#fun fact I love Jack Kelly

[thesupreme316]

hiiiiii I hope you have a amazing day,

I was wondering how the Aew boys react if someone try to use you against them like during the matches with them or in backstage with them busy with a other match ( like the attacker interrupt the match to show you being attacked) , I hope this makes sense 😭

i gotchuuuuu sweetheartttt

AEW Stars React To: You Being Attacked by Their Opponents

Pairings: Kenny Omega X Reader, Ricky Starks X Reader, Hook X Reader, Darius Martin X Reader, Nick Wayne X Reader, Daniel Garcia X Reader, Eddie Kingston X Reader

Word Count: 1.2K

Supreme Speaks: Thanks to anon for this request (YALL KEEP EM COMING), this was really fun and a little bit different than how I typically post these. please know that you are loved and appreciated

Warnings: ANGST and fluff but ANGST, GIFS are NOT mine, not proofread

Taglist: @hooks-martin @hookerforhook @wwenhlimagines @eddie-kingstons-wifey @triscillal @cassie0sstuff @sheinthatfandom

**Every person has their own backstory (in a wrestling world where I am a fantastic booker/producer) and the person who attacked them are in ()**

Eddie Kingston (BCC)

This happened during Eddie’s match against Christian Cage

Eddie didn’t want you out there in fear that Christian might rizz you up (or even Luchasurus no judgment)

So as he’s about to finish the match; the titantron shows up with you on the floor as Wheeler Yuta and Claudio tower over you

Eddie goes berserk; he no longer cares about the match; fuck the match

He leaves the match to rush to your aid with a kendo stick; whacking and cursing anyone who dares get in the way

He gets to you and hits Claudio and Wheeler as they run away; he holds you with so much care and curses himself out too

“Fuck Claudio and his Yorkie bitch! Fuck, I should have kept an eye on you doll. I’m sorry, it’s my fault”

Legit feels bad about the situation (it almost reduces him to tears) as you are put in an ambulance

Looks at Mox and says “You betta pray that she’s okay or Renee won’t be able to recognize her husband”

Darius Martin (Kingdom)

Okay hear me out; the Kingdom attacks you and then throws you on stage during Darius’ match to distract him

He looks at Action Andretti and Matt Sydal as they tell him to check on you; Darius goes with you backstage as doctors check on you

He’s silent….which is unusual and almost unsettling for you; he’s really taking everything to heart and is angrily simmering

“I’m so sorry that they dragged you into my mess, but I promise I will fix this”

He really feels remorseful about everything and certainly disappointed with himself that he allowed this to happen

Next week; he comes out with a chair and whoops ass

But I think he would go so far to the point where Andretti and Matt have to come out and say stop

He calms down and sits with you backstage for the rest of the show (he prolly will never take his eyes off you again)

Hook (Jack Perry)

Mans is fucking up everyone in sight

Bad enough that Jack took his title and refused to give him a rematch; so Hook is wrestling a jobber

As Hook has his opponent in the Redrum; Jack pops up on the screen with Anna Jay who is just choking you out (wish it was me)

Hook keeps the submission on long enough for the bell to ring before zooming backstage; just as Anna and Jack getaway

He is livid and starts throwing people left and right until he realizes that you are still on the ground

I think he feels exposed at the fact you were attacked cause he really does care about you

He helps you up and is visibly upset; vows to get revenge but then has a better idea

Two weeks later; he returns with you in tow and you two start WHOOPING THOSE TRICKS (to the point where the FTW championship is on the line in a tag team match; ex Edge and Kelly Kelly vs Dolph Ziggler and Laycool)

Nick Wayne (Swerve)

THIS SWEET BABY

He honestly doesn’t know what to think (and what he did to deserve Swerve hating him so much)

I feel like as soon as he sees your unconscious self on the screen, he would immediately dash backstage (like Eddie)

He would run up to your body “Y/N! Are you okay?” Before getting attacked by Swerve and AR Fox; who would then be run off by Best Friends

As he falls to the ground and when he wakes up, Nick would think that he’s a failure (DESPITE NOTHING IS HIS FAULT)

It would really take you constantly reassuring him that he was fine and nothing is his fault

“Yeah sure, but if I can’t protect you from attacks; then what kind of a man and wrestler am I?”

Like Darius, Nick would never allow you to leave his sight

Not until he ended this feud with Swerve

Kenny Omega (Will Ospreay)

Kenny would be that person who would just fill his mind continuously

During his match against Jon Moxley (sorry), The United Empire shows up with you about to go through a table

He turns his attention as Jon rolls him up and wins; Kenny immediately runs to the back

The Bucks attack the group and you are dropped on the floor (not through the table); you have no injuries

As he approaches backstage, mans is worried and anxiety has filled his body

Subconsciously declares war with Opsreay and will allow guilt to take over his mind

“I swear to you that Ospreay, that son of a bitch, will pay for this shit. And he will literally pay for your therapy (bitch take the free therapy plz)”

So much to the point where he’s not smiling anymore and treats every match like a deathmatch

Tbh, as long as Will shows up, Kenny will attack him without fail

Ricky Starks (CM Punk/The Factory)

OKAY LISTEN TO ME I believe that CM Punk would do some fucked up shit (as a true heel)

So during after Ricky’s match on Collision (who hasn’t seen you all night), Punk would show the footage of you being attacked by The Factory

But then he would say; “but that was earlier tonight”

And then BAM Punk attacks Ricky from behind and leaves him the ring

Ricky is upset at himself for not recognizing that you were missing all night and mad that he allowed Punk to attack him and you

Immediately checks on you and apologizes profusely

“I’m so sorry; I should have noticed, I should have made sure you were beside me-” “Ricky, you have been saying I’m sorry for the past hour” “Because I am!”

Would cut a vicious promo on Punk that embarrassed and angered him at the same time

Vows to get his revenge and starts it by attacking Punk

Daniel Garcia (Chris Jericho)

OKAY WOULD LOVE TO DO A POST ON HOW I WOULD BOOK DANNY’S EXIT FROM JAS

Danny is on the verge of leaving the JAS due to differences and Chris’ power trips, and you are his escape from it all

Chris knows this and tries to use it to his advantage; he tries to talk to you about Danny and keeping him in the JAS

To which you disagree and say it’s his decision; to which he got angry….and to which he may or may not have hit you with the baseball bat (CAUSE HE’S A JACKASS)

All of this was shown during Daniel and Sammy’s tag team match; Danny immediately jumped down from the apron (essentially leaving Sammy hanging) and ran to the back

He would be so angry that he would quit the JAS right then and there

Time skip, you were okay; when Danny told you the news, you were happy but you wouldn’t show it to him, asking him if he was sure

“Y/N, your safety, and well-being is more important to me than Jericho’s trash ass club. And it always will be.”

