#this is about american arcadia again

[arley-ology]

Me when my consumption of the media feeds perfectly into the meta narrative of the story and thus makes me part of the villains of the game

[packet-of-staples]

Major Spoilers for AA ahead btw.

I just wanna talk about how fucked of a situation Angela is also put in because of the Escape from Arcadia publicity stunt. She was being strung along by Vivian to make her more money, she thought she was helping save someone's life, someone who she comes to really care for in the end. Only to find out she had been manipulated into turning Trevor's life upside down for the sake of ratings, basically the opposite of what she was trying to do.

And it's hard to wish she had never done it because she thought he was going to die! Her options, unbeknownst to her were, let this guy possibly die and live with the guilt of that or Traumatise Trevor and unknowingly give her evil boss more money. Like?? What a shitty position to be put it even if you didnt initially know it.

Not to mention the stress of having to hack into her job's technology and the possibility of getting into major trouble. She could have been caught at any time and fired. Walton OWNS her apartment guys. Kendra or Javert could have caught her at any time, fired her and she would have lost her income and probably her home. Then what would have happened? Would Vivian have just chosen a new employee to take her place to continue """"helping"""" Trevor?

Not to mention that Angela is never going to trust any authority saying they'll help her again after number 6. She trusted them! She was relying on them the guide her through this, following their orders (mostly) because she thought they were also trying to help Trevor. No. 6 was the only other person to she could confide in through the ordeal, everyone else around her aside from Trevor were basically enemies. She shit talked Vivian to No 6 so often and told them all of her plans and just god GOD!!! How awful is that, the one person you trusted to guide you was guiding you right into their claws.

Then for Vivian to turn around and blame Angela for the parts that got out of control. That never would have happened if you had left Trevor alone or you know, canceled the show?

Also there I very much doubt she would ever be able to find a job in her field again, being the person who 'betrayed' Walton Media helped an Arcadian escape Arcadia. It's a good thing she did win the lawsuit and started Solano Hills Productions with Trevor.

It just goes to show that Walton Media and Vivian dont limit their exploitation to those inside the dome, they're willing to ruin the lives of their employees and those outside of Arcadia too.

Anyway I hope Vivian ends up paying for both Angela and Trevor's therapy ❤.

[papiliomame]

@dp-crossover-angst-week-event

July: 11, 12: Controlled by an outside source, Runaway

DP x The Truman Show x American Arcadia

Welcome to the biggest and most popular reality- TV Show in the world! Watch the exciting adventures of our favourite Ghostboy Danny Phantom all day long 24/7! Don't miss any second of it and be part our Phandom with our numerous Phan-merchandise or maybe you want to be a little more engaged, then vote on our Community "Ghost of the Week" poll! Does The Box Ghost escapes his cylindrical contaiment device again or will Vortex wreck havoc over the city or maybe a new ghost makes his entrance! Everything is in your hands, everything is real and don't forget to get " Going Ghost"!

For anyone not familiar with " The Truman Show": It is a movie about Truman who is without his knowledge the protagonist of the reality-TV show " The Truman Show". His birth to his now adult life was documented on TV and every person in the world could watch it. For Truman everything was normal until some strange things happened, like a spotlight falls from the "sky", and Truman become suspicious. He slowly realize he is trapped in a TV-Show and tries to escape the fake town with his fake life everyone played for him.

"American Aracadia" is a game released last year with the same concept put in big and modern. A whole city with mulitple people living a "normal live" without their knowledge of beeing watch by millions of people. The audience can watch every single "Arcadia-born" online per livestream and citizens who are too boring and don't get clicks will get "retired"(aka death). You play the "Arcadia-born"- Trevor and with outside help you unveil the secrets about the city and the TV Show and try to escape.

In both franchises the town/city is built under a huge dome which simulates a fake sky with fake weather and climate.

-----

This crossover idea is based on the same concept. People can follow live 24/7 the life of Danny "Phantom" Fenton. In this crossover ghosts are actually not unknown and are very well contained. Vlad Master is the CEO of the TV show ( and he plays himself as a villain for the show) and works together with ghosts to get enough "supply" for new ghost fights. Danny transformation into an halfghost was planned after the TV-Show was declining for a bit. This and the following ghost fights made the show the most popular show in world (and the show was rebranded to "Danny Phantom"). The Fenton parents are not the real parents and are just "NPCs" to play the "crazy Fenton parents". His real parents sold his rights to Vlad for a large sum of money. This also means that the whole world actually knows that he is Phantom and the audience decides with a poll how Danny live his life. Everything that happens around Danny is staged: Trip to another country, oh no something happens that the plane doesn't reach his original destination (like the episode" Maternal Instincs") ; Danny need to fight Dan to save the world?, this is just a new stage Clockwork fabricated for Vlad, and Dan is just an NPC Ghost.

Danny himself somehow gets suspicous about this whole charade and tries to flee. And he asked himself question like: Is his sister his real sister or also a NPC? What about his best friends, Sam and Tucker, did they lie to him the whole time? Can he trust anyone anymore? Maybe he is the one who gets crazy and paranoid?

The citizens activate the ghost shield which surrounds the city and they try their damnedest to bring Danny back where he belongs ( for them anyway).

[dalekofchaos]

Max and Chloe sequel idea. Life Is Strange:Stormbreaker

So my big idea for this sequel is to tie up loose ends, Max saves everyone from Chloe, Arcadia Bay and Rachel.

Before you play the game you are given a choice to input the choices you made in LIS.

Episode 1. It starts off with Max and Chloe having this slice of life moment. You do a task, look for something for Chloe to fix up the RV and they share a loving moment. Then suddenly. the sky grows dark. The storm is back. On the run, several segments of trying to outrun the storm, but it ends with Chloe dying and Max's powers going out of control. And suddenly. Max is back to where it all started, October 7th 2013.

Episode 2. Max is wondering "why am I back here? WHY???" She's trying desperately to get back to where she was with Chloe and to save her. So you as Max have to get through the five episodes of Life Is Strange to make the same choices. Sounds simple right? Wrong. Max completes the hellish week, gets back to Chloe and the Storm is still there and lands back where she was.

Episode 3. Suddenly Max notices things she hasn't before. Missing variables that weren't there. Nathan learning about the storm. Sean Prescott's larger involvement and the Prescotts gentrifying the Native American land of Arcadia Bay. This time Max tries to finish the story as it was originally intended with the Prescotts and Jefferson exposed and Chloe landing in the hospital. Only problem the storm still arrives. The week begins again.

