#I'm a sucker for long lost family reveals

[amethyst-geek]

Would it be weird for my Disney superhero show to have Cinderella and Adam (aka the Beast) turn out to be twins who were separated at birth? 

#Disney #adam beauty and the beast #cinderella #beauty and the beast #i'm a sucker for long lost family reveals

[chainsawctopus]

What do u think of yoshiden

Oh boy. If you're here on my account then you probably already know who I am and how absolutely insane I am for them, but I'm gonna ramble anyway LOL thanks for giving me the opportunity to show people on Tumblr how insane I am ‼✌😁 If people who don't know me from twitter find this, hi I'm TK! I may be a little deranged for Yoshiden, just a tiny bit y'know- Yoshiden means a lot to me for various reasons but I'll just put down all my insane ramblings down belowwww [CSM Spoilers if anime onlys/new readers find this post somehow] [Serious Section] -Denji's distrust/disliking for men/straight up internalized homophobia is most likely because of his past abusers being male (the mafia and his father), so if he starts to trust Yoshida throughout the course of part 2 and they end up forming an actual bond, whether it's romantic or platonic, it kind of helps Denji get over his distrust and help him cope with that trauma knowing that hey not all dudes are that bad actually, this guy's pretty nice. (You could say that Beam already did that and they had a good bond too but Beam is... y'know... *finger across neck* bleh... and Denji still emphasizes he wouldn't let a dude sit on him in 104 so...)

-Surprise surprise, I'm in on the bi Denji agenda because I'm bisexual and all my favs have to be bi 😁😁/hj But seriously, bi Denji is a pretty good concept cause aside from getting rid of his internalized homophobia, it also helps him get over/cope with his trauma as I said above. Part 1 was all about Denji learning about different kinds of love (familial love from the Hayakawa family, romantic love from Reze, and the mess that is sexual->maternal->abusive love from Makima, etc etc), so exploring his sexuality in part 2 could be a nice little addition to that. (Bonus points for the new kind of familial love he has for Nayuta now that he's her older brother/father figure; bonus BONUS points if Yoshida's the other dad LOL) [Delusional Absolutely Normal Section] -Yoshida's canonically a pretty boy as stated by another guy, so maybe if Denji stares at him long enough he'll realize guys can be as pretty as girls too and think it's fine to find guys attractive LMAO

-We all agree Yoshida's gay or at least mspec mlm leaning/preference right? Right. -Anyway, I'M A TOTAL SUCKER FOR ONE-SIDED LOVE STORIES LOL I'd like to think Yoshida has coworkers who could've taken the job of watching over Denji but he deliberately asked to do the job because he found him cute back in part 1, though realistically he probably only got chosen for the job cause he knew about Denji's identity already and he's also in high school, but we're not here for realism, we're here for gay people. (Gay people being Hirofumi Yoshida.) (Did you see him at the table with Angel while Denji and Power were talking about barf and stuff? Dude was smiling while listening to them talk about random shit, he probably became interested in Denji then and there; hell, even the goddamn onigiri scene where Denji still eats it after it fell to the ground probably made him go 'woah this guy is sick in the head I'm in love') Back to the one sided thing, the idea of Yoshida being willing to die while protecting Denji is???? insane??? and I love it because it really shows how devoted he is not only to his job but to Denji in general. He's never truly lost his temper at Denji, even when he used his bare hands on the cake, even when he let himself get sat on by girls, and even how he only wants to reveal himself as Chainsaw Man just to get a girlfriend. Sure, he called him hopeless in the recent chapter, but he never raised his voice or fought back. He's always trying to be patient with him even when he's being completely ridiculous. Copypasting what I've said on twitter here: If someone started scooping and eating the cake I bought with their bare hands, I wouldn't just sit there and go "Aaaaaah!", I'd definitely get pissed. Yoshida has FEELINGS for this boy, I swear. He said NOTHING about it. NOTHING. No "Why the hell'd you do that?" or "Dude that's gross" OR ANYTHING, he immediately just goes back to talking about trying to prevent Denji from revealing his identity. If someone I liked, however, would eat cake with their bare hands, I'd just be embarrassed but also find it cute so I'd let it slide. (Tested and proven 👍)

If, miraculously, Yoshida canonically confesses to Denji, he'd probably still pine for him even if Denji turns him down, which he probably will. Yoshida realizes, after being his bodyguard for a while, that he really enjoys Denji and being around him; he'd get too attached to those feelings and still shower him with appreciation even if he knows it'll never be reciprocated. Just knowing that Denji's being given the love he deserves is enough for him, even if Denji doesn't want or care about that love. It's kinda selfish of Yoshida, but he doesn't care, all he cares about is that he likes Denji and he's willing to keep that up until he dies. -Anywayyyyy, even though they're both good in battle they're both absolute fucking losers LOL Yoshida getting thrown out the window is and will always be my favorite scene from him. Denji got called a loser by Asa, so maybe if Denji just turned his head 90 degrees after that rejection, he would've seen another loser and they could've been the most pathetic loser4loser couple in existence, it's great, c'mon Denji just accept you can like men already

-I kinda maybe kin Yoshida soooo- 💀 I mostly started kinning him for his appearance and how he's visibly deranged in part 1 LOL, but seeing his attitude towards Denji in part 2 really made me like wow he just like me fr‼ I'm sick in the head for this cute guy who is also kinda sick in the head‼ So yeah that really added to my appreciation for yoshiden LMAOSKJSDKF Ok that's all it's almost 6am and my brain is empty, maybe I'll add to this later, hopefully that answers your question anon 😁👍‼‼‼💥💥💥 I dunno if you expected an essay but BOOM, I hope I get a good score LOL

#chainsaw man #chainsawman #csm #yoshiden #yoshidenji #denji #hirofumi yoshida #can't believe my first serious post on tumblr is a goddamn yoshiden ramble but hey what else did you expect from tk chainsawctopus right #if shipping yoshiden got me a boyfriend then everyone should just start shipping yoshiden to find love it'll work 100% trust me #it's kinda funny cause my bf is literally the ceo of yoshiden #follow punkkrat right now or explode sorry you have no choice #i remember some1 asked him to make a 50 paragraph essay abt yoshiden and he said that's my thing so i hope that anon sees this post hey ano #anyway stream in the back room by syudou

[garrettwrites]

Some answers had to be mashed together due to the 10 answer limit (such as friendships and romantic relationships). You can however specify in the tags or replies, of course. Sorry if I missed anything but... read the previous reasoning.

On Traumatic vs Violent scenes: the difference is in writing presentation. Are you more foccused on the physical aspects of the scene or the trauma of them? Obviously they go hand in hand, but try to pick the one that better applies to you. Personally I love writing emotional filled violent scenes (I'm a vampire lover and like the trope of "character gets severely hurt and then gets someone to care for them"), but even when I'm writing the emotional side I prefer to emphasize the physical violence and touch on the trauma in a lighter manner between the lines - therefore I would fall on "Violent Scenes". If you, instead, write violence/abuse/etc and prefer to dwell on the ramifications rather than the act itself, I believe you'd fall on the "Traumatic Scenes" answer more.

"Emotional Scenes" are very broad. Think of them as "long lost friends/lovers/family gets reunited", "A confesses their love/hatred/exhaustion of B", "important thing gets revealed and everyone is being all emotional about it", etc.

Personally, although I like most of these, I'm a sucker for descriptions. I love waxing poetry about everything.

Reblogs appreciated for bigger sample size.

#garrett.text #poll #writeblr

[princess-of-the-corner]

SS and CN AU

Nath: hey, Alix, Juleka, can Marc and I workshop some ideas with you we have for our comic.

Alix: I guess.

Marc: Since I'm a sucker for long lost family reveals, I was thinking of having Hawk Moth to turn out to be either Scarlet Scarab's brother or the father of one of Captain Noire's kids, but I don't want to do both because that would be way too contrived. Which one do you think we should go with?

They just immediately slam their heads into the desk. Marc and Nath don't know why, but they back off

#ss and cn

[jayisnotdrawing]

OK so I'm still really into fanfics and have SO many plot ideas but I can't write nor roleplay any of the characters so...

Crap-

ANYWAYS plot ideas aka if these plots or similar exist in fanfiction please inform me because I really wanna read a plot like this kk, thanks-

ALSO major video game and comic spoilers if, for some reason, you haven't played/read them (you should for the comics at least, they're so good do it now).

1) Roleswap(?) for the Back to the Future video game. Instead of Doc being erased first when going back to alt. 1984 (since, based on the game, both Marty and Doc were going to be erased at some point), Marty is erased first. Doc needs parts to repair the Delorean, since it was destroyed by ramming it into a billboard. Therefore, he has to run into town to gather these parts, and sees the rather horrific reality created by his alternative self after he gets with Edna. Immediately when entering town, he is confronted by alternative Marty who assumes he is this reality's Doc (because of course Marty would recognize him, even when Doc disguises himself). Marty is baffled by the attire, but decides that it is best to not question Doc, who, although Doc and Marty aren't close friends in this timeline, Marty looks up to greatly. Cue Marty following Doc around like a lost puppy, willing to help him and not question a SINGLE thing he's doing until he is revealed the time machine on pure accident (after Doc attempted to keep Marty away but failing). Of course, Marty questions it all, and at first doesn't wish to partake in the project any longer. However, when Doc tells Marty more about his timeline, alternative Marty breaks down (all good fanfics have angst-) and reveals that he's not as happy as he appears to be. His mother is an alcoholic, his father is constantly spying on her, Jennifer broke up with him, and he has a concerning lack of friends. Knowing he'd be better off in the "correct" timeline, he helps Doc fix the Delorean and return to repair the past.

Ok the next couple are just different characters finding out about the time travel escapades for pure funsies. I dunno, I love plots where characters just go "oh shit, time travel exists?" so-

2) So, as I was reading the comic, I noticed I think back in volume 4 or 5 where Biff and his gang were SO CLOSE to having that "oh shit" moment. I couldn't help but wonder what would happen if they did? Also cue some family bonding because I'm a sucker for that. So, in the specific section of issue #22, Biff accuses Marty of looking awfully familiar. While Biff is presented as kind of a doofus, even a doofus could connect the dots (which he admittedly almost does-). Remembering the situation with the almanac, he has reason to believe time travel is real. Seeing Marty (who looks very similar to Calvin Klein), he doesn't accept that he is his son, especially considering a) Marty's hesitation in response and b) that Calvin Klein disappeared right after the dance (incorporating other's headcanons, perhaps Doc told those that asked about Calvin that his nephew was dead or long gone without considering Marty returning to another time). However, before accusing him, Biff needs some actual proof, and where else to get it aside from a photo ID? He has no qualms with stealing from another's pockets, and in the scenario that he was wrong then he could claim that it was for the teen's money. Stealing the wallet, Biff finds out the (rather obvious) truth: Calvin Klein is not Calvin Klein at all. The teen's real name is Marty McFly, and deducing it from his birthday, he was the same guy at the dance years ago. Enraged, Biff is NOT beyond beating a guy up, but upon realizing the teen's identity, Joey steps in to help. Of course I need some good hurt/comfort and family bonding because the comics' depiction of Joey and Marty's relationship BROKE me.

3) Okay two Doc finds out prompts! This one is sort of similar to the previous one, an AU of the same comic volume and also very short (probably would be a one-shot if anything). While stealing from Doc's house with Joey, Marty manages to be caught. Of course, Doc is easily able to recognize his friend from the 1950s, and immediately gets down to scolding him and intense questioning (ofc like a dad scolding a child lol). Marty kind of just awkwardly has to explain himself.

