Fanfic Rec - Dalton and SPAH~!

Apologies beforehand for the really scathing rant (and I didn't cover all my issues with the series as a whole!). Obviously not about the fic but about the fandom where the fic came from (no, not Klaine). I have a tendency to ramble and I need to let it all out. I am so sorry for the parentheses but I do have a tendency to get off-topic a lot. Forgive the wall of text. Just, please.

In a previous post I made of Glee, I happily lambasted its story and music. Well, it still is quite narmy and watching it seriously especially when it takes social commentary in itself (especially school shooting. Honestly, there are some subjects that I won't touch with a ten-meter pole and that's one of them. Glee unfortunately other than recycling storylines and characters which also include cheating when there are other ways to separate a couple even temporarily or even permanently that is downright insulting to a healthy and mature relationship that is Klaine and Tike have the habit of emotional manipulation (like how they reset Sue Sylvester's family issues with her sister and later with Becky) to pull in ratings and then later throw it out and not mention in any way again. Canon divergence for Glee is very much appreciated (my point of patience was Furt which I view to be a decent episode if you really want me to point out where I would see it diverge...at least from Kurt in Dalton along with Blaine should be the same grade as Kurt in the first place) since everything including what they did with Dalton (steroids?! Fucking Steroids?! Is the Glee universe trying to make sure there are no such things as friendly rivalry!?!??! Also didn't Tina in the first season mentioned that Vocal Adrenaline takes human growth hormone? Why the fuck didn't VA disqualified ages ago?!?! No, I shouldn't even think about it when they degrade a group that supposed to be all about acceptance and should have been Kurt's new friends who allow him to grow into his full potential and himself. Seriously, New Directions for all its preaching about equality and acceptance never really followed through with it and sometimes there aren't enough meaningful interactions to even describe them as True Companions (why would Kurt dedicate a song to the guys who isn't close to him? Even the fanfic writers know this. They know that Kurt isn't as close to the boys as to the girls. The boys, while they may love and accept him, always have a distance with Kurt. Look at the difference how the boys treat Blaine where they treat him like a guy whereas Kurt is treated like a girl even though he is also a guy. He may not be in the manly-man stuff the rest of the boys whose indoctrinated into but he is still a guy. It wasn't until years later they accepted Kurt into the boys' group when Kurt started to show masculine traits.) whereas Dalton never tries to do that. Dalton and Spah have meaningful conversations, friendships, unrequited, true love, familial love, mad love, etc all written well and what should have been Glee. I read a tumblr post somewhere where it placed like public high school cliques stereotypes and I do believe that it is true. McKinley's Glee Club is basically the jocks who tried hard to be brave and all whereas Dalton is the theater kids of culture and welcome everyone with open arms. McKinley definitely isn't the theater kids no matter how much they try. Most of the time, McKinley's Glee Club make me want to yell at them for their immaturity and stupid drama that can be easily resolved if all the members would just talk. Why else would I think Klaine and Tike are by far the healthiest and mature couples of the entire group? Why else would I think S1 is the most tolerable season? Which means in turn, RIB makes me want to yell in their faces while throwing heavy items into the air.) and Carmel (I will say this. I want them to be overworked performers who used underhanded techniques then and there but overall if even High School Musical knows how rivalry can work, then how about Glee?!) is just downright insulting, even the character assassinations are just shocking. They make it less human and well normal (let's not forget the slut-shaming and virgin-shaming! Though some were certainly deserved when characters don't seem to have the ability to wait like Will to Emma.) than McKinley which seemed to be placed on some kind of pedestal where a Glee club is depending on the writer top of the food chain or the bottom of the food chain. No consistency! I honestly just want Kurt to stay in Dalton and carved his own spot among colorful cast members in Dalton and Lauren Zizes (I love this girl more than every other girl in ND) also have her own spot in New Directions. There is just so much goddamn potential in how Glee could have taken and canon is eye-rolling and insulting to characters, making some of the characters jerkasses for the sake of drama instead of having issues that was previously established coming to a head/natural progress or what the writers think to make a relationship when there is no such need for that. Are you basically saying that my cousin or her husband have to cheat and work it out then get back together?! My cousin's a sweet girl and the new in-law is just so nice that I honestly don't see him cheat in any form. If he did cheat, hell will swoop down on him especially from my cousin's mother. I haven't seen them fight but I saw my parents fight sometimes and they work it out and it's not relationship-based at all, it was family, money, school, transportation, any other topic than their own relationship which was a stable relationship. As you can see, I did watch the whole show no matter how times the show jumped the shark and I could tell you how many times I wanted to outright rage-quit with season 6 being the worst of the lot where I nearly screamed at my computer in the middle of the night. The only reason why I can take Rachel's flaw is that it's her fatal flaw that drove a wedge in relationships and the way she got into NYADA is just offensive to any students who auditioned well to get into school and didn't receive an acceptance.) is just cringing. Sometimes, when it does something well, it does something well like the overall theme of acceptance with the original song Loser Like Me. Regardless, the series has so much potential in tackling and developing characters beyond repetitive cheating and plotlines and characters that don't have much to work with. At some point, I thought Big Bang Theory is far better than Glee. Pitch Perfect is how I see Glee if better written and embracing tropes that aren't played for drama or for laughs, just over-the-top fun. Hell, what I see in the relationships in Pitch Perfect 2 is how I want the relationships in Glee to be depicted, no useless break-ups when we know that they'll get back together. Even Big Bang Theory knows this (if you want me to talk about Amy and Sheldon's break up, it's completely justified since there is so much one can take and Sheldon have changed but he needs to show that he did change, even if just a little. If he can understand that, then the two can restart their relationship or begin where they left off. I certainly like how Penny and Leonard's relationship is much more stable now, giving each other space and time to talk like a normal couple. No pressuring like what Sheldon did to Amy).

