#also across from that theatre was the mamma mia theatre and i got to see pictures of izi maxwell on the side of the theatre🥹🥹

[dumbcrustyassbitch]

mean girls west end tomorrow if u even care

mean girls west end in a week if u even care

[missjanjie]

Somewhere in the Crowd There's You | Rosnali

Summary: Denali and Rosé were best friends all through middle and high school, but had to part ways after graduating in 1998. But even years later, the one thing that always connected them were the mixtapes Rosé would make. Ship: Rosnali Word Count: 2174 Rating: T

ao3 | ko-fi

Bonus: Denali's Playlist for Rosé

-

“Denali, so help me god if you’re late to graduation you will not make it to college!” her mother shouted up the stairs.

Denali groaned and rolled her eyes. “I’m coming!” she yelled back down to her. She pressed ‘stop’ on her CD player and popped the cover open, taking the disk out and putting it into its correct sleeve in her CD book. It was a smaller one, as it only contained her most precious ones - the mixtapes Rosé had given her over the years.

The two of them had been best friends since they had both transferred to the same Manhattan school in sixth grade, Denali coming from Alaska and Rosé from Scotland. Both of them had felt out of place and immediately sought refuge in each other and had been inseparable ever since. And one thing that had always been consistent in their friendship was Rosé’s love of burning CDs and giving them to her, whether it was for a special occasion or just because she thought Denali would like it, and she always did.

“And don’t even think about trying to take your walkman!”

She huffed, looking at it waiting for her on her bed. “Fine,” she threw her gown over her dress and grabbed her cap before hustling out the door.

Any attitude she might have had disappeared the second she got out of the car and saw Rosé. she sprinted towards the taller girl, launching herself into her arms. “Rosie!”

Rosé scooped Denali up without hesitation, one arm wrapped around her waist and the opposite hand holding her thigh. “Hi Dee,” she cooed, spinning around with her before eventually setting her back down. “I got something for you.”

Denali giggled as Rosé reached up under her gown because of course, she would manage to get away with wearing pants at graduation. She beamed from ear to ear as Rosé placed a CD in her hand. Written in pink glitter gel pen over masking tape was ‘Denali + Rosé: Class of ‘98’, with a heart over the ‘i’. She looked at the tracklist and smiled when she saw one was highlighted - that meant Rosé had recorded herself singing, and that was her favorite part. “Super Trouper?” she tilted her head, noting it was the only song on the list that hadn’t come out during their time in high school.

She shrugged, a tinge of pink ghosting her cheeks. “I like ABBA and the song made me think of you.”

“I love it,” she quickly assured, hugging her tightly before sliding the mixtape into her macrame crossbody bag. “Come on, we better go take our seats so we can say goodbye to our childhood.”

Rosé arched her brow. “Bit grim when you put it that way, but let’s go.”

After graduation Rosé and Denali went to dinner together with their families, then back to Denali’s house for a sleepover, likely one of the last ones they would have before college. But they didn’t want to think about that, instead focusing on enjoying the time they had together.

It wasn’t easy for either of them, and Denali was left with a difficult decision. When she was twelve, she acknowledged the fact that she was attracted to girls, but decided it was best to not do anything about it. At sixteen, she realized that it wasn’t just girls in general, that would be too easy to ignore. For the past two years, she had accepted the fact that she was in love with Rosé, but too paralyzed with fear to do anything about it.

So, she made a mixtape. Each song one declaration of love after another. And it had been sitting in her closet for a week now while she tried to talk herself into giving it to her best friend. She knew it was now or never, tonight had to be the night.

“Something on your mind?” Rosé gently prompted.

Denali hesitated, then shook her head. “I’m just gonna miss you,” she told her, sitting next to her cross-legged on the bed. “We’re gonna stay in touch, right?”

“Of course,” Rosé assured. “We can call each other and talk on AIM when we can get to the campus libraries,” she suggested, resting her hand on Denali’s thigh and squeezing gently. “I think we can make it work.”

She chewed on her lip and nodded. “If you think so, then I do too.” She glanced back at her closet, thinking, her heart racing. Rosé cared enough about her to want to make their friendship work. Maybe there was a chance…

“Hey,” Rosé prompted to change the subject, “I rented Cinderella with Brandi from Blockbuster, you wanna watch?”

Denali nodded, letting her fear quell her desire to give her the disk. “Yeah, I’ll go make some popcorn.”

Six Years Later

Manhattan felt almost as foreign to Denali as it did when she first moved there. Despite the nostalgia that filled her when she walked past Broadway, recalling seeing RENT there with Rosé for her eighteenth birthday, or the other little things that brought her back to her teenage years, she felt odd, out of place. It made her stomach churn with the way everything seemed to change.

It didn’t help that, despite all of the promises they had made to each other, she had lost touch with Rosé sometime after the start of her sophomore year. Their lives had gotten so busy, so involved, it just dissipated and she had to try her best to move on.

And most days Denali was able to go about her life as normal. She returned to her apartment with lunch for herself and her roommate. Her new normal. “Liv! Come eat!”

Olivia promptly emerged from her room, a piece of paper in her hand. “Check out this flyer I snagged from the café a few blocks over. They’re having a karaoke night tonight, we should go,” at Denali’s hesitation, she jutted out her bottom lip and batted her lashes. “C’mon, please? They��re gonna have alcohol.”

With a jokingly dramatic sigh, she acquiesced. “Okay, fine, but don’t even think about trying to drag me on stage before I’ve had at least three drinks.”

After lunch, the two of them got ready for the night, doing their hair and makeup and picking out just the right outfits for the modern y2k-era nightlife. The walk to the café was about ten minutes and they were able to get a table before the room started to fill up. Her attention faded in and out as people started to perform, nursing her drink and picking at the chips on the table.

“Alright, who’s next?” the event host prompted, scanning the room. “You, in the pink, right this way!” There were some scattered cheers as a woman took the stage, but Denali didn’t look up until she started singing.

Olivia noticed the sudden alertness in her friend. “What, you’re an ABBA fan?”

“No, no I know that voice,” she insisted, shushing her to focus on the stage better. There was no way, it couldn’t be…

“But I won’t feel blue like I always do. ‘Cause somewhere in the crowd there’s-” Rosé looked into the audience, her eyes meeting Denali’s and her breath hitching in her throat, nearly missing the last word, but when she got it out, it was as if she were singing to her once again, “...you.”

Before Denali could decide what to do, Rosé was making a beeline for her, then she was standing right in front of her, looking more beautiful than Denali could’ve ever anticipated. “Rosie?” she asked softly, afraid it was too good to be true.

A broad smile stretched across Rosé’s face as if she were wondering the same thing until that moment. “Denali!” She yanked the smaller woman to her feet and pulled her into a tight embrace, one that neither of them ever wanted to end. “When did you move back to New York?”

“Couple weeks ago officially. My parents moved out to Long Island, so I was staying with them while I was trying to find a place. That’s how I met Olivia, my roommate,” Denali explained, gesturing to the girl still sitting at the table.

Olivia offered a polite wave and smile in response. “It seems like you guys have some catching up to do, I’m gonna go on stage next then, um, keep myself busy,” she decided and scurried off.

“Let’s go outside,” Rosé suggested, the two of them leaving the café and sitting on a bench in front of it. “I’ve missed you so much. What have you been up to?”

Denali shrugged. “Got my BFA in dance, worked with a few different companies either performing or choreographic. And last year I was in Zumanity, which was quite the experience,” she blushed a bit as she recalled that, unsure if Rosé was familiar with the type of show it was, “and now I’m here as a full-time dance teacher and choreographer. What about you?”

Rosé’s eyes did widen at the name, feeling her face start to redden as her mind started to wander, wondering what sort of things Denali had performed on stage. While she hadn’t seen the show, she had seen commercials when watching TV late at night. She’d nearly missed her question, clearing her throat and centering herself. “Oh, well, my life hasn’t been as interesting as yours, I got my BFA in musical theatre, did various off-Broadway gigs, and… you’re going to laugh… I’m the understudy for the lead role in Mamma Mia here on Broadway.”

“Mamma Mia… the ABBA jukebox musical?” She covered her mouth as she tried not to laugh, a bit of giggling slipping through. “A little on the nose, isn’t it Rosie? But I’m very happy for you.”

“Maybe so, but I’m much more interested in this Zumanity stint. I mean, I always knew you had that skill level but that’s a… unique setting,” Rosé retorted, her interest, and perhaps something more, very piqued.

Denali looked down and grinned. “It was. Everyone there was incredibly talented too, it was so freeing, so queer,” she said, then hesitantly looked back up to reaffirm, “which I also am, you know, gay.”

Rosé chuckled softly and nodded. “I kind of suspected as much, just with the way you reacted when we saw RENT,” she recalled, then quickly followed up with, “I am too.”

An eight-year-long weight lifted from Denali’s chest at the confession. “Do you wanna come back to my place? It’s just a couple of blocks over, we can have a sleepover like we used to,” she suggested.

“I’d love that,” she grinned, and as they walked back to the apartment, she had her arm slung around Denali’s shoulders, not passing up the first opportunity in years to keep her close. Even though it was an apartment she’d never been in before, the fact that it was Denali’s made it feel familiar.

Denali toed out of her shoes and set her purse down. “I have something for you,” she said suddenly, disappearing into her bedroom before Rosé to question her. She rifled through her closet, pulling out a box tucked away and grinning when she found the items she was looking for. It was still a risk, but this time she knew it was one worth taking. She took a deep breath, then rejoined Rosé in the living room. “I kept every mixtape you gave me, still listen to them sometimes,” she said, holding up the CD book in one hand.

“You did?” Rosé put her hand over her chest, beaming warmly. “Dee, that’s so sweet.”

She smiled, biting her lip and looking down, trying to fight away the nerves that crept back up. “I, um, I made you one too. I was going to give it to you after graduation but I chickened out,” she confessed as she handed the mixtape she had hidden among her possessions all these years to the woman she made it for. “I think the tracklist will explain why.”

Rosé’s lips parted in surprise as she gently took it from her. “To Rosie, with love,” she read the title before turning it over to see where Denali had written the songs in silver sharpie. And, sure enough, it was one love song after another, songs she knew well, that she knew the shorter woman spent her time carefully picking out each one. “Oh, Dee, this is beautiful. Honestly, I don’t know what I would’ve done if you gave it to me back then.”

Denali swallowed thickly. “I guess more importantly, what are you gonna do now?”

There was only a half-beat of silence before Rosé smirked, setting the disk on the dining room table before cupping Denali’s face and kissing her deeply, moving one hand from her face to wrap her arm around her body and pull her close. “I’ve always loved you, Denali. I’d just resigned myself to seeing you as the one that got away.”

Denali relaxed, arms looping around Rosé’s neck. “I’m not going anywhere.”

[artificialqueens]

Somewhere in the Crowd There's You (Rosnali) - Joley

Summary: Denali and Rosé were best friends all through middle and high school, but had to part ways after graduating in 1998. But even years later, the one thing that always connected them were the mixtapes Rosé would make.

(bonus: denali's playlist for rosé)

ao3 link

“Denali, so help me god if you’re late to graduation you will not make it to college!” her mother shouted up the stairs.

Denali groaned and rolled her eyes. “I’m coming!” she yelled back down to her. She pressed ‘stop’ on her CD player and popped the cover open, taking the disk out and putting it into its correct sleeve in her CD book. It was a smaller one, as it only contained her most precious ones - the mixtapes Rosé had given her over the years.

The two of them had been best friends since they had both transferred to the same Manhattan school in sixth grade, Denali coming from Alaska and Rosé from Scotland. Both of them had felt out of place and immediately sought refuge in each other and had been inseparable ever since. And one thing that had always been consistent in their friendship was Rosé’s love of burning CDs and giving them to her, whether it was for a special occasion or just because she thought Denali would like it, and she always did.

“And don’t even think about trying to take your walkman!”

She huffed, looking at it waiting for her on her bed. “Fine,” she threw her gown over her dress and grabbed her cap before hustling out the door.

Any attitude she might have had disappeared the second she got out of the car and saw Rosé. she sprinted towards the taller girl, launching herself into her arms. “Rosie!”

Rosé scooped Denali up without hesitation, one arm wrapped around her waist and the opposite hand holding her thigh. “Hi Dee,” she cooed, spinning around with her before eventually setting her back down. “I got something for you.”

Denali giggled as Rosé reached up under her gown because of course, she would manage to get away with wearing pants at graduation. She beamed from ear to ear as Rosé placed a CD in her hand. Written in pink glitter gel pen over masking tape was ‘Denali + Rosé: Class of ‘98’, with a heart over the ‘i’. She looked at the tracklist and smiled when she saw one was highlighted - that meant Rosé had recorded herself singing, and that was her favorite part. “Super Trouper?” she tilted her head, noting it was the only song on the list that hadn’t come out during their time in high school.

She shrugged, a tinge of pink ghosting her cheeks. “I like ABBA and the song made me think of you.”

“I love it,” she quickly assured, hugging her tightly before sliding the mixtape into her macrame crossbody bag. “Come on, we better go take our seats so we can say goodbye to our childhood.”

Rosé arched her brow. “Bit grim when you put it that way, but let’s go.”

After graduation Rosé and Denali went to dinner together with their families, then back to Denali’s house for a sleepover, likely one of the last ones they would have before college. But they didn’t want to think about that, instead focusing on enjoying the time they had together.

It wasn’t easy for either of them, and Denali was left with a difficult decision. When she was twelve, she acknowledged the fact that she was attracted to girls, but decided it was best to not do anything about it. At sixteen, she realized that it wasn’t just girls in general, that would be too easy to ignore. For the past two years, she had accepted the fact that she was in love with Rosé, but too paralyzed with fear to do anything about it.

So, she made a mixtape. Each song one declaration of love after another. And it had been sitting in her closet for a week now while she tried to talk herself into giving it to her best friend. She knew it was now or never, tonight had to be the night.

“Something on your mind?” Rosé gently prompted.

Denali hesitated, then shook her head. “I’m just gonna miss you,” she told her, sitting next to her cross-legged on the bed. “We’re gonna stay in touch, right?”

“Of course,” Rosé assured. “We can call each other and talk on AIM when we can get to the campus libraries,” she suggested, resting her hand on Denali’s thigh and squeezing gently. “I think we can make it work.”

She chewed on her lip and nodded. “If you think so, then I do too.” She glanced back at her closet, thinking, her heart racing. Rosé cared enough about her to want to make their friendship work. Maybe there was a chance…

“Hey,” Rosé prompted to change the subject, “I rented Cinderella with Brandi from Blockbuster, you wanna watch?”

Denali nodded, letting her fear quell her desire to give her the disk. “Yeah, I’ll go make some popcorn.”

Six Years Later

Manhattan felt almost as foreign to Denali as it did when she first moved there. Despite the nostalgia that filled her when she walked past Broadway, recalling seeing RENT there with Rosé for her eighteenth birthday, or the other little things that brought her back to her teenage years, she felt odd, out of place. It made her stomach churn with the way everything seemed to change.

It didn’t help that, despite all of the promises they had made to each other, she had lost touch with Rosé sometime after the start of her sophomore year. Their lives had gotten so busy, so involved, it just dissipated and she had to try her best to move on.

And most days Denali was able to go about her life as normal. She returned to her apartment with lunch for herself and her roommate. Her new normal. “Liv! Come eat!”

