#✧ — ⋆ I am defying gravity ; dialogue .

[senawashere]

You're still the one..

A/n: This song is so Jake Seresin. And also i realised i messed the time's and date's so be aware of it🫣 This is for @ohtobeleah 's Galentines day!!

Warnings: Mention of pregnancy and giving birth and mostly fluff (minors please still dont interact)

Word count:3,8 K

February 17 2024. 01.34 am

Jake Seresin never thought he would settle.

Jake Seresin never thought he would come home to freshly baked dinner almost every night.

Jake Seresin never thought he would come home from deployment with pure joy.

Jake Seresin never thought he would be a dad.

Jake Seresin also never thought he would be a husband. A great one.

But here he was being the best of him for his family.

One night, with his wife peacefully laying beside him and their two beautiful babies sleeping soundly in their shared room,Jake Seresin couldn't help but reflect on how the story of their love had begun.

As he lay there, the soft glow of the moonlight filtering through the curtains illuminated the room, casting a gentle aura over the scene. The hushed sounds of nighttime surrounded them, creating a tranquil atmosphere that contrasted with the high-octane tales of Jake’s daring adventures.

His mind drifted back to the Hard Deck, where the neon lights and pulsating beats had set the stage for their first meeting. Jake couldn't shake the memory of that night – the electric connection, the shared laughter, and the undeniable chemistry that had sparked between them. Little did he know that the chance encounter in the bar would evolve into a love story that now filled their shared space with warmth and joy.

August 18 2018:

The Hard Deck pulsed with the kind of energy that seemed to defy gravity, much like the Jake Seresin himself. Bright lights painted the room in vivid hues, casting an electric but also soft glow over the animated crowd. You, just another face in the buzzing sea of people, found solace in the dimly lit corner of the bar.

And then, he swaggered in, a living legend in khaki uniform and aviator sunglasses Jake Seresin, the talk of the town. His sandy blond,sleek hair and the unmistakable cocky grin made your heart flutter unexpectedly. As if guided by some unseen force, he ended up at the bar right beside you.

The air crackled with unspoken tension, a silent dialogue of glances exchanged beneath the pulsating beats. Penny must have noticed the incident because she leaned over to your ear and whispered encouragingly for you to break the ice.

"Fly any cool jets lately?" you asked, your attempt at nonchalance betrayed by the slight quiver in your voice,it wasn't expected.

He shot you a smirk, a glint of mischief in his eyes, and the conversation took off like a supersonic jet. Jake's tales of high-flying adventures and near misses filled the air, weaving a spell that drew you into his orbit. The chaotic sounds of the bar faded away as you found yourself captivated by his world.

“Do you think they are having fun?” Phoenix asked Rooster while sipping her beer.

“Nah,i guess not”

But your and his laughter became the soundtrack of the night, shared stories creating a bridge between two strangers who felt strangely connected.

The Hard Deck, with its bright ambiance and heady atmosphere, became the backdrop to a love story written in stolen glances and genuine smiles.

In the heartbeat of that night, you realized that Jake Seresin was not just a daring pilot but a soul with whom you shared an undeniable connection. The clinking of glasses and the distant hum of conversations faded into the background, leaving only the vibrant chemistry that sparked between you and the real-life Hangman, as the Hard Deck transformed into the unexpected stage for the beginning of something extraordinary.

And both of you were grateful for Hard Deck and Penny that night.

October 10 2019:

Life with Jake was fun.

Life with Jake was an exhilarating journey, an adventure marked by laughter, spontaneity, and a touch of unpredictability. From the moment he entered your world, it was as if a burst of vibrant energy had been injected into the everyday routine, transforming the mundane into a thrilling escapade.

His infectious zest for life was like a magnetic force, pulling you into a whirlwind of excitement. Every day was an opportunity for new experiences, whether it was exploring uncharted places or simply finding joy in the ordinary. Jake's playful spirit infused even the simplest moments with a sense of fun and wonder.

Together, you navigated the ups and downs with a shared sense of humor that made challenges feel more like temporary detours than roadblocks. Life with Jake was a rollercoaster of laughter, a soundtrack of inside jokes and spontaneous adventures that left a trail of fond memories.

What made it even more special was Jake's ability to find joy in the little things. Whether it was a spontaneous road trip, a homemade dinner, or just a quiet evening at home, he had a knack for turning the ordinary into something extraordinary.

It was in those everyday moments that you discovered the true meaning of happiness – the joy of simply being with someone who knew how to make every moment count.

Life with Jake wasn't just fun; it was a celebration of love, friendship, and shared experiences. He taught you that life's journey is not just about reaching a destination but about savoring the joy of the ride. With Jake by your side, every day was an opportunity to embrace the thrill of the unknown, and you wouldn't have had it any other way.

Especially after little over a year, Jake knelt on one knee one morning as both of you were preparing breakfast. As you turned around in your seat to grab the toast, you saw him on just one knee, holding a blue velvet box, delicately opening it to reveal a slim, gold ring with a dainty not so big diamond in the center – a thoughtful choice you knew he had made, understanding how he moved in minimalist jewelry.

"I had a speech, and - aside from the fact that I have a lot of things to say about you but, I don't remember anything else now and more than that but look I'm madly in love with you. And ı can't think of a day where ı open my eyes and not see you or going to bed without you being the last person ı talk to and I just - Screw it, Y/N, I can't imagine a life without you in it, and just - marry me, please?"

His eyes were already shining before taking a deep breath, his lips trembling as he bitten his lower lip, his lips already pink, and there he was proposing in his black fitted shirt and in his red gingham pajama bottom.

You screamed, placing your hands over your heart, shaking your head as you cried, "Yes! Yes, oh my God, yes, hundred times yes!" Before you could even stand up, you found yourself throwing yourself to the floor, where he hugged you tightly.

Also, you remember that celebrating only with close friends and family in your home was very humble.

You didn't know too many people and you two didn't want a huge ceremony. So the backyard was the cutest place to get married.

As your bridesmaids Phoenix, Halo, and Penny took responsibility for decorating the backyard of your shared home with all the decors, illuminating the trees and walls.

The moment Jake saw you in the simple white wedding dress, it became a moment etched forever in everyone's mind who was present.

He was crouched, pulling you inside for a hug before closing his open mouth in disbelief; you were also laughing shyly as you pulled him to yourself.

He wore a white suit, with pink embroidered flowers on the sides resembling the headpiece you wore.

Polaroids were taken, all the photos were captured on film, making everything about the night,everyone was having the time of their lives.

Whole dagger squad was there and they were the life and the soul of the party.

Jake’s sisters,his family and your siblings and family were there.

Even admiral Beau came. Maverick brought him; he also brought Ice.

The night was more fun, more enchanting and more emotional than anyone expected.

“They said, "I bet they'll never make it"

But just look at us holding on

We're still together, still going strong..”

January 30 2020:

Three years ago, on January 30, you remember telling Jake that you were pregnant. Technically, you screamed it out.

Both of you decided to attend Shania Twain’s show at Madison Square Garden, given your shared admiration for her.

He just came from a 4 week deployment and you knew he needed a break, especially during tense times.

So you planned a trip to New York because he loved there but honestly who doesn't love New York?

But something happened almost before 5 days before the trip.

You got sick. It all started with a lack of appetite, and then suddenly, you felt like eating everything and anything. You blamed hormones until morning sickness kicked in.

If there was one thing you absolutely hated, it was nausea. You remember waking up shaking and retching, your body still feeling the need to rush to the toilet despite not having eaten anything that morning.

For the first three days of these incidents, you were alone. Jake was about to return from the deployment.

Not wanting to disturb him and worry him, you didn't tell him anything.

Whenever he asked why you looked unwell, you simply told him it was just nausea and nothing serious.

One day after Jake went out with Bradley, you remember calling your best friend,Phoenix, asking her to bring you a pregnancy test, choosing to avoid any tabloid talk.

Your heart was pounding, legs bouncing,palms sweaty, and nausea had already begun when you followed the instructions, waiting anxiously.

And then it happened; a scream of disbelief, one hand covering your mouth while the other tightly held the test - you were pregnant.

You remember Jake loving many things, many people, and many abstract ideas like love. You knew he loved babies and kids, often talking about them with you, mentioning seeing you both building a family.

So, after visiting the obstetrician and learning you were five weeks pregnant, you were dazed and excited to tell Jake but decided to do it in a different setting.

Four days after your visit, you and Jake were at Madison Square Garden singing along with Shania Twain.

You stood in front of Jake, leaning your back against him, his arms wrapped around your waist, your hands holding onto his arms, both of you swaying to “You’re still the one’ " while his chin rested on your shoulder.

When you moved slightly to look at him, Jake gazed back at you while singing.

“You're still the one I run to

The one that I belong to

You're still the one I want for life

You're still the one that I love

The only one I dream of

You're still the one I kiss goodnight..”

He kissed your lips and lightly tapped your forehead. Slowly pulling back, he smiled at you.

And then you said it.

"I'm pregnant."

His eyebrows shot up, leaning closer, "I can't hear you!"

You grinned, turning in his arms, "I'm pregnant! Five weeks pregnant!"

His world stopped, mouth forming an 'O' shape as his eyes widened,

"Y/N, are you kidding?!"

With a surprised smile, he asked, lips stretching into a grin, "My love, are you for real?" he asked.

Nodding with joy, you brought his hand from his cheek to your stomach, saying, "You're going to be a dad!"

His breakdown, tears streaming down, biting his lip as he threw his head back, red-nosed,his adam apple bobbing and crying with veins visible on his forehead, hugging you before crying into your shoulder – the only thing he needed to cry into before crying to your shoulder.

His eyes were teary as he held you, feeling him pulling back to rest his forehead against yours, moving his hands to the sides of your neck, "I love you. I love you so much," pulling you back into a hug, one hand moving towards the back of your head, the other on your back, and bringing you closer.

The 9 month pregnancy was smooth and emotional.

The 9 months of your pregnancy were painful, but there wasn't much else to feel aside from your love for Jake's incredible support and assistance and your admiration for your daughter, Emma Seresin.

Since the moment Emma came into the world, you knew she had wrapped her tiny finger around Jake's.

Your daughter was a bond between both of you, but you took pride in her character and personality at such a young age.

When Emma turned 3, you felt proud of how you and Jake could chat with her, even if it was about Jake’s job or hard topics like that and you loved every moment of him talking about how much Emma loved strawberry chapstick or how her nail color was important for her.

On a day when a familiar nausea and change in appetite reminded you of a late period, one question lingered in your mind.

So, over a meal, you brought it up to your husband, who was struggling to eat with your daughter in his lap.

Long story short, you were pregnant – again.

June 26 2023:

You, your husband, and your daughter were sitting in your backyard, allowing Emma to get some vitamin D. While you were writing in your journal, both of you were on the swings, and Emma was playing with her toys and running around, Jake was reading a book beside you.

‘’Mommy?’’

"Yes, sweetheart?"

She ran towards you, putting both of her hands on her knees before looking at your eight-month-pregnant belly and grinning, "What's in there?"

Jake chuckled, putting his book aside to pay closer attention.

"Your baby sibling is in there," you smiled at her.

"But how? Can I sit in there too?"

You and Jake chuckled at her question. "You used to sit in there, darling. But then, you were born three years ago."

Emma frowned, looking at you. "I want to go back in."

You looked at Jake, silently asking for his help.

Before lifting her into your lap, he leaned forward, hands wrapping around her underarms. "But your sibling won't have enough space then."

"I don't care," she whined, crossing her arms and looking down while talking, her lips quivering.

"Your sibling needs all the space to grow up and play with you. Don't you want that?" You asked gently, one hand on your knee.

"But he'll take my toys."

"You can share all your toys with him, sweetheart. He'll share his toys with you too." You chuckled, fearing she wouldn't like her sibling. It was something neither you nor Jake was ready for.

"But, but, you and dad will buy more toys for him.I don't want him." She said with a whimper, arms crossed and looking down, her lips trembling.

You and Jake shared a look before turning back to your three-year-old.

"Emma," Jake gently called her name, looking at her without lowering his gaze, "Sweetie, look at me, please." Emma slowly looked at Jake, allowing both of you to see her teary eyes. "You know Mommy and Daddy love you, and we'll always love you, right?"

You reassured her, saying, 'We love you very much, baby, and nothing will change that,'" you said, placing one hand on your knee, "We're excited for your sibling to meet you. He loves you too."

"Didn't you get excited the other day to show him your room?" Jake asked, rubbing her back gently.

"Yes," she murmured.

"You have so much to show and teach him. You can be his first best friend. Isn't that nice?"

As if understanding what was said, Emma slowly nodded her head.

"We love you, sweetheart. Forever," Jake said, leaning to give her a kiss on the forehead.

Emma turned to her father, crossing her arms and raising two fingers, one for you and one for Jake, "Promise?"

As if your hearts melted right there, you would cry as you locked your pinky finger with hers, watching Jake do the same.

"We promise."

But nobody warned you about the hell you'd go through when your daughter started to envy Calvin.

