#LET ME BE GLEB

[chmerkovskiyvalentin]

(IG Stories) theemmaslater | jennajohnson: 02.01.24

[windebris]

the gentrification of still / the neva flows reprise. that is MY song. that is MY benchmark high school theatre moment. that is MY dramatic belt song in the car. tiktok CANNOT have it it is MINE i REFUSE

[subtlenighttribute]

You Don’t Have to Earn Our Love

Selkie AU | Love and Deepspace Boys x Reader

Reader opens up about family trauma | Selkie boys comfort in instinctive, quiet ways

This request hit pretty close to home, so I hope this helps bring you happiness, even by a little.

---

It came out in pieces.

A quiet morning, sunlight filtering through sea mist, your mug warm in your hands but your chest aching. The boys were scattered—floating lazily in the shallows, piled in seal-fluff piles near the porch, dozing under a patch of sun.

You hadn’t meant to say it aloud.

“I always tried,” you murmured, voice too small for the breeze. “But they never really saw it. Never said thank you. Just pointed out what I forgot. What I messed up.”

You stared at your drink.

“And now it’s just… stuck in me. That feeling. That no matter what I do, it won’t be good enough.”

You hadn’t realized one of them had moved until you felt warm weight press against your side.

---

🐺 Sylus

Sylus didn’t make a sound.

He curled his large white seal body against your thigh, slowly—like a glacier shifting. Then he shoved his snout beneath your elbow until your hand rested on his head.

You didn’t pet him.

He nudged harder.

Until you did.

A slow, unsteady stroke through his fur. Again. Again.

He let out a quiet, sharp huff—like a steam valve—and lay still.

Protective. Heavy. Not saying a word. But if he could in this moment, in this form, he would say, “If they couldn’t see your worth, that’s their failure. I see you. I always see you.”

His heartbeat thudded steady against your hip.

---

🫧 Rafayel

Rafayel didn’t approach directly.

Instead, he swam in slow, looping circles near the shore. Just close enough for the sound of his water-slick movements to be heard. A rhythm. A pulse.

When you finally looked up, eyes stinging, he was floating on his back in full seal form, holding something in his flippers.

A shell.

Shiny. Pink-edged.

He wobbled toward you through the surf, tail flicking, and nudged it into your hand.

Then nudged your hand into your own chest.

Then flopped forward and leaned against your legs. His body language saying, “This is how I see you. Soft. Shiny. Precious. And I’d still love you even if you weren’t.”

He stayed there, curled like driftwood, eyes watching with open, unflinching care.

---

🪨 Zayne

You didn’t see Zayne arrive.

But suddenly, there was weight at your back.

A familiar seal—dark and broad—pressing firmly behind you like a mountain had laid itself down to keep the wind off your skin.

You leaned back automatically.

Zayne didn’t push. Didn’t nudge. Didn’t demand.

He just was there.

Unmoving.

Unjudging.

Like a stone that had heard all your words and decided—firmly—that you were enough anyway.

“You don’t need to earn a place here. You already belong.”

And when your shoulders started to shake?

He leaned his seal head against yours. Just once. Just enough.

---

☀️ Caleb

Caleb waddled over with maximum seal panic.

He had clearly overheard the tail end of your confession and was halfway crying already.

He flopped face-first into your lap, glebbed so loud it startled a seagull, and then promptly tried to wrap both flippers around your waist.

You blinked. “...Caleb?”

He squeaked louder. Nudged his head under your chin and refused to stop wiggling until your arms were around him too.

Then he lay there. Soft. Snuffly. Vibrating with seal emotion.

“You’re good. You’re good. You’re the best. Don’t say things like that or I’ll melt.”

He fell asleep there, breath puffing warm against your chest.

You didn’t move.

---

🌊 Xavier

Xavier didn’t come to you immediately.

You thought maybe he hadn’t heard.

But later, when you sat alone on the rocky edge of the cove, watching the tide roll in—he surfaced.

Dark seal eyes. Smooth creamy colored head. Silent.

He drifted just beneath the water’s surface for a long time.

Then slowly swam to shore and rested his head on your knee.

Didn’t move.

Didn’t blink.

You placed your hand on him without thinking.

He leaned into it.

Then, in the stillest, most careful way, he pressed his forehead to your shin.

A seal’s gesture of trust. Of vow.

“You are not your family’s echo. You are loved—without condition.”

