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ne0nlightzz · 7 months

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Characters/Fandoms I Write For

These are not all the characters I'll write for nor all the fandoms! Just some characters that I personally favor and would like to write about way more than some others! [this also includes what season of specific shows I'll write for. This will change and be updated quite a bit as I watch further into some shows and start to write for other characters and seasons]

This also includes what type of 'xReader's I'll write for!

Note: i keep saying throughout this post and this applies to every fandom i write for- ill write for other characters that aren't listed, so please if there's a character you'd like to see be written for and you don't see it on the list please just ask if I'll write for that character and ill let ya know!! it doesn't bother me and id rather people ask me rather then not!

Supernatural

Characters-

Dean Winchester

Sam Winchester

Castiel

Bobby

Seasons-

S.1

S.2

S.3

S.4

The Vampire Diaries/The Originals

Characters-

Damon Salvatore Stefan Salvatore Elijah Mikaelson

Klaus Mikaelson Kol Mikaelson Rebekah Mikaelson Marcel Gerard Lorenzo 'Enzo' Bonnie Bennett Tyler Lockwood Jeremy Gilbert Luke Parker Kai Parker

Seasons-

S.1 - S.8 [TVD] S.1- S.3 [The Originals]

Note: I'll write for practically all of TVD and most of The Originals. The characters in red are ones I'll write for but am less egar to write for if that makes sense. also if there is a specific character that you'd like written but isn't on this list please feel free to ask if I'll write for them! because trust me ill somewhat willingly write for most! (except for Matt. never ask me to write for Matt unless it's about him getting it by a car. This is mostly a joke so Matt fans don't kill me please-.)

The Lost Boys

Characters- David

Marko

Paul

Dwayne

Michael Emerson

Sam Emerson

note: is anyone even in this fandom anymore? im not sure but this old vamp movie is so bad but also so awesome-

TMNT 2012

Characters-

Donatello [Donnie]

Michelangelo [Mikey]

Leonardo [Leo]

Raphael [Raph]

Casy Jones

Seasons-

S.1

S.2

s.3

Note:

i do write for other characters like April O'Neil, but i prefer to mainly write for Casey and the turtles as i favor them and i think i can write them better then i could other characters (this doesn't mean i won't write other characters!)

tmnt masterlist [each gen ill write for and what characters ill write for in those gens cuz i can't add every tmnt gen ill write for here- but untill i make my tmnt master list please know ill also write for a bit of rottmnt,2003 and a bit of bayverse and mutant mayhem! ]

Marble Hornets

characters-

Tim Wright [+His alter ego-Masky]

Brian Thomas [+His alter ego-Hoodie]

Alex Karlie

Jay Merrick

Note:

i will also write both hoodie/brian and masky/tim in creepypasta context and plz know im still watching marble hornets because my attention span for stuff like that[or most stuff in general] is nonexistent so it takes me awhile to get through series and all that[im slowly getting through marble hornets and am learning more about it but its taking me 6 years no joke- also i do write Tim and Brian and their alter egos separately because in my head that just makes sense because i just imagine that there are very different behaviors in between the person and the alter ego if that makes any sense]

Creepypasta:

characters-

Ticci Toby/Tobias Rogers

X-Virus/Cody

BEN Drowned

Bloody Painter/Helen

The Puppeteer

Jeff the killer

Eyeless Jack

Note: plz ask for any other characters! these are just the ones i could think of off the top of my head! ill also write Masky/Tim and Hoodie/Brian in the creepypasta context too. im also sure ill end up editing and add onto this.

Invader Zim

Characters- Zim Dib Gir Gaz Tak

Seasons- S.1 S.2 note: ill write for s.1-the first haft of s.2 but not for the movie as i haven't watched it yet. ill also write aged up/feature au and maybe Zadar [plz don't kill me] besides that please ask for any relationships or characters.

Helluva Boss

Characters-

Fizzarolli [Fizz] Asmodeus[Ozzie] Blitzo Stolas Octivia Moxie Millie Luna Note: as i keep saying and this applies to every fandom i write for- ill write for other characters that aren't listed, so please if there's a character you'd like to see be written for and you don't see it on the list please just ask if I'll write for that character and ill let ya know!! it doesn't bother me and id rather people ask me rather then not!

