Crowley that Mr. Dalrymple left Edinburgh in disgrace in the 1800s, killed himself and got a pub named after him. Aziraphale tells Crowley what he learned at the pub about Gabriel’s visit there. Then the pun. Holy hell, the pun. Crowley says he has to go because of the "awning of a new age" excuse me, sir. I love puns, so I appreciated that.

Then, then another of my favorite bits, Crowley brings on a rainstorm to try to get them to have their moment. Maggie tries to apologize for the other night when they were stuck in the coffee shop together. Crowley, I love him, have I said? He's hilarious. "Come on, rain proper. Hard." He makes it rain harder, hoping they seek shelter under an awning. They do, but then the awning breaks, dumping water on their heads.

Crowley finds Shax outside as she transforms into different people to remain incognito, and he's not impressed. I love he doesn't give a shit and just doesn't let her in. Also, we see how protective he is of his angel okay.

Next episode's recap ➵

[sillymilly]

Shadow Milk Cookie isn't even released yet, and I already said that I won't swap them until Silent Salt get's released, but I couldn't help myself but think of a backstory for Prune Juice Cookie in this Swap AU, so here's what I came up with =D (Let's consider this Pre-Shadow Milk Update, because I may or may not change the story after the update's release, even if I love this story so much.)

TW (Trigger Warning) - mention of body horror, maybe bad grammar as well?

Beleive it or not, Prune Juice Cookie wasn't actually always his name. He originally went by Inky Plum Cookie (inky - as dark as ink). He was one of the 5 cookies baked by the Witches who hold great power for the betterment of Cookies. Inky Plum Cookie held the power of Knowledge. Right after he was baked he was deliberately (deliberately - on purpose) put in a region full of magic wielders. He was purposely baked to have the inability to do any magic so he can demonstrate to the magic wielders how much one can acheive with only using their brain. Although he did achieve bigly such as opening his own academy and gaining admiration from wizard Cookies, old and new, being surrounded by those who can do any magic made him feel . . . . envious.

He understood why the Witches baked him this way but couldn't help but wished to do any magic of his own, it's something he wants more than anything. The closest he has to casting spells is making potions, but it was not enough to satisfy him.

After learning every potion recipe, both past and present, by heart, he thought he can craft a potion of his own that would be able to give to him magical powers. After crafting a recipe of his own, the first time a recipe like this existed, Inky Plum Cookie without a second thought drank his newly crafted potion. It had an awful aftertaste. He expected to feel a tingling feeling of magic being born inside him, but instead, His dough had started melting!

In only just several minutes, he was already a soft blob! He was indeed rushed to the nearest hospital. The magic healer Cookies did all they can to preserve his dough back to the way it was, but it was difficult. When the rest of the Virtue Holders heard about the news they all head over to the hospital to check out their friend, only to find him resting in a bed there in crispy dough. The operation was a success! The only side effect Inky Plum Cookie got from the operation was a minor headache.

It took some time for Inky Plum Cookie to leave the hospital and go back to his laboratory, but there's something about him that he never told anyone, nor his friends or doctors know. He can finally do magic! All thanks to the magic healer Cookies using their own magic to bring him back! But the magic he now holds is not enough to even barely lift half a teaspoon. Although he was gleeful (gleeful - very happy and excited), he wanted more magic inside of him to be able to cast spells, so he drank the very thing that had put him in a critical (critical - extreme) condition so that the magic surgeons can repeat the process on him. He considered that potion to be the best thing that ever happened to him.

He now goes by Prune Juice Cookie, right now he is sealed inside a silver tree like his comrades who had fallen. He does still melt but only to his will now. He uses his melting ability to scare Cookies and, when it's nessesary, squeeze through small holes (although he can only do that if he's bare (bare - naked)). If you're wondering about his magic, he now creates illusions and control things, alive or not, to how he wants.

Any moment, Prune Juice Cookie will spring out of the metal tree and make his outbreak.