Episode 4. Max is in a time loop and she is trying everything to save Chloe and even the town. This might be why she was brought back to the worst week of her life. She wants to try and save everyone. At one point she succeeds. Problem is it starts over again and she gets a nightmare to give her a clue. Rachel. She's in this nightmare because she has to save Rachel.

Episode 5. Half the episode would be Max talking to Rachel and learning about the events leading Rachel to the Dark Room. Max learns that Rachel had powers just like her. She could manipulate the weather around her. One incident she unintentionally caused an unstoppable wildfire. With Chloe, she quelled almost all of Rachel's violent storms. Then she was desperate to escape Arcadia Bay. There was something wrong with this town. Everyone knows everyone's secrets. The Vortex Club is the worst collection of scumbags when it used to be cool. Her parents lied to her for her whole life. The Prescotts own everything and everything gets buried and they are destroying the land. And all she had was Chloe, and for a while that's all she needed, but she needed to get out. She had to get out because it's throwing her powers out of balance and if left unchecked, Rachel could kill everyone and she did not want that to happen. She tried everything to escape. Coming up with schemes with Chloe. Using Frank until they can escape and then Jefferson happened. She confirms she did not love either man. She was groomed by two predators. She was still a child and was taken advantage by men twice her age. Then she discovered the dark room. At first it started as a "real modeling opportunity" to be photographed by a professional. It's only after Rachel looked at her binder. There were no photos. Then Rachel looked at the other albums. 19 young woman drugged, posed and all shown dead by the end of their session. Rachel planned on telling the truth, but Jefferson had cameras everywhere. “Not like Rachel, who was always looking in the wrong places. Poor Rachel.” Jefferson drugged, raped and killed Rachel Amber and posed Nathan to frame him. In her violent and disgusting death, Rachel created the storm. In her last attempt to save Chloe, Rachel's spirit turned into the Doe to guide Max throughout her journey. Max mostly succeeded, but all this could not be undone without undoing Rachel's death.

Max promises Rachel she is going to save her.

Max uses the photo of the day she took of herself the moment she came to Seattle(she definitely has one, this girl is obsessed with photography) Max uses it to stay into contact with Chloe. Max warns Kate to stay away from the Vortex Club. Max begins to make everything right. Warning Kate to stay away from the Vortex Club. Warning Victoria to make better choices and telling Nathan that he doesn't have to be molded into what his father wants him to be and he doesn't need to help Jefferson commit the murders. Eventually, Max sends evidence to David about where Rachel is. David busts in and arrests Jefferson, while Chloe unties Rachel, hugs and kisses her.

Mark Jefferson is brought to justice. The Prescott Foundation is shut down and Sean Prescott is imprisoned. Nathan gets therapy without Sean interfering with his mental health, Frank is busted for selling drugs to minors and the Vortex Club reforms into a better club. All is well in Arcadia Bay.

True Colors esque montage:Max, Chloe and Rachel friendship montage in the junkyard. "Max was here" breakfast time in Two Whales. Chilling in Chloe's room and just being super hella best friends and all three of them kissing each other.

Max Going Ape with Warren while Chloe and Rachel are there as "supervising chaperones" Max and Kate having tea dates. Max and Victoria doing photoshoot and shopping dates, Chloe and Rachel introduces Max to Steph, all 4 of them plays a DnD together.

Seeing Max, Chloe, Rachel, Kate, Warren, Steph, and Victoria hanging out and just living life.

Your final choice would be who you'd choose to have Max be partners with. The choices would be between Chloe/Rachel, Warren, Kate or Victoria

Choosing Chloe and Rachel:A montage of Max, Chloe and Rachel being a poly girlfriends. Sharing each other and just living their best lives. Max and Rachel graduates from Blackwell and Chloe gets her GED, Chloe and Rachel takes Frank's RV and Rachel adopts Pompidou. They go traveling like they always wanted to, As Max, Chloe and Rachel prepare to leave Arcadia Bay, everyone is there to see them off. Joyce hugs them, Chloe and David shake hands, Warren and Kate hug Max goodbye and it closes on Max, Chloe and Rachel driving off into the rainbow and heading towards Los Angeles.

Choosing Warren:A montage of Max and Warren watching movies on Warren's flashdrive in Max's dorm, Going Ape, having their first kiss(with Chloe and Rachel cheering and throwing confetti) their graduation at Blackwell, Max and Warren seeing Chloe and Rachel leave Arcadia Bay and the final scene would be Max and Warren moving into Max's childhood home and starting their new life together.

Choosing Kate:Max and Kate having tea dates with the slow realization that they love each other. One date at the two whales(with Chloe and Rachel supervising and cheering them on much to Max's embarrassment. Max and Kate having their first kiss. Graduating Blackwell. Max being there for Kate when she comes out to her family. Max and Kate settling down in Seattle with their plan to work on a series of books for children and gothic horror novels.

Choosing Victoria:Montage of Max and Victoria doing photo dates, Max and Victoria winning the Everyday hero contest and going to San Fransisco together, going to Vortex Parties, Vic, Taylor and Courtney dolling Max up, having their first kiss and going to Seattle together with Victoria inheriting the Chase Space and Max being her personal photographer.

[rascalentertainments]

Account Update 🌟

I haven't been on this platform in years and slowly started making posts and reblogs again. Most of the accounts I did follow back then are either gone, or no longer active. So I'm listing EVERY THING I'm into, so I can follow people back with similar tastes and interests. Consider it a get to know me things whole I make updates. Reblog, share and comment as much as you want, I'd really like to make good use of this site again. Especially since I'm a YouTube Spoofer and part time writer, and always getting inspiration. Which also means my channel is going through revamping, so you'll see some activity on and off as things are scheduled ahead of time.

Plus I'm working on creating my own animation studio with friends to bring my original ideas to life as movies and series in the future. I love to spread joy and fun to others to who aspire to animate as well! Warning: there's a a ton of things I love! 😅

Animation/Cartoons 🎨

Animation

Behind the Scenes and Animations tests

Animation Trivia

How to Draws

Fanart

Memes

Animation History

Tributes

Kid Cosmic

Ben 10 (Classic-Omniverse)

Teen Titans

Samurai Jack

OK K.O: Let's Be Heroes!