The following weeks are filled with confrontations until Daniel joins the BCC (who are not complete assholes in this universe)

HES FREE

Thank you for coming to my TedTalk

[marimayscarlett]

okay but Richard in Dicke Titten did pull a John Lemmon from Some like it Hot cuz they kinda look alike

Hi meine Liebe 🤍

So I'm not the only one who sensed some type of similarity! Especially Richard's confidence in his Fräulein Kruspe-scenes reminded me of Jack Lemmon as Daphne in 'Some like it hot':

Apparently, Jack Lemmon had a blast walking around all dolled up on set (more than his co-star Tony Curtis), flirting with crew members and just having lots of fun discovering his feminine side!

Would've loved for Richard to do the same, but in general I just hope he felt comfortable 😌

Still, it would've been so amazing seeing Richard in a full outfit, with a proper dress, nice shoes and a beautiful wig (maybe even a nice hat and a hand bag), just like Daphne and Josephine:

Little infodump-fact nobody asked for but I love this movie way too much to just shut up (additional source for it):

Both Tony and Jack initially should've just worn dresses from the inventory of a costume company, but complained that they were ill fitting and not very flattering. So they demanded that the costume designer Orry Kelly (responsible for Marilyn Monroe's wardrobe in this movie) also designs dresses for them - when Marilyn had some new flattering dresses, they wanted some, too 😤

[meiloorunsmoothie]

finding neverland, a review of sorts

hello! this is a sort of an after the fact "live blogging" (except all in one post 💀) of my thoughts as i was watching finding neverland (a.r.t. version). i basically just wrote whatever i was thinking down as i was watching, so this is truly very raw (obviously, i've gone in and cleaned some things up + added gifs to help those who read it (and myself if i come back to this post) figure out what on earth i'm blabbing about).

...read at your own risk! (also, in case it wasn't obvious, spoilers ahead)

act 1

THE SCOTTISH ACCENT

when he sings with it too 😭

i was not expecting this to be as funny as it is for some reason

"i don't know why you talk to that dog like he's a person" XD

"and what precisely is this poor wretch's crime?" "he's my younger brother" - yep, checks out

i'm 13 minutes in and i love it already

can we talk about how thayne jasperson as porthos weirdly works

okay wait, but is jeremy actually kind of doing choreography...?

OKAY BUT THIS RIVER SCENE IS SO CUTE

also when he randomly loses the accent

laura michelle kelly is amazing

uh she just coughed. i'm scared and paranoid...maybe laura actually just needed to cough, but i'm going to keep this here in case it is something... (EDIT: IT WAS AND I WILL NEVER RECOVER)

i'm obsessed with this (retroactively, why doesn't it show up again 😭)

"nice try, but no." jack is me.

this is me every day and it's a problem ⬇️

THIS IS SO FUN HOW HAVE I NOT WATCHED THIS SOONER

"perhaps having fun is more important than everything being perfect" - yes!

okay but the ex-ballerina in me is going crazy for the maid choreography

okay sobbing cause "neverland" just happened—it's weird that i've never listened to him sing this before and i'm unsure whether i should just pause now to recover or rewind and watch it again (edit: i did both)

"well at this rate, we'll also have to imagine that there's an audience" - THEM LOOKING AT THE AUDIENCE AFTER THAT IS ABSOLUTELY GENIUS

sylvia's dress is so pretty lol

...this is interesting choreo

but i love the door merry go round

okay i've seen "hook" and "stronger" before, but this is so much better with context

maybe my boot is just really bad (it is) but did he just pull a stick out of his pant pocket

i can't i have no words

act 2

i would very much like to see what's happening on the other side of the curtain

PRINCESS DIGGORY

SHE'S COUGHING AGAIN

this bar scene reminds me of lotr for some reason but i like it, it's very fun

WHAT YOU MEAN TO ME my beloved

the singing while lying down 😳

i am unwell

oh a kid song, let's go - okay but actually, i love this number

HELP THIS WAS LITERALLY ME AND MY SIBLINGS okay how much will i have to pay them to watch this

NOOOOO WHY

WHY

WHY

i'm so upset i can't even bring myself to put a gif here, but we all know what scene.

aiden gemme is doing a great job as peter.

OK BUT THIS DUET

SOBBING

why is there upbeat music do you not know what just happened.

i love it when the audience is part of the show

this whole scene MY HEART I CANNOT

this is so chaotic but i love it it's perfect

CHILLS

i. love. laura. michelle. kelly.

that was beautiful even though it was sad

"mary, you're outside!" akdfasdhflashdfas

i can't (how many times have i said that). this is such a perfect ending

la fin

(until my next rewatch which could be right now)

[chaosfairy18]

Bumlets thoughts! The boy was spinning today and my friend told me I should share my thoughts so here we go :) So, Bumlets, one of the background newsies of the 92 movies that was cast for his dancing talent (did you know Dominic Lucero was a background dancer for Michael Jackson, Paul Abdual and Madonna?) and doesn't get to say much, but he for sure has fabulous hair.

He is also named after an actual resident in the Duane Street Lodging house around the time of the strike (there is an entire article I once found on Tumblr and when I find it again I'll try to reblog it) and there it is mentioned he kind of speaks for the other newsies there and is called "The King of the Bums" which is very cool to me I do remember that article being a bit before 1899 so I had some thoughts... What if before Jack came along and became leader not just inside the lodging house but outside to the other boroughs, Bumlets was the one to speak for the matters of the newsies in the lodge, specifically for Kloppman. In turn Kloppman trusts him with locking up the lodge sometimes (I saw that in the fic: "Inside the Lodging House: Hard Truths and Annoying sounds" today and loved it) and if there is a problem with one of the boys he asks if he could talk to him first (as most don't react well to adults as it is). At some point Francis Sullivan, newly named Jack Kelly comes along and is more outwardly a leader, kind of more agressively a leader where Bumlets was usually quiet, polite and not particularly ambitious, he just wanted to help if he could and if someone else wants to be the actual leader he is fine with that too.

Another thing is he has leather suspenders (which you can see in Seize the Day reprise as he is right in the front) which for me means he is putting thought into his appearance and also into buying durable things (here we have a saying roughly translating to "better buy something good than buy twice", so saying you should rather buy expensive long-living things sometimes) even if he's not wearing the fanciest clothes apart from it they still seem well maintained and that just is something you notice. The buyers probably do that too.