[sagethegremlin]

u tagging my candlemic post with fic ideas makes me SO HAPPY ^—^ unfortunately i'm very bad at writing my obscure yuri (only one fic for both candlemic And belleamy) so i'm glad to have more candlemic soldiers 🙏 (even if u don't actually write them) (and its not like i own them or anything) (just letting u know i smiled bigly)

NO THAT POST WAS FIRING OFF SOME NEURONS IN MY BRAIN ok so I have this ii18 epilogue fic that Ive spent forever trying to plan correctly thats basically a bunch of drabbles with characters based off of PRIDE. by kendrick lamar and I had mic and candle paired up to the lyric “i dont love people enough to put my faith in man” because with mic she obviously cared about taco but no matter how much she cared no matter how much she loved her she would never be able to fully put her faith in her, and with candle she helped the people around her and you could tell that she cared, but she never really put her faith in them and ended up being manipulative in her actions

AND THEN YOUR POST COMES ALONG AND OUGH OK there’s a very interesting parallel to be drawn between the two when it comes to expressing emotions because mic struggled a lot in the show with vocalizing (heh) how she was feeling and especially with feeling a lot but candle was very collected and often blunt with people and like you said, accidentally coming off as cold and harsh to others. I’m not really articulating it right but I’m trying to say they’re kinda like opposites in that way (while obviously being different now)

ALSO YOUR COMPARISON OF TACO AND CANDLE OUGH and idk I just REALLY like the way you worded “[taco] neglects the parts of herself she thinks gets in the way of her logic“ like YEAH and if we extend that to candle she’s neglecting what she thinks gets in the way of her game and we see that with her interactions with yin-yang, silver, and honestly hints of it even back with ojs elimination

im rambling now but yeah 👍 i LOVE random yuri rarepairs they will ALWAYS make me insane

[musemash]

BOND VILLAIN APPRENTICE IS A RASPUTIN WANNABE – unhinged rant by the Canuck Crank

"Musk: a greasy secretion with a powerful odor" – American Heritage Dictionary

Judging from countless rants, memes, videos, and comments online, many Americans evidently have accepted the official 2024 election results – and consequently, have resigned themselves to four more years of insane misrule by a TREASONOUS PSYCHOPATH and his misbegotten coven of DELUSIONAL MISCREANTS. This phenomenon is bizarre, to say the least.

For one thing, the ATTENTION WHORE IN CHIEF has actually won less than 50 percent of the popular vote. But that has not stopped the legacy media from feeding into the dubious narrative that MAGA has somehow mysteriously acquired a BIGLY YUGE MANDATE to usher in the agenda outlined in the FASCIST BIBLE known as Project 2025.

This is happening despite the fact that a lot of people have been raising serious concerns about the integrity of the election over the past several weeks. So far, no absolute empirical proof of fraud has been revealed; but too many questions still need to be satisfactorily answered as soon as possible, before DOUBLE AGENT ORANGE ascends to America's rusty Iron Throne.

Indeed, there are good, solid reasons to wonder whether the election result may have been SABOTAGED by various bad actors. If that was proven to be the case, the perpetrators would doubtless include tech trickster ELON MUSK; couch connoisseur JD VANCE; reliably devious RUSSIAN AGENTS; stupidly unscrupulous MAGA operatives; and certain FAUX NOISE propaganda parrots.

But sadly, many Democrats and antifascists seem to have suddenly come down with a kind of STOCKHOLM SYNDROME – meekly acquiescing to the NEW ABNORMAL, and falling for the corporate MEDIA GASLIGHTING aimed at trying to discredit these concerns. The understandable suspicions about the election are being glibly and condescendingly dismissed as mere conspiracy theories – allegedly the product of something called 'BLUE ANON', a supposed left-wing equivalent of QAnon.

But this is obviously a totally different situation, with none of the factors that spawned Trump's unhinged STOP THE STEAL movement. Democrats did not prime their base for months on end with dubious propaganda predicting rigged elections. They perpetrated no insurrections. And they have not engineered countless frivolous lawsuits promoting idiotic speculations. They are simply wondering how anyone can be stupid enough to think that voters in the swing states went for Trump, but also voted blue on so many other key races.

Of course, it is indeed possible that election skeptics are grasping at straws as consolation. But the documented irregularities cited by various observers are clearly legitimate red flags. A comprehensive recount and FORENSIC AUDIT are absolutely warranted, before the election results should be taken as gospel. After all, in 2021, Trumpers were allowed to file more than 60 fricking COURT CASES challenging the results. So why should the Dems just roll over and placidly accept this outcome?

If the election was sabotaged, one of the motives was surely to perpetrate a DIABOLICAL PSYOP, whose purpose was manyfold: to provoke Americans ever further into fearing and hating each other; to hoodwink them into drowning in profound despair; to get them to accept the notion that they are part of an incurably failed nation; and to motivate them to give up on the idea of ever returning to democracy.

