2024 maxchael van horsey yapping

the ENTIRE Plot out of the way, there’s something so AGHFHAHGSJWHDJWJJ🔥🔥🔥🔥‼️‼️❤️❤️ about an intelligent arrogant actor who’s a perfectionist with very high morals about acting, and a nice dumb superficial reality tv star who was stunt cast as a lead having any sort of positive relationship through the dorothy filter

but it makes sense for michael’s character, not just because he’s a hypocrite, he values the person’s commitment and risk taking and focus !!! that’s what sandy had, that’s what max had!!!! even if the two aren’t necessarily good actors or anything like michael, sandy is literally one of Michael’s closest friends and michael (as dorothy) was able to form a friendship with someone you’d assume would be his biggest enemy I MEAN. evil man director, freeloader famous man RON CARLISLE AND MAX FALL UNDER THE SAME CATEGORY!! also on tour dorothy brushed off her annoyance towards max the second he mentioned reading shakespeare and got so excited so I think she’s just autism with it

( michaels a dick sure but people mischaracterize him so bad as this evil monster who spends the entire show treating his friends horribly 😢 )

but anyways john ((shout out to him for being the cast member who talked the most about his character, it saved 2019 and 2020 and 2022 and 2023 and um 2024 me cuz I just re listened to the laura heywood podcast I cant believe bi max has been canon for 5 years this year.)) BUT ANYWAYS BASED ON WHAT JOHN HAS SHARED ABOUT MAX he is presumably the only character that actually ends up forgiving michael ((chz julie is kinda up to interpretation)) which makes sense and NOT BECAUSE HES AN IDIOT but because

max didnt have to deal with as much burdens and lies michael left as julie and rita, whos relationships with dorothy were founded on womanhood. I mean after getting heartbroken and finding out the woman he was in love with and also had an infected tattoo of her face on his chest didn’t exist, Max continues Juliets Nurse with the new actress and then tries to do more acting with his newfound confidence that he gained FROM dorothy, AND realizes he still loves dorothy as michael :( the whole thing is awesome because hooray no longer dependent on your looks and body being the only worthy part of yourself ! hooray self esteem boosted ! hooray self discovery ! oh did I mention he hosts tv show after tootsie as well :D I wanna be a tv show host on day BUT as for his feelings for michael…..Painfully One Sided💔💔💔RIPMAX VAN HORN🙏

It’s hard to imagine they could maintain a friendship after tootsie in the sense that its kinda hard for me to figure out that the various scenarios I’ve thought of over the years would even be accurate considering how loud and delusional max is about his feelings, and if michael would even feel the same and how would that affect their chances at a friendship and AND. if Julie and Michael were to end up together that’d be the end of it 😭 Max seems to end up fine anyway so even if it’s a bittersweet ending, like sandys arc, michaelmaxxing ended, self respectmaxxing was achieved🙏 I need to make a separate post for the sandy/max parallels and their relationships with michael/dorothy BECAUSE THEYRE SO!!!! GOOD!!! I COULD WRITE ESSAYS

John mentioned that he tried to push for a line that would wrap up Maxs story in the end but it never found its way in and I feel like that would’ve changed the game…..Johnny Boy..Ty for ur service :3

but WUTEVER in my head dorothy and max shakespeare infodump and make out wrapped the ninja turtles blanket and my name is max and im wrapped in the same ninja turtles blanket and my dorothy isnt infodumpimg tootsie and making out w me so ima file a complaint real quick not cool bro. here is my favorite max and dorothy interaction frm the newer/and now unfortunately cut forever lines

max: you know, we should rehearse together sometime!

dorothy: sure! lets exchange numbers.

max: ….wont that confuse people trying to call us?

hi

Edit: Ok technically he does spend the entire show treating his friends horribly

lol Anthony Fantano mentioned Loona’s XX album in a “Y U No Review” video he did yesterday (timestamp 11:16)

