#and i guess they are setting the stage for other stuff to happen in different seasons maybe but urghh?? this was a Lot to happen | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

starlight-45 · 1 month ago

Text

Dating BLLK boys in school! (Part 2)

Featuring:- Hyoma Chigiri, Reo Mikage, Seishiro Nagi (Part 1 here with Yoichi Isagi, Meguru Bachira and Rin Itoshi and here's the masterlist )

A/n: again, don't know where this shit is set. It has their current personalities and they're still in blue lock. Maybe taking a break in off-season and go to school for a change. Idk.

~Hyoma Chigiri~

•Is pretty nonchalant about the whole thing actually he is about most things but gives in easily much to your suprise. he's unpredictable like that.

• To him school was just a place to showcase his talent on a low level before moving on to the bigger stage.

• Kinda really didn't have that many friends, despite being popular as hell because of his looks and talent.

• 'Cause no one really couldn't kept up with his actual sass and sharp personality. Well expect for you now, darling! Don't expect him to admit it though, you'll get only an eye roll out of him.

• But geuninely like there are situations where he has to reject like 5 people at once. 😭 You don't whether to be impressed or annoyed by it.

• Anyway.

• If Chirgiri isn't in class, you can find him in the library. Before you try to fight me, lemme remind it's in the egoist Bible so it's canon.

• He will binge read history novels honestly, and thinks in his free time how it could have been different and stuff. He thinks about the fall of the Roman Empire at least once a day.

• Won't ramble or blabble about it too much to you, but will share random titbits to you about, at the most random times.

• No seriously. At the most random times.

"Ugh trigonometry is the worst-"

"Christianity promotion must have resulted in loss of traditional values of Romans..."

"Huh?"

"You asked to study right?"

"YES. To study maths. Tommorow is the test!"

"...Oh."

• Also he's got a fair amount of complaints from teachers and other coordinators about his long hair. When they speak to him about it, he's judging then SO hard. He does it to almost everyone.

• If you blabble about your classmates stories, he will listen to it, asking questions actively. He actually is pretty interested in the gossipy stuff.

• Can I just rant about how much of a tease he is in denying you affection? Like don't get me wrong, of course Chigiri's gonna have some sort of physical contact like holding hands and stuff in front of other students.

• To show you guys are together and no he's not entertaining any confessions, that's what he tells you to just not get annoying interactions but you both know it's just not that lol

• But when you two do mange to get alone on campus, this guy is a cheeky little bastard. He intentionally leans a bit far than you, just to rile you up and make the first move.

"What? Why are you glaring at me, huh? I didn't do anything you know."

• By the way, this kind of situation doesn't really happen often. Only in school when alone. Still to this day you don't know why he gets like that during that specific time.

• You guessed it's maybe because he rarely can keep his hands off you in private, so this environment keeps him a but grounded and can act all cool. You saw right through it, but that's different story.

• Doesn't care what people think of him, rude, moody, arrogent hell even princess...because like whatever. But won't torelate any negetive comments about you.

• His demeanor doesn't change much, but his glare speaks for itself that the person currently should shut up if they know what's good for them.

• Because, despite all the ups and downs our princess truly loves you and will want the best for you. Amen.

~Mikage Reo~

• I'm guessing you already has a pretty good grasp at what to expect from him, huh?

• We all know, that while on the surface his school life is perfect with good grades, popularity, football...he gets really really bored there.

• But I think as his girlfriend, it's your job to not get him excited. And guess what? You're doing a great job at it!

• This guy is the type, that when in a relationship, you can talk on and on about golf most boring sport ever! and he will listen like it's the most interesting thing ever.

• So yeah... it's not really all that hard for ya to keep him busy lol. Others have a hard time to do so though.

• Though he gave up on studies since blue lock, he figured that it won't hurt to study a bit for a few months to keep up his reputation.

• And to impress you, but shh don't let him know I told ya. But yeah, when talking about studies he's more of a hard work type rather than being a natural. I'm looking at you, Nagi!

• Which is a blessing for you because you can literally just call him over whenever you wanna study. And like ACTUALLY study, he's the best at tutoring, teaching you everything patiently.

• I mean he was the best friend was Nagi. OF COURSE Reo gained a lot of patience from being around that baby.

• Still entertains the fan following he quickly gained at school I mean what did you expect? but not really too much like before.

• Kinda because of still having PTSD from blue lock. You know the the haunting feeling no matter what he does there are things he won't get. Yeah that's what he's afraid of deep down.

• And not just that, also because of you. He knows people can get a too overboard with the fangirling which might make you uncomfortable. So sweet! 😭

• Proudly shows you off as his, and damn he does get a bit of a smug look which is priceless to see. It's a good reminder for him that no matter what happens, you're always his side.

• Which suprisingly makes everyone immediately back off, because like it's just so evident that this guy is just too hooked up on you to even glance at their direction.

• Will actually bribe the school authorities to get you in his class, and will deny any accusations made against him by you about that matter you JUST asked him casually but y'know this guy is dramatic as hell.

• "Why would I do that? You think that I'm the kind of rich person to throw money away just to get my way?"

"I love you Reo but that's exactly what you are."

• Always has an arm around you, suprising you during lunch break, pulling your cheeks even in front of everyone...you're just that cute!

• Is the type to distract you during class, then giggle when you get called out by the teacher for not paying attention. :P

• Don't worry much though, Reo doesn't do it that often, he knows his limits, despite being tempted to do more just to have your attention and your adorable mad face.

• Damnit, you're still just too cute for him to resist having you with him. He truly is blessed.

~Nagi Seishiro~

• Okay so, I think this scenario can go two ways, depending on what time you ask him and what mood he is in.

• 1. Nagi would just say "It's such a hassle" and drop his head on your lap, not wanting to think much but will relent with a bit of convincing because again, he doesn't wanna use his brain much.

• 2. Would just say okay on your first attempt, not seeing any reason to refuse. As you can see, both of these scenarios end up getting him back in school for a few months.

• We all know he's the type to just sleep and play games in class and get scolded by the teacher because of it.

• Lord knows how this guy manages to top every single time because I don't.

• "Hey Seishiro what did you get?"

"..98.."

"I just can't believe it, how do you do it every single time?!"

"I don't believe it either." said the teacher unamused, arranging the papers.

• You also feel lowkey jealous because of it, like can study for hours and hours and still get less than him I don't know about you ma'am but I would have given up a long time ago on academics.

• However, it has it's merits as well. He doesn't study but hangs around you when you do in the library or his apartment and sometimes kind of helps you understand stuff.

• "God this question is so stupid."

"...Hm? It's so easy..."

"Oh really? Why don't you tell me how to do it?"

"... don't convert the tan A into sin A/cosA, because it won't get divided on the final step..."

"Wow it worked, thank you!"

"... don't mention it."

• If you can't find him during lunch, you can find him in teacher's cabin getting scolded or sleeping/playing games on the stairs.

• And in extreme cases, on the water tank of the rooftop how the hell did does he get there?? basically everywhere expect the classroom, eating his lunch, y'know like a normal person in lunch break.

• So it's your duty to drag him to have lunch so to make sure he doesn't die. No I'm not exaggerating, this guy can be starving to death but still be playing call of duty.

• This guy is shameless around you, and the worst part that you can't even say anything about it because it's not his intention to annoy you. He is just is build different.

• Like, he'd just lean over your shoulder as you drag him to class you still won't give him the piggyback ride. Poor boy not really regardless of people giving him and you judgemental stares.

• On the rare days when he's not sleeping in class, he's still not paying any attention to the teacher. Yeah all the teachers hate him.

• Instead his focus is all on you, observing how you are trying your best to pay attention to whatever the hell the teacher's trying to explain, suprisingly intrigued.

• He doesn't know why but, he's not bored while doing even though he's just looking at you . This guy is just attracted to you so damn much.

• And his smol energy level won't allow him to fight that attraction either. However Nagi doesn't dislike that fact. He loves the attraction and you, even if he didn't realise it yet.

A/n: I think the quality is dipped in this one, I kind of rushed it. I apologise for it. (⁠╥⁠﹏⁠╥⁠)

#blue lock #bllk #blue lock x reader #bllk x reader #nagi seishiro #nagi x reader #chigiri x reader #chigiri hyoma #reo mikage #reo mikage x reader

169 notes · View notes

youremyheaven · 2 months ago

Text

Random Mini Astrology Observations: Vedic Edition

Warning: This is just a string of random thoughts lol, don't compare it to my best work on here. It's a bunch of stuff I've had in my drafts and I'm trying to clear it all out

Before I get into this, I just want to say, that whether my observations are positive or negative, it won't apply to every individual who has these placements. 8 billion people exist on this planet, and not everyone will exhibit the same good or bad qualities. I hate having to put this PSA because some people don't get it but yeah "not all Lunars/Venusians/Nodals/Solars/Jup/Sat are going to be the same".

Jupiter influenced men are known for being introverted cutie pies who kinda have that mature-dilf-y vibe.

Obviously, another category of Jupiter men are often loud, extroverted and very outgoing but I've noticed these placements heavilyyyy in celebrities "known" for being private and introverted. They are also often known for being generous and kind hearted.

Prabhas, Vishaka Stellium (Moon, Mercury and Venus)

He is known as "darling star" and brings food that he has prepared at home for everyone on set (he is an actor). He is known for being very shy and introverted but also super sweet, generous and kind.

Sidharth Malhotra, Vishaka Moon

Sid is known for being extremely lowkey which is RARE for a Bollywood actor. He's also quite gentlemanly and charitable

Ratan Tata, Vishaka Moon

He is an Indian billionaire entrepreneur who lives in a small 2bhk apartment and has donated most of his personal wealth to charity. He is known for having led his company in a very humane way (there are lots of controversies and im aware of them but compared to the work culture and quality of life that most other indian companies offer its employees, TATA is in a different league).

Keanu Reeves, Punarvasu Moon (and stellium)

i dont have to explain but Keanu is the king of kindness and generosity

Mads Mikkelsen, Vishaka Moon

unlike his characters, Mads is actually a sweet guy and very private

Adam Driver- Vishaka Sun

he's so private that nobody even knows he's married with a kid

Tom Hanks, Punarvasu Sun

known for being a gentleman and quite modest. the OG nice guy and obviously very private

Ethan Hawke, Vishaka Sun

another lowkey, private guy who is known for being nice

2. Rashmika Mandanna and Surbhi Jyoti, Swati Moon

I find their eye area to be kinda similar?? I know they don't look alike but there are some overarching similarities between them and I think its bc they have the same moon nak.

3. I came across a comment that Akshay Kumar made about Asin and her CEO husband Rahul Sharma.

“He is madly in love with his wife, his child. It’s like he treats her like a goddess.

and guess what?? Rahul is a Purvashadha Sun 🥺😌😌

4. Ashwini natives often have post-apocalyptic dreams

Since its the first nak and is ruled by Ketu and is in complete darkness, symbolically representing the stage before creation (which happens in Bharani), the subconscious mind is susceptible to having really strange, fcked up, war-like dreams/visions. Also bc Aries rashi is ruled by Mars, God of War.

5. every Venusian man I know kinda has a voice kink

6. Many Punarvasus crave for a simple, rustic, relaxed type of life. In fact many famous Punarvasus live on a farm

Kaley Cuoco- Punarvasu Moon

Bretman Rock - Punarvasu Sun

MS Dhoni- Punarvasu Sun

Dennis Quaid, Punarvasu Moon on his ranch

7. Jupiter and Venus are 'Brahmins' or priestly, the Sun and Mars are 'Kshatriyas' or warriors, the Moon is 'Vaishya', or a trader, Mercury is a 'Vaisya', Saturn 'Shudra', or a lower caste and Rahu and Ketu are outcastes.

This is not an observation but just an astrological fact that I thought I'd mention

8. Magha girls are often the spoilt daughters or come from very bougie families where they're the princesses. They might emotionally suffer but materially and otherwise, they're very comfortable

Shruti Hassan- Magha Moon

she has spoken about how rough her childhood was bc of her parents' tumultuous marriage and subsequent divorce but that doesn't change the fact that she's the daughter of Kamal Hassan, one of the biggest stars in the history of Indian cinema

Kiara Advani- Magha Moon

Kiara is from a very wealthy and illustrious family, and she grew up as a much loved, spoilt ish daughter<3

Wonyoung- Magha Sun

Wonyoung is from a filthy rich family and she has said that she grew up very pampered. And that she didn't have an allowance bc whatever she asked for she got. However she became a trainee at 12yrs of age and that journey could not have been easy. Despite being born rich, she's had to go through a lot in life to be where she is today

Aditi Rao Hydari- Magha Moon

she's of actual royal lineage so she's a real life princess but her parents divorced when she was a kid and she grew up with a single mom in delhi and not in a palace

9. DMX- Mula Sun (dog yoni) was obsessed with dogs

The late rapper DMX's relationship with dogs, which seems almost mythical. He was born in 1970 - the year of the Metal Dog, and in his teens he ran away from his abusive household and befriended stray dogs while vulnerable on the streets. He began to gather dogs for protection, intimidation and family, and was sent to prison for stealing a dog (a neglected dog chained up in a scrapyard). In prison, he wrote a lot of his early songs, in which he came up with his "dog" mythology, in which he imagines himself as a monstrous dog-themed gangster who barks and howls. He had a huge tattoo of his favourite dog Boomer on his back. In 2008, his 12 dogs were taken from him by cops after there were reports of animal cruelty - DMX had paid a negligent caretaker to look after the dogs while he was on tour. (The dogs lived out the rest of their lives as therapy animals in a women's prison)

I think its interesting how our yoni animal influences our life

10. As Vighati graha, male planets are: Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Rahu; female planets are: Moon, Venus, Ketu whilst two eunuch planets are Mercury and Saturn. All the standard rules for determination of the sex of the child are applicable, female signs are: Taurus, Gemini, Virgo, Scorpio, Capricorn and Aquarius; male signs are: Aries, Cancer, Leo, Libra, Sagittarius and Pisces. Exalted planets indicate male issue and debilitated planets indicate female.

11. Mercurial men and Jupiter men are soooo flamboyant, sassy and gender non-conforming

RuPaul- Vishaka Sun & Moon

Elton John- Jyeshta Rising

Jeff Goldblum- Jyeshta Moon

Prince- Vishaka Rising

Jimi Hendrix- Mars in Vishaka atmakaraka

#astro observations #vedic astrology #astro notes #astrology notes #vedic astro notes #sidereal astrology #astrology observations #astrology #nakshatras #astroblr

178 notes · View notes

namelessdumbass · 5 months ago

Text

Rite Here Rite Now

It was amazing and funny. Copia girlies and boys fucking won!

I expected different outcome, tbh. Tobias managed to surprise me and also made me a tiny bit sad (reasons will be explained in the spoilers below).

The film consists of like 95% of concert footage and 5% of off stage/plot stuff. The quality of sound and editing is just 🤌 I expected the live of Twenties to be good and gosh Ghost delivered. And Mummy Dust...Tobias let Mary Goore out! But i honestly prefer Terzo's version (CaD) better. Sorry not sorry haha. Ghouls/Ghoulettes footage. Everyone who loves them will be very veeeery well fed!

Dance Macabre live...i was'nt wrong when i called it a satanic gay party 😁

The movie is worth watching and i do hope Ghost releases it as soon as possible for all those who were not able to go.

The spoiler free review ends here. Don't read further if you don't want to spoil it for yourself. And please, don't copy them and paste it everywhere for the sake of ruining other people's fun! Seriously, don't fucking do that!

If you accidently clicked here, don't worry! spoilers will be below and you still have a chance to avoid them :)

Alriiiiight:

Movie starts with Saltarian who tells fans to record for the first 2 minutes, to show how happy they are etc and posted a qr code for fans to upload those recordings. I guess it will be put up on RHRN website. We'll see. There were also photos of fans who attended LA ritual. I fucking loved the person who showed up in a giant Plushia suit. I LOLed! Then fans were asked to put down the phones and enjoy the movie. The beginning was narrated Star Wars kinda style (a little bit) with the small recap of the chapters and about Copia's worries that he might die. And yes, it literally began in space lol. The movie is basically is like what we saw in small snippets Ghost posted earlier. Plot mixed with a really good show.