He stayed there even as the sun set behind the horizon.

---

That Night…

You didn’t say much.

None of them forced you to talk again.

But you ended up surrounded—pressed in by warmth and soft breathing. One tucked against your side. One against your feet. One curled like a scarf around your neck. One nosing into your hands. One resting at your back like a shield.

They couldn’t fix the scars family left behind.

But they made it clear—you’d never be unseen again.

[byghostface]

"If I am killed for simply living, let death be kinder than man."

Poem → Kinder Than Man by Althea Davis

Comic panels → Robin(2021) #7 by Writer- Joshua Williamson, Artist- Gleb Melnikov

.

(Just thinking that Damian stays by Nika's side, holding onto her wrist waiting for her pulse to come back… and she doesn't know how much he cares for her at this very moment…)

(But Nika still recognizes that Damian is kind to her, and it's all that matters to her.)

"Then I found a guy who truly had my back. He's complicated and came preloaded with family baggage, but we laugh a lot and he treats me nice."

"And I really was happy you agreed to help me… and you did help me."

Comic panels → Lazarus Planet: Next Evolution by Writer- Brandon T. Snider, Artist- Laura Braga/ Batman and Robin(2023) #8 by Writer- Joshua Williamson, Artist- Nikola Čižmešij

.

(​I need Damian and Nika to be cosmically intertwined in every lifetime/possible universe through their connections and experiences with death, and be buried together side by side at the end of time with this poem engraved onto their graves.)

[emiliyathecossack]

Imagine if "Still" in Anastasia the musical was written like "Still/The Neva Flows Reprise".

Like:

🎵 An underhanded girl, an act of desperation, and to my consternation, I let you go. You want what you can get? Is that a fair depiction? Do you believe your fiction? It's hard to know... 🎵

And so on.

I mean come on! Like Gleb's reprimanding her angrily, maybe caught her a second time...

🎵 You don't know you need me! You willfully mislead me! But still, still... 🎵

[sunskate]

it's so random what skating content is on peacock - now they have 2022 Euros in Estonia, and i'm having fun watching the RD. pretty sure i've never seen it in full - it was a midnight blues season. i've also been watching VM Prince from 2017 Worlds over and over lately, can't get enough how musical their choreo and dancing is. and of course that's a midnight blues, too

Barbara Fusar-Poli has a handful of teams here - she and Maurizio Margaglio as former skating partners have such different strengths as coaches. his camp is good with programs and packaging, and that's actively her weakest point. her team Jakucz/Galli had an RD to Daddy Cool and Rasputin in 2022 - ahead of their time 😅 some of her younger teams have nice glide in these early groups

the other thing that jumps out is how few of these teams are still around - in the first 2 groups, only Jakucz/Galli are still active. it's poignant to see Holubtsova/Bielobrov pre-IAM, still with their Ukrainian coach, just 5 weeks before the start of the war. i like their torchy/swingy RD here better than their later programs. Solene with Marko are the home team here in Tallinn. they also were pre-IAM - i don't think i realized how young she is - they were 18/20 yo, with a lot of personality. she's still now only 22 and been through so much 💔

group 4 is where a lot of familiar faces start showing up - Tim Dieck skating Harley Quinn/Joker with Katharina Mueller- i remember not liking this program in Beijing but it being memorable anyway 😅 looking at it now, he has a lot of commitment and flair, but the costumes and music cut maybe let this down, and their energies don't mesh

Demougeot/LeMercier were called here last minute as P/C withdrew to minimize covid risk before Beijing. they have their likeable, quirky personality as a team, the same straight line lift (can't blame them, it's a great one), the pretty skating. also made me wonder if they've progressed as much as you would hope in 4 years. maybe some coaches have a ceiling where it's hard for them to develop teams past a certain point?

Davis/Smolkin were skating for Russia and training with Igor. and back to back with the Taschlers, what a contrast. Gleb is moving Diana a lot of the time. when he stops pushing or pulling, she doesn't have much power on her own. Igor's trick of choreographing the man on the outside of any circle so the woman can do less is really noticeable here. they do have a precision that's only gotten better in the last 4 years

when the Taschlers skate right after them, the difference in power hits you in the face. they're a team of equals. they feel underscored as usual - D/S 73.32, Taschlers 69.72. i'm glad the Taschlers are moving to a camp where they'll get more help with packaging, because i think that's part of what's held them back

[izloveshorses]

As someone who fell down the anastasia rabbit hole just this january, the concert was more than I could have ever imagined. Found out about it on feb 12 and it felt like the floor fell out from under me when I saw there were still some tickets left. Who cares that I had less than a week away’s notice and i’d have to get train tickets to nyc and a hotel to stay the night (both things i’ve never done before—I never coordinate plans i just say yes to them) but SCREW IT the stars had somehow aligned to revive a musical I was 6 years too late in discovering, no way I was letting this chance pass me by!!