IT [2017]

Richie Tozier Eddie Kaspbrack Bill Denbrough Beverly Marsh Henry Bowers Patrick Hocksetter Victor Criss Belch Huggins

Note: I will write for the rest of the Losers and other characters but these are just the ones id like to write for [bill is an eh actually-] and as ive said before characters in red are ones ill list and write for but am a bit less egar to write for. Ill also totally write for the bowers gang-

This list will continue to be updated as i remeber and get back into older fandoms and as i watch more of these shows/movies and such!! so again please feel free to ask about fandoms/shows/movies you dont see on this or any other list!! ill most likely make a a basic fandom masterlist that doesnt go into the characters ill write for as those will most likely just be other fandoms i that dont really need a list of characters!

also here is a short list of other fandoms/shows/movies ill write for but i felt dont really need a character list-

Interview With The Vampire The Black Phone Gravity Falls Lego Ninjago Sanders Sides FNAF/Aftons HTTYD The Owl House OHSHC Marvel/Spider man [Mainly Iron man or Spiderman because they are like my comfort characters- i also write for both the Tom Holland and Andrew Garfield Spiderman !!Not the actors but the character! ] Spider Verse Ask/ETC!

disclaimer: i do not own any of these chatacters, fandoms/shows/movies or images. all rights n all go to their respecful owners

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pigtailedgirl · 2 years

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hiii I hope you're having a great day! I'm not kidding when I say that it took several read throughs before I sent this 😭 I was just wondering if you'd mind linking any marvel meta and critiques pertaining to civil war and the accords, endgame, tfatws, tony, peggy, and the way steve and bucky's characters were treated.

context: I'm trying to explain some things to a friend of mine, but I just know there's posts that explain it better than I can. I spent over an hour scrolling through various tags and I really struggled to find my favourites.

I hope this doesn't sound too demanding, and feel free to ignore it if you're busy or you don't want to do it. I'm honestly just hoping you have some kind of folder where you keep them all! if you do, though, I would love if you included your own posts, because yours are some of the best ones I've read.

anyway, wishing you the best 💖

I admit this makes me super happy because, it's like even the internet friends know I'm a folder person! I do have a lot CACW and Endgame meta even offline folder saved lol.

I don't know if there is any specific arguments or points you and your friend are discussing to direct at? Let me know!

Here's what I have that applies in my current bookmarks, except LewtonBus which I think are articles for self examine and not to bring to discuss in rebuttals with friends, because there is really good stuff in them to ponder but, they are thesis' I'm not 100% subscribed too.

Also I can't rec enough the blogs of @thehollowprince, @robotmango, @monardarmmm, @fearlessinger, @chirping_tiger, @kateis_cakeis, @laporcurina, @cosmicmechanism, @keire-ke. I've scoured there tags and takes and loved so much if it.

STUCKY & Endgame

https://bamsmackpow.com/2019/04/30/avengers-endgame-lack-of-closure/

This is my defining WTF Endgame article. I don't see how anyone can argue against it. There is no explanation or reasoning to give out to the obvious and intentional erasure of Steve and Bucky out of Endgame's story narrative and why it doesn't fucking matter if you like the ship or the characters at all, erasing them, denying it, failed the set up of the story structure and the basics of arc complete writing.

The Stucky Essay - bilittlebarnes - Captain America (Movies) [Archive of Our Own]

This essay is so good. I was drawn in by it's argument on the "Bucky is alive!" moment of Endgame critic, because it highlights that the movie itself knows Stucky makes more narrative sense and importance and therefore uses it, but of course won’t let it be acknowledged. America’s ass is on display, just not the one they think.

The Silence of Peggy Carter. Peggy Carter was founder and Director… | by Summer Barbeau | Medium

I'm being really critical of Peggy's character being so beloved lately, examining my past defense of, but I think this article is the bomb on why Endgame's Steggy is dismissive of the pairing and characters whether you like them or not. An ending that devalues and silences your partner for romance is a fail.

For CACW

Exorcism, Burial, and Analysis: Representing Trauma in ‘Captain America: Civil War’ – Ceci n'est pas un discours (wordpress.com)

CA:CW, the reaction - cute but prickly (tumblr.com)

TFATWS

‘Falcon & The Winter Soldier’ & The Myth of Nonviolence | by Alex Mell-Taylor | An Injustice! (aninjusticemag.com)

I know it might not run in pop circles to my friends list but I'll say I agree with most if not all of the Mooler's breakdown of TFATWS.

https://youtu.be/N0Tu6pCvjQ4

In that Karli read more villain than John Walker to me, despite show intent, and it needs massive overhaul, because it's message sucked in many many ways. And I thought Sam and Bucky did come of as morally wrong and kinda massive jerks in comparison to Walker, as did the ethics of the Flagsmashers, the Dora.