And the plot: -Short footage of Copia and Ghouls arriving. ALmost the whole set was the same as any other concert from Re-Imperatour + a few awesome exceptions. -Dews does that annoying thing with guitar, Rain stops him, takes his pick and throws it into the crowd and Dew...he freaking showed him YouSuck sticker on the backside of his guitar. Peak Dew moment! -Copia asked the right question about the Clery. He also does not quite understand what it does, why and where it goes. I suppose Tobias decided to thicken the Ghost lore a bit and will have more clarity in the nearest future. -Remember when Copia jumped at the end of the Watcher in the Sky? He ended up in one of those stage boxes (for equipment or something) and is taken to the stage B. While he's carried to it by Kevin he has a chat with Nihil's ghost. Nihil says he recorded not 2, but 3 songs. That probably means that we'll hear a new one. (UPD: the new song we heard during the credits, "The Future is a Foreign Land" is Nihil's 3rd song! Confirmed by Tobias himself in a new interview). He also tells Copia to breath in deep and then farts. -On the Stage B Copia sings "If You Have Ghosts". 3 Ghoulettes played piano and violins and the 4th one did the haunting ghost-like opera vocals. It was beatiful. Copia kissed her hand. -He then wore boxing robe and went next to crowd. Almost the whole scene was shown in the trailer. -Btw, remember that silly moment when Nihil's eyes were crossing? Well, Kevin was also included in that staring contest. -Twenties live. The skeletons, the performance and one of those skeletons who crawled between Dew's legs...that's hot. -Nihil calls Copia "son". Copia calls Nihil "Dad". Cardi will insult him later, don't worry. -Nihil/Seestor cartoon during MOAC. Yes, that's when Sis hit him with the car. Basically it's what happens after "Kiss the Go Goat" mv. Sister leaves and Nihil runs after her. "I'll never let you go". They end up kissing in a coffin on a graveyard , later Nihil wakes up naked in a bed in a motel and we see Sister leave. -There was a moment in a movie when we see Ashley (stage crew) bring Copia a new pair of shoes and put the on on his feet. Tobias, goddammit what the hell was that? :D -Seestor was a in wheelchair all the time -She and Nihil encouraged Copia throughout the whole movie and gave him a piece of advice. -About the baloon from the poster. Copia flies on it after finishing the set...or he imagined that because a few moments later after Nihil/Seestor flashbacks he ends up on the floor and watches Seestor die. All of the Ghouls and Ghoulettes also stood right next to her. -Copia has a twin brother -Copia didn't die and became the head the Clergy (Father Imperator or something like this). He found out about his new position from a letter Seestor left for him. -New song during credits (credits show dictators, assassinations, wars and the use of nuclear war). Years 1984 and 2024 mentioned. The song is not heavy. -Ghouls/Ghoulettes real names mentioned in the credits -Funny post credit scene with Copia. He had no piant on and had a new cool drip (with black jacket and red and black cross). Seestor is also a Ghost now. Tobia's children cameo. They're also Ghosts. -Papa V is teased the same way Copia was teased in a chapter 1. They even used the same music (Pro Memoria). No face reveal. Either he will be revealed in new Chapters or at some point during the new tour???

-aaaand my biggest disappointment: no footage of Primo, Secondo and Terzo. Literally ZERO.

I mean, Nihil is a Ghost, Seestor also became a Ghost, even Tobias' children made a cameo as Ghosts, but nothing for previous Papas? Really?! The same could have been done for them, but i guess Tobias doesn't care about them anymore :( And it hurts. I know that's my fault that i had so many expectations and hopes, but holy shit :( As a newbie who never saw previous Papas, i'm so sad i'll never get a chance to see them and there won't be any new footage of them. Being Terzo widow is so hard. Guess that's why i'm a bit salty Copia lives (sorry, guys, i like him, but i also hate him haha)

And yes, as it turned out the twins theory from Square Hammer was true...but not for Terzo 😭

I enjoyed the movie nevertheless. It's fun and kinda gives you an opportunity to see the band "live" if you've never been to a ritual before. And yes, the movies was'nt just about Papa IV and his fate, i believe it was also Tobias' message for us to enjoy the life rite here rite now! As i said, Copia's girlies and boys truly fucking won. Congrats, lads, your Papa lives and will live! I bet that feels amazing. Thanks for reading! P.S. since you know the plot, don't spoil it for the others please.

#the band ghost #rite here rite now #rite here rite now spoilers #sister imperator #copia #papa nihil #ghovie spoilers #SPOILERS #papa emeritus iv

145 notes · View notes

ilooklikeaburntchickenugget · 1 month ago

Note

helloo! idk if youre taking requests, but if you do i was thinking of revenge era gee with fem reader who is also a well know singer. like shes on tour and does some festival mcr is playing at and shes really mainstream so the guys dont have high expectations on her music but then they watch her play and they're like "fuck, she actually does know what shes doing" and somehow her and gee exchange numbers and start texting all day long bc theyre both on tour

idk if this makes any sense tbh.

i saw one picture of ts on the red tour that looks like if it was taken with a shitty flip phone and thought of this somehow

anyway, feel free to ignore this and have a good day :D

Title: Happily Ever Accident

A/N: Hey y'all I know it's been actually forever but I saw this in my inbox and thought it was cute so managed to somehow write this amidst midterms season. Idk how but it happened. It's also not thoroughly proof-read because tbh I'm tried and lazy right now. But here's some content for y'all for once. Also, side note, but as I was writing this I was visioning reader as a Sabrina Carpenter-esc figure. Just in the sense of popularity, stage presence, etc. Pairing: Gerard Way (circa mid-2005) x F!PopStar!Reader Word count: 7,978 words Warnings: Swearing, mentions of insecurity

Low expectations. The constant standard he had set for almost every single festival his band was expected to play.

It wasn’t that Gerard didn’t like other people’s music, or festivals for that matter, but considering the label had cornered them into a small handful of non-genre restrictive ones he was annoyed. The culture, the vibes, the people- this was not his place. Not his band’s place, for that matter.

But commercialism was the name of the game, he had learned that early on. He was lucky enough the label had allowed their last album to be artistically driven by him, from songs and lyrics to the artwork on the cover. But there is always a quid-pro-quo in the entertainment industry. And playing at a mainstream festival was apparently one of them.

They wouldn’t have agreed to this had their last music video not gone over budget by a significant amount, and now they were paying the price. On top of that the label had encouraged them to be in public, watch other bands play from the VIP tents. Gerard narrowly lost his shit after trying time and time again explain that they needed time to prep for their show, get in the proper mindset, and that would take all the morning into late afternoon when they were finally on. The label exec begged to differ, giving no ultimatum.

“Fucking hell, if we have to listen to another fucking basic pop artist I’m going to lose my mind.” Frank sighed walking through the festival grounds. The group was by no means blending in, as three security guards stood around them and they could easily hear and see people left and right gawking at them as if they were circus animals.

“Good fucking luck with that.” Ray replied. He was never the sarcastic type, if anything he was the most mature and level-headed. So when he had enough, everyone knew it was bad.

“We have one more.” Gerard too sighed, sticking his hands aggressively in his jean pockets. “Then we’re off the fucking hook.” The group took sighs of relief out of sync.

“Who is it?” Frank asked, seeming halfway curious.

“Uh-“ Gerard stopped, checking his phone to see what their manager had texted them. “Great. Y/F/N Y/L/N.”

“Fuck me.” Frank sighed. “My head is going to fucking explode. Listen, I like all music, but I cannot do this much commercial, manufactured pop.”

“I don’t know, her stuff doesn’t seem as bad as some of the others.” Mikey chimed in for the first time.

“How would you know? I’ve only heard her shit in Targets.” Frank speedily replied.

“Social media, I guess. Enough sound clips from her songs have blown up to make them pretty hard to miss.”

“I’m still keeping my expectations low.” Frank shrugged.

“It’s the last one, try to be somewhat positive.” Ray replied halfheartedly.

“We’re never going over budget on anything again.” Gerard quickly added, turning a corner to the next stage’s area. “I can’t fucking do this.”

She got nervous before shows. She was great at hiding it. But in the last few weeks every festival she was playing had crowds growing bigger and bigger. From what her manager had communicated to her approximately two minutes ago, she had the biggest recorded crowd so far for the second day.

Staring at herself in the mirror of the green room, she pushed every bad thought out of her mind. She even closed her eyes and imagined all the bad energy within her swooping out of her body in swirls of dust and being replaced with positive rays of sunshine. It might’ve been stupid, but it worked.

She opened her eyes, putting on her signature smile, looked herself up and down, reminded herself that she was incredibly sexy at the moment, and b-lined it for the door.

Anxiety be damned, her ambitions had gotten her this far and would get her further, she knew that much. She was happy at this point to be thrown into the group of “pop girlies” currently dominating the charts, because it meant she was catering to an already large fan base, and proving others wrong in their assumptions too.

Give a girl some platform boots, a tight outfit where the tops integrity around her chest was questionable, and a microphone- then you’ve got a pop star.

Gerard stood there amazed. He could not fucking believe it.

Three songs in and he was mesmerized. He wasn’t sure if he was more shocked with her or himself. He was trying to rack his brain for reasons to not like this, and blank answers came up time and time again.

To begin with, her songs were substantially above average for pop. They had creative instrumentals, catchy sounds, and her lyrics were truly the star of the show.

But then he took into account her as a person. She was quite attractive, sure. He had seen her enough online and in magazines to see at least that much, but he was sure most of the male population and a decent amount of the female population also saw that. But here, in this light, in that tight little outfit that showed off all the right things just enough to give a good idea, but still leave a good amount to the imagination, he was falling head over heels.

He was almost flustered with her perfection in his eyes, having to catch himself to make sure wasn’t staring like a dog at a bone. After all, there were enough people around to know him and take photos, which would lead to massive and weird speculation online that he simply didn’t want to deal with.

And her stage presence was empowering. She was confident, not selfish. She was sexy as much as she was innocent. She was clear in her intentions and messages, just as much when she left some ideas not fully complete to leave people longing and wondering.

Suddenly he understood all the teenage girls in the audience. She was fucking incredible.

“Told you.” Mikey said next to him with a smirk. It was hard for Gerard to look away from her, but he did. “Don’t always believe stereotypes man. You out of all people should know better.”

“That really wasn’t so bad after all.” Frank shrugged as the group walked back to their own green room, hidden in an array of tents set up on the edge of the festival grounds.

“Yeah, but standing in the heat for that long was exhausting.” Ray commented next, his hands stuffed deep in his pockets. He was always tense until they got all the equipment set up and knew everything was going to go right.

“I don’t know man, that last show kinda rocked.” Mikey responded. “Been trying to tell you guys that not all pop artists are that bad.”

“Well, a lot of them are.” Frank quickly rebutted. “However, you are right, that last one was incredible. I just thought having a girlfriend who obsesses over pop music had gotten to your head.” Mikey rolled his eyes.

Gerard was silent, partially because he didn’t really have anything to say, and partially because he was hanging on to the last show. He learned through years of art school and sketching under cubicle lights that some of the best art was clear as day yet still left you thinking. That was how he felt at the moment. Dwelling in the really astounding feeling he had.

She had single handedly proved a lot of his fallacies wrong. And he saw with his very eyes how she managed to go from half the crowd being into her to the master tools her voice and movement had that puppeteer the crowd like a pro. Who was he kidding though- she clearly was a pro.

Turning a corner he was so lost in his thoughts, his body in auto drive and his vision turned to the cement ground. He knew he needed to stop thinking soon, get in the right headspace for his own show- and then he bumped into something.

His body lost a bit of its control as his right arm collided with something a bit smaller than him. Suddenly he regained all his consciousness as his stabled his footing again, turning his body to see what it was.

And there, low and behold, in those damn platform boots and an oversized hoodie that went so far down her thighs it was a dress, was the very woman who had captured his mind just minutes ago. She was lingering within him, and now she was right here.

Fate works in strange ways.

“Shit, I’m so sorry-“ She began, regaining her own balance as she clearly took more of a hit than he did given that she was shorter and had boots that, despite looking like they weighed a ton, he doubted helped to ground her any more.

“No, that was my fault.” He quickly interrupted, growing embarrassed as she looked up and he realized he had managed to be rude to her in the last 30 seconds not once but twice. “I should’ve been looking out.”

“Me too.” She calmly replied with a small smile, handing this with so much grace and calmness compared to his internal panic.

This close she managed to look even better than on the screens. Photos and videos didn’t do her beauty justice. She looked almost like a doll- near perfect features, beautiful hair, and a smile that was so comforting and cute and graceful. Her makeup was almost as perfect as it was when she went on, but her mascara was ever so smeared around the corner of her eyes, her lipstick fading, and hell- his mind couldn’t help but wander to a place where he wondered what it would be like if he had put her in this state. And then he shut those thoughts up as quickly as they appeared, choosing instead to wonder how anyone could be more perfect.

“I um- I better get going and leave you guys to get to your show.” She quickly said, but froze up not even a moment later, her eyes growing wide with embarrassment of her own. “Shit that was weird wasn’t it? I don’t know you but- well I do, kinda, but like not personally. I mean knowing your music and band and-“ she stopped talking not knowing what to say, her body almost shrinking in a sense of even more embarrassment. “Fuck. I’m gonna shut up now.”

Gerard gave a chuckle and a smile of his own. He felt better now that both of them felt embarrassed.

“No, it’s okay.” He replied. “We’re just coming from your show, actually.” Somehow she froze even more. He could tell under that huge gray hoodie her muscles had tensed further.

“Oh, uh, I hope you enjoyed it.” She softly smiled, polite but seeming almost nervous. Why was he so bad about talking to women, especially pretty ones?

“It was phenomenal, actually.” He replied, nervous himself and instinctively rubbing the back of his neck with one of his hands. There was already a thin layer of sweat connecting back there from standing in the heat for so long. But he didn’t care about that nor how he would survive the heat on his stage later- all he cared about right now was not completely fucking up this interaction with the woman in front of him.

“Are you just saying that to be nice?” She asked with a pouty lip as she clearly questioned the integrity of his response. He rapidly shook his head.

“No, of course not. I don’t lie- ever. If anything I went into the show not knowing much- not in a bad way, I mean kinda in an ignorant way if I’m being honest, and you just- fuck, man, the way you controlled that crowd was so exciting and empowering. It truly was incredible.”

Her face looked like a damn puppy dog begging for a treat. If he weren’t human he would have definitely melted by that look. Big eyes and a genuine smile, her cheeks big and emphasizing her reaction.

“That’s really sweet, thank you so much.” She replied, yet again with grace that he wished he had in these moments. “I um- while I would love to talk more I need to take a shower. I feel so sticky and just- gross. But it was really nice talking to you. And thanks so much for watching me, I really appreciate the feedback.”

His heart broke just a bit.

“Yeah, of course.” He replied, and before he could think he blurted out. “You’re more than welcome to come to ours as well, I mean I’m sure you have the artist VIP tent access, but if you wanna get closer I can definitely arrange a barricade pass for you.”

Her eyes lit up and glowed in a way he wished he could see every single day.

“That’s amazing!” She replied. “Would it be selfish to ask for one more too? My best friend is here and she likes you guys too-“

“Consider it done.” He smiled as she smiled back. “I’ll have my manager send them over to your trailer.”

“Thank you, that’s very sweet of you.” She replied.

“It’s the least I can do. Returning the favor of watching your show and providing feedback.”

“Does that mean I need to take notes for yours and give them to you too?” She asked with a playful smile. Just now he noticed the water bottle in her hand with a straw as she took a sip and damn- he quickly erased all the dirty thoughts that rushed into his mind before it was too late.

“Only if you want to.” Where had this confidence in him come from? He didn’t even know. But right now it was working, and that was all that mattered. Yet again, his body thought before his mind as he said, “Give me your number and we can arrange a meetup. To, ya know, exchange notes and whatnot.”

She seemed flustered, but hid it well. However, the red blush growing on her cheeks and her face that froze yet again for a mere moment told him maybe she wasn’t all that good at this either. But hey, there was a learning opportunity for both of them, he supposed.

“Sure.” She said, as he grabbed his phone, handing it to her as she quickly typed it in.

Y/F/N Y/L/N it read on his screen, the line of numbers under it.

“It was nice meeting you, Y/F/N.” He smiled.

“You too-“ She said, but stopped herself. “I know your first name but I don’t want to say it before you do because that’s creepy.”

He let out a genuine laugh.

“Gerard.” He said.

“Gerard.” She replied. “I’ll see you later, Gerard.”