4) Back to the video game, in episode 2 there are, of course, two Martys (if you've played the game, you'll figure out what I'm talking about lol). Doc/Emmett, unaware, speaks to Marty 2, who is from the future trying to prevent his own erasure. Unfortunately, the original Marty returns too soon. Shocked by his own presence (and quite confused), he passes out. Marty 2 now is forced to explain the situation to Emmett. He tells him about the Delorean, stating that it was his own creation and the entire reason he was here was to save future Emmett/Doc from being murdered. But the real reason Marty 2 was here was to prevent his own demise. Arthur, having being delivered the subpoena, was about to be beaten as a result. Emmett feels guilty. Despite barely knowing Marty, he could very well assume that his future self and Marty were great friends. Marty had also been glued to his side all day, and had been one of the nicer people to interact with him. Wanting to redeem himself after unknowingly putting his best friend's existence in peril, Emmett attempts to help Marty 2 with the task, but as Marty already notices, Arthur McFly and the goon is gone. Marty 2 tells Emmett to stay with his past self and continue about the day, or else they'd risk some world-ending para-whatsit by failing to do so. Upon arriving to help his grandfather, Marty (unlike the video game, purely because I need some angst and hurt/comfort) ends up succeeding in the task, but getting pretty badly hurt in the process. He ends up being found by past Emmett, and we get some wholesome friendship moments.

5) Ok, ok, last one of these types of plots, I swear. I'm sorry, I'm just an absolute SUCKER for them. This one, it's George and Lorraine, and a Back to the Future Part II AU. When Marty is crawling over the stage, he slips and nearly falls. However, this alone is enough of an error. Marty is seen by the crowd, and is somehow...in two places at once? His past self panics, and is rather confused by the events occurring. Time travel did always give him a headache! But now, he has quite a bit of explaining to do. Marty from the future can only think about how he has to get out of this situation as quickly as possible. He climbs back up and gets down, running out of the building. His past self, getting an obvious hint, runs off himself ahead of Marty 2, but of course with a massive headache. Before Marty 2 can leave, he finds himself subject of questioning by none other than George and Lorraine. They demand to know his real identity, and how in the world there was two of him. He reveals the truth, not able to have a second to think of a good lie, and admits that he doesn't really have time to stay and chat. With the realization, George and Lorraine are desperate to know more, but Marty is already gone. Bttf Part 2 plays out as usual, until the ending. George and Lorraine find themselves on Doc's doorstep, and lucky enough find themselves with some answers. Cue family bonding and a horrified Lorraine.

Ok, ok, I'm done. I've had these floating around in my head for a while, and I'm quite curious if anything similar in fanfiction exists. As much as I wanna write, my history as a fanfiction author is quite crummy and I lack any motivation 😖. I am also tempted to dip back into roleplaying, but I CANNOT, for the life of me, probably do any of these characters without making them too OOC or add in too much angst (like, maybe I'd give a shot at Marty but that's probably it rip). In that case, ig free plots if anyone wants them for anything lol.

#back to the future #marty mcfly #doc brown #bttf #plots #this took like 40 minutes to write-

[melongeist]

What if Leo was a villian from Rottmnt Movie

For my scenario is that Leo knew he was gonna be leader and that he actually planned on it. Same thing how he "accidentally lost the key", and knew that Leo would have someone from the future tell them about the Krang invasion, leaving Raph behind, making his friends and family suffer, give them hope and freeing Raph from the Krangs control, and then later reveals his plan and how he faked his emotion and how he was jealous of Raph being leader to everyone when he fights off the Krang.

He then later comes back to tell them why he was brought back, and his family cares about him. But Leo regrets and feels like he doesn't deserve being leader and he said "Back when I was in the Prison Dimension, how do I know... I'm me?", but Raph tells him that even if he did try to betray him, he still knows he's a good person which makes Leo feeling better. But Leo quietly thinks to himself that even if Raph didn't snap out of the Krangs control, he would have just killed him with his own katanas for real, and how the older him would have done it without any hesitation, and questions Raph what he'll think of him if he knew about about the side of him.

ooooo gotta admit I'm low-key a sucker for evil Leo! But here it's more like a tantrum almost? "I want bad things to happen to you because I'm jealous of how long you were the leader" to then later make things right once he decides they suffered enough.

I don't get how he could have known what's gonna happen with the invasion and Casey coming from the future, but the fact he'd actually kill Raph in the worst case scenario.... intriguing (again I love evil AUs)

Does Leo regret it after the prison dimension because everything got out of hand and was so much worse than he anticipated?

#asks

[flufffysocks]

let's talk about andi mack's worldbuilding

sorry this took forever to make! i've been pretty busy with school stuff and i kind of lost my inspiration for a bit, but i ultimately really enjoyed writing it! i wish i could've included more pics (tumblr has a max of 10 per post), and it kinda turned from less of a mini analysis to more of an extremely long rant... but i hope it's still a fun read!

i've been rewatching the show over the past few weeks (thanks again to @disneymack for the link!), and i’ve been noticing a lot that i never did the first time around. this is really the first time i’ve watched the show from start to finish since it aired, and it honestly feels so different this time - probably a combination of the fact that i’m not as focused on plot and can appreciate the show as a whole, and also that the fandom is much, much smaller now, so there’s a lot less noise. so the way i’m consuming this show feels super different than it did the first time, but the show itself doesn’t - it’s just as warm and comforting to me as it was the first time around, if not more so.

i think a lot of that can be attributed to andi mack’s “worldbuilding”. i’m not quite sure that this is the right word in this context, to be honest, because i mostly see it used in reference to fantasy and sci-fi universes, but it just sort of feels right to me for andi mack, because you can really tell how much love and care went into constructing this universe. for clarity, worldbuilding is “the process of creating an imaginary world” in its simplest sense. there’s two main types: hard worldbuilding, which involves inventing entire universes, languages, people, cultures, places, foods, etc. from scratch (think “lord of the rings” or “dune”), and soft worldbuilding, in which the creators don’t explicitly state or explain much about the fictional universe, but rather let it’s nature reveal itself as the story progresses (think studio ghibli films). andi mack to me falls in the soft worldbuilding category. even though it takes place in a realistic fiction universe, there’s a lot of aspects to it that are inexplicably novel in really subtle ways.

so watching the show now, i’ve noticed that the worldbuilding comes primarily from two things - setting and props, and oftentimes the both of them in tandem (because a big part of setting in filmmaking does depend on the props placed in it!).

one of the most obvious examples is the spoon. it really is a sort of quintessential, tropic setting in that it's the main gang's "spot", which automatically gives it a warm and homey feel to it. and its set design only amplifies this:

the choice to make it a very traditional 50s-style diner creates a very nostalgic, retro feel to it, which is something that's really consistent throughout the show, as you'll see. from the round stools at the bar, to the booths, to the staff uniforms, this is very obvious. the thing that i found especially interesting about it though is the choice of color. the typical 50s diner is outfitted with metallic surfaces and red accented furnishings, but the spoon is very distinctly not this.

instead, it's dressed in vibrant teal and orange, giving it a very fresh and modern take on a classic look. so it still maintains that feeling of being funky and retro, but that doesn't retract from the fact that the show is set distinctly in modern times.

of course, this could just be a one-off quirky set piece, but this idea of modernizing and novelizing "retro" things is a really common motif throughout the show. take red rooster records. i mean, it's a record shop - need i say more? it's obviously a very prominent store in shadyside, at least for the main characters, but there's no apparent reason why it is (until season 2 when bowie starts working there, and jonah starts performing there). a lot of the time, though, it functions solely as a record shop. vinyl obviously isn't the most practical or convenient way of listening to music, but it's had its resurgence in pop culture even in the real world, mostly due to its aesthetic value, so it's safe to say that it serves the same purpose in the andi mack universe.

the fringe seems to be nostalgic of a different era, specifically the Y2K/early 2000s period (because it's meant to be bex's territory and symbolic of who she used to be, and its later transformation into cloud 10 is representative of her character arc, but that's beside the point). to be honest, exactly what this store was supposed to be always confused me. it was kind of a combination party store/clothing store/makeup store/beauty parlor? i think that's sort of the point of it though, it's supposed to feel very grunge-y and chaotic (within the confines of a relatively mellow-toned show, of course), and it's supposed to act as a sort of treasure chest of little curios that both make the place interesting and allow the characters to interact with it.

and, of course, there's andi shack. this is really the cherry on top of all of andi mack's sets, just because it's so distinctly andi. it serves such amazing narrative purpose for her (ex. the storyline where cece and ham were going to move - i really loved this because it highlights its place in the andi mack universe so well, and i'm a sucker for the paper cranes shot + i'm still salty that sadie's cranes didn't make it into the finale) and it's the perfect reflection of andi's character development because of how dynamic it is (the crafts and art supplies can get moved around or switched out, and there's always new creations visible).

going back to the nostalgia motif though, the "shack" aspect of it always struck me as very treehouse-like. personally, whenever i think of treehouses, there's this very golden sheen of childhood about it, if that makes sense. i've always seen treehouses in media as a sort of shelter for characters' youthful innocence and idealistic memories. for example, the episode "up a tree" from good luck charlie, the episode "treehouse" from modern family, and "to all the boys 2" all use a treehouse setting as a device to explore the character's desire to hold onto their perfect image of their childhood (side note: this exact theme is actually explored in andi mack in the episode "perfect day 2.0"!). andi shack is no exception to this, but it harnesses this childhood idealism in the same way that it captures the nostalgia of the 50s in the spoon, or the early 2000s in the fringe. it's not some image of a distant past being reflected through that setting; it's very present, and very alive, because it reflects andi as she is in the given moment.

some honorable mentions of more one-off settings include the ferris wheel (from "the snorpion"), the alley art gallery (from "a walker to remember"), SAVA, the color factory (from "it's a dilemna"), and my personal favorite, the cake shop (from "that syncing feeling").

[every time i watch this episode i want to eat those cakes so bad]

these settings have less of a distinctly nostalgic feel (especially the color factory, which is a very late 2010s, instagram era setting), but they all definitely have an aura of perfection about them. andi mack is all about bright, colorful visuals, and these settings really play to that, making the andi mack universe seem really fun and inviting, and frankly very instagrammable (literally so, when it comes to the color factory!).

props, on the other hand, are probably a much less obvious tool of worldbuilding. they definitely take up less space in the frame and are generally not as noticeable (i'm sure i'll have missed a bunch that will be great examples, but i'm kind of coming up with all of this off the top of my head), but they really tie everything together.

for example, bex's box, bex's polaroid, and the old tv at the mack apartment (the tv is usually only visible in the periphery of some shots, so you might not catch it at first glance) all complement that very retro aesthetic established through the settings (especially the polaroid and the tv, because there's really no good reason that the characters would otherwise be using these).

besides this, andi's artistic nature provides the perfect excuse for plenty of colorful, crafty props to amplify the visuals and the tone. obviously, as i discussed before, andi shack is the best example of this because it's filled with interesting props. but you also see bits of andi's (and other people's) crafts popping up throughout the show (ex. the tape on the fridge in the mack apartment, andi's and libby's headbands in "the new girls", walker's shoes, andi's phone case, and of course, the bracelet). not only does doing this really solidify this talent as an essential tenet of andi's character, but it also just makes the entirety of shadyside feel like an extension of andi shack. the whole town is a canvas for her crafts (or art, depending on how you want to look at it. i say it's both), and it immensely adds to shadyside's idealism. because who wouldn't want to live in a world made of andi mack's creations?

and, while it's not exactly a prop, the characters' wardrobe is undoubtedly a major influence on the show's worldbuilding. true to it's nature as a disney channel show, all of the characters are always dressed in exceptionally curated outfits of whatever the current trends are, making the show that much more visually appealing. i won't elaborate too much on this, because i could honestly write a whole other analysis on andi mack's fashion (my favorites are andi's and bex's outfits! and kudos to the costume designer(s) for creating such wonderful and in-character wardrobes!). but, i think it's a really really important aspect of how the show's universe is perceived, so it had to be touched upon.