That doesn't mean I've any love or interest in the John Walker character independently, as Jessica Jones season 1 did that style story better...it's a story meh in comparison to what I want which is a focused Sam story...and I certainly have no love or respect for Zemo's addition likewise. Where to go with the Captain America stories and ethics of the characters is so f'ed right now.

#good meta #recs #captain america #steve rogers #anti endgame #anti tony stark #cacw meta #steve rogers meta #anti steggy #stucky meta #tfatws critical

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upalldown · 1 year

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Wednesday - Rat Saw God

Third album from the North Carolina indie rock band produced by Alex Farrar and recorded in a week

7/13

There’s something about the South that’s sort of impossible to explain. It has this je ne sais quoi that hovers like the sticky humidity-you can’t pinpoint it, but you can feel it in the air. It comes in flashes, the machine guns, crushed Four Loko cans, stock car races, Bible verse bumper stickers and awkward glances around the classroom when you get abstinence-only sex education, feel like heat lightning. It’s sacrilegious and sacred, it’s pregaming in a church parking lot before heading to the high-school football game. Wednesday, get it. They lived it. On their latest album, Rat Saw God, out today via Dead Oceans, they capture the off-kilter magic of one of the most confusing places.

Written in the weeks following their 2021 break-out, Twin Plagues, Karly Hartzman (guitar/vocals), MJ Lenderman (guitar), Margo Schulz (bass), Alan Miller (drums) and Xandy Chelmis (lap steel) continue to create a chaotic haze spliced by recollections of fervent specifics. They combine spellbinding shoegaze with their blue-grass roots, leaving you wondering if they’re staring down at a pair of well-worn Converse or cowboy boots while they play. Despite the odds, they make steel pedals and dense Slowdive-esque riffs make sense.

They say you can’t choose where you’re from, but you can choose where you go and in a way, that’s exactly what Wednesday does. It’s like driving a second-hand pick-up truck while blasting Swirlies-you’re charting your own course, but there are some things you can’t shake. However, Wednesday is fearless in the face of collisions. Even on “Chosen To Deserve,” a should-be straightforward love song, Hartzman takes a detour to talk about hooking up at the end of a cul de sac and a friend that took so much Benadryl they had to get their stomach pumped. They frequently overlap the gritty and the gorgeous like in “Bath County” when religious references are followed up by someone getting hit with a dose of Narcan in a two-door sedan.

This lyrical precision is what makes the record shine, the fact that Hartzman can recall the exact video game, in this case, Mortal Kombat, that someone was playing when her nose started bleeding at a New Year’s Eve party she didn’t even want to be at. There’s something striking in how sentimental the details feel, how she can weave these intimate narratives out of “piss-colored bright yellow Fanta,” and a Planet Fitness parking lot that makes their country-gaze so alluring. It feels like sitting on your front-porch stoop with a bunch of old friends playing a scatter-brained game of “remember when?”

It’s these niche instances that make Rat Saw God feel like a piece of collection consciousness instead of personal mythology. You can’t help but see a little bit of yourself in their vignettes. For some reason, the kid that burned down a cornfield and the girl whose house was “a front for a mob thing” on “Quarry” feel like people you’ve met before, figments of small-town folklore that make you nod your head and say “yeah I think I’ve heard that story before.” It’s all in Hartmzan’s earnest delivery, how her vocals seem to beg you not to forget what happened even if it didn’t make headlines.

While this imagery carries an innate sense of emotion, there are moments on the album where Hartzman’s one-liners serve as a knock-out punch. Over sedated chords on “What’s so Funny,” she trapezes from talking about running a chainsaw until it ran out of gas to lamenting, “Nothing will ever be as vivid as the darkest time in my life.” These confessions come out of the blue, undecorated and direct, the way things in life sometimes do, leaving you with no pretty metaphors or double meanings to use for damage control. These confrontations happen sonically as well, like in their eight-minute epic “Bull Believer,” when following Hartzman’s shrill command to “Finish him,” a deluge of wailing guitars and apocalyptic percussion make it clear that there’s no changing fate. It’s a swift delivery that feels more like an execution, another instance where Wednesday is forced to face things head on-and they never flinch.