Olivia promptly emerged from her room, a piece of paper in her hand. “Check out this flyer I snagged from the café a few blocks over. They’re having a karaoke night tonight, we should go,” at Denali’s hesitation, she jutted out her bottom lip and batted her lashes. “C’mon, please? They’re gonna have alcohol.”

With a jokingly dramatic sigh, she acquiesced. “Okay, fine, but don’t even think about trying to drag me on stage before I’ve had at least three drinks.”

After lunch, the two of them got ready for the night, doing their hair and makeup and picking out just the right outfits for the modern y2k-era nightlife. The walk to the café was about ten minutes and they were able to get a table before the room started to fill up. Her attention faded in and out as people started to perform, nursing her drink and picking at the chips on the table.

“Alright, who’s next?” the event host prompted, scanning the room. “You, in the pink, right this way!” There were some scattered cheers as a woman took the stage, but Denali didn’t look up until she started singing.

Olivia noticed the sudden alertness in her friend. “What, you’re an ABBA fan?”

“No, no I know that voice,” she insisted, shushing her to focus on the stage better. There was no way, it couldn’t be…

“But I won’t feel blue like I always do. ‘Cause somewhere in the crowd there’s-” Rosé looked into the audience, her eyes meeting Denali’s and her breath hitching in her throat, nearly missing the last word, but when she got it out, it was as if she were singing to her once again, “…you.”

Before Denali could decide what to do, Rosé was making a beeline for her, then she was standing right in front of her, looking more beautiful than Denali could’ve ever anticipated. “Rosie?” she asked softly, afraid it was too good to be true.

A broad smile stretched across Rosé’s face as if she were wondering the same thing until that moment. “Denali!” She yanked the smaller woman to her feet and pulled her into a tight embrace, one that neither of them ever wanted to end. “When did you move back to New York?”

“Couple weeks ago officially. My parents moved out to Long Island, so I was staying with them while I was trying to find a place. That’s how I met Olivia, my roommate,” Denali explained, gesturing to the girl still sitting at the table.

Olivia offered a polite wave and smile in response. “It seems like you guys have some catching up to do, I’m gonna go on stage next then, um, keep myself busy,” she decided and scurried off.

“Let’s go outside,” Rosé suggested, the two of them leaving the café and sitting on a bench in front of it. “I’ve missed you so much. What have you been up to?”

Denali shrugged. “Got my BFA in dance, worked with a few different companies either performing or choreographic. And last year I was in Zumanity, which was quite the experience,” she blushed a bit as she recalled that, unsure if Rosé was familiar with the type of show it was, “and now I’m here as a full-time dance teacher and choreographer. What about you?”

Rosé’s eyes did widen at the name, feeling her face start to redden as her mind started to wander, wondering what sort of things Denali had performed on stage. While she hadn’t seen the show, she had seen commercials when watching TV late at night. She’d nearly missed her question, clearing her throat and centering herself. “Oh, well, my life hasn’t been as interesting as yours, I got my BFA in musical theatre, did various off-Broadway gigs, and… you’re going to laugh… I’m the understudy for the lead role in Mamma Mia here on Broadway.”

“Mamma Mia… the ABBA jukebox musical?” She covered her mouth as she tried not to laugh, a bit of giggling slipping through. “A little on the nose, isn’t it Rosie? But I’m very happy for you.”

“Maybe so, but I’m much more interested in this Zumanity stint. I mean, I always knew you had that skill level but that’s a… unique setting,” Rosé retorted, her interest, and perhaps something more, very piqued.

Denali looked down and grinned. “It was. Everyone there was incredibly talented too, it was so freeing, so queer,” she said, then hesitantly looked back up to reaffirm, “which I also am, you know, gay.”

Rosé chuckled softly and nodded. “I kind of suspected as much, just with the way you reacted when we saw RENT,” she recalled, then quickly followed up with, “I am too.”

An eight-year-long weight lifted from Denali’s chest at the confession. “Do you wanna come back to my place? It’s just a couple of blocks over, we can have a sleepover like we used to,” she suggested.

“I’d love that,” she grinned, and as they walked back to the apartment, she had her arm slung around Denali’s shoulders, not passing up the first opportunity in years to keep her close. Even though it was an apartment she’d never been in before, the fact that it was Denali’s made it feel familiar.

Denali toed out of her shoes and set her purse down. “I have something for you,” she said suddenly, disappearing into her bedroom before Rosé to question her. She rifled through her closet, pulling out a box tucked away and grinning when she found the items she was looking for. It was still a risk, but this time she knew it was one worth taking. She took a deep breath, then rejoined Rosé in the living room. “I kept every mixtape you gave me, still listen to them sometimes,” she said, holding up the CD book in one hand.

“You did?” Rosé put her hand over her chest, beaming warmly. “Dee, that’s so sweet.”

She smiled, biting her lip and looking down, trying to fight away the nerves that crept back up. “I, um, I made you one too. I was going to give it to you after graduation but I chickened out,” she confessed as she handed the mixtape she had hidden among her possessions all these years to the woman she made it for. “I think the tracklist will explain why.”

Rosé’s lips parted in surprise as she gently took it from her. “To Rosie, with love,” she read the title before turning it over to see where Denali had written the songs in silver sharpie. And, sure enough, it was one love song after another, songs she knew well, that she knew the shorter woman spent her time carefully picking out each one. “Oh, Dee, this is beautiful. Honestly, I don’t know what I would’ve done if you gave it to me back then.”

Denali swallowed thickly. “I guess more importantly, what are you gonna do now?”

There was only a half-beat of silence before Rosé smirked, setting the disk on the dining room table before cupping Denali’s face and kissing her deeply, moving one hand from her face to wrap her arm around her body and pull her close. “I’ve always loved you, Denali. I’d just resigned myself to seeing you as the one that got away.”

Denali relaxed, arms looping around Rosé’s neck. “I’m not going anywhere.”

[bisexualcrowley]

Stole the Show Pt.3

Previous Chapter           Next Chapter

Pairing: Dominic “Sonny” Carisi x Fem! Reader

Chapter summary: Y/n takes Sonny home for a drink after a successful rehearsal, and things get a little heated

Content/warnings: Smut/nsfw content, some fluff? Cursing, mentions of drinking

Word count: 1,709

A/n: Finally updating this series hjsksjs, definitely because I spent ages revising and not at all because I’m procrastinating an essay

"Hey, Carisi! Why dont’cha come to my place for a drink! I just crushed every frickin’ song we did tonight, I feel like that’s cause for celebration!” Y/n grinned at her friend as they walked along a back hallway in the theater, leading Sonny to God-knows where, a voice in the back of his head chiding himself for not memorizing the theatre’s whole layout.

“I’d be down for that! Got nothing better to do, anyways” The taller detective grinned, giving Y/n a playful clap on the shoulder. “You did real good in there, doll”

“Hell yeah I did! I’ll meet you in the lobby in five minutes, just gotta grab my stuff. Oh also! Congratulations, Cannoli Boy, you’ve been granted the honor of carrying my bag”

Y/n shot back with a playful wink before turning on her heel and disappearing into a dressing room, leaving a dumbfounded Sonny laughing in the hallway.

“Cannoli boy?” He mumbled to himself with a grin as he walked back up the hall towards the theatre’s exit. He was thrilled to see how confident Y/n had become again; it had been years since she had seemed so genuinely happy about work.

Luckily for Sonny, the previously packed lobby has begun to clear out, leaving only a few stragglers who seemed too excited to want to leave the theatre remaining. The detective chuckled at the scene as he leaned casually against a wall waiting for his partner, the childish glee of a nearby group of theatre nerds bringing him a feeling of comfort he hadn’t expected from such a scene.

The wait wasn’t long before Y/n emerged from the back hallway with her duffel bag swinging heavily on her arm and a smile painting her face. Sonny broke into a grin as she sauntered over to him, doing a shockingly bad job at concealing the pride she felt from the night’s performance. 

In an oh-so-graceful way, Y/n shot her partner another wink before heavily shrugging the bag off her shoulder to land in his arms, Sonny catching it without a fumble.

“You’re a real charmer, y’know Y/n?” Sonny snickered as he tucked the bag under his arm, leading his partner out the door into the night. Had it been any other situation Y/n would have come up with some sly remark in response, but still riding the high from the night’s success she chose to just laugh it off, allowing her friend to call over a taxi for the two of them.

The ride passed quickly, Sonny repeatedly trying to hit a higher note in Mamma Mia and each time failing horrifically and sending even the driver into hysterics each time, and before they knew it, the pair had arrived at y/n’s apartment.

40 minutes and a half bottle of tequila later, y/n found herself sitting sideways on her chair and staring at her partner while he circled a finger over the rim of his empty glass. Was it what it's called, a chair? One person couch? Loveseat? She was tipsy enough for the word to be completely lost to her, the only thing worth focusing on in the moment was Carisi.

Sonny was lounging casually on what Y/n was sure actually was called a couch, his long legs slung up onto a coffee table as he rambled on about how fucking much he loved puppies.

Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was leftover adrenaline or maybe the alcohol was simply lessening her guilt towards being attracted to a coworker. Either way, for what felt like the millionth time since they had first met, Y/n found herself wondering how it would feel to have his lips crash desperately against her own, to have his perfect hands ghost over flushed skin, what it would be like to thread her fingers through his goddamn perfect hair

She felt a not-so-subtle twinge of arousal as her eyes met Sonny's again, his eyelids drooping lazily as he smiled towards his friend.

Fuck he had a gorgeous smile

“Want another?” Y/n questioned with a nod towards Sonny's empty glass, hoping to distract herself from her insistent thoughts of his fingers tracing along her neck, across her lips...

Wordlessly Sonny held out his glass, pulling Y/n out of her thoughts which were growing embarrassingly more inappropriate with each second that passed by. Absentmindedly she got to her feet, wandering over to the counter where the bottle of alcohol sat waiting, trying not to take notice to the slick feeling of her now soaked panties rubbing against her core with each step.

From behind her, Y/n heard Sonny get up, say something, but her continuous flow of filthy thoughts was a bit more than distracting. Planning to ask her friend to repeat whatever he had said, she left the bottle on the counter and turned on her heel towards him. 

Much to her surprise and no doubt Sonny’s as well, as she spun around to face him, the detective had gotten up from his seat and was reaching around her for the bottle himself, landing Y/n sandwiched between the cool marble of the countertop and the firm form of Sonny Carisi.

Had it been any other time, they would have laughed it off, ignored the ay their hearts fluttered at the close contact. Turns out they were just the perfect amount of tipsy to have completely forgotten their usual actions, leaving them frozen in that position.

Looking up at Sonny’s uncharacteristically shocked expression, Y/n bit her lip, hesitated momentarily before giving in to the wave of courage that had washed over her. “...Can I kiss you?” 

Blue eyes widened in surprise, narrowed as he tried to figure out if he had heard his partner correctly. He figured he must have missed something, tuned out some inside joke, but nodded hopefully anyways, and was immediately met by Y/n’s arms flying around his neck and her lips crashing against his.

Sonny retuned the kiss without hesitation, his own arms winding around her waist and tugging her hips against his. It didn’t take long for the two of them to start grasping at each other, one of Sonny’s hands snaking upwards, into her shirt to grasp at Y/n’s breast while she rocked her hips into his, grinding down on the rapidly growing bulge in his pants.

Y/n was sure her pants were as drenched as her panties by now as her hands flew upward to tug at Sonny’s hair, drawing a whine against her mouth from the taller figure.

“Holy shit, Sonny...” Y/n gasped when he pulled off her mouth, his chest heaving and lips swollen and she was sure she looked no better.

Far past the point of wanting foreplay, Y/n released her grip on Sonny’s hair so she could reach a hand between their heated bodies and roughly palm at his swollen erection, earning a choked moan and a thrust of his hips into her hand.

“Fuck, Y/n. Need you,” He hissed, stepping back to tug desperately at his belt. Y/n felt the same, suddenly unable to keep herself from him any longer. Frantic hands flew at the fastenings of her pants, kicking them off along with her panties as Sonny did the same beside her. 

The moment his aching cock was freed from his boxers Sonny threw himself at Y/n, pressing her back against the back of her couch and grinding his length against her inner thigh, the slick feeling of his pre-cum so close to her core making her eyes fall shut.

“Don’t be a fuckin’ tease Carisi” Y/n whined, fingers threading through his hair again and tightening when she opened her eyes again, being met with Sonny’s intense stare.

His eyes stayed locked with Y/n’s, breathlessly watching the little ways she squirmed with each glide of his cock along her clit, and when he finally pushed into her, inch by inch until he bottomed out, Y/n let out an animalistic howl, crying out at the sensation of her walls clenching around his girth.

“Y/n...” Her name fell from his lips as a desperate groan.

To her relief he took no time in working up a rhythm, slamming his hips into her own again and again until she was crying out with each thrust, moaning and whimpering as each drive of his cock into her aching cunt hit something deep inside.

His hips pistoned into her over and over, one hand clutching the back of the couch Y/n was pressed against and the other clasped on her thigh, no doubt leaving bruises while his cock slammed into her g-spot and left her gasping beneath him.

As Y/n let out another wanton moan, fingers slid downwards to press against her clit, and the slight amount of friction mixed with Sonny’s increasingly rough thrusts was exactly what she needed to push her over the edge, back arching and eyes clenching shut as she succumbed to the pleasure.

Y/n’s climax triggered his own, and with a wrecked moan Sonny came as hard as she had, crying out shamelessly against her chest. He continued thrusting, fucking his way through both their orgasms as his release began to drip down Y/n’s thighs, his muscles tensing under her when his body finally stilled. 

Completely and thoroughly fucked out, Y/n gathered her last remaining bits of strength and rolled over the back of the couch, collapsing on the pillowy cushions and dragging Sonny with her. Sonny, being a fair bit larger than Y/n landed quite unceremoniously on top of her, drawing an “oomph” from him and a worn out snicker from Y/n.

“Shhh, no talk, just shut up n’ sleep” Y/n mumbled against the taller figure’s neck. Sonny, too exhausted to put any effort into speaking did just as she said, and with the vague thought that tomorrow morning would be uncomfortable, Sonny drifted off to sleep, Y/n softly snoring beneath him with her legs tangled in his own.