[^ some of my favorite outfits from the show! i am so obsessed with andi's jacket in the finale, and i aspire to be at bex's level of being a leather jacket bisexual]

and lastly, phones. this is a bit of an interesting case (pun intended), because the way they're used fluctuates a bit throughout the show, but i definitely noticed that at least in the first season terri minsky tried to avoid using them altogether. these efforts at distancing from modern tech really grounds the show in it's idealist, nostalgia-heavy roots, so even when the characters start using their phones more later in the show, they don't alter the viewer's impression of the andi mack universe very much.

so, what does all of this have to do with worldbuilding? in andi mack's case, because it's set in a realistic universe and not a fantasy one, a lot of what sets it apart from the real world comes down to tone. because, as much as this world is based on our own, it really does feel separate from it, like an alternate reality that's just slightly more perfect than ours, which makes all the difference. it's the idealism in color and composition in andi mack's settings that makes it so unmistakably andi mack. even the weather is always sunny and perfect (which is incredibly ironic because the town is called shadyside - yes, i am very proud of that observation).

the andi mack universe resides somewhere in this perfect medium that makes it feel like a small town in the middle of nowhere (almost like hill valley in 1955 from "back to the future"), but at the same time like an enclave within a big city (because of its proximity to so many modern, unique, and honestly very classy looking establishments). it is, essentially, an unattainable dream land that tricks you into believing it is attainable because it's just real enough.

all this to say, andi mack does an amazing job of creating of polished, perfect world for its characters. this is pretty common among disney channel and nickelodeon shows, but because most other shows tend to be filmed in a studio with three-wall sets, andi mack is really set apart from them in that it automatically feels more real and tangible. it has its quintessential recurring locations, but it has far more of them (most disney/nick shows usually only have 3-4 recurring settings), and it has a lot more one-off locations. it's also a lot more considerate when it comes to its props, so rather than the show just looking garish and aggressively trendy, it has a distinctive style that's actually appropriate to the characters and the story. overall this creates the effect of expanding the universe, making shadyside feel like it really is a part of a wider world, rather than an artificial bubble. it's idealism is, first and foremost, grounded in reality, and that provides a basis for its brilliant, creative, and relatable storytelling.

tl;dr: andi mack's sets and props give it a very retro and nostalgic tone which makes its whole universe seem super perfect and i want to live there so bad!!

#andi mack #buffy driscoll #cyrus goodman #jonah beck #tj kippen #tyrus #ambi #bex mack #analysis #film analysis #disney channel

[phoebehalliwell]

Okay, so I swear I mean this legitimately and not rudely, but I'm curious about how you pick out your rarepairs (Kyle x Piper, Andy x Phoebe, Sheridan x Phoebe)? Is it like sticking characters in a generator and seeing if you like the dynamics or do you just have a galaxy brain that mere mortals don't comprehend?

so piper and kyle was actually not an invention of my own brain that is thanks to one or possibly two anons dating like way way back this was one of them and the other was the lone person who voted piper/kyle in my valentine's rarepair extraordinaire and it was really the valentine's one that kicked it off because i rewatched that morgue scene because of it and like. like man. There Is Something There. and then i kinda have this tendency to latch onto things kinda chew on them for a while and piperkyle was def one that's real fun to work with because the more you think about it imo the more appeal there is because just to say it point blank is like woah wait what the fuck but to break both of them down especially tracking piper's evolution as we've seen it as she becomes more jaded and bitter and closed off to love and optimism and to have that kind of become undone by a man who is just as jaded and bitter??? like! the flavor. the. narrative foils. an unlikely trust growing that unconsciously grows more and more into something that resembles love but no you can't put that name to it because it's not love because (especially in piper's case like you had love you had it and you lost it you know love) and this is just so wildly different from anything you've ever experienced and yet from where there once lay only thorns now blossom roses like!! i'm a sucker for a good slow burn i also think kyle was a really wasted character when it comes down to what he was versus what the show tried to make him so when there's time to like hash him out i always think that's fun. with sheridan and phoebe that was literally just me giffing i think it's 7x01 where sheridan like vaguely threatens phoebe in the park and i'm like okay. that's gay. that one i'm just like hey everyone sees this right that's just chemistry that's that unexplained x factor (esp considering so many of phoebe's love interests lacked that in favor of casting men who at the time were considered pretty). phoebe and sheridan had that man. phoebe and andy Specifically tho i was thinking of an SO swap for reasons soon to be revealed and i was like oh yeah i should just revisit the greatest hits paigeleo pruecole piperkyle and then i realize that that's a p even swap no like. double stacking love interests meaning i should pair phoebe with a prue interest and i was just giffing wicca envy and i do wanna gif this scene but it's a bit too long kinda a pain in my ass where prue looks really guilty of murder and andy's there like u look guilty of murder and phoebe's like step off her man?? fuck off? what, is this cause she dumped you, huh? bitch? like phoebe's always had such a mouth she doesn't shy away from a fight and you know andy doesn't want some demure girl next door type some sweet boring doormat so i think someone who challenges him and brings that passion is really great and then as we see even in s2 like phoebe does eventually want to settle down and have like a bunch of kids and be a mom and we know andy looks for that too so there's both a present compatibility of this banter this look em right in the eyes and challenge them flirtation (another great phoebe/andy moment? where's your warrant.) but also a future compatibility of similar goals And an added past compatibility of clearly they were all like family friends right that's why we see andy in the manor in that 70's episode but On Top Of That phoebe's the black sheep criminal the punk rock sk8r grrl whereas andy was like. upstanding citizen followed in his father's footsteps third generation cop. like. there's a friction there that can very easy turn into flame, you know?

#short answer i'm galaxy brained i'm like that scene in the good place where michael's dusting off an empty chair #like oh right you can on;y see in one dimension at a time i'm like seeing twelve #lmao #charmed #💌

[cruelly-corporikinetic]

《let's get this show on the road babyyyy <3 also i'm sorry my starters tend to be pretty long, i'm a sucker for scene setting :') bear with me! AH i'm so excited @bloodthirsty-hero

Hemlock Grove had rarely been kind to newcomers, that's just how the cards were often dealt. Many of the families residing in the small Pennsylvanian town had been there for decades- if not generations. Abnormality certainly wasn't much appreciated in the picturesque town either- but just as luck would have it, Hemlock Grove was where the abnormal thrived.

Teni Codona-Lovell and her family were no exception to this rule. French on her mother's side and Hungarian Romani on her father's, the culture shock of moving from central Paris to the little river town was unlike anything she had ever experienced. Her parents, for fear of facing further bias in America, had made it clear to Teni that under no uncertain terms was she to tell others of her Romani heritage. Now 7 years into her time in America, she held her culture close to her heart, though kept it under lock and key at the behest of her parents.

Despite the downsides, Hemlock Groce definitely was not that all bad. The cute town was very pretty in the spring- when everything was fresh, green and blossoming with vivid blooms. Not to mention the autumns, what Teni's aunt once described as "Hallmark Movie Material"- a term which haunted the limber Witch. A lovely little main street ballet studio had allowed her to continue her childhood hobby, and whose owner had hired her at 16 as a part-time instructor.

The broiling, sticky Pennsylvania summers were far from everyone's cup of tea, but the crisp autumns certainly made up for the three months of misery. Approaching the school, Teni squinted over her sunglasses at the looming archway. She released a sigh she hadn't known she was holding in. "180 days to go." The lean redhead mused under her breath. And thus begins the countdown.

A glance to her right revealed a gaggle of confused, chattering freshman. Best of luck to them, they'll need it if any of them end up with Mr. Galletto for algebra, or Ms. Ilona for social studies. And a glance to her left, nothing but a few shrubs and a nearing shadow. Her hopes were high to meet a familiar face as Teni shot a look over her shoulder. Instead, she met the icy blue eyes of a total stranger.

He was definitely not a freshman, and yet she had never seen him before. The confusion must have been evident on her face because she was shaken quite suddenly from her thoughts by an arm wrapping around her shoulders. "You lost or somethin'? What's with the face, Lovell?" A yelp escaped her lips, before she processed that it was only a friend, Carter, from the previous year's science class. But before Teni could take in the rest of the newcomer, she was whisked away by Carter to a cluster of excited companions.

It wasn't until 2nd period that same day that Teni saw the new boy again. He was quite good-looking, in a rugged, almost hippie sort of way with his dark, chin-length hair and facial scruff. Not to mention those pale tanzanite eyes. As it suddenly dawned on her that she was staring, Teni quickly looked away and beelined for her social studies class.

Under normal circumstances Teni couldn't care less what people thought of her- but she really hoped the new boy didn't think she was weird for staring. Yet with her luck, she feared that might be the case. And still, she pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind and greeted her teacher, a repeat from her sophomore year. Teni promptly claimed her seat by the windows, slinging the bag across the back of her seat as she cast a look around the familiar classroom.

The second the young Witch's gaze met that of those same icy sapphire eyes, her stomach dropped.

[letterstothemidnightsociety]

Alright, so if you've been following along with me, Supernatural season 3 starts out on a trio of episodes that are Really Fun, slides into some episodes that are Pretty OK, then takes a real nose dive into Bummersville. Hoo boy guys, I really hope that this season picks up. I mean, it won’t, but I can still dream. 2021 was maybe not the year to start watching this season. Fair warning.

The next three episodes for this season are just, like, real downers. First we get “Fresh Blood,” which, aside from the terrible title, starts out on a high note. Gordon (gross) somehow manages to catch up with Bela (HOW??) and threatens her if she doesn’t hand over the Winchesters. Bela, in all of her class and grace, won’t give them up because she has a high price point and Gordon is really lowballing her here. Just like, yes, ok, please stay forever, you’re amazing and I love you. And what a scene this is! You have two characters, one with a strict moral code (albeit one that allows for violence and winning at all costs) and the other with almost NO moral code, but an allegiance that can be bought with the best price and it’s such a fun back and forth until Gordon pulls out a gun. And then she pulls out her phone and just has Dean on speed dial and that’s maybe my fav part. Bela has run into the Winchesters twice and they maybe legit hate her but she’s very much like, oh yeah, my BFF’s the Winchesters, I love those idiots!

I love that we come back to this moment later in the episode when Bela, like, three days later, is like, Oh! I guess I should warn the Winchesters that some crazy guy is after them! She’s just so casual about it you kind of get the feeling that, even though technically Gordon was threatening her life, she doesn’t view him as A Threat. She gives the Winchesters a heads up just to be like oh yeah, you might want to watch out for this mild inconvenience, and she seems legit shocked when Dean freaks out. There’s this moment that plays across her face like, oh shit, did I...did I fuck up? And it adds a nice bit of depth to her character. She’s seems honestly worried, both for the lives of the Winchesters but also that Dean won’t like her anymore and that is just a charming bit of A C T I N G!