“So what you’re telling me is Gerard Way wants to fuck you?” Lacey asked her. But she supposed this is why people had best friends- to be both supportive, honest, and borderline crude all at the same time.

“I don’t know if he wants to fuck me-“

“He wants to ‘exchange notes’ on your shows? Code words for ‘come back to my trailer and let’s have sex’.” She said with confidence, sitting down and scrolling through her own phone as Y/F/N changed into a solid black hoodie and jeans to not make her presence obvious. Their show was not about her, and she hoped her presence wouldn’t make it about her.

“Well, I don’t just fuck guys. And I’ll be happy to tell him that if he tries. But he seemed very sweet, and all the interviews of him lean towards him being a very nice guy.” Y/F/N responded quickly, borderline defensive.

“Nice guys can have hookups too, ya know.” Lacey said. She wasn’t wrong, but Y/F/N swore this felt different.

“Regardless, that’s not happening with me.”

“Preach, sister.” Lacy said with a bit of pop in her voice. “If what you’re saying is true, it did sound like you have him wrapped around your finger.”

“We talked for like two minutes. I barely know him, he barely knows me.” Y/F/N rolled her eyes, expertly reapplying her lip gloss in a small mirror.

“Do you know that amount of men after your shows that would fall on their knees and beg for you?” Lacey asked, finally looking up from her phone to make eye contact in the mirror.

“Whatever.” Y/F/N sighed. “I’m just excited we have barricade to a My Chem show. How long have we been wanting to see them?”

“A solid year.” Lacey admitted, standing up to find her shoes. “I’m still not over Gerard Way wanting to fuck you, though.”

Y/F/N was sure rumors would be circulating by morning. As soon as she entered the VIP barricade area alongside Lacey, there was a sudden eruption of screams, and as she looked over a sea of phones were taking photos and videos of her. She gave a polite smile and wave before turning back around towards the stage, hoping as soon as the band got on the attention was going to divert away from her.

Damn her for thinking having a black hoodie on with the hood up would prevent this.

Within minutes though, as the lights on the stage went pitch black and screams from the entire crowd erupted she knew that finally she could just enjoy seeing a band she really liked play from right in front of her. Perks of being a pop star or whatever.

She had to admit that the in-person performance easily knocked any of the recorded ones she saw online out of the fucking park. And while Gerard Way had always been objectively attractive, and happened to be the skinny sad white boy that was her type for whatever reason, he looked really attractive in this light. Like a new skin of confidence took over him. Maybe it was the tight black skinny jeans or fake bullet proof vest with no shirt on under it that perfectly sculpted his lightly muscular arms- and damn the hands. Masculine hands were one of her weaknesses. And his very much fit into that category.

So did she have any notes after the show? No, actually. It was exactly what she had expected, but two fold. She was left amazed and energized as they walked off.

If he really wanted to compare notes with her he was going to be sorely disappointed in the lack of notes she had.

That night did not end with them sharing notes about the others show. Instead, it ended with them sitting on a grassy patch of the festival grounds when it emptied out talking about anything and everything. Gerard had quickly realized how multi-faceted of a person Y/F/N was. Every preconceived notion he had of her was torn down by her random knowledge about random things, her admissions to cringey teen phases she had, cute childhood stories, dichotomy of family and how difficult that could be to navigate.

She was fucking perfect inside and out. And he knew he couldn’t lose her.

In an assertive nature he decided to text her more through the next week. She was on tour in one town, and he was in another. But that didn’t matter. Every other day, or three days apart maximum, they would call from their hotel rooms, or from outside his bus, and talk. About everything. Their days, their histories. What they ate, what they did or didn’t like, who they saw, where they were next, what they wanted to do, asking the other about cool things to do in the city they were in for that day.

And finally, a little less than two weeks after they met, they had that talk.

“So what are we?” She asked over the phone, sitting on her bed and nervously picking at her brightly colored nails. She needed to know before she got too attached and her heart broken further down the line when she was way deeper in than she was now. Not that rejection now wouldn’t hurt- she was trying to save herself from more potential hurt later.

“Seeing each other?” He asked. “I mean, no pressure- we can always take it slower.“

“I would like for us to be ‘seeing each other’.” She replied with a smile growing on her face.

“Great, then we’re seeing each other.” He decided, she could hear the small smile in his own voice despite not seeing him.

“We have a four day break coming up.” He mentioned on a call. A few weeks had blown by, and things felt very normal between them given how abnormal their situation was.

“Okay.” She replied simply, wanting him to go on.

“I want to come see you, if that’s okay.”

“Okay.” She replied again, not hesitant- but a mixture of excited and logistically starting to play a mind puzzle about how this was going to work.

“Just okay?” He asked, now sounding more hesitant himself but equally as confused.

“No, I just mean- like, yes, please come, I really want to see you, but if people see us together again, I think it will kinda be obvious. I- it’s not that I don’t want to show you off, but I kinda like the direction we’re going in now. I don’t want public speculation or opinion to fuck that up.”

Even in a fucking baseball cap and sunglasses at her show, people would grow suspicious of that figure in the secluded family/friends area. They would equally as quickly figure out, judging by the firestorm online caused by her presence at their show the night they met, who it was. And then they would be official without actually saying anything. Just by being together.

She wouldn’t mind being official to the public, eventually. But she wanted more time to have just them to herself.

“I can stand off to the side behind the stage.” He offered.

“Your view is gonna suck.”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“Okay then.” She replied affirmatively.

“Okay?” He asked for clarification.

“Yes, okay.” She softly smiled with a giggle. “Come to the shows, I even have a hotel room booked one of the nights.”

“Oh fancy.” He replied with a chuckle. “Lookin’ forward to it.”

She shouldn’t have been nervous. He had seen her perform before.

Well once- the first time they met, and then twice on TV in the last few weeks since her career had managed to blow up even further. But this felt different. It was different.

She knew he could now have expectations of her. What if he didn’t like something, or got the ick from the way she danced or what if she fucked up? What if she tripped on stage for the first time or bumped into something or forgot a lyric or her voice went out-

“On in two.” She heard one of the stage techs say, peeking their head through her green room door. As if one queue, she heard a roar of screams from the direction of the stage, queueing that her little intro video had started. Despite still playing smaller venues, at least ones smaller than arenas, her label had actually been willing to put quite the production into her tour after realizing that her stage presence and personality was one of the things that charmed audiences so much.

She gave herself one final look over in the mirror. Her opening outfit was standard- a body con number decked out in black sequence with red accents and her infamous knee high boots that were plain leather, but that she had begun to notice were also being worn more commonly by fans to her shows. It was one of those trademark things that made her feel more like the pop star she was growing to be. At least the headlines called her that.

Taking her hands, she fluffed out her hair a bit more giving her light waves more volume, dropping them, closing her eyes, and reopening them in her stage persona.

She walked out of the door beginning her strut with the sense of confidence she only gained to this level when she knew she was going to be on stage. As she approached side stage, her bedazzled microphone with her initials on it in small rhinestones at the bottom was waiting for her with one of the stage assistance. She gave him a small smile and nod as a thank you, taking it delicately and wrapping her hand around it firmly.

Her in-ear monitored queued up with her sound guy, Jeremy, who gave her the 20 second warning. She allowed herself one final deep breath, realizing this was her time to shine. Even if he was here for the first time watching her as the guy she was seeing, and just generally in a new light, she recalled meeting him for the first time after a show, figuring if she could impress him once maybe she could do it again.

After all, the version of herself that managed to get his attention in the first place was the one who was about to step into the spotlight in a mere three seconds.

Sweaty, hot, tired, worn, happy. The best ways to describe how she felt almost every night coming off stage.

She felt great about this show. The crowds she was dealing with were getting better at each stop, she figured it was venues being sold out and her rapid growth as an artist that was to thank for their enthusiasm and their increased screaming of her own lyrics back to her.

But what made this show so special was seeing him in one of the boxes up and over from the crowd. He kept a low profile with a plain t-shirt and baseball cap, standing next to Lacey through the entire duration, but the occasional eye contact they made was what kept her going.

He was always at least smiling at her. If not he was beaming, or nodding, swaying to the music, and her favorite was when he was so focused on just her that she caught his lower lip being bitten, his eyes glued straight onto her. She knew she always had most if not all of the crowd in a trance- but tonight his attention was the one she really wanted.

She giggled at something her manager had said as they walked through the back hallways of the venue, sipping on her bottled water through a straw and trying to regain as much hydration and energy as possible. As the turned a corner toward the green room, she paused and gave a big toothy smile as she saw him at the end of the hallway.

There was Gerard, still in his relatively incognito outfit, and a full smile as their eyes met. As fast as she could manage to run in her boots, she made her way down the hall and collided with his torso, breaking out into a fit of giggles as he hugged her back.

“Did you like it?” She asked first, letting her chin fall on his chest as she looked up at him with big doe eyes hoping for a good answer.

“You fucking killed it.” He said affirmatively with a smile, leaning down to give her a quick kiss. “You’re absolutely insane out there. Such a natural- fuck, I wish I had half the confidence and ability you do when I’m on stage.”

“Oh stop it!” She playfully and lightly hit his shoulder as she backed away to walk back to her room with him. In the process he swiftly grabbed her hand in his, intertwining their fingers which made her smile even more. “Don’t give yourself any less credit- you’re a fucking beast on stage.” He leaned down and gave her a kiss on the head.

“But nothing like you.” He replied, holding the door open for her as they entered back in so she could change.

She quickly and stealthily changed into a shirt and sweatpants, sitting down to take her makeup off, or at least that’s what she would typically do. But as she sat and looked at herself in the vanity mirror, catching a glimpse of him in the back scrolling on his phone, she wasn’t so sure she felt all that confident with him in person without all of this on.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, catching her in a trance. Damn, why did he have to be so good on picking up these things?

“Nothing.” She said with a soft smile. His body language with a raised eyebrow implied he definitely did not believe that. “I just- should I take my makeup off?” She asked turning to him. He gave her an even more confused look.

“Is it what you normally do?” He asked and she nodded. “Then yeah, take your makeup off.” She didn’t move, still staring at him. “Baby, what’s wrong- actually?” She groaned.

“It’s so stupid.” She admitted, now looking away from him. “I just- I don’t want you to like, I don’t know, not like me without this on.”

He looked a bit shocked and confused at look, but it quickly melted into sympathy.

“Sweetheart, take your makeup off.” He requited with a sweet tone. “I promise you, I will not view you any differently without makeup on. That is such a minor thing. And I’m not with you for your looks- I mean, you are fucking gorgeous- but that’s with or without makeup.”

“Fine.” She replied, grabbing some of her cotton pads and makeup remover, then going to town on delicately running them over her skin and cleaning everything off.

Once she was done, only a few minutes later, she grabbed her bag and regular shoes, slipping them on and getting up to approach him where he leaned next to the door. As soon as she was a few inches from him, he delicately took her face in his hands.

“See, just as gorgeous as always.” He softly smiled, giving her a soft and passionate kiss. She offered a sheepish smile and a growing blush on her cheeks.

“Thank you.” She nervously replied. “We gotta go though- I’m fucking starving.”

“Holy shit.” She said, taking another forkful of pasta and placing it into her mouth. “This is so fucking good.”

“Mhm.” He nodded in agreement taking a bite of his own. It was nice to have some company to actually eat with, and not just pull out her laptop to watch a show or call her parents who were halfway across the country. Now, she had her boyfriend laid across the bed sideways in front of her as she sat criss cross at the head.

“You want a bite?” She asked. He looked at her skeptical for a moment before nodding, allowing her to grab another few pieces, giving them to him.

“Well, shit.” He sighed with a smile. “That is fucking amazing.” She nodded in agreement. There was a brief moment of silence that followed.

“I hate that we have to go back to being, like- normal.” She said. It was one of those thoughts that just spilled out without her even thinking.

“Hm?” He asked, looking up with his eyebrows furrowed.

“Ya know, like being apart for so long.” She said with a tight smile. “We’ve barely spent any time together in person but every time we do I want to spend more and more- and we can’t.” He sighed, putting his fork down in his container.

“I know, baby.” He softly said, taking his now free hand and placing it on her bare thigh, rubbing small circles into the skin with his thumb. “But it’s only another month- then we’re on break and I’ll come be with you as long as you want.”

“Gee, you should get a break.” She said with a serious face. “You need to go home and settle for a few weeks and be with your family and friends there who you haven’t seen in fucking forever.” He shrugged.

“I’ve had all the time in the world to make relationships with them- I want to continue to build ours, and if that means going on tour with you than so be it.” He replied with confidence.

“Even if we do that people will speculate and- we would have to go public.” She explained.

“Is that such a bad thing?”

“No, but,” She took a moment to think, making eye contact with him again as his eyes begged hers for answers. “I don’t want to keep you or us a secret. I would love to show and brag about my super cool, super talented, super hot boyfriend to the world, but I want to keep it private.” He smiled lightly and nodded.

“Then let’s do it.” He said, affirmatively. “We’ll take it at your pace. Whenever you’re ready, I’m ready.”

He had been on tour with her for a full week. And it was becoming unbearable how many things were circulating around.

It started at the first show he came to- a solid handful of people had noticed him and put a name to the face, despite his attempt to remain to himself. A small firestorm erupted online over the alleged rumors. The headlines abusing taboos and cliches of the “pop princess and rockstar” trope that made people go crazy.

Then he actually began coming on tour. She wasn’t sure she had been happier on any other leg of it, until he was there to watch every show, and take her out when she had breaks to his favorite spots in each city, and then end the night in her queen sized “suite” on the back of her bus if you could even call it that. She had even bought more storage bins for under the bed to make room for his things.

But people didn’t need to see all the stolen and sudden kissed, or hysterical fits of laughter, or constant touching that were soft reminders of the other. They didn’t need to know about all the photos they had taken of each other, or the memories made, or the lyrics and words that began filling her songbook as she wrote almost exclusively now about him. At least yet.

But on day nine of them being on her tour together, she couldn’t take the speculation anymore. She couldn’t ignore all the photos taken of him at her shows, or the videos that replayed her not-so-obvious smiles and slow hip movements while making direct eye contact with him. In all fairness, she wasn’t trying to hide it.

People could see moments and snippets of their love. But she wouldn’t let them see the whole thing.

“What d’you think?” She asked, the back of her head leaning against his shoulder as they both looked at her phone. It was a simple story draft for her Instagram of the two of them just a few nights ago walking into a gas station. Not the most romantic thing, but her makeup artist had managed to catch it at one of their stops late at night.

The lighting was perfect and almost vintage aesthetic, offering a slight blur to the photo. It was the two of them holding hands as they walked in, both with hoodies and sweatpants on. Only half her face was shown, brightly smiling up at him, and only the back of his head was shown as a mop of slightly messy slightly put-together black hair.

“I love it.” He said with a small smile, giving her a kiss on the top of the head. In the bottom corner she had just put a small black heart, meant to be a small clue.

“Okay,” She smiled. “I think I’m gonna post it.” She said, looking up at him. “You okay with this?”

“Of course.” He genuinely smiled back. “I don’t mind at all.”

Before she could second guess she hit the post button, immediately turning off her phone and throwing it to the edge of the bed.

“It’s done.” She said with big eyes and a giddy tone. “Like, we’ve confirmed.”

“Mhm,” He nodded with a small chuckle, “We have confirmed.” He leaned down to give her a soft kiss, not even a few seconds later his phone buzzed.

He reached over to grab it, smiling at the screen, and showing her.

I was wondering when you guys were gonna post something. Mikey had sent. It’s been fucking long enough.

She should’ve stopped staring after a few seconds, but she couldn’t help it. She rarely felt this confident in herself, but just as quickly as the adrenaline boost of self love hit her, the sobering of imperfections came knocking too.

Dressed in a long green strapless dress that was built to just fit her, she looked and felt like a Barbie. Her makeup team had really done quite an impressive and good number on her face, exemplifying all her good features perfectly, and covering up or minimizing the ones she didn’t like so much. Her hair hung in a low, sleek pony tail against her back, her nails for once long with extensions that would be removed for sure in the next two to three days.

“You’re absolutely perfect, ya know that?” She heard him, turning around to find her boyfriend with a big smile as one of his hands placed itself lightly on the small of her back. She softly smiled up at him, and he swore his heart skipped a beat and nearly sent him into cardiac arrest the way her big eyes stared right into his.