Bluey

Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja

Codename: Kids Next Door

Invincible

Voltron: Legendary Defender

Justice League/Unlimited

Young Justice

Batman Beyond

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

The Batman (2004)

Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes

Motorcity

Hazbin Hotel

Spectacular Spider-Man

Gravity Falls

Wander Over Yonder

Sponge bob Square pants

Johnny Bravo

Johnny Test

Scooby-Doo/Mystery Incorporated

Code Lyoko

Lackadaisy

Avatar: The Last Airbender

The Legend of Korra

Transformers: Prime

G.I Joe Renegades

Wolverine and the X-Men

Danny Phantom

American Dragon: Jake Long

Star vs The Forces of Evil

Penn Zero: Part Time Hero

Tales of Arcadia

Lego Monkie Kid

TMNT (2003)

Wild Kratts

Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur

Xiaolin Showdown

El Tigre

Miraculous Ladybug

Steven Universe

Monster High

Static Shock

Hellboy: Animated

Animaniacs

Tangled: The Series

Lilo & Stitch The Series

Darkwing Duck

DuckTales 2017

Wish Concept Version

Lego Monkie Kid

Buddy Thunderstruck

King of the Hill

The Simpsons

My Life as a Teenage Robot

Comic Books & Manga 🔥

Marvel & DC

Superman

Batman

Superpets

SuperSons

Hellboy

Invincible

My Hero Academia

Fullmetal Alchemist

Monthly Girls: Nozaki-kun

Deadpool

Jonah Hex

Middlewest

My Little Pony

MLP: Legends of Magic

Ouran High School Host Club

Jujutsu Kaisen

My Hero Academia: Vigilantes

Godzilla

Voltron Legendary Defender

Scott Pilgrim

Anime 🇯🇵

My Hero Academia

Sonic X

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

Ya Boy Kongming!

OddTaxi

Toradora!

Monthly Girls: Nozaki-kun

Cowboy Bebop

Urusei Yatsura (2022)

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off

Tiger & Bunny

Solo Leveling

Jujutsu Kaisen

White Cat Legend

Dr. Stone

High Card

Demon Slayerw

Trigun: Stampede

Delicious in Dungeon

Love is War!

InuYasha/Yashahime

Polar Bear's Cafe

Rascal the Raccoon

Movie Franchises 🎬

Kung Fu Panda

The Fast Saga

Star Wars

Sheep

Hellboy

DCAU

Scooby drop

Pixar

Lego Movie

TV Series 📺

Stranger Things

Heroes

Friends

Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Supernatural

Video Games 🎮

Sonic the Hedgehog

BROK The Investigator

Blind

Crash Bandicoot

Sly Cooper

Spyro

Party Games

Mario & Sonic at the Olympics Series

That's mostly the just of me and what my channel is going to start having. If you have any questions about favorite foods, animals, book series, sports or anything about personal tastes, feel free to drop them I'm my asks box, and Ill get to them as soon as possible!

Hope you'll like what I have to offer! 🌟🌟🌟

[sosaspiels]

Life is Strange: Double Exposure looks interesting. It is good to see Max back, but based on Deck Nine's creations of True Colors and Before the Storm, I have my doubts when it comes to Double Exposure living up to the original Life is Strange game.

Before the Storm was really boring and cringy to me; it wasn't bad, but I would not like to play it again ever in my lifetime.

True Colors was better but still not up to the standards Life is Strange 1 and 2 set.

I feel that it is just something in the essence of Dontnod that is missing in these newer Life is Strange games.

Life is Strange 1 set up a nostalgic and cozy environment filled with what seemed to be purposely archetypal American high school characters. The dialogue was gawdy at times, but fitting as an exaggeration of early-to-mid 2010s slang, especially for the northwestern internet-grown millenial 'hipsters' that Max and Chloe were presented to be.

Life is Strange 2 was quite inconsistent when it came to the themes and ideas of individual episodes, but stood out as an ambitious video game that not only put more effort into making itself a "Choices Matter" experience, but also covered controversial themes like anti-immigrant sentiment [specifically] in the early Trump era of 2016 (though it was sometimes a bit exaggerated for the sake of proving a point).

This is a rare instance of where I hope a game development team strays far away from its usual ideas. However, the trailer does not seem to make that apparent.

It will be interesting to see how they approach the Sacrifice Chloe or Arcadia Bay endings, as they mentioned Max being able to jump through 'parallel universes' or something of the sort. It is a bit ironic how the game does seem to be set in the Sacrifice Chloe ending while the plot is centered around Max trying to save a murdered friend with her powers.

Wait. This plot mirrors Life is Strange 1 more than I imagined.

The trailer gave off the same 'imitation of Life is Strange 1's small town vibe' just like True Colors. But what I just realized is that the premise is based around Max attempting to save the life of a friend murdered (for unclear reasons) with her rewinding ability -- just like the premise of the first game.

Chloe is murdered by Nathan for reasons unknown, and Max rewinds (awakening her power) to discover the motive behind her murder while also uncovering a larger conspiracy in Arcadia Bay.

Max's friend in this trailer is murdered by someone unknown for what seems to be reasons unknown, and Max rewinds (using her power for the first time in ages) to discover the motive behind her murder while also probably uncovering a larger conspiracy in her town because that is the same exact thing that happened in Life is Strange: True Colors.

I still have faith in you, Deck Nine! The news about Nazi symbols being hidden in this game was concerning (among claims of a toxic and harassment-filled workplace), but I still hope the team was able to move through such a heinous trouble and come out of it with an amazing piece of work.

Please, I beg of you!

[heck-star]

Been having a grand old time on the American Arcadia whiteboard, got me thinking about @octopus-in-disguise AA Spirited Away AU again. I’ve been wanting to do a design for angela (specifically her dragon form) for a while now and this felt like a good opportunity!

Apologies for the shit quality of some of these, I have a bad habit of drawing really big and that often doesn’t translate to the best screenshots 😭😭

[pichlive]

Main

Hello! I'm Pichu/Peaches.

This is my liveblog-- currently liveblogging Lily's Well.

The way this will operate is I'll mainly focus on one media at a time-- if I want to explore said media more, or finish up extra content, I'll be putting those on separate blogs dedicated to said media. I'll still be using the tags I used here though.

I'll also review things once I've finished them, and give my final thoughts on them-- or at least as they're finished so far. Some stuff I'll play on here will be technically incomplete.

I'm always happy for suggestions! Just be patient. It can take me some time to get through stuff. Some things because of the category they're in or length may go onto a different blog-- more on that below.

My policy on any content that could be spoilery for a tag is that I'll put it behind a read more, and then after a month or so, it'll be unspoiled-- if it needs more time behind a read more, please tell me!