The day Emma entered the hospital room, holding hands with Javy, and looked at you lying in the hospital bed next to Calvin, making baby sounds as he moved his arms and legs,his eyes wide open, you knew it was somehow going good.

She seemed very welcoming.

Jake sat on the other side of his son, playing with your hair as a non-verbal way to thank you and comfort you after the pain you went through. His lips were fixed in a smile; his heart was pounding with happiness at the addition of the new healthy family members.

Emma looked at her parents, unable to see the middle sibling. She was overwhelmed because she knew she would meet her brother.

"Hello, sweetheart!" Jake grinned at her, bending slightly and opening his arms. Before kissing her cheek, he hugged her tightly as he carried her to sit on his hip, watching her eyes immediately shift to the newborn baby.

"Meet Calvin, buddy." Tired but with a smile on your face, you spoke, hoping she would take the change lightly.

Well, at least you hoped so.

But as Emma threw herself onto Jake, burying her head on his shoulder, crying, it was expected.

Javy and his wife didn't know how to help. Just like Bradley and Natasha.

"Hey, hey, what's the problem?" Jake asked, rubbing her back as she cried.

"I don't like him," Emma said, dragging him, her arms wrapped around Jake's neck.

You both know she wasn't a kid like this and it surprised you both.

Your heart broke, and Jake's smile faded as if triggered by the screams of your daughter, Calvin started crying too. You sat down, gently picking him up into your arms, placing him against your chest, soothing him, and supporting the back of his head as you pleaded for almost everything to be done by him.

Until Jake locked onto Emma after realizing she was causing the crying. He got out of the small room and stopped in the corridor, holding her, bouncing softly to calm her down.

"Come on, baby, please calm down," he said with a sigh, "Why don't you like Calvin?" he muttered, rubbing her back.

Emma sniffled, pulled back, but while keeping her father's head down, she moved her hand to touch Jake's necklace - the one you and Emma gave him on Father's Day, "Because-because-because he's little and needs more attention, and you won’t love me anymore.."

Jake sat in a chair, still holding his daughter in the same way. "What makes you think that?"

"He will have more love because he's little and needs more attention."

Jake took a deep breath and let the words drown him. While it was true that the little one needed necessary and more attention, he didn't know how to explain to the older one that it wasn't the case.

"When you were a little baby," he started, looking at her, "Mommy and Daddy were everywhere with you. You wanted your parents,us, with you all the time. You cried when we were asleep, spit up too much on us," Jake chuckled to himself, remembering those moments and realizing how everything felt like just yesterday, "You always wanted your mommy and daddy with you. And we never left you," he finished, "So, what makes you think we'd leave you now, sweetheart?"

Emma didn't respond.

"Your brother can't talk yet. He can't say when he's hurt, he doesn't even know the taste of your favorite blueberry pancakes. And we have to make sure he does all these things just like you. But the thing is," Jake leaned to whisper in her ear as if sharing a secret, "Mommy and Daddy can't do it alone. We can't do it without you."

Emma slowly looked at Jake, her face with furrowed eyebrows.

"We promised, sweetheart. We promised to love you forever. Have we ever broken a promise?" He watched her nod, "And we won't. So what do you say? Can you give your brother a chance? Actually, he's quite funny." Jake smiled at her.

"Is he funnier than you?" She asked.

Jake laughed, "Much funnier! You just have to look closely."

Emma giggled quietly.

"Mommy is so excited for you to meet Calvin, do you know that? She was telling me about all the numbers you can teach him, all the pictures you two will take. And what he'll get you for Christmas."

"Can he get me a book about stars? With pictures?" She asked excitedly.

Jake grinned, filled her face with kisses, and heard her giggle, knowing it was one of his favorite sounds, "Tell him."

When Jake stopped, Emma sighed, lowering her shoulder, "Okay, Daddy. I'll say to him.."

"Thank you." He smiled gratefully, "Shall we go back?"

When your husband hugged your daughter and walked in with her in his arms, you couldn't know what to expect until you saw your them

Shy and embarrassed Emma, after sharing a glance with Javy,and hugged Jake after returning to her place.

Calvin had also returned to his place, and silence had returned.

Emma looked at him again, finally noticing how small his hands were, and got curious. Reluctantly, she leaned down a bit with the intention of poking his hand.

But the moment she touched him, it was the moment Calvin wrapped his fingers around hers, making her smile.

"He's holding my finger!" She squealed with delight, "You were right, Daddy. He is funny."

"Yes, you just need to get to know him a bit more," Jake said, bending down and kissing Calvin’s hand before looking at you and whispering an ‘’ı love you so much’’

He was happy that you were still the one to love.

02.05 am February 17:

There was a tired smile formed on his face after he thought about memories.

Beside him, his wife, you stirred in your sleep, a serene expression on your face.

That made him realize how late it was.

Jake turned to face your sleeping form. Moved some stray of your hair and kissed your soft cheek. and while he was looking at you he noticed something.. Jake's heart swelled with gratitude for the life you both had built together.

Your shared room became a sanctuary, adorned with the echoes of laughter,after some rough night; soft pantings and ‘’ı love you’s’’, sometimes a place where you comforted each other and the soft breathing of your sleeping kids, and the quiet acknowledgment of a love that had deepened with time.

In the stillness of the night, surrounded by the tangible evidence of your shared journey – the woman he loved, you, and the two precious souls you both had brought into the world together– Jake couldn't help but marvel at the unexpected beauty of how their story had unfolded. The Hard Deck, with its bright yellow lights and adrenaline-fueled beginnings, now seemed like a distant, yet cherished, memory in the symphony of their family life.

And he was grateful that you were still the one who he kissed for goodnight.

I loved writing this 🥹

I'm tagging people who might be interested:@ohtobeleah @sebsxphia @callsigns-haze @sailor-aviator @sorchathered @greenorangevioletgrass @teacupsandtopgun @roosterforme @floydsglasses @floydsglasses @lyn-js @seresinsbrat @torchflies @its-dee-lovely @its-the-pilot @friedchips94 @bradshawsbaddie @hardballoonlove @perfectprettypisces @topguncortez @hangmanapologist

[amerricanartwork]

Quetzalli on Trafficlights and Birds

Well @toxictoxicities, it has been done! You gave me the chance for me to give my own interpretation on this matter, and I can’t resist chances to add some narrative significance! I decided to make a separate post on it because what I came up with ended up being long (as always with me), and in case anyone else would enjoy these thoughts.

However before I go in with this essay I've put together I have to give a very important note: These thoughts are gonna be primarily based around my personal interpretations and headcanons for Seven Red Suns and No Significant Harassment. I’m generally a person who needs to know exactly what I’m working with to do something well, and as such my ideas about metaphors, symbolism, and greater narrative significance typically depend a lot on me understanding the characters and ship not just in their general dynamic, but various other deeper elements — what their core desires/fears are, what their backstories/histories are, each of their main character traits and why they are that way, then from there what they see in each other and why their relationship benefits each other in-universe, and what other effect(s) the relationship has or could have on the characters in-universe as well as the greater narrative out-of-universe, with the additional optional knowledge of what the main plot of the story they come from is to possibly tie in important moments. Seeing as you probably aren’t going to explain your Trafficlights interpretation completely to this intense of a degree anytime soon (though I’d absolutely enjoy hearing it whenever it comes!), if I’m going to make some metaphors I think the best option is to just use my current character interpretations so I have this background familiarity, especially since I’ve actually been developing these things a whole lot for my own iterator off-the-string happy ending AU!

Also, I want to say to that if some of these idea sound familiar, it’s because I realized I can actually project some of my previous Lilypad ideas onto this Trafficlights portrayal as well. I feel my Suns and Moon are similar enough in their personality traits that many of the same dynamics and significance could reasonably apply. In fact Tox, I’m gonna admit I actually did take some inspiration for my Lilypad portrayal from seeing your particular Trafficlights and drawing my own conclusions about how that dynamic worked, and overall my depiction of Seven Red Suns is largely inspired by your own take on that character, which I found quite unique compared to the rest of the fandom for being the first one I saw to show Suns as being far less imposing and confident internally than they seem in public. So I guess I am once again coming full circle now!

I think this is already more than enough words, but I just felt the need to give those prefaces as context for all of these ideas. With that being said, I hope you like at least some of these!

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Option 1: Birds as Freedom

From what I’ve read, a common symbolism for birds is freedom, which to me is easy to see because of their signature flight ability. Flight can be considered the mode of travel with the greatest freedom because it’s not restricted by landmasses (or even planets, if you include space travel), and because flying is literally defying, or “freeing oneself” from gravity, one can easily associate it with weightlessness and thus being carefree and without worries or negativity.

With any off-the-string iterator story, it’s easy to give going off-the-string a positive significance because it’s literally the puppet “freeing itself” from the limited confines of their chamber, and by extent the limits imposed upon them by the Ancients. This is further supported by how some iterators in canon do appear to perceive their cans as a limitation or cage, as evidenced by the broadcast dialogue. In fact, I've heard No Significant Harassment is one of these very iterators, so I imagine he’d absolutely want to go off-the-string so long as he has a good incentive to. 

To relate this back to birds, you could very much use a caged songbird as a metaphor for the iterators; beautiful, brightly-colored creatures “raised” in captivity and trapped in boxes to serve other people, once “singing” out their ideas from within to those people, but now just giving those “songs” to each other. Thus, going off-the-string (perhaps to the Emergence facility in your AU) could be seen as these “birds” finally flying free to be with one another “in the wild”, finally able to fly and live their lives more fully as they were denied for so long. So regardless of any other symbolism, Trafficlights — and any other off-the-string iterator ship by extent — leaving their cans could be seen as them “flying free” together from the restraints forced upon them.

However, I’ve also recently realized another freedom symbolism besides freedom from the Ancients’ restrictions, and that’s freedom from their own. This is something more impactful to my Seven Red Suns, who like Moon, is also someone who hides a lot of his true personality for a more polite, proper, and dignified public persona, shoulders a lot of weight he isn’t always able to handle alone, and puts lots of limits on himself and what he’s “allowed” or “supposed” to do, albeit for entirely different reasons. Now contrast that with Sig, who although he also hides a lot of his true feelings and knows when to dial it down, is someone who is a master at breaking rules and going against convention. In fact, I like to imagine it’s literally in his nature (er, programming) to think outside the box, generating all sorts of different ideas to solve problems that don’t always totally follow outside rules or what’s “typical” for using a certain item. 

When you bring these two together, I imagine Sig could absolutely be the one to encourage Suns to let loose more, letting down his proper and and uptight persona to show more of his emotional side and explore things he didn’t allow himself to before (like I said, this is one of the ideas that works with Trafficlights as well as Lilypad)! It’s as if Suns is a bird too used to living in the cage and afraid to truly fly again, and Sig has to coax him out into embracing that freedom. You could even take this with the idea of iterators not being used to romance, a restriction Suns absolutely puts on himself and even others because he believes a “proper” iterator isn’t supposed to have such deep attachments, of which romantic love could be considered the worst because it’s both breaking Karma 3 of Companionship and can directly lead to Karma 2 of Sexual Intercourse, so it’s essentially a double-risk. But again, Sig is willing to explore these new feelings, and now that they’re off the string and can love each other more physically and directly than ever, what better time could there be for Suns to “spread his wings” and fly alongside him?

Option 2: Birds as Passion/Romance

To me, the second biggest symbolism that birds can have is that of passion and general romantic ideas. Technically all birds could have this association because feathers and wings in general are pretty showy, so spreading one’s wings could just as easily be a gesture of great emotion and expression as it could be preparing to be free. In addition though, whereas the previous point was more related to songbirds, this seems to correlate more with birds of paradise especially, who have the most colorful and varied plumage of the bird kingdom, thus making it easy to say they’re “showing their true colors” without fear. Some birds of paradise, particularly parrots/parakeets/macaws/etc. are very social creatures by nature, so it’s even easier to draw the connection between their vibrant plumage and social behavior with being expressive and outgoing.

As for the romance element, to me it seems birds are commonly used as such symbols already; there’s doves and swans being symbols of love often included in some way at weddings, words like “lovebirds” referring to lovers as well as one of my favorite words, “twitterpated”, which means to be very smitten and infatuated and also has a clear bird-based association and maybe even origin. But then there’s the idea of songbirds singing to each other, which I think is a particularly romantic idea which plays into one of my favorite shipping tropes I call, “answering the call”. So far, I like to describe it as when someone is looking for companionship and romance for a while, either openly or as a subconscious desire, but is eventually found and “answered” by someone willing to love with them. It’s such a romantic idea to me because it often includes so much loneliness and sometimes even tragedy before, making that moment where they finally find someone all the more sweet!

Okay, now to bring this back to Trafficlights. Starting with the first idea, I think it’s easy to associate Sig with these kinds of birds, especially macaws and such, seeing as I imagine he can be just as “colorful” both literally and personality-wise, and cares deeply about his relationships in a similar manner. But even then, like I mentioned before Sig can sometimes feel like he needs to hide those feelings because others don’t fully understand him and he doesn’t want to risk creating tension (although hiding his feelings like that kinda does anyway). 