I am gonna miss her SO MUCH when she dies at the end of this season. WHY did we CANCEL HER???

But despite the fun beginning, this episode is about monsters and how people become monsters and how other people are probably the reason. Because our main baddie is a vampire who hunts to...well, listen if we look at the facts that he lays out in his monologue, it’s a little more tragic - he’s trying to replace the daughters that he lost hundreds of years ago, cool motive, still murder. In practice though, he goes around turning hot blonde coeds into vampires and then ?????? Who knows. I’d like to believe that this was a problem with the CW executives or maybe casting/directing and not with the writing, but it’s SPN and you really can’t be sure with anything. The fact is, this is a CW show from the early 2000’s and a lot of their extras are cast to type. And that’s maybe me exhibiting some girl-on-girl crime, but there are other episodes that did a much less blatantly gross job casting their extras/Very Special Guest Stars.

Anyway, the POINT of this guy is that he’s a monster because someone killed his daughter and he’s just been trying to fill that grief hole inside of him for centuries. This is not unlike Gordon, who ALSO has been trying to fill a grief hole that he’s had for decades, except he’s not killing people and resurrecting them as blood suckers, he’s just killing them. And then, when the Vamp decides to turn Gordon it’s a real sweet moment of comeuppance for like, a HOT second and then you’re like, awww dude, ya done f’ed up. That was a bad idea. You’ve made a HUGE mistake.

More importantly, our Vampire In Question finally runs into the Winchesters and get’s to say things like “I was desperate! You ever felt desperate? I've lost everyone I ever loved. I'm staring down eternity alone. Can you think of a worse hell?” and also “I just ... I didn't care anymore. Do you know what it's like when you just don't give a damn? It's like ... it's like being dead already.” and Dean’s v. much like, THIS IS TOO REAL ROY.

Sam may ALSO be feeling Too Real feelings because he is DONE dicking around with Gordon and honestly yes, I like this, this is good Sam development. It’s nice to know that Sam has a breaking point. And I admit I’m of two minds about this moment because 1) I love the idea of Dark!Sam this season and that maybe Sam’s decision to actually kill Gordon is just one step in that process but 2) I ALSO love the idea of Sam Lite finally having a breaking point and Gordon is IT. I don’t know which theory I like more in this scenario, but they are both good theories.

I think as much as this episode wants to draw parallels between the monsters and Dean (thank you artful editors), you can’t look at the “I’ve lost everyone I ever loved,” line and not think of Sam? Cuz he’s got one (1) person left in his life that hasn’t died horribly, so how desperate is he about to get through the end of this season? I’ve definitely been watching this season with eyes on all the ominous Dean foreshadowing, but the Sam foreshadowing is also there, just buried under the heavy weight of a thousand smulders and suicidal levels of denial.

And also, FUCK the tag on this episode! Guys, it is CUTE but it is also HORRIBLE. Dean starts teaching Sam how to fix the Impala and at first it’s all, “Oh! Adorable Brothers Being Brothers!” and I loved it but then I almost immediately hated it because you realize this is about making sure Sam can get along without him once he’s gone and Dean just accepts his own death with such casual ease that it’s just...INFURIATING!

This scene was rude and I HATE IT!

Cut to - “A Very Supernatural Christmas” Special!

Guys, I was so excited when I got to this episode. THIS is Classic Supernatural Shenanigans. Plus, you know a Holiday Special is the ultimate sign that this show has Made It, right? Or it could be a sign that they’re selling out, who knows, but I think we can say that at this point in the series, SPN is established enough to start having fun with their fans. That’s what this says to me. BUT THEN what we get is like...oh boy.

First - like, I’mma beat this horse to death, but what is WRONG with this FAMILY? John Winchester very quickly devolved into the sort of father that forgot about every single holiday and did not ever, even a little bit, make up for it. It’s not a surprise, but it kind of wrecked me seeing a flashback where Baby Dean is just so attached to a father who can’t be bothered to actually care for his children. I know he’s not in this episode because Jeffrey Dean Morgan was tied up in other projects, but the fact that John doesn’t show up at the end to button the flashbacks with a But then he DID show up for Christmas! just makes this plot line that more gutting. And despite Dean’s hero worship of their father, this is maybe the Christmas where Baby Sam stops believing in his own father. The only bright side to this is that it continues to enforce the fact that Bobby should have sued John for custody. Bobby should maybe STILL Sue for custody so that Dean at least would feel like someone wants him for once in his life, damnit.

And then we wrap this episode up with the Best Worst Christmas of all, because we see Sam start to...also?? accept that Dean is about to die? Cuz that’s what this episode is really about - Dean’s Last Christmas. And everything about that makes me ~ u p s e t ~.

So Sam decides to put his curmudgeonly grinchy attitude aside in order to make it a special day for Dean and ugh. UGH. UGHGHGHG. Season three is the worst guys, and I can’t believe I didn’t realize that until right this second now.

So let’s wrap this up with "Malleus Maleficarum", honestly an episode that is mostly forgettable until we get to, like, the last five minutes. Sure, witches and curses and selling your soul, woohoo whatever.

But then we get some real Ruby centric reveals and like, WHAT is happening?? First off, the scene where Ruby and Tammy have a moment is a real Moment. There is some baggage and tension here and it is heavy. And then Tammy drops the mic when she reveals that Ruby used to be human.

THEN, Ruby legit saves their asses by killing Tammy with a fancy magic knife. Ok, Dean does the actual killing, but Ruby brought the fancy magic knife. So between the hot and heavy tension with “Tammy” and her repeated attempts to keep the Winchesters alive, we’re left wondering what IS Ruby’s deal? I personally wonder how much of the show’s mythology the show actually has figured out at this point? Because interviews with Kripke definitely walk the line between “Oh we definitely have this whole thing worked out,” and “yeah, we’re sort of finding things as we go along,” which is maybe why it’s able to last as long as it does. More on that later.

Of course the big kicker is the final scene between Ruby and Dean. Dean is almost on board with Ruby at this point in the season, and much like his scene with the demon in “Sin City”, they share a kind of vulnerable moment together where Ruby admits that, yeah, she was human once and yeah, Hell will destroy you, body and soul, and yeah Dean’s worst fear will probably come true - he will become the thing he hunts, no ifs, ands or buts about it. And Dean knows that Ruby knows that Dean knows that there’s no way to save Dean from his fate, but they both agree that they can’t take Sam’s last ounce of hope away from him because, for both of them, Sam is their hope. Ruby and Dean both see the war happening around them and they know that with Dean gone, Sam’s maybe the last guy holding back the tide to save all humanity.

Which, honestly? Bull shit. Do you know how many hunters are out there? Neither do I, but this season seems to indicate that there are a LOT. We have barely scratched the surface on the hunter community and it’s a damn shame that they are all weirdo loners because there is a war going on. You know what works great in a war? An ARMY. Buncha mentally unstable, martyr-complex ijits who can’t put their differences aside for one damn MINUTE so that maybe, JUST maybe, the could actually defeat the evil they’ve spent their entire lives dedicated to fighting. And if Ruby and Dean wanted to help Sam, what they should probably do is get him plugged in to that community. I do believe that of all they backasswards, self-obsessed, painfully anti-social crazies out there, the Winchesters are THE WORST.

Listen tho, this was like, a solid scene between these two. Just a lot of work goin' into this and it paid off.

Anyway, back to the mythology for a hot second - This sort of loosey-goosey stumbling into your own world building is probably another one of those things that you’ll only really get in a show with this many episodes per season? It’s that room to play and experiment and just make stuff up as you go along. I think the slow drip method of releasing episodes ALSO helps in this scenario because you’re able to see what fans are reacting to in almost-real time. When viewers are binging episodes, I think you're less likely to see what specifically they’re reacting to and more wholistically they’re reacting to. And that’s not to say you won’t see those specific things that they like/love eventually, but by the time you get there, your season’s been produced in its entirety and you’ll have to bear that in mind for (hopefully) next season. But with SPN, they were writing and producing the show at the same time that some of the episodes were airing. That’s why they were able to make decisions on the fly, based on what fans responded to. And definitely by this point in the show, there was a sizeable and vocal fan base that made their feelings VERY well-known. We’re only in season three, but they’ve already had a number of con appearances and a pretty active online presence. That kind of feedback has got to be helpful, from a writing perspective, but it also allows for things like characters getting cut because nobody liked them for some dumb reason. BUT, if you’re fighting to stay on the air for 100 episodes or longer, responding to fan reactions is what’s gonna do it and that’s a fact.

#Supernatural #Supernatural rewatch #SPN #Sam Winchester #Dean Winchester #Bela Talbot #Gordon Walker #Ruby #SPN Season 3 #Fresh Blood #A Very Supernatural Christmas #malleus maleficarum #It's gonna lighten up on the next three episodes #I promise #I hope #Don't watch this season if you're still feeling 2020 #Is my personal opinion

[lovlieziam]

No, no, no, no, no!! You can't just stop writing that drabble! The 100 one I mean. Oh my god, I need that to be finished! I need them to kiss! God, I'm such a sucker for friends to lovers, it's insane. But just.. please? I really, really need that! And I would write it myself but believe me.. you don't wanna read that! Plus! I love your writings a lot! Like.. A LOT! Even though the drabbles are so short, they're all soooo good?! Okay.. sorry for rambling, but.. I'm weak. Have a nice day! ❤

Well, we can’t have you hanging in suspense forever, now can we? Also thank you so much? I’m so happy you like them and your compliments mean the world to me

The story anon is talking about can be found here, and this is a direct continuation of it. Enjoy :)

Liam watched as Zayn walked away, a familiar ache startingup in his chest. He was so gone on this boy that, despite his previous words,he really didn’t mind too much staying behind to charm some of his aunts. Notthat he had to do much more in the charming department, they were all prettymuch convinced already.

“Oh, Liam, sweetie.”

Liam closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before openingand turning back around to the group of women. Getting groped for a few moreminutes was a price he was more than willing to pay if it meant he got to holdZayn’s hand later. Liam was aware of the fact that he was more than a littlepathetic over Zayn, but he’d accepted it. If he was going to be this pathetic overanyone, he was glad it was Zayn.

Liam stepped forward, joining the group of women once more.He was hoping they had calmed down a little; he hoped that being exposed to Liamfor as long as they had meant that his newness had worn off. He was so, sowrong, though. If anything, they’d gotten more relentless with Zayn’s absence.It was going to be the longest minutes of Liam’s life.

Liam had just fended off his fifth pair of hands when hefelt a set of arms wind around his waist. He immediately stiffened, shockedthat on of the women was that bold, before he realized who the familiar armsbelonged to. He relaxed back into Zayn’s embrace just as quickly as he’dtensed, relief washing over him at his rescue.

“Sorry, ladies, but I think I’m going to steal Liam awayfrom you for the night. It’s my turn to swoon over how strong he is.” Liam turnedhis head to face Zayn just in time to see him wink at the group of women, andLiam had to physically prevent his knees from giving out. Zayn was so fucking attractive,and Liam found it really inconvenient.

