#but the recent replica production make up

[cassandra-has-moonlit-eyes]

I think in the recent productions one of the best make up for the Queens was done by the Il Sistina Production, which is a non replica  As far as I understand the make up was designed by two women.

For the first time I saw a picture that made me think, which was which cat.

They have quite different make up but because of the same colour palette and the leaving out the vibrant lip stick they do look very similar which I love.

To be fair Rumpletazer has a coloured lower lip on some pictures but it is never the bright red that was used by London based productions for years.

Also Tantomile and Coricopat: Peak design. They both used red in their general make up and costume, they both have, again a black upper lip, and a red lower lip. While Tantomiles lower lip is much more prominent, Coricopats is smaller but it’s still there. So when you give red lips to one of the “twin” characters, give it to both.

Also big fan of the fact that the queens do not have same face syndrom. I remember one video where the actors only wore make up, no wigs or costumes but you could still tell the women apart very well. With some of the newer production this becomes more difficult sometimes, especially with characters like Bombalurina, Demeter and Jemima, while Jellylorums make up seems to become less and less in contrast in some replica producitons.

I’m also so in love with Demeters make up. It’s very classical “femine” with the dark eyes and the contouring on her cheeks but at the same time it gives her a very edgy (literal) look. I’m also such a big fan of her long black upper lip. It looks so cool and cat like. And she looks different from Bomba. She is very beautiful but in her own way. They kind of do have stronger make up than some toms but at the same time the make up artists get the idea that there a very different way to give a woman hot make up, not just to slap red lips on her.

Not using the red lips on every female character also makes Bomba stick out. With her character design you can see that she is supposed to be the sexy, beautiful lady. She has more lashes and redder lips than most other female characters. It’s still towened down in a shade which fits her furr colour.

Last point is that red lips are also used for the toms. George (on the left) had a little bit red on his lower lip similiar to coricopat. Electra (on the right side) which I would argue was also to be intended one of the sexier female characters in this production by make up and costume design, has very prominent red lips too and sticks out compared to the other female “kitten” characters, a little bit like Bomba does.

Also to be fair again: The make up of the characters changed  slightly. But what is very promiennt is the black upper lip which I love because it’s so cat like.

[kisakis-boyfriend]

Kinktober Day 5: Selfcest

Pairings: Asmodeus x Asmodeus (implied x male reader at the end)

Warnings: Selfcest, mirror sex, rough sex, praise, teasing, a hint of voyeurism and male reader right at the end

Prompt credit: wylerkinktober 🧡

A delightful floral scent wafts through the air as Asmodeus steps out of the bathroom and into his bedroom, making his way over to the large full-length mirror in the corner. His skin is milky soft, freshly cleaned and lathered with fancy products to keep it healthy and smelling amazing.

The demon applies a good amount of moisturizer to his delicate features, rubbing it in evenly while he admires his glowing skin in his reflection.

“Well aren't you extra beautiful today, handsome?” he comments, glancing at his recently brushed hair. Everything is soft and smells clean and delicious—not a single area was left out of Asmo's bath time routine.

Before choosing an outfit from his wardrobe, Asmodeus presses his lips to the mirror, how could he not when he's looking extra gorgeous today! Just before he turns away, his reflection winks at him. Though Asmodeus himself definitely did not do that…

The demon tilts his head, blinking rapidly at the sight before him. Surely, he's only seeing things. He chuckles and goes to walk away, when a touch on his shoulder stops him. Looking back towards the mirror, Asmo is greeted by his own reflection with an arm reaching out of the glass and grasping onto him.

“What?” he gasps, too dumbfounded to move. He watches as his reflection fully steps out of the mirror, a perfect replica of his likeness. The doppelganger cups Asmo's rosy cheeks, and plants a single kiss onto hip lips, mirroring his earlier gesture. Before Asmo can utter another word, his mirror self circles around him, keeping a hand on his waist in a sultry manner. Warm hands trail up the expanse of the demon's exposed back, then back down in a repeated motion. Asmo can't help but feel a blush rising to his cheeks, not when those hands dip lower and lower down his body, eventually reaching his plump butt.

The doppelganger hums, admiring, in a way, his own backside. He slides his hands down Asmo's ass, ghosting over his hole, which makes the real Asmo flinch and whine. This was… definitely a bit strange, Asmo thought to himself, but it wasn't off-putting.

Now, looking back from the mirror was a reflection of two demons of lust, one right behind the other — Asmo met his doppelganger's gaze in the mirror, and smiled something flirty, a signal that he wished to see this through. The second demon took the hint, pushing one finger past Asmo's rim, and pumped it in and out slowly. He leaned Asmo forward, until his hands were pressed to the mirror's surface for support, and then continued to finger the original demon. It didn't take long for Asmodeus to loosen up — both literally and figuratively — before he was pleading with his new companion to “put that beautiful cock inside of me, baby~ I can take it~”

His uncanny counterpart obliged, spreading Asmo's cheeks and pressing the head of his cock against the demon's hole. It was a tight fit, which made it all the more satisfying and pleasurable when the doppelganger slid inside; plunging deeper into the warmth of the other's body as it squeezed his shaft tightly. An involuntary moan slipped out, but from which demon, you couldn't say. They were both surrendering to this inevitable pleasure, deeper and deeper, as it clouded their minds.

Of course, this copycat knew exactly how to please Asmo — it was a perfect reflection of himself, after all! Using his dick to dig around in Asmo's guts just how he liked, the mirrored demon quickly brought Asmo to the edge, and paused just before either of them could cum.

“No… not yet, why'd you stooop?” Asmo whined, breathing heavy with every syllable. His counterpart simply laughed at the question, and wrapped his arms around the demon's waist as he leaned close to his ear, nibbling on it a bit. He wrapped one hand around Asmo's leaking cock, surprising him and nearly causing him to orgasm again. Slow strokes along the shaft, then rubbing his palm over the head, using his knowledge of Asmo's body and innermost desires to keep him on the cusp of a delicious orgasm — but never letting him push over the edge.