[eilislaceys]

frances ‘frannie’ ferguson, 24, broadway star, f. pugh 

constance native / definitely got the shortest straw with her parents obsession with alliteration / probably was born anxious / the kid that stood at the window and cried because her parents were fifteen minutes later getting home from date night than usual and she was convinced they were dead in a ditch somewhere until she saw the sweep of headlights coming up the driveway / after consulting several parenting books and a few family therapy sessions, fran’s mom decided she needed an outlet / on the first day she was dropped off at summer day camp at the local theatre eight year old frannie was fully planning her eventual emancipation from her parents because then they’d be sorry / talking to strangers? acting and singing in front of everyone? no thank you / except that she loved it / it was a relief to pretend to me someone else for a bit, to leave the jangled mess of nerves and swirling pit of butterflies she felt in her stomach like all the time / summer day camp turned into joining the fall production of annie as molly / by the time high school came around, she had already seen wicked on broadway five times and was a full fledged theatre nerd / one who took everything about performing and the “craft” incredibly seriously / did a sanitized version of hair over the summer with the same theatre production during the summer of her sophomore year and lowkey tried to start an orgy at the cast party / quickly became the star of every school production and just as quickly sort of fell half in love with her “leading man” in every school production / but they were friends so it was fine, friends who were supposed to take on the big apple together after graduation only it didn’t quite work out like that / she ended up booking a job as part of the ensemble in a big show and then it just spiralled from there / frannie was so busy with her star taking off she didn’t quite realize what she was leaving behind / just came off her first leading role in a musical adaptation of the breakfast club  / eight shows a week have left her shattered / and it’s kind of sobering to see that the thing she spent all of her life wanting isn’t necessarily everything she imagined it would be / her agent kind of wants to strangle her when frannie says she needs a break and holes up at her parents house / brings us to right now where you can find her sleeping until noon every day, watching daytime tv and haunting the local production of mamma mia like a specter. 

needs: issie and i need fellow horny drama nerds that would’ve been a clique in high school, pls and thank you. other childhood friends that she kind of peaced out on, maybe they’re happy to have her back, maybe they’re peeved at her, we can figure it out! maybe some more fergusons? a guy she dated in high school and broke up with when he called the phantom of the opera a pervert. 

julia abrams, 21, philosophy major & waitress, d.silvers

chicago native / no tragic backstory to speak of / just born to a single mom too young to have really known what she was doing and a penchant for the love ‘em and leave ‘em type of guys / named after the beatles song / seashell eyes, windy smile / a magnet for kind eyed teachers who would ask her to stay after school so they could discreetly push a new-to-her coat into her arms or a pair of winter boots when julia’s were close to falling apart / afternoons and weekends spent at the little deli where her mom waited tables where the old man regulars would quiz her on the stages of mitosis and symbolism in hemmingway / ‘you’re so smart, baby. you’re going to have everything you want’ / a little sister born when julia’s in her junior year - she’s tiny and perfect and her father is a total fucking asshole / which makes it all the harder to leave but there’s rejection letters and exorbitant tuition and then like a miracle (or a curse)  a renewable scholarship from a small college in new york state / bought into the myth that she’d find her tribe in university but her closest friend is probably the guy who sells hot dogs outside of the student union building / disguises her loneliness and homesickness with being busy twenty-four seven / wine and cheese mixers, open mic nights, protests and rallies, the occasional frat party is she’s really desperate and always always studying her brains out at the library / can come across as brash or rough around the edges but she’s deceptively soft / facetime dates every saturday morning with her little sister / disaster bisexual / doesn’t really know how to dress herself, would live in a hoodie and leggings if she could / will never stop trashtalking new york pizza. 

needs: me: i want to plot with everyone! also me: says my character’s best friend is the guy who sells hotdogs. okay i really do want julia to have people! because people need people! please give her a group of friends where she’s like ‘they just pity me’ but they’re like ‘julia stop being an anti-social hoe, we are indeed best friends’ and they drag her out to fun events and stop her from withdrawing into herself which she is prone to do. she could use some awkward hook-ups. please give her a grody dude to make her hot, bratty roommate unintentionally jealous or something. a stupid rivalry or nemesis based on them stealing her favorite table at the library and doing some egregious like eating baby carrots in the quiet study area!!! anything and everything please! 

[hholyholland]

Protected | Harrison Osterfield

requested by @summernykole

"Hi! I don't know if you have like a specific list of things you like people to request or not, but I was wondering if you could write one where the reader is dating Haz, and they all (Haz, Tom, Sam, Harry) go with you to see your family and just hang out and the reader runs into her emotionally abusive ex boyfriend and when she says his name they all get protective because she's told them about him? Sorry if this is confusing, your writing is awesome. Okay, bye 0.0"

word count: 1.5k

warnings: cussing, mentions of abuse, fluff?

note: I really hope you like it, I don't like the ending bc I didn't know how to end it, but enjoy :)

REQUESTS: OPEN

It wasn't supposed to be a group visit but, somehow the Holland boys heard that you and Harrison were gonna take a trip to your family's home in Kingston, so they decided to tag along. Last minute.

“Haz can you get that?” You called out to your boyfriend as you tied your laces together. He responded with a, 'mhm’ and went to the door.

When he opened it, he was surprised to see Tom, Sam and Harry standing there with suitcases at their sides.

“Uhh, what're you guys doing here?” Harrison asked the boys who had wide smiles across their faces.

“We heard that you and Y/N were going to Kingston and we wanted to come so here we are!” Harry walked in first, the other two boys following.

“Harrison who was at the- oh.” You stopped when you saw three boys sat on your couch, suitcases next to one another. “Please don't tell me you guys are coming with.”

“They're coming Y/N.” Harrison sighed, you sighed as well.

“How'd you guys even find out we were going? Do you even have train tickets?”

“Harrison was talking about it, and yes we bought tickets. Like, yesterday.” Tom spoke, you looked at him and rolled your eyes.

“Well then someone order the Uber, cause we gotta go.” You turned around and walked to your room, grabbing your suitcase along with Haz's.

The train ride wasn't too long, the three Holland boys fell asleep on the train, you and Harrison just watched videos on YouTube.

Soon the train stopped and you woke the boys up, Harrison taking the bags. The five of you got off the train and you ordered an Uber, since your parents car wouldn't be able to fit all of you.

You leaned into your boyfriend, wrapping your arms around him as you waited in the cold weather.

“I'm tired.” You mumbled closing your eyes, Harrison rubbed a hand up and down your back telling you the two of you can take a nap once home.

“So I'm guessing that you divs didn't book a hotel and you'll be staying in my house.” The three of them nodded, “You're lucky we have spare rooms.”

Your Uber arrived and the bags were placed in the back, Tom sat in the front, Sam and Harry all the way in the back, then you and Haz.

The ride wasn't long which you were grateful for, you just wanted to get home.

Your parents home came into view and you smiled, buzzing to get out of the car. As soon as the vehicle stopped, you thanked the driver and hopped out of the car.

Your parents stood there in the front yard with open arms and you ran into them, you hadn't seen them for six months, your schedule had been so hectic.

“I missed you guys.” You sighed hugging both of them at once, “And I hope you guys don't mind that the boys came along.”

“Of course not Y/N.” Your mother smiled turning her attention to the four boys making their way towards you and your parents.

Your parents greeted everyone and congratulated Tom for finishing Spider-Man: Far From Home, and Harrison for his role in Vent.

It was only 11 am, so you still had a full day ahead of you, but you were tired and just wanted to take that nap Harrison talked about.

“Don't do anything up there you hear?” Your dad joked as you made your way up the stairs.

“Dad!”

You showed the boys their rooms before disappearing into yours with Harrison.

…

You had been enjoying your time with your parents and the boys, at first you were a bit annoyed that they tagged along last minute, but now you were glad they did.

You were all sat in your living room watching Mamma Mia, you had seen it twice already with Harrison. Your mother had provided the group with drinks and snacks, she kept offering things and you all had to tell her to just sit down and watch the movie.

“For dinner why don't we go to TGIF's?” You dad suggested as the movie ended, you looked at the time and it was ten past five.

“But it's Tuesday.” Sam joked, Harry hit him in the shoulder for his awful joke causing Sam to hit his brother back.

“Yeah sure.” Harrison nodded, you nodded as well and got up to go get ready.

“Right, everyone try to be ready by 5:40 please!” Your mother called out as everyone retreated to their rooms.

You touched up your makeup and straightened your hair, Harrison just fixed his hair and got dressed into nicer clothes. He filmed you getting ready and you looked at him from the mirror smiling and telling him to stop, which he did.

You got dressed, not caring if Harrison was watching since he's seen it all before. You threw on your 'poopy’ jacket on and turned around to be met with Harrison, “you look beautiful love.”

You smiled and looked up at the blue eyed boy, you grabbed his jaw and kissed him, his hands immediately flew to your hips.

“Okay love birds let's go!” Harry hit your door and the two of you pulled away, you rolled your eyes and grabbed your things before heading down stairs.

An Uber had already been called for you guys since you wouldn't fit in your parents car.

“We'll meet you there.” You told your parents before heading out the door and into your Uber with the boys, your parents taking the car.

You all got to the restaurant quickly, beating your parents there so you just got a table ready sending your parents a text that you got a table.

Your parents soon arrived and sat down across from you and your boyfriend, you guys ordered drinks, appetizers, food, and dessert cause why not?

You all split the check, the twins paying the smallest amount for obvious reasons.

Your parents decided to go home, but the rest of you decided to to the shopping centre that also had a theatre. Once again, an Uber was called and you made your way to centre.

You guys walked around for a bit, the centre was lit up with fairy lights and decor for the holidays. A couple shops were open, but some were starting to close for the night.

“What movie are we gonna watch?” Sam asked walking backwards to look at the group.

“We'll decide when we get there, cause I have no idea what's in right now.” Harrison told him and he nodded walking the right way.

You were all approaching the cinema when you heard a voice call out your name, you turned around and instantly froze up, your chest tightened and you felt sick to your stomach.

You reached back to grab Harrison and stepped back into him, everyone stopped confused as to who this man was approaching.

Before you can say anything to Harrison, your abusive ex boyfriend was standing in front of you.

It was never physical but the things he said to you destroyed your self confidence, he taunted you, always called you names, whenever you were ready to go out he would make you feel like shit, he messed with your head. It was verbal abuse.

“Y/N hey.” He seemed so casual, as if you two were friends, but you were far from that. You backed into Harrison more, squeezing his hand.

“What are you not gonna say hi back? That's a bit rude.”

You harshly swallowed before speaking up, “Alec, what're you doing here?”

As the name fell from your lips, Harrison and the boys immediately stepped forward.

“Mate, I would suggest that you walk away right now.” Harrison spoke, you stepped back a bit not wanting to be around him.

“And who the hell are you?” Alec looked at Haz, you tugged on his arm trying to get him to just walk away.

“Haz please, let's just go.”

“That's someone that truly cares about Y/N, and would never hurt her.” Tom spoke up, your ex scoffed.

“I cared about her-”

“No you didn't! You verbally abused her, and if you think that's caring for someone then that's fucked mate.” Harry practically yelled.

“Okay” was all he said.

Harrison turned around to look at you, your eyes were glossy and you were scared. You hadn't seen him for years, and here he was, it was so hard for you to leave him, and when you did it was hard to trust people.

Harrison grabbed you and pulled you into his chest, walking away from everyone.

“You had some nerve to come up to her.” Sam spat before walking away with his brothers.

Your head was hidden in Harrison's chest, he ran a hand through your hair knowing it calms you down, he rocked you side to side, whispering things into your ear to make you feel better.

“I love you Y/N.” Haz whispered into your hair, you sniffled mumbling an 'I love you too’ to your boyfriend.

You guys headed home and your parents were confused when they saw you guys back home so early, but instead of telling them anything you ran up the stairs and into your room. Tom would tell them what happened.

Haz followed in behind you and shut the door, watching you as you took off your shoes and jacket, then seating yourself at the vanity.

You took off your makeup and looked at Harrison who looked at you with those pretty blue eyes.

“Thank you Haz.”

[kumeko]

elevator pitches

Character/Pairing: Kaoru/Kyoya, Tamaki/Kyoya, Haruhi/Kyoya

A/N: Written for the @ohshc-music-room3-zine. Somehow Kyoya ended up being the centerpiece for the fic. You should check out the beautiful artwork that went with my piece.

Summary: Kaoru the rookie detective. Haruhi the upcoming lawyer. Tamaki the procrastinating student. Kyoya’s story interweaved with the others, connecting him whether he liked it or not.

...

...

...

...

I. The Detective

The room was a mess. No, that was an understatement. The room was a disaster zone.

Kaoru shifted the box of papers in his arms as he searched for an empty space to deposit his load. Every free inch of space was occupied with stacks upon stacks of papers and evidence scattered throughout the room. Even the floor was not immune to the mess and he almost danced his way to the table. The place no longer resembled a meeting room in the least.

“Where should I put this?” he finally asked, giving up after a frantic scan revealed there really were no clear spots.

His partner pointed to a box on his left without looking up from the paper he was reading. “On top of that.”

Even his voice was distant and commanding. Kaoru held back a sigh; he had heard that Kyoya was a hard detective to work with but he hadn’t realized just what that meant till now. They’ve been partners for almost a week now and he could count the number of times they had a proper talk on one hand. Kyoya had indicated a tower of boxes, which swayed precariously as Kaoru placed his box atop of it all. Carefully, he adjusted the column to prevent it from toppling. “Anything I should do?”

“Your job,” was the only cutting remark given and really, Kyoya had no intention of helping a rookie out at all. Kaoru bit back a sharp retort; it wouldn’t help him to get the ace detective angry.

Maybe he could go out with Hikaru later and get some drinks. Some strong, stiff drinks.

In the meantime, he might as well see if there was anything left to do. Maneuvering slowly through the room, he started to examine the evidence around him. There were research papers and photographs and something that looked suspiciously like a tutu. Small sticky notes stuck out between pages and perhaps there was more order to this madness than he thought. Even the witness statements were organized in order of most relevant to least.

His partner wasn’t big on social niceties but he was very meticulous. The kind of guy who only paid attention to results. Kaoru could work with that; he had long since learned how to play others like a fiddle and it wouldn’t be too hard to find what makes Kyoya tick. From the documents Kaoru had to recently collect, the majority of them were on the old heritage section of the city. Several old apartments, a theatre, and a series of museums were at the heart of that district. The crime scene was nowhere close to any of those places, but if he overlaid the subway system over the city map, the theatre made a good hideout. With that in mind, he started to gather the witness statements from the theatre troupe and their schedules and performance dates.

He’d gather all of the data and Kyoya would not only be surprised but also impressed. He’d show he was more than a rookie and that he should be taken seriously and—

Kyoya’s voice cut through his thoughts. “Is that Dancing Queen?”

Kaoru snapped his attention towards Kyoya, who was finally looking up from his papers. His glasses were slightly askew, just waiting to be adjusted. A moment of processing and Kaoru used his top-grade detective skills to very articulately answer, “Huh?”

“You were humming,” Kyoya clarified, more patient than he expected.

Kaoru blinked, unconsciously touching his lips. Had he been? Shaking himself out of his stupor, he nodded. “The theatre was performing Mamma Mia the week of the crime.”

“The theatre?” Kyoya lowered his gaze, noticing the documents in Kaoru’s hands. “Why were you looking into them?”

“You’re looking at the old heritage sights and the theatre aligns best with a subway getaway,” Kaoru explained, setting the stack in front of his partner. “I grabbed all of the witness statements and their schedules.”

Silence. All that got him was silence and he started to second guess his actions. He remembered the order to the stacks, the tabbed notes and sticky notes. Maybe he shouldn’t have messed with the system. Hell, maybe he had guessed wrong entirely.

“I’ll put it—”

A hand stopped him from picking up the stack again. “No, it’s fine.” Kyoya was looking at him now, scrutinizing him. There was something deliberate about the way he stared, in how he formed his words. “Kaoru, was it?”

His hand was warm where they touched and he could only nod, not trusting his voice.

“Decent work for your experience level.” Kyoya’s eyes never left his, even as he let go of him and reached for the papers. He was searching for something and Kaoru straightened his back, hoping not to leave him wanting. “I wasn’t expecting you to figure that out.”

Praise? Kaoru stared at Kyoya but the man merely started to flip through the papers, already focused on the next stage of the investigation.  His hand was long gone but he could still feel the intensity of his gaze, the heat of his skin. He took back everything he said earlier—he might know how to manipulate others, but this man was a master at it.