“Not necessarily, but thank you.” She responded in a small voice. She always got nervous before events- he learned that quickly after having to be on text and call standby as she repeated her own self-doubts while spiraling about things going wrong. No one would have ever known- her presence on carpets, stages, and everything in between was flawless.

And now here they stood for the first time together doing this. Him in a traditional and well-fit suit, her in the dress that would put anyone else wearing the color green to shame. He gave her one good look up and down (what was realistically the dozenth already), relishing in the fact that he was merely an accessory to her- and was blessed to be one at that.

There were already rumors circulating everywhere about the potential for them to show up together tonight. It was the ideal place to hard launch, and after dating for just over six months it finally felt like a good time to let the world see them together in all their glory. She was feeling more confident in him, and he was honestly just along for the ride- a very happy passenger too.

“How do we act?” She asked next, his hand still sat on her back as she leaned more into him so their bodies were no more than two inches apart.

“Like how we normally act.” He replied confidently. “I’m not sure anyone will be genuinely surprised- people have been expecting this.”

“When people set expectations about things they don’t know, it typically doesn’t work out the way they want.” She replied quickly.

He knew better than to ruin her hair or makeup, but at this moment he couldn’t see her for that, so he leaned in without hesitation and gave her a soft kiss as an attempt to calm her nerves.

“We’re not here to appease to anyone’s wants or expectations of us.” He explained in a tone just above a whisper, as if they weren’t the only two people in the room. “We’re here to be with each other- not to explain us.”

It was a relative blur, and she thanked the blinding lights of paparazzi that overtook her vision and senses as soon as they took a single step onto the carpet together. She had never heard the two of their names meshed together so many times in such a short period of time. It felt weird to hear them coming out together from other people’s mouths- but it also felt reaffirming.

His hand had initially snuck around her back, resting itself on the other side of her waist and pulling her close to him. The slight warmth from his body made her feel okay, an emotion she typically had to forcefully place at bay here but was tamed solely by him.

They gradually moved their way down at the instruction of the event staff, and narrowly at the last stop he leaned in to whisper to her, hiding his lips behind the back of her head to not let anyone get a chance to overhear what he was going to say.

“I think I have a new appreciation for my name when it’s next to yours.” He said with a small smile, pulling away and looking down at her.

She couldn’t help herself but to break out into a bigger smile, one that wasn’t posed for the cameras but more authentic. She usually hated her full smile, the cheekiness and roundness of her face making the pictures look unbearable to her, but in that moment it didn’t matter. She playfully nudged him a bit as he resumed his position with his arm around her waist, but this time she placed her hand on his chest, angling herself towards him.

He authentically smiled, not expecting it, and had to resist the urge running deep within him to kiss her. But no one here deserved to see that part of them- no one here deserved to know her like he did.

“New album stuff?” He asked, walking over to the living room with a “new” cup of coffee in his hands (this was his third refill in the last two hours). She nodded from where she sat on the floor, back against the bottom of the vintage arm chair she fell in love with and insisted on having to decorate their new place. Their place.

Gerard had always respected her boundaries with her music. She was being incredibly secretive about her upcoming project- despite it essentially being finished from what he had gathered- but he also knew incredibly well how labels worked. And despite both of them being in the industry, her upcoming album was expected to be gigantic. Both in the reception of it and in the work itself.

“They just began pressing all the vinyls.” She smiled up at him.

“When are you gonna see it?” He asked back, sitting down on the couch and leaning over the coffee table to grab his sketch book and pencils again.

“Hopefully within two weeks.” She shrugged. “That’s if everything goes right. Not that I think it won’t- there’s just… a lot.” He looked up for his eyes to meet her, giving her a sympathetic look and nod.

“Regardless of how it goes, you have worked your ass off for this.” He explained. “Critics will always say shit because they’re jaded and subjective. Most of them haven’t even made music. And your fans are gonna love anything you put out.” She softly smiled back.

“Thanks.” She said. “I can’t wait for you to hear it.”

“Don’t you have the entire record on your computer?” He asked, eyeing the laptop that sat in her lap. She rolled her eyes.

“It’s not that simple.” She replied, closing it and getting up. “Besides, I want it to be a surprise.” She finished, walking over to him and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

“So are you flattered or what?” Their manager approached where he sat on the bus. He was so lost in the trance of finding the necklace that she had been dying to get for ages online as a surprise album release gift that he didn’t hear a thing.

“Hm?” He asked looking up at him.

“You’re the muse for the number one song on Billboard right now.” His manager replied with a small smile, arms crossed over each other.

“Right.” He awkwardly responded.

He was, indeed, the quite obvious muse for her first single, which happened to somehow skyrocket on the charts as soon as it released and within a few days was impossible not to hear. Whether it be radio, playlists, grocery stores, social media- the damn song was everywhere.

By no means was he upset, he just wasn’t expecting it. He was actively figuring out how to deal with the amount of empty and comical threats he got from fan accounts saying they were fully prepared to fight him if it meant even a shot at being with her. Also, while he had approved of the lyrics she had showed him (well, specifically the incredibly, borderline obvious, suggestive ones) it still made him feel a blush grow on his face when he heard them over and over again.

And the fucking cherry on top was the music video. At this point, he had seen her in many different ways, doing many different things (if you catch the drift) but as soon as he watched it he felt like he was falling for her all over again, ten-fold this time. It also made him begin to seriously question why the fuck you were with him, and simultaneously wonder if all the manifesting bull shit the merch girl was telling them about was something he should look into given that he needed some form of magic to get someone so out of his league.

“Good luck when the album drops, man.” His manager smiled, “Can’t wait to see all the teenage girls that want to band together and fight you.”

Gerard didn’t drink anymore and hadn’t for a while. But he did stare with a smile as she took a shot of tequila and her face immediately grew into a sour and twisted expression.

“Fuck that was worse than I remember.” She said through a small cough, grabbing the water by her and downing a chunk of it.

The low-key album release party was being held at their place. It was primarily close friends, the one producer she worked with on the record and her engineer, then the band as well as some of Gerard’s friends. Despite it being small, the place was buzzing under the dimmed lighting as there was consistently multiple conversations happening in the background, solid laughter mixed in too, and her album playing track by track in order softly in the background.

She sat on the floor, back against the couch, in a simple shirt and jeans, him right behind and next to her sat on the couch. She wasn’t drunk, but was definitely tipsy as she laid her head on his jean clad knee. He looked down at her with a smile, running a hand through her loose hair.

“I love you so much.” She smiled up at him. “Thank you for being such an incredible muse.”

He had been complimented plenty of times by critics, reporters, fans- but nothing even came remotely close to that comment.

“Baby, this is all you.” He insisted with a smile back. “We wouldn’t be here if you weren’t so damn incredible at everything you do.”

She sighed happily, closing her eyes for a moment.

“I’m so fucking glad you bumped into me.” She said. “I was so pissed at first and so tired and hot and sweaty- I thank the universe everyday for making that happen.”

“I do too, sweetheart.” He said, letting his smile melt into a sincere and content one. It only felt right. “I do too.”

#my chemical romance #gerard way #my chem #my chemical gee #my chemical gerard #gerard way x reader #gerard way fanfiction #mcr gerard #my chemical romance x reader #mcr x reader #mcr fanfiction #mcr #gee way #gerard way x you #gerard way x y/n

41 notes · View notes

rice-pudding-slaps · 4 months ago

Text

CATS SANTIAGO 2024: My review and experience

On July 12th I saw CATS Santiago on opening night. And I had the best night of my life

I'm sorry for the very late thoughts, but life has been a bit hectic and I have a lot of stuff to say.

If you have any other questions please do send an ask about it because I'm very excited to talk about this production

Also excuse my grammar as english is very much not my first language

TLDR: I absolutely loved it. I cried tears of joy

The General Stuff:

The stage was very tiny. But they made up by using a staging and set very similar to the Warsaw one with big climbable structures so the cats had a lot of places to go

The costumes were changed from the press releases. If you've been following along the ride, then you'd probably seen more or less how the characters are supposed to look. Sadly not all of the changes were to my liking, but none of them I outright disliked.

Bomba and Tanto lose their long wavy hair. Bomba had a wig more similar to the classic cat shape, and Tanto just had a short bob-ish hair

Exótica changed her full white face make up for one that showed her natural skin tone and it was a much appreciated change. She looked beautiful.

Misto's wig also got changed from the classic shape to a sleek silhouette with two horn-ear thingies that were buns on his head

Also Vic lost her bangs and changed to some buns on her head

Jemima's wig also changed from being very short and spiky for a very fluffy and kinda cat shaped hair. I liked it!

Jellylorum made an appearance cuz sadly I didn't have her portrait and she had long straight hair and a knitted shawl which was adorable

Also another ensemble character played by Alexis Sepúlveda, whom I had no idea was in this musical. My guess is that he came along because Andrés Zará, the first Tugger, is leaving after the Santiago shows and won't be joining the tour.

Another important change is that a lot of the characters are plainly different, as it often happens with non replicas

First off, the Alonzo debacle. In this case, Alonso (With an s, as is more often written here in Chile) is a kitten that is following Munkustrap all the time. He is very much a "protector in training" kind of type. Very childish and moving a lot with the other kittens, even if he's supposed to be a second in command. Very similar to Plato in 98 or other replicas

Then it's Pouncival, that Fernando Vargas, who plays him, defined as "A cat in transition from childhood to adulthood. He admires and respects everyone who are his guides and protectors. Athletical and energetic". He is very often during the play in the forefront, and is the cat who is always on alert and besides Munkustrap too.

Coricopat also had a bit of a change in his usual place as the mysterious part of a duo, since he was very often close to Victoria and was who did most of the lifts with her. He would often "split" himself between Tantomille and Vicky, and honestly it was eyecatching everytime. They stole the stage.

Sadly is not customary to give playbills or similar to attendees, so I couldn't get any. However, I do have a very special memento that I'll share later.

Now, song for song, I will give my thoughts

THE OVERTURE:

There wasn't the usual yellow eyes nor cats coming from the audience. It was only the orchestra giving it their all and that's more than enough for me.

Needless to say, I was already crying when the overture started. It was starting to hit that I was watching CATS.

Everyone jumped when the starting chords hit and I didn't flinch because I am a bit used to it and was just awaiting for it to start. I was already into overdrive

JELLICLE SONGS FOR JELLICLE CATS:

First big difference is that it wasn't Demeter the one who appeared first, but Exótica! Not a major change, but one that I noticed

Needless to say, the second Munkustrap started singing I was bawling. My deepest apologies to the cast that only saw me cry that day oh my god.

The translation was a bit of a mix and I don't mean in quality, it was a literal mix of the spanish translation from 04 and the mexican translastion. I didn't notice at first, but after rewatching Madrid 04 for insanity reasons, some phrases that were not direct translations but artistic choices started to come up. It's honestly a shame, since the 2014 version did have an original translation done by Andrés Sáez, who also did this one. I don't really know why or how the process was made. But it didn't sound clunky nor unpleasant. Unless you're a bit insane like me and like to compare spanish versions of CATS for a hobby, you wouldn't even notice lol

Since moment one all the character's personalities were noticeable. And since I was on the first row, middle seat, I was always looking directly at Munkustrap at all times. This ended up being my favorite part of the show

Back to the song, the choreo was completely original with few traces of Gylliann Lynne's. Which is understandable because the stage was *far* smaller than the ones in the UK. Third world things! It stil worked amazingly well and all the actors had their time to shine.

There were a few audio troubles but nothing I cannot forgive for being opening night.

Also -Misto doing some conjuring turns ln the middle of dancing cats is gonna live in my mind rent free

NAMING OF CATS

For starters, it wasn't done in a "pyramid" position, but all the cats were around the stage doing their thing. Mostly crawling around and doing kitty motions.

Thank GOD it was all clear and I could understand everything lol

Good things, the Cats that were named actually gestured at their names being called. So, Alonso, Demeter, Bombalurina, Munkustrap, Coricopat and Jellylroum did a little paw thing when called or beamed with pride.

Munkustrap's voice was the one you could hear more clearly and it was very much hypnotic.

It has some choreo and some kitty acting and it was amazing.

They did end up in a "pyramid" which was hypnotizing and yes I teared up too because I'm pathetic like that

VICTORIA'S SOLO

What can I say? Rosario Muñoz hit it out of the park, she was absolutely gorgeous and did wonderfully. I could tell she was a bit nervous but again I was like. a couple meters away. She did amazing

It was Eduardo Yedro's choreo, which is more about equilibrium and stretching. I would've preferred the original but it was absolutely gorgeous nonetheless

INVITATION TO THE JELLICLE BALL

Misto entered and they danced a bit (Even with a lift!!!) and it was really cute 🥹. Afterwards Asparagus sang the invitation!! His voice was really nice

José Miguel Callejas' Munk can ruin me uh yeah

But on his performance? Absolutely perfect. One of my favorite parts. His voice was very soft and he looked so excited. If Gruber is your dad and Rebaldi is your cracked uncle, Callejas is like your older brother that knows what he's doing but go to you when you're in trouble and won't tell your parents.

Jesus, back to the Invitation. Victoria and Coricopat danced in the background and it was mesmerizing.

THE OLD GUMBIE CAT

Again, Munk's performance was lovely. He was very excited to be there for sure.

There wasn't a car in the set. Jenny entered being wheeled in by Alonso and Asparagus in a big speaker that was revealed to have Jenny inside. Her coat was lovelyyyyyy it was very fluffy and looked really soft

The Gumbie trio was angelical, truly. They did so good and they all danced and sang like they MEANT it. Piamaría Silva was such a highlight for me, her voice was the one I could hear more clearly and also the highest pitched one, and she had a giant smile all the time.

Alonso was very munch cuddly with Jenny, very much a spoiled kid lol

The cockroaches were adorable!!! They only had antennae but they were very much visible. And the choreo was super fun with the usual tap dancing but also some elements of "rondas" in there. Also Munk followed Jenny around trying to keep things in order and it was really cute.

Important!! During the dance they paired up for a second to dance and Munk paired with Jenny and it was ADORABLE

JENNY'S DRESS WAS LIKE A 20S FLAPPER I FELL IN LOVE 😭

And at the end Munk had to fan some air into Jenny until he got distracted with Tugger LMAO

RUM TUM TUGGER

Andrés Zará was absolutely amazing oh my god. He was the right amount of sexy and funny. He was very much sold on being a rockstar on stage with hip thrusting included! Not a surprise, since is his second time playing the curious cat, but always needed to praise him for his talent. Sadly he's only staying for the Santiago shows and not the rest of the tour.

All the kittens were absolutely adoring Tuger, both toms and queens. Munkustrap looked to be absolutely on board with his shenanigans, too! Everyone had a great time, seemingly, except Skimbleshanks and Asparagus lol. They ended up joining on the fun too from the back of the stage tho!.

Is very important for me to mention that he came on the stage with a giant baseball bat and hit a "home run" in the middle of the song lol. Fun addition of the original choreo!

Etcétera was absolutely on point too lol big props to Teresita Rojas for making herself noticeable (Even if for the first half of the first act she didn't have her blue jacket)

GRIZABELLA THE GLAMOUR CAT:

Well, first things first, absolute props to Carolina Soto for her interpretation of Griz. She was absolutely on point.

Onto acting stuff. Demeter got close to Griz as usual, but was taken away in a swift motion by her waist from Munkustrap. This lives in my mind rent free and will not let me sleep. Alonso actually attacked Griz point blank lol. And it was Exótica who did the dancing around Griz similar to Cassandra on 98. Victoria actually tried to touch her but backed down.

Back to vocal performances, I have to say I am in actual love with Andrea Rodriguez's Demeter. She sounded so pained to see Griz in that state. And also her pronunciation of english places was incredible oh my god, I did not expect that at all. Montserrat Bernal's Bombalurina has the sweetest most pretty voice ever, and it works surprinsing well for her interpretation of the character.

After Griz leaves, Bomba comforts Deme in a kinda "okay, let's breathe together" kind of way. It was really cute and also very much lovers coded I am in actual love

BUSTOPHER JONES THE CAT ABOUT TOWN

He entered from the audience, and it was so fun!!! I was smiling more than ever in my life. And not to talk about his vocals because they were absolutely breath taking

Pouncival and Misto were looking together very excited when Bustopher came and it was really cute. Alonso was at his feet dancing at it was so adorable

Munkustrao was nodding over Bustopher's choices in food so we can absolutely say he agrees lol.