Somewhere out of sight, standing just around the doorway, you watched Asmo's double begin to thrust again, moaning right into the demon's ear as that tight coiling sensation reappeared inside of him. With a hand eagerly jerking off your cock, you enjoyed the scene before you unfold in vivid detail; Asmo moaning like the whore he is, calling his mirror self 'daddy' multiple times as it fucked his ass with a lustful hunger that only the avatar of lust himself could possess. You watched as his cock twitched before shooting a load on the glass in front of him, dripping down and leaving a sticky white mess on the surface. You watched the clone stutter, emptying his balls inside Asmodeus with a sharp grunt. You saw it all, heard it all, and tried your best to keep your own orgasm from revealing your position — covering your tip with your palm to prevent cum from splattering all over the walls or door.

And, back in the room where Asmo and his doppelganger sighed a sigh of relief, they were none the wiser as to why this meeting even occurred. Far too caught up in the euphoria of the moment, minds covered in a post-orgasm haze, and already inching towards another round of lovemaking. They'd never think to guess that it was you who enchanted the mirror in Asmo's room; curious as to what he would do if he had an opportunity to meet another version of himself.

[dribs-and-drabbles]

Most memorable items of clothing in bl series in 2023

In order of their airing/me watching them:

I'm thankful I've gotten into the habit of noting which shows I watch and when otherwise I wouldn’t be able to remember. As it is, first on my list is Bed Friend, which kind of sets the tone for this post since it features the best and the worst outfit choices for Uea. The waffle robes and cat ears vs the fake sleeves shirt.

Next is a quick shout out to Por in My School President, since the show started in 2022 but did finish in 2023, and basically all of his outfits. The man is a style icon. But this stripy polo shirt takes the biscuit for me. I need to have it.

On to Moonlight Chicken and this one is a combined effort between Heart and Li Ming. @telomeke prompted me to write a little about it, but essentially the two shirts together are saying 'you're my other half'. Urthe / Tomato sauce.

The Gloves! Need I say more? (Alright, for those of you who don't know - how could you not?! - they're from Chains of Heart).

And now not strictly an item of clothing but an accessory, the most straight ankle bracelet you'll ever see in a thai series. Totally platonic, not gay AT ALL. In Midnight Museum.

In July the different Thai production companies took stock of three versions of the same stripy linin shirt – the cream long-sleeved, the brown short-sleeved, and the charcoal short-sleeved - and proceeded to clad every actor they could in one of them within a three and a half month period (six shows*, eight different characters). We had couple-shirts with both Kawi and Pisaeng and Mew and Top wearing them, and Namneua in Wedding Plan wore all three. (*Step by Step, Be My Favourite, Hidden Agenda, Wedding Plan, Love in Translation, and Only Friends).

Staying in July for a while, and speaking of weddings, Kawi rocked on up to Pearmai and Not's wedding in Be My Favourite in this brown houndstooth shirt and black pants outfit - an almost exact replica of Ray's outfit in the original pilot trailer for Only Friends. I waited with baited breath to see if Ray would still wear the outfit in the actual series...and he did! Not only that, I then realised Uea had already worn it in Bed Friend earlier in the year.

In a surprising turn of events, Be My Favourite – and Krist – turned out to actually be Quite Good. Perhaps distracted by Krist's puppy eyes, we weren't entirely ready for the first appearance of the Dudes shirt – itself a wonderful comment on the narrative since Kawi was figuring out his feelings for Pisaeng – but it was a delight to see it again on Nick in Only Friends, and offering a different narrative comment.

This next one may only be notable for me, but when I was doing my dedicated scan through of oh so many shows to collect items for the communal wardrobe, I noticed this sand and grey sweater amongst the many other items of shared clothing which appeared in The Warp Effect and then very briefly on Pisaeng in Be My Favourite. Not long after, the trailer for Last Twilight dropped and I spotted it again immediately. I've also since noticed it in a speed scan of The Shipper. Not only do I think it's a pretty neat sweater, but I loved the effect it gave in Last Twilight, which I wrote about at the end of this post.

This is getting long but I'm going to keep going (this might be the only 2023 wrap up I do so I'ma make it count).

If you've been following me for a while (or since the BBS days), you’ll know how rabid I go when I see a pair of the yellow-soled Mustard brand shoes in a show. The most recent being in Hidden Agenda worn by Zo…but they're not the ones on this list. Oh no, it's Joke's blue-soled shoes which made me sit up and scream this time...meaning even their shoes were colour-coded in this show. Oh how I wish I could buy a pair of each.

There were many fabulous outfits in Laws of Attraction (especially Charn's) but Tanthai's green rope shirt wins out for me. Green seemed to be used in the show to represent the lies and secrets Tanthai was forced to keep because of his father, and he was metaphorically bound and trapped in these lies and his life. Ah perfection!

I've mentioned a lot of brilliant items but there have also been many awful ones, and the one I can't seem to stop thinking about (or horrifying over) is the Droopy Tits shirt (or Nipple Protector, whichever way you want to call it) which first appeared in Dangerous Romance and then The Jungle just three days later. I'm surprised we haven't seen it again to be honest, but I imagine if we get more spoiled rich kids we probably will.

These next two aren't specific items but more of a shout out to the whole wardrobe design of the shows.

First, Only Friends, with Mew and Ray's transformation to Ray and Sand's (respective) wardrobe choices, as well as the inversion of colours to highlight differences in relationships, and the use of colour-groupings to separate characters (<- a post i have yet to write). I wish I could write more about it…but life is just too busy to give it the time it needs.

The second is, of course, Ai Di and Chen Yi in Kiseki: Dear to Me with how they always share a colour in their different outfits. @respectthepetty details this perfectly here, so I don't need to. I am however still feral about these two and can't wait to do a full re-watch of the show.

And lastly, much like Baseball Mom in Bad Buddy two years ago (and to be honest many of Pat's other shirts), Aof recently gifted us another absolutely ridiculous but brilliantly poignant t-shirt slogan in Mhok's Fart Proudly shirt in Last Twilight, which I went into detail about here. Just A+

Thanks for sticking with me through all that! Any others that stood out for you or that I missed?

[glassprism]

How many different replica Masquerade choreography are there of? I swear everytime I watch a new video it changes...

I think every version has little changes here and there, just like with the costumes and the blocking, but I largely put them into the following categories.