Zayn unwound his arms, sliding one of his hands down Liam’sside until he was able to reach his hand. He interwove their fingers, and Liamwas once again assaulted with how in love with this boy he was. Zayn grinned upat him, humor still dancing in those deep brown eyes, and Liam should pretendto be angry. He should keep up the teasing game they’ve had going on for mostof the night, but he couldn’t. They were at a wedding, couples were acting alllovey dovey, the lights were twinkling and making Zayn’ practically glow, and Liam was overwhelmed with hisfeelings. He knew he should keep the atmosphere between them light, but it wastoo difficult for him in this moment. Sometime in between Zayn winking and himinterlocking their fingers, Liam had developed tunnel vision. All the couldthink about was Zayn; how he looked in his navy suit—fitted perfectly to showoff his lean frame—the way he was smiling up at Liam—eyes soft and fond underthe gleaming lights. Being anything but obvious about his feelings wasimpossible for Liam right now.

“Dance with me, Z.” Hesitation danced in Zayn’s eyes likeLiam knew it would. He figured it was a long shot—Zayn was a lot of things, buta good dancer was not one of them and they both knew it. That was okay, though,Liam didn’t think he would need that many skills for the type of dance he hadin mind. Liam reached forward, taking Zayn’s other hand in his before leadinghim out to the dancefloor.

“Li,” Zayn began, but Liam wasn’t going to take no for ananswer.

“C’mon, Zed,” Liam said. “You owe me after leaving me to bedevoured. Plus, it’s just slow dancing. We’ve done it a thousand times.” Zaynwas still doubtful, but he relented and slowly relaxed as Liam pulled him forwardinto his arms. Zayn wound his own arms around Liam’s neck, leaning forwarduntil their faces were inches away.

“Aww, c’mon, Liam, what ‘dya expect? Their a bunch of oldwomen who haven’t seen a body like this up close in years.” Zayn pressed alittle closer to emphasis his point, and Liam felt his breath leave him in arush. Holding Zayn this close was really starting to mess with his head. “Really,how did you except them to behave themselves?” Liam rolled his eyes, trying sohard to feign exasperation when all he really felt was dizzy—dizzy with Zayn’sscent clogging his nose, sweet and spicy and so familiar; dizzy with the heat of his body pressed along Liam’s;dizzy with thoughts of leaning forward the scant few inches and just takingwhat he’d been dreaming of for so long. He wouldn’t, though, and he knew it. Herespected Zayn too much, valued the friendship they’d built up over the manyyears. He wouldn’t do anything to ruin it, no matter how much he just wanted. He would take whatever Zayn waswilling to offer, and as far as Liam could tell that was simply this.

And Liam knew, deep down, that’s why he hadn’t refused Zaynwhen he’d first brought this daft idea up to Liam. He could lie to himself allhe wanted and pretend that it was because Zayn looked so scared—so panicked atthe thought of the prying questions and countless blind dates Zayn knew hisfamily would try and set him up with—but Liam knew his own reasons for agreeingwere much more selfish. He wanted a chance to touch Zayn in a way that went pastfriendly; a chance to hold Zayn against his side and nuzzle into him withoutthe questioning looks and worried glances from their friends who knew hisfeelings. He wanted to pretend that Zayn was his—even if it was pretend, even if it was just for a night. Heknew it was daft on both their parts—the aftermath of their little scheme wouldno doubt be messy despite Zayn’s assurances of the opposite. Even if Zayn’sfamily was as understanding as Zayn was sure they’d be, Liam wouldn’t be thesame. Fighting his feelings before were bad enough, but after having actuallyheld Zayn? After not having to hide his emotions away and being able to openlytell Zayn he loved him? It was heady, and Liam doubted he’d be able to stophimself after tonight.

“Li?” Zayn whispered, and Liam felt his attention focus backonto Zayn’s worried face. He had no idea how long he was lost in his ownthoughts, but it was obviously long enough to worry Zayn. “Were they reallythat awful?” Liam was momentarily confused until he recalled what they weretalking about.

Liam let out a soft laugh, removing one of his hands fromZayn’s waist to cup his face. “Nah,” Liam said. He stroked his thumb over thebone of Zayn’s cheek. He knew his eyes probably betrayed his feelings in thatmoment—not to mention the more than sappy curve of his mouth—but Liam couldn’tbe bothered to care. He was feeling more than a little reckless in that moment.“And even if they were, it’s a sacrifice I’d be more than willing to make foryou.”

Liam watched as Zayn’s eyes widened a fraction,understanding exactly what Liam was implying. Logically, Liam knew he should bepanicking—he had essentially just revealed how he felt about Zayn—but he wasn’t.He was high on the romance in the air, the feeling of Zayn pressed against him.

“Liam,” Zayn breathed, and Liam understood. He was feelingmore than a little breathless right now, too. Liam watched as Zayn practicallymelted forward into Liam, rushing up and sealing his lips over Liam’s. Liam’sbreath caught in his throat as shock worked it’s way into his brain.

Zayn’s lips were against his. Zayn was kissing him. He waskissing Zayn. Holy fuck.

Liam pressed himself forward into Zayn, tightening his armaround Zayn’s waist and tilting his head back with the hand pressed against hischeek. He deepened the kiss, darting his tongue forward to slide over Zayn’slips. Zayn let out a soft groan, pressing himself impossibly closer to Liam.They let their lips linger for a few beats longer before Zayn wrenched himselfaway, tightening his arms around Liam’s neck to keep him close.

“It was dumb of me to ask you to pretend to be my boyfriend,Liam. So, so stupid.” Liam’s initial reaction was to be hurt because—what? Buthe didn’t have time to fully process Zayn’s words before the boy was continuing.“Especially when my feelings for you are anything other than pretend. They’reso fucking real, Li.”

Liam let out a small gasp, shock once again flooding hissystem. He wasn’t entirely convinced this wasn’t a dream. Zayn had feelings forhim?

“Zayn,” Liam whispered before leaning in again to slot theirlips together. He kept this one chaste, knowing he had something to say. Whenhe pulled away, he leaned his forehead against Zayn’s. “You’re right, it wasdumb of you to ask, but it was dumb of me to say yes, especially knowing howmuch I love you. Because I do, Zed, so fucking much I ache with it.” Zayngrinned up at Liam, his eye glowing bright and happy.

“Liam,” Zayn said.He pressed forward once again, unable to keep his own lips away from Liam’s fortoo long, not now that he knew he didn’t have to. Zayn broke away much toquickly for Liam’s liking, but he didn’t go far at all. “I love you, too, Li. Ithink I always have, if ‘m being honest.”

Liam felt his lips stretch into a blinding smile because this was real. He was sitting here in aroom full of people kissing his best friend because he could. Because Zayn wanted to kiss him, too. Zayn loved him, andLiam didn’t think anything else would ever matter to him as much as hearingZayn say those three words. He leaned forward again, ghosting a ‘me, too, Zayn,me, too’ over his lips before closing the small space between them for thefourth time that night.

#ziam #drabbles #enjoooyyy :) #My writing

[amethyst-geek]

My predictions for Felix’s role in season 4

A few episodes into season 4 (possibly episode 9 as we know that’s the episode titled Gabriel Agreste), Felix will return to stay with the Agrestes while Amelie has to go on a ling business trip. As to why Amelie is having Felix stay with the Agrestes in Shadow Moth-ridden Paris instead of having him stay with relatives back in London, I have a couple of explanations:

1. Just because London doesn't to deal with Hawk Moth, that doesn't mean London doesn't have its own supernatural problems. Zagtoon has a series in the works called Miss Rose, which is about a magical spy and this series will do with crossover with Miraculous in the upcoming London special, so it stands to reason, that London has just as much supernatural drama as Paris, if not moreso. Therefore, Felix probably has to deal with supernatural threats regardless of where he is, but at least in Paris, the damage caused by akumas and sentimonsters can be reversed by Ladybug. 

2. Felix’s paternal relatives have sort of lost interest in Felix following the death of his father for reasons that I’ll explain later in the post (though u can probably already guess if u read my post about a possible return of Chat Blanc). 

After Amelie leaves for her business trip, Gabriel asks Felix to meet with him in private. Gabriel then confronts Felix about the ring he stole. Felix tries to deny it, but Gabriel calls him out of his bullshit. Felix then states that Gabriel doesn’t deserve the Graham de Vanily rings and ask him if he even know the story of said rings. Gabriel says no, so Felix then proceeds to tell the story that Amelie told him. Felix tells him that when worn together, they give the wearer special powers. Gabriel then realizes how similar this sounds to the miraculous, particularly the Bat Miraculous he read about in the Grimoire. So he then takes off the ring he’s wearing and asks Felix to put it on to see if the story is true. So Felix puts on the ring, takes out the ring he stole out of his pocket, and puts it on his other hand. When he does this, a bat kwami appears. 

After silently kicking himself for not realizing sooner that he had a third miraculous literally on hand this whole time, Gabriel then takes Felix down to the basement. Felix is pretty weirded by this, and Gabriel then asks him if he remembers the deal he made with Hawk Moth. Felix responds “how could u possibly know that... oh crap you’re Hawk Moth aren’t u?” Gabriel confirms that he is and transforms into Hawk/Shadow Moth. Shadow Moth then asks Felix to use the bat miraculous to help him in his quest for the ladybug and cat miraculous. Felix (after getting over the initial shock that his uncle is Hawk/Shadow Moth) is hesitant because while Felix had offered to help Hawk Moth back in his intro episode, that was before the NY special (AKA the one where Hawk Moth threatened to start a nuclear war, not to mention having Mayura have a sentimonster wreck Paris then recall said sentimonster before Ladybug could fix the damage). Shadow Moth then proceeds to change back into Gabriel and show Felix Emilie’s coffin. 

Gabriel the proceeds to explain to Felix (and the audience) that Emilie had been using the damaged Peacock miraculous (ok we already knew that, but we still don't know how, and I hope that episode 9 will be the episode we find out via flashbacks). After the explanation, Felix then agrees to help Gabriel, but asks him refrain from trying to start another nuclear war (and to also stop akumatizing August. Not only is it really fucked up to akumatize a baby, but it also proven ineffectual). 

The next episode mark the debut not only Bat!Felix, but Swan!Lila (for those who haven't read some fo my earlier posts, I predicted a while back that the Swan Island location that was announced a sometime ago will be home to the Swan Miraculous, which Gabriel will get his hands on and give it to Lila). Throughout season 4 (and probably season 5) Lila and Felix will team up both in and out of costume to cause all sorts of trouble (with Felix only wearing the twin rings when he’s about to transform into Bat!Felix while he wears the ring he already had prior to his debut in his civilian life, this helps throw Ladybug off his trail). However, unlike Lila who has almost everyone fooled (save for Marinette, Adrien, and probably Alya now), a good chunk of Adrien’s classmates will be wary of Felix because of the prank he pulled back in his debut episode. Marinette will especially cautious of him because of the shit she saw him pull while she was Ladybug. That said, some classmates r willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume the “impersonating Adrien to make them think he didn't like them” thing was an grief-induced isolated incident that he feels remorseful about (and I can see Rose being among the classmates to give him that benefit of the doubt, as she’s very trusting). He will still get along with Adrien for the most part =, at least in public. Also at some point in this season, we will also be introduced to Adrien and Felix’s maternal grandfather, an actor and film producer who comes from old money. 