They pantomimed a table and giving Bustopher food. And in the background Alonso and emima were laughing and stealing some bites until Munk caught them, it was so cute!!

MUNGOJERRIE AND RUMPLETEAZER

Jerrie and Teazer appeared with their little robber shirts and it was so adorable I swear they made amazing choices of character.

It was less acrobatic than normal, but way more mimed and acted. Every verse had some acting with it and they were super expressive. They also had some acrobatics tho!!! Especially when they said they were "acrobats and jugglers" Rumple got on Mungo's leg like cheerleaders. It's weird to explain lol

Also they characterized themselves as unemployed lazy asses which I think is very funny lmao

There was no double cartwheel, but there was an attempt!!

Also also, Isabella Burotto (Rumpleteazer) clarified in a short interview that they were playing them as siblings and it absolutely showed with the whole "pushing each other around without care for their well being" lmao

OLD DEUTERONOMY

Misto's line was cut here, as were all of his lines. I think this was a decision by the actor.

All the cats were stretching and cuddling together as usual. And Munkustrap in the middle did his singing very nicely :) When Tugger came on and praised his "numerous proginy", Munk was very mmuch like "aw shucks" and embarrased. It was adorable and very much a win for Deuteronomy brothers enjoyers

Deuteronomy entered and everyone went to hug him :)) it was really cute and aalso I got some tears out lol

Roberto Díaz absolutely had all the vibes of a leader btw. He was incredible from the first second. His voice was, oh my god. It filled the theatre.

THE JELLICLE BALL

Once again we get very excited Munk, which is always a treat. But when Macavity gets called he inmediately goes into aggro form and yes I want him to make me worse.

They used the revival verse about Macabity, which I actually enjoy alot. The protectors here were Munkustrap, Asparagus and Pouncival and it showed with how they got.

Victoria and Jemima were adorable together and I love them

Alonso sang his lines, less in the proud tone of 09, more in a playing way. Pouncival actually took his side besides Munk to say "Jellicle cats never grow" in place of "Jellicle cats develop slowly", which again, did that not happen in Warsaw with Alonzo? Lol if it wasn't that, it was the exact same positioning as their line. Tugger made fun of Pounce and called him a little thing. Bit funny lol

The ball was absolutely hypnotic. There was a bit of influence from the revival that i can see, with breaking into groups. Also- again- a bit of Warsaw influence? I swear @per-the-jellicle-magician Warsaw pilled me because I see it everywhere lol. A lot of couple dances. It had little to nothingsimilar to the og choreo, which wasn't a surprise but it was actually really fun!!

Tugger stayed mostly in the back but everytime he came to the front of the stage he bowed to Old D and also swayed a lot lol- Again Coricopat, Tantomille and Victoria were a highlight for me, just because they did an aazing job at making themselves noticeable

Misto had his little solo, and it was just as mesmerizing as ever. Mugojerrie actually followed him and some other cats in the background too.

There wasn't a pas de deux, but a little round where all the acts lifted the firls, and then they all lifted Victoria up. She also had a litttle solo afterwards before they all went to "sleep" in separate places.

Pouncival as a protector was even more prominent during the little scare and honestly I'm living for it.

The ball later had a girls section and a little conjuring turn from Misto. Then it devolved into all the cats dancing and it was really pretty as usual. Again lots of lifts and circles, aI think to make use of the small stage

The last bit of the ball was again a bit of a round with everyone tgether that devolved into more "classic" cats choreo. And Coricopat did one more lift with Victoria that later also included Munk.

It was gorgeous and I REALLY enjoyed it

MEMORY

Munk Inmediately went into aggro with Griz and when Deme tried to hug her, stopped her very fast. Almost a bit mean about it. Again Alonso attacked, too

The twins approached with their heads down and most of the cats started to go to the background and turn their backs to Grizabella.

Okay, now real talk, Carolina Soto absolutely and utterly knocked it out of the fucking park. It was gorgeous and this is my new favourite Memory.

Everyone stayed while she sang, just turning their backs to her. Very much a "if I don't look she doesn't exist" vibe. With Old D looking directly at her.

At the last moment Munk actually did face her, while leaving like most of the cast. With Old D trying to touch her but failing exactly like in 98

MOMENTS OF HAPPINESS

Have I already praised Roberto Díaz as Old D? Cuz I'd like to do it again. Old D actors don't get enough praise and oh my god I adore him. Also praising ahead for Antonia Ascui (Jemima) because she was angelical.

Everyone was very attentive to what Old d was singing, and the light was shining to Jem since she started. She actually started crawling around the first verse and by "Generations" she was front and center. I actually liked that little detail! Her singing didn't come from the psychic twins, tho, weirdly enough. But it had the exact same effect. And she was gorgeous while doing it

It was actually Misto who took her out of the "trance" by starting to play with her! Which, again, was so adorable. Misto is much more of a kitten

Also Old D helping Gus come in is the cutest tihng ever, especially since Munkustrap inmediately took in. Something something like father, like son. Munk was the most invested in Jelly's singing for sure.

Jenny was crawling to Gus, which also was so adorable. Asparagus was on the background standing too and again, so cute.

Have I praised Piamaría Silva (Jellylorum) yet? Because she was such a highlight for me. She was so sweet and now my favourite Jellylorum. She was so into it too. Some true loving.

As a little detail, when Jelly mentioned he got "7 standing ovations", everyone did a little bow, which again, really cute!!!

Everyone got closer for Gus' verse, and they were so into it. Especially Munk and Exótica. POunce took the time to fool around with Cassandra and Femeter which was again, so cute. And they all followed Gus' gaze when he mentioned being "Up in Juliet's balcony with Romeo" and Fireforfiddle.

When Jelly came back on Pounce and Cassandra swayed with the rythm and once again, cute! Munk agreed silently on the background when he talked about kittens, too. The whole number was really cute

Also massive prpos to Andrés Sáez, who was Bustopher and Gus. And also made the wigs for the production!

PEKES AND POLLICLES

Yeah, it was revival pekes. Which I have thoughts about, but that's for the revival.

In this case, once again, really cute! MASSIVE props to Andrés Sáez for sounding both old and young at the same time, somehow.

The whole vibe of Munk and Gus was "Student who is absolutely PUMPED of acting with his prof" and it was, once again, adorable

Also, the lyrics were not racist! Hooray!

Munk did the orchestra director silence thing of closing his hand while shushing the crowd. Which was visible practically only to the first row, but is such a tiny detail that I think Munk absolutely does lol He's such a theatre kid and this younger, enthusiastic Munk is usually not my brand but one I definetly welcome.

Also I was next to people who had never seen Cats, apparently! Cuz they were laughing a lot and very surprised by everything. They were friends of José Callejas (Munkustrap) and their laughs and gasps were very fun for me, as someone who has seen the musical one too many times.

It's still so weird to hear Growltiger's song with Pekes lyrics lol. But it was absolutely well executed and well done. I'm just a bit insane

SKIMBLESHANKS THE RAILWAY CAT

Fun fact, this is my favourite number of the original Cats! So I was so pumped when Rumple ran to Old D as the song started

I haven't praised enough the absolutely gorgeous lighting, and I absolutely should because they were working with few lights and it looked absolutely beautiful, btw.

The song started with everyone looking around with the music rythm, it was adorable. They also mimed some and started looking for Skimble which, ADORABLE

Everyone made room for Skimble (Daniel Donoso) to come in a line , and it was SO cute. This whole number was adoring Skimble times. His voice was very much an uncle voice and it was adorable. He did amazingly!!!

Also the train motions in the dance??? Adorable. The whole choreo was so cute.

At some point Jerrie and Teazer started miming to rob Misto and Skimble took them both by their shirts and got them out the "train" lol.

As another little bit, Tugger was dancing and JAMMING all the times

They also pantomimed the waving passengers on the train, the bed, and some other stuff Skimble said. There was way more miming that anything else.

OH important bit, Skimble had a pocket watch he was constantly looking at. Another Warsaw parallel! D. did they watch Warsaw? It seems so

Then they did the train omg I was so happy!!! It was mimed with frames for the windows and Munk and Tugger were fighting to drive it.

Skimble was so happy and honored at the end of his song, like he felt truly appreciated and I was visibly shaking.

MACAVITY THE MYSTERY CAT

For starters, it was aggro Munk protecting Old D again, but with the whole tribe behind who were slowly getting out. Last minute hooded figures got to Old D WAY more violent than usually lol

Also Mac was Coricopat with a red vest and a slightly different wig. Uh. Yeah, it was a bit shitty

NOW to the important stuff

I want to personally kiss Demeter on the lips uh yeah Also Bomba and her were quite handsy with each other. Like- a lesbian amount. And so good for them, Santiago said lesbian rights.

I have already praised them, but their interpretations were absolutely perfect.

Oh!! Also all the girlies were dancing on the background since the start, and then Jerrie, Asparagus and Alonso joined too

The whole tone of the song was very mocking and more like "get a load of this guy" kinda stuff. I loved it. I was in absolute love. And Bomba and Deme were having the time of their LIVES like. Pure fun.

Also Jerrie came to his mention lol

The whole dancing was so fun and yeah extremely gay like I'm not exaggerating. They only needed to make out lmao

FIGHT WITH MACAVITY

Macavity entered and Demeter started to get anxious, so Alonso fucking ran to protect her and it was him who took the cloak out. Not my favorite interpretation, but sure

When it was time to fight, Mungo, Alonso and Misto tried and got YEETED. I am not kidding Misto literally flew in the air.

Then it was Munku time. They all circled them while they fought, hissing and showing claws. Once again it was way more mimed and acted, but also more acrobatic than usual. And it was Exótica who he tried to leave with, and she beat the shit out of him lmao.

I have. My issues. With the storytelling. But the fight was actually really really fun!! It's the part I usually skip, but this time I had a great one

MAGICAL MISTER MISTOFFELEES

Oh boy

First off. Tugger entered doing his monologue but with swag lmao. And the kittens absolutely fawned over him. Again, the voices were amazing! And everyone was miming and dancing with the first part of only Tugger

When Misto appeared he was the inmediate focus point! Jean Paul Bauer did an amazing entrance and the crowd loved it! Tugger inmediately started screaming in the background too lol

The solo was very different to the replica one. Less ballet heavy and, again, more miming. And the magic Misto had was more of the mind control variety, making all the cats around him dance to his liking! Even Munk, Tugger, Skimble and Jenny! (Again, did they watch Warsaw or smtn?)

And there was some being gay with Tugger too, as a treat

Of course Jean Paul Bauer was a star. And Andrés Zará knew how to make his voice go just as hard without ofuscating him.

When it was time for the trick everything went silent and Tugger did a bit of a small monologue. And also they were a bit gay too, as a treat. But the best part was that he made the public actually clap and told us to not laugh or move for the trick to work. The trick was made with a disappearing box instead of a cloth, and Tugger gave the biggest hug to Old D :')

Everyone then also hugged Old D and they all danced behind Misto, who then did more dancing with Tugger flexing his voice behind (And Skimble clapping!)

To finish the number, Misto also disappeared!

MEMORY (REPRISE)

Okay, serious time now guys!! Jemima did Daylight in the climbable part. And again, she was perfect for the role, absolutely angelical. The silence in the room was absolute just to hear her.

Munkustrap was SO excited. I loved him, if you couldn't tell

Then Griz shows up, and everyone makes way. Munkustrap stands there confronting her all through her song. It was actually an interesting choice I'm not against

Carolina Soto, oh my god, she was gorgeous and her voice was perfect. She had the tone and also the emotion completely perfect. When I thought she couldn't get better, she did. I rarely care for Memory, but this one was so gorgeous. The translation was more close to the spanish one than the mexican one, which is a shame specifically for me because I think the mexican one is superior

Back to this version. When Griz fell everyone made a half step ahead, as to try and help her. But no one did except, well...

Okay. This is my one big thing with this version. They changed the ending. Jemima comes and helps her up, by holding her hand while singing her verse. It was beautiful! But. it kind of. fucked up the foreshadowing they had done by spotlighting Victoria so much. And they also changed the lyrics a bit weirdly by saying "just leave me alone" which is- the contrary of the thing she supposedly wants. And afterwards everyone kind of stands around until Old D comes and touches her hand, which props to the rest of the tried gasping and starting to come forward. Like. Come on, guys. You were so close.

But anyways

Jenny actually grabs Griz and parades her around

JOURNEY TO THE HEAVYSIDE LAYER

She gets paraded around and everyone gives her a greeting (Tugger gives her a sassy greeting and Munk an apologetic one)

To my surprise, there was a plataform that went up and let her go on the heavyside layer. It was really nice. I didn't expect it, to be honest! And the "wow" from the audience really made me realize why Cats is as big as it is. Like, not to exagerate a bit, but there's a reason why musical theatre gets revived everytime Cats goes somehwere

ADDRESING OF CATS

The cats started on the ground looking at Old D, as usual. And slowly took their positions standing (I was still in front of Munk, and just to his right was Tugger! Fan favorite spot. To his left was Skimble and just behind him Jenny)

Roberto Díaz killed it. I was bawling. Full on bawlilng.

And they said my favorite line!! "First you must know that barking is not the same as meowing". I want it on a shirt lol

Every cat stood and showed their personality. As it's usual. Pretty part for the chorus. But I was bawling my eyes out. I couldn't believe I just saw the musical that had consumed my thoughts for years

Personal thoughts (that you can fully skip if you don't care)

I've said it multiple times. I never thought I would see Cats. I never thought I would see Cats in Chile, my country. I never thought I would see a good Cats. I thought that my experience was going to be a school play with just 3 songs, hald a cast and shitty costumes. But I got something so different. I got to see an amazing Cats non replica with unique costumes, absolutely amazing performers and so much love put into it. And not only that.

On July 12th, I saw Cats on opening night. I have been following this produciton since last year and making posts about it on instagram, because I wanted to. I was so excited and I needed to follow everyone and document everything. So I made an account to get all the chilean cats fans in one place and we could talk.

On opening night, I had a bunch of pictures printed because I wanted some of them signed, whichever I could get. Just to get a memento in case there was no playbill-esque thing. There wasn't. I asked José Callejas if this could be done on Instagram and he said yes, to ask the staff. When I did, the staff recognized me from my Instagram and told the cast.

The cast asked to meet me. So I went backstage. And they were all so excited to see me. They all wanted to thank me for bringing light to the production and being the biggest fan possible. They all hugged me and thanked me. Even thought I was just a guy who really fucking liked Cats the musical, and they just made my dream a reality. They signed my pictures, they told me I was awesome. I could just cry and keep hugging people and thanking them for everything, every single thing. I don't have enough words to describe how amazing it was.

Thanks for reading this, even thought is several pages long. And thank you for caring about this non replica, as it means everything to me.