To resolve this, I’ve decided to use what I imagine Sig would appreciate and value in Suns that would evolve the relationship past friendship to romance, that being that Suns was one of the first people besides Moon who believed that Sig’s ideas and his dedication to his friends could be something more, something better and used for good. My Suns is defined largely by his perfectionism and endless drive to make things the “best” versions of themselves. In my timeline of events he already helped Sig in that way during a pretty important moment, not to mention it’s just really inspiring how much Suns cares about trying to bring about the “best” for everyone. On Sig’s end, this is how they at least developed a friendship, and in this alternative what would cause that appreciation to evolve to romance eventually. In fact, in my headcanon it was the combined efforts of Moon first understanding Sig’s feelings and Suns helping to perfect his role in his group, with both of them working really hard to help him find new belonging with the Local Group, that was what got Sig out of his “rough patch”. Thus, in a way, Suns directly helped Sig make new connections, “spread his wings”, and “find a new flock”, which can easily be the main reason why Sig would fall for Suns.

Now, what about Suns? Relating him to birds and passion also hinges largely on another pretty crucial headcanon about my Seven Red Suns, which is that he is secretly a huge romantic with a passion for the fine arts. In addition to striving for an “ideal” world at all times, he appreciates art and the deeper symbolism within. However, because of what I said earlier about Suns placing a lot of high standards on himself, he doesn’t actually make art of his own, believing it’s “not an iterator’s place” to do such a thing themselves because it’s not in their purpose. But even then, he can’t help himself from seeing things artistically and drawing his own conclusions about things.

That being said, I imagine Suns could have a strong appreciation for birds in particular; their beauty, combined with their flight, makes them seem as though they’ve already “ascended” on some level above other animals. On top of that, I think Suns would come to see Sig as sort of a bird himself! Maybe a big green macaw with the most beautiful plumes who’s also far more intelligent than others think. But even more so, when it comes to what Suns appreciates in Sig that causes him to fall in love, I imagine it’s how Sig is the only person who sees through his facade for who he really is. Everyone else around him seems to either put him on a pedestal, with their own high expectations to follow, or is intimidated by his grandeur into avoiding much direct contact. Again, however, Sig naturally thinks outside the box and challenging people’s ideas, so it’d be pretty easy for him to break down some of Suns’s diplomacy to show that more emotional side (another idea that I use in Lilypad as well). No Significant Harassment is the one person Suns feels like he can be himself around, helping him realize that even those parts of him he hides make him “perfect” by virtue of being his real and unique self. It’s like Suns is a great eagle, looked up to and feared by other birds as a large bird of prey and thus lonely and pressured to soar above all else, and only the surprisingly smart macaw is able to lower his guard, helping him see he’s just as beautiful and inspiring on the ground as he is soaring high in the clouds. 

And then there’s the idea of “answering the call”. I’ve already seen your Trafficlights will probably play out as a slow burn, with Sig and Suns harboring growing feelings for each other for a while but only really acting on it once Emergence kicks in. In this case the dynamic would be mutual, with both of them longing for a deeper connection, but perhaps not realizing it until this timeline. I imagine Sig would be the one more conscious of this desire though, seeing as he openly seeks connection with others, so it’d be as if he’s a lonely songbird wanting to sing out but never getting an answer. And then of course, when Suns finally does respond it’s that much more poetic!

Trafficlights as Rio (spoilers, by the way)

OKAY HEAR ME OUT, I just have to include some words on this because this movie, this freaking movie is not only one of the two that kickstarted my love of birds but is what started this whole Trafficlights-as-birds-symbolism thing for me.

To give some context, if you don’t already know I am someone who not only loves making metaphors and symbolism with my ships, but loves finding associations between them and outside music or stories. I often look for connections to the old Disney animated fairytales, but I really end up doing it to all sorts of animated stories that I believe have pretty universal themes.

That being said, if there’s any association I’d make for Trafficlights as I currently see them, it’s to Blue Sky’s Rio and some of the scenes from that story. Firstly, Blu as a character already somewhat parallels my Suns in that he’s awkward and not the best at interacting with others. Not to mention his inability to fly, which came from him never getting a chance to embrace his emotions before being captured and taken from his home, could be paralleled to Suns’s bottling up his emotions, especially since flight in that film is directly related to feelings of happiness, love, and freedom, so Suns in a way is also “stunted” in his emotions. Meanwhile Sig on the other hand is more like Jewel, someone who at least understands his emotions a lot better and thus “knows how to fly”, and who resists others’ attempts to cage him and tries to get his partner to do the same. Like Blu Suns refuses at first, his logic and desire for a dignified self image getting the best of him being able to let loose in any environment where he isn’t surrounded by close friends. 

Then there’s the freaking “Hot Wings” scene, which takes the most responsibility for this association of mine. Largely because the two side-characters, Nico and Pedro, also seem to carry a dynamic with their lyrics that just reminds me of Suns and Sig, respectively, a lot (honestly I just thought about it on a whim one day and I can’t unsee it now…). Not to mention the entire scene is about pretty birds dancing, which given you’ve also made a decent number of drawings of Trafficlights dancing together, I think is just super fitting. And then Jewel’s singing once again brings back this idea of freedom and showing one’s emotions and love, with the remaining question being whether or not Blu can eventually unlock this feeling inside him despite his fears and fly up with her. This is something I think could work with Trafficlights, at least how I see them, for even if Suns can be more emotional around Sig and maybe his friends, he still has trouble doing so in public, not always liking the pressure of being “perfect” but not wanting to risk looking like a fool around everyone who looks up to him.

It works even better with one of the later scenes in the film when Blu and Jewel finally manage to cut the chain keeping them together, which causes Jewel to immediately lift into the sky with the pure joy and euphoria of once again being free to fly as she pleases. However, Blu is left looking up at her as she flies with their friends, and you can tell he’s both realizing again just how beautiful she is and longing so much to join her in the sky, yet still unable to fly. Once again I can’t help seeing Suns in Blu’s place, looking at Sig having fun and being so carefree, loving the feeling of being off-the-string, and him thinking Sig so beautiful and wanting to join him too. And eventually, just like Blu does in a true “answering the call fashion”, he is able to “spread his wings” and they finally can fly away together!

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Okay, I think that’s all I have to say for now on this topic. This essay, excluding the preface at the beginning, is 2498 words! I think that might be a little bit more than my Lilypad essay! I really hope it delivered!

But even then, this was so fun to do! Even though Trafficlights isn’t my main ship and isn’t going to happen in my own AU, I’ve recently been looking to better figure out Sig and Suns’s relationship anyway to understand why they’re at least friends with each other. Of course there are some other factors in their relationship, some of which I’ve edited out for the sake of these ideas because it throws a bit of tension in the dynamic that could compromise its ability to work as a ship, but this was still an important aspect and I’m glad to have gotten a chance to develop it! And then of course, a reason to think about ships as well as shamelessly plug one of my favorite movies ever is also very nice!

This may all sound super silly and maybe none of it works with your Emergence Trafficlights, but regardless this was seriously such a fun opportunity, and I’m glad you gave me a reason to do this! I would love to hear your thoughts on or additions to all this, if you can!

[ignoredbellyaches]

Fordsy, are you queer? Small fluff dialogue with Bill showing Ford a human form of himself (only descriptor being used is intentionally greasy hair to try and gross out Ford)

"Sweet Moses..."

"What? Not a fan?" Bill cracked a smile in the newly acquired form, taking a few steps down on the floating staircase made of various books. He slicked back the greasy hair, adjusting his gravity-defying tophat.

"N-no, it's just... You're breathtaking," Ford exhaled.

Bill internally cringed at the sincerity in the man's voice. He was expecting a different reaction, in all honesty. He quickly chirps out a forced laugh—

"This old thing?" Bill gestures to himself, "yeah, made this bad boy a couple decades back when I was talking to one gal about science. You might know her, little number called Marie Curie?"

"You were Dr. Curie's mentor aswell!?"

"When are you gonna learn all good things come from me, Six?" Bill grins from ear to ear, swinging his decorational cane around.

"Hah, s-sorry, should've known better, huh?"

"Eh, it's whatever. I get it, you're still learning." Bill floats down to Ford, still standing on the gridded floor below the two. Bill stays elevated in the air, keeping a foot above Ford. Bill smiles, "maybe one day, you'll know everything there is to know about little ole' me."

Ford gulps anxiously, returning the smile,"y-you think so?"

"Oh, come on, smart guy." He leans over Ford's, slinging his arms around his shoulders. "I know so."

Ford blinks before clearing his throat, "heh... I can hardly wait!"

"Right? The anticipation is just killin' me." Bill coos in agreeance, taking Ford's hand to join himself in the air. "Now come on, we don't got all night- Oh, who am I kidding, we do have all night!" Bill looks back midair gleefully, his eyes slightly a squint.

Ford loved seeing Bill just as enthusiastic as himself.

[rosallora]

I SAW WICKED (spoilers)

So I saw Wicked last night with my roommate! We got all dressed up in the girls' colors, got our popcorn, our snacks, and settled in for an AWESOME time. Unfortunately, I was disappointed.

NOTE: I am someone who read the book at age 13-14, and has seen the musical twice - once when I was about 13, once in my 20s! I'm almost 30. So I have a history with the musical and the book that do inform my interaction with the movie.

REVIEW BELOW

Music: Yeah it's not a good sign when I have bad things to say here. Despite the fact I KNOW that they must have had an absolute orchestra doing the score, somehow half of the instruments DON'T SOUND REAL. There is a synthesized feel to the backing and even some of the main orchestral pieces that SOAR in the theater but are not good enough in this movie. My roommate was the one who pointed out that the backing track is also at times legitimately not loud enough. They were very disappointed with the part of the score that is supposed to "melt" into the background. It doesn't do its job. There are leitmotifs played throughout the dialogue, mostly to indicate tone and what's going on (eg: oh Fieryo's onscreen! Quick! Play a Dancing Through Life leitmotif!) but there's nothing meaningful. I pointed out that there's something that isn't right in the choice of INSTRUMENT. There is something deeply missing in the Wicked movie's score that has to do with originality of instrument choice. The music from Wicked is GOOD. It is banger after banger after banger (other than you know. Sentimental Man). But they don't take advantage of it. The lower, bassy register of the libretto is strangely absent. There are numbers like No One Mourns the Wicked where the use of STOMPING is good - but there's a strange lack of percussion that haunts the movie. It's MISSING the lower tones. No idea why. The music doesn't stand up to the musical.

To be clear: Most vocal performances are stunning. Our two main girls were definitely GREAT fits vocally for the characters. Madame Morrible and Mr. Oz himself needed to be cast differently - based on just the singing of the characters. Everyone else, vocally, was completely on-point and serviceable. Great ensemble. Unfortunately, because of extended time onscreen, there's also a habit of EXTENDING the pauses between song bits. EG: in Popular, after Glinda does the little transformation on Elphaba, there's a pause. Glinda says Elphaba is BEAUTIFUL, Elphaba is emotionally overwhelmed and has to leave. She runs offstage, and Glinda yells "you're welcome..!" after her before finishing "and although you protest / your disinterest / I know clandestinely / you're gonna grin and bear it / your newfound popularity" does some la la las... and then does the ending "you'll be popular! / just not quite as popular / as / meeee". In the MOVIE, after "newfound popularity", Glinda looks at HERSELF in the mirror and has a "hello beautiful" moment, completely arresting the pace of the song. I have experienced blue balls via Wicked. It's denying the audience the last bit of your song. They also do this during DEFYING. GRAVITY. Can you IMAGINE??

Lighting: Wicked has an atmosphere problem. I wish I had pictures from the movie. There is from the jump in Munchkintown during the No One Mourns the Wicked this BRIGHT, GLARING LIGHT that covers everything. It is absolutely oppressive. When Arianna Grande came down in her bubble, all I could think is that she looked fake and almost GRAY. There is almost no color in the lighting at all. I have no idea why this is the case. There are maybe three scenes where this is different: During Dancing Through Life at the Oz Dust Ballroom, during PARTS of Loathing, and during Popular. At the Oz Dust Ballroom, a night scene (at a now illict club?? Spoilers for the weird reframing of the Oz Dust Ballroom???) there is a cooler toned light, and during Popular there is a section where all the lighting is blessedly pink - during Loathing, which was the best choreographed and shot part of the movie (aside from Defying Gravity, I'm talking about that later) where there was use of pink/green light in the dorm room, but not anywhere else on Shiz campus. The costuming of the characters was pretty spot on stylistically (more on that later) but the light did not emphasize or highlight any aspect of the atmosphere.