Whether they express it through private symbolism or get straight to the point, it doesn’t matter. Wednesday is the woman who thinks “America” is “a spoiled little child” but still gives out king-sized candy bars on Halloween. They’re the kids with crew cuts and the rest stop on the way to Dollywood. They’re the exhilaration of sneaking into the neighborhood pool and only going to school three days a week. They’re everything they document on Rat Saw God and more.

youtube

https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/wednesday/wednesday-rat-saw-god-review

#wednesday #rat saw god #music

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bisluthq · 3 years

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Taylor may have a list of sapphic encounters as long as my arm, and more power to her if she does, but all of the supposed “evidence” in the various popular timelines and theories feels like fanfic to me.

Look I don’t know why that’s what we get caught up on. The evidence for Tyson and Matty is slim but people respond to it pretty easily. Loads of people think she dated Zac Efron and like wrote a bunch of songs for him even tho I think he was still with/“with” - I think it was fairly complicated - Van so at best he could be Girl At Home. People deadass say obvious fictional short story Mine is “for” Cory Monteith a man she didn’t appear to date really. People assign WD to Alex Skarsgard even tho, again, there is zero reliable evidence they dated.

Like ya Tay’s major public non showmance (and Taylor Squared and Haylor too but let’s stay focused) relationships have been with men.

She has been rumored to have additional entanglements and has herself implied it to be true multiple times.

So with that in mind, I don’t see it as weird to speculate about her maybe having boned women too along the way.

That said, I do think there’s legit evidence for Dianna, specifically with the song Wonderland. Like... what was that about? Again I don’t believe Haylor dated the way they said not for Gaylor reasons just coz it makes no sense like it’s all transparent fanfic bullshit but even if we live in the reality where it went down exactly as they marketed it WHY WRITE A SONG ABOUT YOUR EX-BOYFRIEND WITH REFERENCES TO YOUR EX-BESTIE’S FAVORITE BOOK? And the “too in love to think straight” line in a song about... Dianna’s favorite book... is sketch.

And tbh I have no rational explanation for a liner that says Hyiannis Port in... every version ever printed up until 2020. It’s not a typo tbh. So what the fuck does it mean? And why did Dianna freak out when asked if she was referenced in the liner when HER NAME WAS DEADASS IN THE 22 LYRICS (along with other girls)?

And why did they stop hanging out because of Di’s boyfriend lol that makes no sense Tay has stayed friends with people with boyfriends and Di was around for Connor and Harry. People love to say she loses friends often but she deadass doesn’t, she’s one loyal bitch and most of her friends stick around for like... aeons. The only two she ever “lost” are Di and Karlie. And I can explain Karlie away as not that deep a friendship and mostly PR and Tay ditching her after 1989 era was done and she had Joe to help promote the next one image wise. But like. Tay and Di didn’t promote jackshit together they barely touched in public. What was the vibe?

Yeah like I’m sorry but Swiftgron most likely happened.

There’s kinda no real way to explain it all away, without just throwing in the towel and going, “COINCIDENCES!” Which I’d maybe buy if it weren’t for like... one being a liner Easter egg like she’s pedantic with those. And if it weren’t for how it ended.

Obvi we don’t know exactly how or what all went down and anyone who claims to is writing fanfic right,like people write Swiftwyn fanfic all the time too, it’s okay to do that... But I don’t know man. I don’t know. I’m a very rational person but I struggle to find an alternative explanation for the stuff I’m listing above and when I add it to what I’ve listed as my evidence of Tay being off straight I... really don’t think it’s absurd like at this point it seems more absurd to think it couldn’t have happened tbh.

I get that she could be a moron or a capitalist who baits for clout but like WHAT WENT DOWN WITH DIANNA???

#nat talks swiftgron #nat talks gaylor

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acoolchickouthere13 · 4 years

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July 10, 2019- Amazon prime day concert

July 23, 2019- shares likes with Joe on Instagram, shoots the lover music video, releases the Archer single in the livestream, and gets VMA nominations, does an interview with CBS Sunday morning

First secret session in London Friday August 2nd, 2019

Karlie Kloss turns 27 August 3, 2019

I still believe this was taken during the Australia winter 2016 trip, when Taylor was “26”

August 4th, 2019

Second secret session in Nashville Sunday August 4th, 2019(Over 100 fans were in attendance, apparently, as the event was said to include guests from a Nashville session AND an alleged Rhode Island session. (There are rumors the original Rhode Island session was canceled because the date got leaked))

August 5th, 2019 Nashville

“When we talked seven years ago, everything was going so well for you, and you were very worried that something would go wrong.