#cats the musical #cats santiago 2024 #long post #very long actually

63 notes · View notes

bestworstcase · 7 months ago

Text

option 1: tai’s guarding the crown of choice.

pros:

a legitimately important task that recontextualizes his ongoing decision to remain on patch as a personal sacrifice he makes for the greater good.

ozpin would pick the guy named for the god of light to be the gatekeeper of choice, huh.

if any parent in this story is meant to die, it’s him, and narratively this is the most intuitive way to do it.

cons:

realistically, what can tai do to prevent salem / cinder / summer from accessing the vault if they find it? if he’s the gatekeeper, staying on patch alone after everyone else evacuates achieves nothing except, ah, signaling to the enemy that the real vault is under signal academy. bad plan.

it means oz is breaking his promise to be honest and forthcoming, undermining his character growth for the sake of ‘surprising’ the audience with the most obvious answer.

means qrow has either been kept in the dark (see prev point) or he’s also deliberately hiding this information from his nieces after they asked him outright if he knew where tai is; this is so far afield for his character as to border on character assassination, and likewise undermines his positive growth since v7.

honestly makes both yang and ruby seem kind of stupid. they know the crown is hidden somewhere near beacon, that ozpin did something to protect it differently from the others, and that their father hasn’t left patch. ruby was sharp enough to guess that long memory might be a relic hidden in plain sight; yang is just as smart, and she knows tai had “some things” to look after on patch. are we expected to believe that “hey, is dad guarding the relic?” somehow hasn’t occurred to either of them?

tai harbors a whole lot of resentment toward ozpin, and based on qrow kicking him out of ruby’s bedroom to drip-feed her hints on where to go next, he seems to have been on the outer perimeter of the inner circle. why would oz entrust him with the relic’s safety?

glynda—ozpin’s scrupulously loyal second-in-command whose emblem is a crown and whose semblance puts her on par with a maiden—is a far more narratively plausible vault-guardian than tai, and the “sun dragon” makes a damn good red herring.

if he’s guarding the vault, he dies. sorry. but the point of putting the father of 2/4 protagonists in between the two main villains and the thing they want most (choice) is so they can kill him to get it, increasing tension and raising the emotional stakes of negotiating peace. to be clear, rwby is willing to Go There, but i think it’s an unsatisfactory way to close out the rose xiao long family arc.

option 2: survivors trapped under mountain glenn, and tai is taking point.

pros:

a genuinely important, worthwhile thing for him to be doing—even more so than guarding the crown. likely sets up a resolution for him in the vein of “you can be a good huntsman or a good father, and tai picked being a huntsman,” which is an elegant way to balance his contradictions.

gives him meaningful stuff to do in v10; for example, one stealthy huntsman with a bullhead could slip in and out of mountain glenn to get a few dozen people out at a time, and/or run supplies and messages between the kingdoms.

we get to see zwei back in action around mountain glenn :)

introduces a natural segue from playing defense in vacuo to mounting a counteroffensive against beacon as tai’s work clarifies the situation in vale.

easily the most 'heroic' direction for him without contorting the story to arbitrarily lionize tai: he’s a scout preparing the stage for the heroes to take the fight to salem, making him the good counterpart to watts.

cons:

makes no sense to keep it a secret. the emotional beats of B4 can still happen if the girls know this is what tai’s doing: instead of “do you… wonder why he’s not here? i know qrow said he’s on assignment, but what’s more important than here?” yang says “do you… wish he were here? with us? i know qrow said he’s looking for survivors, but how many of them can there really be by now? we need all the help we can get,” and ruby says “maybe we don’t have the full picture” as in maybe dad knows something we don’t and that’s why he hasn’t given up yet. the emotion is the same, and the big "they’re hiding in mountain glenn" reveal is hinted without spoiling.

leaves hanging the narrative thread of what tai has been doing since the fall of beacon, because the “some things” he was dealing with in v4 obviously wasn’t this.

option 3: tai is dead.

pros:

explains the apparent secrecy; qrow knows tai was away “on assignment” (i.e., had taken a huntsman contract that brought him out of the kingdom) at the time salem attacked vale, so he is missing but not yet presumed dead.

might reopen the mystery box of summer’s last mission through the real-deal “left on a mission and never came back” echo.

cons:

raven would know.

it’s a cheap, narratively unsatisfying twist that fails to deliver on the bread crumbs set up in v2-3 (tai starts going on missions again) and v4 (“some things”), and also undermines any serious emotional resolution with regard to yang and ruby’s complex relationships with tai.

option 4: summer’s working with salem, and tai is trying to convince her to come back.

pros:

“some things” being his presumed-dead wife who left him to join the enemy and with whom tai is now having an affair or otherwise hoping to coax back to the heroic side through the power of love whilst also keeping his mouth shut about her being a) still alive and b) a traitor is OBJECTIVELY the funniest answer.

brings forward and interrogates the way tai’s romantic grief informs the choices he makes as a parent: from hiding raven and then refusing to talk about her with yang, to shutting down when he lost summer and letting his five-year-old pick up the pieces, to discovering and then keeping summer’s secrets for the sake of some faint hope that she might finally come back to him.

cogent with the Dead (Absent) Mother / Neglectful Father / Evil Stepmother fairytale paradigm rwby deconstructs with raven, tai, and summer; the father chooses the stepmother over his children.

raises the emotional stakes of the war for summer through direct confrontation with the life she left behind, creating narrative opportunities to develop her character (is she still in love with tai? how does she feel about being his first priority, over their children? does she resent that he has her on this pedestal even now?) and apply pressure to her relationships with salem and cinder (do they know? is summer keeping her communication with him a secret, too? or is he an “asset” she’s using for salem’s benefit?).

consequently, raises the momentum of the narrative toward negotiation with salem; tai still has the coalition’s trust, however strained his personal relationships may be. summer is the obvious ambassador for salem’s side of the war, but she’s also the traitor who needs someone to vouch for her good intentions.

the secrecy needs no explanation: just as summer’s last mission was a summer secret, tai’s "assignment" is a taiyang secret and the girls know everything that oz and qrow do, because all of them have been left in the dark. raven might know, and she has the means to find if she doesn’t, but tai’s whereabouts are entangled with what raven knows about summer, so she can’t explain where tai is or why until she reveals her deep dark secrets about what happened between her and summer that night.

foreshadowing is solid: tai starts to go on "missions" again in v2, after the inner circle becomes aware that salem has infiltrated beacon and just before the breach downtown. when ruby visits summer’s grave in v3, she says "[dad] told me he’s going to be on some mission soon! i think he misses adventuring with you." he’s got to "look after some things" (but he isn’t talking about yang, because he stays home after she leaves). and then with B4 we have ruby echoing what the blacksmith taught her about summer in relation to tai, "maybe we don’t have the full picture?"

juicy

cons:

???

dependent on the unconfirmed theory that summer is working for salem as herself, not some unrecognizable enslaved monster, but i am as confident in that as i was about salem going to vale next and we all know how that turned out :)

taking their mom was not enough salem had to go for the full set APPARENTLY

option 5: secret fifth thing

pros:

???

cons:

???

87 notes · View notes

s-lycopersicum · 6 months ago

Text

That post got me thinking about programming, and that maybe I should talk about one that I really had fun writing recently, and that I'm kinda proud of, so here it goes!

So, in my computer experiments and stuff like that, I often have to write scripts that process entries in various stages. For example, I had a thing where it read a list of image urls and downloaded, compressed, extracted some metadata, and saved them to disk.

That sort of process can be decomposed in various stages which, and that's the important part, can be run independently. That would massively speed up the task, but setting up the code infrastructure for that every time I needed it would be cumbersome. Which is why I wrote a little library to do it for me!

That gif is a bit fast, so here's what it looks like when it's all done:

This is from a test I wrote for the library. It simulates running a set of items through 4 different processes (which I named production lines), each with their own stages and filters.

Each line with a progress bar is a stage in the process. If you follow the traces on the left side, you can visualize how the element enter the 4 production lines on one side, and are collected on the other. The stages I wrote for the test are simple operations, but are written to simulate real world delay and errors.

To set up the processes, I do practically nothing. Just initialize the production line structure and connect the stages together, and that's it! All the work of setting up the async tasks, sending the entries from each stage to the next, filtering, error logging, even the little ascii diagram, all that happens automatically! And all that functionality packed into one data structure!

I feel like trying to explain how it does all that (and why having built it myself makes me proud) would make it harder to believe that I actually had fun doing it. I mean, it involved reading a lot of code from high profile open source projects, studying aspects of the language I had never played with (got really deep into generics with this one), and I can't really explain how I really enjoyed doing all that.

I don't know, I feel like I lost the point of what I was trying to say. Hm, I guess this feeling are harder to pin down that I expected.

#anyways i already wrote the thing so there you go #text

58 notes · View notes

the-himawari · 4 months ago

Text

A3! Usui Masumi - Translation [R] A New Use for a Crown (1/2)

*Please read disclaimer on blog; default name set as Izumi

---

Izumi: Thanks for helping me organize the props.

Masumi: I’d be happy to help with this much anytime.

Izumi: Fufu. You can also rely on me anytime you’re in a pinch then, alright?

Masumi: I will.

Izumi: Man, it always ends up like this when I go to help out different theatre troupes. I take props that I think we can use back with me. Or I ask them to give me other items that they aren’t using anymore… And because I do that, the storage room becomes a mess before I know it.

Masumi: If this happens again, just call me. You looked tired today, so don’t push yourself.

Izumi: Thanks, Masumi-kun.

-pause-

Izumi: …There. I suppose most of it is tidied up now.

*thump*

Izumi: Hm? Did something fall off the shelf?

Masumi: …Is that a crown and cape? We had stuff like that?

Izumi: Ah, those! That crown and cape were also given to me. Hisoka-san and Azami-kun thought they were a great help for their role study when they participated in the stage at the giant chess facility.

Masumi: Did they wear them?

Izumi: Hisoka-san fluttered his cape, and Azami-kun got Sakyo-san to call him Lord Azami… When Sakyo-san forgot call him that, he had to pay a penalty fee.

Masumi: I see…

Izumi: The fee might’ve been a bit over the top. But I think it worked out since they were using it as funds for a specific purpose they had in mind.

Masumi: … Lord Masumi… no, that sounds off.

Izumi: Masumi-kun?

Masumi: Don’t worry about it. Can I borrow this crown for a bit?

Izumi: Sure, go ahead. I don’t think I heard anything about you playing the role of a king though…?

Masumi: It’s not for role study.

Izumi: ?

-pause-

Izumi: Alrighty. I guess that about does it for the admin work.

Azami: Ah, Director. Good job.

Izumi: Azami-kun. What’s up?

Azami: If you don’t mind, go ahead and use these.

Izumi: Are these those face masks that have been all the rage lately! Can I really have them?

Azami: I heard you were cleanin’ up the storage room yesterday and working on paperwork ‘til late. It’s beginnin’ to show on your face.

Izumi: Wait, seriously!? I was trying to be mindful about my skincare though…

Azami: I know you gotta lot to do, but don’t push yourself too hard.

Izumi: Right. Thanks, Azami-kun.

*door opens*

Masumi: …

Izumi: M-Masumi-kun!? That crown…

Azami: …Woah, it’s the one I used in my role study. Why’re you wearin’ that?

Masumi: Director. Starting today, can you call me "prince" for a week?

Izumi: Huh…?

Azami: That’s way to sudden, dude. Are you also preparin’ for a role of a king?

Izumi: Oh yeah. Yesterday, you said you wanted to borrow that even though it wasn’t for role study.

Azami: Then why the heck…

Masumi: Also, this is the consequence if you call me by my name.

Izumi: That has... “100 yen piggy bank” written on it.

Masumi: Honestly. I didn’t want to resort to this… But there’s something that I want to do no matter what.

Izumi: Something you want to do?

Masumi: It’s still a secret.

Azami: It must be somethin’ super important if Masumi-san’s imposing a penalty on Director.

Izumi: (I don’t really know what’s going on, but it looks like there’s a reason for it.) Sure, I got it. Errm… I’ll cooperate with you, prince.

Masumi: Thanks.

---

| next

#a3!#a3! translation #usui masumi #act! addict! actors!

28 notes · View notes

ijustwanttoreadfanfiction · 2 years ago

Text

Dirty Dancing

Jim Hopper x AFAB! Reader One day I'll write a story which actually has strange things happening but today is not that day. Bob didn't die, Eleven closed the rift at the end of Season 2 everyone is happy, leave me alone. I'm a Jopper fan 'til I die, but not for the purposes of this. Set 1987 - Jim is approx 44/45, reader is approx 30/31.

Warnings: Swearing, p in v sex, lots of references to Hopper's size, creampie, multiple orgasms, slightly rough Hopper, cock bulging, age gap, nicknames - baby, babygirl.

_______________________________________________

Jim has been oddly detached and quiet since yesterday evening. The stars had aligned along with your busy schedules and you’d managed to have a rare date night, going to the movies to watch ‘Dirty Dancing'. You thought he had enjoyed it, seeming engrossed rather than trying to get under the skirt of your dress like normal, but when you asked him what he thought on the drive home he simply shrugged and went to bed.

The following morning he’s still in his funk, not saying a word, departing for work with a distracted kiss to your cheek, a far cry from his usual passionate goodbyes that often left him running late and you in a state of undress.

His attitude bothers you all the way to the Diner.

“How was date night?” Donna asks you cautiously when you arrive, instantly noticing the way you fling your purse to the side and how you punch your card in with slightly more force than necessary.

“Well, I thought it went great, I really enjoyed the movie, evidently Jim’s experience of the evening was vastly different.” You rant, trying to tie up your apron, before giving up, elbows resting on the counter, head bowed in frustration.

“He didn’t like it?”

“I’m guessing he didn’t, but how would I know? He’s barely said two words to me.” You mumble despondently, the whole thing has left you feeling rattled, you and Jim fought plenty but you’d never been given the cold shoulder without a good reason. Donna opens her mouth to speak but is interrupted by Joyce coming in to collect her usual lunch order to share with Bob.

“Hey! How was the date ni-?” She greets you excitedly, cutting off at the look on your face, and Donna’s frantic shaking of her head. “What happened?”

“Jim hasn’t spoken to her since the movie.” Donna stage whispers, hastily departing to wipe down tables at your glare.

“Hop’s not talking to you?” Joyce asks in concern, sitting on one of the vinyl stools.

“Apparently not.” You grunt, making up Bob’s sandwich.

“Did you have an argument?”

“No, we went out, we watched ‘Dirty Dancing’ then he was just off with me and still is.” You snap, knife ripping through the slice of bread you had been buttering, Joyce reaches across taking your shaking hand in hers. “Sorry Joyce, I didn’t mean to -” You trail off gesturing at her apologetically, she gives you a small understanding smile in return.

“Bob and I went to see ‘Dirty Dancing’ last week, and I think I know what’s bothering Hop - he feels old.” She says softly.

“Old?” You ask, feeling lost.

“Sweetie, you gotta remember Hopper, and I -” She adds with a slight wince, “- we were in our twenties in the sixties, the stuff they do in the film, the dances, we were doing that years ago. I think maybe it’s made him feel his age.”

“That's ridiculous! You and Jim aren’t old.” You say laughing.

“But we’re not young either, certainly not as young as you” She reminds you gently.

When you and Hopper had started dating a year ago it sent shockwaves through Hawkins, which was ironic considering all the other crazy shit that had happened, kids going missing left, right and center, secret government lab, literal demon creatures crawling out of the ground. Oh no, all that was nothing compared to the chief of police dating a woman 14 years his junior, 29 to his 43 at the time, never mind that you were a fully consenting adult, and you were the one that had pursued him.

Jim couldn’t for the life of him work out why ‘a sweet young thing like you’ could ever want ‘a grumpy, fat, miserable, old guy like him’, you couldn’t give him a proper answer, all you knew was that you loved him and there wasn’t a single thing he could do or say that would change your mind.

"So what should I do to make him feel less old?” You ask Joyce somewhat desperately.

“I might have a suggestion.” She grins wickedly, leaning in close.

_______________________________________________

The plan was in place. Jane was staying at Max’s for another evening.You had primped and prepped yourself, wearing a dress not too dissimilar from Penny’s red halterneck in the film. The wine was poured, a couple of glasses already consumed for Dutch courage, you’d thrown pieces of coloured cloth over the table lamps to give the cabin an orange-reddish glow, and finally you had one of Jim’s favorites from his vinyl collection queued up and ready; Solomon Burke’s Rock ‘N Soul. You wring your hands nervously upon hearing the truck pull up outside, straightening out your dress, and quickly rechecking your hair in the small mirror on the wall as Jim tiredly trudges in toeing his boots off without looking at you.

“Hey baby, sorry I’m a little late Callahan screwed up a report and I -” He trails off finally glancing up at you, brows creased slightly in confusion, as he surveys you and the cabin. “ - what’s all this?”

“I know what’s been bothering you since yesterday, and I want you to know that I understand why, and I want to help.” You say softly, approaching him, going up on bare tiptoes to kiss him gently. He returns the kiss eagerly albeit somewhat surprised, a large hand coming up to cup your cheek.

“Baby, I'm at a loss here.” He murmurs against your lips, but allows you to pull him by his belt to the centre of the room nonetheless.

“Joyce said the film last night might have made you feel - nostalgic, and I want to show you that you’re not down and out just yet Jim Hopper.” You purr, leaning away to put the record on, Cry to Me filling the room. “Dance with me?” You ask quietly, unable to keep the pleading edge out of your voice.

Jim lets out a shaky breath, as you loop your arms around his neck, your height difference making him lean down slightly, chest to chest, his strong hands splayed across the top and small of your back.