The original choreography. What it says on the box. This featured a lot more dancing for Raoul and Christine, largely because the original Raoul and Christine were trained dancers. This choreography was used in the West End, Broadway, and a few of the earliest replica productions, as well as the Japanese production (again, with a couple tweaks) up until around 2020, but was gone for the most part by the 1990s as productions toned down the dancing requirements for their Christines. I made a gifset comparing it to the the more common choreography here.

West End choreography pre-2019. I tend to call this the "West End choreography" because that's the flagship production that has it but I see it being used in various European productions as well as the World Tours. The way I recognize this is if Christine does a little dip in Raoul's arms and if Raoul lifts Christine without moving across the stage. See the left side of this gifset for images. It's also worth noting that after 2016, the West End production changed their choreography (see below) but other productions stuck to this version, e.g. the Stockholm revival in 2016-2017 and the Copenhagen revival in 2018-2019.

Broadway choreography pre-2016. This is basically the flip side of the above, the dancing used on Broadway and the replica US tours up until 2016. Main way I differentiate is that Raoul and Christine do a little kiss and spin instead of a dip and the lift is done with Raoul moving across the stage instead of standing still. Again, I call it the Broadway choreography but it's used elsewhere, interestingly mostly in the Latin productions - Mexico City, the original Madrid, and the original and revival Sao Paulo productions all feature this choreography, though all but the original Sao Paulo production eliminate the lift. (I have no footage of Buenos Aires so can't speak to what they used.) The most recent Korean revival has also followed this choreography, including eliminating the lift. See the right side of this gifset for visuals.

Post-2016 to pre-COVID choreography. Around 2016, Gillian Lynne went in and tweaked the choreography somewhat, with the main differences that I saw being the elimination of the lifts and more general "movement" on the stage. There was a lot of buzz at the time about Lynne coming in and making these changes which is probably why I remember it and categorize it so clearly from the above. Ultimately I think it was used mostly in the West End and Broadway productions, I didn't see too much use of it elsewhere. See this gifset for a comparison of the changes made.

Post-COVID choreography. To me, it felt like a continuation of the above but with added changes, mainly: less dancing for Christine (she seemed to spend most of her time running around the stage being chased by the dancers), some more twirling, and she and Raoul get pulled in by the ensemble at one point. Like the one directly above, this is used mostly in the West End and Broadway productions after their revival / reopening. I don't have a gifset comparison but here's a video of it on Broadway.

No dance Christine. A somewhat special case, as far as I can tell used mainly in the original Vienna production and if a Christine has injured herself in a way where she can perform but just can't do a lot of the dancing (e.g. I believe Meghan Picerno did something like this in the first few days of her World Tour run). As the name implies, this is when Christine just dashes offstage for half of 'Masquerade', leaving Raoul to wander confusedly looking for her and the ensemble to show off some rather excellent moves, though she'll emerge back in time to get on the staircase. Here's a full video of the original Vienna production, just skip to 'Masquerade' to see it.

So that's how I'd divide it! Again, it's more about finding the commonalities and not getting too bogged down with the various little tweaks that occur here and there...

[the-blind-assassin-12]

questions tag game

*Some time ago* I was tagged by the lovely @oonajaeadira - thanks, friend! - to play along, so here goes:

Do you make your own bed? Always when I change the sheets. Sometimes when I’m in an overly productive mood/ I’m procrastinating something else. Never when I simply don’t feel like it.

Favorite number? 12

What is your job? I run an Etsy shop. It’s mostly geared towards weddings and other events. I have a laser engraver, and I use it to make engraved wooden bookmarks (they’re usually used as party favors but they’ve also been used as fundraiser items & book launch giveaways), photo engravings and replica event invitations. I also drive for Uber eats on the side. Which can be interesting and weird in similar ways that any food service job can be interesting and weird.

If you could go back to school, would you? Are we talking about college? I’m assuming we’re talking about college, in which case I would. I genuinely liked being in school and doing research and writing analysis papers. 🤓

Can you parallel park? Sure. Can I parallel park well? Haha. No. Luckily where I live I don’t really have to very often, and on the off chance that I do have to I either A) find a spot I can just pull right into, or B) take a really long time to get kinda sorta close enough to run into whatever store I need to and run back out.

Do you think aliens are real? Absolutely. The universe is too big to conceptualize and Earth simply cannot be the only planet with life.

Can you drive a manual car? I cannot. I’ve always wanted to learn but it never came to fruition and now I doubt it will because fewer cars are being made with manual transmission. Oh well.

What’s your guilty pleasure? None. Life is short and difficult so I’m going to enjoy my little treats without guilt.

Any phobias? Idk if it’s a phobia per se, but clowns freak me out in a way that makes me want to punch them and run.

Favorite childhood sport? Track. And cross country. I was a runner from the time I could run (my dad was a marathon runner in his younger years and so he would put me in kid races starting at age 4) up until about 10 years ago. In high school I ran the 400m, 800m, 1600m and 5k. Since then I’ve done every road race distance from 5k to a full marathon. I had to stop because of injuries- a stress fracture in my knee that never really healed correctly (my knees sound like a bag of scrabble tiles when I descend a staircase) and a total reconstruction surgery on my foot - but I miss it very much. If I could have new knees and feet I’d be running again in nothing flat.

Do you talk to yourself? Oh heck yeah. All the time. Usually in my head but sometimes out loud. It’s a lot of “what are you doing?” @ me.

Tattoos? Just one little itty bitty one - the number 26.2 (the length of a marathon) with a heart as the decimal point on the outside of my right foot. I dedicated my marathon to my mom, so the heart is for her. I want so goddamn many more though.

Favorite color? Leafy green. 🌱

Do you like puzzles? I do! I love codes and logic problems and word puzzles and even corn mazes. I’ve never done an escape room but I have a feeling I’d ace it.

Idk who may have done this recently or ever or five times already or never, so this is an entirely OPEN TAG - so go crazy, kids. Just tag me so I can see your answers. 💚

[starlene]

Under the cut, I've written about my thoughts re: the Finnish production of Moulin Rouge! the musical.

Moulin Rouge! Helsinki is a replica of Moulin Rouge! Stockholm – a production I loved enough to see it five times. I guess you've been able to tell from my recent posts that I absolutely did not love the Helsinki production. In this post, I try to explain why by going through the Finnish cast and also discussing the direction and the physical production a bit.

I won't be putting any names in this so my hate won't pop up in anyone's news alerts or wherever.