Can't forget his boyfriends either (that here is just who I think he would be cute with) which would be Skittery and Swifty <3 He and Skittery stickfight in Carrying the Banner (which looks so fun), then they stand next to each other at the Rally and for Swifty in the scene where Snyder is looking for Jack in the lodge they are always beside each other and there are probably more scenes but those are just the ones coming to mind and me and my friend have been going feral over them. But I think that's better for another post eventually, just wanted to add it!

Another fun fact: Dominic Lucero was in fact the same age as Max Casella and therefore also 25 in 1992. Live with that knowledge folks.

Thanks for reading this!

[justsomekpopstuff]

ateez as male musical characters (according to me)

A/N: Please remember that this is my opinion, so please be nice. Also I promise that I AM working on Stray Kids as D&D Characters its just taking me a while. Enjoy!

current masterlist | fic recs

Seonghwa: Baron Von Trapp, The Sound of Music

Hear me out - He's poised, organized, clean, and well-put together at all times. However, he secretly does have quite the interesting, fun-loving side. He prefers organization, but is also full of love and creativity that isn't always apparent to everyone. He is strong in his ideals and values, with a soft side for those he loves.

Hongjoong: Orpheus, Hadestown

He is focused and creative, but often times gets too immersed in his work. He gets so immersed to the point where he will forget to care for himself and those around him. However, that doesn't mean he does not love them - in fact, he cares incredibly deeply for those he loves. He will do anything to make sure that they are okay and that they get back on track, even though there may be doubt setting in.

Yunho: Jack Kelly, Newsies

He's a little flirtatious, a little goofy, and also willing to do anything to protect those around him and keep them safe. He really is a leader in his own right even if not many always see it. He really loves pushing people’s buttons if given any space and opportunity, but he also loves pushing for change and making things better for those around him.

Yeosang: Seymour, Little Shop of Horrors

Bless him, he's so quiet and sweet. He really cares deeply for those around him even often at his own expense. He can often be too nice for his own good sometimes but it is so hard to not love him. Yeosang, I feel, makes sure the people around him feel the love at all times, even if his methods are unconventional.

San: Christian, Moulin Rouge

San really loves so deeply with all of his heart. He feels like a hopeless romantic that will love who he does until even after they have gone away, and even more after that. He is a loyal and dedicated lover and friend to those he holds dear. He would also sing instead of talk at all times if given the chance, and would feel heartbreak on an intense level that not many can comprehend.

Mingi: Roger, Rent

He feels so many emotions all the time and uses music as an outlet when words otherwise. He wants to leave a legacy to the world but feels overwhelmed with the pressure to make it perfect. He loves too much and it kind of scares him sometimes. He also tends to doubt his success despite having the people around him giving him support. He is also a certified Rock Star/Emo King™️

Wooyoung: Fiyero, Wicked

We all know he's a little sassy, flirty, and a bit of a shit-stirrer sometimes. But, when he sets his mind to what he cares about, he will do anything and everything possible to achieve his goals. When he loves someone, he loves them with his whole heart and will happily sacrifice himself for them at any cost - a love that is truly hard to ignore and hard to come by.

Jongho: J.D., Heathers

Again, hear me out - He regularly has a lot of things going on in his head, so much that he often can't say. He often takes things into his own hands, which can be a bit intense even to him. He comes off composed and deep, but internally may be a chaotic mess sometimes. He is also spooked by affection from others, and it takes him a while to show his true colors (for Jongho irl, his true colors are beautiful, unlike J.D. who is...not that - that's a difference).

[bow-of-aros]

Day Thirteen: Win

Summary: Race has been feeling antsy lately, and he's presented with the perfect opportunity to defeat the notoriously un-shockable Jack Kelly.

-

Hey folks! The relationship these two have is so important to me I love them so muchhhhh. Race just misses his older brother and is physically incapable of NOT starting shit. The second part to this fic will be up tomorrow, hope y'all enjoy <33

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Race will be the first one to admit that life had been pretty good after the strike ended. Thanks to Jack’s new deal with Pulitzer, Race had been able to pick up a couple of extra papes on good selling days. He’s been able to eat three square meals a day and even have a bit of savings left over.

Jeez, a few days ago people had been buyin’ up papes faster than he could get them out of his bag! Race had stopped by the pastry place on his way back to the lodge and picked up a couple of cookies to split with the other newsies.

The look of joy on the littles faces had had him flying so high that he still hadn’t quite come back down.

Look, the point was, everything’s been great. Better than great, he’s been living the dream!

So why does he feel so restless?

Sure, Race has a bit of a reputation among the newsies as a troublemaker, but that’s his role! He drags people into his shenanigans when it looks like they need a bit of a pick-me-up. Sometimes people need a reminder that they can still be kids, even if they’re stuck fending for themselves on the street.

Usually Jack would catch his eye on these days with a grateful smile and a mouthed Thank you.

They were brothers, and Race acted as a sort of unofficial third-in-command, if that was a real thing.

It’s just that he hasn’t been around as often, and Race is starting to feel it. He’s off at work during the day and sometimes he’ll come back to help with the evening paper, but sometimes he’s out doing stuff with Katherine.

Look, Jack’s a great leader! He can rally a crowd and wrangle the newsies like nobody else, and having Crutchie as his second-in-command helps when they need a more level-headed and empathetic outlook on things.

But Crutchie’s well… He’s Crutchie. He can’t chase down the littles when they get a little too rowdy.

So that responsibility has fallen to Race.

He hasn’t had to do it too often since everyone wants to be on their best behaviour for Crutchie, but he can’t help but feel the itch to cause a bit of trouble and have some fun.

And if that happens to remind Jack that Race still actually exists, all’s the better.

Today was a good selling day and Race had sold all his papes in near-record time. Jack had promised that he’d spend time at the lodge that night, which meant that Race had a rare chance to mess with him.

He considered sneaking up to the penthouse, maybe stealing a couple of Jack’s art supplies and hiding them around the lodging house, but he didn’t want to accidentally break something and have Jack get genuinely upset with him.

No, it had to be something short and snappy. Something that would ignite that playful spark in Jack for the rest of the night.

The answer was almost too obvious.

The fellas had a sort of competition going: Jack was notoriously hard to startle, and each one of them was determined to be the one to actually scare him. They would hide behind doorways, jump out of alleys, even slide down fire escapes in an attempt to catch him off guard.