In the face of all these suspicions, if Democrats don't vehemently insist on conducting an immediate autopsy of their WOUNDED BODY POLITIC, it would constitute a feckless dereliction of duty. Instead of standing up for democracy, they would be joining the ranks of too many media pundits and money-grubbing CEOs, who are capitulating to encroaching fascism.They would essentially be handing their country over to the psychotic GOP LOONIES on a red white and blue platter – and giving them a license to CANCEL LADY LIBERTY.

But this is no time to give up. While valid concerns about the election will doubtless be dismissed by cynical skeptics as conspiratorial LIBTARD FANTASIZING motivated by wishful thinking, I maintain that there are more than enough valid reasons to justify a thorough investigation. Most notably, a recent PLANET CRITICAL article presents a sobering scenario:

"Computer scientists and hacking experts have detailed how the USA’s election software was compromised – and the relatively simple hack which could have then been used to FIX THE RESULTS in the seven swing states. They are calling for an immediate hand recount in key precincts which, they say, should swiftly show that a number of these ballots NEVER EXISTED."

Furthermore, as cyber threat expert JACKIE SINGH recently stated on X, America's enemies "want us to believe our society is DISINTEGRATING, and that our streets aren't safe. This is part of the KREMLIN PLAN to foment suspicion and violence amongst Americans. Their gambit relies on us being unable to put the dots together…. They muddy the waters by using American or deep cover local intermediaries to provide the impression of organic DOMESTIC EMOTION – when in reality, the events and resultant emotions endured by the manipulated public are often fully manufactured and paid for by PUTIN."

Judging from the variety of allegations, there are many other plausible scenarios that need to be explored. Some claim that ballot drop boxes were BURNED in blue districts, and areas with a lot of minority voters; that thousands of mail-in votes were simply left uncounted, or discarded; that some ballots were stolen from post offices; and that seals were broken on 13 ballot tabulators in Milwaukee.

More than a million Democrats were apparently PURGED from voter rolls in Texas; Dems in red states were not sent the mail-in ballots they requested; postal employees were accused of ballot theft, and forging ballot signatures; some Dem mail-in ballots were rejected for supposedly mismatched signatures in swing states; and in one district, ballots were allegedly sent to an estimated 325,000 people who were not registered voters.

Disturbingly, voters in some Dem-leaning locales were reportedly threatened by MAGA voters. Even more troubling is the fact that over 50 phony BOMB THREATS, evidently originating with Russian agents, forced evacuations at various left-leaning sites in battleground states. During the distractions caused by all this chaos, saboteurs could quite possibly have manipulated voting machines.

Despite vociferous media assurances that Musk's STARLINK system was not involved in some way, it is nevertheless a real possibility. Considering his tech expertise, the SPACEX CADET could have found a way to surreptitiously connect a satellite to vote tabulating systems, to alter the counts in swing states. It is well known that Musk did a variety of unethical things to install PRECEDENT TRUMPERY in the Oval Office; so it is hardly far-fetched to think he might have tried to hijack the vote via technology.

Elon retweeted Tenet Media's Russian disinformation multiple times; he also approved DEEPFAKE ATTACK ADS; and disseminated propaganda filled with grotesque distortions of Kamala Harris' beliefs and political positions. Most concerning is Joe Rogan's claim that Tesla's boy genius actually possessed an app that gave him the election results FOUR HOURS before they were officially revealed. W the actual F????

There were also evidently a record number of new VOTER REGISTRATIONS this year. Does it sound plausible that there were 20 million fewer people voting this year than in 2020, when the pandemic kept many folks housebound? Considering how much malfeasance has been revealed about the TRAITOR IN CHIEF since that election, it beggars the imagination to think Democrats would NOT have turned up in overwhelming droves to make certain he could not possibly win.

Why would so many voters choose Democrat senators and congress people, but then turn around and vote for a CONVICTED FELON – who is also an exhaustively documented LIAR, a financial FRAUDSTER, an adjudicated RAPIST, a dangerous INSURRECTIONIST, and a traitor stealing NUCLEAR SECRETS? Are Americans' memories really that fucking short?

Dems won down-ballot congressional races in swing states; but mysteriously, those same voters also supposedly chose the CELEBRITY INMATE APPRENTICE as their top guy. Given the vast amount of evidence demonstrating the manifold crimes of the FELON IN CHIEF, why the actual fuck would any sane Democrat choose him over Kamala? And how credible is it, that Trump would win ALL SEVEN of the swing states? None of this makes any sense whatsoever, dammit!