Yeah, I kind of knew it would. I felt like I was walking along the sidewalk, knowing eventually the pavement was going to crumble and I was gonna fall through. You can’t keep winning and have people like it. People love “new” so much — they raise you up the flagpole, and you’re waving at the top of the flagpole for a while. And then they’re like, “Wait, this new flag is what we actually love.” They decide something you’re doing is incorrect, that you’re not standing for what you should stand for. You’re a bad example. Then if you keep making music and you survive, and you keep connecting with people, eventually they raise you a little bit up the flagpole again, and then they take you back down, and back up again. And it happens to women more than it happens to men in music.

But you also had good things happen in your life at the same time — that’s part of Reputation.

The moments of my true story on that album are songs like “Delicate,” “New Year’s Day,” “Call It What You Want,” “Dress.” The one-two punch, bait-and-switch of Reputation is that it was actually a love story. It was a love story in amongst chaos. All the weaponized sort of metallic battle anthems were what was going on outside. That was the battle raging on that I could see from the windows, and then there was what was happening inside my world — my newly quiet, cozy world that was happening on my own terms for the first time. . . . It’s weird, because in some of the worst times of my career, and reputation, dare I say, I had some of the most beautiful times — in my quiet life that I chose to have. And I had some of the most incredible memories with the friends I now knew cared about me, even if everyone hated me. The bad stuff was really significant and damaging. But the good stuff will endure. The good lessons — you realize that you can’t just show your life to people….words are my only way of making sense of the world and expressing myself — and now any words I say or write are being twisted against me. People love a hate frenzy. It’s like piranhas. People had so much fun hating me, and they didn’t really need very many reasons to do it. I felt like the situation was pretty hopeless. I wrote a lot of really aggressively bitter poems constantly. I wrote a lot of think pieces that I knew I’d never publish, about what it’s like to feel like you’re in a shame spiral. And I couldn’t figure out how to learn from it. Because I wasn’t sure exactly what I did that was so wrong. That was really hard for me, because I cannot stand it when people can’t take criticism. So I try to self-examine, and even though that’s really hard and hurts a lot sometimes, I really try to understand where people are coming from when they don’t like me. And I completely get why people wouldn’t like me. Because, you know, I’ve had my insecurities say those things — and things 1,000 times worse….But I can’t really respond to someone saying, “You, as a human being, are fake.” And if they say you’re playing the victim, that completely undermines your ability to ever verbalize how you feel unless it’s positive. So, OK, should I just smile all the time and never say anything hurts me? Because that’s really fake. Or should I be real about how I’m feeling and have valid, legitimate responses to things that happened to me in my life? But wait, would that be playing the victim? ...I needed to grow up in many ways. I needed to make boundaries, to figure out what was mine and what was the public’s. That old version of me that shares unfailingly and unblinkingly with a world that is probably not fit to be shared with? I think that’s gone. But it was definitely just, like, a fun moment in the studio with me and Jack [Antonoff] where I wanted to play on the idea of a phone call — because that’s how all of this started, a stupid phone call I shouldn’t have picked up….I don’t think I’ve ever leaned into the old version of myself more creatively than I have on this album, where it’s very, very autobiographical. But also moments of extreme catchiness and moments of extreme personal confession….

But is the idea that as your own life becomes less dramatic, you’ll need to pull ideas from other places?

I don’t feel like that yet. I think I might feel like that possibly when I have a family. If I have a family. [Pauses] I don’t know why I said that! But that’s what I’ve heard from other artists, that they were very protective of their personal life, so they had to draw inspiration from other things. But again, I don’t know why I said that. Because I don’t know how my life is going to go or what I’m going to do. But right now, I feel like it’s easier for me to write than it ever was.

...I’m not scared anymore to say that other things in my career, like how to market an album, are strictly strategic. And I’m sick of women not being able to say that they have strategic business minds — because male artists are allowed to. And so I’m sick and tired of having to pretend like I don’t mastermind my own business. But, it’s a different part of my brain than I use to write. [THIS IS AFTER SHE SAID DBATC WAS INSPIRED BY “SOMEONE GREAT” ON ELLEN]

You’ve been masterminding your business since you were a teenager.