You weren’t one hundred percent sure how to move so you simply rocked your hips, letting the music take control, running your fingers through the hair at the nape of Jim’s neck. He sighs softly, eyes closing at your touch, and you smile as you feel him start to move along with you. You experimentally lean back, pressing into his grip, he follows you lips tracing against your throat, before bringing you close again. You’re both smiling now, swaying more, his pelvis flush with yours, grinding against each other. You unbutton his police shirt, the fabric falling forgotten to the floor, leaving him in just a tight white vest, hands wandering again tracing his muscles stopping just shy of crotch.

“Tease.” He rumbles.

“Not teasing baby, just dancing.” You say sweetly.

Jim’s touch snakes from the small of your back to the flesh of your ass, gripping firmly, using his hold to hook one of your legs up, slotting his broad thigh into the gap, smirking wickedly when you gasp at the pressure against your clit, the material of your panties shifting with Jim’s movements.

“Hop -” You sigh dreamily, as he uses his strength to rock you back and forth.

“This is how we used to do it in the good old days, baby.” He says, voice gravelly. “You’d hold your best girl tight, dancing nice and close.” He grips you harder for emphasis, dress half bunched up around your waist, fingers digging into the soft swell of your ass.

“I’m your best girl?” You ask softly, clinging onto his shoulders, gyrating slightly as your head falls back.

Jim lifts you up suddenly, your legs automatically locking around his thick hips, breath catching in your throat at the look of desire in his eyes.

“My best everything.” He whispers before bringing you to his lips in a searing kiss, tongue licking languidly into your mouth. You reach up, pulling at the straps of your halterneck until they come undone, the dress slipping past your bare breasts. Hopper groans, nipping at your earlobe, your jaw line, your throat, you can feel his hardness pressed to your center straining against his slacks.

He carries you to the bedroom, lowering you gently to the bed, pupils blown wide as he steps back to watch you pull the dress off your lower half, taking your panties with it, leaving your glistening core on display.

“Shit baby, I am one lucky son of a bitch.” He breathes, yanking his vest over his head, you crawl towards him on your knees, unbuckling his belt, both of you working with frantic hands to get his pants and underwear down.

Jim wraps his arms around you again, manhandling you with ease to rest against the pillows, his large frame dwarfing you. Your kisses are messy, verging on desperation, hands petting each other heavily, hips bucking with need.

He rubs his thick cock over your dripping slit, and you let out a soft moan, back arching up into his strong chest, nipples peaked and sensitive.

“This all for me, baby girl?” He hums, grinning as you nod wordlessly, rocking the swollen head of his dick against your aching pussy, slipping in just an inch before pulling back again.

“Don’t tease me Jim.” You pout, hands on his ass trying to bring him closer.

“Not teasing baby, just dancing.” He coos smugly, filling you with a single thrust that has you crying out, cunt clenching at the delicious stretch.

His hips are flush to your own, the coarse hairs at the base of his cock tickling against your clit, heavy balls slapping your ass with each drag and hit. Hopper is marking up the delicate skin of your neck with multiple hickies, like you’re teenagers, the harsh suck and gentle soothing lick sends you higher, a fresh surge of wetness coating his cock in a ring of cream.

“I can feel you squeezing me baby.” He growls, muscular arm braced against the headboard, driving him harder and deeper into your fluttering cunt.

“Hop!” You squeak, unable to do anything other than grip his shoulders, anchoring you to him through the onslaught of pounding thrusts. You feel your slick dribbling out, pussy squelching obscenely, being made to fit around Jim’s hard length.

“You gonna cum for me baby girl?” He asks, panting, the large hand that was gripping your hip moving to stroke over your swollen clit.

“J-Jim…” You whine brokenly, orgasm rushing through you like a flash-flood, wrapping your legs around his hips again, cock hitting you relentlessly.

“Yes - shit - so good, my best girl.” He groans, flipping you suddenly so you’re on top, limp like a rag doll as Jim squeezes your hips in a bruising hold, rutting up into you. “You’re getting my balls wet baby.” He chuckles, voice strained, you can only whimper, nails digging into his chest, back arched, skin covered in a light sheen of sweat.

He sits up, strong arms wrapped tight around your back, jackhammering his cock so deep you feel your belly concave with the bulge. You’re keening into his mouth, tongues sliding against each other, your stomach tightening again with a telltale warmth.

“Jim - I’m - oh my god.” You stammer weakly, foreheads pressed together.

“That’s it baby girl cum with me, let me fill you up.” He says roughly, grunting as you clamp and spasm around his cock once more, drawing out his own release, spurting thick heavy loads deep within you.

There’s a vague ringing in your ears, and you register that the record has long stopped playing, the only sound in the cabin being your light gasps and Jim’s staggered breathing. He kisses you tenderly, as he pulls out, dick twitching at the sight of his seed dripping from your puffy cunt.

“I love you so much baby.” He murmurs, cradling your face, laying back against the pillows, with you still sprawled listless on top of him.

“I love you Jim.” You smile blissfully, pressing kiss after kiss to his lips.

“Sorry for being a grump.” He sighs.

“Hop - I don’t care how old you are, I’d have loved you when you were twenty, and I’ll love you just as much as I do now when you’re sixty.” You say sincerely, giggling when he grimaces at the word ‘sixty’. “There’s no one else I’ll ever want.”

“You keep saying sweet things like that, we’ll be dancing again.” He warns, hands slipping down to squeeze your ass.

“Sure you don’t need a rest, old man?” You tease, choking on a moan, as Jim presses his rock hard cock back into your tight wet heat.

“You’re in for it now baby girl.”

_______________________________________________

271 notes · View notes

smaller-comfort · 8 days ago

Note

For any of your fic!

19. While editing, did you kill any darlings? What were they?

25. Share your favorite line

27. Share a piece of lore you made up for the story

I usually try not to kill my darlings- I'm more of a catch and release kind of person. Like house centipedes. So a lot of cut stuff from Dreaming Still made it into Save Scumming; some cut stuff from SS will probably end up in Game, Set, Match.

I've cut almost 3k words and six different scenes from the first modern au ot3 story, though. It needs to be totally reworked but I'm at the "lying face down on the ground and whining about it" stage of things. It's a lot of variations on Aephorul meeting B'st for the first time and then the negotiation he and Resh'an have around things. And I guess it's important for me to have an idea of how those things happen, but it just bogs down the momentum of the story. ("You left off the part where he looks like he could bench press you one handed." "Did I? Hm. Well, now that you mention it...")

There's also a line from Work/Life Balance where Resh'an dreamily says something about Erlina being the sort of person to wear extra-pointy heels to step on a man. I'm sad I cut that line and I swear I am going to work it back into *something*. Aephorul can't think about Erlina in a sexy way at all, ever, and it distresses him deeply that Resh'an keeps doing it.

25. Favorite line- ooh, that's tough, but I think it's this part from Save Scumming; it's a good thesis statement for everything that is wrong with Resh'an:

“I love you,” he said, and closed his eyes. “That's always true, no matter what happens." He'd made that fact into a universal constant, as incontrovertible as the speed of light, and just as integral to the structure of reality.

27. Thats my secret- it's all made up lore. 😈

I extrapolated the idea of Resh'an and Aephorul's agreement really being a game between them based on some sideways interpretations of Aephorul's behavior. This is technically fanon! It is now an integral part of my understanding of these characters and their relationship with each other and the wider universe and is foundational to most of the stories I've written about them. WHOOPS.

#resh'an is really like a kinsey 6 while aephorul is probably a 4 so aephorul finds the erlina thing extra baffling #“You have zero interest in women.” “So? I'd go straight for her.” “WHY.” “Because she's hot? Why is this so hard to grasp?” “D:”#nattering #literacy was a mistake

8 notes · View notes

jack-kellys · 2 years ago

Text

welcome to: rizz's extensive uksies notes, which will discuss differences in characterization, sure, but also more important things like staging, scenic and dance changes, and directorial choices (i do talk about the principal characters at the bottom so i'll forgive you for skipping down there if you wanna). i haven't looked at anyone else's posts since i didn't want them to influence my thoughts, but i'll be whipping out the third-of-the-way-through stage management degree for this shit so buckle up. spoilers/major reveals will be in this post, and this post (among all the others relating to major reveals/moments in this version) will be tagged with #newsies spoilers!!!

lets get into it, starting with the reason this show was able to be as much of an experience as it was: the space.

i think it's very important context to this version of newsies that the troubadour theater, previously, had been housing an immersive peaky blinders (popular tv show) experience. this review gives a pretty good idea of what immersive theater is, and it is... a big feat. it's more of an experience than theater, and that same goal was at the heart of the way newsies is done, too, which worked so well. both are historical fictions and are based on real things that happened, which makes it kind of easier to involve an audience imo and lets them believe what's going on.

the stage is a sort of round thrust-style in the shape of what i'm guessing is a flash/flashbulb in reference to obviously the pics we have of the strike and how "big photos attract readers" (aka the audience in this case :)). as yall know from the photos its got the same tower/skeletal setup as bway...to an extent. for bway, that's tbh all they have, but by losing the proscenium stage and moving into a space with so much more free reign, there didn't have to be one big scenic element, and it didn't have to be the only thing to steal the show. like the "big moment" for bway is when the three towers track forward in once and for all, and there's like....at least three different moments just like that in uksies and they don't even need the towers for any of them! because they didn't rely on one thing, they did so many things, and they did them everywhere. to the walls, to the aisles, to the landings, to the air, this show made sure it used every definition of the word 'space' to its fullest. initially it sounds distracting, but making sure they're all around us and making sure that ensemble characters are able to be on their own without the principals near them really humanizes the ensemble as a group of real kids who fr went on strike. i'll come back to humanizing stuff in a bit, but since we've been talking about the theater space, lemme talk abt these scenic elements because damn...

there was a slide jack used a couple times through a hatch door to escape the delanceys thru (with a little >:) wave) and escape the strikebreakers

there were mini trap doors in the stage where items were stored and revealed, and they kind of looked like the grates that sidewalks have/used to have for like rain to drain into in cities <3

there was a rope jack used to swing through and kick a strikebreaker in the face!

the penthouse actually felt like a home rather than literally just a bare bway balcony lmao, like they had mini portraits sticking to a skeletal roof-like overhang that jack probably built on his own, his art was much more obvious and hung up and personalized.

the cart with all the papers on it actually got to be used in staging in really fun ways- it was both chariot and podium for jack and crutchie mainly but they like rode around in it it was cool

medda has a huge lit-up sign for her theater instead of like. an overhang or whatever it is for bway, which is the upgrade she deserves <3

the children's crusade banner wasn't a projection, it actually dropped as a huge literal banner from one of the line sets and jack stood as a shadow behind it with a fist raised >:)

the tables for king of new york weren't the longer bigger ones from bway, it was like actual restaurant-style table for two's like in 92sies!! and they were on wheels, so they had table-ography– this was also possible due to how much more depth, physically, the stage had, like they wouldn't have had room on a proscenium. davey was pushing les around on a table and the kid was just flying around it was super cute and rly well done

speaking of 92sies, remember at the end of their king of new york when the one newsie grabs the ceiling fan and spins around? yeah, uksies does that with these huge practical lights that fly down from above- newsies get to not only hang off of them and do some acrobatics, but they can spin on them, and they not only go insanely fast, but they also are able to go higher the faster they go. seriously one of the most insane displays i've seen in a staged musical of all things, like it felt like a show and not just a musical.

The abundance of scenic and spatial elements leaves a director/choreograoher (because this guy was both, and it is visceral even in the scenes that he's both and it's perfect) with so many options, and fuckin man, did this guy absolutely use all of them to the fullest. i hadn't realized how like....recycled the blocking had been through bway and also touring, because idt they're allowed to really change it. but guys. we'd been watching the same exact movements for years, and NOW THEY'RE ALL NEW!! everything they do, each location of the stage people move to is all different than we've ever seen as a fandom, which is major, because staging is a storytelling device– since if it wasn't, we wouldn't have it. where people are in a space, where people are in relation to others in a space is also huge. the other main thing again is that it isnt a proscenium stage, so it's much easier not to stage people "in a line". think back to the livesies staging for right before the world will know when jack is telling davey about "if your father had a union". picture where they are on the stage in relation to the cart w all the newsies. its in a fucking line, bro.

this show? abused depth beautifully. the stage pictures were extremely memorable, so choreographed, and set the dynamics for scenes so effortlessly. davey is way downstage when jack's trying to convince him to join the strike, so we can see his exact thought process before the final "i guess...you do, mr. president". (speaking of, ryan kopel is genuinely the first davey to actually make that line a weirdly emotional journey?? like davey takes so long to finally say it, like he's getting over the stakes and letting jack's words sit before finally, yes, agreeing.) or when jack has his pre-seize the day monologue (of which i might make an entire post for for personal reasons and i'll link it here if i do), the three scabs are center stage, arranged in this triangle with their backs to each other and their heads down so jack gets to circle them while addressing the stage at large- it just looks so intentional and frankly very pretty to watch since they're all dancers and their posture is so clean. even something to believe in's scene staging is more dynamic because the towers themselves aren't even in a line- they're angled downstage, so even when jack and kath are high up on a more skinny platform there's still depth and an upstage and downstage they can travel on!! it's so thought through. i'll also make a post about more individual moments, but a lot of people have done that so im making the more important post first lmao.

the staging ofc was very intentional, but the transitions were also...like seriously integral to the narrative. idk if you guys know this or not but transitions can make or fuckin break a moment fr and some directors fucking suck at them LMAO but wow. these? the newsies taking on katherine's platform with the same "mornin' miss" air to their movements and kath saying a small 'thank you' to them before she sits for watch what happens, versus the transition into the bottom line where newsies push pulitzer's platform on with heads and backs bowed down, pushing slower, with more effort, like it looks painful when they push on his platform. newsies lifting medda's footlights and sort of "working at the theater" with their movements mirroring dramatic vaudevillian theatre. it was all so fluid and nearly all of it was done by the newsies and none of it was really...hidden, either, and seeing them literally "work" onstage cemented them as "the working boys of the city" really specifically, and in a very special way. like yeah, the invisible workforce, of course they're doing the transitions. beautiful, a+.

among other added elements were the new orchestrations. newsies has never sounded like this before, even excluding the new music they added. there was more base, guitar, and drums, and the tinny trumpet was much more subdued which felt more...realized and less disney, which is for me always welcomed lol. honestly it made the music sound less disney as a whole. very grounded sound overall- ALSO the sound design was so fucking excellent like you walk into the theater and it's the sounds of the city in 1899 and it's so cool...but! yes! there was new music because guess fucking what: every single dance break was extended. every single one. they all of course had new choreo (finallyfinallyfinallyfinally) but also literal new parts to the dance breaks. each by like 3-5 mins. cemented this as a show more so than only a musical which i fucking adored. in a diff post i'll go through each song (though it might. be after i see it again) and talk about the extensions because just....come on director/choreographer!! yes!!

rounding out this post specifically, im gonna nail down some characters and relationships, since honestly they were very different than we've seen before, but there's merit to all of them for real, and i appreciate a shift from how we're used to interpreting them, and honestly i hope it changes our characterizations as a fandom and adds more depth/possibilities!

starting with the romantic hero of the year, jack kelly.

he is distinctly a romantic hero in this- not in the perceived lovesick/floaty way. he's a very raw version of himself, and he's almost a loose canon (until he's forced not to be via blackmail). he's staged very intimately with others when talking one-on-one, which i know is a usual jack trait, but at michael's jack's core is "come on, look at me." every moment with those he loves is personal to him, is treasured and valued. a baseline example is crutchie, of course, who he says "look at me" to in the prologue after crutchie gets discouraged with himself. they aren't staged outward toward the audience, because jack doesn't let it– he is in line with crutchie, really looking at him, and making sure crutchie's looking back. he does this with the scabs too, except he gets to move around them because of how that trio is staged (my god that scene looks and is so beautiful..fuck).

