#cause to remember that when glasses are part of the costume they're almost surely not just the actor's own

[unproduciblesmackdown]

summer stock cast group pic plus/from kira troilo

[lightdax]

So I think I just had the most coherent and craziest dream I ever had.

It first all started off with this mysterious family who are shown to be holding Leatherface prisoner in the attic for unknown reasons. They were shown to be greatly worried about this because they didn't want to get in trouble with the police for holding someone hostage against their will but…it's Leatherface. He's killed like a ton of people so I don't understand why they'd be scared of being caught having a serial killer captured in their attic. If anything they absolutely should notify the authorities. But I'm thinking this family are kinda dumb. They also need a new fan for their house. There is smoke everywhere.

We then shift to a B-Plot that feels like an RPG setting cause it involves four people going on an adventure. It involves Tails wielding Ichigo's sword from Bleach, Skye Prower from the Archie Comics, a female fox who had no name as far as I can remember, so I'm just calling her Mystery, and Shadow the Hedgehog himself. They were shown fighting…something I don't remember, I don't think it's important. They're just fighting standard RPG enemies. I got massive Stone Ocean vibes from the whole thing. There were also a lot of alternate costumes. I dunno.

But THEN the plot shifts to reveal the true villain of this entire dream. We see the Heffley family from Diary of the Wimpy Kid, as Greg and Rodrick are confronted by their father Frank, who wants to talk to them about something. He reveals to Greg that he has been looking at all of his diaries and he's noticed that not one of them mentions him. Not a single diary mentions Frank Heffley, and he claims he's not upset but he absolutely is. His subtle mannerisms scream pure outrage. He thinks it's fine that his own son doesn't wish to remember him because he says in his own words--and I can't make this shit up if I tried–-

"It means I can forget you too."

Suddenly KING CRIMSON, THE STAND THAT THE MAIN VILLAIN HAD IN JOJO PART 5 APPEARS AND STARTS TEARING PAGES OUT OF GREG'S DIARIES AND IT STARTS TO AFFECT THE SPACE TIME CONTINUUM, ERASING EVERYTHING FROM EXISTENCE.

That's right, Frank Heffley has King Crimson as a Stand.

And then Tails and his party appear to challenge Frank and King Crimson and save the world! Do they win?

No.

Shadow is the first to die, then Tails and Mystery, with Skye being the last to go.

With the entire party dead, I wake up from the dream at 3am and can only assume Frank Heffley…fucking won and killed everyone, including his entire family, especially his toddler kid Manny who once almost let his whole family freeze to death because they didn't tie his shoes. Don't believe me? Read the sixth book. I did when I was a child. Manny was a monster. A demon. But either way, Frank seemingly won.

But I personally like this story ended on an entirely different note.

Out of options and on the verge of being erased from existence, Greg frees Leatherface from his prison in the attic (thus revealing the mysterious family from the beginning was the Heffleys this entire time), and that lunatic with a chainsaw fights Frank and King Crimson in this climactic final battle. Who wins? I'm not sure but I ultimately think that the annoying lame dad was no match for Leatherface, even with fucking King Crimson on his side.

Also Leatherface isn't a Stand User (I hope). So that also means in this epic duel, he doesn't see King Crimson at all. He thinks he's just fighting this random guy, and that's just hilarious. Leatherface saved the day and honored the heroes who lost their lives...and the other Heffleys too, I guess.

…So at the end of the day…I learned that I perhaps shouldn't be drinking a full glass of Hawaiian Punch before bed...

[i-want-anatoles-coat]

Ok first of all, here's is the relationship tree from the program and a better picture of the stage

Now, onto my thoughts!

OVERALL IMPRESSION

Overall, I really enjoyed this production and thought they did a good job. HOWEVER, it didn't feel quite in the full spirit of a Great Comet production to me because there was no audience participation, which I thought was an interesting (and sad) choice. Even the college production I saw integrated audience participation in a really cool way that totally worked and made everyone feel more hype for the show, so for a professional group to miss out on that made me kind of bummed. There were some mistakes/technical difficulties that happened, but they worked through them all smoothly. It's also the first week of the show being open so I'm sure they will smooth those over.