Still, he was never one to back down from a challenge, even if he should. Pulling out one of the witness statements, he started to examine it carefully, noting down any clues he found.

Maybe he’d find the criminal before Kyoya. Imagine his surprised face then.

-x-

II. The Businessman

 Haruhi pushed the down button. Rolling her shoulders, she looked around the elevator lobby. There was an extravagant feel to it, just like the rest of the building. One side was stained glass doors leading to her employer’s office. On the other, a giant window with a view of the city. A pair of white armchairs with a table between were positioned next to the seat with a complimentary champagne bottle and glasses.

 She could not understand the rich. It was a waste of money since she’d seen that bottle get replaced almost hourly depending on the clientele. At the least the view was great.

 “Haruhi.”

The voice surprised her and Haruhi snapped her attention back to the office doors, or rather to the man coming out of the doors. It seemed Kyoya did sleep after all.

“Of course I do,” he replied in a deadpan voice. Whoops, she had said that aloud.

Logically, despite being a department head and favourite to be the next CEO, Kyoya was human. And humans did require sleep and food. Looking him over quickly, she noticed that his shirt’s top button was open and his tie loose.

“So even you can relax,” she added and perhaps she shouldn’t have said that one out loud either. Her law teachers had told her once that while her honest streak was admirable, it was a hindrance in the court.

More importantly, a hindrance in life.

He stared at her, mild curiosity painted across his face. “Should a lawyer really say that to their client?”

“Perhaps not,” she admitted, shrugging. The elevator floor number slowly increased. It would not save her from this conversation or anything she said. “But you aren’t retaining me. The company is.”

His brow raised a fraction before his expression settled into a small smirk. “True, but I do have some say on who we employ.”

Haruhi bit her cheek and looked away. Now she was playing with fire and since this was her first job after law school, she wasn’t keen on losing it so quickly. Quietly, she murmured, “Right.”

“I’ve never seen anyone make so many blunders in a single conversation before. And it’s been,” Kyoya’s gaze flickered to his watch. “Only two minutes since we started talking.”

She wasn’t quite sure if he wanted an apology or not. The amused look in his eyes said otherwise, even if his words were cutting. “Two minutes is a long time—the elevator hasn’t even made it to our floor.”

“Were you timing the elevator?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Just since you—”

 Luckily, the elevator dinged as its doors opened, interrupting her before she could finish, and she gratefully stepped inside. Only to have him follow immediately after. Any awkwardness they had outside was compounded by the small room. He neatly settled in next to her, barely a hair length away. Kyoya pressed the button for the fifth floor and she looked at him, impressed. “And I thought I had no life.”

He raised an eyebrow and she resisted the urge to cover her mouth. Playing with fire. Right. She really needed to learn control. Fortunately, he left it alone with a single snipe. “I suppose you don’t.”

 There was little she could say against that.

 After a moment he added,“Considering our latest lawsuit, I need to double check our records.”

“Oh. I should join you then.” Haruhi suppressed a sigh; there went her chance to finally get home at a reasonable time. She didn’t have to look at her wristwatch to know it was past eight. “There were a few things I wanted to check.”

“A hard worker, huh?” Kyoya shifted slightly, his gaze inscrutable. “I was right to hire you.”

That surprised her. “You were part of the—” Her stomach grumbled and Haruhi flushed a deep red. She stared steadfast at the door. “Ignore that.”

“Was that—”

“Don’t ask,” she repeated forcefully.

 From the corner of her eye, she could see the bastard repressing a laugh. It seemed every part of her was honest, even her stomach. Maybe the other lawyers were right.

“I guess it is dinner time.” Kyoya pulled out his phone, typing out a text.  “I’ll have something delivered.”

She rummaged through her purse. “I should have some cash on me.”

Still focused on his phone, he dismissed the idea entirely. “Not needed.”

“I can pay for my share.”

“You’re not staying. I’m not paying the extra hours.” Kyoya glanced at her. “Besides, you’ll burn yourself out if you keep staying so late.”

Haruhi stared at him. The elevator music filled the silence, the sound of Dancing Queen softly filling the room. The cheerful song did little to alleviate the tension.

Turning back to his phone, he amended, “It’s a little late in the case to hire a new lawyer.”

The clarification sounded about right. Deflated, she looked back to the doors. “I think you’ll overwork yourself first.”

“Not a chance.” Kyoya straightened his collar and closed his top button. While soft, his voice was firm and adamant. “Not at this stage.”

Ambition. She had expected the goal but not quite the passion behind it. Then again, considering how often she saw his office light on after hours, maybe she should have expected it. People never pushed that hard without something fueling them on.

“Famous last words,” she muttered and he scoffed. It wasn’t quite a laugh but it spooked her all the same.

“Do you think so?” He turned to her and she stared, transfixed. There was something predatory in his gaze, in his smile. A thousand deals were closed on this expression alone. “Want to make a bet?”

Haruhi swallowed. She had seen enough people fail against him to know her chances of victory. “I…”

The elevator dinged all too soon and Kyoya stepped forward. His hand brushed against hers as he passed. “Maybe next time then.”

“Yeah.” Oddly enough, she looked forward to it.

-x-

III. The Student

 “Stop.” Kyoya looked up from the textbook, shooting Tamaki a glare. He had agreed to bring out the kotatsu for a single reason: he’d be left alone long enough to finish studying for his entrance exams.

Usually, that was a non-issue. The second the kotatsu was out, Tamaki would burrow into it and promptly lose the will to do anything else. For once, the idiot’s lunacy surpassed the kotatsu’s powers, leading him to narrate a series of stories. A series of stories that, for some reason, involved Kyoya.  

 “Huh?” Tamaki cocked his head, confused. “Why?”

 Kyoya rubbed his brow. Only the idiot could stare at all the textbooks and ask that question. “I’m studying. What are you doing?”

“I’m helping you study!” Tamaki beamed from across the table, his chin on his hands. Every part of him was vibrating and he seemed to dance as he leaned left and right repeatedly. “These are potential 'what-ifs’! Think of the future you could have!”

“The future I could have?” Kyoya repeated, not following his thought process.

“Well, once you’re in university you can become anything, right? And meet new people. So you could be a cop or you could take over your father’s hospital or—” Tamaki rattled off implausible scenario after implausible scenario.

Honestly, he should have expected this. At least he stopped him after that second story, the laundry list of clichés was getting tiresome. Closing his book, he gave his friend a deadpan stare. “I already know Haruhi and Kaoru.”

“Well, I’m using them as stand-ins. It could be anyone else.” Undeterred, Tamaki reached for an orange on the table and slowly peeled it. “It’s just possibilities.”

“The romance scenarios?” he prodded, calculating exactly what damages Tamaki would owe him. Should he punish him? Not that it would stop Tamaki from pulling this again. Nothing could really stop him when he went wild.

“Well, everyone likes a good romance story.” Tamaki said dramatically before he hugged himself, flinging his head back as he plopped on the ground. “The drama, the love, how it moves the soul!” His hand reached for the ceiling.

Kyoya sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. The punishment it was then. “And if Haruhi or Kaoru heard that?”

Tamaki froze. He stared up at the ceiling for a long moment, barely blinking, before sitting up. He leaned forward. Quietly, “Don’t tell them.”

“Is that an order?” Kyoya raised a brow and Tamaki balked.

“Please don’t tell them?” He rested his chin on the table, staring at him imploringly. His eyes were wide and watery and Kyoya could sense a headache coming up. A hand reached out to grip his. “I’ll do anything.”

Kyoya stared at Tamaki’s hand before sighing and relenting. Gripping it back, he gave him a stern look. “Then these stories will...?”

“Immediately stop, I promise.” Tamaki shook his head quickly. Beaming, he withdrew and split his peeled orange. Plopping a slice in his mouth, he moaned happily. “The best food for a kotatsu. Want one?”

“Pass.” Kyoya opened his book once more. There were only a few hours left in the day and he really wanted to get to the fifth chapter before bedtime. Before he could read more than a few lines, an orange slice was waved in front of his mouth.

“Just one?” Tamaki offered.

It was sometimes easier to just accept it than to fight it. Relenting, he opened his mouth. Tamaki’s smile broadened. As promised, he returned back to his own interests, creating small flowers out of the peels. Under his breath, he hummed softly. A familiar song Kyoya had heard three times today now.

“That song... you really like it, don’t you?” Kyoya commented offhandedly as he skimmed a page.

Under the kotatsu, Tamaki’s feet started to dance. Every part of him bobbed to an invisible beat. He cocked his head. “What makes you say that?”

Of course the idiot wouldn’t notice. “It was in every one of your stories.”

“Ohhh! You’re like a detective! And you were paying attention!” Tamaki glowed. If it were possible to bounce while sitting, he did so. “Oh, what if you were a detective and Mori was your assistant—”

“Tamaki.”

“Right, right, I promised.” He went back to eating, still humming the tune. “I’ll keep quiet, like a spy.”

Kyoya sighed and started to count down to next outburst. It was impossible to stop Tamaki when he was into something. Still, he hadn’t delivered his punishment. Offhandedly, he casually added, “We are not going to see Mamma Mia.”

 Tamaki froze, his humming instantly cut off. Pale, he opened and closed his mouth silently.

 Ah, if he knew that was what it took, Kyoya would have said it hours ago.

[bethhxrmon]

All I Ask of You Pt. 27

“Let me be your freedom, let daylight dry your tears, I’m here, with you, beside you” - “All I Ask of You” from The Phantom of the Opera

Pairing: Peter Parker x Female OC

Word Count: 2.8k

Summary: Some more road tripping!!!

Warnings: Cussing, some slight emotional stuff, the norm

A/N: Heyyyyy, I hope you guys are enjoying this, as always feel free to tell me what you think. And you can find the masterlist for the series in my bio!

“Can we please, please, please listen to a musical? Just one, the whole way there, I won’t ask again,” Annie begged.

“Nope. Driver gets to pick the music,” Tony replied as they continued down the interstate.

After a decent continental breakfast, they were all back on the road. It took Annie sitting though the same classic rock playlist halfway across Wyoming before she said anything. Which, in reality, had been pretty impressive given it had been the same playlist as the day before.

“Come on, just one? I told my parents it was a theatre camp,” Annie pointed out.

Tony sighed, “And we aren’t even there yet.”

While Annie hadn’t said anything, that didn’t mean the argument was over. Though, it did take her a few moments to formulate a decent plan. It wasn’t that the songs were bad, but she’d heard them more than enough times and the same forty songs was starting to become more and more apparent to her every single time. Didn’t that guy have a different playlist to listen to?

That wasn’t the point, though. The point was that she knew the songs and that she was almost positive that the others knew the songs just as well. What was about to happen was either her dumbest idea or most brilliant. If nothing else, it would give everyone something to do aside from staring at miles and miles of yellow grass and the occasional cow or horse.

She nudged Peter who was starting to doze off again, “What’s that about?”

“If I do something kinda crazy but kinda fun… would you go along with it?” Annie asked.

He nodded slowly, “Yeah, why?”

“‘Cause I’m gonna do something kinda crazy but kinda fun. And if I’m the only one I’ll look like a dumbass, but if everyone joins in then I’m making a point,” she explained.

Peter raised an eyebrow, “And I can’t know ‘cause why?”

“It wouldn’t be as spontaneous.”

Right as the next song came on, Annie started to sing as loudly as she could to the music. She looked over at Peter, hoping that he would catch on. Soon enough they were both singing and Harper and Ned were quick to join in. All of them belting out and not caring about whether or not they were off key. They all tried singing all the parts including the instrumental riffs.

And when Tony didn’t appear to bat an eye at any of them, they all continued singing. Though, Annie was starting to be obnoxious on purpose. It didn’t matter if anyone them had already known the songs beforehand, they had played enough during the trip for any of them to at least know the chorus.

“Are you guys done yet?” Tony asked, finally deciding to say something.

Annie shrugged, “Depends on if we can listen to something else. Otherwise, we’re just getting started, Sir!”

“Okay, will you guys settle down if I change the songs?” Tony asked, starting to sound more exasperated than angry.

After all of them arguing and trying to deliberate over what to listen to, they had gotten nowhere. Annie thought it would have been easy to get everyone to just agree to listen to a musical and then relax and enjoy the open road ahead. Only, it seemed everyone else had other ideas.

“We’re not listening to The Last Five Years, that makes you cry without fail. We should just listen to some nighties alt-rock and call it a day,” Harper insisted.

Tony could still be heard, occasionally putting in his two-cents, “I’m with them.”

“Oh come on! Seussical then?” Annie asked.

Harper shook their head, “Nope. Also makes you cry without fail. This isn’t ‘let’s contribute to Annie’s daily mental breakdown hour’.”

“What if we listened to disco? I think that’d be pretty cool. I mean, it includes a bit of everything, right?” Peter asked, looking between everyone.

Annie raised an eyebrow, “What decent musical came from the disco era?”

“Mamma Mia! You taught me about that one,” Peter pointed out.

Ned had dropped out of the conversation a few minutes ago, and he seemed rather immersed in his phone. What he was doing wasn’t being paid attention to. It was really just Annie and Harper doing most of the debating.

Ned’s head suddenly shot up, “Got it! Hey, Mr. Stark, I’m gonna sync my phone with the car. I got the perfect playlist.”

“Um… except you literally didn’t say anything for most of this,” Harper pointed out, crossing their arms.

Ned grinned, “Except I was listening. I got a little bit of everything. I know what Peter likes, and I think I know which things Annie likes that doesn’t make her cry, and then there was you. You said nighties alt-rock. Which, incidentally is exactly what I listen to all the time. It’s all covered.”

Harper nodded slowly, “Alright, you’re one of those smart and silent types. I can appreciate that.”

“Also, can I just put this out there? Literally anything could make me cry right now. Because, ya know, those daily mental breakdowns,” Annie said, leaning back in her seat.

Pepper, who had been quiet for most of the drive that day, turned around, “You should get mental help for that.”

“Maybe later. You need parental consent for that, don’t you?” Annie asked.

Pepper nodded, “I’m sure they’d be willing to get you help.”

“Except they don’t know what I’d need help for. That’s kind of the real kicker there. They don’t know about the whole powers deal,” she admitted, opening her book again.

Everything settled down and went back to normal with Annie positioned to use Peter as a pillow. She focused on her book and occasionally on the rolling hills of yellow grass. It seemed like everything had settled down. Minus Harper and Ned constantly sounding like they were in a constant debate about something Annie couldn’t quite make out.

That was, until they both started to get louder about the subject that had them both so talkative.

“I’m way more help. Like, if it wasn’t for me, Annie wouldn't even have a suit!” Harper exclaimed.

Ned shook his head, “But you’re not the one who can hack a suit.”

“Don’t gotta hack something if I was the one who made it. Besides, hacking a suit sounds like something you shouldn’t have done. But what do I know? I’m just a college student,” Harper responded nonchalantly.

“Hacking that suit was one of the dumbest things you guys did, for the record,” Tony interjected, trying to stare down Peter and Ned at the same time through the mirror.

Annie smirked, “As if you wouldn’t have hacked a suit for your all-time best friend.”

“Would’ve been a hell of a time. Lots of googling, probably would get arrested, but I wouldn’t have done it for you last year,” Harper admitted.

She nodded slowly, “Fair enough. I was a serious bitch at that point.”