Yeah, but I’ve also tried very hard — and this is one thing I regret — to convince people that I wasn’t the one holding the puppet strings of my marketing existence, or the fact that I sit in a conference room several times a week and come up with these ideas. I felt for a very long time that people don’t want to think of a woman in music who isn’t just a happy, talented accident. We’re all forced to kind of be like, “Aw, shucks, this happened again! We’re still doing well! Aw, that’s so great.” Alex Morgan celebrating scoring a goal at the World Cup and getting shit for it is a perfect example of why we’re not allowed to flaunt or celebrate, or reveal that, like, “Oh, yeah, it was me. I came up with this stuff.” I think it’s really unfair. People love new female artists so much because they’re able to explain that woman’s success. There’s an easy trajectory. Look at the Game of Thrones finale. I specifically really related to Daenerys’ storyline because for me it portrayed that it is a lot easier for a woman to attain power than to maintain it….for me, the times when I felt like I was going insane was when I was trying to maintain my career in the same way that I ascended. It’s easier to get power than to keep it. It’s easier to get acclaim than to keep it. It’s easier to get attention than to keep it….maybe this is a reflection on how we treat women in power, how we are totally going to conspire against them and tear at them until they feel this — this insane shift, where you wonder, like, “What changed?” And I’ve had that happen, like, 60 times in my career where I’m like, “OK, you liked me last year, what changed? I guess I’ll change so I can keep entertaining you guys….the question posed to me is, if you kept trying to do good things, but everyone saw those things in a cynical way and assumed them to be done with bad motivation and bad intent, would you still do good things, even though nothing that you did was looked at as good? And the answer is, yes. Criticism that’s constructive is helpful to my character growth. Baseless criticism is stuff I’ve got to toss out now….I’ve never been to therapy. I talk to my mom a lot, because my mom is the one who’s seen everything. God, it takes so long to download somebody on the last 29 years of my life, and my mom has seen it all. She knows exactly where I’m coming from. And we talk endlessly. There were times when I used to have really, really, really bad days where we would just be on the phone for hours and hours and hours. I’d write something that I wanted to say, and instead of posting it, I’d just read it to her.

the lyric in “Daylight,” the idea of “so many lines that I’ve crossed unforgiven” — it’s a different kind of confession.

I am really glad you liked that line, because that’s something that does bother me, looking back at life and realizing that no matter what, you screw things up. Sometimes there are people that were in your life and they’re not anymore — and there’s nothing you can do about it. You can’t fix it, you can’t change it. I told the fans last night that sometimes on my bad days, I feel like my life is a pile of crap accumulated of only the bad headlines or the bad things that have happened, or the mistakes I’ve made or clichés or rumors or things that people think about me or have thought for the last 15 years. And that was part of the “Look What You Made Me Do” music video, where I had a pile of literal old selves fighting each other. But, yeah, that line is indicative of my anxiety about how in life you can’t get everything right. A lot of times you make the wrong call, make the wrong decision. Say the wrong thing. Hurt people, even if you didn’t mean to. You don’t really know how to fix all of that. When it’s, like, 29 years’ worth. No one gets through it unscathed. No one gets through in one piece. I think that’s a hard thing for a lot of people to grasp. I know it was hard for me, because I kind of grew up thinking, “If I’m nice, and if I try to do the right thing, you know, maybe I can just, like, ace this whole thing.” And it turns out I can’t.

It’s interesting to look at “I Did Something Bad” in this context.

You pointing that out is really interesting because it’s something I’ve had to reconcile within myself in the last couple of years — that sort of “good” complex. Because from the time I was a kid I’d try to be kind, be a good person. Try really hard. But you get walked all over sometimes. And how do you respond to being walked all over? You can’t just sit there and eat your salad and let it happen. “I Did Something Bad” was about doing something that was so against what I would usually do. ...a couple of years ago I started working on actually just responding to my emotions in a quicker fashion. And it’s really helped with stuff. It’s helped so much because sometimes you get in arguments. But conflict in the moment is so much better than combat after the fact.”(x)

Third secret session in LA Tuesday August 6th, 2019

Also does a livestream announcement

August 10 LA Party with YNTCD and ME! Costars #drunktaylor -purple nails

#accohtimeline #taylor swift #taylorswift #ts #taylor #swift #kaylor #accoh timeline #gaylor #gaylor swift

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fourteenacross · 5 years

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octet - 5/25/19, 2pm

Hello, hello, I'm back from New Jersey! Which, you probably didn't even know I left, because I never post here anymore, but since we've yet to find a new platform for fannish happenings, I don't really have anywhere else to post show notes and the like.

Anyway, we saw Octet and Hadestown over the long weekend. I saw Hadestown at the NYTW in 2016, but I saw it the same day I saw Hamilton for the first time and my notes are lost to the ages. More about that later, though. (Tomorrow, probably.) For now, I'm going to focus on Octet.