While it's true that they didn't do audience participation, this audience also kind of sucked so there's that too. I almost wish I wasn't wearing my mask so the actors could've seen how big I was smiling. I was dancing in my seat and swaying to the beat and the rest of the audience was just sitting there stoically 😑

My thoughts from each act are more stream-of-conciousness as I remembered them (I watched everything really closely and then as soon as the house lights went up I scrambled to write down as much as I could remember lol) so they might be more difficult/annoying to read. But I did try to organize them a bit so they're actually in show order!

ACT ONE

-Pierre doesn't play an instrument?!?!?! The guy who later played Andrey played the accordion whenever it was needed and Dolokhov played guitar but other than that all musicians were up on the balcony

-Fun how they did the prologue: snow coming down w/ light from center of ceiling while they stood in loose clump under it

-They had repetitive motions for each member of prologue and I started doing them too 😅 no one else was dancing or even bobbing around :/

-Pierre's coat is cool it's burgundy & long with a bedazzled heart on the back

-No audience participation??????? The suitors in "The Private and Intimate Life of the House" were other cast members

-Bolkonsky is great - he got a lot of laughs and was super expressive. During the glasses part he jumped on the table and then when Natasha showed up he climbed under the table like he was hiding from her

-He didn't do the powdered wig bit tho :(

-A bunch of them have bedazzled faces, like Bolkonsky has jewels stuck on his face that make cat eyes basically. Its fun but also feels a little out of character for him especially cause Mary doesn't have much if any on her face

-I liked that in "No One Else" they had a guitar player come to the front of where the orchestra is so that you really hear the guitar playing the main melody when Natasha says "I hear guitars"

-Natasha has a gorgeous voice

-During "The Opera" the costumes were kinda lame ngl. They were just white capes & masks over the regular costumes and then one of them had an umbrella that made smoke come out of it (The umbrella was a little bit cool). They just didn't seem queerly dressed enough for the "queerly dressed actors" line. Even the college production I saw had cool & funky opera-specific costumes

-Everyone sounds great, but Marya sounds like she's always on the back of the beat, not quite late, but skirting it

-This Anatole is fun. I like him. He does do a stupid walk down the stairs lollllll. The line about his swagger got some laughs

-I liked how they transitioned into "Natasha & Anatole". For "The Opera" the actors were by the stairs facing the audience while the opera happened on the main circle of the floor. But then when they did the bravo bravo part they changed orientation so that they were now facing the stairs as though we are in the box watching the show with them. This gave Natasha and Anatole more room to move around for their internal thoughts

-During the part when Anatole asks for Natasha's flower as a pledge, he somehow magicked the flower away from Natasha's hair and had it appear in his hand. I missed the hand off so idk how they did it.

-Ok expanding on the last thought, Natasha didn't give him her flower and she didn't really lean into their kiss either so it feels a little ickier than some other productions I've seen & like she has less agency over the whole situation. We know from her internal thoughts that she thinks he's hot, but Anatole isn't getting a lot of signals from her and still does that :/ BUT then Natasha does her whole "we kissed so we must be in love" bs and then kisses him back so I guess that fixes that

-Dolokhov, Anatole, and Pierre did a cute stylized walk as they went down the stairs to the club. Big bestie vibes cause Anatole and Dolokhov were totally in sync and then Pierre was a little off cause he's drunk 😁

-The stairs lit up in all different colors during the club scene! Cool way to have the flashing lights without having a lot of complex overhead lights

-Because they're a small cast everyone was at the club lolllll (Mary was having a GREAT time getting it on with a random officer)

-Marya had a dif wig for when she was at the club which helped separate her from her ensemble character. Mary didn't seem to have a dif wig so I couldn't tell if she was being Mary or just a random girl. Bolkonsky also had dif hair to be another character at the club

-The duel was cool they had the lights go on and off as they stepped closer to each other so that when Dolokhov got shot the lights were out and when they came on he was bleeding from his arm

-They took out the scream when Pierre gets shot at. Why????? Too scary??? It felt empty without a reaction there

-I love the clarinet parts. They're really sticking out to me, especially in "Dust and Ashes". My ears are always tuned to clarinet bits since I'm a former clarinetist, but it always stands out more when I see something live. Sadly, I couldn't see the clarinet player from my seat :(

-Pierre is good at always being a little wobbly cause he's drunk. It's a little like a video game character when they do their idle animation

-The costumes (for the women) are smart cause for the most part they have a base plain dress and then they have like...over-dresses to put on top that just have sleeves & a clasp at the bust and then are loose down like a cloak, very lightweight

-The audience doesn't seem to be vibing. Other than the laughter at Bolkonsky they haven't been laughing or dancing in their seats or anything. I'm over here going feral lol

-Don't seem to have many stage crew cause it's almost always other characters placing set pieces and handing objects over

ACT TWO

-Anatole didn't do the high part in letters and the maid also didn't go high during the abduction for the "you'll be seen" line. Not bad tho, just different.