“Okay, how bad were you? Because you keep talking about how awful you are and I’m not seeing it,” Peter said, sitting up so he could get in on the debate.

Harper smirked, “That’s ‘cause you’re in love with her.”

“N-no, we just started dating… th-that’d be weird,” Peter stammered, his face going red.

They shook their head, “Nah, you both got it bad. And I know about Annie’s side of the story. Ned, what do you say?”

“Definitely agree. But also, I’d say aside from being pushy, you’re not that bad,” Ned replied.

Harper laughed, “You really didn’t tell them about anything, did you?”

“Well, you see, it wasn’t necessary. And there was, like, that one time I said I was worse than Flash… but that was also before he tried beating the shit out of Peter. Now, I was never that bad,” Annie explained.

Tony nearly hit the brakes on the car in the middle of the highway, “Who tried beating the shit out of Peter?”

Annie pretended like she hadn’t seen Peter shake his head, “Well, you see, Ned was sick and Flash was being a jerk about Peter being the lead in the musical. And I didn’t know he was trans at the time, but then Flash outed him and tried to beat him up. And, well, I couldn’t do a whole lot. I didn’t wanna electrocute the dude, but I was close.”

“Pete, why didn’t you tell me?” Tony asked.

He shrugged, sinking back into his seat, “Never mentioned it… um… besides, Annie took care of it.”

“You’re telling me you could’ve gotten Tony Stark on that dude and you didn’t?!” Harper exclaimed, facepalming.

Peter huffed, “This wasn’t about me, this was about Annie.”

“Way to throw me under the bus, Pete,” Annie replied with a teasing smirk, “Anyways, you guys know how I was at a performing arts school, right? So, the fall production was The Sound of Music and I was the understudy for Liesel. Which was great, except the girl who played Liesel was actually the worst-”

“Because you have room to talk?” Harper asked.

Annie rolled her eyes, “Anyways, like I was saying, that girl was kinda mean and I wasn’t gonna take that. So I sabotaged her dressing room by electrocuting one of the electrical sockets. It basically ruined the room and that girl was convinced she’d been messed with, but there was no proof, ya know, because I used my powers that no one knew about. And she left so I ended up getting the part.”

“And this is where things get great,” Harper commented.

She sighed, “Okay, I get it, I did some stuff. Anyways, you guys’ve seen Mean Girls, right?”

Peter and Ned nodded.

“Okay, then you might see where this is headed. So the girl who I replaced in the show was basically the Gretchen of the group, right? And I ended up swooping in and replacing her in her own friend group. Which was great… I mean, not great, probably sucked for her. And I kinda did half of this for some kinda cute guy… um… I’ll get into that later. But I think that explains enough already,” she explained.

Peter looked at Annie, “You’re joking, right?”

“Nah, I mean, if we’re being real here, I caused the fire because that Darren guy was trying to kill me and Tina. So… I mean, I did the first thing I could think of, and there was a different problem. Except I wasn’t expecting to be blown back and… um, yeah, I think I’m done,” Annie trailed off, looking down at her hands.

Harper smiled a little, “Hey, that whole blowing up the room thing was still pretty damn iconic.”

“And arson. By all rights I should turn you in,” Tony called back.

Annie grimaced, “Yeah, maybe so, but then you’d wanna turn Peter and Ned over here if half of what Peter told me about trying to fight that vulture dude.”

“Touche,” Tony replied.

Pepper sighed, “He was only joking. If we thought you guys were gonna run around blowing things up for no reason, I don’t think he’d be driving you kids around for this long.”

Once again, the drive settled down, even though there hadn’t been a definitive answer to whether Harper or Ned was the better superhero assistant. A topic which would probably would never get answered.

Eventually it got late and Tony pulled off at Wendover, a small town right between Utah and Nevada. It was fine for everything except for the fact that everyone’s phones were an hour off from each other. They were right on the line for where the time change was.

It made for some fun conversations later in the night when Annie was sprawled out on her bed, completely immersed in her book. Whereas Harper had been trying to get some sleep for the last fifteen minutes.

Harper eventually turned off the lights, only for Annie to use her powers to turn it back on without batting an eye. She heard Harper grumbling as they reached out to turn off the light. Annie only turned it back on. The process continued a few more times.

“Look, I know you’re going all insomniac on me, but I need sleep. It’s midnight,” Harper whined.

Annie looked at her phone, “Nah, it’s only eleven.”

“Not according to the clock right here. Now either leave the room or go to bed,” they grumbled before turning out the light.

Annie sighed a little bit. She wasn’t in any mood to get out of the room. Her hair was tied up in a messy bun, and when she looked at herself in the mirror earlier, she had serious bags under her eyes. How in the world Peter hadn’t said anything about her, she had no idea. Not to mention that she hadn’t changed her leggings or her sweatshirt that advertised her old school’s theatre program. She wasn’t planning on it either, but still she knew that she wasn’t going to get to sleep anytime soon.

After getting into her slippers, Annie grabbed her book and the key before seeing her phone had a text notification.

Spidey: Fifth floor, vending machines

Annie saw that the message was from five minutes before. She tried to wrack her brain to figure out what Peter wanted. It could have been anything. Something from him wanting to get a midnight snack together to needing something to talk about.

Still, Annie got into the elevator, pressing on the five and waited for the elevator to do its job. After a few seconds, Annie was there and it was just a matter of finding the vending machines and Peter. Thankfully, there were a few signs and Annie saw one pointing to where the vending machines were.

That was when she saw Peter pacing around the hallway and his eyes were darting all over the place. After a few seconds, he saw Annie and ran right to her, wrapping his arms around her tightly. She dropped the book, hearing the thick paperback hit the carpet with a soft thud so she could hug him.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Annie asked, hearing his ragged breathing.

Peter pulled back a little, looking at her with his eyes full of tears, “I-I… I was tryna sleep a-a-a-and I did a-a-a-a-a-a-a-and th-the building… it fell a-and I-I couldn’t br-br-”

“Hey, it’s okay, you’re okay, no buildings are falling. You’re alright, Peter, it’s okay. Do you wanna sit down?” she asked, picking up her book and leading the way to the stairwell.

Peter nodded, following Annie through the door to get to the stairs. Annie sat down on one of the landings and Peter sat next to her, laying his head in her lap. She frowned a little, gently running her fingers through his hair. The last time she had seen him so shaky and scared was when Flash had hurt him.

Annie bit her lip, trying to think of what to say, “Do you wanna talk about it?”

“Y-yeah, ya know how I’ve told you about Vulture?” Peter asked.

She nodded slowly, “Yeah, what about it?”

“Well, I-I didn’t tell you about what he did… that night I really fought with him and stuff. H-he used one of his weapons to make his warehouse collapse and it fell on me… all of it. If I didn’t have powers, I woulda died… a-and it’s less of a thing now, but every once in awhile… well I dream about it. S-sorry, you were probably asleep and I woke you up. I just… didn’t wanna be alone,” he rambled, sitting up.

Annie frowned, her eyebrows furrowing as she reached out and pulled him into a hug, “I wasn’t asleep. A-and I get it. The nightmares, I mean. But you weren’t bothering me. If I was asleep, I wouldn’t be here.”

Peter didn’t say anything and instead rested his head in the crook of Annie’s neck. They stayed like that for awhile. While Annie could hear slot machines from the lower floor, Peter seemed to calm down. It was a miracle no one had decided to go up the stairs.

After a little longer, Peter looked up at Annie, “You should probably get some sleep.”

“I’m not tired,” Annie claimed, though she did feel her eyelids starting to droop.

Peter smiled a bit, kissing the top of her head, “You’re exhausted, come on, lemme take you to your room.”

It took some more of Annie being stubborn on the subject before Peter helped her up and they went up the other few flights of stairs between their floors. The whole time, Peter didn’t let go of her hand. Though, when they were in front of her room, they held each other for what felt like a long time.

“Well, I guess this is goodnight,” Annie murmured before quickly Peter on the lips.

Peter was caught slightly off guard, “I- um… yeah, goodnight.”

With that, Annie unlocked her room and was half-tempted to wake up Harper just to be ornery, but decided against it before flopping on her bed to go to sleep.

Taglist: @flushings-here / @gaypanda / @ijustdontknowsometimes / @avvengres / @lionsfandomsandbearsohmy / @buzzinglee / @parkerpuff / @lcy-thot / @twilightparker / @moonstruckholland / @dolphinsarecuteandstuff

[writingdummy]

the theatre kid

pairing: boo seungkwan x reader genre: flufffffffff; high school au! word count: 2000+ admin: jun a/n: i love this fic. i love seungkwan. help me. REQUEST PLS!

As a high school student, there were very few things that interested you, extracurriculars-wise. Sports? Hell no, you were lazy. Student council? You could barely stay awake during a movie, how were you going to stay awake during super boring meetings?

But theatre- oh theatre! Your one and only dying passion, since you were little in fact. Broadway was the big dream, but you were aware that it was nearly impossible to get there, so you had started looking for other more affordable and successful careers to pursue. This, of course, didn’t stop you from joining the drama club that had been so widely advertised around the halls of the schools and through word of mouth,

None of your friends were aware that you were into drama, since most of them had stage fright or just hated being around other people, but you! You were something else! You sang as though you were a goddess, and your acting skills… let’s just say you used them a lot as a child. You could’ve gotten away with murder if you wanted.

Your parents, although very unsupportive of your dream, also loved theatre. It was crazy how much money they had spent in just the 16 years you’ve been alive to go and watch plays. Mamma Mia, Wicked, The Addams Family… they even took your to New York to watch Hamilton! They thought they were so blessed to have a child who would much rather watch plays with them than go shopping to buy makeup and clothes that barely covered your skin.

When it came to clothing, you usually dressed in sweaters, jeans, leggings, sweater shirts… anything of the sort. Everyday you would wear your favourite brown rider boots that had been so worn down from wearing them almost everyday of your life since the beginning of the last year of middle school.

Today, since it was finally the day of auditions for the Drama Club, you were dressed in a rose-pink sweater shirt that fell a little ways past your waist along with a pair of black jeans and your boots. Since your hair had been braided the previous day, it looked as if it had been crimped, which suits your face. You even pinned back a chunk of your hair, feeling as though it gave a good touch to your look.

You tucked your phone into your back pocket as you reached the hallway that the drama room was in. Everybody who knew you were coming had just finished cheering and telling you good luck.

For some reason, everything seemed more dramatic as you walked towards the drama room. It felt as if the spotlight was on the door and the rest of the school went dark, only the light from the early sunset reaching through the windows to light up the hallways the best it can. You walked up slowly, hearing your heartbeat in your ears.

You walked slowly and hesitantly, but something started overpowering the sound of your heartbeat. Your eyebrows furrowed automatically and the most beautiful, strong, angelic voice you had ever heard. You walked a little bit faster, intrigued by this and peeked your head into the room, your eyes widening a bit.

“I feel good…” He finished off softly, bowing after the mini performance he had given. There was a small audience. Probably the drama council and other people here to audition. You stood up straight to clap as well, even if you had only heard the last portion of the song.

“Oh! The final person is here!” You heard someone say. You nodded and went to walk into the room, almost immediately tripping and falling on your knees dramatically. You stared down at the ground for a couple seconds to collect yourself, and then you stood up slowly, lacing your hands together.

“Ahaha… acting!” You exclaimed, finger-gunning at the crowd. They all burst out into laughter, a few finger gunning in return. You watched as the singer hopped off the stage, only then realizing that there were no stairs to get up on stage. You nodded, smiling softly at them all.

“And what is your name?” one of the older looking girls asked you, a pen in one hand and a clipboard in the other.

“Um, Y/N L/N.” You said, bowing to all of them. “Thank you for allowing me to audition.”

The girl laughed, shaking her head. “It’s our pleasure. You were just up… would you like to go?” She asked you. You nodded reluctantly, feeling shy since you barely knew anybody here. You saw a few familiar faces, but that was simply from the past two years of school productions going on that you would go to watch.

You hugged yourself, since you felt awfully awkward, and you walked up to the stage, pulling yourself up to stand on it. You stood up, turning to face your little audience, suddenly feeling that amazing surge of adrenaline and confidence that came along with being on stage, just a little bit higher than the rest.

You beating heart slowed down a bit and your took a couple deep breaths to stop feeling so flustered. “Are you ready?” You asked the girl with the clipboard. She nodded with reassurance, a comforting smile playing on her lips.

“Yes, whenever you’re ready. Good luck!” She stuck a thumb up, grinning kindly at you. You nodded, clearing your throat as you got in position

Your eyes closed for a second, feeling the heat from the nonexistent spotlight shining down on your face and reflecting off your oily skin that came along with being a teenager. Within seconds, you loudly and strongly started singing Sincerely, Me from Dear Evan Hansen. Not only were you singing, you were playing the part. It was perfect. The guy who had been singing earlier started playing in as well, talking as the other characters that were involved in the song.

After the song came to an end, your hand were thrown up into the air and nobody made a sound. You turned to the boy who had joined along with wide eyes and he just started grinning like a mad man, clearly very happy. All at once, cheers sounded from the audience and you shook yours hand, ending with a classic jazz hands before laughing and jumping off the stage. You walked over to them, wiping your clammy hands down your jeans on on your sweater, feeling as though a giant boulder had just been lifted off your chest.

“Okay, all of you,” The girl with the clipboard said, point at you, the boy, and two other people who were there with you. “Are in. I’ll hand out the parts for the new production… probably next week? I think you all will fit into roles perfectly. Dismissed!” She exclaimed happily, waving her pen around in the air for dramatic effect.

You couldn’t even wipe the giant smile off your face if you tried. Auditions were a lot easier than you thought it would be, and you already had a part?! You couldn’t be happier.

“I’m Seungkwan,” You heard from behind you. You turned around to see the guy who had sung with you. He had the biggest smile on his face as well. It caused you to giggle a bit.

“It’s nice to meet you.” You said, reaching out a hand. He shook your hand firmly.

“I look forward to co-existing in this production with you,” he said, bowing. You bowed as well, laughing a bit.

After you all left that day, not only were anxious about what part you would get in the school play, but you also found your mind wandering off to Seungkwan’s smile. You shook it out of your head every time, having sworn to yourself that you wouldn’t get a boyfriend until you were off in college or university. But then you were thinking… a crush and a boyfriend are not the same time.

You could barely sleep that night, thinking about all the different parts that you could possibly playing. You didn’t even know what play you were doing, but you were pretty sure it was Shakespeare, so you were excited. You feel honoured to play a lead role in a Shakespeare play, but you were pretty sure everybody else who auditioned was more likely to play a lead role than you were, since they were probably better than you… not that you got to see it.

You had gotten dressed nicely that morning as well. You pulled oh a tank top, leggings, and a cardigan, along with your boots, of course. You pulled your hair back into a ponytail and figured that was enough effort before making your way to school. You felt so anxious the entire day, with clammy hands and unable to focus on any subject you had this semester.

Within the four periods, you noticed the kids from drama around more. You also started knowing everybody’s names. The girl with the clipboard was Sonya. The other two people who auditioned names are Mina and Jennie.

You also noticed that Seungkwan happened to be across the hall from you during last period… not that you were looking for him or anything. As he exited the classroom, you jogged to walk beside him, gently tapping his shoulder to get his attention. He turned towards you with wide eyes before placing his hand over his heart and laughing.

You felt your heart skip a beat. His laugh was gorgeous as well.