My tastes on this blog will vary a huge amount, and thus, i cannot guarantee that everything will be sfw (anything too nsfw/nsft will be warned and behind a readmore). Minors can follow, but at your own discretion.

I'm also going to say that if you don't like something that I'm liveblogging, that you either filter that particular tag or block the blog in general. Otherwise, for the most part, I'm not down to be bullied or lectured about for what I'm playing on here. There may be some exceptions here and there, but they're more likely to be very circumstantial (ergo-- more likely to be more indie projects wherein the creator is doing something extremely harmful and I feel like my liveblogging is spreading their influence further-- but again, extremely niche situation).

No strict DNI, will block if needed. Bigots blocked on sight.

Some content is segmented into different blogs-- usually because the length of said content would make it very hard to focus on other things on this blog, or because I just find that other blogs make it easier for me to focus on other content I'm also curious about.

They are as follows:

Archie Sonic

One Piece

Ultrakill

Slay the Princess

Undertale Yellow (other than True Pacifist)

Webcomics

My tags are also as follows:

#pichlive is my general tag

My liveblogging tag for things will be #pichlive [name of media]-- if you want to filter out my content in the media tag, just blacklist that if you don't wish to block.

#pichlive answers is for answering asks

#pichtalk is, for, well, general talking

#pichreview is for whenever i review content, typically after i've finally finished it/done a general playthrough or whatever or whatever.

#pichstop is for any mid-reviews of what i've done so far of the media i'm consuming.

#reblog

more will be added as needed.

Current To-live-blog list:

immortality

I cannot Drown

Lost Cartridge: Cold Read

penthos

shipwrecked 64

Catboi game series

casette beasts

dialtown

Who killed sonic the hedgehog

hi-fi rush

caligula effect: overdose

caligula effect 2

I Was A Teenage Exocolonist

pokemon concierge

my friendly neighborhood

ghost trick

needy streamer overload

Milk outside of a bag of milk outside of a bag of milk

Oxenfree 2

chants of sennar

Ddlc +

Catch up on Sonic Prime

Catch up on Sonic IDW

Scarlet Hallow

spec ops: the line

utena

american arcadia

pizza tower

f is for family

Infinity Train

Amphibia

Mob psycho 100

bastion

paper mario series

Off

anthology of the killer

celeste

Will add as I find even more stuff I wanna experience

[inky-snowdrop]

Love Is Love

A 2023 L.G.B.T+ Aesthetic Collection

Day 15 • Rachel Amber is Bisexual!

Day 14 • Day 16

👇🏽 Pride Headcanons Below! 👇🏽

💗•💜•💙

Rachel has dated both men and women in the past canonically (more men overall), but I headcanon that she has preference towards women. She just... feels more comfortable around women. Also, unfortunately, Rachel falls into that bisexual stereotype of not being entirely faithful to her partner (who was Chloe at the time). Granted, it was more emotional cheating then physical cheating (except for a few kisses she shared with Nathan whilst they were both high), but... it happened and it kinda pissed Chloe off and made their relationship more strained

Dating Rachel Amber would be a chaotic and exciting affair. Be prepared to wake up at 3 in the morning to crash the local gas station, steal a few candy bars and/or instant coffees, and find an abandoned building to sit on it's roof and watch the stars fade into a sunrise. And then the next day it's cave exploring on the beach and the day after that it's breaking into Blackwell at night to go skinny dipping in the pool. She would keep you on your toes 24/7.

Rachel fucked around with Nathan Prescott for a bit during her freshman year of high school and then again when she was a senior. At first, it was a friendship turned tentative romance brought on by a mutual interest in the arts, then it got broken off during their sophomore year. But by their senior year, the teenagers were brought back together by the clawing desire to have someone who fucking UNDERSTANDS what it's like to have a father that's let you down and who is never going to change. The drugs made the connection stronger, even as many of Rachel's other connections discouraged the relationship. It wasn't an unhealthy romance, but it was obvious that something was gonna give eventually. A relationship built on suffering was never meant to last...

Rachel started officially dating Chloe in her sophomore year. Chloe was Rachel's rock, keeping her from flying to close to the sun, and Rachel was Chloe's angel, keeping her aloft even as the world crashed down around her. Rachel and Chloe would hang out in American Rust every single day, talking about everything from favorite bands to shitty home lives. Chloe's truck was where they talked, but occasionally they'd chill in the boat as well. Chloe also got into the habit of carrying a gun with her after the incident with Damon. Rachel and Chloe did take that lumber train all the way up to Seattle one time, sauntering through the city as they walked into every furniture store and pretended to pick out furniture for their apartment and twelve dogs. Dinner would be shitty subs that they ate on the train, holding hands as the trees zoomed by and guitar music played between them...

...but Chloe wasn't enough for Rachel. You see, Rachel needed to be free and Chloe was too stuck in her suffering to even consider a future with Rachel. Sure, in time Chloe could get there, but Rachel wanted that future NOW. Which is why she gravitated back to Nathan, because his family and wealth could be her ticket out of Arcadia Bay (and also because she related to him a bit too much). If only he could grow a pair and cut ties with his shitty fucking parents, but nope. He, too, was not enough for Rachel. Frank had a vehicle, he could get her places in a heartbeat... But he was volatile, too dependent upon drugs to give a shit about this reality. He was content in Arcadia Bay, just like Chloe and just like Nathan... But Rachel FUCKING WASN'T. She needed to get out Get Out GET OUT and be free... And unfortunately that's when Mark Jefferson stepped into the picture...

If Rachel had to pick a song to describe her sexuality, she'd pick: Sugar, We're Goin Down by Fall Out Boy

💗•💜•💙

[beardedmrbean]

David Liu's gun shop looks unsuspecting from the outside. Nestled into the back of a quiet strip mall in Arcadia, near Los Angeles, Liu keeps the overhead sign of the sushi restaurant that once occupied his living-room-sized shop. He does this to remain discreet, saying the people who need to find him will seek him out. 

Liu posts fliers on his windows offering Concealed Carry Weapons (CCW) license classes in Mandarin and English, pasted below his Trump 2020 flag, orchids and decorative fish.

Liu says roughly half of his customers are Asian — primarily Chinese — and conduct transactions in their native language.

Many of his customers at his shop are like friends — regulars who come by for multiple training sessions, paperwork, or to chat. Several of them are new gun owners driven by fears over rising levels of violence and hate crimes, which increased by over 330% between 2020 and 2021, according to a report by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism published in 2022.

Arcadia is a predominantly Asian area just a few minutes from Monterey Park, the site of a deadly mass shooting following a Lunar New Year Festival this year.