Now imagine the story I'm recommending that fulfill a serious story of love, redemption, forgiveness, and strength that Glee would have but in a far better-written manner.

Dalton: Post-Furt: Spinning off from Glee, Kurt begins an entirely new chapter in his life at Dalton Academy for Boys. Blaine, Wes, and David and the boys of Windsor House make his life, for better or worse, far more eventful than he imagined.

Warblerland Wiki

SPAH-verse: I can't really find a summary since it's more like connective one-shots rather than a flowing story like Dalton. Okay, it flows but it's like Hetalia with short comics connecting yet not.

Think Dalton as Ouran High School Host Club of Glee basically. I'm not just talking about how the lavishly wealthy attending the school of Dalton and Dobry. I'm talking about the Dysfunction Junction of the original characters. Ouran has strange, out of the world tinge to it with a host club being very popular. Considering how much I love OHSHC, I cannot unsee Dalton as something similar to that. SPAH... Hmm... I would liken it to Hetalia where certainly has serious moments interspersed within its insanity much like the tantalizing series that is Hetalia. And OHSHC and Hetalia are still popular one way or another.

Both of these Dalton-centric stories popularized in the bloom of the Blaine Anderson and Dalton Academy mania when Never Been Kissed aired. I won't deny my interest in all-boys and all-girls private schools both in Westerville and who can show kindness and benevolence to the rest of the world. Both of these as boarding schools are just so appealing. That New Directions doesn't have to worry about a rival actually going their way out to hurt their members emotionally and physically but willing to befriend and listen to them, help them that Carmel's Vocal Adrenaline (notice how I just mention one. I would consider Dalton and Carmel to be the major rivals since Haverbrook and the other rivals don't have as much focus. Just look at Dalton and Carmel as foils. Carmel has robotic but elaborate performances, willing to commit borderline crimes whereas Dalton is willing to listen and advise them on their drama and visa versa while going through their own drama. One major rival means no harm at all, unlike another major rival. Both are well-funded groups from their respective schools but their sportsmanship and maturity are completely different. While Carmel burns bridges, Dalton doesn't, willing to extend a hand to other groups and applaud to each and every rival's performance, even helping them on fundraisers and getting way too much into it. The Warblers even want to learn to dance Single Ladies.) and the rest of the school population of McKinley is unwilling to. Think Richie, Drew, and Solidad from Pokemon along those lines. Solidad even won the Grand Festival for god's sake. Hell, think Kawakami, Sawamura, and Tanba from Daiya no Ace (Furuya is a one-sided rivalry and doesn't really look friendly especially from Furuya's cold treatment).

Yeah, you can taste my bitterness how Dalton and their sister school Crawford Country Day (Dobry Hall in Dalton and St. Jude in SPAH) handled in canon, right? So much goddamn potential!!!

I'm sure it has been repeated time to time on recs already about this story. Great characters, plotlines that aren't recycled from the original series (even if it was like the idea of love triangles and cheating but even that we can see the endgame unlike Glee taking partner-swapping to a whole new level.), a great development for all characters who are all flawed in their own ways. I love how the story portrays LGBTQ matters well. CP Coulter is a supporter and the way she handled homosexuality, bisexuality, and transgender is just so smooth in comparison to Glee's bewildering display of maturity (the biphobia is the one thing that popped up in my mind. There are literally no bis in a show that is supposed to be groundbreaking in handling LGBTQ matters. To some extent, it's okay on that but again biphobia. I'm bi and I'm insulted by what the series repeated said about my sexuality.).

In a canon divergence (thank god though because it seems in Glee Ohio you can transfer as easily as one can when I'm pretty sure it's not as easy as I think it is. I only saw one person I know who transfer out to another school and she complained a whole lot to her best friend who still kept in contact. I can see Kurt transferring into Dalton but after Jesse in McKinley for a few weeks at most then transferring out is the least realistic and the only way I can accept that is through bribery since the spying necessitate only just weeks), we see changes to Alice and the Wonderland around her. Admittedly if I was on the team on Glee, I would be questioning lots of stuff and would see to the editing like mad like what the fuck is Dalton in canon? There are no established facts like if it is a boarding school or not and why would Blaine drive two hours away to Lima just to get some coffee when we see that there is coffee in school.