Around episode 20 of season 4, Felix will then confide in his kwami about his backstory. At his dad’s funeral his paternal grandmother revealed that he was not the biological son of said dad and that this grandmother only tolerated Felix for her son’s sake but now sees no point in acknowledging Felix now that his dad was dead. After the funeral, Felix asked Amelie is what his grandmother said about his dad not being his biological father true. As it turns out, Felix is actually the son of Emilie and Gabriel and Adrien’s twin brother. When Emilie was pregnant, Gabriel’s career hadn't taken off yet and they were financially struggling enough so that they couldn’t take care of more than 1 child. Around the same time, Amelie and her husband were struggling with infertility. So when Emilie found out she was having twins, she decided to kill 2 birds with 1 stone by letting Amelie secretly adopt 1 of her twins (or at least this is Emilie told Amelie; based on the interactions between Gabriel and Felix in the latter’s debut episode, I’m assuming that Gabriel isn't aware of Felix being his bio son and that Emilie convinced him that his Amelie just happened to get pregnant at the same time she did). This lead to Felix to become envious of Adrien for being the one Emilie apparently chose to keep. He also started to resent Gabriel for failing to realize that he was his biological son (because it’s pretty obvious, even if Emilie and Amelie r twins, the idea of them having identical-looking sons around the same time is pretty improbable, especially since the color of Felix’s hair and eyes is more consistant with with Emilie and Adrien than Amelie, so Felix is certain that Gabriel knows on some level he's his bio son (but Felix doesn't want to tell him until after Emilie has been revived as he fears Gabriel finding out any sooner that Emilie hid hid this from him might lead to him giving  up his plans to revive her). While bat kwami can sympathize with Felix’s angst about all this family drama (plus the bat Kwami hates Gabriel's guts for obvious reasons unrelated to the twin drama), the bat kwami points out to Felix that Adrien didn’t any more of the say in matter of which twin Emilie gave to Amelie than Felix and that given Gabriel’s controlling nature, Emilie may have done Felix a favor by giving him to Amelie and her husband instead allowing him to be raised by Gabriel. This causes Felix’s resentment towards Adrien to die down a bit... until he finds out Chat Noir’s true identity.

Somehow, Felix will begin o deduce/suspect that Adrien is Chat Noir. Since Felix knows Shadow Moth’s reasons for wanting the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous, he sees Adrien being Chat Noir as a huge betrayal and decides then and there to destroy Adrien one and for all. The bat kwami tries to talk some sense into Felix, only for Felix to renounce him and place the bat miraculous in his pocket and put his civilian ring back on (which I headcanon as having belonged to his deceased adoptive father). He then asks Gabriel to akuamtize him into a superior version of Chat Noir. Shadow Moth is confused by this, but complies, and the akuma goes into Felix’s civilian ring, transforming him into the new Chat Blanc (if this sounds familiar, that’s probably because I wrote another post predicting that Felix will become the new Chat Blanc. He proves powerful enough for Ladybug and Chat Noir to bring out several temp heroes, but the heroes eventually manage to defeat him. Also during the battle, Shadow Moth overhears Chat Blanc 2.0 refer to Chat Noir as Adrien and Shadow Moth explains to Chat Blanc 2.0 that he saw Chat Noir and Adrien at the same place at the same time back in Gorizilla, and after the battle Chat Noir (thinking that Felix had been unwillingly akumatized and thus wouldn't remember what Shadow Moth told him) assures Felix that he and Adrien r separate people. Felix then goes home and un-renounces the bat kwami. Meanwhile, in order to ensure Felix believes that Chat and Adrien r different people, Chat Noir later approaches Ladybug and tells her “Felix thinking that I might be his cousin reminds me. Someone in my family keeps asking me if I’m Chat Noir, and don’t seem to believe me when I say no. Can I please borrow the fox so I can throw them off their trail?” So Ladybug loans Chat the fox. 

Later when Sabine is akumatized into Verity Queen and exposes Lila’s lies, she also finds out about how Lila framing Marinette back in “Ladybug” was partly motivated by Gabriel offering Lila a modeling contract in exchange for keeping Marinette away from Adrien. Confused as why Gabriel hates Marinette that much, she considers the possibility that maybe Lila fed him some lies about Marinette, but she decides to her lasso of truth on Grandpa Graham De Vanily (who happened to be in the tv studio with them as he and Lila were both scheduled for interviews) to get his opinion on Gabriel, this leads to a reveal that the the reason Emilie gave Felix to Amelie was not because she and Gabriel couldn't afford to raise more than 1 kid but because Grandpa Graham de Vanily forced Emilie to do so. You see when Amelie and her husband realized that they wouldn't be able to have biological children, they deciced to look into adoption. However, Grandpa Graham De Vanily loathed the idea of having a grandchild who wasn’t related to him by blood, so when the then-pregnant Emilie told her father she was having twins, grandpa Graham de Vanily (after asking Emilie is she already told Gabriel she was having twins yet, to which Emilie replied “not yet, he still thinks I’m just having 1 baby and I’ll tell him about the twins when he gets home) suggested that she give 1 of the twins to Amelie, then when Emilie said no on the grounds that she didn't want to choose between her kids, grandpa Graham de vanily threatened to use his connections to destroy Gabriel’s budding fashion career and make sure that he and Emilie couldn't get any kind of work needed to support their children. Bat!Felix (who made it to the studio in time to hear his grandfather’s confession, then asks Grandpa Graham de Vanily if Amelie was aware that Emilie had been coerced into giving her Felix, to which grandpa replies that he specifically told Emilie to not tell Amelie about the blackmail. And yes, this is when Gabriel finds out Felix is his biological son, and this would also be when Adrien (as Chat Noir) finds out Felix is his brother. 

Amelie returns soon after this and she is pissed at her father for forcing Emilie to give up one of her babies. 

#felix graham de vanily #gabriel agreste #amelie graham de vanily #lila rossi #ml predictions #I'm a sucker for long lost family reveals

[lolcat76]

I'm hoping this is a prompt you'd consider: "Sharon and Andy accidentally reveal they are dating during Living Proof (The Closer)"

This prompt is super old, but I’m trying to catch up. Here you go. 

“Mike hates you,” he whispered.

Sharon’s fork was halfway to her mouth, Willie Rae’s green bean casserole ready to slip off and land with a splat on her plate. “He what?” she hissed.

Andy shouldn’t get such a kick out of teasing her, but he couldn’t help himself. He was well aware of how much the Chief resented Sharon’s presence, and Provenza had told him  - more than once, and in great detail - about how much he also hated the Wicked Witch of the 5th Floor.

Even Andy had his moments where he’d happily shove her off a cliff. Those moments were few and far between these days, but missing Christmas Eve dinner with his kids, even if it wasn’t exactly her fault…well, he couldn’t blame the team for being pissed. Even if he had far more satisfying post-Christmas plans that were most definitely still on. His bag was packed and nestled in the trunk of his Crown Vic, ready for a long weekend of snow and skiing and Sharon getting tipsy on her mother’s overly potent egg nog. 

No, he couldn’t blame the rest of the team for being pissed, because they wouldn’t be spending the next four days sleeping next to Sharon Raydor. But Mike Tao, of all people, announcing to the Murder Room that he hated Sharon …well, it was funny. Maybe not to her, but it sure as hell was to him. Mike didn’t hate anyone, except help desk peons who took too long to answer the phone and didn’t respond well to the words “I have a warrant.”

“Oh yeah,” he continued, trying to hide his amusement as her face fell. “Told us and everything.”

“Lieutenant Mike Tao? The same Mike Tao who came to me for help on LAPD policy and regulations before his lieutenant’s exam? That Mike Tao?”

“DId he look like that?” Andy pointed at Tao, his cheeks blushing enough to match his Hawaiian shirt. Tao never could handle more than a single glass of wine, and with Provenza pouring, he was on his third at least. “If that’s the guy, then yeah. He hates you.”

“Another glass, Captain?” Provenza interrupted, waving a bottle of the Chief’s favorite Merlot.

“No. No, thank you, Lieutenant, I believe I’ve had enough.” She pushed away from the table and disappeared from the Murder Room, the ominous sound of her heels echoing against empty hallways sending an involuntary shiver down Andy’s spine.

Dammit.

In the 20 years they’d known each other, he’d lost count of how many times he’d told her that people hated her. At first, it was a desperate attempt to rattle her. Then, as they got to know - and very grudgingly like - each other, it was just a way to tease her. And once they began sleeping together, he’d tell her that Captain West or Detective Ross hated her, then spin a lengthy, and mostly fictional, tale of how he’d defended the honor of the poor, defenseless head of FID.

Apparently it was only funny when it was people she didn’t like so much either.

“What’s her problem?” Provenza asked.

Andy shrugged. “Probably you? I dunno. I’ll go find out.”

She’d go to one of a few places - her office, the bathroom to hide out in a stall until she regained her composure, or the the third floor break room where the IT Bureau commander hid the fancy chocolates from Bottega Louie that Sharon liked so much. He took a chance and settled himself against the wall opposite the women’s restroom.

Andy was just about to give up and go on a search of the mostly deserted PAB corridors when he heard the splash of water running. He had to hand it to his girl - even when she only escaped to the bathroom to hide from his team, she still wouldn’t walk out without washing her hands.

“He doesn’t really hate you,” he said as she emerged, causing her to jump at let loose a little gasp. Normally, he’d be proud at evoking that sort of reaction from her, but normally, he got that reaction by using his tongue for far more satisfying pursuits than shooting off his mouth and hurting her feelings. “He’s just annoyed that his plans got ruined.”

“Oh, well, he has my deepest sympathies,” she snapped. “Lord knows I had nothing better to do with my Christmas than ruin Mike Tao’s vacation.”

Shit. He was gonna have to grovel for this one. “Hey, hey, babe,” he whispered as he pulled her into his arms, one hand rubbing her ramrod-straight spine, “we’re all a little on edge today. Didn’t you tell me you hoped the Chief chokes on her fried okra?”

Sharon sniffled, relaxing just enough in his embrace to bring a grin to Andy’s face. “I didn’t mean it.”

“Neither did he,” Andy reassured her. “Give it a week, and we’ll all forget what a shitty Christmas we’re having.” He kept up the pressure on her spine, pressing into the ever-present knots she carried until she relaxed fully against him.

“You’d better take it back about your shitty Christmas, or I’m not letting you on that flight with me tomorrow.”

“Bullshit. Even if you don’t want me there, your mother loves me.”

“My mother is a sucker for a pretty face,” she muttered into his neck.

Andy leaned back and tipped up her chin, waiting until her eyes met his. “That makes two of us,” he said before leaning down to brush his lips against hers.

“Captain,” Tao said, his head popping out from the doorway to Major Crimes, “Your phone was ringing so I answered….” he trailed off as he processed the scene in front of him. “Oh. You’re busy. I’ll just, uh…” He dropped the phone on one of the benches lining the hallway and disappeared back into the Murder Room.

“Great,” she muttered. “Just great.” She pulled away from Andy and retrieved her phone. “Hi, baby. Did you have a merry Christmas?”

One of her kids, Andy guessed. Emily, given that she wasn’t immediately answering the third degree about where she was, who she was with, and what she was doing. He brushed past her, stopping long enough to drop a kiss on her temple, and left her to her call with her family.

The most elite squad in the LAPD had no problems getting in Andy’s business, but it never failed to amuse him that they never, not once, noticed that he had more than a passing acquaintance with their nemesis from FID. Not a single member of the squad batted an eyelash when he said it was getting late, and he’d see the Captain home.

Except Tao. Andy didn’t think he could get redder in the face, but damn if Tao didn’t surprise him when he helped Sharon into her jacket and picked up her purse. He rested a hand on Sharon’s back, pushing her with a little more force than necessary toward the elevators.