And can I just say. I was happy to just have tickets to get in the door and hear christy and john and everyone perform the songs live. They hadn’t even properly started yet and I was already crying. (When christy first walked out…. I was like wow this is really happening… 😭😭😭) but that was all before it dawned on me that we weren’t just getting the songs. We were getting all the dialogue and choreography and dances!! Costume changes!!! We were getting the musical in its entirety, just a special concert version of it played around the orchestra!!! I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT WAS IT A DREAM? DID THAT ACTUALLY HAPPEN??

Everyone was amazing. Some highlights: John bolton. You comedy genius. "I can’t see" had me ROLLING. Anya using one of the bows instead of the stick to chase away the drunks ahhhhh! THE CONDUCTOR. OF THE ORCHESTRA. GIVING THE TRAIN CONDUCTOR’S LAST CALL TO BOARD YES I LOVE IT! The student choirs!!! I especially loved in act 1 where they rocked side to side when the royal family was being stormed at the beginning! Sitting in the very back it really threw me, felt like the whole room was tilting! And then in act 2, loved the extra hand movements for paris holds the key to your heart! (And everyones dancingggg)

And good lord. The BALLET. Oh my god the ballet. They were!! In!! The seats!! just like us and for a moment we were ALL attending the ballet performed by the actual honest to god swan lake principal dancers!!! The whole hall turned into the stage and we were in it! Raoul singing from the boxes of the albert royal hall type beat! That was TOO COOL!!!

And that’s a whole other thing. The david geffen hall was such a unique place for them to perform in!! I loved the different tiers of the stages, and all the stairs. (Seeing gleb coming from a mile away, slinking down the stairs for anya’s entire everything to win reprise was fun 🤭)

I’m still reeling. The whole train ride home I was teary because I couldn’t believe that all happened. I was so close to not going. The weds before I had thought "it’s less than a week away, no way I can go that last minute, it would have been cheaper and simpler if I had planned months in advance, it’s too late now, too bad I didn’t find out earlier…" and then. The entire next day I could not concentrate at work at all because I was too busy thinking "I BLEW IT! What were you thinking? It’s not too late until there are no more tickets left! You’ll regret it forever if you let this chance slip you by! Just secure the seat and then you can go from there!!" Luckily when I got home there were seats and I was able to make the rest happen. 💖🙏🥹

Tl;dr 1000000/10 it was so beautiful and magical and im so so so thankful to everyone who organized it what a night to remember forever!!!

anon, you are LUCKY!!!! i'm glad you got to witness miss christy in action, there's truly nothing quite like watching her work. pure magic. and this concert was very special and it felt like everyone sort of understood how magical this little show is and therefore took extra care in assembling something for us.

stars aligning etc etc etc <33

[musical-machinery]

an AU that i have been brewing for some time... anastasia on broadway AU!!! prince peasley anastasia AU!!!! something like that!!! i don't have a name for it!!! featuring [in these images]: mario and princess peach as vlad and countess lily, luigi as dmitry, prince peasley as anya/anastasia, and lady lima as the dowager empress/anastasia's grandmother! AU explanation under the cut!!! [warning it is very long]