but i think this is very exemplified with davey, actually, because what i love about michael's jack is that the emotions he wears on his sleeve aren't only ones of love- it's all passion, which includes anger. jack and davey do not get along initially. the exchange of "well if he's the best then what's he want with me" is kind of charged, which is exciting- davey really is just there for his family, he doesn't need eyes on him, and he wants to shut it down....but it's shutting it down via undermining jack, which is made clear by jack's reaction that that isn't something that happens around here. "cause you got a little brother" really feels like an 'i don't need you,' in how it's said, and any back and forth they have through that scene is an interesting animosity... which changes the moment davey and les are in danger, when snyder appears and they run (they run SO MUCH in this show oh my god, they run everywhere across everything and up and down), and once they run to the theater and jack gets them out of that situation and davey is seriously like. 'who the fuck was that guy, we had to go through that bc of you, that wasn't okay', and the way jack explains who snyder was...for the first time, jack doesnt match davey's animosity and instead just explains, in lieu/as an apology, the details on who snyder is and to steer clear of him. and instead of saying "right" as davey normally does, he says "thanks for the advice", with the staging squared and head-on to jack. and it isnt sarcastic, it's just genuine, and from that moment on, davey gets the "look at me" treatment. and jack even holds the back of davey's head during i think seize the day and lets his hand slide down his shoulder to daveys chest and daveys hand is on jack's shoulder and they're staged square and not outward like the moment is just for them.

jack's emotions are more visceral than they've been, he's very hot-blooded and it just makes everything hit more. the fucking seize the day monologue. poc fans we finally won. michael took so much time with it, making sure each line was heard and intentional and the audience was doing that thing they do at more serious straight plays with the little "mmhs" when they agree with something and like. he just made sure it was taken so seriously, same with the something to believe in scene. "what is this.. about, for you?" just the way michael structures jack's word is so smart and emotional. he also has this sort of break in his speaking voice that reminded me of jerjor actually, but it obv is just the way he acts and a choice for jack, this cracking of the self when he's vulnerable with someone at the expense of himself.

lemme say that again. this jack's voice literally has an emotional crack in it when speaking vulnerably at the expense of himself, which is SO FUCKIGN SPECIFIC GOD I LOVE HIM FSKDFJSDJ FUCK. it's genius. he does it with katherine during "i ain't stupid, i know that... girls like you, don't end up with.. guys like me." oh my god the FUCKING NOISE THE AUDIENCE MADE. oh it was heartbreaking, like it was genuinely crushing. made me tear up for sure, for obvious reasons lmao. michael is the jack i've always wanted- a little vain (he admires himself in a hand mirror during carrying the banner<3), absolutely turbulent, and painfully, horribly aware of his own stakes in this all. and black LMAO I WONNNNNN HAHAH I WON!!

speaking on crutchie next because he is the narrative of this production.

the fandom has sort of strayed away from the jack+crutchie team and fallen into this jack+race team, and this production makes damn sure that doesn't happen. it is so jack and crutchie, all the way, to the end of the fucking line. he is with jack, central, through all of act one's staging and major numbers- by jack's side for carrying the banner, with him on the cart when it spins around center and moves around the stage for world will know, he leads the newsies up to the world's door to make way for jack, les, and davey to enter it, he's included in seize the day choreo moments, he cries out for jack to get away ("jackie, run! run!!" im. i am. a mess) at the end of the brawl when he knows he's in a situation he can't get out of.

he also has this hug with jack and race when he returns from the refuge that nearly made me yell out loud LMAO (me and @roideny grabbing hold of each other in the theater and all), and the three of them have a personal spot of the stage together looking over the paper when davey makes his first appearance- crutchie is just staged very intentionally near anyone with leadership, cementing him as a leader and is certainly no longer jack's kid-brother anymore. any infantilization is really worked on getting completely gone in this production, the effort is apparent likely especially bc the actor (matthew duckett!! sweetheart supreme!!) is disabled himself!

another really key thing about this crutchie is how loud he is, in every way he possible could be. his color palette is the most stark right along with jack's, he's wearing overalls which no other newsie has, his speaking voice is almost abrasive- it's not rough, per say, but it's sort of coarse and nasally (he's so new yorker and im in love w it), and very distinct. he's also taller than jack (michael my beloved is 5'9", furthering my jack is 5'9" agenda) and like... most of the other newsies tbh.

this production does not give you a choice but to notice him, does not give you a choice but to look at him, does not allow you to ignore crutchie in any way. it's visually and audibly impossible, and that is spectacularly intentional.

he is also like... sunshiney in a rough-around-the-edges way, in a this-is-all-i-have way. he's so himself, he's abrasive and almost snide in how he talks. very self-aware, but choosing actively to be brighter about it even though you can tell his situation weighs on him. crutchie is genuinely so dynamic in this show and he's amazing to watch, and he is finally, finally, truly shown as equal to the rest of the newsies, and certainly to jack.

this is so specific but the "we have the right to starve, let's just get our papers" line is so decisive of him. like i'm realizing that that line hasn't given him power before, but it does in this show- he can raise a definitive solution to the group without being jack, and i.. don't think anyone else does this, at all, when they're discussing the strike. it's just crutchie who states what he believes they should do. like. that's never been emphasized before thats so fucking cool for him idk

alright davey time woooooo

davey is the king of defensiveness in this and i genuinely fucking love that choice for him. because he is trying to find a 'way out' within the text but also metaphorically within the story before world will know. so like– this production had davey try and contradict every time someone comments on what davey says. he'll start to say "i didn't say-" "that's not what i-" "i didn't mean-" before cutting back into the script's dialogue again, which is SO fascinating. since initially, davey is trying to separate himself from the newsies, so he uses ad-libs like that to break away, but then after world will know, those same ad-libs are used inversely it felt like, like he'd say something in a way that didn't quite fit and he'd try to rephrase so that it did? very interesting to watch.

he also was very nervous to speak in his first appearance when getting his papers, like he was very nervous about speaking in front of wiesel. this davey had sort of trouble finding words in a timely manner, but what he always has are the right ones, which was a good dynamic for he and jack. he does know what to say, and what he says is intentional, he just isn't great at saying it until act two which is so. cool. even in act 2 at the rally he's still finding his footing, and then when he's at pulitzer's office with jack and spot, he's in his own. he's nearly flippant about his words, since he's found his confidence in them through jack uplifting them the whole show. it almost..... like he and jack kind of have a mentor-y relationship? jack really feels like he does show davey the ropes (despite how biting the "well my father taught us [indicating that jack shouldn't lie so easily in front of les] not to lie" is), and davey learns from jack while jack learns from davey.

speaking of les though wow is mans protective as fuck. his arms are always around this kid, he rests his chin on his head really casually and les is so easy with it too like yeah they're brothers asf. and their moments in king of new york are so precious, and they have the center table together at the start of act two.

speaking of act two! can't talk about davey without discussing wwh reprise :). the way he talks to jack in this scene is so confident that jack's "have they busted up your brains or something" feels like it's more about that- davey hasn't spoken against jack since before world will know, and jack isn't used to the dynamic davey is trying to establish. he's so persistent, and urgent, and like... in it. "won the battle, jackie think about it" like this davey wants to win. at every single turn in this show, davey wants what he believes to win. he will speak against anyone, he will try and change his words' meaning ("that's not what i mean-"), and he will persuade whoever just so that he can win. he feels so competitive and it shines in different ways and everything he says really is so argumentative. maybe he's a little quieter, his voice is shyer, but davey isn't shy, and that's made clear. also ryan kopel hugged me at the stage door and i love him and he's so fucking sweet wowowow

ok katherine and we'RE DONE i promise.

staging made absolutely sure to ground her. she was watching a lot of the scenes she wasn't in, like she appeared during world will know in one of the aisles- felt very much like those moments in 92sies when we'd just see denton around takin notes, which i loved. showed her as a very active journalist. she also like... spoke like an american newscaster?? like she had a News voice lowkey? which was a fun choice.

her scene with jack when she's asking him questions is so serious for her and i love it, it really makes sure that she cares about what she's writing and who she's writing for. jack's "we both got a lot riding on you" takes her downstage as her desk gets set up, and we get to see jack's words weigh on her which is fuckin nice as hell.. like she just felt more grounded than she's been. she still got to be bubbly, but she was more aware of the situation than like... kara lindsay's katherine. she knew the stakes for the newsies i feel like, which is why the name reveal was more intense and the STBI pre-scene was... the best i've seen. she was embarrassed at herself for lying to jack- not telling him everything, and when she defends it she knows it's weak and doesn't try to back it up.. i just appreciate it bc that scene normally feels so superficial despite its context and what they're talking about, but kath and jack really did everything they could to save that scene's writing... they reeeeally fuckin tried LMAO. this katherine was more willing to put herself in the action for sure

her back and forth with jack in jacobi's was so fun, and the defining line of their arc through the show was definitely "this is entertaining...so far." because it's fun to flirt, until it isn't, and someone you care about his ruining his name at the city-wide rally, or revealed to be the daughter of the man sending cops to beat kids into submission. whew. they're really good together.

very quickly: THIS PULITZER IS >>>>>. HE IS SO GOOD. I CANT LIE LMAOOO HE'S SO EVIL I HATE HIM!! and MEDDA WAS SO. that's jack's mom. she also really does serve independence, and i love it so much.

anyway thanks for reading this far guys LMAO i now this is so extensive and i didn't even talk about the ensemble fr... but that's for the second viewing. the direction this production underwent took major precedence, since it's so different and so much more fleshed out.

hope this gave a clear picture on the vibe of the show and the principal characters/relationships!! more to come asf!!!

#newsies spoilers #WHEW OK WE DID IT for now #newsies #uksies #newsies uk #west endsies #britsies #analysis #newsies design #fizz freaks #jack kelly #crutchie morris #davey jacobs #katherine pulitzer #medda larkin #rizz.analysis

167 notes · View notes

batsplat · 4 months ago

Note

casey also talks about sepang 2015 what do you think of that

oh in that podcast? uh... lemme listen again...

yeah idk it's not really anything new I'd say? he's said basically all the same stuff in more interesting and extensive ways elsewhere. I think casey inevitably has a very 'well feuding is bad and helps nobody' point of view, has expressed that before in the past, does it here again, and he's also drawn a parallel between himself and marc on several occasions. which... well, of course there's similarities in terms of public discourse or whatever, but the parallel really falls apart whenever casey argues the feuds cost valentino. like, I do think it's sometimes important to just. keep in mind. it's interesting that casey draws this comparison in his mind but that doesn't necessarily means he's right about this. I'm not sure how you'd argue that starting a feud with casey cost valentino anything competitively? you can argue it didn't help him I guess, and then we can have a debate about the ins and outs of the 2008 season. we can also have an argument that in a hypothetical world where casey isn't ill in 2009, valentino doesn't break his leg and casey isn't on a piece of junk in 2010, and valentino isn't on a piece of junk in 2011-12, then actually maybe valentino sparking open animosity with casey COULD have cost him. but we don't know that! didn't happen! I wish we could have found out, but we never got the chance! as it stands, the tally on this is pretty straightforward: casey won the title when things were reasonably civil between them in 2007, and valentino took control of the following season at the exact moment he worsened the relationship between the pair of them in 2008. obviously, it's all more complicated than that and casey would of course argue laguna didn't negatively affect his subsequent performances... but it certainly didn't help them. like, at the very worst valentino escalating tensions in 2008 is a complete net neutral. after 2009, them being bitchy to each other every other tuesday was completely competitively irrelevant beyond maybe affecting how they approached occasionally fighting for a podium position. hey, maybe casey used that feud to fire himself up through sheer spite throughout the later stages of his career, but that doesn't actually support his anti-feud stance - it's basically the exact same thing as what valentino does. they're both quite similar in that regard! always so hungry to prove a point, to show how someone else is wrong. kinda half the point with this feuding business is to get yourself going, get yourself motivated, yeah. he straight up openly admits to using yamaha's repeat rejection of him as a way of giving himself motivation, and at the end of the day that's really not all that different?

anyway, what else does casey say... oh yeah, that him and the other aliens were already kinda prepared for this and had learned vale's tricks. that valentino had only been able to get into the minds of the previous generation. welllllll *wiggles hand* sure, I mean, he did clearly have to change his approach... he couldn't just use the exact same playbook to get to them, either on-track or off-track. but that's why he did change up the playbook... again, whether you want to believe valentino won his final two titles 'in the head' rather than just through pure pace kinda depends on how you assess the evidence, but it is at the very least a debate. and, y'know, it's always worth remembering that valentino's most important mind games with casey didn't happen in a press conference... it was on the track. and the on-track stuff really is just embedded in how valentino approaches winning. speaking of aliens, this is what dani and jorge have said:

like, valentino's entire approach to his riding, even to the way he's setting his bike up, is deliberately about directly fucking with you... he's not actually always trying to be faster than you as much as he's trying to give himself the tools to make your life miserable, to pressure you into mistakes, etc etc... and again, especially with casey (if anything because he was so mentally sturdy), the off-track stuff was really just window dressing. (I know they bicker a lot after 2009 but it's just so fundamentally irrelevant to actual on-track competition.) so you can be aware of those tricks, but it also doesn't necessarily help you when someone's being nasty to you on-track in a way you just fully do not enjoy. which is what it was like for casey! for casey, a lot of this comes back to the truly unpleasant context of how he was perceived by the public, how he was treated as mentally weak or 'broken' or whatever partly because he had the misfortune of coming up against a bloke who had the reputation for breaking rivals. I think it's quite natural to end up with a bit of a hardliner 'actually I've never been mentally affected by a result in my life' stance - and of course casey is a lot tougher than a lot of people give him credit for. that being said. sometimes your rivals affect you, shit happens, it's part of the game. it's fundamentally a nice idea to think that valentino's tactics weren't just morally wrong but also ineffective, which is kind of the appeal of this narrative, right? you want to believe you're above that, you want to believe you were adequately prepared and wise to valentino's tactic. it's unsurprising and understandable that casey does tend to tell the story that way, but again it's *wiggles hand* also hard to describe it as completely factual

uh. what else. oh I'm thrilled casey does canonically know valentino and marc were friends, he has said he wasn't following motogp too much during that time period so you couldn't be sure of that. does this mean anything? does it tell you anything? well, no, but it's just a pleasing thought to me. I like that. oh also 'provoking particularly aggressive riders isn't a good idea' is kinda a funny take from casey? like, he of all people would hate the idea of being cowed by someone's reputation like that... casey's right that provoking fast riders can potentially be dangerous, but y'know I do think that's probably not news to anyone almost nine years later. um. that's all I've got I think

#i will say idm getting asks like this AT ALL but i do hope that's not like. the only bit of the podcast people are paying attention to #my thing with sepang 2015 takes is that like... when's the last time anyone has said anything genuinely interesting about that event #which yes big words from the feud blogger... but in fairness a lot of the sepang 2015 stuff is from old notes. that's my excuse idc #but that's kinda the thing... i feel like i haven't really had a new original thought about the whole drama for three plus years #u do kinda run out. basically the takes say more about the person saying them than about the actual event at this point #which. yeah. casey's comments on sepang '15 are primarily interesting in what they tell you about how he feels towards valentino #mind u he's actually quite nice about valentino in this one? casey call him let's finally organise that dinner #heretic tag #//#brr brr #batsplat responds #oh casey does go on another spiel against riders who win at all costs. ships that passed in the night of feuds i always say #also he gets the age he enters the premier class at wrong. i held myself back in the last post from pointing this out for tonal reasons #but if people want my podcast hot takes. i do simply have to mention it. just to set the record straight here #'they battle for podium places after 2009' genuinely. twice. like the alien era giveth but a lot of the time it really does just taketh #somewhat ironically casey wins the duel when he's on the shitty ducati and vale wins the duel when he's on the even shittier ducati #whatever that tells you idk #casey was always promising the laguna rematch would've gone differently and I love that conceptually but also we just don't know #he was like next time I WON'T play nice and it's like?? omg what does that look like. casey what were you cooking #for ethical reasons it's probably fine but for character arc reasons it's objectively ass that casey ended up being able to do all his -#- racing in a way he was entirely comfortable with for his second title in 2011. like it's just a complete waste of a year #you have this whole thing building for four years and then 2010 comes along and it's like. well that's enough narrative intrigue now! <3 #also casey/jorge are fundamentally too interesting as individuals to have had such an obscenely boring on-track rivalry and yet here we are #it KILLS me because if you rearranged it and made valentino's dogshit ducati years like. 2009 or something #and do a straight title fight between jorge and casey THEN I genuinely think it would've been way more interesting #the problem with valentino is that he is fundamentally the WORST imaginable character you could invent to be casey's foil #literally everything about valentino could have been designed to be a casey-specific nightmare #but unfortunately that also makes him objectively the most interesting rival casey could have gotten #like morally it's on the edge. but narratively? literally could not have gotten a better villain in casey's story #constantly dancing on this faustian line of having to imitate valentino to beat him while trying not to lose yourself... juicy

9 notes · View notes