“I’m going to get fired,” she sighed. “All these years of being careful, and I’m going to get fired because Lieutenant Tao had to miss out on his trip to Hawaii.”

“If he makes trouble, I’ll beat him up. Same as I’ve beat up anyone else who’s looked at you funny.”

She snorted. “Yes, because that’s exactly what I need. Investigating intra-department violence instigated by my own careless disregard for ethics. Andy, you do know how to make me feel better. What would I do without you?”

He didn’t even want to consider possible answers to that question. He just wanted to get her home, curl up next to her, and breathe her in until he had to wake up and drive them to the airport to catch their flight to Salt Lake City. He jabbed the button for the elevator again, impatient to get her out of this building and away from the dark cloud that he’d unwittingly brought down on her.

When the elevator dinged and the doors opened, he guided her in, pulling her close as he pushed the button for the lobby. The doors were almost closed when a hand stopped them. As they slid open, Andy sighed. Of course.

Sharon stiffened again and pulled away, but the damage was already done. He kept a firm grip on her waist. “Tao,” he said.

“I, uh, was heading home.”

“No shit,” Andy agreed. “Well, come on. We don’t have all night.”

The three of them stared at the display, watching the numbers tick down from 9 to L. Tao ignored them; Andy ignored him; Sharon shrunk further into herself as if she could disappear on the spot.

When the doors opened, Tao made a beeline for the PAB entrance. He threw open the door, but stopped and caught it before it could slam in Sharon’s face. Holding it open with one hand, he gestured with his other. “Captain.”

“Lieutenant,” she acknowledge. She swept past him with as much dignity as she could muster.

“Thanks,” Andy muttered under his breath. The three walked in silence to the parking garage. And wasn’t it just his luck that Tao had parked next to him this morning. Tao waited for Sharon to open the passenger door of Andy’s Crown Vic, but before she could shut it, he rested his hand against the frame.

“Captain, do you remember when I was taking my LT exam and I asked you for help on policy and procedure?”

She nodded, a little hesitant. “Yes, Lieutenant. I remember very well.”

“I didn’t think it mattered much at the time, but I do recall that there are specific rules about fraternization within the LAPD, and I’m pretty sure that all of them refer to officers within the same chain of command. Anything else…I don’t think that falls under the rules of unethical conduct. So it doesn’t need to be reported, or ever discussed again.”

“I believe you’re right, Lieutenant.”

“Of course I’m right,” Tao said. “I had the foremost expert on LAPD policy teaching me. You enjoy the rest of your holidays, Captain.” With that, he closed the passenger door.

Andy waited until the taillights of Tao’s car disappeared around the corner, then got into the driver’s seat. “Still mad at me?” he asked, reaching out to twine his fingers with hers.

“Always. Take me home, Andy.”

He brought her hand up, kissing it gently before letting it settle on the console between them. “Yes, ma’am.”

#lolcat fic #major crimes #the closer #sharon raydor #andy flynn #shandy #catching up on prompts #Anonymous

[rndyounghowze]

An Evening of Online Plays Right in our Living Room Directed by Missouri S&T Theatre

By: Ricky and Dana Young-Howze

St. Louis, Missouri

It was a cool and rainy evening when Dana and I followed the Zoom link and joined viewers across the country to see "An evening of Online Plays"

Produced by Missouri S&T Theatre. One of our dear friends Erin Lane had one of her pieces in the bill of four 10 minute plays to be presented that night and invited us to come watch. This night of online theater, produced by Taylor Gruenloh and presented by Missouri S&T theatre students was our first time reviewing a Zoom Production and definitely will not be our last.

This was directed by two students of Missouri S&T's directing program. When classes were cancelled for Victoria Hagni and Madeline Lechner their professor Taylor Gruenloh knew that unless they actually produced a finished project it wouldn't feel as if the two students weren't getting the most out of their independent study. So they quickly changed gears and commissioned ten minute plays from four playwrights from my graduate program Hollins University that would work perfectly in a Zoom format. This livestream is that final result.

It's worth mentioning what Dana and I are looking for when we review a production produced on an online platform streamed out of people's homes. We of course are looking at the level of acting and the production value of the plays but we are also looking at how this new medium of performance is taken advantage of and how the artists worked within those constraints. We are definitely as much beginners at reviewing this as the artists are performing in it. We also know that these students were ramping up and learning for something completely different than pioneering a new artform so we empathize. So now that we know we're both adjusting to a learning curve let's get down to the nitty gritty.

We've decided to talk about the plays grouped by the director not in the order that they were presented and since these were brand new plays written just for the production we're reviewing the plays too.

First we're looking at the plays directed by Madeline Lechner.

De-Equalized by Amy Lytle is a play about two students Katie (played by Natalie Arnold) and Jordan (played by Adam Bateman) who are working on a group project while they are separated on spring break.

I'll admit putting this play up as the first play we see was a very eerie experience. Not just because it was about two students talking about a group project over Zoom but also because this was Dana and my first primer into what a Zoom production is. Seeing the screen jump back and forth between the two actors like it was cutting back and forth like in a movie was bizarre but I was immediately intrigued by the possibilities.

I was very impressed with the actors trying their hardest to emote to somebody that is not physically in the room with them. I felt like Arnold did a better job at this than her acting partner. I can only imagine having to not only keep myself cheated open for the audience but also knowing that my acting partner is a small post card sized picture on a screen. Also knowing that your performance depends on the connectivity of your device and the tilt of your camera is probably as big of a rush as tightrope walking. But because of this feeling of risk some of their emotions seemed to go stagnant. I needed to feel like this energy could travel eight hundred miles.

This could have been an acting problem but I definitely feel like some of this sits on Lechner's shoulders as a director. If the energy isn't shaking the rafters you definitely need to find ways to ramp your actors up. But we also feel like the playscript didn't give them higher stakes to begin with. Not everyone reveals family secrets doing homework. Also Dana never believed she was going to walk out on him which really did kill the stakes.

As for the play Dana noticed there was a lot of exposition about scholarship and financial aid that anyone watching a college show would know. We would hope that in a further draft the playwright would trust her audience more. I loved the idea of students finding out something about a friend that they didn't know before but also wish that the action had started way earlier. The play spent so much time on exposition I feel like the play didn't start until the eight minute mark and then they only had two minutes left. In a future draft I really hope this is addressed.

Also directed by Lechner was Breathe by Erin Lane a play about Dory (played by Raelyn Twohy) and Michael (played by Michael Ellis) two parents having to coparent while being separated and trying to calm each other down while also trying to appear strong for the other.

I love that this play made use of ANY kind of action and it was a great refresher from Lechner's previous piece. I still would have asked for much more. Also Dana got the sense that this play was supposed to have a lot of chaos in it but in her words it was "the calmest chaos she's ever seen". I agree. Especially if this is a play about getting the results of a test be it Covid-19, AIDS, pregnancy, or even strep I think you would feel a TAD more tense than that. This harkens back to what I said before about Lechner and getting energy out of her performers. As a director I will tell her you have to do whatever it takes to get that energy out of your cast because if we as an audience don't feel it we're gone. This was a great first outing and if I'm sounding tough it's because I feel she does have potential to do well in the future. Just get that energy in!

As for the acting it seemed that while Dana and I believed the Dad instantly we felt something was "held back" from us. We don't know if that was an acting problem or a writing problem. I am leaning heavily towards acting because of the several "I forgot my line" pauses and constant repeats of cue lines we normally see in high school productions. I personally think it must have been hard to show so much emotion just using your eyes and not having a full stage to work with but if these pauses normally just slow down a stage show on Zoom they felt like an eternity.

This play utilized my very favorite kind of exposition where everything we needed to know about the action was fed to us through something that we already knew. We all know that kind of back and forth between a Mom and Dad as they suss out parenting. But then you have this through the lens of long distance. Someone can't be home and now they have to trust someone else to get it done. This is the coolest kind of love story for me. However due to dropped lines and pauses I totally lost the part where Dory is a nurse and that she's taking a Covid-19 test. Dana had to tell me based on her scrubs. I hope that a future production of this play has the faster pace and the higher stakes it deserved.

Also a quick note: I know that no one is really pioneering Zoom set design just yet but I feel that I have to mention the black curtain behind Ellis's back. Dana and I have a running joke where we wonder if there is a "different play behind the curtain" that's more interesting than the one we're seeing. This presented a literal version of that for us where we spent more time wondering what was behind that curtain than listening to what he was saying. Out of love for these actors and with mad respect for what they're doing even if the curtain is hiding dead bodies we kinda hope it isn't there in the future. You guys rock and deserve better than that.

Next we'll be talking about the plays directed by Victoria Hagni.

In Scaramouch and Pinochle by Mike Moran we meet Lizzie (played by Megan Baris) and Bella (played by Haley Jenkins) two sisters who were separated when they were little and adopted by families across the country. Now they're reconnecting.

I loved that this play involved some action that fills up the camera frame and that Hagni gave the actresses some business to do such as painting nails and looking for things. If you think of the screen as your proscenium arch then you start to realize that you can utilize all of that space to tell your story.

Dana loves the use of props and the chemistry between the two actresses even though there were some moments that seemed like they were talking more at the screens than to each other. As you guys know I'm a sucker for puppets so even a sock puppet wormed it's way into my heart.

As for the script I feel like the realization about the Mom’s death and other family drama wasn’t "earned". There was no build up to it so I don't know whether it really happened or if our character was just lying. Where the chemistry between the actresses seemed natural the tense moments in the play didn’t seem natural. Overall it was a very cute play and with a couple more revisions it would be perfect.

In Folies a Deux/Pas de deux by Kevin D. Ferguson we meet Amanda Toye as Woman and Luke Goekner as Man. They are a couple with an interesting history and reconnecting after a long time.

I absolutely ADORED the use of the whole kitchen and room as a playing space. Having her start "upstage" at the counter and then moving the camera around as she moved dropped us into the world of the play. This was the first time that I forgot I was watching a Zoom play and just started watching the show. If I have to give one criticism to Hagni at all it is that I would have loved to see this kind of blocking in her previous piece.

I really commend the actors for really knowing their lines, really getting this blocking down, and committing to it. I mean somebody made cupcakes for this show! That's commitment.

Dana feels like this one was the most theatrical because it would definitely work on a stage AND online. This was the play that she absolutely believed with all her heart. I was totally pulled in. This is one of those plays that just make you want to sit in front of a computer and write a play.

The hardest part I'm going to notice about directing and writing for this medium is that you're simultaneously directing a theatre production and producing a movie. The actors aren't just actors they become directors of photography. The only difference between these plays and a movie is that a movie would be recorded for later and edited by someone else. I'm predicting that the most successful Zoom productions will be the ones that blur these lines. Is this naturalistic theatre or an indie found footage film. Who knows and who cares? Actors are not just emoting as if they're in the smallest of black box theaters but also thinking in terms of setups and dynamic camera angles. This is going to be a hard skill to master and in thirty or so years we'll be reading textbooks about the people who started this trend thinking about how we were all just figuring it out.

Also I'm looking forward to the day when we literally don't have the big pink elephant of COVID-19 in the room with us. Right now anytime you see a play livestreamed we all kind of know why it's not being presented onstage. So effectively even if the play doesn't explicitly say so it inherently is about this pandemic I know it's going to be at least a few years before this isn't the case but I will welcome it with open arms.