Let's start with the cast overview.

Satine: she's fine. Sings fine, acts fine, but lacks that little bit of extra something that would truly make her the sparkling diamond, at least in my eyes. But maybe that's just personal preference! Anyway, as far as characterisation goes, I've heard criticisms about her being too cold, and I do think it is a rather cold/reserved portrayal – but I think that makes complete sense. In my opinion, the vibes are right and the interpretation is 100% valid. Satine would be like that. The problem is, I think, that Christian burns so very bright and passionate, he almost completely overshadows her icier performance. While they're both good on their own, and they have their nice moments together too, maybe they would both work even better alongside someone else?

Christian: the real star and mvp of the show. I understand why the character has so many fangirls now. He is super passionate here. Naïve, in love, won't listen to any sense, tears up about it. Also, he sings so powerfully and beautifully, you really believe Santiago and Toulouse-Lautrec when they go WOW after he starts singing (quite unlike the same scene with his Stockholm counterpart, bless his heart, where it was painfully obvious Toulouse was the actual strongest singer of the trio.) 10/10. Wonderful performance. The actor really carries about two thirds of the whole production on his shoulders, and I was delighted every time he stepped onstage in a way I never felt in Stockholm. Shame that I still dislike the character (at heart, he's just a super toxic dude), but I don't think that can be helped.

Zidler: I knew I was going to hate him from the moment he was cast, but knowing that didn't make it any more pleasant to actually watch him. I knew Mr. Super Annoying Mannerisms was going to crank his usual shtick up to eleven in this role, and oh boy, was I right. He doesn't really play a character here. Instead, he just does all of his annoying funnyman tricks in a row and looks rather smarmy and slimy while doing them. I kept wishing I could get up and kick him in the shins just to get him off the stage faster. And all this pains me more than a generic bad performance in a musical would because Stockholm!Zidler is one of my top five theatrical performances after the pandemic lockdowns. Maybe ever. In Stockholm, Zidler had such a charming, kind, warm aura – you could easily believe people would come to the Moulin Rouge just because they have such a charming master of ceremonies over there (...or at least that was a big part of why I saw the show five times.) In other words, Stockholm!Zidler was everything Helsinki!Zidler is not, and every time I was forced to see and hear the latter, I missed the former more. It may be the same production with the same director, but those two are not the same character. I hated, hated, hated this performance.

Toulouse-Lautrec: I'm saddened to tell you I hated, hated, hated this performance too. I didn't think I was going to especially like him, especially when compared to the brilliant Stockholm!Toulouse... but man, this performance really felt like staring into a charmless, joyless black hole. Go girl, give us nothing!! It felt like the actor (who I honestly believe was cast mainly because he's shorter than average, like the irl Toulouse-Lautrec was) was channeling some old, cynical, alcoholic communist who's forgotten why he's a communist to begin with. I mean, yeah, the character is supposed to be a bit sad – but I think he's also supposed to genuinely believe in the Bohemian Ideals despite everything, which I had an extremely hard time believing while watching this charmless, passionless performance. Furthermore, Helsinki!Toulouse's voice is unimpressive when compared to his OBC and Stockholm counterparts, and his hideous wig is like an unpleasant cherry on top of it all. I guess it's also noteworthy that Helsinki!Toulouse performed the physical disability in a lot subtler manner than Stockholm!Toulouse – which is a valid take, I guess, though it does seem to imply that Helsinki!Toulouse feels like a tragic failure and never shot his shot with Satine mainly because he's short, not because he's disabled. Oh well, with so many girls today swiping left when a guy is shorter than 180 cm, I guess that's fair. Personally, I prefer a less subtle take when it comes to the character's disability, but I suppose that's neither here or there.

The Duke: he's so unremarkably okay I almost forgot to include him in this cast list. He plays the part as a complete cartoon villain, which is fair, and seems to be having at least some amount of fun with it. Lots of sinister laughing. He doesn't really have truly scary moments like his Stockholm counterpart did, he's just nasty. All in all, I think the actor understood the assignment 100% – but unfortunately, that's not enough to make the character interesting, he's just written that badly. In any case, the scene with him, Satine and Christian was one of my personal highlights of this production, they just made it work exactly like it should.

Santiago: he's all right, though I don't think I believe them when they say he wants to be the greatest gigolo in all of Paris. He's a bit too gentleman-like for my tastes. His Stockholm counterpart had a seedier, rougher, overall more annoying vibe that I think suits the character a lot better, but that's just personal preference.

Nini: she was good, one of those performances you want to watch whenever they're onstage. If I were to see this production again, I would pay her even more attention than I did now – not that I'm ever going to do that, but you know. In any case, my headcanon is that the day after Satine's tragic demise, Nini is chosen as the new lead and as the CEO of the Moulin Rouge, and she solves all their financial trouble within three months.

La Chocolat, Arabia & Baby Doll: I'm grouping these three just to say that though there is nothing wrong with the Helsinki trio, I preferred the Stockholm trio by far – I liked that they had a wider variety of body types over there, and overall, the Stockholm characters felt more like individual personalities. Here, they felt a bit more like generic ensemble people. But of course, it's still somewhat early in the run. I believe that as time goes by, the Helsinki ladies will also develop stronger personalities of their own – it's just that I won't be there to see it.

Direction: I wonder how much of the mess that is this mishmash of performances can be blamed on the director. Everyone who has seen replica productions knows that it doesn't usually turn out great when an actor and/or a director try to make a performance fit a mold created by some previous performer... but I wonder if in Helsinki, they took it too far the other direction. As far as I'm aware, prior to the Helsinki production, the director of the Nordic Moulin Rouges focused his personal attention to the Stockholm production while assistant directors mainly handled Oslo and Copenhagen. I wonder if he was so wary of forcing the Stockholm mold onto the Finnish cast, he just let them do whatever instead? In any case, it feels like the main cast isn't quite working towards same goal, which was never the case in Stockholm.

Finally, some thoughts about the Helsinki production in general:

The first thing that comes to mind is that the sound mixing sucked, just like it did in Stockholm, especially late in the run. This never used to be an issue when I started watching musicals in Finland, so heaven knows why it seems to be so impossible these days.