“Hey,” you said, smiling down at your feet as you both walked side by side to the drama room. “You excited to see what part you got?”

You watched him nod enthusiastically, before kindly adding a “You?”

“Yeah, I mean, I’m just glad I have a part in the production.” You said with a hearty laugh. He half-turned to you with furrowed eyebrows, looking extremely confused.

“Are you serious? I wouldn’t be surprised if you got a lead role, you audition was the best.” He said encouragingly, although you found it hard to believe. You also found it hard to believe that somebody this adorable went to your high school.

You two stalled quite a bit while going to the drama room, since you were both extremely nervous to figure out what roles you had scored. When you made it, you could tell he was extremely nervous.

“My audition wasn’t that great. Honestly, the girls did so much better than me…” He mumbled with a nervous chuckled. You shook your head, automatically hooking your arm with yours to drag him along to Sonya, who stood in the middle of the room with her trusty clipboard.

“Okay! Let’s start!” She exclaimed, excitement seeping through her voice and facial expression. “We decided to do… a classic… Romeo and Juliet!”

All of the cast cheered, and you guessed they were all quite big Romeo and Juliet fans.

“The lead role for Romeo goes to… Boo Seungkwan!” She yelled, pointing a finger at Seungkwan, who was a blushy mess from you two having hooked arms. He practically jumped out of his skin, but afterwards he let out the biggest sigh of relief.

“Thank you!” He said to Sonya, bowing. She bowed as well, then turned back to the clipboard.

“And our lead female role for Juliet goes to…” You could tell all the other girls were nervous, and you liked to tell yourself that you weren’t nervous, but you were. You could feel your palms become clammy and your heart was pounding out of your chest, but then Seungkwan gently rubbed your arm as a comforting gesture. You looked up to him, giggling a bit and he gave you kind smile. “L/N F/N!” You smiled so hard your face starting hurting and you and Seungkwan gave each other a big hug, which honestly was more of a heart stopper than the fact that you were the Juliet to his Romeo.

“Gah, I can’t wait to kiss you!” He said jokingly… or you thought he was joking anyway.

Damn, you were excited to be a part of Romeo and Juliet… and having a crush in high school was only normal. Inevitable, even. Of course it was the theatre kid who changed your mind on dating. And now, in three months time, you would be standing on a stage in front of all of your school, kissing him only to start off your acting career and, hopefully, a high school romance.

[klstheword]

Did you know Beauty and the Beast well beforehand?

Yes, I'm a fan of the stage show, and of course very familiar with the animation film as well. The biggest challenge for me was taking numbers like "Be Our Guest" or "Gaston" and finding a new angle while serving the same story points. "Gaston" was done so brilliantly on stage. But one of the advantages of working on film is you can direct what people see and really choose the story you want to tell.

Were you apprehensive about taking on the motion capture and CGI?

The funny thing is when Bill Condon asked me to do it, I hadn't thought about that at all! In the stage show, it's people playing the teapot and so on. And then I suddenly realised "Of course, it's the real world - it won't be a dancer in a suit. Oh my god, I've got to choreograph this whole sequence for CGI."

I went back to school: I did lessons on pre-visualization, figuring out how to work with the people in grey suits with dots on them, working with storyboard artists - and I mapped out each number with the dancers so the animators could see it.

What was at first daunting became unbelievably exciting, working with teams of people I would never get to work with, and in the end rather enjoying not even having dancers there - just these animated teacups that would do whatever I wanted!

How do you choreograph for something like a teacup?

We wanted all our objects to take on their own life, because everything surrounding them is so alive. So the desire is you're not watching a candlestick or teacup or wardrobe, but characters and how they move and express themselves within those boundaries. I spent about nine months just working on "Be Our Guest". It was a big, big challenge, but hugely rewarding.

Did you want to include the dance references that the animation film does?

We have one Busby Berkeley effect in there, but I was quite disciplined and said to myself that I didn't want to watch the animation too many times. If you're a dance buff, you will probably spot these tiny references - there's a Martha Graham moment, Bob Fosse, Jerome Robbins, Bollywood, Singin' in the Rain. All my heroes.

What was it like doing the iconic title song waltz with Emma Watson and Dan Stevens?

The waltz is really interesting, as it's not written as a waltz - it's in 4/4. So I worked with the musical supervisor to turn it into 3/4 against a 4/4. Emma I was lucky enough to work with on Harry Potter, so I knew she could dance well, and Dan's a good mover, so it was just a matter of repetition. I had about three months with Dan and four with Emma.

The major thing was that Dan had to be much higher than her as the Beast, so we could get her eye level correct, which meant he was learning the waltz while wearing stilts and 10-inch platforms! Emma's biggest fear, quite rightly, was him treading on her toes.

But he was unbelievably brave, and she was too - they did such a great job. It was really a fabulous experience. It's very technical and painstaking, putting something like that together for film, but they brought the emotion to it too, and it was all so worth it in the end.

BWW Interview: Choreographer Anthony Van Laast Talks BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

Was this film an unusual experience as a choreographer?

It really was a dream job. It's rare to have so many different styles and types of sequence on one project like this, from that intimate waltz to the big opening number going through the village or the pub romp with "Gaston".

I also got to be part of the whole process as a member of the creative team, which I loved. Seeing the finished product, I'm just unbelievably proud of what we all achieved.

I had a wonderful time working on Mamma Mia! as well, which was also working across the whole project - that's really satisfying. I'm excited to get back into it for the sequel - that'll be another nine/ten-month job. So I'm really getting the chance to hone my film skills!

What else have you got coming up?

There's a film with Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly, Holmes and Watson, and I'm back with the amazing Phyllida Lloyd, who I did Mamma Mia! with, for the Tina Turner stage musical. I'm terribly lucky to have a busy life in theatre as well.

Finally, what's the response been like to your work on Beauty and the Beast?

Well, the great thing for me is I have grandchildren, and to actually do a film I know they're going to watch and hopefully one day their children as well, to produce something iconic in that sense is just wonderful. I'm a bit of a hero at home, and I've been enjoying every moment!

[suzie81blog]

Last night The Bloke attended the Press Night of Singing in the Rain at the Alexandra Theatre. Additionally, I was lucky enough to be able to interview the lead actor in the show (who happens to be an ex-student).

Singing in the Rain is this years’ Stage Experience production, which every year sees over 100 of the brightest young talent from across the Midlands put on a professional show. In just two weeks, with the support of professional industry creatives and technical staff, a full scale production is brought to life on stage. Previous Stage Ex alumni include Brummie comedian Joe Lycett (who performed for several years in the scheme) and musical theatre star Liam Doyle, who went on to leading roles in West End hits such as Wicked, Mamma Mia and Legally Blonde.

Fifteen years since its inception in 2003, almost 2000 young performers have taken part in the prestigious scheme. The ethos of Stage Experience is to provide an opportunity for young people to perform as part of a large cast in a professional scale show, along with technical placements on offer in sound, lighting, stage management and wardrobe.

When the transition is made from silent films to `talkies’ in 1920’s Hollywood, everyone has trouble adapting. Don Lockwood and his partner Lina have been cast repeatedly as a romantic couple, but when their latest film is remade into a musical, only Don has the voice for the new singing part. Kathy, a bright young aspiring actress, is hired to record over Lina’s voice.

The show was incredibly well-presented, (having been rehearsed in just two weeks), with an amazing 101 young performers of all ages on stage. The four leads – Don Lockwood (Ben Tanner), Lina Lamont (Jessica Walton), Cosmo Brown (Sam Rogers) and Kathy Seldon (Isabelle Kibble) show plenty of confidence. Ben Tanner brings a level of charm and charisma to the lead role and alongside an energetic and comedic performance from Sam Rogers as Cosmo it is clear that they have an obvious rapport. The female performers were superb, with Jessica Walton commanding the stage as the rather hapless Lina, her infamous high-pitched New York accent appeared effortless (along with a beautifully executed off-pitch and screechy singing voice) and an incredible Isabelle Kibble in the role of Kathy who had a truly exceptional voice. With well-timed (and rather advanced) choreography that included tap dancing and, of course, splashing about while singing as it rains on stage, all four brought their own style to their roles in a way that is well beyond their years.

Remembering that this performance had been created within just two weeks, the standard from the entire ensemble was incredibly high and technically assured. All were talented, enthusiastic and professional throughout, concluding with a fabulous finale as all 101 cast members took to the stage with bright and colourful umbrellas and wellingtons, resulting in a vibrant ending and a well deserved standing ovation.

The technical aspects of the performance were also well executed. Mirroring the black and white silent movie clips from the film, the production’s own versions brought lots of laughter from the audience. The set was bright and colourful, the lighting well-placed and aside from the occasional technical sound glitch the whole performance ran seemingly smoothly.

Filled with unforgettable moments, the show has all the charm and romance you’ll need this summer, and not forgetting… real rain!

I took the opportunity to interview Ben Tanner (Don Lockwood). This is his eight performance with Stage Experience and he is currently studying at the renowned Bird College Conservatoire for Dance and Musical Theatre. He also teaches gymnastics.

Ben TannerI took the opportunity to interview the lead actor in this year’s performance – Ben Tanner – about how he prepared for the role of Don Lockwood.

Tell me about your history with Stage Experience

I first got into Stage Experience in 2010 – I saw an advert on Facebook about an opportunity for young people from the local area to perform on a professional stage in a huge scale production. I was very fortunate to gain a place after I applied and haven’t looked back since! With Stage Experience I have now completed eight shows including Singing in the Rain and couldn’t be more grateful.

You’re playing the lead role of Don Lockwood in the production. What research and preparation did you do before rehearsals began?

Once I found out that I had the role of Don Lockwood, my initial research was to go straight to the movie and take inspiration from the iconic Gene Kelly. I’m also incredibly lucky to have seen the London production of the show with Adam Cooper in the role, so I took snippets and ideas from both while adding my own flavour. We were given the scripts about a month before the full rehearsal process began so we could really start thinking about what we could bring of ourselves to our characters.

What has the been your rehearsal schedule when preparing for your performance? How have you been able to fit this into your already busy lifestyle with your studies and gymnastics coaching?

Our full rehearsal schedule only started two weeks ago. On the first day we filmed all of the video effects for the production, and after that it was full steam ahead! We rehearsed from 10.00am until 8.30pm every day, with the performers under 16 finishing at 5.00pm. The rehearsals were jam packed each day, with never a moment to sit down or get bored, and over the last two weeks we had one day off for our amazing technical crew to sort out the lighting, sound and special effects. All of the rehearsals have been well-placed during the summer holidays, and I love doing this as it allows me to continue my musical theatre training. My gymnastics coaching job at the Europa Centre have been so supportive in allowing me to take some time to do this, and I can’t thank all of the staff and students enough.

What has been the most enjoyable part of this year’s performance?

The most enjoyable part for me this year has been the opportunity to take on such an iconic role in my home town of Birmingham. Performing the title number of Singing in the Rain is a once in a lifetime experience and I love the incredible reaction from the audience as the rain starts to pour.

At a young age you’re already an experienced performer. What advice do you have for young people who want to follow a career in performance?

Being nice, polite, hard-working and attentive will always take you far in the Musical Theatre industry. It’s important to be a team player and remember that putting a show together involves every single person from the leads and ensemble to the tech crew and promotional team. The main thing that I learned right from my very first Stage Experience performance was the power of rehearsal. Director and Choreographer Pollyann Tanner has a quote that I always live by: ‘Amateurs practice until they get it right. Professionals practice until they can’t get it wrong…’

Singing in the Rain will be on stage at the Alexandra Theatre until Saturday 24th August. Get your tickets while you can!

  Singing in the Rain at the Alexandra Theatre Review and Interview Last night The Bloke attended the Press Night of Singing in the Rain at the Alexandra Theatre.

[athousandfootsteps]

9th July 2019

This is my third week at camp with the kids here. I'm in bunk 6A. And I'm with six sophomore girls who are aged 10-11 years old. There is a life guard in my bunk as well as a general counsellor and a CA (counsellor assistant - sort of like a counsellor in training). The girls are generally pretty well behaved and I don't have too much trouble with them. Teaching radio has been chaotic. The first week and a bit was so disorganised and crazy as I was trying to work out how to run radio, and as I'm running it by myself I didn't really know what to do and was not very confident. But then I spoke with my department heads and now I've been feeling better about it and radio is running more smoothly. 

Camp life is tough. We get up at 7.30am and have breakfast at 8am. First period is at 9.15am and we don't finish activities until 9.45pm. We get a little bit of free time during the day if we are not on OD. If we are on OD then we get pretty much no free time.

OD means "on duty", it means that during free play after dinner you are responsible for looking after children and at night time you have to get the girls to bed and sleep, which is often very challenging. Meals are a nightmare. They are served by waitresses (campers aged 15-16), and the meals are generally very bland. The children only want to eat plain pasta, so we have to line up at the pasta bar for 20-30 minutes to get plates of plain pasta for the girls to eat. There is also a salad bar and a juice bar. My daily meals consist of: Breakfast- Frosted Flakes, Cocoa Krispies and Trix. + fruit punch and lemonade. Snack - Peach Lunch - Salad + shit ton of beetroot and quinoa salad. and also fruit punch and lemonade. Snack - Peach Dinner - Salad + shit ton of beetroot and quinoa salad. and also fruit punch and lemonade. I also get served tofu or some gluten free vegan meal by the waitress.

I have eaten so much quinoa in the last month, I've made up for a lifetime. The rule is at meal times that we cannot clear the table until everyone has eaten, and because it takes ages in the pasta bar, or for my special meal to come out, I am often being guilt tripped into scoffing food down or feel bad for eating because everyone else has eaten and wants to leave. It really sucks, meal times gives me anxiety.

Some nights we have off, where we usually go to Walmart or just hang out in the staff lounge with our friends. They are usually fun, but we only get 3 hours off from 9.45pm-12.45am. So it isn't really much time to do anything. If we miss our curfew of 12.45am, we get an extra OD, if we miss our curfew twice, we lose a day off and if we miss it three times, we get fired.

Sometimes people are at camp, and they fall asleep in their bunk and miss curfew and have an extra OD, even though they're at camp. Or sometimes people just forget, and so they get penalised.

The days off are the best. We go out to a motel in Monticello and just drink and go to the pub. It's a lot of fun. Then the next day we have gone to the mall or to the lake and then we have gone out for dinner. But it's not even a whole weekend off, it's like 24 hours.

The camp directors say that we should spend our one day off a week sleeping. They expect us to be robots. Obviously people aren't going to spend their day off just sleeping in bed. We are worked to death for six days straight, we actually want to go out and have some fun and spend some time with the friends we've made.

Working six days straight is physically and mentally exhausting, and the camp directors wonder why everyone is so burnt out.

Here are some positives about camp: I only have 4 1/2 weeks to go!! I have made lots of great friends who I love spending my day off with. I enjoy the lemonade. Sometimes the kids are okay and make me laugh. I have been able to try new things like horse riding and theatre.

I auditioned for the theatre production Mamma Mia and I made the ensemble, which was all I really wanted anyway. So we will be rehearsing and eventually put on the production. A few of my friends are in it too, which will be fun. I love ABBA and I love singing so I'm excited for it.