You have one more opportunity to see this production tonight May 9th at 7 PM Central Time. For those of you teaching theatre right now it might be an excellent tool or opportunity to talk about this evolving theatre climate. Follow this link right here and enjoy the show!

[caesurabywriting]

do you have a drabble or headcanon of your otp: fooling the world & each other becoming engaged? pretty please. c: i'm curious.

because you said please + i’ll take any excuse to talk about them, i’m obligated to answer this. honestly i have way too many headcanons but i’m going to try and be concise and coherent here (+ huge apologies for how long this is anyway, but these two are hella complicated and i’m way too Extra for their angst)headcanons:

- they only get engaged because she claims she’s pregnant (spoiler alert: she’s not, but she’s relying on the fact that she can get pregnant soon after/in a close enough window for it to be true) - she uses that excuse to get his attention bc he seemed to be getting more and more distant and passive re: their relationship and she wanted to have a way to lock him down even if she has to heavily manipulate the situation to get her way. she’s like a milder form of amy dunne.- she’s also the poster child for abandonment and trust issues because her parents were awful, but it’s what brought them ~together~ in the first place. his ex-gf, viv, was her best friend. they all lived together in NYC, along w tom’s own bestie, for six years ( which is what #manhattan memoirs is about ) before viv one day abruptly moved out without an explanation, dropping contact with them both, abandoning their perfect unit of four. up until that point tom and tessa barely tolerated each other + had an ongoing banter thing going on. she had a short fuse and he loved to light it at any chance he got. antagonizing her was his favorite hobby. later on, they proceeded to ‘bond’ over angry and angsty hate sex to avoid being sad over her viv’s departure. but then feelings were caught. oops. anyways…- she’s a ~first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes baby~ kind of person, and he knows this. having a baby without being married first would be a huge deal breaker for her. if he declined stepping up to ask her to marry him there would be no baby and she’d tell him to leave (in theory, but between you and me i don’t think she could and would have come up with something more dramatic to get his undying attention)- it was very non romantic and went down more like a business deal discussion. she presented a serious ultimatum that needed addressing. she sprung it on him. essentially, pre-proposing his proposal. there was no ring or down-on-one-knee business. it was very much a highly staked version of ‘should i stay or should i go?’- she went out by herself after the ‘proposal’ and chose her own ring and everything. anything he chose would have been complained about and returned- he wanted/wants to propose again in a more romantic and thoughtful way because even though he’s pretty neutral about marriage, he sees it’s important to her and she deserves the best of things. alas, time kept ticking by and it seemed like he’d lost his shot, so he kept such plans to himself and lets her resent him a little extra for his apparent lack of involvement, as usual.i do not have a full drabble composed ( yet - but i probably will one day even though it will ruin my life ), but i do have various fragmented flashback/extracts from actual replies/past threads that may or may not make sense out of context but, regardless, i’ve collected them below if you’re interested on a glimpse of things somewhat engagement-related:

1. Their tables had done more than shift, they had been flipped and spun out. The undeniable truth tightly wrapped around his reality, pinning him transfixed in place. For better or for worse, those two lines had seen Tom’s uncontrolled fishtailing hitched onto a finite track. A duo of one dimensional pink had the power to change everything. Tom blinked over dilated pupils, his sentimental conscience sucker punched by a one-two hit of remorse and disquietude. It was all still etched into him like the grooves of a record, designed to be played on repeat at his masochistic leisure — Tessa presenting herself empty handed after already discarding the evidence, bearing the news with clutched hands and a penetrating gaze. Her voice, poised and decisively urgent: ’Stay.’ They were standing in the same room for the first time in three days. He’d avoided the sheen of her dark hair for the floorboards, ‘That’s not all you’re asking.’ His timbre noticeably wavered in comparison to hers. Like a whip, Tessa’s voice cut across with a warning flatline: ‘No. It’s what we are.’ Her eyes, calculating, soften magnanimously the moment he looks up, ‘You know your answer, don’t you, Thomas?’ 2. Her reveal had been a surprise. Admittedly, he was the only one to blame for that belief, his sense of awareness not particularly careful nor attentive during the time between an office shift ending and them falling from a fight into a bed together. In all it’s ‘A one time thing. We’re not doing this again,’ ( gradually switched out for ‘make it a one more time thing,’ ) glory. What had only ever been meant to be a secondary arrangement, intended to fill space, to pass time. The most beneficial way to end a combative argument. It was an exhausting interlude that matched the tone of his routine, wearing him down until he was nothing but fine grains. He had been confused, torn, and collectable.3. No celebratory graduation ceremony marked their progression as they impassively watched their shared temperature rise from ‘fling’ to ‘fiancé’, endlessly fluctuating between offensively heated and dishearteningly tepid throughout. Their anniversaries as somber as the sticker announcing it on the square of calendar. That catalyzing moment of history turned away from very deliberately. There were no sweet heart-eyed how did you two meet narratives to supply. Just Mr. Type-B and Ms. Type-A, two heartbroken kids susceptible to distraction. Amusing themselves until it became real. Maybe it did. Or maybe it was harmless and it was pure paranoia making it seem like a neon sign blinked above his head in an infinite line of alarmed exclamation marks.4. Wreckage was imminent no matter which way the pieces aligned. Home ( now ) was sleeplessly staring at a ceiling, deliberating in the dark and into the glow of the morning. Most of all, an internal pleading line of looped thought: Oh, God, let today be a normal day. Let him be normally nervous, unhesitating, and spontaneously happy. Let him not squint as Tessa walked away, the disheveled shadow of dark hair thrown down her back strongly evoking of another’s in poor lighting. Familiar shades of umber and taupe clashing with the lesser known notes of sangria and mint on her breath, the scent of rose in her hair. Tessa, an intended sojourn; a breathing space. An operating lightbulb to illuminate the dreary darkness of a vicissitude neither wanted to admit they were blind in trying to navigate. No one was ever prepared for a demotion into the limited edition status of another’s life when, viewed in the other direction, they’d presumably been branded essential. But it had happened, and Tessa was the only tangible reason not to go too far off an precipice that led to no tomorrow. Pulling at hands smudged with paint instead of cigarette ash in a desperate attempt at capsizing the insurmountable detritus of past imprints drifting throughout his system. Taking the brunt of all frustration, tremor, and every emotion banned from expression. Aggressively sidelining the only language he wanted to feel, touch, and listen to. Relearning a different one. Everything that had been absentminded and easy now requiring vigilance and humorless behavior. Yet as exhausting as all her short tempered glares and cavilling was, it had also been her strict accountability and interception between him and acts of stupidity that kept him together.5. She was a person to whom his surrendering murmur of ‘I love you’ often had the bitter aftertaste of something over-steeped. His palliative precursor, a promising commitment not to be cowardly, invitingly interchangeable with other prosperous phrases of three: I am here. I am staying. We are family. The woman who’d engaged in an unrequested initiative, yanking the dusty rug out from beneath their at-risk stale situation and pulling them into dazzling sunlight. He couldn’t have said no if he’d wanted to. He was prepared to try — faking it until it was true — just as he shouldered everything else. Maybe saying yes to Tessa, and in turn something that scared him, had been the gateway drug.6. There were many shouldn’t-ridden clauses, both spoken and not, between the two of them. Tessa and Thomas. One of the very first in-depth conversations they’d had ended with a shouldn’t. The first time he hadn’t felt the need to crack a prolonged, tensely held, silence with something deprecating. Instead, tentatively entering the humid air, a plea and a concern all in one: We shouldn’t do this, it’s too soon. Then, only two days later: we shouldn’t stop, I can’t do this alone. And the rest fell into natural order, the reoccurring theme of expectations fallen short: He shouldn’t come home so late. She shouldn’t have to ask twice. We shouldn’t talk about that. The clarity of her voice in his head was almost identical to a certain other someone’s. A different inflection, a different time — but just the same; a damning memory able to be plucked from the recesses of his mind at the most inconvenient of moments. Tessa’s censorious commentary was never far behind. He’d been consumed by it in slowly advancing increments for nearly ten years. In the beginning, a day-to-day routine of merely pretending he was listening to her as he dotingly observed the accompanying figure that she’d arrived with. More recently, her unimpressed narration wove through the fabric of any of the romantic or couple-y things they tried to do. Tom, begrudgingly following her into the overcrowded abyss of whatever public outing she’d pre-arranged, always far too absentminded, staying alert for all the wrong reasons. Looking down to check on even the slightest vibration of his phone — a problem? A meeting? A respite? — whilst completely avoiding having to provide any input on Tessa’s newly favorite subject ( it rhymed with bedding ). Their verbal tennis matches, a ceaseless tit-for-tat game of passive aggression, could run steady laps around everything else they did. It was almost an entity of it’s own. There was Tom, there was Tessa, and there was that low pressure that hung in the atmosphere whenever they entered into the same room as if someone had made tasteless a joke at a funeral. The one beam of hope through it all was the fact that, admitted to or not, they knew each other too well. Despite what they withheld from one another — even though, if presented the same card drawn during a Rorschach Test she’d see the shape of a book where he’d see a pint of beer — they could never return to being strangers. Getting to know her had been a muffled process, a slowly sinking feeling. The diluting of a strongly flavored concentrate with hot water. Three parts scathing to one part cordial. Mild enough to eventually be widely palatable as opposed to the too-potent original double dose; the sort of thing that appealed to rush-seeking junkies and hyperactive children and those who fell somewhere in between.

#this got so long i'm sorry afjhladkgh #idk what you were looking for #but in case it wasn't clear already i'm trash for these two. any question i get about them just enables my feelings. #PSA: i'm always down for questions or memes pertaining to otp: fooling the world & each other #it gives me life #otp: fooling the world & each other #tnt fan club #answered. #anonymous.

[amethyst-geek]

Return of Chat Blanc

Not sure if anyone else has suggested this, but what Chat Blanc shows up in the main timeline, but this time, he’s not Adrien, but Felix? Jeremy Zag said there will be a pair of secret siblings, and I know I’m not the only one who thinks said secret siblings in question will be Adrien and Felix turning out to be twins separated at birth. Smarty Pants’ video on this got me totally on board with it. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mRP7frpZO0

Anyway, I predict that at some point in season 4, Felix will find out that Adrien is Chat Noir, causing his resentment and envy (cause Felix is already bitter about Adrien being the twin their bio parents kept, for the record I don’t think Gabriel is on the whole “Felix being his son” thing) towards Adrien to grow even more. But instead of sharing this info with Gabriel/Hawk Moth (cause where’s the fun in that), Felix somehow approaches Hawk Moth and is all like “don’t ask me why, but I want to one-up Chat Noir, so Want you to akumatize me into a more powerful version of him, and be sure to give me a white color scheme, so I don't get mistaken for him,” and Hawk Moth is all “sure, why not?” and akumatizes Felix into the new Chat Blanc, who instead of looking identical to the original Chat Blanc, will borrow some elements from PV version of Chat Noir, such as the longer hair and thigh-high boots. In terms of of Felix!Chat Blanc acts, I’m thinking he could be more reserved or he acts even more feral than the original Chat Blanc because he is super pissed at Chat Noir. When Ladybug sees the new Chat Blanc, she will freak out and when Chat Noir shows up, she’ll be all like “if you’re here, then who’s that?!” It will take multiple heroes to take Chat Blanc down. 

#chat blanc #miraculous ladybug #felix graham de vanily #I'm a sucker for long lost family reveals