Other than that... It's not bad, but I feel like this production doesn't look quite right in Helsinki. Of course, the whole idea of a replica production is that you don't design anything from scratch when going to a new theatre – but I think here, with a production designed with Stockholm's smallest musical stage in mind transferring to the biggest stage in all of Finland, it feels a bit too obvious that this show is not designed with the Helsinki theatre in mind. The choreography is still fantastic, but the stage is so big, it doesn't feel full and busy like it did in Stockholm, no matter that they have more dancers. The video projections are still mainly cringeworthy (Elephant Love Medley being the brilliant exception.) The sets that looked grand enough in the tiny Stockholm theatre look rather small and flimsy here. The costumes also seem a bit cheaper, especially Satine's. The tailoring and colour scheme were both off; they suited the Stockholm actress beautifully, but the Finnish actress... not so much. The pink dress she wears when they rehearse their show is an atrocity.

And then there are the small but charming Stockholm details that didn't make it to Helsinki at all – some theatre smoke here, a bunch of golden glitter there, the cute/creepy handpainted smiling moon that references the real Moulin Rouge facade... I dunno, you just miss this kind of go-the-extra-mile stuff when you notice it's gone, you know?

The Finnish translation is a terribly mixed bag. The lyrics are mostly in Finnish but switch to English at random points – I suppose mainly because the translator couldn't come up with anything. You get used to it, but it's not great. I'm sure it wasn't an easy task, some of the lyrics seem genuinely impossible to translate – but even so, I would have liked having some in-universe kind of logic to the points where the language changes. As far as the songs go, there was one brilliant moment (the beginning of Elephant Love Medley references a bunch of Finnish songs), a handful of clever rhymes, and a bunch of really clunky ones. The clunkiest of all, however, was the spoken dialogue. Of course, spoken Finnish is very different from standard Finnish, and theatrical dialogue is usually in standard Finnish, so it always sounds a bit unnatural, and in this case, the original English dialogue is not very good either. But even so... it just sounded so painfully stilted and awkward all the time, almost like they're in a The Play That Goes Wrong style play-within-a-play all the way through. Maybe they should have hired someone else to do the dialogue and let the translator focus on the lyrics.

Bleh! I definitely won't be seeing this production again, no matter if it runs for fifty years (unless maybe there's a performance where both u/s Zidler and u/s Toulouse-Lautrec are scheduled to be on, but even then, I dunno.) I don't regret seeing this, it would have bothered me for the rest of my life if I hadn't, but I did not have fun and would not recommend this particular production to anyone. Save your money and, if the Stockholm cast returns to the upcoming Göteborg production, just go see them instead.

[rabnerd28]

1 If you had full creative control over the most recent tour(s), how would you change them?

2 If you could magically procure a full bootleg out of thin air of any Cats production in history, which would you choose?

I don't think it's controversial to say that I'm changing most of the recent international tour designs. Honestly, I wouldn't do anything even that crazy, I kinda just want to go back to the previous designs until the can come up with something that doesn't look like most of them just caked make up on their face. Except for Cass. Cass looks amazing.

Very tough. I've found a lot more bootlegs recently, but the one's I'd kill for would be literally any non-replica. And I'm specifically going to say Opera Populaire. I really like the steampunk vibe, and there's so little information on it, I'd die to be able to see it.

[storyweaverofgondor]

Your blog has shown me that there's SOOO much more to CATS and I already loved the show to bits. I'm excited to see it next year so I want to ask - what's wrong with the new tour???

First off, Hello! Thank you for the compliment! Also, that is so exciting! Seeing Cats live is a magical experience.

Second, there is nothing necessarily wrong with the new tour. A lot of the fandom, myself included, are very critical of the new costumes and makeup that has come out recently for the replica productions. Primarily due to the fact that, at least for me, it makes it very hard to tell many of the characters apart and identify them even in close up pictures. Which seems like a poor choice considering Cats is a live performance in front of an audience with lots of moving parts. Why would they make it harder for people, especially those at the back, to know which was which cat? They have also seemed to have removed many of the characters identifying features, Chorus Misto no longer seems to be a tuxedo cat for example. Also, personally, i don't like (Possibly despise? Is that too strong a word?) all the muddled blended earth tones. To me, Cats should be bold, colorful and intense. The new costumes are all just so . . . dull in comparison to what they're replacing. It's rather depressing to me.

But, criticisms and salt aside, i strongly encourage you to make your own opinions. There is always something special about every production and i have no doubt the new tour is no exception.

[twink-fidel-castro]

last september over 34,000 SAG-AFTRA members working under the Interactive Media Agreement* in the video game industry—mainly voice actors—voted to authorize a strike by 98.32%(!) after negotiations begun in october '22 failed to make acceptable progress on protections against exploitative use of generative AI, among other critical issues

last saturday the union's national board and the IMA negotiating committee delegated the power to call that authorized strike to the National Executive Director & Chief Negotiator, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, with the lack of AI protections remaining a major concern

they're not on strike yet, but the future of generative AI in media is being shaped by these early agreements. last year's other SAG-AFTRA contract covering theater and television actors has its own issues, like language loose enough that actors can be pressured to agree to have "digital replicas" made even though they technically have a choice. the recent IATSE contracts covering positions like art directors, cinematographers, and editors were ratified despite serious concerns raised by many members. meanwhile the corporations are going all-in on AI hype, with much fanfare about using large language models to do things like make NPCs you have to come up with how to talk to yourself** and computers that play games for you. in this fight, as ever, not only do the workers deserve the world, their vision is far brighter than any bid for shareholder "value"; unless the companies move quickly to rectify their positions, this strike may be the next stage of the fight

in Crabtree-Ireland's words,

Our resolve is unwavering and should not be tested. Our membership voted more than 98% yes to authorize a strike of this contract should the employers not come to the table with a deal that includes our critical provisions -- especially in A.I. We are steadfast in our commitment to our membership who work this contract and whose extraordinary performances are the heart and soul of the world’s most popular video games. Time is running out for the companies to make a deal.

* the IMA covers the companies Activision Productions Inc, Blindlight LLC (which handles voicework for many studios), Disney Character Voices Inc., Electronic Arts Productions Inc., Formosa Interactive LLC (which provides sound and art services to other publishers), Insomniac Games Inc., Take 2 Productions Inc., VoiceWorks Productions Inc., and WB Games Inc.