The Greatest Showman is an enjoyable movie musical because it does one thing EXTREMELY well: atmosphere. I know I know, I'm bringing up Greatest Showman. The music is nowhere in the same ballpark range of quality. But here's the thing - the deep saturations, moody colors, and beautiful contrast of Greatest Showman's showmanship is a huge reason why I revisit the movie. It LOOKS INCREDIBLE. It is not carried by its music. In comparison, Wicked's atmosphere is oppressively bland. For a series that took something impressionistic and made it dark (in the book) and then extremely saturated (in the musical) the movie has chosen to make a nothing burger of its own atmosphere. The use of CGI for backgrounds and objects is desperately obvious. Everything is too smooth, and it can't be SAVED by lighting. No idea how they messed this up this hard.

Set Design:

This is building directly off of lighting so I want it here - it's not great, but other parts are FANTASTIC. There are sections of Munchkinland (the girls' house in the art deco style, as well as Shiz University's hallways) that are really beautiful. External environments suffered from the worst of the LIGHTING issues mentioned above, which made them hard to save. I was really aware that they were probably shooting on a lot or a sound stage or something - and if they weren't, it was impressive that they gave off that feeling so effortlessly.

When you look around at Oz in any shot of externals, it looks bland and white. The colors are completely washed out in all directions. I would expect this maybe of the BOOK in a way, in which there's definitely a more dreary tone, but that isn't what the movie is going for at all. Wicked is supposed to have some fun, iconic looks! Where is it?

The forest and green spaces also have this surprisingly bland feel to them. Maybe because they FEEL (granted, I don't know for sure) extremely CGI. There isn't a feeling that the characters are able to really interact with their surroundings in a meaningful way. I think that there needed to be more lighting contrast between layers of the forest, or more... grime? I don't know how to express that the movie needed more TEXTURE. Everything felt very SMOOTH.

Also. The field that Elphaba runs through in Wizard and I is absolutely unforgivable. Nothing more to say on that front.

Cinematography: There are two modes for this movie: commercial footage and everything else. There is a blandness to the camera angles that when the movie decided to do SOMETHING INTERESTING, I immediately took notice and was like "wait what the heck, why haven't we been having interesting camera shots???". Loathing, Dancing Through Life, Popular, and Defying Gravity are the only places in the movie where there are more interesting camera techniques happening. Especially when it comes to Defying Gravity, there's a full sense that they only used interesting camera angles on the parts that would be in the commercials and advertising???

In Dancing Through Life, there's the use of this rotating library set that looks straight outta cirque du soileil. They get points for that one. Again (gestures above) the lack of proper, toned lighting makes it less exciting than it should be. At the Oz Dust Ballroom portion, there's some good use of close-up to show Elphaba's feelings vs. the mask she puts on to try and convince people she doesn't care. It's effective, but it's basic. There's some camera tracking on movements as well, but the pacing of the scene is TOO SLOW for it to be fully effective. The movie is ALLERGIC to letting things like, "pass by?". Like no no, we need to SEE Glinda getting ready for Oz Dust Ballroom, we can't just let them TRANSPORT there or go there via montage. it's insane. There's no artistry.

Loathing is the best choreographed and shot part of this movie. The use of pink and green lighting to show struggle is good, they FINALLY do some interesting match cut shots and some time-passing shots as well. There's also some good dance choreography here. Unfortunately all I can say about Loathing is that it wasn't nearly as bland as the other pieces?

Popular has actual props. Glinda has all sorts of shoes and makeup and stuff that spring out of her travel boxes. The two characters interact with mirrors, vanity lighting, the props that were obviously THERE WITH THEM IN THE SCENE. It highlights that in other areas of the movie, there's a lack of ACTUAL sets/props. There's an amazing overhead shot of Glinda as she pushes herself around on the floor doing the la-las. They leaned into Popular and what it should be, there's more interesting things happening here. Popular kind of needs that to be the case though.

Defying Gravity was so focused on being part of the commercial. It is the only part of the movie where we have VERY interesting angles (like a low shot of Elphaba from the floor/broom's perspective) and the use of slow-motion for emphasis on action and motion. It makes the scene stick out like a sore thumb. All I could think was "oh this is where they're stylistically trying to do something because these are all shots for the commercial". Extremely disappointing. The techniques used in Dedying Gravity, mind, are GOOD. They're not even REALLY GOOD. But they are at least interesting.

Other than these exceptions, there were extremely simple shots. No fun angles, no hyper zooms, nothing. In the sequence for Defying Gravity when the girls are running from Chistory and the other monkeys, I should be on the EDGE OF MY SEAT. There was nothing done with the cuts and angles to make it seem like they were in more danger. I knew what I was SUPPOSED to feel - worry for the fate of our duo heroines. What I got was "oh the monkey has Glinda's little jacket I guess". There's a lack of originality and creativity in how the movie is shot. It's suffering from lack of style because of a desire to be universal, would be my diagnosis.

Costuming: There's a consistent commitment to structured, well-tailored garments in an off-kilter Edwardian style. They took notes from the musical's way of costuming for sure, though elements of it are toned down. However, there's a lack of more textured fabrics that are interesting??? Glinda's classic pink ballgown and the "petal dress" she wears to the Oz Dust Ballroom are the exception here. I don't know why they decided that everyone at Shiz was going to wear uniforms, this isn't a prep school. It makes everyone seem younger than they are, which they shouldn't be doing seeing as the actors are adults PLAYING adults (college age ones at least!) and the intimate content that will be present in Act 2. At Oz Dust they're also some girls in FLAPPER attire - My roomie mentioned that they would've loved to see more of that style incorporated as well. I completely agree. Something I liked is the "off-kilter"ness of the costuming. Everything's sort of costumed at a Dutch angle, with small exceptions like Morrible's outfit (even if her hair abides by the rule). And I think it adds style to almost every piece of clothing. Fieryo does not have the blue diamond tattoos that he has in the book which was personally distressing for me. It made me sad. I was so hoping they'd do that. The costuming otherwise was solid! Not INTERESTING, not offensive.

Plot/Changes: Yeah I know I'm doing this last. Sue me, honestly, it felt both the most and least important. Elphaba is mostly raised by a character named Dulcibear (cute portmanteau of Dulce, sweet, and bear) which gives her the sort of spark for being kind to or having a connection to Animals on the whole. Honestly I'm not a fan of this. Elphaba's struggle for Animal rights should not have to be connected to personal early experience with this group. It should be enough that they're oppressed and she is disgusted by their treatment. I don't DISLIKE Dulcibear but I don't enjoy that she represents an ongoing trend in video-media that in order to CARE about a cause, you have to have an individual, personally invested moment of CONNECTING with an oppressed group on an interpersonal/emotional level instead of just understanding that it's. Uh. Wrong. Duh.

Elphaba not originally intending to be a student and being DISCOVERED by Morrible, I think, is a good change. It makes everything a bit more charged, there's that inciting incident with the magic - I just think it adds to the narrative and flows well.

They have Chenoweth and Menzel (the OG Elphaba and Glinda) in the middle of One Short Day do this little Wizomania mini-song/explanation. This is PARTLY in the musical, but partly new. This addition is the BEST of the entire movie because it explains the Grimmerie and how no one can read it, and that presumably Oz can read it (it is later revealed that he cannot). The explanation of the Grimmerie is MISSING in the stage version and always struck me as a weird bald spot in a really solid musical, so I was happy to see that amended very naturally via the Wizomania section of One Short Day.

Something Bad is now an Animal meeting! This was a great choice - smaller set, the lighting is finally less harsh because everything's sort of in this secretive yellow-candlelit tone, and there are shadow effects to tell parts of the story that are genuinely interesting to watch (borrowing from Greatest Showman though, haha). After the "Animals Should Be Seen and Not Heard" is on Dillamond's board, he leaves the school to go talk to other Animals in town about what's happened and the whispers he's been hearing about Animals going missing or being oppressed. Elphaba is listening from the sidelines, being a bit of a sneaky gal. Dillamond LATER realizes someone is there, everyone else flees, and then he and Elphaba do the last bit of the song as a duet after he realizes it's just her, and she has a rapport with him. it's a great choice to allow the audience to see and experience the perspective of Animals in Oz and feels like a natural change to the story. The stakes feel much more real, and it feels like a nice reference to the darker tone of the book.

Fieryo and Elphaba meet via meet-cute in the woods a-la Ella Enchanted or Ever After. He immediately hits on her???? WHY??? My roommate pointed this one out because they're like "it undermines I'm Not That Girl" and they are COMPLETELY correct. Fieryo should think Elphaba is stinky all the way up to the Lion Cub Rescue. He should have eyes for Glinda and only Glinda because after all "now that [they've] met one another / It's clear [they] deserve each other", etc etc. This was a STUPID decision. Do not let them meet cute! They also commented on this saying that everything involving Fieryo being a bit more attracted to or pulled towards Elphaba is likely to be in order to soften the blow of his infidelity in Act 2. I completely agree, but coward's move.

Speaking of Fieryo. Fieryo's actor feels much older than the girls when he is OSTENSIBLY the same age. He just... he doesn't seem right. I think his acting is great! I just don't think he quite fits in the case the same way with the way he's lit sometimes (I mean it, he's cute, but there's a way that they're lighting him that isn't charitable). They also have him be more reflective, more thoughtful, than he should be. He should only REALLY be changing during Lion Cub Rescue and then he goes back to normal until the start of Act 2 when he's like "wait!!! that's a lie!" when everyone's talking about Elphaba being the epitome of evil. There's way too much of him being thoughtful. Remove that man's brain (iykyk, ofc).

The changes with Nessa were greatly appreciated. The way that her narrative is constructed around her independence and wanting to have control of her chair, choices, and life are really peak. I appreciated that when Boq says "let's dance", he comes around to the FRONT of her wheelchair to offer her his hands - he doesn't take the chair, which is oftentimes how it's choreographed in the musical. I also like that Boq says she's beautiful in RESPONSE to seeing Fieryo and Glinda kissing - good change! Gives his character a little bit of a cutthroat edge.

Anyways, those are all my thoughts. Maybe you disagree with me. Maybe you agree! I'd love to hear about them regardless.

[eerna]

I felt like the first half of the movie felt like DCOM then the other second half was more decent. If I have to rate it from 1 to 10 I would give it a 7. I did liked Cynthia’s and Arianna’s performance and I’ll probably watch the second part. Also my poor girl Cynthia was suffering with those contacts lenses.

I really had fun, I totally don't regret seeing it and I am absolutely watching part 2!! But yeah I get what you mean with it feeling like a lower range musical. It was visually wonderful, but the music was sort of weirdly incorporated into the movie, to the point where it was very distracting. You know how musicals feel like musicals even when there are no songs? Everything has a flow and rhythm, but this one just. Doesn't have that. And when it tries to have it, the actors are a little too "ashamed" to be doing it, so it falls flat. And this was especially bad in moments where they have dialogue between song pieces, because for some reason they doubled the length of all those scenes, and I would legit forget that we were mid-song because nothing signalled we were still in a music scene. Dancing Through Life is so energetic and has a wonderful pulse on stage, same goes for Defying Gravity, but in the movie they totally killed the pacing. And yeah, Cynthia Erivo is such a victim of this movie. First off, the contact lenses SUCKED WHY DID SHE HAVE TO WEAR THOSE SHE IS ALREADY GREEN ENOUGH AS IS. And second off, good grief what did they do to her voice. I assume she had to be muted bc Ariana couldn't keep up with her otherwise, so she sounded really weak and feeble. IN fact, her entire Elphaba was so weak and feeble!!! Instead of anger and anti-social behavior, she got sadness and heartbreak!!!! AND THAT SUCKS!!! ACT 2 IS FOR HER SADNESS!!! ACT 1 IS HER TIME TO BE BITCHY AND HEADSTRONG!! If she acts like a kicked puppy the entire time, Fiyero asking her "do you ever let anyone else speak?" is so mean and rude!!!

[snaggletoothedbastard]

I'm talking about Tintin again. This time I'm writing an essay. You have been warned.

Yesterday it was my birthday and I rewatched The Black Island. To be clear: I have not read the book. For some reason that is one of the only two Tintin books my dad doesn't have, so I haven't read it. All mentions of The Black Island henceforth are referring to the episode from the animated series.

The Black Island is an interesting episode, and I have interesting feelings about it, which I only truly acknowledged yesterday. Maybe being a year older has brought me unexpected wisdom or maybe I just didn't notice my feelings until more than ten years after the first time I watched the episode. I don't know. Anyway, this is essentially just going to be my attempt at articulating these feelings. You could call this essay an exercise in pointlessness but I like writing so I'm doing it anyway.

The Black Island is actually the first episode I ever watched, and it was my introduction to Tintin as a concept. I'm going to give you a little bit of backstory here. I was about six years old, and I was at a friend's house. We were playing in her mum's room. There was a TV in there with a DVD player, and my friend suggested we watch Tintin. I had no idea what that was, but it sounded intriguing so I agreed to watch it. My friend put the DVD in the player, chose an episode and pressed play. Immediately I was faced with this image.