A growing demographic of gun owners

Asian Americans traditionally have the lowest rates of ownership than any other measured demographic in the US, but saw a 43% rise in ownership between 2019 and 2020, starting with the pandemic. The COVID-19 outbreak reportedly spurred public scapegoating of Asians in the US. Crimes such as robberies and home burglaries have also increased in recent years following the pandemic and a rapid rise in the cost of living.

Liu says that in the LA area, Chinese people are sometimes violently targeted both publicly and in their homes due to a stereotype of keeping large amounts of cash on hand.

"The situation is getting worse," says Ray Gong, 27, a customer of Liu's. "I just got out of the military recently, and hearing the news, my mind changed."

Gong arrived in the US in 2016 from Hangzhou, an eastern city in China just south of Shanghai. He purchased his first pistol in August and another two firearms in September, hoping to "be ready for anything." ____________________

The correct answer is, it's none of your business why people are exercising their constitutional right to bear arms.

He says that while he hasn't experienced violence related to his ethnicity, he was discriminated against in the military, where he was prevented from taking on higher roles due to being Chinese and was often handed the work that nobody else wanted.

He is also in the process of obtaining his CCW, which typically takes over six months in California. "I'm thinking about carrying it (a gun) all the time."

Gong is now a member of a nearby shooting range and says he works on target practice at least once a week.

In a Public Policy Institute of California survey last year, two-thirds of Californians saw crime as a serious problem.

"Everyone (not just Asian Americans) is buying more guns," says Liu. "People are scared."

Ricky Wong, 44, a legal administrator, says that in the last few years, he survived a violent attack with a baseball bat and two car thefts. The attack, he said, was carried out by other Asians. He was a gun owner before, but the attack and robberies validated his decision to be armed.

Calls for justice system to get tough on violence

One of the solutions to rising violent crimes in California, Wong and Liu say, is to get tough on crime again, citing multiple murderers who were released after what they see as much-too-brief stints in prison.

Chris Cheng, a sport shooter and founding member of the Asian Pacific American Gun Owners Association, echoed the sentiment that law enforcement is not effectively tackling violent crime.

"The lack of prosecution" by district attorneys in major cities, including Los Angeles and his home, San Francisco, against criminals perpetrating racist attacks against Asians decreased the community's confidence in the criminal justice system.

"Combine that with the increased civil unrest with the George Floyd riots and the January 6 insurrection, it should come as no surprise that many Asian Americans began to understand that law enforcement cannot protect them."

However, not everyone feels that firearms are not the answer to rising hate crimes. "The firearms industry and gun lobby are currently targeting minority communities in their marketing in response to long-term stagnation in the traditional gun market of white men," according to a report issued by the Washington-based Violence Policy Center.

"As a result of their increasing size and consumer power, Asian Americans are viewed as an untapped market by gunmakers," it said.

Liu sees the motivation of his customers not as a result of marketing but as a result of fear. "It's just so dangerous out there. A lot of people buying are victims already."

[rosebloodcat]

The Things We Thought We Knew (But We Really Didn’t)

Wrote this on a lark after reading some stories that floated the au idea that (for one reason or another) Blinky and Jim were related. Either from him being James Lake Sr but not knowing it, or from Merlin's magic randomly choosing one of Jim's mentors be the "base" for Jim's half-troll form and Blinky was the one picked.

I know that, for one of those fics, the author had some interesting evidence they put forward on their tumblr for how Jim and Blinky resembled each other from the start and how it was just MORE OBVIOUS when the two were the same species.

I thought it was fun and decided to throw my own hat in the ring, but with my own twist.

.

In 1995, around the start of spring, Blinkous Galadrigal went missing.

He had gone to the surface to help the current trollhunter, Kanjigar the Courageous, by collecting some more research material that had been dropped by traveling trolls that came to visit Trollmarket. He didn’t return before dawn or in the following days. The only hope that the worst hadn’t come to pass, was that his remains had not been found.

Something that Arrrgh, his closest friend, would point out each time he left to search for him again. He refused to give up hope.

.

The same morning that the scholarly troll vanished, a man was found unconscious in a back alley wearing nothing but a set of ill-fitting, brown overalls and rushed to the Arcadia Oaks Hospital.

He’s unconscious for several weeks and the doctors can’t find any records for him. They dub their patient “James Doe”, and wait patiently for him to come around and hopefully give them insight into who he is and where he came from.

When James finally awakens, he can’t answer them. He can’t remember where he came from, how he ended up in the alley, or even what his name is.

He’s a man that doesn’t exist and, while the staff can theorize for hours based on speech patterns and accent (a middle-american scholar that may have spent some time in England? Apparently the way one speaks can tell a lot about where they came from), they still have no answers.

All he can do is climb to his feet and move forward.

.

After James is cleared to leave the hospital (and stumbles on the surname “Lake” to use for his paperwork), he gets new clothing in his size and temporary residency in the Arcadia Homeless Shelter.

He also makes a friendly acquaintance with a kind volunteer by the name of Barbara O’Neil, who helped him find those options in the first place and gave him someone to chat with numerous times during his hospital stay.

.

Several Months later, and a stronger friendship forged between the two, Barbara learns that a friend-of-a-friend was looking for an assistant for his job and hasn’t had much luck finding one. So she passes along the suggestion to James.

Norman Polk is a friendly, relaxed man despite his intimidating height and many scars. Most shockingly, he can wield magic as easily as he breathes and seems fairly sure James has some too.

Mr. Polk is a detective, who works to help the everyday person with his gifts as much as he can but has trouble keeping track of the many papers, books, and research that come with the work. And, for James, he’s willing to give him a chance even with his mysterious background.

The work comes easily to James, hunting for the truth and searching for answers is familiar in a way he can’t explain. Handling the paperwork and research is laughably easy.

He gets the job.

(When his new boss learns that he’s been living in a homeless shelter, he insists that James move into the spare room in Norman’s office/house.)

.

Two years pass, and James transitions from being Norman’s assistant to his business partner. The sharp-eyed researcher to Norman’s people-wise instincts. They work well together and have a reputation that can’t be sneezed at. It’s something both of them view with pride.

He’s also realized that he’s fallen for his friend Barbara. Hard.

With the encouragement of their mutual friends, they try dating. It works out better than either of them had expected.

.

James proposes at the end of 1998, their wedding the following summer of 1999.

.

In the Spring of 2000, they learn that Barbara’s pregnant and James Lake Jr. is born on October 10th.