Further, prior to this election, MAGA agents were known to have tampered with voting system technology. The most high profile culprit was TINA PETERS, a Colorado operative who recently got a richly deserved nine year sentence for a data-breach scheme she engineered a few years ago.

Also, as Rachel Maddow reported, several times at rallies Trump told followers he didn't NEED ANYMORE VOTES. He also stated that he and Speaker Mikey 'Moses' Johnson had a cute "LITTLE SECRET" that would guarantee they won. He promised he would divulge the secret after the election. We're still waiting, dumbass!

Of course, it is obvious that the USEFUL IDIOT IN CHIEF owes much of his "victory" to his close personal dominatrix CZAR VLADIMIR. Russian official Nikolai Patrushev recently confirmed this, asserting: "To achieve success in this election, Donald Trump relied on certain forces, to which he has corresponding obligations."

America now faces the consequences of allowing an arrogant SMIRKING SOCIOPATH like Elong MuskRat to purchase and install a sexual predator, adjudicated felon, and archtraitor in the White House. Since DEMENTIA DONOLD's slimy orange hands will be on the NUCLEAR CODES once again, it is crystal clear that drastic action is required. Thus, while some will doubtless dismiss the following scenario as naive and far-fetched, I happily offer this MODEST PROPOSAL for what it's worth.

Before he becomes a milkshake guzzling retiree, JOLTIN' JOE needs to cut the malarkey and unleash his inner DARK BRANDON one last time, to prevent the fascist heist of his nation. He should exercise the prerogative granted to him by the SCOTUS IMMUNITY decision, and order the FBI to conduct an independent investigation of any credible allegations of election cheating. Ideally, a detailed DOJ report on the results could be made public before INAUGURATION DAY. But if necessary, Biden could simply order that the inauguration ceremony be postponed till the process is finished.

If there is sufficient concrete evidence that the November 5th results were indeed hijacked, then Musk, Trump, Vance, Johnson, and any other MAGA cronies that are seriously implicated in the crime, should be detained in GITMO, pending trial for treason. The subsequent legal proceedings should be televised, live and unedited, to reassure a terrified world that the USA has indeed learned from the deadly mistake of the ghastly TRUMP ERROR.

Alternatively, Brandon could use his immunity to release all the evidence accumulated by JACK SMITH, regarding the Insurrection, the stolen classified documents, and Trump's many obstructions of justice. This would demonstrate that Joe has every reason to reopen ALCATRAZ to corral Donnie and dozens of complicit MAGA MINIONS. The next step would be to ANNUL the 2024 election and order a shiny new one, rigorously overseen by CYBERSECURITY agents and U.N. ELECTION MONITORS. Under the obvious emergency conditions, these would all definitely be legitimate "OFFICIAL ACTS."

But to be entirely realistic, we must also contemplate an even more troubling scenario than the ones I've outlined. What if the election was NOT stolen by the MAGAGOP? This would mean that a majority of the electorate, who were sufficiently motivated to get off their asses to vote, were also comfortable with the idea of having their country's worst WHITE COLLAR CRIMINAL be put in charge of their nation's destiny and their children's future.

Thus, they were content to basically trash America's legacy of FIGHTING FASCISM; metaphorically, they casually pissed on all the graves in ARLINGTON CEMETERY. How very disgraceful, and monumentally tragic, such an outcome would be. Now emboldened, the RAPIST IN CHIEF could very well take a wrecking ball to the USA, to satisfy his vengeance, and suck up to BIG DADDY VLADDY. If this happens, it will be a literal miracle if America survives the next four years.

By handing him the White House, myriad incredibly stupid voters have made it almost certain that he will NEVER FACE JUSTICE for his many documented crimes – and everything good about America will be run into the ground, by the most sickening lawbreaker in its history. But those who idolize this treacherous barbarian have nothing to gloat about. God help them if they ever have to face the truth about what they have ENABLED. We'll see who will be weeping in the end.

All that said, I still refuse to underestimate the tenacity and courage of the true patriots and "BETTER ANGELS" of the USA. So while the Yankee homeland won't be the Land Of The Free for the next several years, we will hopefully soon find out that this nation is indeed still the HOME OF THE BRAVE. It may still not be too late to witness the downfall and comeuppance of MUSKPUTIN and his MAGAMOBSTERS.