the basic story is that when peasley was young, he and his extended family were invited to a ball in the mushroom kingdom. before they left, lady lima gave him a small piece of the beanstar, should anything go wrong while the family was away... unfortunately, she could not predict that they would be attacked in the mushroom kingdom. during the ball, they are rounded up and executed by cackletta and her followers. however, peasley got away, and is now the only surviving member of the beanish royal family, but lives a tough life with amnesia. many years later, rumours start to stir of the beanish princess still being alive, and they spread to the mushroom kingdom. this is where mario and luigi hear about this, and for the greater good they decide they'll find this lost princess, and return her to her kingdom! meanwhile, in the beanbean kingdom, where these rumours started, things are... less than stellar. cackletta, after executing the royal family, has taken over, and the kingdom is worse off for it. however, she has recently died from unknown circumstances! she leaves her daughter [who has no name other than "C.D" yet, nor a design, but her role is as general gleb] to "finish what she started". whatever that may mean... in the brother's search for the lost princess, they find peasley, whom at first they don't suspect to be the princess- after all, he's a dude, and beanish are much more common in other places after cackletta took over.. not every beanish person can be a princess! they allow him to help search for the missing princess, but along the way, they discover things that reveal who peasley really is... when C.D hears of the rumours, she decides she must put a stop to them. after all, her mother would have wanted this, right? total control over everything, including the gossip of the common people. she makes a visit to the mushroom kingdom to find more out about the rumours, and to discuss royal business with princess peach, as she is soon to be the sovereign of the beanbean kingdom. here, she learns of mario and luigi's plan to find the princess... she finds them, along with peasley, and warns them of the dangers of such a plan, and that no member of the family survived that night. after they leave, she can't shake the feeling that something is up. she vows that if these rumours really are true? she'll find the princess, and kill her. it basically follows the story of the original musical, but it is slightly tweaked to fit certain things! i could type out a summary of the entire story, but i felt this was good enough to get people.. at least slightly hooked!!!!! :'3c let me know what you think!

[my-unwanted-comentarry]

Jenn judging:

Ok, so yeah, they’re fully leaning into it, don’t love that. Don’t get me working I think they’re cute, but like, let it be natural.

I agree crab sasha should have come back

I agree with Bruno, she has such beautiful princess energy.

I do feel like the audience is not as nice to Carrie Ann. Like she’s about to be nice, and the other guys also were saying things that needed to be improved. Like…. Idk, it’s just something I noticed

Nooooo… why are they so inistnat on this!!! No one likes when broom and gleb did it

Ezra and Ilona in the background, they are so cute!!!

Yeah, the scores are what I expected.

I agree with Alphonso, Leave them alone

[p21blackandgold]

ok let me just say, I am no big Sasha fan but I do feel a bit bad for him. his partners always seem to love him and I like that he focuses on making sure they have a good experience. also, he’s one of the few male pros that doesn’t have a reputation of being an ass. i’d way rather see him as a pro than Gleb, even if he does produce some wacky (to say the least) choreography sometimes

[anniflamma]

Saint Boris and George the Hungarian

I'm going to start with this. Where are all the retelling books? The discussions? The TV series? The Movies?

So let me begin by talking about Saint Boris and his favorite servant, George.

In medieval Russia, Saint Boris and his younger brother Gleb, both princes of Kiev, played crucial roles in the state established by their father, Volodimir, who introduced Christianity in 988 Russia. Boris had precisely 12 brothers, and himself was born from Anne the Bulgarian. He wasn't the oldest, but due to being loved by his father, he was trusted to be called upon to lead troops against enemy invaders.

However, upon returning from the military campaign, Boris received devastating news of Volodimir's death. Svjatopolk, the accursed, his half-adoptive-brother, had concealed their father's passing and seized power for himself.

Despite having the opportunity to claim the throne, Boris refused to raise arms against his brother, choosing instead to trust in him and God's will.

"He (Boris) was in distress and grief, and his heart was oppressed. And he entered his tent and wept with a broken heart but a joyful soul, sorrowfully lifting his voice: “Despise not my tears, O Lord. For as I have my hope in Thee, so shall I, together with Thy servants, accept my portion and lot with all Thy holy ones, for Thou art a merciful God, and unto Thee shall we render praise forever. Amen.”

Svjatopolk then conspired to assassinate Boris, due to his being a potential threat to his rule. He ordered Boris's assassination, sending men to attack him while he prayed in his tent. Throughout the night, Boris fell asleep and with him by his side was his favorite servant George The Hungarian.

In the text "The Narrative Passion And Encomium Of Boris And Gleb," it never mentions that Boris' servant George was with him when he was sleeping; however, in ancient arts, George is depicted being by Boris' side at all times. He confides his fears of death to George. They pray close together. And George guarding over the sleeping Boris.

We get a short but concise description of Boris and George's relationship.

"He was a Hungarian by birth named George, and upon him was placed a golden necklace; and he was loved by Boris beyond measure."

While Boris and George's bond was initially perceived through the lens of Christian views, it transcended mere "a very good friendship." After all, the lord bestowed a golden necklace to his servant, suggesting something much deeper.