The new parents are delighted with their baby boy, despite the anxiety and sleep deprivation throughout. He’s nicknamed “Jim” and he’s a healthy, active little boy with loving parents who work hard to care for him.

Life is good for the small family.

.

Until Jim’s 5th birthday, when James and Norman are called away for an emergency case. James Lake Sr. never comes home.

That night, the missing Blinkous Galadrigal is miraculously found by Kanjigar wandering the sewers of Arcadia in a daze, clutching a bag of assorted magical items in one hand and a minuscule bit of broken metal in another.

He has no memories of where he’d been for the past 10 years, what he’d been doing, or why he’d vanished.

Once he’s confirmed to be the real thing, he’s brought back to Trollmarket, where those lost 10 years remain a mystery. The strange possessions are tucked away in the back of his library, and teased at the back of his mind from that day forward.

.

On the surface, the disappearance of James Lake Sr becomes an unsolved mystery and a rampant story in the Arcadia rumor mill.

The rumor sting, weighing heavily on the remaining members of the family. Especially as those rumors spiral beyond control, becoming progressively more vicious as time goes on.

Norman tries to keep the hope alive, showing Barbara magic that shows that her lost husband is still alive even if they don’t know where he is. He keeps searching for clues, hints, anything to lead him to his missing friend. He reiterates, over and over, that James wouldn’t just abandon them. He loved Barbara and Jim far too much to do that to them.

.

Three years later, his search is cut tragically short because of an accident with a drunk driver that took his life. The accident hurts  so much,  and Barbara’s hope fades with each following year.

But her friend, Allison (and her husband, Thomas), pitch in where they can to help with the burden. And her neighbor, Nancy, gives her a place to go when her home is too much. With their help, she doesn’t fall apart, even when the rumors and snide remarks become too much.

.

When Jim turns 12, eight years after James went missing, she decides she can’t keep waiting.

She files for James Lake Sr to be declared legally dead.

(The rumors abruptly die at that. Something small and spiteful in her chest is pleased with that.)

She can feel her heart breaking throughout the process and she finally lets herself grieve at the end. The most she can gather herself together to say to Jim is that she’s not married to James anymore.

Now she’s a widow raising her son on her own, and the only route left is forward.

.

The year of Jim’s 15th birthday, Jim is chosen by the Amulet of Daylight to become the first-ever human Trollhunter and his life is turned upside down.

The following three years of his life are chaotic. Filled with magic and monsters, joy and fear, history making triumphs and soul crushing losses. There is so much happening he can barely handle it.

It’s surprising how comfortable he is with his new mentor, Blinkous “Blinky” Galadrigal. Something about the troll just- clicks with him and he can never seem to put it into words. Blinky puts those feelings into words for him, the day the troll calls him his son.

(A small, buried part of him wonders if this was what he could have had if his own father had stayed.)

.

Barbara finally opens her heart again and tries to build something new. Even as her mind whispers how similar Blinky sounds to James, how much his human form resembled her missing husband, how much he and Jim resemble each other no matter the form either of them were in.

There’s no way to test if a human and a troll were related, and she doesn’t think her heart could take being wrong if she let herself hope again. No matter how badly she wishes she could finally have an  answer.

(James had built his life from amnesia that had been potentially caused by magic. Norman had warned them when they started dating that, if that magic broke or was reversed, he could lose his memories again. Blinky was a troll, but a troll could be turned human… No, she couldn’t let herself be wrapped up in theories.)

.

But, eventually, the losses became too great.

Loss of friends, loss of family, loss of home. One Pyrrhic victory after another that weighed them down.

When the true purpose of the Krohnisfere offers Jim the chance to go back and save the precious people they’ve lost, he takes it.

In the hearts of his surviving friends and family, they all hope it will work too.

.

.

.

.

It’s 1998 and James Lake bolts awake in the middle of the night with a strangled gasp, as if from a terrible nightmare.

Laying in the dark of his room at the house that he shares with Norman, his heart racing a mile-a-minute as his eyes adjust to the darkness, he remembers.

[randomfoggytiger]

React: "Return to Me" (from the POV of Someone Averse to RomComs, Part III): Wherein I Rename Bob the Builder

Bob has arrived at O'Reilly's (even Riley would have been a better name than Bob. I'm sorry-- I vowed to let the Bob name thing rest. I'm sorry, carry on Bob.)

He likes the restaurant, it seems, though he has to gird up his loins (metaphorically) before exiting the car. (Excellent choice on DD's part to make Bob muted and mumbling after the death of his wife-- unless ranting at a boardroom, of course.)

I see Bob passes waitress lady and Minnie Driver, nice nice.

Charlie's happy to set up his friend.

Bob decides he isn't happy to be set up, after all.

Gold.

"Matchy matchy, green squared." Cue "Aha ahahhaah ahoy ahee ahoo" noises from everyone but Bob.

Yeah, this isn't going to work out.

If you can't tell from Bob's polite smile, he's dying inside.

Let me better illustrate:

And a great touch (or should I say, purposed non-touch): Bob reaches for the jacket foisted upon him blindly, not wanting to engage... eye contact.

Charlie just said...

No, I have to restart that:

Charlie just said.

BOB'S A BUILDER.

REALLY.

YOU NAMED HIM BOB BECAUSE HE WAS A BUILDER--

Y'know.

I had patience with your name, Bob. I did. I was a generous soul. No more. Your name's Ben now. Live with it-- unlike Elizabeth (buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurn.) I'm not sorry, Ben, I'm just petty now. I made a deal with you and this happens. You should be ashamed Ben Bob. Bob Ben. ...Bobbin'? Bobben? ...Nah, I'll stick with Ben, easier that way.

Not Bob's date being unimpressed that he designed a building instead of owning it was classic.

Take that sick burn, Ben Bob.

Meet Cute After Date Is Moot.

Some of Bob-Ben's animation returns as he tries to place Minnie Driver.

"Do we know each other?"

"Uh..." she looks engaged for the first time, too. "I think so."

Benners makes jokes about an Irish Italian restaurant before date woman jumps in with "blah blah blah" hands at Minnie-- which Ben doesn't appreciate. And, obviously, neither does Grace/Minnie.

These names are getting to be a lot but I don't care.

Bob grabs Grace's arm before she leaves, asking for a cup of coffee to smooth things over but mainly to add an "I'm sorry" before it.

I'm likin' this bittersweet Minnie Driver, I'm likin' it a lot.

"No straw," he winks.

Minnie's likin' that a lot, too.

Bob's so caught up in his head that he doesn't even notice his phone ringing. A good portent for his future.