Each time, Jack either greeted the effort with a laugh or a raised eyebrow, loudly taking pride in the fact that none of the newsies could scare him.

This was their game, and Race was going to win.

The lodging house was still empty, the rest of the guys would be selling the last of their papes and Jack always managed to show up just before them, which meant he was probably on his way. He had to act now.

Race practically skipped over to the center of the room before lying down on the floor, sprawling his limbs out to make it look like he’d fallen. Then, he closed his eyes for good measure and waited.

Not even a minute later, the door swung open and familiar whistling came to an abrupt halt.

“Race?”

Showtime.

Footsteps rushed to his side and Race heard the sound of Jack dropping down to his knees. He made sure to keep his breathing slow and steady, and didn’t want to give up the game too soon.

“Racer? C’mon kid, this isn’t funny, wake up!”

Jack sounded genuinely concerned, and maybe Race felt a little bad, but it would all be worth it in a few short moments.

“Racetrack Higgins I swear to fucking God,” Jack reached down and gave his shoulder a little shake, and that was his cue.

Race’s eyes flew open, hands reaching up to clutch at Jack’s as he let out his best bloodcurdling scream.

And oh, the fruits of his labour were glorious.

Jack screeched, launching himself backward and falling flat on his ass. While Race contented himself with cackling at his success, Jack was breathing hard and clutching at his chest.

“Ha!” Race crowed, scrambling to his feet to loom over Jack, “I win!”

“Win? Yeah, win at giving me a damn heart attack! Jeez Racer I thought youse was dead!” Jack didn’t even bother getting up, still clutching at his chest in a way that even Race was starting to consider over dramatic.

Ah, what’s the harm in kicking a man while he’s down?

Race leaned down, dancing his fingers across Jack’s sides until he was clutching his torso for an entirely different reason. “Admit it, Jack! Admit that I won!”

He was too caught up in his own goading and the fact that the great Jack Kelly was giggling under his fingers to notice the leg flying at him until he was already tumbling to the ground.

“Oho yeah? Yohou think you’ve won?” Jack’s grin was nothing short of downright evil, somehow managing to still sound threatening even through the lingering giggles.

“You’ve started a battle you can’t finish, Racer. Let’s see you win this!”

And Jack lunged. And Race bolted.

[whoops-im-obsessed]

(More) Things I Noticed in UKsies: Fansie Night Edition (Act 2)

First one got too long so here is act 2!!

At Jacobi's Albert says 'why do old people talk?' Directly to Jacobi who waves him off

'Jack don't run from no fight!' '*in the highest, squeakiest voice imaginable to mock Les* Take it down short stop!!'

Katherine dances on the tables with the boys in KoNY and I'm not sure if Bronté does but Bobbie does the nerve tap!

Cup song time

Katherine and Les have such cute little interactions

Nyoom tables!!

They don't shy away from showing what they do to keep themselves safe, when the newsies grab the lamps, you can see them clip themselves on but it only serves to make you go 'something is about to go down!!'

The newsies on the ground dance around the tables and tap metal plates to the table newsies' feet

Ascension with frantic spinning, incredible

In a bit of a stark contrast, letter from the refuge is a really poignant moment

Crutchie breaks the forth wall and speaks directly to the audience, including them in his thought process

A cop watches the whole thing from the scaffolding

Crutchie is left handed

Crutchie actually starts crying at 'I'll be fine' and hearing that emotion in his voice contrasted with his trying to be optimistic - ugh, have I mentioned that I love Matthew Duckett?

Crutchie gets up and passes on his letter to Specs before being slowly helped off stage by a refuge newsie, still struggling when the next scene begins. When he got up he winced so hard someone next to me whispered 'ooh that was real'

Jack was Properly Angry in Watch What Happens reprise and his fear for Crutchie shone through

Ryan!Davey may be the king of eye-rolls but Alex!Davey is the king of raising his eyebrows in incredulation, especially to Les

'Lighten up no-one died' is said a lot subtler, like he knows how bad that sounds but doesn't know how to confront it

'HECANTTAWLKHELLCALLYABACK'

The mayor actually shows some sympathy towards the newsies but in the end doesn't act due to Synder and Pulitzer's influence

Fun fact: Jamie Golding (Wiesel/mayor/theatre worker/police/etc) has NINE costume changes during the show, he is so many people

Pulitzer grabs Katherine as she's trying to walk away at 'you can't have mine'

George Crawford (Morris Delancey) has an amazing evil laugh which he uses a lot during the show

As the printing press is being brought out, the Delancey brothers bring Jack behind the scaffolding. Although this can't be seen by most of the audience they continue to intimidate him and get really up in his space

Shout out to Zack Guest super swing who played Oscar!!

Brooklyn newsies met with the Most applause they are so cool

Brooklyn's here is broken up with a little roll call which makes the 'now them soakers' hit harder

Spot has a slight lisp

'If we disband the union..' *outrage* 'this is your union!!'

The newsies all call Jack out in various ways when they see him take the money, Spot has to be physically held back from beating him up

Something to Believe in is a little different, the Jatherine is believable but isn't really focused on much in the show, it almost feels like an afterthought. The line 'what was ours still will be' really resonates, it feels more like they had a little whirlwind mutual attraction but both think it'll end with the strike

Universal 'oooohh!!' From the audience when they kiss

Lighting for once and for all is so pretty, they have lanterns and there's a sort of orange mottled pattern like the reflection of the lamps projected across the entire theatre

Once and For All really lets the vocals shine, it isn't as high energy as the other numbers and the scaffolding doesn't move like it does in livesies, instead a giant newsies banner falls from the ceiling that they parade around the stage. The choreo isn't missed at all, the sheer wall of sound is incredible

The newsies line the theatre as Jack talks to Pulitzer and smack their fists either into their hands of onto the railings in time with the music as they hum

'The boy, Jack Kelly is here :)))'

Spot makes the 'I'm watching you' gesture at Pulitzer

As the other characters leave Jack to talk to Pulitzer, Hannah loudly says 'I love your show!!' To Medda

So many hugs when they win

Crutchie coming in with his little police hat, greeted with the biggest hug from Race and the boys

The reaction to Crutchie calling Roosevelt 'your highness'

Crutchie & Les reunion 🥺

And perfect finale and curtain call!!