Eventually, three assassins arrived, entered the tent, and Boris was pierced without mercy. In the midst of chaos, George refused to abandon his lord. He threw himself over Boris and said: "I shall not leave you, my precious lord; where the beauty of your body withers, there too will it be granted me to end my life.”

The assassins then tore Boris out of George's embrace, stabbed George, and threw the servant out of the tent, bleeding and dying. And as he was wounded, Boris ran out of the tent (presumably went to George's side) and told their assassins to finish their job. Boris prayed and forgave the murderers....

Unable to remove a golden necklace from George's neck, one of the assassins beheaded him and disposed of his body.

The land mourned the loss of Boris, a righteous and humble prince, while Svjatopolk's reign of terror continued. Yet, Boris's legacy lived on, and he was canonized in the year 1071. Boris and his younger brother Gleb became the first saints recognized by the Russian Orthodox Church, earning the title of "Passion Bearers" for facing death with Christlike forgiveness. They rest at the Church of St. Basil near Kiev in Ukraine, alongside their parents, Volodimir of Kiev and Anne.

While Boris and his younger brother Gleb gained widespread recognition as saints in Russia and Ukraine, George the Hungarian's role has been increasingly marginalized and obscured over time.

Despite Boris being a prince and a skilled military commander, it was his profound love for George that left an indelible mark on early biographers and hagiographers. Professors, such as Simon Karlinsky delves into their same-sex love story in his analysis of the medieval classic, "The Legend of Boris and Gleb," compiled between 1040 and 1118.

Boris's gesture of crafting a magnificent gold necklace for George is highlighted as a testament of love. Karlinsky emphasizes the sympathetic portrayal of their mutual affection and acknowledges the unjust fate that befell George due to the open expression of their love. However, George is recognized in some traditions as a co-martyr, passion bearer, and saint.

Wikipedia on St. Boris (and his brother Gleb)

Blog post from a professor and art historian focusing on their relationship

English Translation of the 1100 year old text "The Narrative and Passion and Encomium of the Holy Martyrs Boris and Gleb"

[windebris]

just found this empires season 1 au from 2022 that i wrote... this is actually so good wait. it's an anastsia au that kind of combines the animated movie and the broadway musical? but also has its own twists

Anya: Scott (xornoth amnesia-ed him to save him from the burden of being champion, aeor and exor said okay. you cant have him either tho)

Dmitri: Jimmy (grew up at swamp by the sea, seablings canon to Me, he and scott fall in love when reversing the amnesia with him too close in range reveals psat lives!)

Vlad: Lizzie (grew up at the sea, in love with Joel, hasnt seen him in ten years, willing to give up her empire for him)

Countess: Joel (ended up at Rivendel after getting separated from Lizzie when they barricaded the ocean so no one could escape the mountains)

Dowager: (cursed) Xornoth (was told he and scott were champions at young age, decided screw that im protecting my baby brother, amnesia-ed him, very sad and controlled almost completely by aeor and exor)

Rasputin: Exor (sent scott to ocean to punish Xornoth, intended for him to die so Aeor would be less powerful; yielded half his control over Xornoth to Aeor)

Gleb: Aeor (initially agreed with exor, changes mind somewhere in plot and tries to protect Scott at the very end bc still his champion, has half of Xornoth but tries to let him live)

Xornoth and Scott, at the end, pass the empires to Joel and Lizzie to rule

Scott and Jimmy intend to run away together at the end but Jimmy dies lol so instead Scott spends his days in Rivendel with Xornoth in the archives

Instead of a diamond, scott has gold deer antler pendant

Joel + Xornoth (against gods), have an alliance that aeor knows about and tries to keep them safe from exor AND stop them from undermining the gods too much

Switch vlad and countess’ mannerisms, keep their story (take countess from broadway not the movie)

Ocean Empire has guard of the axolotl instead of communists, in an uneasy alliance with the stag gods because theyve no other option (rivendell is more powerful bc magic)

Used to have strong leaders, but they were "killed" by the previous champions of the stags and there’s been a power vacuum ever since (lizzie and jimmy sent to live as peasants for their safety) (potential sequel) (sequel would revive jimmy bc he was captive in idk cogsmead or smth)

[casp1an-sea]

OK I’m going to share my thoughts on Dancing with the Stars this season because I don’t know why I haven’t done that yet. I’ve been obsessing over it.