When he realizes he has a way to escape, Ben Bob bobs out of that booth so fast you'd wouldn't have known he'd been there. (>:DD)

He then walks half-way across the restaurant to oh-so-casually wait behind Grace the waitress... and catches her doing the ol' be-nice-to-your-waitstaff parlor trick: swap the waters and the Karen won't know.

Bob is delighted; Minnie, caught, glides away; and I'm having a grand old time.

Benjo Bobberino sets up his escape plan with Big Mike (again, those Arcadia bells are ringing. Yes, I know it's a common American thing to put Big with Mike, but still.)

"Oh, I bet that's refreshing." Bobcalifragilisticexpialadocious deadpans, staring at the bottled tap water and sharing a private joke with Minnie.

Ben nearly murders a hag when she continues her badgering (if his strained intake of breath is anything to go by); and covers for his friend's stupid jokes, smoothing it over with a handwave.

Charlie, my man, Benanas is doing you a favor here. Don't embarrass yourself too badly.

I see you, Bob Ben (returning to the classics) wanting to try Grace's favorite dish and getting fed up when date has the gall to call it fattening and ask if anything's not covered in oil.

"No-- some we boil in Swiss water."

Meet Cute got a hearty laugh out of Mr. Morose, who doesn't care if the table is confused and not chuckling along.

Karen literally pulled the manager card. Her name's forever stamped as Karen to me, bravissima madame.

Ben faking his way through the phone convo is *chef's kisses.*

Charlie knows. "Byyyyyyyye."

Grace runs over, trying to make sure she hasn't offended her patron; and Ben is way too eager to assure her that the Karen woman isn't his girlfriend or even a friend.

Mr. Alive and Bantery, thou hast sort of returned.

Grace hands him takeout-- "Mr... Atsuki"-- and I don't know if I've seen anything greater in 24 hours.

...Oh wait, I haven't seen anything else in 24 hours.

Someone else is touched, too.

You see, my mutuals, this here is second marriage material: not as breakable as the first lovely, lost wife-- she has a little spit under her tongue.

My man Robert Benjamin has a lot to think over.

Gotta end it there for now~

Enjoy!

[packet-of-staples]

So I found some Rawfury videos of Yuri Lowenthal, Krizia Bajos and Cissy Jones talking about their characters and talking about the game before it was released (I was looking for clips for OC voice claims) and there was something in Cissy's Vivian video that kinda stuck out to me.

So what she says about Vivian exactly is: "Arcadia to her is- its not only where she's built her career, its where she's building her legacy, and uh, for her this is something really important. She wants to leave something of value, something that's worth a lot to people-"

Now, from a non spoiler point of view this is like, oh yeah rich Ceo lady wants to leave a mark on the world. Ceos are always talking about legacy, wanting to leave something behind, be something great yadda yadda. Added bonus if you know that she's supposed to be Elijah's '''Granddaughter''', she wants to continue her family's legacy all checks out.

But, knowing who she really is, not Elijah's granddaughter but one of the Arcadia 6, makes this sentence a lot more interesting. You could see this as her wanting to remake her legacy, because she technically already had one. Emily Garland is one of the 6 Arcadian born citizens to escape the dome, that's something pretty cool to be known for. But she threw that away, she sold out and chose to support the very company that oppressed her and many others like her. So now she has to make something more of herself to justify that choice. If she can make Arcadia greater, bring it out of its current slump like Howard Ashman did for Disney, then she's no longer the escapee who sold out because she was too weak to handle the outside world, she's the amazing woman who made American Arcadia popular again!

Cissy goes on to say: "-and so she works really really hard to make this thing, um, the best it can be with the most interesting people-" (She also goes on to call Trevor 'a bit of an L 7' or a square and I think that's really funny, like yeah, yeah he wouldn't be there, he would be square)

She does work really hard to leave something that, in her eyes, is positive to her image. She's reinventing herself to make her crawling back to the company worth it. To prove to herself that it wasn't a mistake and to leave a legacy that, hopefully, most people will look fondly on instead of in contempt or betrayal. She wants to leave something of value, because I can imagine there is a part of her that doesn't hold any value in herself, not after failing to make a difference that actually mattered and becoming part of the problem.

And I dunno I feel like that adds just an extra layer to her which is pretty cool. I could also be reading way too much into this idk.

Anyway, the other two videos are very cool too. Yuri talks about how Trevor's life isn't boring like Walton thinks it is, its just 'Exciting in the wrong way'. He also talks about how he thinks lots of people will relate to Trevor (So true) and how just because your life may be simple, it doesn't mean its boring and not worth living which I think is very sweet. Thank you Yuri. Krizia talks about how she really related to Angela because she grew up on Puerto Rico and how she got to add a couple of 'spicy words' as she put it, in her dialogue for a bit of extra authenticity. She also talked about how Walton was the job Angela always wanted, but after 'peaking behind the curtain' she realised that it wasn't the dream she thought is was, it's both kinda heart breaking but also very relatable, especially I'm sure to those in the entertainment industry. It makes me really want to know what her 'peak behind the curtain' moment was and what the steps where to get her to this point in more detail (Hey hey, Out of the Blue, hey please. please make that prologue thing you said was a good idea of mine on twitter. Hey, please? Please? It has the Regi Davis stamp of approval, please?)

The videos are very cool I'll put them under the cut if you're interested. I just wanted to have a ramble cause I haven't in a while and I've just been thinking about this.

[funky-cheese]

Ayyyy welcome to my Blog!

I'm funky, or funko (derived from "funko pop"). This is my main blog! I write fanfics here and occasionally reblog fandom-related stuff. Here are my sideblogs!

My Personal Blog - For me to talk about the issues i'm passionate about, and events in my own personal life.

My Spam Blog - purely for the purpose of reblogs i find funny or chaotic. Nothing else here.

More blogs to come! I'm a little obsessed with categories and organization so...

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"Who are you?"

I'm a random person on the internet. I'm pansexual, and genderqueer. I'm mentally ill and I am neurodivergent, though lacking in diagnosis (for personal reasons, I don't have access to the luxury of diagnosis at the moment). I have chronic joint pain, therefore I'm disabled. I'm afab, and i'm a first generation American. My mom is from Israel and my dad is from Russia. I am an ashkenazi jew, and I celebrate jewish holidays and culture with my family, but I do not truly believe in god. Though, I find comfort in jewish beliefs, so i'm not sure where I stand on that at this moment. I am an aspiring medical student, and I love STEM. My fandoms are: MARVEL!!!!!!!!!, Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia, Avatar the Last Airbender, Legends of Korra, How to Train your Dragon, DCU (mostly interacting with batfam works), and Voltron.