When we're on night OD, we have to get the girls to bed which can sometimes take effort because the girls just come from canteen, where they eat and drink sugar and then we have to get them to bed. They also complain about having to go to bed and ask if they can have "sleepovers", which means sleeping in each others beds. Which I always say no to because I don't want them staying up all night and actually want to sleep. Us counsellors are allowed to use our iPods and computers while we are on OD, or at night time after the girls are asleep. So I can message home a lot more than I expected that I would be able to because there is wifi available during those times too. During the day there is almost no time to get your phone which is locked up in a lock box. When we are on OD, we can only go to sleep once a group leader tells us we can after all the girls go to sleep. So when we are tired, we have to stay up late and wait for the girls to fall asleep. Luckily once we get them in bed and turn the lights off, they do go to sleep pretty quickly without much hassle.

Counsellors phones are locked up in a lock box and we are only allowed to use it during our time off and only in designated areas. So no phones are allowed in bunks at all. We can only use our phones at the admin building, staff lounge or Slake HQ. The wifi is pretty shit and always drops in and out. On periods off and nights off, you always see a whole flock of staff trying to get their phones out of the lock boxes and all sitting around the admin and staff lounge on their phones.

Another thing that's a downer is that I am at one camp, and a lot of my friends are at Slake, but because the two camps don't intermingle very often, I barely get to see all the friends I made during orientation until the weekend, or if we have the same night off. Slake and Chip are owned by the same people but Slake has two sessions, one 4 week and one 3 week and Chip has just one straight 7 week session.

I am currently waiting to be told that I can go to sleep from OD. Three of my six girls were at a dance competition and they got back a little later, but they went to bed pretty quickly. So hopefully I'll be told I can go to sleep soon too.

The last few days I've only had 2-3 classes a day because there's been so many camp activities that kids have been in like dance, theatre, circus, MTV night, etc etc. When there's no children sign up for my activity I get to be a general and take children to an activity. It kinda sucks when I have to go to a water activity because then I have to change into my bathers and head down to the waterfront or pool, and I never really feel like getting into the water. But I've gone skating before and I've learned how to ride a skateboard, and today I went to yoga which is fun.

I just have to stick out 4 1/2 more weeks of camp and then I'll be solo travelling across the country which is super exciting.

On Friday I am going to NYC with my friends on my day off. I cannot wait, we will probably explore the city and then go to a bar before heading back to camp. :))

[northgeorgiasportsman]

21 Things To Do in Dallas This Week

Justin Timberlake is returning to the AAC on Thursday night. email Print Article

AA

Wednesday

Need a ladies night? Or a men’s night? Or just a night to get totally wasted and scream and holler when you see men taking off their clothes? Chippendales is coming to town just in time for bachelorette party season. Or a way to unwind after the stress of the holidays? Or it’s cold outside and you miss the sight of shirtless men? Whatever floats your boat or makes you hoot and holler, see it all (well, mostly all) at 8 p.m. Wednesday at House of Blues, 2200 N. Lamar St. Tickets start at $25 at livenation.com. Paige Skinner

Thursday

Rover Dramawerks picked Muriel Resnik’s Any Wednesday for its 19th season opener, which you can catch at 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday at 221 W. Parker Road, Suite 580, Plano. Playgoers 55 years ago (any readers still around?) may remember the play on Broadway with Sandy Dennis and Gene Hackman. Jane Fonda starred in the movie. Familiar plot: Married business tycoon visits mistress in office-paid-for apartment every Wednesday. Complications ensue when client and tycoon’s wife mistakenly get sent to the apartment. Carol M. Rice directs Mark Massey, Jade Reyes, Eddy Herring and Lucia Welch. For info and tickets, roverdramawerks.com or 972-849-0358. Thursday and matinee tickets are $18; others are $24; teacher/student/senior, $20. Reba Liner

It’s been about eight months or so since Justin Timberlake appeared in town, gracing the same American Airlines Center stage that he will again command Thursday night. Such is the magnitude of his star power. After all, there are very few artists who could return to the same scope and size of venue in such a short time. On that last appearance, JT took the sold-out crowd on a journey through his vast solo catalog of hits, enthralling the audience with his slinky dance moves, buttery smooth falsettos and charmingly, magnetic charisma. His shows also skew heavily toward the mom demographic. Much chardonnay will be sold and much is likely to be spilled as the gaggle of 30- and 40-something ladies will undoubtedly raise their glasses high in the air as they swoon and sway to his every move and note. If you’re there, feel free to join in. If you’re not in attendance, your social media feeds will keep you updated minute by minute. 8 p.m. Thursday, American Airlines Center, 2500 Victory Ave., $49 and up at ticketmaster.com. Jeff Strowe

Toro y Moi, along with Neon Indian and Washed Out, was a forerunner of the chill wave movement about a decade ago. But, like many in the scene at that time, he’s moved on from the sound, as is evident in his new album, this year’s Outer Peace. One critic described the album as "new disco," while others label it as a funk album rooted in the present. 7 p.m. Thursday, Granada Theater, 3524 Greenville Ave., sold out. Diamond Victoria

Friday

Ella is a girl with a dopey fairy godmother who “blesses” Ella with obedience, which means whatever anyone tells her to do, she does. Even worse, she ends up with a stepmother and stepsisters who know about her quirk and are happy to take advantage. Throw in a handsome prince and adventures with ogres and magic, and you have a twisty retelling of Cinderella. See a song-filled version of Gail Carson Levine’s Newbery-honored fractured fairy tale as the Dallas Children’s Theater stages Ella Enchanted: The Musical at 5938 Skillman St. Friday’s performance is at 7:30 p.m., and the show runs through Feb. 24. Tickets, $15-40, can be found at dct.org. Patrick Williams

Did you know that comedian Iliza Shlesinger got her start here in Dallas? You didn’t? How dare you call yourself a resident! Shlesinger was born in New York, but she grew up in Dallas and took her first steps onstage as an improv comedian before heading off to college and a lucrative stand-up comedy career. She returns to her homeland for a show at The Majestic Theatre, 1925 Elm St., at 7 p.m. Friday. Shlesinger cut her teeth in stand-up at The Hollywood Improv and quickly caught on with her unique take and skill. She found fame as the first female comedian to win the NBC reality competition Last Comic Standing and began regularly touring theaters across the country and the world. Tickets are between $32 and $209 depending on available seating and can be purchased at theatredallas.com. Danny Gallagher

There is a story behind Amaluna, the Cirque du Soleil show making a stop at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, 1000 Lone Star Parkway. Here goes: Queen Prospera rules over a magical island populated by all women until a group of men wash ashore shipwrecked. Her daughter … OK, look. It’s Cirque du Soleil. You know, lots of brightly colored leotards and amazing acrobats dangling from straps above the audience, flying through the air launched from seesaws to the sound of mildly weird new-agey music. There are two shows Friday, at 4:30 and 8 p.m. Adult ticket prices start at $63, with discounts for children, and an assortment of special packages are available at cirquedusoleil.com. The circus continues with shows until March 3. Patrick Williams

As do many institutions at their silver anniversary, sports-talk station KTCK-AM 1310 and 96.7 FM “The Ticket” is getting nostalgic for the 25th iteration of its signature P1 fan festival. Along with celebrity guests Troy Aikman, Jay Novacek and Daryl “Razor” Reaugh, Ticketstock 25 has a Ticket Time Tunnel, where Tier One hosts discuss the history of the station in panel discussions, and there’s an interactive Ticket Hall of Fame with memorabilia, audio, Marconi Awards and retro Ticket merch. As usual, the Timewasters will perform Saturday at 6 p.m., this year from a greatest-hits set list, with Fox 4 sports anchor Mike Doocy — the ultimate good sport and straight guy during his frequent guest-hosting appearances — as emcee. Ticketstock 25 is Friday and Saturday at the Plano Event Center, 2000 E. Spring Creek Parkway. Doors open at noon both days and admission is free. Visit theticket.com for the full schedule of on-air roundtables and gotta-be-there-to-hear-’em Ticket Time Tunnel panels. Jesse Hughey

In the sage words of the world’s pre-eminent British girl band: spice up your life. Winter doldrums be damned, things are getting hot at ZestFest Jan. 25-27 at the Irving Convention Center, 500 W. Las Colinas Blvd. This three-day celebration of all things bold and piquant is packed with cooking demonstrations; celebrity chefs like Jon Bonnell, Eddie Deen and MasterChef champ Shaun O’Neale; gourmet vendors to help you level up in your own kitchen; live music; plus food samples and beer tastings aplenty. For those of us with stomachs of steel and something to prove, there’s a jalapeño-eating challenge and the annual “Atomic Wing” contest. Pack your antacid and plan a full day on Friday from 1 to 6 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Admission is $15 at the door, though kids 10 and under get in free. For more info, check out zestfest.net. Jennifer Davis-Lamm

Creator and headliner of last year’s inaugural I Am Dallas Hip Hop event, Mozez Tha Great performs his long-awaited EP Undefined in its entirety as part of a stacked bill at The Prophet Bar on Friday night. Mozez has gone through his fair share of setbacks over the years regarding his music career. A few years ago, Undefined was ready for release, but when an engineer who was commissioned to mix and master the album took off with Mozez’s money, its completion got delayed. Catch Mozez along with several other of Dallas’ best up-and-coming hip-hop artists. With Lou Charle$, Mokah Soulfly, Smoothvega, Drama Tha King and Raw Elementz, 8:30 p.m. Friday, The Prophet Bar, 2548 Elm St., $10. Diamond Victoria

Thursday is on a small run of dates where they play two of their classic LPs, Full Collapse and War All the Time, front to back. Though they have a rather extensive back catalog, these are the two records that changed their fortunes and gained a huge audience. The first night — Friday night — is devoted to Full Collapse, the record that broke the band out of the New Jersey scene and into the national spotlight. The next night is devoted to War All the Time, the major-label debut that brought the band to larger acclaim. Normally shows like these happen in New York, LA or Chicago, so Dallas is very lucky to have these dates. Thursday is not really an active band as compared with the 2000s, so you should strongly consider going if you’ve never seen this powerful and legendary band before. 8:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Jan. 25-26 at Trees, 2709 Elm St., $29-$36 at ticketfly.com. Eric Grubbs

Saturday

Sport is “an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment,” according to the Google search we just did. By that definition, cheerleading is 100 percent, no doubt in anyone’s mind, a sport. Backflips are physical. Somersaults must be learned and perfected. And competitive cheerleaders, well, compete. See them do that Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 26-27 at Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas, 650 S. Griffin St at National Cheerleaders Association National Championships. Tickets start at $20 at eventbrite.com. Paige Skinner

Finnish vocal ensemble Rajaton joins the Dallas Symphony Orchestra to celebrate the music of megastar pop group Abba, who are enjoying a much deserved critical reconsideration. Expect orchestral renditions that shine new light on the Swedish artists’ soaring, emotionally raw classics, including “Mamma Mia,” “Waterloo,” “Dancing Queen” and more. There are three performances: at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Jan. 25-26, and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 27. All performances take place at the Meyerson, 2301 Flora St. Tickets start at $20. More info at mydso.com. Jonathan Patrick

The Boy Who Would Be Captain Hook is a funny and moving play about a boy who was born without a right hand. When doctors fitted him with a prosthetic hook, he was sidelined at recess until the other kids asked to play Peter Pan with him. Of course, he played Captain Hook — until he grew tired of it. The Boy Who Would Be Captain Hook takes a look at David Harrell’s childhood living with a disability as he tells the story of how he wished to change his own narrative and not be just the boy with a hook. The play is at 3 p.m. Saturday at Charles W. Eisemann Center, 2351 Performance Drive, Richardson. Visit eisemanncenter.com for more information and tickets ($25). Paige Skinner

KNON is the nonprofit, listener-supported community radio station that has been showcasing the blues in DFW for 20 years. From the up-and-coming, 11-year-old Jack Barksdale to headliners like the award-winning blues elders in Gregg A. Smith and the Blues Revue Band, the 20th annual KNON Blues Festival will be two days packed with Texas talent. Before hosting festivals, KNON released compilations of blues music from all over DFW. The radio station has brought blues a long way over the years and shows no sign of stopping. The festival will be held at Poor David’s Pub, where blues has been put on display in Dallas for over 40 years. Keeping up with what is seemingly a festival tradition, Dickey’s Barbecue will be available for $10 a plate. 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 26-27 at Poor David’s Pub, 1313 Lamar St., $20-$150 at eventbrite.com. Jacob Vaughn

Blake Ward is one of the busiest DJs in Dallas, with four different weekly events and recently having taken up the management of his new Four Four Booking agency. He has a long-standing Saturday night Glamorama gig at Beauty Bar. As far as promotion goes, Ward is relentless, a perfect example of how to connect, inform and grow a DJ audience. 9 p.m. Saturday, Beauty Bar, 1924 N. Henderson Ave., free. Wanz Dover

Sunday

International Holocaust Remembrance Day marks the anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi extermination camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Name doesn’t ring a bell? Then mark the day with a visit to the Dallas Holocaust Museum and Center for Education and Tolerance, 211 N. Record St., Suite 100. Remember, those who forget the past are … well, just doomed. The museum is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, and admission is $10 for adults, with discounts for kids and seniors. Find more information at dallasholocaustmuseum.org. Patrick Williams

Monday

Who doesn’t love The Bachelor? You? OK, no one asked you. Jeez. Well somebody loves it, because the entire franchise has spanned more than 40 seasons and people keep watching. This season, four Dallas women are vying for virgin Colton Underwood’s love and cherry as America watches. If you don’t have anyone to watch it and cringe over it with, then head to Steam Theory Brewing Co., 340 Singleton Blvd., Suite 100, at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 28, to bond with fellow Bachelor lovers at the Bachelor Nation Watching Party. Visit steamtheorybrewing.com for more information. Paige Skinner

Tuesday

Namo in West Village, 3699 McKinney Ave., is hosting a sake-tasting class from 6:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. Tuesday. Those attending will get six hand rolls matched with sakes from TYKU Sake, whose reps will be on hand to tell you what to look for in the traditional Japanese wine made from rice, water, yeast and koji (a kind of mold used in Japanese cuisine). Tickets are $50 at eventbrite.com. Patrick Williams

Wednesday

The Disney empire is a vast, all-encompassing thing. They’re the masters of the Ice Capades, one of the biggest names in Broadway and have a virtual lock on the kids pajama market. Now, their reach expands to the world of a cappella singing. Yep, the domain once reserved for Ivy League a-holes in striped jackets is now replete with mouse ears: meet DCappella, Disney Music’s a cappella super group. Assembled by Deke Sharon, who’s like the Lou Pearlman of the a cappella world, these seven men and women don’t need backing instruments. It’s just their sweet, sweet voices and sculpted eyebrows up onstage, belting out all your favorite Disney tunes at Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie, 1001 Performance Place, at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 30. Tickets to see the Disney-fied vocal acrobatics are $19.50 to $54.50 at axs.com. Jennifer Davis-Lamm

In Incognito, playwright Nick Payne tells three different stories to better explore the human mind. One is about Thomas Stoltz Harvey stealing the recently dead Albert Einstein’s brain. The other is about a man named Harvey undergoing brain surgery, and the third is about Martha, a clinical neuropsychologist making some changes in her life after her marriage falls apart. See the play Jan. 30 through Feb. 23 at Bryant Hall, 3636 Turtle Creek Blvd. Tickets start $25 at secondthoughttheatre.com. Showtime is 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. Paige Skinner

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[maggiedoyle]

2018 in Review

I, along with the masses, feel the need to reflect on the year behind us as we move into a new one. All in all, it was a long and hard year for me, but looking back there were many, many good moments. I went through them today via photos on my iphone, to jog my memory of all the things I did, saw, and took in this year. While likely very boring for you, you can read my write-ups by month further down. I also wrote out the accomplishments I’m proudest of this year. What I most want to share, though, is that this exercise made me feel better and infinitely more grateful about the year that I had! It is OK to feel bad about the year, of course, but picking out the good stuff, the memories and accomplishments I will carry with me — that really helped me see 2018 for what it was and feel prepared for 2019.