The post finale choreo is incredible and was met with applause right up to the final bows

Crutchie is up on the scaffolding for much of the choreo and makes his way down for the bows. He slid down the stair rails in the same way you would slide down a ladder. Then he kept sliding. And kept sliding. And then his leg got caught. And then he kept sliding. Basically, he ended up on the floor tangled in the stairs and had to call a couple of people to help him out of the mess he got into 😅

And that was that! Post-show Q&A was pretty short but really lovely, there were mostly questions about the audition process, advice, favourite bit of the show, etc but it was really sweet how they all cared to stay and so many people did! Plus there were mega shout outs to dance captain Alex Christian who plays Butttons and is a legend!!

Honestly this show means so much to me and to be able to see it with such an enthusiastic cast and audience was incredible, see it if you can because it is in a league of its own.

[adarkrainbow]

Quite an unusual subject today but: music! More precisely, a "fairytale" album.

Have you ever heard of Joanna Wang? She is a Taiwanese-American singer, quite known, and I want to briefly evoke here an album of hers released in 2014: Midnight Cinema.

As the name and the album cover show, this album is entirely dedicated to a specific type of cinema, which does contain - and this is why it is interesting for us fairytale afficionados - fairytale movies. In fact most (if not all?) the songs of this album are covers and reprises of songs from movies!

And the very first song of the album sets the tone for what this "Midnight Cinema" is about: titled "Alice in Wonderland", it is actually taken back from... Disney's Alice in Wonderland.

Outside of this song, the album also contains a cover of "Pure Imagination", the famous song from 1971's Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. And we do know that Roald Dahl works are considered "modern day fairytales"...

What I find most interesting with this album, however, is how it also chooses songs and melodies from what I consider to be "fairytale-adjacent" movies. I haven't spoken much about this (except for when I did a "Spooky fairytale" series back in Halloween) but there are stories and movies that have the feelings or are deeply linked to fairytales, without being fairytale themselves.

The most obvious of these choices would be how Joanna Wang covered "What is a youth", the beautiful song from the most famous Romeo and Juliet adaptation to this day, the 1968 movie. And if you know your Shakespeare, you will understand why his works are all "fairytale adjacent" - from his constant reuse of the exact supernatural characters involved in fairytales (kings, fairies, witches, star-crossed lovers) to him actually quoting and reference numerous fairytales (lines from "Jack and the Beanstalk" are found in King Lear, itself having a plot belonging to the "Love like salt" type of fairytale, while the British fairytale "Mr. Fox" is referenced in Much Ado about Nothing).

Another interesting choice would be the Moon River song, from "Breakfast at Tiffany's". Why? Because interestingly, there was a short study of the evolution of the figure of the "fairy" ("la fée" in French) I recently read, and among the various incarnations, this book stopped upon the classics of the American cinema to point out two female characters from non-magical movies that still were perfect fit for the archetype of the "fairy" as she was developed by medieval tales and literary fairytales. One was precisely Audrey Hepburn's character of Holly Golightly (I believe the other was the character of Lisa Carol Fremont, played by Grace Kelly in Hitchcock "Rear Window").

After these specific movies, the other tracks can have some names and lyrics evoking fairy tales... But they come from movies that have no relationship whatsoever with fairytales. Like the track "Love from Once Upon a Time" which actually comes from... "A Better Tomorrow", an 80s action movie of crime and battle considered to be the epitome of the Hong Kong genre called "heroic bloodshed".

I am not going to put here all of the songs of the album, but if you want to know the full list, here are the remaining songs:

Forgotten Times. From 2002's Infernal Affairs

The Dream Chaser. From 1990's A Moment of Romance.

The Scent of Roses. From 1994's "Red Rose White Rose"

Night Shanghai. From 1946's All-Consuming Love.

In the Mood for Love. This one does not come from a movie, but from a 2000 album by Tony Leung.

You Only Live Twice. From the 1967 James Bond movie of the same name.

This Precious Night. From 1991's Prison on Fire II.

If I Had Words. From 1995's A Little Pig Goes a Long Way.

Fun fact: While the album was sung and created by a Taiwanese artist, mixing Hong Kong cinema with America movies, it was actually recorded in Finland, with the music produced by Finnish musicians.

[teachingmycattoread]

Things We've Yelled About This Episode #4.0

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson (ed. Roger Luckhurst, Oxford 2008)

You can check out friend of the pod Charlotte's previous episode on Anno Dracula here

Frankenstein, Mary Shelley (our episode here)

"If he is Mr Hyde, I shall be Mr Seek." Ch.2 p.14, Jekyll and Hyde

Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson

Kidnapped!, Robert Louis Stevenson

"In this character, it was frequently his fortune to be the last reputable acquaintance and the last good influence in the lives of down-going men." Ch.1 p. 5, Jekyll and Hyde

Dracula, Bram Stoker (our episodes here and here)

Charlotte's video work can be found at CharlotteWithAD on youtube

Queer Street - the editor has "there have been some energetic interpretations of Jekyll and Hyde by 'Queer Theorists', who pick up on instances like this and suggest that the modern understanding of 'queer' as a slang term for homosexuality was already in use in the late nineteenth century. Being 'in Queer Street' was in fact a standard phrase for being in financial difficulties, and is a corruption of Carey Street, where the bankruptcy courts were located."

Politics of disgust - here referring to the (flawed) idea that disgust is a reliable indicator of moral value.

The illegality of pushing a moose out of a moving plane in Alaska (source) . This fun fact turns up in a lot of clickbait listicles but I haven't been able to find anything that actually quotes chapter and verse of the relevant law code, so take this with a grain of salt!

Doctor Who (wiki)

Jules Verne (writer)

The Time Machine, H. G. Wells

Isaac Asimov (writer)

This meme from Buzzfeed Unsolved:

Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea, Jules Verne

Around the World in Eighty Days, Jules Verne

Jack the Ripper (wiki)

The unfortunate coincidence of the stage production of Jekyll and Hyde and the Ripper murders (wiki)

Gestalt therapy (wiki)

"Henry James's praise for Stevenson was that 'His books are for the most part without women, and it is not women who most fall in love with them.'..." p. xxvi, Jekyll and Hyde

Dr Jekyll (2023)

Suzie Izzard (imdb)

The Labouchere Amendment (wiki)

Oscar Wilde (writer)

The trials of Oscar Wilde (wiki)

Charlotte is quoting from this article on Crime Reads from 2023

Dictionary Corner; Countdown (1982-ongoing)

"Stevenson also had a friend in John Addington Symonds who was an ardent campaigner for the legal recognition of homosexuality", p. xxvi, Jekyll and Hyde