Best wishes to every one of America's citizens who still treasure democracy. To them I say: Many of us living outside your borders still care deeply about what happens to you. So STAND STRONG – and please don't give up! This is no time for despair, or to wallow in disgust. It's time to get determined – and hopeful. As labor union martyr JOE HILL put it just before he was executed: "DON'T MOURN – ORGANIZE!"

In conclusion: If y'all think I'm just a gullible type, over-reacting and living in a dream world, feel free to call me DON QUIXOTE – then just saddle me up, and point me to the nearest WINDMILL! But to make my case, I submit a very comprehensive archive of related news items, editorials, and satirical videos; I respectfully challenge you to check them out with an open mind.

If enough American voters become sufficiently aware of the deadly serious reasons for the aforementioned concerns, it may not be too late for them to demand that Dark Brandon rescue their nation from the UNBRIDLED DEPRAVITY of Trumpism before it's too late. You'll find the archive at the first link below. I urge you to share it as widely as possible.

HOW MAGA MINIONS & KREMLIN GREMLINS STOLE XMAS https://musemash.tumblr.com/post/42536218614/ TRUMPERY’S FOLLY VS THE MOMALA FACTOR https://musemash.tumblr.com/post/766200584914288640/ DARK BRANDON PASSES THE TORCH https://musemash.tumblr.com/post/736140385977597952/ THE KARMALA PHENOMENON https://musemash.tumblr.com/post/721712158853955584/ MARALARDO’S BROMANCE FOR THE AGES https://www.flickr.com/photos/aeon999/54233325168/in/album-72177720322854833/lightbox/ HOW LORD MUSKPUTIN CONQUERED MARS https://www.flickr.com/photos/aeon999/54233312564/in/album-72177720322832375/lightbox/ FINAL DISPATCHES FROM THE KAMBRAT ZONE https://musemash.tumblr.com/post/771191287661690880/

[oneforthemunny]

hi! I was re reading ur rockstarsddie n nepo baby fics cuz the way ur write is 👩‍🍳💋 but I kinda wondering y they both have so many girls 😭 (not that I mind-I'm obsessed) n what made u chose to give them girls and not boys and also what type of dynamic they have as sisters sometimes that's all hope u have a good day/night

ok i had him be a girl dad to six because... karma lol. plain and simple. not that eddie was ever necessarily mean to women, but he was a whore. and he was kinda raunchy and sick and like that (with consent ofc) and kinda used them like accessories in the tabloids to get talked about. not the greatest back in the day but also never mean if that makes sense? this is his karma bc now, he is terrified twenty four seven. of a lot of things. six girls are very hormonal and dramatic, which scares him bc whatever flare he thought he had has NOTHING on them lol. and the thought of them doing stuff he used to do or the things that those girls did with him back in the day??? he's sick. sick at the thought that someone might have them do that his heart will give out rn.

truthfully, they had six bc it was kinda like a "try for a boy" is the excuse they used when trying for the twins and zahra (vega was a complete mistake) but really, nb likes being a mother. she liked being pregnant and having kids and just being a mom. maybe it healed her inner child in a way, maybe it's because she just likes that motherhood changed her. made her calmer and more confident, but she likes being a mom. and eddie likes being a dad. and they like to have sex a lot and he doesn't like to pull out lol.

as far as the girls. persephone is typical older sister. gets alone with sienna the best, but she's very level headed and "high achiever", built in caretaker of her sisters typical older sister vibes.

kensington is very sensitive. very reactionary and dramatic and sweet. she gets along with zahra the best bc zar is chill and kinda levels her out. vega lives to make kensie cry bc she thinks it's hilarious which is something she learned from sicily.

sicily is very much so eddie's true karma. always kinda daring and wild but in a sneakier way than vega. she is reckless, very very reckless, and it gets her in a lot of trouble and in bad shit when she gets older. she gets along with vega the best. vega was like her little mini me that she crafted and trained to be a terror, but she was always sneaky about it.

sienna is similar to sicily, but she'll get kinda scared to do all the things sicily does. more fearless in a way of taking exciting fun risks, but is definitely the more level headed of the two. less stubborn too. that's why she gets along with persephone so well.

zahra is the most chill human being on the planet. just very go with the flow, zen, calm- a complete sore thumb in the munson household. never in trouble, just kinda vibes and enjoys herself. likes kensie bc kensie feels very bigly and zahra does too, she just doesn't show it. very compassionate which is why they get along.

vega is insane. typical whoopsie "oh fuck we got pregnant" baby. a lot younger than her sisters, eddie's other form of karma bc unlike sicily, she'll just do it to his face with no care. a terror on social media but in an iconic way that has her raking in a lot of followers, kinda revamps corroded coffin in a way. really, she's sweet, just has a big, loud, energetic personality. she is truly fearless and loves attention, which is why sicily molded her into who she was lol.