** seriously, call me old-fashioned, but sitting alone in a room talking to my television sounds like such an unpleasant experience

for an actual journalist's summary of the same issue, you could check out the coverage in PCGamer magazine

[satindupe]

heyyyyyy ( with the intention of getting you to plot with me ) this is a second muse so i hope you're interested in meeting miss yang taeri, because she likes to be everywhere at the same time! her profile is up here and anomaly here, below i'll give her background and some ideas for plots. please like this post and i'll come to you, or let me know if you prefer discord b/c i sure do!

yang taeri, 23, textile & fashion design major with self replication

ok now that that's out the way, she was bork in new york city, usa! went by the english name madison. her family did well for themselves because her dad was an it manager, but her mother was an anomaly with psychic powers and fully leaned into the occult. well known within the city and charged people for readings and what not. a controversial figure due to it, but people kept coming to her in an attempt to deal with lifes uncertainties.

not only to mention that taeri is the oldest out of 3 and looks nothing like her younger siblings. at all. only vaguely looks like her mom. like come on, as she grows up she knows she's mixed but it's not something that her parents bother talking about, with her or even each other, just settles as the constant elephant in the room. eventually she learns to stop asking.

but! taeri is cute and charming and not at all odd like her mother and so people just learn to ignore that part. she still gets invited to things and does well in school because she doesn't talk about her mom and people just know that she's not going to be like her.

but mom is right a lot of the times. like how she told her that she was an anomaly too but didn't specify more than that. she's seven in a martial arts class ( shoutout to dad ) when she gets kicked and an identical clone also gets thrown out of her. that's the first time that it happened in public, however. a couple of year before that she talked about having an imaginary friend, as most do, and thought that the replicas that she just ... pulled out of herself was imaginary. turns out they weren't.

anywho i'd like to believe that new york is more liberal-ish when it comes to anomalies so despite that, it doesn't effect her reputation too much. at least not yet.

fast forward to high school and she's class president, golden girl, sweetheart. the resentment has grown with her mother as she refuses to fit in and loves to put on a show, but she also uses her powers to help taeri excel too. she doesn't understand why her mom is still so kind to her even when she doesn't admit her existence outside of the house. it's a love hate thing that she can't exactly explain. her younger sister is a couple of years younger and they go to the same school, and has taken on her mothers ways. she overhears a cheerleader call her a 'fucking occultist' and she just. kind of sees red. she's pushing two other clones of herself and beats the girl's ass LOL, completely unexpected coming from her. it takes a couple of dudes from the football team to get them off of her too.

it also doesn't help that same week her mother sits her down and tells her the truth ⏤ that she's the product of a heated love affair between herself and a different man that left the country once she told him he was pregnant. or at least, she thought that was the case until he started writing you recently, showing a letter that's addressed to her. then it clicks why no one ever discussed anything with you.

lots of conflicting feelings as it turns out this is a man is a foreign diplomat currently in south korea. apologizes for what he's done and would like to get to know her. she tells her mother she isn't going, mother states that she'll end up there sooner than she thinks. it makes sense when taeri attempts to make up with the cheerleader and thankfully charges aren't pressed, but taeri does end up expelled and her reputation tanks. so, y'know, maybe a change of pace in korea isn't so bad after all.

she ends up moving to finish up her last two years of high school and realizes that this dude has moneyyyyy! upper class lifestyle, and a younger baby brother with his korean wife. adjusting to life in korea was hard as hell, especially because anomalies were looked down upon much more than in america. her actual father gives her a nullivi patch as he doesn't want to deal with her powers, and she's not fond of it but keeps her head down and plays along until she gets to sua. spends time w her dad on the weekends, he likes to have breakfast and he's very open to answering whatever questions she has.

which brings us to present day! she's a fashion major because it's the one true thing that she has a passion for, and eventually would like to work at a fashion house or start her own little boutique.

uses the patch for classes only / when told to, but otherwise you may catch her around multiple places around campus at once. she wants to know everything!

joined curious currents because she's nosy as hell and can't put her fucking camera down, and considering she's minoring in marketing it made sense for her to be the social media manager. very bubbly with them but not in your face.

and in terms of plots here's some i can think of off the top of my head:

childhood friends? anyone from new york? probably somewhat of a long shot but could be nice

roommates! red hall girlies! very much the type to try to do things w the other girls in the communal areas and loves the ~sisterhood~ and what not

i need her to have a fat ass crush on someone. very much dreamy sighs and doodling their name on class notes, liking all social media posts. can absolutely be one sided or not!

a bad influence! someone who thinks she's too much of a goodie two shoes and she would like to prove them wrong

you keep running into her and think that it's simply coincidence when in reality! it's not, she keeps sending her clones in your direction to get information / tea from you. are you weirded out? find it annoying? sorry, there's something about you that interests her ( or she finds you sus ) and she's just trying to help out the newspaper, y'know?

she likes to think that she's your guardian angel, watching over you and helping you when needed

cousins? maybe from her ( actual ) father's wife side ( so by marriage ) who had no idea that she existed until now

people who think she's fake! that she's putting on an act for attention

party friends because you know that she's always at all the events and needs someone to enjoy them with

sexual tension? a will they won't they situation of sorts?

and the usual stuff of friends, exes, and everything in between! really i'm down for anything ~

[033h]

lol super late but I got tagged by @chiveburger to do my 2022 top skincare, makeup, and fragrances!! tbh I don’t try new products super often with the exception of lip products but I love to overshare so ty for tagging <3

The ordinary 100% plant derived hemi-squalane - I don’t do much for skincare these days tbh, I have dry/sensitive skin plus eczema so I pretty much just use an oil and cetaphil if I’m lazy. I recently started going through this one I bought a while ago and it’s hydrating enough without feeling as greasy as a lot of oils.

Paula’s choice lip and body balm - I tried sooo many lip balms before finding this and it’s the only one ive used for 5+ years!! I used to use the nuxe reve de miel but the scent irritated my lips. This one is scentless and equally hydrating, and the container lasts me months even though I use it every day. If they ever stopped making it I think I would cry…

Sierra bravo deodorant in white vetiver and cedarwood - ok not skincare but I love this deodorant soo much. Don’t get me wrong I hate the military vibe but I ran out of my smith deodorant and randomly found this one for $3 on sale at uo. The scent is kind of piney kind of old spice vibes but not as strong-smelling and it’s gel-like, so it doesn’t crumble or leave marks.