I love Alice in Wonderland allusions considering how much I love literature. It's just great to see these allusions at all but I had rewatched Blaine and Kurt's first meeting. Blaine was carrying a pocket watch and looks like he's late for the performance, befitting his nickname in Daltonverse as The White Rabbit. He pulled Kurt - Alice - into Wonderland - Warblerland - where insanity runs rampant far worse than McKinley.

I literally cannot unsee Dalton was a previously established reformatory (if not then just a private school running its own rules) where the faculty and students tried so hard for propriety and failing when it's basically Wonderland. I really can't now. Every time I see Dalton in canon, I see CP Coulter's Dalton (and SPAH! verse is just as doable) and how much I wanted to strangle RIB for such terrible writing. I love Dalton Academy and their Warblers so much that I wanted a friendly rivalry between two groups that can be possible in Glee. Look at the characters who are treated in Dalton, it's just so good to see friendly rivalry and a rivalry a la Rosemead and Arroyo High possible. That's how I want to see Glee.

As for SPAH. Well, it's a category is crack. But like I said, it does have serious moments with the Lim (the equivalent of Light/Jogan. I'm serious. The idea of these guys who love each other for a long time and I do mean a long time yet took so goddamn long to get together. One is notoriously gay and the other known to be straight who maybe isn't completely straight. The latter tried so hard to get the former's attention and lost hope to even get him to notice him yet would give the one he loves what he desires even if it is not him.) and others. I like the nerdy references and like my reaction to the OCs in Dalton, intricate and well-drawn out characters.

Still, regardless of these boys whose mind seemed to run off more often than not is what I often read and look for in Dalton-centric stories (italics would mean story while non-italics would mean the school) rather than the stupid uptight that the creators made intentionally so they would return Kurt to McKinley which is damn insulting. If they wish for Kurt to go back to McKinley, Kurt would go back on his own terms. Since it was his decision to transfer even the Karofsky issue, he left with no other choice but to leave but whether or not he wants to stay is upon him, should he choose to stay and take more of the bullying and ignorance or transfer to a world where he can be himself and be happy for once. I would be affronted if I was forced to transfer just because people are scheming to be Prom (insert title). Writers, please let your characters have the agency which you don't allow them to. Please, Kurt is a countertenor and the Warblers would welcome him regardless.

I'm really sorry about my scathing rant towards Glee but Glee had so much potential in becoming a great show that deserved more than a hatedom (because a hatedom is in practically every fandom, really so I could care less). When Dalton and SPAH, fics that redefined Dalton Academy for me, has so much going for it, then why not the original? You already saw how much I hated Sherlock S3 (but even then it just simmered down to apathy because I honestly don't like the feeling of hatred. It feels gross and consuming.) and be lucky I don't hate Glee (yeah, it does test my patience many, many times. Even if S1 and quarter of S2 are tolerable while S4 and S6 are downright insulting and disgusting and offensive, coming close to it is S3 and S5, cutting close with a majority of S2). Glee just has so much potential and it's disappointing and in my opinion, disappointment is far worse than hate. Just to make this clear, I will never have a Dethroning Moment for work in particular. Yes, I will criticize and point out mistakes in writing, etc but I will never stop watching/playing something just because it has a moment that is just too offensive or ridiculous for me to stop watching. Yes, I will complain but I'm stubborn and can bear through those moments that others might find offensive for them to dethrone something they used to like. I would rather complete the whole series and judge it from there rather from a single moment that ruined forever the series or the creators even for some people. Hate and criticism do not equal I'm-not-watching-this-ever-again for me. Although I can no longer watch something due to the creator's arrogance and lack of fairness such as Confused Matthew and AniMat, the latter who I saw was fair until I can see just how he favors Disney so much that his other reviews suffer & the former is so narrow, needing to be spoonfed despite the reviewer can be intelligent (his Space Odyssey review is horrible and I fear any symbolism or any kind of figurative language would fly over his head. The film is supposed to be visual, not shouting at the top of their lungs about this is true love, see, this is true love or this character would sacrifice his status for this person even though he already showed a perhaps greater love for someone else.)

There are some covers that I do like the Warblers' "Teenage Dream" and Rachel's "Don't Rain on My Parade". This video, this performance of Journey's "Don't Stop Believing", is the song that spells the musical potential of the series; when there's a performance done right, then it's incredible. This performance is Glee in my humble opinion. It's down-to-earth yet has that show-tune New Directions are known for.

Glee has so much potential... I want to like the series but there are so many things that make me want to rant. Everyone is allowed to enjoy and like something; if it makes you happy, then more power to you. Just admit the flaws, alright? Recognizing the flaws does not make you a bad person.

Character - Arcana 

Finn - Magician

Kurt - Lovers

Rachel - Emperor

Mercedes - Priestess

Santana - Chariot

Quinn - Hanged Man

Tina - Strength

Artie - Justice

Sam - Sun

Blaine - Star

Will - Devil

Sue - Tower

Emma - Hierophant

Jesse - Magician