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As I said earlier, I am jewish. If you're here to spout antisemetic bullshit? get out. Don't even test me, don't try to toe the line. Block me yourself before I do because I will block and report you. This is my writer's account. If you want to talk about the i/p issue or be antisemitic SO BADLY, then go to my personal account. Thank you for your cooperation.

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Now, my ao3 handle is funky_cheese

I've written a lot in the MHA fandom, but I'm not in it anymore. So all my incomplete MHA fics are up for adoption!

I'm currently working on a lot of marvel WIPs that i hope to upload soon! So keep your eyes out for any sneak peeks!! For now, here are the titles of my two MAIN work in progress works: Diagnosed at 93 Lost and Found (And Found Again) But I have a lot more ideas queued up and one-shot ideas that I want to write! Keep in mind, I write almost solely angst or hurt/comfort, and even occasionally I might dip into the dead dove genre.

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feel free to use the tumblr "ask me" feature for any of the below reasons:

To ask for marvel fic recommendations! I will respond with ao3 links of my fav fics, If I have any for you, or the next best thing If I don't.

To donate a writing prompt for a fanfic! I can't promise I will write it, but you can always take a shot! I will be more likely to respond to niche, angsty or hurt/comfort ideas, especially tony, bucky, peter, steve, or matt -centric. But I am open to all ideas!!! I love writing but struggle with ideas.

To talk about anything! I love being chatty. I love talking with people. and most of all, I love community. So feel free to anon or not, and just... spark a conversation! (but stay respectful! Thanks.)

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If I reblog your headcannon, there's a high chance I'm going to write it. this tumblr is basically my list of "to-write" prompts.

[saint-starflicker]

My Top 10 dark academia stageplays:

#10 Cleansed by Sarah Kane

This playwright is known for deconstructions of stageplays themselves. Kane's later works replaced characters with voices, or did away with settings, and became so avant-garde that they weren't shows anymore but experiences. While Cleansed still had something like a plot or characters, it's a surrealist story set at a university—according to the script—that nobody treats as a university because they're only trapped there by a serial-killer torturer man. It is gory, depending on the stage effects budget many audience members are prone to walk out, but if you can withstand the shows of violence then you might find that there is meaningfulness at every instance of it.

#9 Rope's End by Patrick Hamilton

The morality of murder as discussed by elitist post-grads. I think The Secret History fans would like this for the similar themes. There was a movie adaptation in 1948 directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

#8 The Children's Hour by Lillian Hellman

There is a movie version from 1961 that I consider "malicious compliance" to the Hays Code policy of bury-your-lesbians. The doomed-to-death character was not a bad person, and an intolerant society is worse off for having lost her.

#7 The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds by Paul Zindel

Tilly Hunsdorfer has a science fair project to put together, but her home life continues a legacy of child abuse. I have not watched the 1972 film adaptation, but the internet has informed me of its existence.

#6 The Awakening of Spring by Frank Wedekind

Written in 1891, translated into English by Edward Bond in 1974, again by Ted Hughes in 1995, and translated/adapted by Anya Reiss in 2014. When young people aren't guided and educated about facts of life that are traditionally ignored or repressed, then their actions become destructive. There was a very popular Broadway musical adaptation and American Sign Language revival, but I'm trying to keep to listing stageplays that are not musicals.

#5 Proof by David Auburn

A father and daughter duo are mathematicians who figuratively walk a tightrope between genius and madness. There was a movie adaptation in 2005.

#4 Master Class by Terrence McNally

This might not technically be a musical, because the featured songs are selected from other operas that Callas starred in, so I'm including this on the list. A retired opera singer, the legendary Maria Callas, teaches a room full of opera singers. Each song they select to perform sets off a series of monologues from the impassioned Callas about her life, portraying wartime poverty through to the betrayal of torrid love affairs, and how her voice was a gift and a curse.

#3 Educating Rita by Willy Russell

This is much more on the academia side than the dark side, but I think people that liked Dead Poets Society 1989 for the themes will like this stageplay or it's 1983 movie adaptation.

#2 Arcadia by Tom Stoppard

In the year 1809, the honorable Septimus Hodge tutors a teenaged gentlewoman with a keen interest in mathematics and physics. In 1993, two historians and a mathematician stay at the estate and try to find out what happened there between 1809 and 1813: sword duels, extramarital affairs, secret letters, famous poets, and how the brilliant Thomasina died tragically young and unsung. They clash with regards to academic "office politics" and the importance of the humanities versus the sciences.

Honorable Mentions:

The History Boys by Alan Bennett

In terms of how this stageplay and the 2006 movie adaptation tackles social issues, it's technically better than Dead Poets Society on every count: directly confronting misogyny and racism in academia, and having canonically queer boys and men in a convoluted relationship triangle as they try to prepare for university entrance examinations. There is a death. The History Boys absolutely qualifies as the genre Dark Academia. At the same time, I cannot recommend it because the way one main thread of subplot was handled really bothered me.

Picasso at the Lapin Agile by Steve Martin

While this list got much less dark from Proof on downwards, this might also be less academic. Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso meet at a café, the eponymous "Lapin Agile", and banter with the entire cast of characters about their life and philosophies. I found the entire play both funny and fun, and I really think it gets the neurons firing in sparkly ways.

Doubt: A Parable by John Patrick Shanley

At a Catholic school, a nun tries to prevent a priest from further interfering sexually with one of their students. The stageplay keeps the audience in doubt(!) about whether or not he did what he was accused of, as the story spirals into explorations of faith, race, sexual orientation, pragmatism versus principle, and whether what we're shown in our limited ways to witness can really be what it is. There was a movie adaptation in 2008 starring Meryl Streep.

#1

I don't actually know what to put here. Recommend a stageplay that you think belongs in this spot.

[honeyxmonkey]

Harley question, by the third book, will he and Sarah be starting high-school? I've heard that Americans start high school by age 14.

And will he be part of the quest in the third book? or will he stay in Arcadia?

Yes! They'll both be Freshman at Arcadia Oaks High! Sarah is just a few months younger than him, but still qualifies for the Freshman class because she's very smart... some people blame that on the fact that her father is literally the god of strategy.

And for the quest question, again I can't divulge too much information about that, but most of the heavy plot takes place in Arcadia itself, aside from a short stint in Wales by Jim, Douxie, and Carter :]