[marsilles]

if i've already sent this, here it is AGAIN.

☆ put this star into the inbox of your favorite blogs. it's time to spread positivity!!!!

oh  thanh  thanh  …  every  detail  you  put  into  your  writing  (  and  your  headcanon  posts.  i  love  those  i'm  particularly  still  thinking  and  so  thoroughly  impressed  by  the  elly  scar  post  ..  i  think  about  it  oh  so  much  )  shows  just  how  much  dedication  you  have  to  them.  even  to  muses  i  know  nothing  about,  your  writing  makes  me  want  to  know  more!!  i  love  seeing  your  posts  on  my  dash  wither  it's  in  character  or  not  -  always  such  a  ray  of  sunshine  and  i  smile  bigly!  your  support  in  any  endeavor,  big  or  small  is  always  so  meaningful  and  there's  such  an  aura  of  kindness  every  time  we  (  and  i  see  u  interacting  on  dash  as  well!  )  interact  i  love  it  so  much.  i  hope  we  continue  to  write  for  long  time  to  come!  i'm  also  coming  for  mariner  btw  (  need  to  rewatch  oh  lower  decks  my  beloved  ..  ) 

[cainfortea]

Ep7 Siuan Changes

I'm going to preface this by mentioning this is going to be full book spoilers. Also, while this may read as a defense, it's less of that and more of an exploration of the changes made and what avenues that they open up going forward in a way to internalize what happened in the show and to look for silver linings. I'm not really SOLD on the big change here. But so far the show has shown that they're usually thinking ahead on these changes so I'll just have to wait and see. Book spoilers here on.

Part The First - This episode was bigly about making the hard choices you think are right. Anvaere does it with Barthanes, talks about how that's Moiraine operates. And nothing Siuan says is incorrect. Moiraine absolutely failed in her part. And instead of changing tack (sailing metaphor), or at least telling Siuan so they can come up with someone else to take her place, she hid that knowledge and tried to go it alone. Part Deux - Character Involvement. The books in general, and this show especially, is being driven by our attachment to the characters. Later on in the series, when Siuan is helping Egwene become the Amyrlin, she mentions her failings. How she just ran roughshod over people. By doing things the way they did in the show, it's a lot more direct. When (if) she says something like that in the show, we're going to remember that scene specifically because of how much it impacts Moiraine and Siuan as people. Number Three - In the books, the tower coup comes as a surprise. That seemed a very extreme reaction. In the show, it'll be easier to show exactly how it goes down. She even spells it out. "Tower law says we cage the Dragon Reborn". Well, she failed. Now the Coup is going to be a direct result of stuff we saw on screen. Gone Too Far Four - To me, the tower split was very much set up as a good guy/bad guy split. The deposing of Siuan happened under circumstances that went against tower rules in the vote to remove her, and so everyone who stayed is already compromised. Weather out of fear, or a feeling that a whole tower is more important in these times, every Aes Sedai who stayed compromised themselves. How they all deal with those feelings and whatever self deceptions they use, happens a lot in their heads. Which is harder to do on a TV show. This way, it's clear. Now when the split happens, they can do it along the lines of "While Siuan was deposed legally, we really don't think a Red should be Amyrlin just right now, she is definitely going to fuck this up". Which is a lot easier to explain on screen and paint a group with a wide brush. 4.5 - Very similar to 4 but in a legally distinct manner, once the tower is healed, in the books, a big part of bringing them together is Egwene making the rebels apologize for rebelling. Which always seemed like a weird cop out to me. In the books, as I mentioned, the split seemed very much a goodguy/badguy split. And this solution is just some posturing that seemed very centrist in a "Doesn't acknowledge the actual problem but makes a bunch of people feel better" kind of way. By making it an idealogical split, the rebels actually would be rebels. So this scene would play off better.

Five - A part of Siuan's later story is her coming to grips with her failure. And while, yes it is true the captain of a ship that mutinies is 100% responsible for that mutiny, we never really see the lead up to it in the books. Now, we're there with her as she does it. Should she have trusted Moiraine like she had almost her whole life? Should she have remembered how to embrace Saidar and realized she can't force the water? (In this part i'm pretty sure it's no accident that she compares Rand to the Water that Turns the Wheel). These are things we'll be seeing her wrestle with in the future. Maybe.