There he is. The man himself. The weird thing is, I recognised him. This character was familiar to me before I even knew who he was. And that is because of another friend, whom I'd known for my entire life. He and his wife were friends with my parents, and my younger sibling and I were friends with their two daughters. We'd been to the family's house countless times, and every time we went there I would look around at the pictures on their walls, the figures on their shelves and the magnets on their fridge, because I kept seeing these fascinating people. Two identical men with bowler hats and moustaches. A large blonde woman in a pink dress. And a chap with a round face, black dots for eyes and ginger hair that defied gravity by sticking straight up. I'd seen this peculiar character in this family's house for years but it wasn't until I was six and watching TV with my friend in her mum's bedroom that I finally learned his name: Tintin.

The episode we watched was, of course, The Black Island. It was my first proper introduction to the series that absolutely beguiled me from the age of six to around ten, and then was, for some reason, almost forgotten about until I rediscovered it a month ago. And this episode seems to have had a rather profound effect on me that I don't think any of the other episodes have. It isn't my favourite, it doesn't have the best quality, the animation is sometimes funny-looking and the dialogue is awkward and the accents are atrocious, but there is something special about it.

The main thing I get from watching this episode is an intense feeling of nostalgia. The Tintin series was a huge part of my childhood. My family and I watched the cartoon religiously until I probably could have recited the entirety of The Seven Crystal Balls word for word. In my young undiagnosed autistic mind, I thought the way the characters spoke would be the perfect thing to emulate when I was masking. New lens: I am now an actor, and the voice acting in the series is, for the most part, aggressively mediocre. But I tried so hard to copy it when I was a child that it's now ingrained in my head and when I need to mask, I automatically fall back on this weird overacted cartoon-character persona without even thinking about it. I associate Tintin with Sufjan Stevens, because I heard so much of his music while my interest in the cartoon was at its peak. To me, the two are intrinsically linked, and I sometimes forget that this isn't a universal experience, and that there probably aren't that many other people who instinctively think of Tintin in America when they listen to the song Chicago.

I also get nostalgia for the circumstances in which I first saw the episode. The friend who introduced me to the series was also a huge part of my childhood, as was the house in which we watched the episode. That particular friendship had a rough ending, and I feel both happy and sad when I think back on it. The Tintin series actually affected the way we interacted with each other, particularly in the games we played at school. We both liked playing pretend games where we would invent elaborate adventures and act them out in the playground together. Many of these adventures were inspired by the ones we saw on TV or read about, including Tintin.

The Black Island is a reminder of things that fundamentally changed me and made me the person I am now. But it also affects me in smaller ways.

The story of The Black Island is, like every other story in the series, unique. It has Tintin investigating a plane crash in the England, and the mystery eventually takes him up to a sullen Scottish seaside town and an ominous island. I think part of what makes this story feel so strangely close to me is its location. It's close in a physical sense because I'm from England and I've lived here my whole life. The landscapes look a lot like the countryside I used to live in and still see every day when I take the bus to school.

I've never been to Scotland but the Scotland scenes are still familiar. I can link these images to specific places I've been to.

Boscastle in Cornwall.

Corfe Castle in Dorset.

That nightmarish staircase in King Alfred's tower, Somerset.

There are also smaller, more specific details, like that dog that chases Snowy, which I can easily relate to several childhood experiences. I don't know why I got chased by dogs so often but it's hardly surprising that I was scared shitless of them until the age of sixteen.

Or the soundtrack in some of the Scotland scenes, which reminds me of the whimsical folktronica-style music my dad makes with his friend.

These are very specific experiences that I don't think are likely to be exactly the same as anyone else's. The things I associate with this story and the feelings it gives me are completely different to what someone else might get from it. And I think that's really nice. It's like I've got something that's just for me. And of course you could say this about anything, because everyone's lives are different, but The Black Island is, for some reason, the thing that I get this feeling from more than anything else.

The episode has a sense of quiet mystery to it. It starts with Tintin enjoying a walk with Snowy in the middle of nowhere, then bluntly stating that a plane is in trouble. I wouldn't say it's any less exciting than the rest of the stories, but it feels more matter-of-fact. The mystery is there but the answers are revealed in simple statements. I don't know if it's just because it's set in the UK and the weather over here is always dull, but many of the scenes take place under a cloudy sky, and the scenes in Scotland especially seem darker, which I actually like. Of course the episode has its share of chase scenes and slapstick comedy, but the overall tone of the story feels gentler somehow than a lot of the others. It feels more like something that could actually happen, at least to me. And that's how I felt about it when I was six. I watched it for the first time and thought, "I wish I could have an adventure like that." When I went on to watch the rest of the series I had similar thoughts about the other episodes, but The Black Island remained the only one that I could relate to. Maybe that's because it's set closer to home. Maybe it's because I recognise the locations even though I've never been to any of them. Maybe it's because it reminds me of the child I used to be, talking like a cartoon character and pretending my best friend or my sibling and I were on some wild adventure. Maybe it's because it was the beginning of an unforgettable chapter in my life, without which I would have ended up a different person. It's probably all of these things put together. These things are what makes The Adventures of Tintin: The Black Island feel like home to me.

[whataperfectwasteoftime]

Penny!34, 40, 46 for your weird asks!

(me, saying that to everyone including myself)

Hi, fellow weirdo!! The best thing I've ever done for my mental wellbeing is to reclaim that term 😆 Yep, I'm fucking weird! That's what makes me interesting! Anyway, for your consideration:

(I am doing these out of order and there is a reason for that)

40. Did you have any snacks today?

I am in the middle of eating lunch right now, so I haven't had any snacks yet, but I did nab some Twizzlers from a candy dish that appeared at the work gym on my way out! A perfect after lunch snack!

46. Favorite holiday film?

THIS IS SO HARD. I actually really love Jim Carrey's How the Grinch Stole Christmas, despite it being lambasted lately for being "weird." (Tying this back to the above.... yeah, it's weird. And that's okay. I love it for that.) I also love the Nightmare Before Christmas because I can watch it TWICE, once for Halloween and once for Christmas! It covers the bases of my two favorite holidays!

34. Is there a song that you know every word to by heart?

So many, LJ. So many. Most of these would be Beatles songs, but I'll list a list of random songs off the top of my head I know all the words to by heart. It might be a bit unfair because I literally play some of these on the piano so of COURSE I know, but here:

Teenage Dirtbag (Wheatus)

Somewhere only we know (Keane)

Yöu and I (Lady Gaga)

Torn (Natalie Imbruglia)

If I Ain't Got You (Alicia Keys)

Girl on Fire (Alicia Keys)

Man! I Feel Like a Woman (Shania Twain)

Defying Gravity (both parts plus the dialogue lollllllll)

More show tunes. Many show tunes.

And the following Beatles songs but probably more than this

Hey Jude

Here Comes the Sun

Yesterday

Oh! Darling

Here, there, and Everywhere

Yellow Submarine

In My Life

AND MANY MORE

Imagine (I know this isn't the Beatles but it's John Lennon and it goes here)

[iremembermyfirstglimpse]

my dearest millie, as the stars twinkle above us like a celestial symphony, i find myself utterly spellbound by the magic of our love on this angelic anniversary. four years of stargazing, sipping wine, and basking in the warmth of your adorable presence—it feels like a lifetime of bliss wrapped in a cozy blanket of constellations. my girl, you are the most enchanting star in my sky, illuminating my world with your boundless warmth and endless compassion. from the moment i first laid eyes on your delicate smile, i knew you were the missing piece to my cosmic puzzle—a soul as tender and pure as the moon's gentle glow. do you remember the nights we spent beneath the velvet sky, lost in whispered conversations and shared dreams? each shooting star felt like a promise written in the stars—a testament to the infinite possibilities of our love. four years of love, laughter, and countless stolen kisses, i can't help but be reminded of just how lucky i am to have you by my side. do you remember the first time we bumped into each other like clumsy kids? or how we giggled like schoolchildren over the silliest of jokes? every moment with you feels like a rom-com directed by cupid himself, complete with cheesy dialogue and heart-fluttering montages. as we celebrate four years of our fantastical journey together, i find myself falling even more deeply in love with you. you are my partner-in-crime, my accomplice in all things, and my forever confidante. with you by my side, every day is an adventure waiting to unfold — a treasure hunt for joy and laughter in the most unexpected places. here's to us, my gorgeous wife! may our love story continue to defy gravity, logic, and the occasional spilled wine on our clothes. forever and always, wrapped in the warmth of your love and the beauty of our shared moments beneath the stars, yours, hansol k.

[jp-hunsecker]

Terminal Velocity

Terminal Velocity is not as much mindless fun as Drop Zone (the other skydiving-themed action film released in the fourth quarter of 1994), but it’s still an awful good time. How can you not love a movie wherein Charlie Sheen (good ol’ Charlie, that is; not latter day Bizarro Charlie) plunges down to his potential doom while on the driver’s seat of a Cadillac Allanté? Talk about going down in style. To be sure, this film is chock-full of stunts, both aerial and grounded, that defy gravity, logic, physics and whatnot; at the same time, what we see is pretty much what we get. Consider the following exchange: “I’m gonna crawl out onto the wing. When I get stable, I’m gonna give you a signal. I want you to flip this plane over. Then I’m gonna hang by my legs. So when you flip back over, I’m sittin’ on the other wing. That way, when you maneuver up to the other plane. I’m in a better position to grab on. You got it?” “Are you outta your mind?” “Yes. Yes, I am!” But lo and behold, the character proceeds to do exactly what he just described. Now, it may not be Sheen doing it, but I’ll take a stunt double performing a stunt in the real world over the actual actor pretending unconvincingly in front of a green/blue screen. Unfortunately, the craziest stunt in this movie is so unfeasible it must perforce take place off-screen; that is, when Nastassja Kinski fakes her death by jumping out of a plane and switching bodies with her roommate’s corpse, which in turn has been dropped from another plane “shadowing above” the first plane. When explained this in full detail, Sheen hilariously replies “All right, so you’ve fooled a guy who can’t get his sideburns even when he shaves.” Incidentally, the dialogue is as nimble as the action is lithesome; my favorite line by far is “For somebody I never slept with, you sure fucked me pretty good,” but there’s plenty of wit on display from scriptwriter David Twohy (no stranger to penning cult classics; e.g., Warlock, Pitch Black).

[gliyerabaa]

A kiss during Popular would make the most sense and require the least amount of changing the rest of the show. It could be done at a genuine heartfelt moment like "Miss Elphaba, you're beautiful" or even at a sillier moment-- it could be played off for laughs that way (which would be terrible and queerbait-y as fuck but... it's Wicked so....)

One Short Day in and of itself feels like a date!!! "Just two friends, two good friends, two best friends" yeah ok 'best friends' sure like I believe that. That being said though, with how fast-paced the whole One Short Day sequence is, I don't think it would quite be fitting for a kiss? (HOWEVER!! I am picturing your context!) "Sharing one wonderful-" *smooch* (elphaba is flustered!!) "One! Short!" "The Wizard will see you now!" "DAY!!!!" ^ It would just be super wild for Elphaba to go right from a kiss from her best friend directly to being invited to see the wizard. she'd be so overwhelmed, poor thing...

DEFYING GRAVITY!!! Like you said, the "you're trembling" line and honestly anywhere in that dialogue scene would be perfect for just a gentle little kiss. Also, the lyrics literally say "kiss me goodbye, I'm defying gravity" and I think that even there would be a sweet little opportunity for Glinda to blow her a kiss or something

I do disagree with your act 2 kiss philosophy. One perfect spot for a kiss would be the brief reunion they have right before ALAYM. When Glinda runs in and is genuinely so shocked to see Elphaba. "Elphie! You're alive!" and she runs to her and hugs her and is just so bewildered to see her-- that would be great for a quick kiss, I think. (Katie Rose Clarke plays the scene flawlessly-- her Glinda is so touchy already that it makes the potential of a kiss super believable) and of COURSE they could and should kiss at the end of For Good. A parting gesture of affection between two people who truly have been changed for good. The Germans did it right!! It's the only For Good kiss that I know of (that's been caught on video at least) but this gif literally lives in my brain rent free forever

anyways, i have talked TOO MUCH!!! but i love gelphie and I love hearing other people's takes on it.

Where would I put a Gelphie kiss in the wicked musical?

(Inspired by the gifset of Galinda holding Elphie's cheeks in the popular scene)

1. In the popular scene. The gifset inspired this list. I think a Gelphie kiss here would be cute and silly and fun, and wouldn't actually change much about the scene.

"Miss Elphaba, look at you. You're beautiful."

"Wh-what are you-"

Galinda leans forward and, almost under a spell herself, presses her lips against Elphaba's. Elphaba freezes initially but her muscles are just beginning to relax when Galinda pulls away. They stare at eachother for a beat. Then Elphaba bolts.

"You're welcome!" Galinda calls after her, voice more sad than confused. Then the musical carries on as normal.

2. There's a moment during One Shot Day, right at the end. The line is "sharing one wonderful one short day". I feel like taking a half second pause after "sharing one wonderful" for Glinda to press the quietest kiss to Elphaba's lips before turning away, giggling, would be just the cutest thing I can imagine. Would require some reworking to establish an actual gelphie relationship.