"In 1887, Stevenson's sense of sheer disappointment that Hyde had already come to be regarded as a 'mere voluptuary' is palpable: 'There is no harm in a voluptuary,' he wrote, 'no harm whatever - in what prurient fools call "immorality."' Hyde, he claimed, was 'no more sexual than another,' and dismissed as impoverished 'this poor wish to have a woman, that they make such a cry about'." p. xxviii, Jekyll and Hyde

Peep Show (2003-2015)

Kill James Bond! (podcast)

The specific episode Charlotte is referencing here is S3E22.5 "Cruising". Preview here and patreon link to full episode here

ACAB (wiki)

“Everyone was guilty of something. Vimes knew that. Every copper knew it. That was how you maintained your authority—everyone, talking to a copper, was secretly afraid you could see their guilty secret written on their forehead. You couldn’t, of course. But neither were you supposed to drag someone off the street and smash their fingers with a hammer until they told you what it was.” Night Watch, Terry Pratchett

Sins of the City series, K. J. Charles

Brandon Sanderson (writer)

November Kelly on returning to the mothership - this is also from Kill James Bond!, but we haven't managed to track down the specific episode - if you know it, give us a shout!

Blindsight, Peter Watts

Echopraxia, Peter Watts

Countess Boochie Flagrante (meme)

Hogwarts Legacy controversy (source)

Stonewall (website)

Well well well, if it isn't the consequences of my actions (meme)

Muppets Treasure Island (1996)

Hercule Poirot; Agatha Christie

Midsomer Murders (1997-ongoing)

Miss Marple; Agatha Christie

Le Chevalier C. Auguste Dupin; The Murders at the Rue Morgue, Edgar Allan Poe

We! Do Not! Talk About! The Orangutan! story from this tumblr post

The Librarian; the Discworld series, Terry Pratchett

The Mystery of Marie Rogêt, The Purloined Letter, Edgar Allan Poe

House MD (2004-2012)

Beowulf (our episode here)

His Majesty's Dragon, Naomi Novik (our episodes here, here and here)

Back To The Future (1985)

The Bodysnatchers, Robert Louis Stevenson

Cat Rating

7/10

What Else Are We Reading?

The Hollow Places, T. Kingfisher

Ghazghkull Thraka: Prophet of the Waaagh!, Nate Crowley

Harrow the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir

The Discworld series, Terry Pratchett

Remarkably Bright Creatures, Shelby Van Pelt

The Southern Reach trilogy, Jeff VanderMeer

[jack-kellys]

i said i’d post more notes so here are some MORE uk notes, organized enough for u to skip to whichever part u wanna read first. main hits in order are:

1. delanceys as a whole actually

2. jack and physicality (bodily and visually)

3. davey and leaders

4. ensemble notes at the end. here we go!

also all my other analyses so far r linked at the bottom <3 go look

~the delancey brothers!~

so help me i love these guys. i hate them so much and i rly don’t think they’ve been this evil before, like i think. they were more of a cartoonish school bully kind of threat.. but like. nah dude. these are strikebreakers. and they act like it.

they are both taller than essentially all of the newsies except davey. which idt has been true in the past but is significant based on the fact that jack kelly is usually cast always under 5’10 i THINK.. to show he’s still a kid. these delanceys just look bigger, and are older. they don’t interact as much with anyone wearing knickers instead of full-length pants. except.

when each newsie goes up to grab their papers, oscar does a different mean thing to LITERALLY EACH ONE OF THEM. he’ll drop them, or fake a kid out (his fake out w/ buttons has made me jump each time i’ve sat close enough in woodside LMAO he nearly hits him!!), or hold the papers away from them, or push them into their chest. or just give them a sneer. like he is just awful LMFAO

another thing is that they smile very easily when they are doing horrible things. it’s so fucking cool HAHAH but ok lemme go chronologically i’ll speak on dis later

when jack is writing up on the chalkboard, he’s not fighting some guy- it’s oscar, dude. jack and oscar literally go at it, and jack is so physical in this show so when he’s fighting his whole body is fighting. jack shoves oscar down onto the stairs, oscar gets up and tries to grab him but jack SHOVES HIS ENTIRE FOOT into oscar’s stomach and literally pushes him with everything he’s got and oscar tumbles into the stairs, knocking more wind out of him, and is coughing and shit all while “strike!” goes up on the board. god. it rly is the way jack has to put his whole body into making sure oscar can’t get up… it must be an even fight normally

when -5 newsies show up to the gate and they have the “ahh oscar we got bum information” it’s like… they don’t have to intimidate to intimidate. “my skull bustin’ arm” isn’t cartoonish, bro, it’s a fucking fact. and then oscar just laughs, and it’s not evil it’s like bc this is genuinely fun and amusing to him that they are going to kick some kid ass. man!

and then they do i mean i think it’s brass knuckles to the face that take crutchie out… they might kick him too. idr i’m watching all the kids run for their lives during the fight tbh.

MORE IMPORTANTLY, THEY SHOW UP WITH BATS. and it’s not like. a little stage combat bop to the face via a wrist motion— morris at least is swinging with two hands at these kids like he’s tryna hit a home run. it’s choreographed well obv, so he doesn’t even have to slow his swing it’s literally a straight up… if a kid got hit with that they’d be down for the rest of the strike. period bro. it’s kinda fuckin terrifying.

act 2 baby! pulitzer’s office. when pulitzer is extorting jack, when he says “oh, but it’s not right to condemn that little cr*ppled boy to conditions like those…” oscar. fucking. looks over to his brother. and smiles. no it was not a one night thing either. it is every. time. pulitzer mentions crutchie. and it’s chilling, it’s slow and knowing and BAD ASF !! then they haul jack off.

he’s taken upstage behind the scaffolding towers while pulitzer sings the rest of the reprise, but there’s enough light to see what’s going on between the three of them. and what’s going on is that jack is held to the wall while the delanceys take turns punching him. like. whole-shoulder-into-it hits. in the ribs so no one can visually see. oh. my. god. they wrench him downstage and toss him to the ground, jack actually falling and sliding (unlike….proshot where jerjor stumbles to the ground ig) onto his stomach during “we’ve been given discretion..” (discretion only, which is why they rough jacks up privately as he technically hasn’t given the brothers a reason to smack him around..) jack looks like he’s about to get up when my perhaps my favorite detail in the show happens. everyone listen closely:

oscar puts his foot down, on jack’s shoulder. his right shoulder. the shoulder of which fic writers and headcanoners for years have been including as some place where jack has chronic pain after an injury. and michael does a few shoulder moments through the show if you’re really looking (not as obv as jerjor but more natural maybe) and like. and oscar stands on it and pushes jacks back to the ground. holy FUCKING SHIT! ITS!!!! ITS THERE!!! our fucking!! the Thing!!!!! the fucking lore bro like does oscar know it’s sensitive for jack… duuuude. evil delanceys best delanceys

anyway they literally rock. pay attention to them onstage if u can! also the actors r quite funny together and they often do a bull-and-cape bows choreo thing w/ george running thru alex’s mimed cape <3

speaking of jack though, …jack!!