So, here's what I knew about Octet going in: - Part of Dave Malloy's five year residency at the Signature Theatre - internet/discourse - Alex Gibson - a cappella? - support group?

The day before I did a little bit more digging, but I was kind of into going in blind, so I didn't dig too much.

Overall, I really liked it! My above the cut review is that, like all good Malloy shows, it brought up a lot of interesting concepts and shined a light on very relatable behaviors and ways of thinking. It doesn't really have a plot or narrative, and seems to largely exist to explore different types of internet denizens. As such, the characters vacillate between being actual people and being archetypes. I think all of this is fine--not everything needs to be a tautly plotted story, it's okay for this to be a song cycle, not a narrative musical. But I'm putting that out there for anyone who's thinking about going, just so you're aware when you head in.

First off, the set dressing is amazing. It looks just like a ratty church all purpose room, down to the way the light switches are labelled and the signs on the wall with clean-up instructions for group leaders. The walk in is papered with flyers advertising self-help groups, tutoring, charity walks, etc.

The show is set up like a support group meeting. A couple actors come in before the start and clean up the detritus of a bingo game and set up for the meeting, and then the group gathers and they begin. The group is “Friends of Saul,” and group members are told to put their phones off and in a basket against the wall, as they're here for various screen addictions.

Hymn: The Forest: This was a very Malloy song--it starts off a a meditation on a beautiful forest and takes a left turn. Delightful. Halfway through, Velma comes into the meeting and joins the other seven folks for the end of the hymn.

Refresh: Paula, the group leader, welcomes Velma to the group and tells them that Saul can’t be here this week, but he’s asked her to lead. She then asks if anyone wants to share. Jessica acquiesces and talks about how she was the subject of a viral video and has been "egosurfing" ever since, a compulsion to read all the shitty things strangers are saying about her without knowing her at all. (Unsurprisingly, Malloy says this song was heavily influenced by his feelings post-Comet.) Margo Seibert kills this song, which delves into our kneejerk tendency to pile on, sometimes without knowing or caring about context. It made me think a lot about how this goes both ways--the song focused on the negative, but obviously Milkshake Duck Syndrome is the same basic concept at its core.

Candy: Henry offers to share next. He talks about how his life is going okay at the moment, he's been on a few dates, but he hasn't had the heart to tell the guy about his "problem" yet, which is that he's addicted to video games. The song obviously invokes Candy Crush, but also refers to various other games including MMORPGs, FPSs, RPGs, and other phone puzzles games. I love this song--it is insanely catchy, Alex Gibson is delightful, and it's also profoundly sad and relatable. Henry eventually reveals that he uses games to avoid the real world and he's fairly sure he doesn't care if he dies, so he uses these games to string himself along and pass the time. Ouch. Also hashtag relatable content.

Glow: Paula shares next and talks about how she and her husband are both screen addicts and how they'll lie next to each other in bed, each on their own devices, ignoring the other, and how she wishes he would stop bringing the catastrophes of the world into their bed. She's lonely and sad and he doesn't see it because he doesn't look up from his phone. Starr Busby is incredible and, as a person who had to take an eight-month twitter break because she couldn’t handle the constant barrage of despair, I feel this song pretty hard.

Fugue State: Paula sets a metronome ticking for a five minute silent fugue state. The characters cycle through various thoughts about social media and the internet, calling out specific formatting for jokes and call out posts and "um actually"ing other people's comments in a whirlwind of commentary on how we interact with each other online. It's a very well put together song, but it's another one of those moments where it's clear this is a collection of songs about a concept rather than a narrative story.

Hymn: Monster: There's a five minute break, in which Henry approaches Velma, who's been quiet up to this point. She launches into a fast and awkward explanation of how she's on a self-imposed internet hiatus because she keeps getting tied up in discourse that's not good for her. She talks about being a part of a previous group that was not good and how she's since gotten into tarot instead, but there are parts of that group that aren't good, too (she delves into the Sephora Starter Witch Kit debacle), so instead she's taking a break and only talking to her one friend, whom she refers to constantly as "my friend." It was a very stark moment of self-recognition, tee bee aitch, and Velma is definitely the closest to the fannish millennial internet archetype. She says she found the group after Saul broke into a chat with her friend to tell her about it, so her friend said she had to come to check it out. After her monologue about all of this to Henry, the others return from their break to sing a hymn called "Monster" that talks about online trolls and how engaging with them and reading their exploits poisons your brain.