3. "You're trembling." Glinda takes green cheeks in her hands, presses a kiss to each one, then Elphaba's forehead, then her lips. Defying gravity proceeds as usual.

4. I actually don't think there should be an act 2 kiss at all...except. look, if we're already rewriting the musical to canonize Gelphie then let me have this. Right at the end of the musical, picture the scene. Glinda is entirely alone in her room, the shouts and cheers and laughter coming in through her bedroom window, a constant reminder of everything she's lost. Stage fills with smoke, she's dozing, or dreaming, or drunk. Smoke clears, and Glinda is dancing with Elphaba, like that night at the ozdust. We know it's not really Elphaba, because we can see the real elphaba watching over Glinda from the open balcony. Glinda doesn't know. Lights dim, then fade completely.

If you've actually read all this, please let me know where you'd put some Gelphie kisses in the wicked musical, I'm back on my bs and would love to hear more!!

[neejaanvnd]

✧ — ⋆ Te ves increíble. | ft. @bishopmaggie​

Una vocecita en su cabeza le decía que, sabiendo como era, no debía sorprenderle recibir palabras amables de parte de la contraria... Pero aun así no pudo evitar alzar ligeramente las cejas.- Gracias. -mencionó educada, removiéndose a su vez en su sitio antes de añadir en un intento de devolverle el halago torpemente:- Tú también te ves bien. Eres un hada más... Elaborada.

[rays-animorphs]

Book 10 afterthoughts

(More spoilers than usual.)

Dunno why I keep thinking I'll have something I want to say after I finish reading the book. Generally more thoughts come within an hour or so of finishing, or I'm just on to the next thing.

I've watched the Matrix movies recently, so I'm going to talk about that. Neo gets to the point where he can do anything. He can fly like Superman. He can stop bullets in mid-air. Most of the story is still taken up with fighting. Because that's the point, it's a story about cool fighting. I get that. It's fine. People like what they like. I'm about to play a game about a pandemics while we're in the middle of one, doesn't mean I want anyone I know (or anyone at all, for that matter) actually getting sick. People can like stories about fighting without it meaning anything in particular about their attitudes towards violence, their personal capacity for violence, or their political position on the hawk/dove spectrum. I personally tend to like action scenes less than most, and am more wholesale opposed to violence than most, but as far as I can tell that's just coincidence.

Anyways, if I had Neo-like superpowers, I wouldn't be using them to do gravity-defying kung fu.

I do think I would honestly prefer the morality of warfare to not come into my ridiculous goofy kids' alien invasion story. I mean, I like "is war a bad idea?" in general, and I think it works in Star Trek TOS when it comes up, because even though Starfleet is a military organization, they're not actually engaged in war for most of the series. (The original series, on TV. I realize Star Trek as a whole keeps going back to conventional good guys vs bad guys war stories.) Their mission is exploration, not fighting, so anti-war messages work. They're not being constantly contradicted by the text. But, "this is a story about fighting, because fighting is fun to read about"...that doesn't necessarily go well with discussions of the ethics of fighting. It would be like if a James Bond movie had a dialogue between Bond and whatever woman he's trying to seduce this time about internet privacy. It's messing with different levels of engaging with the topic, swirling them together. In a way that leave both levels -- the fun escapism level and the serious ideas level -- worse for the blending.

It's kind of like how Kushiel's Dart gives the protagonist an in-universe safeword, but then she keeps refraining from using it as a point of pride, like...ok, 5 points for introducing the concept, -10 points for the "real subs/masochists/whatever don't use safewords" BS. If you're going to write a non-con fantasy, you can just write the fantasy, sometimes nods to reality make it worse. I keep going back to this because I still haven't figured out what exactly my issue is, how best to phrase/understand it, and my brain is set up in a way such that it doesn't want to let go until I understand it. I do not like that the story is set up so that the Chee are basically written out of the story once Erek decides he's unwilling to kill. I do not like that the non-human Controllers are treated like faceless mooks whose deaths are categorically different from human deaths, and that this largely goes unchallenged. I don't like the overall message of "war is terrible and requires incredible sacrifice and is also good and necessary" -- I'm not thrilled with war stories in general, but I'm really not thrilled with "yes, war is horrible, and this fictional war is going to have horrors and PTSD just like real life war, and it is still necessary." In stories that straight-up glorify war, like the Narnia Chronicles and Lord of the Rings, it's fairytale-like, I can suspend disbelief and go "this is fiction, people get that fiction isn't reality", but going closer to reality (while still writing the war as absolutely necessary) draws it into this uncanny valley that is a lot more unpleasant for me that a more, you know, Redwall-like or Three Musketeers-like story would be. And I can't let go that this is a book set in America published by an American author not long before the Iraq War and using the exact same rhetoric about fighting the Yeerks that Bush used to justify the Iraq war. It's about freedom, the enemy hates our freedom, they can't be reasoned with they just hate us, they have powerful weapons, they want to destroy who we are. We're fighting for our freedom, for their freedom, for our survival. Anyways: book 10 was one of the more serious/dark ones, it was great for showing Marco's thing where this stuff really genuinely terrifies him but he does it anyways, the android thing was cool, we got alien trees which was amazing, we got a sense that the Animorphs universe is truly vast. Plus, bats. So, good story, again, me going off about the pacifism stuff doesn't mean I didn't like it, it just means I have opinions. Also, the thing where Erek is never going to forget is genuinely horrifying.

[artemis-pendragon]

(Here's my first attempt at a Good Omens fic! Co-credit goes to my sister for the concept and some of Crowley's dialogue haha!)

THE CONFESSION (OR, WAYS TO RUIN A PARTICULARLY FANCY ANTIQUE HAND-EMBROIDERED THROW PILLOW)

"Listen, angel, I need to tell you something," Crowley said, in a tone suggesting that an Emotionally Significant Admission was coming on.

"Oh?" Aziraphale began to turn toward him, then stopped. He had never grasped the basics of a poker face (let alone the game itself), so the less Crowley saw of him the better.

Gesturing with a half-full glass of wine, Crowley said, "There's this thing. An important thing, very important, and as soon as I remember what it is, I'm going to tell you."

Aziraphale settled with his hands clasped in his lap, still avoiding looking at Crowley. Instead, he stared at the clutter on his desk, making a mental note to deal with that later. "Take your time, my dear. There's no rush. We have all the time in the world."

"Right." Crowley slithered into a reclining position on the couch. His wine defied gravity to stay in its glass. "'S long as the world has time. I mean, how long d'you think before Heaven and Hell come slinking back up--down--for a second go at things?"

Aziraphale twisted his fingers together, spinning his signet ring between thumb and forefinger. He reached for his own wine, determined not to let on how nervous that prospect made him. "Can we not talk about that right now, please? We were having a lovely time. And besides, it's out of our control. What use is there in worrying over something we can't change?"

Crowley whipped off his sunglasses and stared at Aziraphale. "Now that sounds more like the kind of thing you'd expect me to say. I'm the optimist, remember? You're the pessimist."

"I am not a pessimist.” Aziraphale shot Crowley a disapproving glance, then, overwhelmed by the direct eye contact, looked back at his messy desk. "I'm a realist."

Crowley made an undignified sound of amusement. "Look at this glass." He held up his wine, which once again refused to spill. "Half full or half empty?"

"Both. Half of it is empty and half of it is full. That," Aziraphale said, with a great deal more gusto than the topic required, "is simply the truth of the matter."

"Huh," said Crowley. "Guess so."

There was a long silence. Then Aziraphale cleared his throat and, valiantly wielding the last shred of his courage, asked, "What were you going to tell me?"

Crowley said something vaguely word-like (his penchant for incomprehensible articulations had likely inspired the link between demonic activity and speaking in tongues, Aziraphale suspected) and reached for his sunglasses. "The thing about that... well, hgnk, uh... listen, angel..."

"Listening," said Aziraphale, and forced himself to face Crowley directly. It wouldn't do for him to think Aziraphale wasn't desperately hanging on his every word.

"There's this angel."

"I told you, I would prefer if we didn’t talk about--"

"There's this angel I'm in love with--"

"--Heaven and Hell, so if you could just refrain--"

"--and I don't know how to tell them--"

"--from discussing it--"

"--and it's killing me, because I don't know how they'll react--"

"--that would be most appreciated."

"--and I'm afraid they'll reject me, so I'm really in a pretty shit position here, if I'm being honest."

There was a long beat of dead silence where they both stared at each other with mounting levels of incomprehension.

"What?" said Aziraphale.

"What?" said Crowley.

"Oh, well, I thought you were going to say... wait, what do you mean, there's an angel you're in love with?"

Crowley shrugged in a distinctly jointless way, looking miserable. "Exactly what I said, that's what I meant. But hey, 's really no big deal. Y'know, angel, demon, not exactly happily-ever-after material, is it? Thought I owed it to you to tell you, though. After everything."

"Oh." For the first time since the world nearly ended, Aziraphale wished that Crowley was talking about Heaven and Hell. His heart, unnecessary as it was, felt like a hundred-tonne lump of lead. "Oh," he said again, and this time he was sure Crowley could read the misery on his face: a mirror of the demon's own.

But this was Crowley, his best friend, and he was obviously looking for Aziraphale's advice, so he forced himself to smile and nod as if it was no big deal at all. "Ah, well. This... this angel of yours. Do I know them?"

Crowley gave him a blank look. "Well, yeah," he said. "I’d hope so."

Aziraphale wracked his memories for anything even vaguely helpful. "Now don't take this the wrong way, but I can't imagine any of the Host falling in love with a demon."

From the look on Crowley's face, this was the wrong thing to say.

"I didn't mean--"

"Nah, 's alright, angel. You're right. That's the problem. No angel in their right mind would love a demon, and that's... that's fine! Course it is. Wouldn't expect anything else."

Aziraphale felt a sudden vicious stab of something that was suspiciously like envy and wrath. It was aimed at whatever angel had captured Crowley's affection and, from the sound of it, not returned it. "Well that's not true. I know an angel who's in love with a demon, so it is possible."

Crowley, for the second time that night, ripped his sunglasses off his face and stared at Aziraphale in disbelief. "Nah. No way. I can't see any of those smug holier-than-thou bastards falling for a demon."

They both winced at the phrasing. Aziraphale sighed.

"That's just the thing," he said. Looking down, he clenched and unclenched his hands in his lap. "You see, I'm the one."

"The one what?"

"The angel in love with a demon."

Crowley's look became impossibly more incredulous. "You. In love with a demon. No way in the nine layers of Hell, angel. I know every demon who's ever gotten topside and there's not a single one who deserves you. Trust me."

"Trust a demon?" Aziraphale teased, then regretted it when Crowley's expression turned toward devastation. "I do trust you, Crowley, but I promise that it is possible for an angel to love a demon. We are beings of love, after all."

"You lot love all things, yeah, I get it. But not like this. This is... different. The selfish kind of love."

Aziraphale sighed. If it weren't for the wine making him especially loose-limbed and unsteady, he was pretty sure he would've already fled the shop. He was in dangerous territory now. One slip and he'd fall.

He winced again. Phrasing.

"Not that it matters," said Crowley. He gestured with his wine; it came dangerously close to spilling this time. His concentration must be slipping. "Because I have it on good authority that he's in love with someone else."

"He?"

Crowley scowled. His fingers twitched toward his sunglasses, but then he clenched his fist and took a long drink of wine instead. "Yeah. He."

"So," said Aziraphale cautiously. "What is he... what is he like?"

Crowley shot him a look of disbelief. "Well, he's not the brightest. No, wait, that's not right. He's brilliant. Cleverest person I ever knew. But he's also an oblivious idiot sometimes, and I'd have more luck shouting my confession into an empty grate."

Aziraphale took a sip of wine to cover the shake in his voice as he said, "Well, the demon I love is also... also not available. He's in love with someone else, too."

"He?"

"Yes. He."

"And your demon, what's he like?" Crowley sounded like he was trying to talk around broken glass. Aziraphale wondered just how many times he'd refilled his glass at this point. Probably in the low teens.

"Well... he's a lot of things," Aziraphale said evasively. The last thing he wanted to do was give the game away. "He's handsome and clever. And stylish, in his own way." He tried not to stare at Crowley's half-unbuttoned shirt, or his too-tight pants. He wasn't sure he succeeded. "And he's not a bad person, you see. He's actually quite nice."

That earned him an eyeroll. "I doubt it, angel. 'Nice' is the kind of thing that gets a demon fired. Sent to the pits," he amended at Aziraphale's inquisitive look.

"Well, he is. He's kind and considerate and I love him so very much, sometimes I wonder... well. I wonder if it will destroy me."

"You mean you're afraid you'll Fall."

Aziraphale looked down and away. "I don't expect I would, but... I wouldn't want to put that kind of pressure on him. It wouldn't be fair to put him in that position, assuming he returned my... romantic inclinations. Which he doesn't, I'm quite sure now."

Crowley snorted. "Romantic inclinations. Yeah." He finished his wine and snapped his fingers to refill it. "Look at us." He gestured broadly around the room. "What a fucking mess."