im not making this up jack does tilt davey’s chin up at some point i just don’t remember when… it has to be sometime on seize the day. it’s.. i don’t think i’m making this up.

he does make a point of tilting… might’ve been romeo’s chin up during the seize the day speech during “ain’t no crime to being poor,” and jack makes a movement for the kid to hold his head up. ugh. jack’s pride through this show is a wild wild journey because all it really is.. is within other people. god. god…

another big jack thing as i like to yell abt is his physicality.. when he’s impressed he’s soft and when he needs to get something out of someone or get them away from him he’s distinctly rougher. his physical action is also quite purposeful and feels less reactive than it does like… thought through. even when he’s tugging himself away from les even it’s like an “oh, get off of me already”. it’s a slow, sort of just sick-of-it motion, it’s a wind-up into pulling his arm away (oh this could. be because it’s his bad shoulder and oscar had dug his heel into it the night before. hold tf on WOAH WOAH!!!! rizz ghost-directed this production fr) before of course he realizes it’s les. like it’s very clear he’d be the type to hide an injury really well and then when he lets himself feel it he feels it.

continuing the end of the rally though oh my god. he basically stands upstage center as everyone passes him. everyone he’s ever known passes him and insults him and shoves him but what’s interesting is like. the money is still in his hand. and no one takes it. idk it’s just cool. but literally everyone has words to say to him (well, some spit at him), because honestly, jack said words to them.

significantly, and i can’t stress this enough, jack is an extremely good observer and because of this he does think before he speaks.. in a way. he bases it around a person for sure though, specifically: during the seize the day speech, he goes up to race (he makes his rounds through the whole stage during this part, getting to speak to every newsie on stage. it’s really.. ah, moving, tbh) when he says “they are slaving to support themselves, and their folks” BECAUSE he’d been seeing race and davey not get along (hello to my post about that) through most of the show.. because of davey’s privilege of having a home. inversely, during the rally ‘speech’ jack says “how long can you go without making money” to fucking tommy boy, WHO HAD BEEN A SCAB. tommy literally stands up from the ladder he’s sitting on too bc literally how dare jack… like that is SO. specific.

^but, it also shows that jack definitely knows the methodology of trying to win people over. he knows how to be persuasive, he just obviously isn’t at the rally bc he’d been even more persuasive during seize the day.

• caveat. race is literally so fun to watch during the rally. because he quite literally is only here for the cause because of jack, like if jack wasn’t leading it… idt he’d be in support of it. (especially based on his dislike of davey). he does this “oh my god” of disbelief when jack says to vote no, shaking his head and laughing a little. it’s just. horrified. and it’s gradual too, like he slowly realizes what is going on, that jack is selling out vs. being genuine. ugh. love this racetrack so much but anyway

davey’s shove to jack when he goes to get les is like so small and light in the way of like. not wanting to touch him. because WWH reprise had been filled to the brim of davey touching jack and now davey can barely even fathom it. god they are so going out. also i think it’s interesting that dave and les are the ones to take on and off jack’s newsie square mural, since they’re the only two who have been in the know of jack’s talent since towards the start of the show (meddas)… cool choice.

santa fe for this jack feels the least tangible, like it’s very much in his mind. from it being ingrained in the set, and certainly the moon expanding and practically consuming him from behind, it’s very… dreamlike and visual. when davey walks in on jack painting he’s like “ohhhh is that santa fe. lmao.” LIKE?? it’s very not real in this which is interesting. because jack is very very good at running in this. so it’s cool that this rly is the one time he can’t (when he wants to).

also it rly is the way that the mics caught the ripping noises when jack is taking off the portraits from his penthouse’s overhang… the slow one at the end of “ you stole for those boys, didn’t you?” whew. and he looks at it. and then hides it. god

also, and i’m realizing this hasn’t been canon before: jack is packing a bag to literally leave. he has the money, he kept the jacobs out of jail, he has to go. because his pride does reside in others, and when there seems to be no one left, he has to leave. of course he does. god…

davey time.

the holding of davey’s head is after world will know while the tables are being set up. finally nailed down when tf this happens lmao

“oh, wow… well. you’re really good.” davey covers up when he’s impressed in favor of a statement of fact. he doesn’t like giving away his position, even when it’s not about the strike (/this foreshadows his hesitancy in the next scene, and his statements of facts about how strikes work accidentally backfiring as a stalling tactic and turn into actual reasons to strike).

davey laughs when he’s nervous, which makes when he’s smiling and when he’s not.. quite stark. his resting face is a little inquisitive frown, like he’s always kind of listening. but yeah for his spotlight at the rally he literally is like “oh haha! um- umm, haha— NEWSIESOFNEWYORK. haha! ummm, we got kids from- from every neighborhood!!” i love him. just the concept of meaning what you say so much that it needs to come out of you no matter what form it takes. @we-are-inevitable and i have talked abt poet!davey before and yeah it was uk davey who it stemmed from for a reason.

the role call moment in seize the day is cringe but genuinely davey’s will never not make me laugh bc like HE THINKS it’s cringe too. but what he also does is not call himself david. he says davey. during a role call. names. and it’s davey. do y’all understand

i actually will probably never shut up about crutchie’s open arms to davey after the refuge and davey rly just falling into it my god.. it makes me so emotional. and they talk for so long…

• to this point, i think it’s rly interesting how leaders, specifically, gravitate towards davey. charlie is talking to the guy upon impact- after world will know the two of them are borderline speaking over jack.. the blocking has charlie turned inward towards davey while sitting on the table, which blocks jack off. race argues with davey partway thru the pre-seize the day scene enough so for jack to push race back. and spot LOVES davey. he’ll try to look toward jack and she will bring him right back down to her level and get him looking at her again and they RUN OFF WITHOUT HIM even though they’re all headed to the same place. like lmao. davey is built to lead and engage, there is just something within his nature that is desperate to come out that all the other leaders tease out in different ways. tbh katherine too. DEFINITELY katherine too, since they’re attached at the hip.