-I LOVED "Sonya Alone"! The actress had a beautiful voice and added a little run in a few spots which was fun

-The clarinet player KILLED IT

-"Balaga" was very fun. They put 2 chairs on top of a table with Balaga in front standing on the ground while Anatole and Dolokhov were in the chairs to make a carriage

-Balaga had a riding crop and would hit it on the table. He did the most audience engagement, which consisted of him pushing one person's leg out of the way with his crop 🤪

-Seriously how was no one dancing or bobbing during "Balaga"?????

-The actors all had little instruments like egg shakers to play! Oh oh Sonya's actress had bongos and made eye contact & leaned into where an audience member was sitting! Now we have 2 cases of audience engagement lol

-This show was not queer at all. Please bring back the gay

-There was a 🤏 liiiiiiitle bit of gay between Helene and Natasha but not enough for real

-During "The Abduction" Anatole went back to the club to say goodbye to people and he made out with Mary's actress (but not as Mary) and then crouched down and went under the skirt of another actress. They really made him a bastard here cause wtf. You're getting ready to elope with a girl and you're making out with other people and no one has an issue with it???????

-Dolokhov is my favorite in this production. All of his line reads (aka song reads cause he has no speaking lines lol) have been SO good and funny. #1 underrated character rn. Every time he talks to Anatole you can see him struggling not to lose brain cells

-I also liked that he had his arm bandaged up for almost the whole show after the duel

-Props to the pianist during "Pierre & Natasha" because she kept having to sneeze but she still played perfectly & kept the beat SO steady

Guess what I'm seeing tonight!!!!!!!!!

I took notes but I'm gonna compose my thoughts and post them tomorrow or monday

[aquagirl1978]

To New Beginnings - Lovestruck AU Fanfic - Various Love Interests

A/N: I thought I was done with the original trilogy, but Antares returning brought a fourth chapter out of me. In this chapter, the group gathers to say goodbye to the LIs that are returning for new routes. I was inspired by @aliboo's amazing artwork in where she created "glam" portraits of some LIs (permission granted by @aliboo to repost)

Credit to @violettduchess for creating this amazing AU where all the retired LIs continue to exist - her story can be found HERE.

Warnings: None

Tagging: @mcira @enchantedlovestruckfan @otakufangirl-12 @fan-girl-2 @remys-lucky-franc

****************************

"Here you go, Nikolai. Just as you asked," she said with a wink as she pressed the martini into his hand. "Shaken, not stirred."

"Niko, you've truly taken to the notion of the masquerade party, completely transforming yourself into your chosen character," Remy announced as he swept into the room. He sat across from Nikolai in a plush velvet lounge chair and crossed an ankle over his knee. "Aeryn, is my tea ready yet?" he asked, a faint Russian accent slipping into his voice.

Nikolai peered at Remy over his martini glass, his brows furrowed. "Now who are you supposed to be?"

"Why you, of course!" Remy exclaimed, his green eyes sparkling with joy. "Onyx was kind enough to find me some turtlenecks. You remember your phase years ago when all you wore were these things?" Remy tugged at the neck with his fingers. "How did you do it, these are dreadfully constricting?" When he noticed Nikolai's mouth agape, with no words coming forth, Remy continued, returning to his French accent. "Anyway, I thought you'd be flattered I chose to dress as you, Niko."

"I'm not sure flattered is the word I would choose. Perhaps, instead..."

"He's flattered, Remy," Aeryn interjected, placing a gentle hand on Nikolai's thigh. "He's just not there yet."

"Oh no, no. Not more of this!" Nikolai shouted when Jett and Leon entered the room. Jett was dressed in a crisp white shirt and tailored black suit jacket. Leon was sporting a plaid button-down shirt and black suspenders.

"When Remy told us who he was dressing as, we thought we'd join in the fun," Jett said. "I also never thought I'd ever get Leon to wear my suspenders."

"How much convincing did he need?" Remy asked.

"Not nearly as much as you'd think," Jett replied, gently elbowing Leon in the ribs. "It suits you, Daddy," Jett added with a smirk.