"Yes, quite."

A third silence fell over the room--the longest and awkwardest yet.

Finally, Aziraphale got up the nerve to say, "Well, if you'd like help or advice--"

"I don't," snapped Crowley. Then he sighed, rubbing his free hand over his face and sighing. "Sorry, angel. Just, y'know. Tired."

"I understand. If you'd like to go home for the night, we could sober up and--"

"Oh, bless it all." Crowley sat up. This time, a few drops of wine escaped the glass and splattered onto Crowley's tastefully unbuttoned shirt. "Listen to me, Aziraphale. It's you. I'm in love with you, you oblivious, infuriating, beautiful idiot."

Aziraphale stared at him. Whatever emotions he should have felt in response to that revelation refused to show up until, "Oh!" he said, breathless and stunned. "I--"

"Yeah. I know, you don't have to say anything, angel, I just... I needed you to know. I'll get out of your hair now, don't worry, I don't need you to--"

"Crowley," said Aziraphale, and caught him by the sleeve as he attempted to slink out of the study toward the door. "Crowley, I'm in love with you, too."

"No, you're not," Crowley said, in an offhand way that made Aziraphale wonder how many times he'd dismissed the concept in his own mind. Then, "Wait, you what? What do you--"

"I mean," said Aziraphale, still holding onto Crowley's sleeve, "that I'm in love with you."

Crowley once again attempted to introduce a new word to the English language and failed, likely because it was made entirely of consonants.

"Precisely my thoughts. Now..." Aziraphale stood up and took Crowley's free hand in both of his own and squeezed. He smiled, radiating every little bit of joy as it seeped up from hidden places inside him, twining together like vines up a trellis. "If you don't mind terribly, I would like to kiss you."

"Mind?!" said Crowley. "If I mind? I can't believe you would even a--"

Aziraphale kissed him.

Crowley kissed him back.

It wasn't electric, or spectacular, or any of the fancy adjectives human writers used in romance novels and poems. Instead, it was just... right. Like a summer sunrise or spring dew. Simple and soft and good.

It wasn't until he pulled away that Aziraphale realized Crowley had stopped time. Crowley's wine glass was frozen midair, a spray of scarlet droplets suspended over a particularly fancy hand-embroidered antique throw pillow.

Crowley swore under his breath. "Sorry, angel, let me just--"

"Let it go," Aziraphale said. "We can always miracle it off later."

"But you'll always know that--"

"Oh, who cares. The world didn't end, Crowley. We're not stranded out in space somewhere. I can buy a new pillow."

Crowley gave him a long, searching look. Then, with a slightly devious smile, he put both hands on Aziraphale's hips and leaned in for another kiss.

They stayed like that for what was either one minute or five hours; it was impossible to tell when one's emotional and physical consciousness was entirely focused on the occult (or ethereal) being kissing you.

Finally, Crowley pulled back, just enough to look Aziraphale directly in the eyes. "Before we get on with this," he said, "I have to ask you one thing."

"Yes, my dearest, anything at all."

"This demon you're in love with... do you love me more?"

Aziraphale stared at Crowley.

Crowley stared at Aziraphale.

"Crowley," said Aziraphale. "Crowley. It's only ever been you."

Crowley looked stunned, and then euphoric. "Well, in that case." And he kissed him again.

Time restarted. Behind them, the wine spilled on the couch.

Neither of them worried about it at all. The world hadn’t ended, they weren’t on some distant planet watching the Earth melt into a puddle of burning good, and they could always buy a new pillow.

[cometzz]

EYYY Do Wicked for musical ask 👀

HI YES THANKY UO. OK

Song I wish was longer: i don't really know if this counts but i just wish wicked witch of the east was on the album!!! they could trim out some of the dialogue, they did it with popular etc etc!! so!! and also i love nessarose so much!! but it that doesn't count probablyyyy what is this feeling? idk man it just slaps i want more

Song I wish was shorter: uh perhaps dancing through life. i just don't like boq's part DHJDFHGJH

The one song I always skip: a sentimental man!! i dont think ive ever listened to it in full i just get so bored

Song I sing the best: Oh God Uh. none of them. maybe as long as you're mine but thats a streeetch

Song I still don’t know all the words to: dancing through life!! it's so long and i only really starting liking it, like, yesterday lmao

Song that honestly deserves an award or five: not to be that person but defying gravity. like i think its already gotten an award but its just AAGH. or maybe for good, i love lesbians<3

Song that’s terrible but I still love: march of the witch hunters it jsut. it slaps

Song that’s really good but I hate: ok don't kill me but i am Not a fan of wonderful. i don't like either of the wizard songs</3

Song I think could change the world: not to be that person again but probably defying gravity because something something be yourself and dont listen to people who say otherwise

Song I wish I’d written: popular! make it gayer

[recurring-polynya]

Tokusatsu Au where Rukia plays the lead actress in a superhero action show. Renji plays one of the villains and they are The most popular ship in the fandom. Bonus points if Orihime plays the main villain and loves every second of it.

This was the very first prompt I got, and I fell in love. Unfortunately, aside from a brief period of being grotesquely fascinated with Power Rangers as teen, I know almost nothing about tokusatsu. I did as much research as I could and I attempted to watch an episode of Kamen Rider, but my eyes glazed over halfway through. Anyway, please forgive my inaccuracies, I wrote this with my heart.

ao3 | ff.net

🏍    ⚡   🎬

“Uh, looks like we’re almost out of time,” the panel moderator for “High-Spirited Battle Clairvoyant Tomoe!: A Sneak Peak at Season 5” declared, “but would you be willing to take just a few audience questions?”

Head Screenwriter Kurosaki Ichigo glanced at Leading Actress Kuchiki Rukia out of the corner of his eye, and she gave a tiny nod.

“Yeah, sure!” he replied.

There was already a young woman waiting at the microphone, practically vibrating with anxiety. She was wearing a t-shirt that had ZabiTo4Ever!! handwritten in marker on it. Rukia knew, deep down in her bones, what the question was going to be.

“Hi, yes, hello, big fan of your work! My question is: are Tomoe and Zabimaru going to kiss this season?”

“No,” Rukia started to say.

“As you probably know,” Ichigo said loudly on top of her, “the show holds close to the core plot points of Kuna-sensei’s manga, although, because of her minimalist style, we do expand a lot of the dialogue and filler scenes. She has said in several interviews that High-Spirited Battle Clairvoyant Tomoe! is not a romance manga, so the odds of Tomoe and Zabimaru ever kissing on screen are very, very low.”

The young woman stared at Ichigo grumpily. “Does this also count Zabimaru’s secret college student identity, Satonako Takeru?”

Ichigo stared back at her. “Yes. It does.”

The next question came from a person wearing a full suit of HellKnight’s plasma armor made out of overlapping plates of cardboard. Rukia was kind of impressed by it. She wondered if he could sit down.

“Hi, Kurosaki-sensei, I am a huge fan of your work,” a voice emanated from deep within the cardboard. “I was wondering if you are influenced at all by fanworks, and if Episode 73: Pride is on the Line!: The Bake Sale Must Go On! was based in any way on the classic fanfiction, ‘Tell Me All Your Best Lies’? It’s the top story by kudos in the ZabiTo tag, which I might point out is the most popular shipping category on AO3.”

Ichigo cleared his throat gently. “I am contractually not allowed to read fanfiction, although I do enjoy fanart! There are some incredibly talented artists in the fandom, although for some reason, no one ever wants to draw pictures of Lead Screenwriters.”

“I’ll draw you, sleeping on the set like you always do,” Rukia offered, and that got a pretty big laugh. Rukia’s Tumblr of behind-the-scenes doodle comics was beloved among the fandom.

The next question was from a nonbinary person wearing a big poufy skirt and a hairstyle that would make their make-up and hair guru, Yumichika, sit up and take notice. “Hi, this is a question for Kuchiki-san! If the show is going to roughly keep pace with the manga, as it has done up until now, you should be shooting the storyline where Tomoe and Queen Bloodbuzz switch bodies later this year. I was wondering if you could comment on how you feel about filming that storyline?”

Finally! A good one! “Yes!” Rukia nodded eagerly. “I don’t usually like to speak for my fellow cast members, but Orihime and I are beyond excited about playing each other. We’ve been studying each other’s mannerisms and practicing already! Does anyone want to hear my Queen Bloodbuzz cackle?” She wagged her eyebrows as the audience cheered. “Here goes-- bwaHaHaHaHAHAHAHAAHAAAHAAAAAAAA!”

“Bonechilling,” Ichigo commented dryly as the audience erupted.

“Amazing, Kuchiki-san!” the moderator exclaimed. “I think there is time for one more, but this will be the last question!”

A tall girl in a full set of High-Spirited Battle Clairvoyant Tomoe motorcycle leathers stepped to the microphone. She was holding a notebook. “Hello!” she warbled. “In a 2020 interview with the Psychics and Sidekicks podcast, Abarai Renji was asked about his opinion on ZabiTo as a ship, and he replied,” she consulted her notebook, “‘Tomoe is such a cool lady and talented Battle Clairvoyant, and she always follows her heart and stays true to herself. I think that Zabimaru can’t help but be impressed with her, even though they’re enemies, and I always try to roll that into our on-screen interactions.’ I know that in the past you’ve refused to comment on the ship, but I was wondering if you had any thoughts on, y’know, his thoughts?”

“Well, he’s correct, of course, Tomoe is very cool and admirable,” Rukia replied, which drew a few laughs, although it seemed like the audience was leaning forward in anticipation of her answer. “Like I said, I don’t like to speak for other cast members. I’ll be doing a big cast panel with Abarai and Inoue and Matsumoto and Ukitake tomorrow afternoon, and I hope you all can make it! See you then!”

The moderator thanked them enthusiastically, and then Ichigo and Rukia slipped out the back guest entrance.

“Evasive as always, Kuchiki,” Ichigo teased.

“Whatever,” Rukia sniffed. “The higher ups say we’re not supposed to comment on stuff like that, and I was not commenting. By the way, how many secret fanfic accounts are you up to? Four?”

“It’s only three!” Ichigo paused. “I wrote that fanfic the guy brought up.”

“Of course you did,” Rukia sighed. “I do blame you personally for the popularity of the damn ship.”

“Me? Blame Kuna for making up two such sexy, emotionally constipated dumbasses!” Ichigo defended.

“Also, it’s not Ichigo’s fault that you and Abarai have insane chemistry.”

Rukia spun around, grinning. “Orihime!”

Rukia’s two co-stars, Inoue Orihime and Abarai Renji, the portrayers of Tomoe’s demonic archnemeses, stood in the hallway behind them.

“We sat in on your panel!” Orihime beamed. “You two were brilliant!”

“Don’t worry,” Renji added. “We were incognito.”

“Incognito” was relative, Rukia supposed, when you were at Tokyo’s biggest tokusatsu

convention.

Orihime was wearing a Zabimaru outfit so detailed that she probably could have won a prize down at the cosplay hall. She had the gravity-defying ponytail, the eyeliner, the insane widow's peak (complete with forehead tatts), the fangs, the motorcycle boots. The paper mache snake skull helmet was a little lopsided, but it was charming. She had her top zipped a little higher than canon, but that was forgivable, too.

Renji had taken the opposite tack of looking as much like a normal person-- or at least a normal Battle Clairvoyant Tomoe superfan-- as possible. Relaxed fit jeans and an oversized hoodie de-emphasized his ultra-fit physique. He was wearing a t-shirt with a very dramatic rendering of Orihime that said “Queen Bloodbuzz can step on me!” and a ball cap with the logo of Seireitei University, the fictional college Tomoe and Takeru attended.

“You think you’re in disguise,” Rukia pointed out, “but there are thousands of teen girls in this place with entire Tumblrs dedicated to your stupid face when you’re out of costume.”

Renji cocked an eyebrow at her. “You underestimate me, Rukia. I have bought… new sunglasses.” With a flourish, he whipped out a pair of the dorkiest wayfarers she’d ever seen, and flipped them onto his face. “I’ve disappeared! Who am I? Where am I?”

“You look really great, Orihime,” Ichigo said, his cheeks coloring a little bit. “Did you get Uryuu or Yumichika to help you with that costume?” In his continuing theme of doing things he wasn’t supposed to, Ichigo had finally started dating Orihime on the downlow around the time they finished up filming last season. It had done absolutely nothing for how shy he still got around her. They were, in Rukia’s opinion, cute as hell.

“Oh, no, that would be cheating!” Orihime replied, wagging a finger at him. “Well…maybe I did cheat, just a tiny bit. Renji helped me make the helmet and he held up references for me while I was painting on the tattoos.”

“Only the forehead ones,” Renji quickly added.

“He wouldn’t even offer feedback on my booby tattoos!” Orihime frowned. She leaned forward. “Rukia, how do they look?”

Ichigo turned even redder.

“Perfect, as in all you do!” Rukia replied loftily.