First of all, why was Anna Delvey on the show? Like it doesn’t make any sense. Maybe they were trying to cause drama or something, but it did not work. She deserved to be eliminated that early. like watching her made me feel uncomfortable and like you could tell the people around her were uncomfortable too. Originally, I didn’t understand why she was getting so much hate aside from the fact that she was uninteresting. But I watched a TikTok, where someone explained how they hated that she was on the show because she was in an illegal immigrant being allowed to stay in our country to perform in a dance competition, meanwhile, so many others are being mistreated and deported by the government. And God that pissed me off so much.

Second thought, I’m not a fan of brooks and Gleb. The constant reminders that they’re sexy and hot and having a showmance was just annoying to me and distracted from the dancing.

I know a lot of people have been making jokes about Jenn Tran dedicating her dance to Taylor Swift rather than an important person in her life like the other contestants did. And I did this too at first, but I was thinking about it and honestly, I think it’s just as valid and meaningful that she chose to dedicate this dance to an artist because she explains that the reason she’s doing this is because Taylor’s music got her through a really difficult time. And honestly, if it were me, I probably would think to dedicate my dance to something like Star Wars before thinking of dedicating it to my family. Because the things that we love often are what we spend the most time of our lives consuming and can help us get through those difficult times when those important people in our lives like our family cannot or choose not to be there for us. And even if it seems more shallow, there is a real level of emotional connection to that thing.

I love Chandler but it’s really is annoying to me when dancing with the stars gets celebs that have actual dance experience. I’m not saying she deserves lower scores. I think she deserves the scores she got and I’m glad that she got them. I just don’t think she should have been allowed to compete the same way I don’t think contestants with prior dance experience should have been allowed to compete in previous seasons. If they want to do something like that They should have a spin off show. I also don’t think it was fair that she got to perform her song on Disney night. It just seems like an unfair advantage because she already had experience with and was comfortable performing as that character and experience dancing as that character even if the Choreo was vastly different. But that might just be me. I still enjoyed watching the dance though. And I do like the song.

all right complaints aside let’s be a little bit more lighthearted

I think it’s no shock that I love Ilona and Alan, everyone does. I think she really embodies what dancing with the stars is about not just in her personality and what she stands for, but also with her dancing. the way that she truly has visibly improved from the start to the finish. She might not necessarily be the strongest dancer, but she still a good dancer and has definitely learned from her time on the show. Other contestants like Joey and Chandler we’re doing pretty well consistently and while that’s great and amazing and I think they deserved the scores and placements that they got, having a dancer like Ilona is just really refreshing

I really liked Stephen and Riley’s freestyle. Not going to lie originally I only watched this season for Stephen. I was a competitive gymnast for 13 years and I still have a lot of complicated feelings with that experience. I decided not to watch gymnastics at all Until this Olympics, So this was my first time watching it again after I left the gym. So when I found out that Stephen was competing on Dancing with the Stars, of course I was intrigued. I’ll have to admit he was not the strongest of the finalists and I think he deserved fourth place. But his freestyle was my favorite of the night. Originally, I was a bit skeptical because I felt that there was not much dance moves in it, but that didn’t mean that I disliked watching it. There was just something moving about it and maybe the song helped but that was just part of it on my second rewatch I genuinely was brought to tears watching it just all of these experiences with gymnastics in the past flooded me. It was so powerful. I just can’t stop watching that dance. It was probably my favorite of the season not because of the dance itself, but because of the way it made me feel.

Monster night was my favorite. I loved it. I pretty much liked every single dance. yup

I don’t know what made this season so special but I’m glad everyone sees it

and lastly, my opinions on the final placements.

I think I liked them. I know a lot of people are attacking Joey but I was fine with him winning. I thought it was going to be a tossup between him and Chandler and I think the both of them were pretty evenly matched throughout the whole season. Neither of them were my favorite groups. I didn’t dislike them. I just liked Ilona and Stephen more but I think the placement that they got made sense and I’m not really mad that Chandler got third think her and Joey could be swapped and it would still make sense.