Leon's cheeks immediately turned pink. "Stop. Just stop."

"Don't you two look cute," Sevastian snickered, leaning lazily against the wall.

Nikolai nearly dropped his glass. "Now who are you supposed to be?" His face was blanched; Nikolai looked truly terrified by the wicked prince.

Sevastian pushed himself from the wall and made his way to the nearby mirror to fix his hair in the reflection. "Dave...something?"

"David Bowie!" Jett shrieked in Nikolai's ear as he plopped down next to him on the couch.

Nikolai arched an eyebrow. "I assume you had something to do with this?" Nikolai gestured towards Sevastian.

"I think you look great," Aeryn offered, ignoring Nikolai.

"You think so?" Sevastian asked sincerely to which Aeryn nodded. "Do you think she will come?" he whispered, speaking only to her.

Today was a special occasion. Normally, this group of retired LIs celebrated when an LI joined them when their route ended. But today...today they say goodbye to some of their friends. Antares, Nova and Aurora were leaving them to start new adventures with new MCs. To mark this momentous occasion, some of the current LIs and MCs were coming to bring them back.

Sevastian, of course, sent word to his MC, inviting her to join him at this party. He went as far as to tell her he was dressing up, and with Jett's help, gave her an idea or two of who she could come as.

"Yes," Aeryn replied, smiling. "Of course, she will come. And I'm dying to meet her!" Sevastian brightened, a small smile forming on his lips.

Remy stood and clapped his hands. “Let’s go mingle with the others. Can’t hide here in our little corner all night,” he added with a chuckle, winking at Nikolai. The group stood and followed Remy to the party. Nikolai begrudgingly joined them, Aeryn’s hand clasped firmly in his.

“How’s this all going to work…an LI paired with a new MC?” Jett asked as they entered the main room. The party was in full swing, with some of the partygoers dressed in costume and others remaining in their regular clothes. Unlike parties of the past, the music was not loud and booming, but rather somewhat subdued. There was a sense of sadness lingering in the room; usually these parties were to welcome a friend, not say goodbye to one.

“It’s cheating, if you ask me,” Leon replied, grabbing a glass of champagne from a nearby tray. “I would never want to return with a new LI.” Leon smiled at Aeryn as he spoke, his eyes twinkling with love.

“I agree with Leon. I would never want to come back with a new MC,” Nikolai added, placing a sweet kiss on the top of Aeryn’s head.

“I would gladly come back,” Remy interjected.

“That’s simply because you only got 4 seasons,” Nikolai said with a smirk. Remy scoffed, mock affronted.

“Oh look,” Aeryn said while grabbing Nikolai’s arm, an obvious move to change subjects. “Look at Atlas! Is he --?”

Nikolai peered over Aeryn’s shoulder, observing the pilot in the distance. Atlas was wearing a shabby black vest over a plain shirt that once upon a time might have been white. His MC was with him, her hair in a style he could only describe as appearing to be cinnamon buns. Atlas was, much to Nikolai’s shock, positively glowing. His cheeks were a ruddy red and he was roaring with laughter.

“He is most definitely plastered!” Jett snickered.

“He’s just excited the Emperor is leaving. Means more time with his MC,” Sevastian noted wistfully.

"Where's Antares, Nova and Rory?" Remy questioned.

"Nova and Rory said their goodbyes last night. Antares early this morning," Leon answered. "They wanted their final moments to be private. As they should be." The group murmured in silent agreement.

“Speaking of MCs…. shouldn’t the others be here by now?” Aeryn asked, glancing around the room. Off to the side, Aeryn spotted Darius chatting with Cal and Wrath. Only Darius was dressed up in a leather jacket and, for some unknown reason, wearing sunglasses indoors. Aeryn couldn’t put her finger on who he was supposed to be, but knew he was trying to be someone.

“Slater,” Nikolai groaned painfully, “please tell me you were not responsible for that.” Nikolai pointed an angry finger at Sascha. The entire group cringed as they watched Sascha dance dramatically around the room, dressed all in black, his face covered in black and white markings.

“Bloody hell,” Jett uttered. “No. Absolutely no. I had nothing to do with that.”

"Does anyone know who that is?" Aeryn points out an attractive brunette dressed in a maroon off-the-shoulder jumpsuit.

"She's kinda cute," Remy leered. Nikolai rolled his eyes at the Frenchman.