And like, he said it was good, it was fun, but felt kinda too “cleaned up” and stuff in the way that a lot of kpop and just pop in general nowadays is, and he just kinda left it at that

To be honest like I get what he means. idk if this is a controversial opinion but... like.... it’s good and I loved it and will listen to it more, but its not a good Album. It’s a good collection of some songs but not an Album. It feels like it’s just Butterfly plus some b-sides, which is kinda the case anyway. I mean, b-sides that I love a lot and think are interesting, but b-sides nevertheless. It doesn’t feel like a cohesive album with strong point after strong point, it feels like Butterfly and things that serve to complement the mood and tone set by Butterfly. And that’s fine, that seems like the go-to strategy for kpop? Like they definitely don’t do albums the same way we do here. XX has 5 tracks and one single. Again, that’s not bad, it’s just hard to use it as a selling point if you aren’t already invested in the group, and it doesnt show the full range of what they’re capable of, because how could it? It’s only 5 songs and a 50 second intro track lol. The way Loona releases music doesn’t fit the format of the way Fantano reviews music, I don’t think, outside of when he does track reviews, and music videos aren’t really his wheelhouse. 

However, if Loona released an album that was just like 8 or so of their best music video songs, with a couple other tracks to flesh it out and help the album flow naturally, I think that album would kill, and I think someone like Fantano would praise it highly. The production on Loona songs is so interesting, and I know I’ve talked about that a lot in the last couple days, but I really feel like Loona is the music lover’s kpop group. If you’re into choreography and filmmaking there’s a ton for you there too, because both of those aspects are also really top-notch, and if you’re into the fandom of the members and stuff and you look up to them or idolize them or whatever there’s that too, but like... If you like music and you like music that experiments and plays with sound and genre and changes up your expectations and is very rich and vivid with color and noise, and you’ve been unable to get into kpop or you would like to try it out, please check out Loona lol. But instead of the XX album, I would much more recommend just their music videos at first, and pay attention to the production and instrumentals as you do so, and just all the artistry there.

I know it’s kpop and the girls don’t write the songs, but that usually means it’s some executives doing fuckin market research and shit to see whats popular in America who write the instrumentals, or they just come up with a checklist of what the next big single needs to have... But I just cant shake how Loona doesn’t feel like that at all. Like, its kpop, its bright, its fun, etc, but there's a surprising amount of versatility and creativity. They could get away with a ton less production than they have, but most of the songs are so dense with noise... like they take a basic skeleton of a pop song, with a catchy and danceable beat, and then just sort of throw things at it, adding little bells and whistles all over it, adorning it with little background melodies and interesting soundscapes. Is soundscapes the right word? Probably not lmao, I just mean the character and feel of the sounds, the mood they set and the sort of world and image and vibe it takes you to in your head. 

And honestly like, I’m so new to Loona (like only maybe a month into them), but I’ve been a fan of experimental and interesting music for a loooong time, so like, I know that this individual album isn’t mindblowing. Loona is quickly becoming a powerful force for me, a group and sound I really respect artistically, but like, I don’t think id put this album anywhere near my top ten, because, as I said, it doesn’t feel like an album, it just feels like a main track with a couple b-sides. 