“What’s everyone got coming up next?” Renji asked. “I was thinking of slipping out and trying to pick up some real coffee.”

“I’m judging a villainess-themed cosplay competition,” Orihime chirped. “But I’m dying for a blueberry caramel iced latte. Renji, my henchman, pleeeeease!”

“Of course, my liege,” Renji replied in his Zabimaru voice.

It’s not like it had been a hard decision to accept the role of the motorcycle-riding, badass heroine of one of the most popular manga of the last decade, but it had turned out to be one of the best decisions of Rukia’s life. not just her career. Aside from a few of the money-obsessed executives, she liked nearly everyone in the cast and crew, but the fact that the fact that the ruthless, homicidal, literally Hell-spawned villains of the show were played by the two sweetest marshmallow people she had ever met just took the cake. Renji and Orihime had already known each other from some voicework they had done previously, and their excitement at working together on a live-action project had infected the entire cast from the start. Rukia wasn’t sure, but she strongly suspected that Renji was the one who had hyped Orihime up to ask Ichigo out.

“I have a writers’ workshop I’m moderating this afternoon, and I wanted to review the writing samples people sent in,” Ichigo said, scratching the back of his head. “I’d love to stop by that cosplay contest, though, at least for a few minutes.”

“You’ll be needing caffeine, too, then, eh?” Renji offered. “Hot, black, and in the largest cup they make, as usual?”

“Ugh, you’re the best,” Ichigo groaned. “You wanna power-up this season? Costume update? You know what? Maybe I’ll just have you defeat Tomoe once and for all, no one likes her anyway.”

“C’mon, you know I’m the world’s number one Tomoe simp, don’t do that!” Renji laughed.

Rukia rolled her eyes. “I’m free and I could use some fresh air. Besides, it’s going to take all your dumb muscles just to carry Kurosaki’s vat of coffee back here.”

“Cool!” Renji proclaimed. “We’ll be back soon!”

“Thanks, Renjiiiii!” Orihime waved.

“You need to stop off and put on a disguise?” Renji asked.

“No point in it, I always get recognized,” Rukia sighed, pulling her sunglasses out of her purse anyway.

“Here,” Renji said, plunking his hat on her head. “Maybe this will help.”

“Thanks,” Rukia replied, and then did a double take. “Whaaaaaat is on your head?”

“Shut up!” Renji laughed. He usually shaved his head when they were filming, because it made it easier to deal with the make-up and wigs, but since they were between seasons, he’d grown his hair out into a short, tousled mop of reddish-brown waves. He looked, for the lack of a better word, dreamy. “I shot a movie over the summer, and they wanted me to look softer.”

Rukia looked at him over the top of her sunglasses. “You didn’t tell me you were doing a movie!”

“Oh, it was just a little indy romcom thing. I wasn’t sure it was gonna pan out, I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it.”

“You were in a romcom? You’re kidding me!” They ducked out of a side door of the convention center into the bright sunshine.

“Yeah, it’s about a guy who goes to the gym to try to get ripped to impress a girl, and makes friends with me, this nice, already ripped dude who gives him lifting tips and encourages him a bunch. By the end of the movie, it turns out we have crushes on each other.”

“Oh, no, that sounds really cute, actually!”

“It was written by a woman who graduated from one of Ichigo’s writing workshops. The script was really snappy and Ichigo thought having someone like me as the gym guy would give it just a bit of campy cachet. You know what a good sense he’s got for stuff like that.”

“That was cool of you to go out on a limb a little,” Rukia replied.

Renji rubbed the back of his neck. “I’d been wanting to try something like that for a while, actually.”

Rukia blinked. “You aren’t… you aren’t thinking of leaving the show, are you?”

“Huh? No. No! No, the show means the world to me, I would never. But… it’s not gonna run forever, y’know?”

“I would have guessed you’d want to be a big action star or something!” Rukia said, throwing a few air punches. “That’s my dream!”

Renji stuffed his hands in the pockets of his hoodie. “Yeah, that’s what I thought I wanted when I first got into acting. I’d read the Tomoe manga, and I thought playing Zabimaru would be a good jumping-off point, besides just being a cool character overall.”

“Is that… not true?” Rukia frowned.

“Oh, I mean, I guess so! I didn’t really know about the fandom, though and… to be honest, I’m kinda into the idea that there are all these fans who think I’m complex and redeemable?”

Rukia regarded him out of the corner of her eye. “They just want to fix you.”

“Maybe! Ichigo made me read this one fanfic that was eight thousand words of the reader getting sick and Zabimaru making them soup? And feeding them the soup? I still haven’t decided how I feel about it.”

“How does he have time to find these things? Does he even sleep?”

“Anyway, it doesn’t hurt to be well-rounded and it was fun. I’m still mostly an action guy, but I wouldn’t mind doin’ something with a romantic subplot. A period drama or something like that. I look pretty good in hakama, you know.”

“I bet you do,” Rukia laughed. She squinted at him, but his expression was unreadable behind the shades. Renji didn’t have the classic leading man looks, not like her ridiculously famous older brother, but she could definitely see him as the best friend, the B-plot romance, with his cute, messy hair and that big doofy grin.

“By the way, I’m sorry you had to field that question about me spilling my romantic sensibilities on that podcast.”

Rukia laughed. “You didn’t even answer the question, either! These people are relentless!”

Renji stopped at a street corner and peered down the various possible directions they could go. “Which way feels like it might have a coffee shop?”

“You didn’t have one in mind before we left? I thought you knew where we were going!”

“Nah, I just like to go out and see what there is.”

“I can look up a map,” Rukia said, reaching in her bag for her phone.

“Let’s just go this way,” Renji said, stepping out into the street in the direction that had the WALK light. Rukia sighed and had to scramble to catch up with him.

“So, what do you think about it?”

“Huh?” Rukia asked. “Think about what?”

“Our ship. ZabiTo.”

“I can’t believe you just said that word out loud. And you know we’re not supposed to give our opinion on it!”

“Aw, c’mon, we’re not supposed to give public statements on our opinions. I don’t think there’s any harm in talking between ourselves. We’re in disguise, even.”

“‘Disguise’,” Rukia sniffed.

“You don’t like it, I can tell.”

“He’s a bad guy! Everyone always talks about chemistry, and that may be true, but I just don’t think that Tomoe could ever get over his acts of violence and cruelty.”

“Queen Bloodbuzz is cruel. Zabimaru is not cruel.”

“Okay, that’s fair, but still. He’s kidnapped just about all of Tomoe’s friends and or turned them into monsters at one time or another. He’s always setting Karakura Town on fire or flooding it with magic lizard goo. He ruined the sports festival.”

“Maybe the sports festival deserved to be ruined,” Renji muttered under his breath.

“Okay, you’ve got a point on that one,” Rukia admitted.

“It’s really clear though, that he’s got some agenda beyond just simping for Queen Bloodbuzz--”

“The simping for Queen Bloodbuzz is the most relatable thing about him, to be honest.”

“Granted. But, what if he’s got a good reason for everything he does, actually? What if he’s doing all of this against his own moral code as a means of infiltrating Hell itself and getting himself into a position of trust so that he can bring down the Lords of Hell from the inside?”

Rukia slipped her sunglasses down to the tip of her nose. “Does Kuna give you Zabimaru spoilers?” The reclusive creator High-Spirited Battle Clairvoyant Tomoe! was only barely involved with the television show, but she did privately meet with each of the cast members about once a year. Most of Rukia’s meetings consisted of Kuna giving her constructive criticism on her battle poses.

“No, mostly we practice sneering,” Renji replied. “But I gotta play the guy, so I gotta think about this, you know, what motivates him? I mean, you’re probably right, it would never work out. But unlike Tomoe, whose principles would call for her to ignore any attraction she has to him, Zabimaru has the freedom to pine for her, perhaps because his love is futile and he doesn’t think he deserves it anyway.”

“That’s kinda dark, dude,” Rukia frowned.

“Yes, well, that is the kind of character acting that netted me the 2019 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Best Villain Award, Foreign Language Category.”

“That’s literally what’s going through your head when you’re shouting that if I can’t make some sick motorcycle jump, you’ll turn all my friends into stuffed animal versions of themselves?”

“No, of course not! At those times I’m thinking about how much I love my job. OH! and what is that I see!” Renji struck an extremely Zabimaru pose. “A MISTER DONUT!”

“My hero!” Rukia exclaimed, unable to resist an opportunity to shout dramatically. “I’m sorry I doubted you!”

“I think we should get some donuts, too. Orihime loves donuts,” Renji declared.

“Oh, for sure,” Rukia agreed. She was thoughtful for a moment. It would be easy to move on to a different subject, the subject being donuts, but she wasn’t happy with leaving the last conversation hanging. “Look, Renji, just because I don’t like the dumb ship, you know that’s not a reflection on you, right?”

“Huh?” Renji replied. “You mean you don’t mind if I like it?”

“Well… I mean, I don’t, I guess, but what I really meant was, er… we joke a lot, but Tomoe and Zabimaru are just parts, y’know? Just because I don’t think Zabimaru isn’t good boyfriend material doesn’t mean I…” Rukia trailed off, suddenly realizing what she was saying. “Um. What I mean is. You’re very nice and probably one of my favorite people I’ve ever worked with and if someone I knew wanted to ask you out, I would definitely encourage them to, A+ guy, I’d say, probably would make a great boyfriend.”

Renji pushed his sunglasses up onto his forehead and regarded her for a long moment. “For the record, Kuchiki, I think that both you and Tomoe would make excellent girlfriend material.” While Rukia stood there and gaped like a fish, he turned and pushed open the door to the coffee shop. “Ichigo likes crullers and Orihime always wants the most colorful thing they’ve got. Do you know what you want?”

“I need to think about it,” Rukia squeaked. She wasn’t talking about donuts.

🏍    ⚡   🎬 

Bonus: Here are my notes from when I was making up the show. I hope this wasn’t too confusing!

High-Spirited Battle Clairvoyant Tomoe!

based on a manga by reclusive mangaka Kuna Mashiro

Head Screenwriter: Kurosaki Ichigo

🌟 Starring: 🌟

Kuchiki Rukia as Yukimura Tomoe, a spunky college student who can see ghosts and fights demons from Hell! She rides a motorcycle!

Inoue Orihime as Queen Bloodbuzz, a Lady of Hell, who seeks to gather energy from the Living Realm so that she can become the Supreme Ruler of Hell. Very aesthetic. Much bees.

Abarai Renji as Zabimaru, Queen Bloodbuzz’s ruthless henchman. He leads a double life as fierce-looking, but gentle-hearted college student Satonaka Takeru! What is his long game??

[non-binary-laurie-strode]

Anyway here are my #thots after the Wicked tour:

Apparently Hadestown is coming through Charlotte!

.....in November 2022 😭 Well, it gives us something to look forward to!

Our Elphie and Glinda were Talia Suskauer and Allison Bailey. Idk them, but they were both great, of course.

I love the Time Dragon Clock thematics, like the gears and stuff, but if you haven't read the book, I wonder what people think the dragon is. Like it lights up and moves and is probably very expensive, but even the direct dialogue lines about it don't... actually explain what it is.

Our Wizard (Cleavant Derricks) has a Tony! He won for Supporting Actor for the original Dreamgirls.

Both Mack and I agree that the two women were definitely leaning into the Gelphie thing. Like I know it's been a thing since I got into theatre, but, sitting right there with the show directly in front of my face... it was so hard to ignore the queer narrative happening.

The Wizomania dancing heads are—well, they are certainly something, aren't they? What a bizarre little bit! I wonder what it's like; "Come on, honey, it's time for Wizomania!" "Yes, backstage assistant..."

Defying Gravity made me CRY! Like just hearing the opening NOTES! And "It's the wizard who should be afraid—of me!" And then when she starts flying, it was so OVER. It was THRILLING and the image of Elphie in the air really is so powerful.

Act 2 flies by. It's SO fast and there's so little room for applause. We had so much applause and so many little buttons in act 1, but act 2 seamlessly flows from one part into the next.

Speaking of applause, Mack said I was consistently one of the first to applaud, which... yeah, I guess! I am particularly proud that I got the audience going on what I'm sure isn't a usual applause spot. "We can't all come and go by BUBBLE!" got a laugh and I gave it a little applause and it turned into a whole thing. Which I'm sure was nice for them.

I don't remember how it is in the boots I've heard, but the dance tag on Wonderful isn't in the show, right?

Doing the flying monkey bit just suspended on a wire sounds terrifying.

It was fun to hear the people behind us suddenly gasp and whisper "Oh he's the Scarecrow!" late in act 2. Like OH you have never interacted with this property before and it's so cute!

There were so many little moments where I had the instinct of "How would I direct this? How would I edit it?" which brings me to the point of:

I know I don't blog about theatre anymore much but..... gosh, I just love theatre and performance and everything. And talking it over with Mack in the car ride back from Charlotte, it's like, yes, I do still have so many opinions and thoughts and impulses. Like I just love theatre and film and music and it's just 😭💛

Anyway I had a wonderful time.