"She reminds me of my race car driving days, but I don't know her from anywhere," Leon reminisced. "Maybe she is..."

"They're here, they're FINALLY here!" Onyx's voice rang throughout the room.

Sevastian nervously glanced around the room, his fingers fidgeting by his sides. They're here; she is here. That is, if she came. What if she's not here? What if she wanted to, but couldn't come?

Sevastian was so preoccupied by his rambling thoughts that he didn't notice Aeryn approached him until she was under his nose. "You won't find her standing here," she said softly, urging him to search for his love.

With a smirk, Sevastian turned, and headed towards the crowd. Please let her be here, please, please, please. He thought it was her when he spotted a flash of red in the crowd, but it was only Cecelia. And he ran into Darius again. He stopped and began to seriously fret that perhaps his love just couldn't come. And then he felt it.

It hit him so fast; their connection had laid dormant for so long that he almost didn't recognize it. He didn't need to see her to know she was there, he felt her. Their connection tugged at his heart as a sense of serenity washed over him, stilling him to his spot.

A pair of hands slid over Sevastian's eyes as a familiar voice tickled his ear. "I almost didn't recognize you." Krystal felt his body slump against hers in quiet relief. He moved her hands from his eyes down to his lips, where he brushed a kiss on the inside of her wrist, before finally settling her hands around his waist. "So warm," she teased, as she soaked in his scent. He huffed out a small laugh as he intertwined his fingers with hers, enjoying the press of her body against his.

He shifted in her arms, unable to wait even a second longer. He had to see her, taste her, feel her. He cradled her face in his hands; his eyes gazed down upon her, admiring her like she was his own special gem, while his thumbs grazed her pink cheeks.

“I missed you.” Her lip trembled as she whispered the words. Krystal looked up at him expectantly, her turquoise eyes full of love, shimmering against the lights of the party. His thumb brushed against her lower lip, causing Krystal to sigh and shiver against his taut body.

With eyes closed, his mouth found hers. He buried his hands in her hair, pulling her closer to him. Breathing in her sweet, floral scent, the scent he gave her, he deepened the kiss, his tongue twisting and twirling around hers. They soon parted, both panting, foreheads still touching.

He eventually pulled back, curious to see how she looked. His breath hitched when he saw what she had done to herself – her fiery locks were teased, curls spilling down past her bare shoulders, and on her face, her skin was adorned with sparkling jewels and gems.

“You’re ridiculous.” She slid her hands in the open cut of his shirt, resting her palms on his bare chest, his heartbeat quickening under her touch. “A very sexy ridiculous, but still…” She rose on tiptoe and placed a quick kiss on his lips. “Ridiculous.”

“And you, my love, are magnificent.” He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, nudging her closer, and kissed her again. They stood there, embraced in one another’s arms for what felt like both an eternity and a split second. “I have some friends I’d like you to meet,” he murmured tentatively into her hair.

Taking his hand in hers, Krystal looked up at his, smiling brightly. “I’d love to.”

After introducing Krystal to the group, everyone gathered by the bar for a much-needed drink.

“I see he is still having fun,” Leon pointed to the pilot, who was surprisingly still standing after all this time.

“Let the lovebirds have fun, Leon!” Aeryn chided.

“I agree,” added Krystal. She nuzzled against Sevastian as he wrapped his arms tightly around her.

Leon, Jett and Remy all look down into their drinks and groaned in unison. Nikolai shared a knowing look with Sevastian, winking at the Winter Prince. It was good to see him smiling again.

“What does someone have to do to get a drink around here?” a voice from behind called out arrogantly.

“Spoiled by your private bar, eh, Emperor?” Atlas called out from the other side of the bar. Antares sighed and shook his head. He glanced over by the pilot, and saw his MC.

His face immediately fell, and he awkwardly adjusted his necktie. “Stupid blasted costume,” he muttered to himself. “Should have worn my uniform, would have been happier…” Antares looked over at his MC again. She was holding Atlas’ hands, leaning into every word he was saying. Probably regaling her with some stories about his days with the Union. Antares scoffed. Antares had stories, many more left to be told. Only now they will be shared with a new MC.

He picked up his glass of honey wine and before he could take a sip, he noticed everyone staring at him. “Yes?”

“Let’s make a toast,” Remy announced. He held his glass up and the others followed. “To new beginnings.”

“To new beginnings,” Antares whispered.