Solo: Karly and Ed alternate in this song, coming together in moments of similar sentiment. It's really an interesting way to handle the topics in question. Karly is singing about dating apps and how hard it is to find a dude who actually cares about her and the thin line between being asserting herself and the possibility of being the impetus for another MRA mass shooting. Ed, meanwhile, is a lonely dude who is on the verge of turning to the incel community because they can relate to his feelings of rejection and isolation. The whole thing is creepy and awful and very well blended--there's some empathy on both sides, while also making it clear how awful these dudes are.

Actually: This is Toby's song. Toby is a former punk kid turned conspiracy theorist. This is the song I struggled with the most. I just couldn't follow it narratively--I wasn't even 100% positive about the "conspiracy theorist" part until I could come home to read the lyrics. The lighting in this song was wonderful, though, and the ensemble was great. It just didn't click with me and it was harder for me to follow.

Little God: Dang, I loved this bit. It was the weirdest, and also had a distinctly Douglas Adams flavor, which was especially apt as I was attending the show on Towel Day. (So, honestly, it’s not surprising that I liked this bit so much, in retrospect.) Marvin, a neuroscientist, is up late with his new baby daughter when he has a vision from god. He chalks it up to a dream until god appears to him again the next morning. He goes to his lab, where all the other scientists have had a similar experience, and god appears to them in the visage of a little girl, whom they call Little God. They do a series of tests to prove whether god is real, and can manage to find scientific explanations for them all, trapped in this cycle of seeing wonderful things and then dissecting them clinically. Velma ends his story by telling him he's "The Hanged Man," the tarot card that represents everything one believes about oneself being flipped on its head.

Tower Tea Ceremony: The group starts a tea ceremony, passing around cups of tea, after which Paula comes around adding drops of something to the cups. Velma nervously asks what it is, and Paula calmly explains that it's a powerful group psychedelic that induces a five minute coma. Everyone else is chill with this, but Velma is visibly startled and nervous and does not drink her tea. Everyone else passes out, leaving her alone.

Beautiful: While everyone else is passed out, Velma sings her story. She was lonely and felt ugly and fat and stupid. She spent a lot of time alone and cut herself, but eventually found another girl just like her on the other side of the world. She had the same interests and liked the same things and felt the same way. She tells Velma that she's worthwhile and that there's light inside of her and, through seeing the same within her friend, she's able to start to accept that about herself. Kuhoo Verma is something else entirely on this song. It felt so personal and quiet and perfect. And, to be honest, it really anchored the show for me. After almost twenty-five years of being a nerdy, lonely kid on the internet, I tend to be very kneejerk protective of internet friendships. When people deride the internet as toxic, my urge is always to defend it because it's the source of all the good things in my life. I didn't have a lot of friends as a kid and I was socially anxious, but the internet was a way for me to meet other people who liked the same weird things I liked. These days that's a much more common, accepted story, but it was weird and new in 1996, so I spent a lot of years either lying about how I knew my friends or insisting that the internet wasn't just pedophiles and murderers. Obviously in the years since, the internet has grown into something bigger and, frequently, more toxic than I could have imagined at ten, eleven years old on the AOL Jonny Quest message boards. The urge to defend it has never gone away, however, and so I was obviously a little nervous about this show. But I trust Dave and I know that he's a big ol' nerd like the rest of us and doesn't pretend to be above our petty, silly forms of entertainment. And I'm glad I did, because it's important to me that this was the song he ended on--a quiet reminder that there's good to be found on the internet, that it's not all bad, that parts of it can be life-saving.

Hymn: The Field: The show ends with the group closing out their meeting with another hymn. Paula tells everyone next week’s meeting will be somewhere else and that she’ll email the details. Velma says she isn’t sure if she’ll come back, and she’s told that it doesn’t matter—the same people don’t always come week to week, but Saul will make sure there are eight people in attendance. The hymn is a nice, sweet song about coming together beyond the fighting and ugliness to appreciate each other and the world.

So, yeah, overall, I enjoyed it. I really needed to sit and think about it for a little bit after first seeing it, and I think repeat listenings will find a lot more to enjoy about it. Like I said, there’s not so much a story or narrative to get lost in, but the individual songs hold up well in the loose framework of the show, and a lot of them are both catchy and thought-provoking in a very Malloy way. I’m glad I got to see it, and I’m interested to see where it goes from here, if anywhere.

#octet #dave malloy #show notes

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