So, I’m of two minds about this. Three, I guess. 1. I really love Loona and even though he brought attention to them still by doing this (and that’s cool), I wish it was a positive thing and I think he missed out on something I think is up his alley by not diving into their broader discography. 2. He can’t really dive into it though, because he reviews albums, not discographies or individual music videos, and also he doesn’t have time unless it’s in album format, he’s a busy guy. And so, based on its own merits as an album, yeah I wouldn’t probably do a full review thing of it either if I was him. and then 3. Fantano isn’t the be all and end all of music criticism, and I have a lot of issues with him (though less than I used to, I mischaracterized some of his views in my head. not all of them though, there’s plenty of stuff that comes to mind that i do disagree with, but not like dealbreakingly egregious stuff i guess. he’s just kinda liberal. lefter than a lot of democrats, but he’s definitely still a democrat through and through) So like whatever lmao, I know this doesn’t matter at all, he’s just one dude, but he’s turned me on to so much music that I love and honestly my thoughts about the intricacies of Loona’s music come from learning to think more critically about music I listen to after watching his videos over the years, and I’m not alone in that, so he has a huge platform of people who probably will check out something if he says its good. Not necessarily that people just follow him blindly, but that he introduces people to a lot of stuff they’ve never heard of, and a positive review of something unfamiliar to me might warrant me giving it a try even though it’s a little embarrassing to say I found a lot of my favorite music through this Bernie-bro socdem 30-something memeguy. But yeah, ultimately, I don’t care that he didn’t review it or call attention to it or even that he wasnt a huge fan, I just had a lot to say in general.

How are doing your Nuka World with Tracie? Are you rewriting Todd's Canon?

Yes and no. Honestly this will get long so if you are willing to read please I’ll put this under the cut. Warning for a bit of Fallout 4 critical there, though not anything too much. 

Nuka World and Far Harbor were the two “big” story driven DLCs but I think they were both sort of an experiment over us as the community to see what the people want. Nuka World had a huge map with so many new and colorful things, a lot of world building and lore to explore, and also added the option to be “evil” and had absolute endings - join the raiders or kill the raiders. However because of this it sacrificed plot and characters. 

Far Harbor was a more plot oriented DLC where the world building wasn’t as vast though it was still pretty great and the focus was more on making three dimensional and likable characters (and ALL of them are, I love everyone in Far Harbor) as well as many endings because I think Far Harbor has 7 endings + 2 optional ones where you destroy Acadia with either the Institute or the Brotherhood of Steel. So that’s 9 endings compared to Nuka World’s 2. For this it sacrificed quests because it was a rather short DLC but it tired doing everything the main game was criticized for. And if you ask me Far Harbor succeeded and I think Far Harbor is amazing and yes I would change few things there too but overall I think its a great DLC and with 94% positive reviews on Steam I hope Bethesda follows this road for Fallout 5 some day. 

Now back at where I come in. Nuka World’s black and white ending irritated me. So that’s the only thing I changed. I made it so that some of the raider’s don’t die, and instead they perhaps change their ways or leave. I don’t like that the Open Season quest is basically you going around a theme park massacring people. Yes some of the raiders are terrible people but other’s are just doing shit to survive - they were either born or raised as raiders and never knew anything else. Some might even try to reform. So my changes in my playthrough are that Tracie gives the Minutemen some cheesy Disney speech how they are no different from “us” and that they surrendered and the leaders are dead and most scattered and maybe not massacre the small people that were just following orders. And then she decides to turn the entire park into a settlement as well as a huge trading center for the East Coast - the raiders that wanted to follow her decided to work on some of the attractions she re-opened and change their ways. The others left were banished from the Commonwealth - but point being there was no need for bloodshed, not as much as the game. 

As for overall I feel like Nuka World tried too hard to be edgy and pull some Suicide Squad kind of Hot Topic bullshit and listen I am a very edgy person myself but even I think it just tried too hard. Yes the raider groups were funny, but it’s unrealistic to have the Sole Survivor suddenly become Queen/King Fuckface of the Wasteland and lead an army of raiders into the Commonwealth since like few months ago (in their mind) they were a middle classed suburban family. It’s not realistic to the already flawed narrative Todd gave us to begin with. 

Also I think Gage’s character was a bit poorly written in the sense of his motivation to stick with the Overboss, it feels really weak to me. You are forced to talk as if you want to take over Nuka World with the raiders and he just kind of blindly follows and honestly Gage isn’t as dumb as people portray him, he is pretty smart for a raider for what I’ve gathered. So him sticking with you while he betrayed Colter, while it has some explanation is incredibly weak. Also I know I will get a lot of fire for this so I’m really sorry in advance but I don’t think Gage romance was necessary. He doesn’t strike me as the type and it felt really half baked and “edgy” and lmao I don’t like badmouthing anyone for their interests but the worst thing’s in Gage fandom came directly from the romance and there are few mutuals of mine here who have nice Gage romances and head canons and I like them, but just open AO3 and bask in the mischaracterization and weird Joker/Harley Quinn-esque shit. So I can just say they did Gage dirty too, a lot.