[cyberdragoninfinity]

What's IPC up to this festive season? Any particular holiday traditions, or have they all been lost to the efforts of keeping Primo and Lester from decking the halls with each other's faces?

The Mancinis are Hispanic Italian-Americans so naturally their holiday tradition is Go to Catholic Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve Even Though Primo and Lester Do Not Want to Fucking Be There and Aporia is Bigly Dissociating<3 and then later have christmas dinner with grandpa Jakob that feels like navigating a minefield and usually ends with the Loudest Nastiest Argument Youve Ever Heard.

I feel like in general Aporia's family is kind of chronically holiday traditionless and has been since mom died--Aporia was so caught up in work for so long and now while trying to reconnect with his kids he just doesn't really know how to breach that gap where Festive Traditions should be...... it doesn't help that I feel like Zone is a bit of a mondo Scrooge wrt to any sort of big holiday celebration. 🥴

Bruno's family probably has some big warm family traditions.... his little sister Misaki is home from college for winter break so he's especially delighted to spend time with her 🥺

Paradox I imagine regards the holiday season as a bit of an annoyance, especially not really having family to celebrate with anymore.... am now very emo thinking about Sherry inviting him to spend Christmas with her and Elsworth though WAHHH... finally more people for for pdox to cook an elaborate holiday feast for in a neurotic frenzy. ENRICHMENT FOR THEM...

[athousandmorningss]

got a double date with my dear friend & her long distance boo & my man tonight. realizing how little my ex-husband spent time with my friends--how he was always hiding, and how good it feels to have a partner that wants to be around/with my people. on the trail a few nights ago my walking friend saw me, we chatted as we do, & we ended our convo with a first-time hug. i'm still thinking about how i talked with my student about hippo campus & the next week she wore their band t-shirt to class. i was walking the other night and saw two men get on the trail with skateboards and matching flashlights on their heads. it made me smile so bigly: imagine a bro texting his bro and saying hey dude let's go skateboarding and them both rushing to get their boards and headlamps. i'm teaching a zoom class. on day one i tell them i've got anxiety and so if i appear nervous or flustered please extend empathy, and this encouraged a few of them to share about their own anxiety and self-described neurotypical behaviors: cos that's reciprocity, right? my new friend tells makes me laugh every day with his verbiage and silliness and i'm so happy i was brave enough to meet him. turns out i had met him before, in a training i took shortly after my divorce to work with ESL students and help them read/learn english. "you didn't give me a continue to talk to me vibe," he says. i vaguely remember him: but what's most notable is how much more open i feel now. how much more open so many things feel.

i got a new fan that osculates, and mariah's whiskers get moved by the breeze of it. it makes me smile bigly. lately she's taken to wanting to walk the hallway at night. it reminds me so much of my beloved oli. and how we are both getting braver at the same time.

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

right now my absolute favorite musical is wicked, coinciding with my perpetual oz interest (I hope I used that word correctly). I used to listen to Dear Evan Hansen quite a lot but haven’t listened to it in a while. Except for “a part of me”, one of the cut songs.

can I ask why it’s your favorite?

Wicked and Oz in general are awesome. I read through the books semi-recently (as well as re-watching Return to Oz) and it always amazes me to remember just how different in tone the 1939 film is. It's truly a world of it's own, with a different feel an overall mood - Dorothy is obviously far different. Our stage adaptation is primarily based on the 1939 movie so my analysis is based on that, but I'd practically call it an Oz AU with all of the liberties it takes. Mostly with Dorothy. She is largely a pawn in games played by the Witches and Wizard of Oz. A game that ultimately, Glinda won. (My feelings about the 1939 version of Glinda are very similar to my feelings about Dumbledore for similar reasons.)

But Wicked is different. Wicked is a commentary on...on, so many things, but I think a major one is complacency. (It's similar to why I love Borrasca actually.) The idea that there can be something rotten in the state of Denmark, something bad happening in Oz, and people will look the other way. It's painfully realistic. Galinda's whole character arc is intertwined with this. Because it's like Elphaba says. She'll grovel in submission to the corrupt institution if it means advancing her own position and career. But in her heart, she knows better. I love the repeated use of the words "good" and "wicked" blatantly deconstructing them and proving that things aren't black and white. That good and evil are just...words that we say. And their weight depends on who is saying them and about what.