Skin aqua UV essence tone up sunscreen - I’ve used Japanese sunscreens for a few years bcus they don’t feel like anything on, have high spf, and they’re affordable. I used to use the biore aqua rich, in comparison this one might leave a cast if you have darker skin since it’s not as sheer, but I think the biore one contained alcohol and irritated my skin a bit.

3CE soft matte lipstick in chill move - I never really bought pink lipsticks until this year since I have an orange/yellow undertone. I love 3CE because even their cool shades are suited to warm undertones. It’s a nice mauvy pink that doesn’t make me look dead and it’s not drying for a matte.

3CE syrup layering tint in alive pink - same as the lipstick, this pink is so cute and the formula is really comfortable. It’s somewhere between a gloss and a stain but it’s not drying like a lot of stains and not as thick as a gloss. This shade isn’t super opaque but it layers nicely and leaves my lips feeling moisturized.

Canmake colorful nails n31 lovely shower - my mom and I have always been nail polish hoarders like I’m talking salon quantities of nail polish so I’ve tried a lot... this formula is really smooth and dries quickly, and the color is soo gorgeous! it’s a fine, pearlescent glitter that looks barbie pink and reflects a gold peachy color. It also does not chip! The bottle is a little small but I think I’ll actually use all of it. I found it randomly in a jbeauty shop in SF and am going to try some of the non-glitter colors soon! 

Glossier pro tip liner - pretty much the only makeup I wear consistently is eyeliner. I almost always use felt tips but this brush doesn’t split and isn’t floppy/rectangular (like the brush cap ones). It does dry out but it lasts me the same as the stila one (~4 months) and is super thin and precise, I wish they made it in brown! 

Maison margiela replica sailing day - I just started getting into fragrances this year and out of this sample set and the boy smells one, this is the only one I really liked. It’s very gender neutral and doesn’t have any oppressively perfumey/cologney heaviness to it, and no sweetness which I hate. It’s aquatic and fresh, basically just like clean salt water.

Ok thats all this was fun even tho I feel like I don’t experiment w my products much!! I tag @macadamianutmilk​ @milfmushroomforager @tierras @lovergirl @sheis and @ieg, if you want to!

[t-top-apologist]

So here’s the deal. I’ve got a small block. Two barrel carb. Runs like a dream (read: recently upgraded to “doesn’t sound like a asthmatic raccoon rolling down a flight of stairs in a metal trash can” when you start it up). So naturally I want to throw off the entire equilibrium and mess with the fuel system.

Swapping fuel pumps is fine. Adding a metal fuel filter where the plastic one (imagine a water balloon filled with gasoline sitting directly next to the exhaust headers. Now imagine something less safe than that) sits right now is a good idea. Not what I’m going for. I want Hilborn fuel injection.

Just the name “Hilborn fuel injection” harkens back to a time when people put little beer kegs full of fuel on the front of their Chevy 210s—imagine slapping a water balloon full of gasoline on the bumper of the car you’re currently axle hopping nose-first into a concrete barrier—and called corvettes without carburetors “fuelies,” which is surprisingly not an Australian slur for gas station attendants.

Ignore all the talk about mechanical fuel delivery. I don’t own a diesel and therefore leave that sort of thing to the special breed of freak that owns an Alfa Romeo. All you need to know is that the unhinged assemblies of gears and ball valves required to do what God designed the carburetor for are really just a big excuse to run those shiny chromed intake trumpets on a car.

You know when BMW guys talk about ITBs? Has nothing to do with irritable bowels. It’s 100% an excuse to put intake trumpets on the side of their engine. It looks cool, just not as cool as eight of those trumpets strapped to the top of your V8 hate machine. And I want that. Except I’m lazy, and according to the niche forums I visit tuning mechanical fuel injection is as pleasant as sticking your hand in a rusty toaster when done right and will ensure you get your steps in on the walk home when done wrong.

Could I simply buy a $1500 carburetor replacement electronic fuel injection setup that requires five bolts and about as many brain cells to install? Sure. I could also live my life as a productive member of society. That would involve living a lifestyle where I pay someone to tune the MFI for me. Both of these things a blow to my personal reputation as “the local skinflint” and my personal devotion to making things harder for myself. So rather than shell out for vintage MFI setups, I turned to the world of EFI. Surely the modern fanatics for Fratzogs and Rat Fink memorabilia would have made enough ruckus for to spark a Hilborn EFI lookalike.

Unfortunately, as far as I can tell they only built them for big blocks. My little hot rod’s factory small block is doomed never to host those shiny little intake trumpets. Sure I could swap in a big block, but when I sat this one next to my dilapidated street machine I began to consider the fact that this is a lot of effort for a lowly hot rod. At the heart of things I’m just as lazy as I am determined to make things harder for myself, and so I decided I need to find something else to put the big block in.

What was the question again? Oh, what am I going to do with the rolling chassis Lola T70 replica behind me?

[ratherchaseamouse]

🧵🧠🎯

🧵 What's your favorite production and why?

I really love the cast of the 2006 Dutch tour, everyone’s voices and acting are just fantastic. I also love the costumes and wigs in the uk/int 2022 tour. Also Oasis because they have the best makeup and they kept the original choreo

🧠 Share a headcanon/theory about the show that you like!

A recent headcanon of my own that I’m obsessed with is Rumpus Cat being a real guy (rather than George/Alonzo dressed up). Munkustrap had to write him a fan letter asking if he’d make a cameo appearance at the Jellicle Ball and was disappointed when Rumpus Cat was more of a doofus than he’d been led to believe.

🎯 What's a common headcanon/theory/interpretation that you don't prescribe to?

*subscribe

I don’t like the headcanon that Mistoffelees is a young, inexperienced magician whose first big act of magic is bringing back Old Deuteronomy. It’s not talked about terribly often but when it is it just feels so incorrect. His song is all about how renowned and polished a magician he is. I see him as youngish (in most replicas at least), but he’s still an established conjuring cat.

[glassprism]

I don't if you're familiar with Raoul's reaction in PONR in the recent rumanian production (He fall in his knees during Phantom confession) Would you know some interesting reaction of Raoul in PONR? Maybe in non-replica or replica?