And worst of all unless you are a ride or die Preston fan like me, you will miss the fact that Preston is Gage’s contrast as in Preston is supposed to be your companion through the park if you decide to wipe the Raiders. He has so far as I’ve discovered four new lines of dialogue specifically for Nuka World! I have that post here if you wanna read. And that is not made clear at all? In the game? At all? So much that not even the wiki people know he has four new lines of dialogue? No one took the love of my life Preston to Nuka World? I digress, but you get my point. The plot was just not the focus so it butchered these characters. Also the Raider bosses have a lot of personality but unless you play a raider, you really don’t get to see it. Probably if you play as a raider you get to see it and realize it’s not that good. So I feel bad for the nice concepts of characters stuck in this DLC. 

Now as for Tracie, first i’m gonna tag @star-lord since they asked me about this yesterday (I hope this is okay!), but back to Tracie, she is a good person, and neither me nor her would ever agree to help raider’s enslave and murder people for whatever reason, I had to work around on my playthrough to justify it with a story. I cleared the park with Gage as a companion cause I paid like 20$ for this shit and I needed to get my content. And I somehow maxed out my affinity with him through I guess really lucky strategic lockpicking. Then I got the Open Season from the lady at the Market and well....you know how it goes from this point on :/ So story wise Tracie would absolutely argue with Preston on this matter because she thinks she can “help” the raiders at Nuka World become better people. And she genuinely thinks she can make a change without bloodshed and Preston is a good and hopeful soul, but I’m afraid he knew better than her on this one. 

Still he was fine with trying because he doesn’t want to kill unless he has to but still they are raiders. So she goes at Nuka World and she accepts being Overboss and tries befriending Gage in her own kind of silly ways. I am pretty sure Gage despite being a raider is smarter than her, she is just kind of not that smart and also very naive but her heart is in the right place. And she will clear out the park with Gage and I am pretty sure she will grow on him like a little kid or a little sister cause she is much younger. And then she presents him with her plan which he knows its not gonna work and not only that he won’t let it work. And I am working on the details on my plot here but she eventually does come with the Minutemen to Nuka World to stop the raiders, Gage does turn to her and yeah she does have to fight him :/ I love the angst though, she considered him to be her friend and she thought he was changed, that he became good. And I think this taught her a very, very valuable lesson that not everyone can be changed by “the power of friendship” and she needs to be more careful who she trusts. Because I make Disney features exclusively Gage doesn’t die but he fucks off somewhere far away and he still remains an antagonist from start to finish. And Tracie as I said above frees the merchants, instead of killing the raiders offers them to work in the park or leave the Commonwealth with their heads and turns Nuka World into a huge settlement/trading center/city. Oh and they are cool with Preston in the end, they still love each other. So yay! Happy ending! 

I just felt like writing a friend to enemy arc for once and I felt that Gage is not the character to get a redemption arc. He shows no remorse for his raider life and in fact he willingly joined it. He is living by those ideals and has been for all of his life so stripping him of that with some half baked redemption arc will ruin his character in my opinion. This doesn’t mean he cannot love or like the Sole Survivor, I’m just saying unlike me making the ex-antagonists from FNV and FO4 (Benny, Ulysses, X6) into friends or at least weird uncles to the protagonists in all my stories, I wanted to not do that for once and I think it fits Gage. 

So that’s all I will probably infodump the details of this story someday like all Disney and stuff, but I am testing the grounds because I really don’t want someone coming at me for I don’t know “demonizing” or “vilifying” Gage or whatever.