This year I: walked a whole lot, with a daily average of 5.4 miles this December; started Couch-to-5K (lol) and can now run almost 2 miles without stopping; met my yearly savings goal; started a regular volunteer gig at Tenants Together and volunteered at the Women’s Building during tax season (hmu with ur housing/tax Qs, folks); fulfilled a years-old dream of traveling to Chile and Argentina (and somehow have now visited 5 continents!); spent my first full calendar year at a full-time job; completed my (albeit measly) reading goal of 12 books in 2018 (my favorite was The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes).  

My resolutions include: new savings goal to meet; run a 5k; cook more (lol); write more.

2018 was a long year for a me, a bit of a slog, really. In looking back at the highlights, I also want to be honest about the downsides and the ruts. I experienced a fair amount of depression this year, more than I ever have; I tried to make big life changes that ultimately fell through; and I cried a lot. If you know me well you know my whole life is an existential crisis, but turning 25 I entered a new phase of it and I’m still grappling with finding my place. But I do believe moving through the rough stuff is important and necessary (as Bright Eyes sings, “your eyes must do some raining if you’re ever going to grow.” A little trite, a lot true). I am so, so grateful for my friends and family who have supported me, listened to me, and reminded me of my strengths when I’ve had a hard time reminding myself.     

Onwards and upwards, 2019 <3

January

Rang in the new year with Leah and Sarah in DC and kissed some macaroni and cheese at midnight. Went from SF to DC and back again for family business (and saw all of my cousins together for the first time in years)— on a connecting flight, witnessed the magic of flying into LA at night. Saw so many DC/Maryland friends at a Mags-in-DC happy hour. Women’s marched.

February

Had a wonderful surprise visit from my dear friend Nacho from Chile; had a magical Dolores day that ended with free empanadas from our new friend Paula. Went back to Big Sur for the first time in 10 years (bless Nacho for supporting me in the most difficult driving I’ve ever done, in Matt’s car no less (thanks Matt!)). Went back to LA and visited the Figure 8 wall, the Museum of Death, and LACMA. Started happy hour tradition with Meredith at the Lake Chalet; sliders and lavender lemonades (lemony snickets). Got my first budget through the Port Commission.

March

Pisco party with Will. Celebrated Pi Day with Katie. Made an Irish soda bread for St. Patrick’s and celebrated with the Stones. Took a while to close out my tab because I was not the only Doyle in the bar that night (ha!). Watched the entirety of Six Feet Under, briefly considered career shift to funeral director.

April

Turned 25 and was overjoyed to be joined by my brothers for their first trip to visit me in California. We went to Land’s End and to Santa Cruz. Peter cooked a delicious salmon dinner for us before my party. Special out of town guests at my birthday included Jacob and Pablo (wow was I lucky!). Got the best haircut & highlights of my life (thanks Ms. Siobhan!). Walked to work on walk to work day. Easter morning mass with Gregory. 

May

This was the month I went to Olive Garden at the Stonestown Mall by myself and sat alone at the bar. They treated me like a queen. Discovered internal family systems with my therapist and reached a turning point in learning to value myself. Was featured on SFGOVTV while my boss presented to the Board of Supervisors and I looked beautiful that day. Biked to work on bike to work day. Started volunteering at Tenants Together. Ate a tacro, it was weird.

June

Baby’s first camping trip to Arroyo Seco with Maddy, Vinnie, Gabi, and Joey. We swam in a gorge and I got a sunburn. Then we went to In-N-Out and camped a second night in the Byrne’s living room because we didn’t get a campsite for the second night. Tradr Sam’s with Gregory (he has far too much video evidence of the debauchery of this occasion). Pride at Dolores Park, someone bought me a rainbow jello shot, I vigorously reapplied sunscreen but drunkenly missed the same spots every time.

July

Freezing SF summer. Enjoyed Mamma Mia 2 (here we go again!) with the biggest Cher fan in existence (love 2 Sabrina) and Molly and Filipa. Got some summertime weather in Sacramento with Leah, where we went to a country club to play in their pool and went to the state fair. Elotes and deep fried cookie dough.  

August

Attended the international dog surfing competition (!!!) in Pacifica. Had my first visit back to Ocean City in several years, ate crabs on my grandparents’ deck and Thrasher’s french fries on the boardwalk. Traveled to Chicago for a hot minute and then to Madison, Wisconsin to see two dear friends, Laura and Ryan, get married. Their song was “This Must Be The Place.” Deep fried cheese curds.

September

Another visit to LA, this time to see Maddy and Vinnie in their brand-new home. Ate so much delicious food (Little Ethiopia! Zankou! Tacos!), swam in the Pacific Ocean for the first time (really swam) with Vinnie, and almost got banned from Dodgers stadium. Runyon Canyon and Point Dume with Matt and Jacob. Met a dog who lives in a laundromat after one of Molly’s shows. Published my first budget book.

October

Hiked the Marin Headlands with Matt and walked across the Golden Gate Bridge for the first time (somehow). Dogsat Stella for the Byrnes. Bought cool new glasses for $15. Canvassed for Propositions C + 10. Saw Roma at the Castro Theatre with Sarah, and Alfonso Cuaron and Yalitza Aparicio were there. Fell three (3) times at a haunted house from being scared (Molly as my witness). Killed the Halloween costume game.

November

More canvassing and phone banking for Props C + 10 (C passed!). The seawall bond passed and I was proud to have given presentations to community groups about it. Beautiful, beautiful Dia de los Muertos in the Mission with Tyler. Incredible, incredible trip to Chile and Argentina — too much to write here — terrazando, carmenere and piscolas, la cordillera, empanadas and choripans, a million museums, amazing views, and incredible company in Nacho, Rodrigo, Santiago, Joaquin, Pipe and Paz and Pablo and more. Wow.

December

Clementime with Molly. Successfully recreated my favorite dish from Buenos Aires, pollo a la portuguesa (she cooked!). Visited Sabrina in Santa Cruz, hiked Buzzard’s Roost in Big Basin and attended the greatest Christmas/guitar factory store party ever. Macaroni Grill (!!!) w Mere. Parties and shows with Joe and Pete, the Building Museum with Maddy, drinks and dinners and lunches and brunches with old, old friends. Family festivities. Rewatched all 8 Harry Potter films in a four day span.

[nightrainlily]

DAY EIGHT: THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC, REVISITED

today was our last day in London, and we really made the absolute most of it. the phrase repeated the most today was “this is crazy.” we’re overwhelmed by the art and history we’re witnessing in the museums, as well as on the streets.

at breakfast, Joelle got a chocolate croissant, which I’m obliged to talk about because she hasn’t started her own blog yet. she said it was less good than yesterday’s croissant, but had a 10/10 flake.

we knew that we would spend the majority of our day in the Victoria and Albert Museum, and I’m so glad that we planned for such a large block of time. again, we covered very little of what it had to offer, but what we did see was incredible. we started in the special exhibit The Future is Here, which is housed in the brand new exhibition space extension of the museum. it covered inventions and advancements that have the potential to shape the near future. the exhibit was interactive and engaging and honestly, distressing. the speed at which technology changes and the direction the show implies the future is headed is scary, which I think might be the point. as humans, we must respect and fear our power to shape the world, for good or for evil. we each had a few favorite items:

1. Protei, the boat that cleans oil spills. the kickstarter project describes the fleet as wind powered “ocean cleaning and research open hardware [drones].” read more about them here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cesarminoru/protei-open-hardware-oil-spill-cleaning-sailing-ro

2. a synthetic leaf made of silk proteins that can be used to ameliorate climate change due to deforestation. an article on the science: https://www.engineering.com/Education/EducationArticles/ArticleID/8375/The-Silk-Leaf-man-made-material-converts-light-and-water-into-oxygen.aspx

3. the floating city project. the Seasteading Institute wants to create micro-nations on international oceans out of interlocking platforms: https://www.seasteading.org/floating-city-project/

4. the library to rebuild civilization. these books were curated by a council that includes Brian Eno, and they cover every genre in the hopes of providing a comprehensive guide for people of the future: http://blog.longnow.org/category/manual-for-civilization/

5. the house to prolong life: the Bioscleave House moves around and doesn’t have flat floors so it forces its user to adapt to new environments, subsequently making them healthier. or something like that: https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/03/garden/03destiny.html

we also saw the fashion exhibit, which was possibly my favorite thing we’ve done in London so far. seeing the evolution of expression, in high fashion and streetwear, is truly seeing the evolution of society, and how people relate to each other. the most interesting aspect, to me, was the visible evidence of cultural collisions; Asian fashion changed in response to contact with Western styles, and vice versa. the ripple effect of these interactions is a direct reflection of the parallel political and social changes. fashion tells the story of the world and the people who inhabit it as well as a history book.

I was also fascinated by the section of the Asian exhibit focused on Japanese textile dyeing techniques. there has recently been a resurgence of interest in Japanese folk arts, and the recovery of these ancient processes came along with it. I watched part a short video that followed the creation of a single garment, from threads to a finished product. the dyes are made from roots and other natural pigments, crushed by hand. they were captivating and vibrant.

we spent some time in the courtyard, where we stood in awe of the intricate friezes lining the high walls. the scenes depicted there included images of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, the namesakes of the museum. every inch was busy with carvings. the fountain, where children were playing, reminded us of Phoenix splash pads, except deeply historic and lavishly decorated.

the last thing I want to mention about this museum was the docent who helped us to find the ticketing counter. she told us the story of how the new exhibition space was made, as well as the history of the stones on the face of the building that was bombed. her passion for the museum and her excitement at showing us around was infectious. she made our experience so much more interesting and meaningful; thank you to volunteers everywhere who want to share their love of the museum with the public.

we returned to Le Compotoir, as I said we would. I love Mediterranean food with an undying passion, and this meal was the first we’ve had since leaving home. I could and do eat hummus with a spoon. the flavors at this restaurant were exquisite—rose mint lemonade, bitter orange and raisin ice cream, halva and tahini yogurt. needless to say, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves there.

after shopping around a little (Joelle is on the hunt for a ruffle skirt, a style we’ve seen on the streets here), we headed to the West End for the highlight of this leg of the trip: Mamma Mia. if you read my Sweden blog, the title of this post may seem familiar because it’s the title I used for the day I visited the ABBA museum in Stockholm. I am, as I’ve already said at least a hundred times on the internet and in life in general, an ABBA-stan. the costumes! the English lyrics that sometimes don’t make sense because the writers are Swedish! the Eurovision origin story! the drama! the seventies beats! I can’t get over how many good songs are in their discography, and how consistent and prolonged that goodness was. often when I’m looking to fill a vacancy on a playlist, I turn to ABBA.

and then, in 1997 Judy Craymer and Catherine Johnson released Mamma Mia the musical. it opened in 1999 in the West End at the Prince Edward Theatre, but subsequently transferred the to Novello Theatre, which is where we saw it, nineteen years later.

a lot of things about this production were spot on. I’ll start with the set design, comprised of two simple curved walls made to look like the quintessential white Grecian architecture. I believe there were four or five formations of these two walls, and each permutation represented a different setting; for example, two concave sides out was the inside of Sophie’s room, one concave and one convex was the courtyard. the movement of these two simple pieces was so effective that the audience always knew what they were seeing and where they were meant to be. the costuming was also beautiful; the palate of each scene was coordinated and cohesive. every wedding guest was dressed in red, pink, yellow, orange, or some combination of these, so that the crowd was a wash of sunset hues. the beach scenes were all orange and teal, which invoked the blue water and hot sun. and the choreography! this show is something of an operetta; there are about seven minutes total of speaking, and the rest is all songs (how else do you think they fit twenty three ABBA numbers into the story?), most of which are group numbers. all of which means: there’s a lot of dancing. and the dancing was GOOD. reading the bios of the ensemble members revealed that most of them were recent graduates of music, drama, or dance schools across the UK, and most had extensive experience in West End productions, as well as international tours. everyone pulled their weight, and displayed great feats of athleticism on the stage.

I didn’t stop smiling all through the first act, let my face have a break during intermission, and then got right back at it in the second. Mamma Mia is a feel-good musical, and boy oh boy did I feel good.

we didn’t finish up and arrive at home until after midnight, and we have to leave at seven in the morning to catch our train to Paris. I’m glad we came to London.

more on that tomorrow,

amaya

1. The Winner Takes It All - ABBA

2. Birthday - The Sugarcubes

3. Voulez-Vous - ABBA

4. Cheek to Cheek - Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong

[hovie06]

Hey there!

We spent a lot of great time in London and probably could have spent even more there! Here is another post about our time there!

LONDON DAY 4

We toiled with the idea of skipping our first stop, the British Museum, and just going to see West End Live in Trafalgar Square. We ended up sticking to our plan of the British Museum and saw The Rosetta Stone and a lot of amazing artifacts from Ancient Egypt.

  I’m a sucker for beautiful ceilings!

The British Museum is also free, so we didn’t feel bad going in and not spending forever there. We headed toward Trafalgar Square after feeling like we spent enough time in the British Museum and listened to a little of West End Live! We heard hits from Mamma Mia!, Hair, Annie, and more, all while enjoying macaroni and cheese from Pret. We couldn’t stick around too long though because I had bought us tickets to see Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty’s Theatre! If you’re into musicals and you’re in London, I highly recommend seeing Phantom! It was perhaps one of my favorite things we did on the entire trip. Thanks so much Crystal for pushing me to actually purchase the tickets!

The only picture Trevor snagged on our Nikon before getting yelled at about pictures. 😦

The stage set before the show started.

The fallen chandelier at intermission.

The outside of the beautiful Her Majesty’s Theatre!

By the time the show was over, we were ready for dinner! We headed over to Covent Garden to enjoy some street performers and some good eats. We ended up having a hard time deciding where to go because everywhere was so busy at that time! We ended up finding this amazing restaurant where I enjoyed an amazing passion fruit bellini!

A visit to Covent Garden wouldn’t have been complete without Trevor stepping foot into Apple Covent Garden.

Eventually, we moved on to the area around St. Paul’s Cathedral. During my last visit to London, I had really enjoyed my time at St. Paul’s. This time I didn’t time it well and the Cathedral was already closed. But we walked around and went to the top floor of the mall next door for some amazing views.

We also happened to be close to the Millenium Bridge. Any Harry Potter fans out there? Thankfully they’ve reassembled the bridge so we could walk across it. 😉

  We got some nice London rain on this day – thank goodness for umbrellas!

  We walked by Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre on our way back to the hotel and stopped for another Mississippi Mud Pie McFlurry from McDonald’s. All in all, it was a much more relaxed day. It was definitely one of my favorites though.

Tomorrow’s post will entail our departure from London 😦

XO Elisebeth

Europe 2017: London Day 4 Hey there! We spent a lot of great time in London and probably could have spent even more there!