I think Ilona deserved second like I said before, to me she really embodies what dancing with the stars is about. And it’s no secret that she had the public vote and she deserved it. I think the show isn’t just about good dancers but also about a dancers improvement so it makes sense to me that The most improved dancer should get second place. now before the finale, I would have put Stephen in fifth. and that’s not saying I dislike him. I’m just saying I felt he wasn’t the strongest of the dancers. He was still good and he still improved, but I don’t know if I would put him over Danny. I think if they hadn’t decided to let everyone stay for the finals Stephen would have been the one going home. At least that’s my guess. But I am very glad he got to stay. Like I said, his freestyle was just phenomenal and this put it over the edge for me. I think he deserved fourth. He had a stronger final performance than Danny did and that’s really what determined it for me in the end.

I think Danny‘s placement in fifth is fine. his final dances weren’t my favorite. The Barbie and Ken one was funny and I liked it because it was fun, but I don’t think it was the strongest performance. I think he really did improve as a dancer throughout the show and he deserved to get into the finals.

I’m overall happy with how it ended and sad that it’s over. If the tickets weren’t so expensive, I’d go see them on tour.

[rattlyglitch1]

Still/ Neva Flows reprise fits with Rollo and younger Silver

Btw: Spoilers for the Masquerade Event story with kid Silver I've written

When I say it fits them I mean like some of the lyrics fit like

Anya is Silver which is bold

and Rollo is Gleb and has normal speech

Parts that are in the song will be in parentheses and singing parts will be italic whether it be normal or bold

"An underhanded girl An act of desperation And to my consternation I let you go"

Rollo is seeing his brother in Silver who has his magic now at a young age and is blaming himself for his brothers death.

"Well, not this time Paris is no place for a good and loyal Russian

We are both good and loyal Russians

I've come to take you home

My home is here now

Stop playing this game, Anya! I beg you

We both know it's not a game Gleb

If you really are Anastasia Do you think history wants you to have lived?

Yes! Why don't you?

The Romanovs were given everything And they gave back nothing Until the Russian people rose up and destroyed them

All but one Finish it I am my father's daughter

and I am my father's son

Finish it I must"

Rollo is trying to make Silver see that magic isn't a place to call home but Silver says it is and that their both magic users. Rollo asks Silver if it really was for the best that magic still lives and Silver says yes but Rollo still doesn't agree and believes magic needs to be destroyed. Silver is getting ready to defend magic as best he can.

"My father shook his head and told me not to ask My mother said he died of shame"

The shame that follows Rollo because he couldn't save his brother is almost as if it's crushing him to death.

"In me you see them"

Silver is starting to realize that Rollo sees his own brother in him

"Look at their faces in mine Hear their screams Imagine their terrors See their blood"

Silver is trying to get Rollo to see destroying the lives of people and hurting him is also bad and Rollo would be hurting him

"But I believe he did a proud and vital task. And in my father's name"

Rollo feels that way he is doing is the right thing. That the task he has set out to to do is for the best.

"Do it and I will be with my parents and my brother and sisters In that cellar in Yekaterinburg all over again"

Silver is trying to get Rollo to see that if magic is removed from mages some may die.

"The children Their voices A man makes painful choices He does what's necessary, Anya"

That is what it could have been like for Rollo when his brother died. His brother in pain and he remembers that so he's making a painful choice to get rid of his and everyone else's magic in the name of his brother and he's trying to describe his reasoning to Silver and help him understand why he's doing what he's doing and that it is for Silver's good.

"For Russia, my beauty What choice but simple duty We have a past to bury, Anya"

Russia is the name of Rollo's brother. Rollo also sees it as his duty is to get rid of magic, and he's trying to convince Silver that some way their the same and if he gets rid of everyone's magic it would be for the best and magic would be a thing of the past.

"And the Neva flows, a new wind blows

And soon it will be spring The leaves unfold, the Tsar lies cold

Be careful what a dream may bring! A revolution is a simple thing!"

Rollo is imagining the future and how what he is doing which is like a revolution was easy to accomplish and the Tsar which is magic is gone for good and once he says the line 'A revolution is a simple thing he cast a sleeping spell on Silver.

[fireworkss-exe]

sorry if this sounds basic but that moment where the prostitutes are making the police report to gleb and gleb stands up slowly and lifts one of the ladies' chins with his finger and just fucking. stares at her for like a solid ten seconds. terrifying but kind of hot actually. gleb vaganov please let me hit

[formula-fun]

pls tell me that carlos is gleb in the anastasia au 👀 that was my vision back when i was writing one (totally gave up on it lol but i’m so excited to read yours)

listen i cant spoil too much but lets just say max is.....also gleb.....partially in a way.....kinda....