Not really, unfortunately. In the replicas and many non-replicas, Raoul is basically out of sight, behind the curtain or maybe sitting in a box, so you don't get a lot of reactions. This makes sense, as 'Point of No Return' is a big moment for the Phantom and Christine, so I imagine having Raoul in there might be deemed distracting. If he is in there, a lot of times he's just part of the crowd and, you know, standing there while the Phantom has his moment.

That being said, the most interesting reactions I'm seeing are: Bulgaria, where Raoul is the one who straight up unmasks the Phantom; Italy and the Spain revival where Raoul comes running out when the Phantom takes off his giant hat and has to be blocked off by Christine from attacking the Phantom (come on Christine); what you just mentioned in the Romanian revival; and if the moment after 'Point of No Return' counts, then the restaged tour where Raoul just accidentally kills a policeman when he tries to shoot the Phantom and misses, which is... A Choice.

[dieletztepanzerhexe]

my thesis advisor gave me this book recently, for me to keep forever. it seems like for my thesis i'm going to write about artefacts of the globular amphora culture

this book was published in 1967, so it's ummm how to say it's nicely. a classic publication. nobody read it before, so i will have to cut all the pages. it's a perfect opportunity to test my paper knife i got recently, it;s made of antler and i'm slightly obsessed with it. this book spent almost 60 years on bookshelves in different museums and univeristies until it found me.

i think i will love the globular amphora culture. they had very nice richl;y decorated pottery. i've got to make a replica of their pots one day

they were nomadic pastoralists :3 which is a nice coincidence, bc nomadic pastoralism is one my my favourite subjects. herding mostly pigs and cattle. almost complete lack of spindle whorls suggest that they didn't have textile production. they practiced human sacrifice, especially of children. and also there is a lot of evidence for their cannibalism (the cool kind of cannibalism). another cool thing is that they were building megalithic tombs, with burial chambers made of giants stone slabs, which is an impressive thing in poland lol. there are many burials of ppl without heads or alternatively, burials of decapitated skulls. cattle had a very important role in their society so there are also fascinating cattle burials, with up to 10 cows buried together, with grave goods and sometimes also accompanied by human sacrifice. overall everything about them is rather creepy and exciting. i can't wait to to see my arrtefacts >_<

[aventurasdeunatortuga]

Fenghuang

The past 3ish days have been spent in the city of Fenghuang 凤凰, literally, Phoenix Town, in Hunan province.

This town was established sometime in the 1700s and was generally a sleepy river town until recent years. The famous Chinese author Shen Congwen is from here and he wrote a famous novel called Border Towns set in this town in the 1920s about a Romeo and Juliet -esque romance. Shen Congwen is now considered to be one of the greatest Chinese modern authors, but during his life he was targeted by the Communist government because his novels were too “apolitical”. He was socially ostracized to the point where he attempted suicide. He later was “reeducated” and became a scholar of traditional culture working at a museum, he was nominated for the Nobel Prize for his novels in 1988 but died before the result was announced.

This town is famous nowadays for its architecture and for being the setting of this novel. It is an extremely popular tourist destination in Hunan province but relatively unknown within the rest of China and abroad. I only found out about it from a TikTok comparing it to the town in the Japanese animated film, Spirited Away, and thought it was pretty.

The old town here remains pretty much exactly as it did during the 1700s, which is pretty rare. It is built pretty much right up against the Tuojiang River with houses partially built on stilts overlooking the river. Its also known for the local indigenous Miao (also known abroad as Hmong) and Tujia culture. Nowadays it is a very touristy town. Each night the entire ancient town is lit with an enormous amount of lights and the river itself becomes the stage for a 3.5 hour continuous reenactment of Shen Congwen’s novel, complete with actors on floating stages reenacting key parts of the novel and light shows depicted on the walls, on the cliffs, and in the sky. The main characters of the novel, Cuicui (a 13 year old girl) and her grandfather run the local ferry in the book, so tourists can pay to ride around on a replica of this ferry to visit the various scenes being reenacted throughout the river. I did that on Thursday night and it was pretty cool even though I didn’t understand what was going on. I later found an English version of the novel online and read it and now it makes more sense.

Its also very popular here to rent traditional Miao/Hmong and Tujia clothing for the day and hire a professional photographer to go around and take photos with you. It is very picturesque here so it makes sense, I was just not prepared for the sheer quantity of people doing this. It was very hard to not end up in people’s photos.

Its also interesting that it is so trendy to dress up and do photoshoots wearing traditional ethnic clothing when only a few decades ago it was considered very shameful to be a part of the Miao/Hmong ethnic group. They were often referred to by offensive names such as ‘rude’ or ‘dirty’ people. Shen Congwen himself was part Miao but hid that fact until near his death. There are hundreds of ethnic groups in China, while the Han group is the largest and most culturally dominant, and even now ethnic minorities such as the Uyghurs in Xinjiang (western China) are persecuted and forced into ‘reeducation’ camps, but that is kind of a taboo topic in China. Its just interesting that both Shen Congwen and indigenous cultures are so celebrated here when historically they have been treated so poorly, and I wonder how much of it is genuine admiration and how much of it is just for the “fun” of it. I mean it is nice that culture is being celebrated but I wonder how authentic and genuine it all is, It all seems a bit Disney-fied to be honest.

Anyway, this town is beautiful but very hot and extremely touristy. I think I am the only foreigner I’ve seen the entire time I’ve been here, so its always a big production every time I try to buy something or go in a shop. Everyone has been really nice but I just feel bad inconveniencing people with my broken Chinese when everywhere is so crowded and busy.

I went around a few times really early in the morning and again while it was raining out and there was almost no one out so it was really nice to walk around then. Although it is truly beautiful here; most of the time I’ve been here I’ve been in my hotel room because between the tiny streets, the overwhelmingly enormous crowds, and the nearly 100 degree heat and humidity its all been a bit too much for me.

I’m leaving tomorrow and it will be my most complicated transportation feat yet because I have to take public transport to the train station, go to a different city, and from there get to the airport and fly across the country, all before 11am. Wish me luck. I’ll be in Lijiang, in the mountains near the Himalayas in southwest China. I’ll be there for a fairly long stint, nearly 2 weeks, and hopefully it won’t be as hot there.

Until next time,