The only thing I don't care for when it comes to Wicked is that...well, it kind of succumbs to what I call "Prequel-itus." As a prequel to Wizard of Oz (well, it technically is both a prequel and a retelling since it goes past the end of the original but I digress) Wicked feels the need to give everything and everything a backstory. Fiyero...didn't need to be the Scarecrow. Fair enough to that one, since it was clearly planned and a major part of the story (though it casts a shadow over his bond with Dorothy in all honesty) but Boq as the Tin Man? Give me a break. That asshole is nothing like The Tin Man, who was sweet and sensitive and, oh yeah, already had a backstory. Not to mention the hastily thrown in line about the Lion being the cub from Act 1? Come on now.

As for Dear Evan Hansen.

I just. I really love human dramas. (Again, Borrasca. I can't recommend it enough, except, every trigger warning you can imagine applies to it.) Dear Evan Hansen is such a magnificent story about realistic people going through emotional issues. It's a story that isn't guided by plot, but by characters reacting based on their feelings and desires. The inciting incident is Connor's suicide and the misunderstanding with Evan's note, but after that, the entire plot could be resolved if the characters (mainly Evan) just made different choices. Better ones, smarter ones. But it's not a plot hole, either. It's characterization. You can see the exact moment when Evan falls in love with the lie. "And I see him come to get me. He's....come to get me. And everything's....okay." I've seen a slime tutorial of this show and based on the performance, that is the moment that Evan went from awkwardly trying to comfort a grieving family....to telling himself a better story, about his own life. One where he had a best friend, and wasn't having suicidal thoughts.

And that's one of the major themes of Dear Evan Hansen. Rewriting history when there's no one to contradict you, and living in the new reality you've created from that story, because there's nothing to stop you except yourself. It crops up all over the place, not just in the #BigLie, but Evan also initially lies to Larry about the situation with his father. This idea is echoed in Sincerely, Me as well. "All that it takes is a little reinvention." and "Just believe you can be who you wanna be." It comes up again in Words Fail which is...the most fucking raw and emotional that a musical has ever gotten, for me anyway. I sob when I listen to that song, especially at the crescendo when it reprises Waving Through a Window. Evan talking about no one seeing the real him, because he fears "Will they hate it too?" Just broke me. Because...honestly? I relate to it. And I think a lot of people can. "Will I just keep on running away from what's true?" Like. Oof.

Everyone in this show is miserable, in different ways, and they manifest it in different ways that are typically unhealthy. Though I think my favorite character is Heidi. I don't know if she's considered problematic in the musical fandom, but I will pick up my foam finger and defend her to the last. She was doing everything she could. Evan's anger at her for being absent is understandable, but it wasn't out of negligence. She was working multiple jobs to keep a roof over their heads. She didn't always handle situations the best, like the dinner with the Murphys...but she was blindsided over and over that night, so, fair enough. She isn't very knowledgeable about her son's mental health issues, but it's not for lack of trying. She's doing her best, and also, Evan isn't telling her anything. He's not sharing with her. He's lying to her, on top of lying to everyone else.

The situation needed to end. Because it was unhealthy. Even if Connor and Evan's friendship had been real, it was reaching unhealthy levels. They gave Evan Connor's clothes. They gave him Connor's college fund. Given how he was sleeping over at the Murphy's house all the time, and I don't see them making him take the couch (or allowing him to crash with Zoey) he was probably sleeping in Connor's room. Like, it was reaching creepy levels even if you ignore that it was all based on a lie. And when they find out...yeah, they don't forgive him. Why would they? It would be way too good to be true, Evan would be getting off far too easy, if they just forgave him. They didn't expose him to the world and that is charitable on their parts. Evan had to lose the life he'd gained and return to reality. I like that even though Zoey ultimately forgives him, they don't get back together. Realistically, there's no way they would.

God this story just rips me to shreds. I feel bad for everyone involved, but they're also culpable for their own choices. Like...Alana is another example. We're meant to sympathize with her (and Jared) by the end. Sure, she's a little annoying, but she means well, and her dedication to the Connor Project is sincere. That said...she really doesn't know what she's talking about, claiming the emails "don't make sense" because Connor seemed to be doing better before he died. That's...shockingly naive. Also, the fact that she posted Connor's suicide note (as far as she knew) online without permission. She didn't ask his family if that was okay. She did it explicitly against the wishes of his best friend who the letter was written for. That's fucked up.

I could write similar analysis of Jared, Connor's parents, Zoey...but I can already tell this one is gonna be a long runner so I'll cap it here.