we end the davey section with a javid moment idr if i’ve mentioned or not: when jack sets the deal to buy back papers with pulitzer, the transition back to newsie square is davey running. running to jack, katherine a ways behind, and grabbing jack’s shoulders with his eyes widened. well? and jack kinda shrugs, he’s playing it cool before he just grins, and davey rattles jack’s arms before they like. their hug is so close and intimate and rough and davey shoves jack into him, it’s the kind of hug that rocks them side to side a bit. my god. it’s unbelievable. can’t believe they got away w that level of homo onstage <3

speaking of homos im gonna go thru some ensemble quick stuff

albert and crutchie are close friends in this which is so cool. albert is also like consistently the one to pick anyone up off the ground, be it crutchie or les or another kid. it’s just what he does and it helps to not single out crutchie as well. he’s just so helpful and unhinged. like what a weird fucking paring he’s so crazy LMAO

finch is the one who starts the boos during the rally, loud and abrasive and angry. he and race are standing at manhattan with… ooh. idk. it might be splasher but literally do not quote me. finch is just so abrasive through this whole show i fucking love him. loud weirdo

mike is the angriest newsie in town. he is always yelling before a dance break

every time jojo and jack interact it’s like he’s picking up his baby brother or he’s hugging him etc and it like literally makes me emotional lololol. wow

jack bromage was fully back as tommy boy for my show (he’d been out for a bit/doing partial things bc of an injury!!) and THANK GOD because he is. and i’ve been over this but he is literally so cool LMAO he is For The Cause.

buttons is literally so cool in this despite his name. he steals from a vendor before getting the other newsie he’s with to toss their fruit to a sitting-alone splasher, his bit with the delanceys gets him pissed, he’s just consistently ready to actually throw hands and appreciate him for it. kind of serves uhhh livesies tommy boy energy which is fantastic

henry just has a lot more lines in this which surprises me every time. either that or he talks a lot just when he’s onstage LMAO

specs kind of always either literally leads or encourages the movement when newsies are in the aisles/city alleyways, which makes sense— of course the lookout would know the city back and forth!! god! i love him. i do wish we had a black actor again but sam is very sweet <3

that’s all! i say, having done another multiple thousand-word analysis post. thanks for joining me once again gents.

my past analyses have been about:

the show at large +principal characters,

davey,

something to believe in’s new perspective,

other general notes/characterizations,

and racetrack!

[thesinglesjukebox]

KESHA - "JOYRIDE"

We still ride for you, Kesha!

[7.25]

Wayne Weizhen Zhang: Kesha: unburdened by what has been, living in the context, realizing what can be.  [8]

Katherine St. Asaph: It's hard not to overrate Kesha singles. Like all right-minded pop listeners, I want her to thrive, and I want every song to sound like proof that she is. I initially thought "Raising Hell" was the glorious height of Kesha's hedonism; in retrospect, it was a little perfunctory. Likewise, I really want "Joyride" to be the Rabelaisian outsider carnival everyone says it is, enough to resist the reality that nothing about it is outside the bounds of normie pop. Cowriter Madison Love has a back catalogue spanning years of pop singles with a similar chaos quotient: Lady Gaga's "Sour Candy," Machine Gun Kelly and Camila Cabello's "Bad Things," Ava Max's "Sweet But Psycho"; to contextualize even further, she's written enough for enough B-listers that some of that back catalogue inevitably went through Dr. Luke. (A few antis have tried to turn this fact into a gotcha, as if it's impossible to work with an asshole colleague then want to stop.) The arrangement is less love honk than cruise control, coasting in the lane of its donk. The chorus sounds kinetic, springing out and bouncing around like a jack-in-the-box; it also sounds like "Run the World (Girls)" but slower. The lyrics can't decide whether they're about sex or Regina Georgish camaraderie (I doubt it's both), and while Kesha sounds as depraved as ever, slurring and purring out bars like "label whore, but I'm tired of wearing clothes," none of them outsleaze her Simple Life days, let alone a brat summer. All this said, the song pre-empts every criticism possible: she has, truly, earned the right to be like this. I've written all these objective pans, and my heart is in none of them.  [7]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: I often (perhaps too often?) critique a song by saying it sounds like something out of a movie about a fake pop star. Those songs are worthy of critique, obviously — they’re constructed entirely out of cliches and misremembered fragments of out of date pop hits, with any hooks accrued seemingly by accident. Yet “something out of a movie” is not necessarily the right put down. Case in point: “Joyride,” from its deliriously overcranked accordion hook on down, sounds absolutely like something out of some feverish fictional property. And yet, this absolutely works — the first Kesha single in years to work as both commentary and as a straight ahead banger. [7]

Leah Isobel: Kesha's 2022 loosie "Rich White Straight Men" introduced a soundscape that was big not in the sense of pop but in the sense of density: it was carnivalesque and menacing, stuffed with cartoonish sound effects, barely making room for her theatrically affected vocal. While Gag Order had an austere musculature that spoke to the effort of keeping hope alive, that song was the sound of despair, garish and hopeless and too much in every respect. Like everything that overflows with sincerity, it was a little alienating, a little cringe. "Joyride" revisits that soundscape, but offers an innovation: by pairing a similarly maniacal accordion loop with the straightforward momentum of her dance-pop side, the song achieves something that I almost want to call Brechtian? It is impossible to listen to a new Kesha song without immediately thinking of her context, her Story, her Narrative; this has made it exceedingly difficult for her to reclaim the joy and delight that was her trademark. But the accordion is so fucking ridiculous, so cringe, that it actually short-circuits all other considerations. The question goes from "is Kesha happy?" to "what is that?" And then I'm dancing. She fucking did it. [8]

Alex Clifton: Have you ever wanted to go to a lightly demonic monster truck rally run by evil clowns who love to dance? Because that’s exactly the kind of wild party Kesha’s conjuring here, silly and fun and insanely catchy. Initially I was a little over the “I am Mother” line, thinking, “that will date this all to hell,” but maybe this one should absolutely be dated. July 2024: the first month Kesha released new music unshackled from Dr. Luke. The sense of freedom and excitement here is so palpable; Kesha’s clearly having a ball on the recording, hamming up her performance in a way that’s simultaneously goofy and sexy. (The only other singer I can see delivering “beep-beep bitch” this well is Gaga, the established queen of camp.) I’m excited to see where newly-freed Kesha goes next, as she’s bound to show us the best night of our lives.  [9]

Joshua Lu: Hedonistic carnival final boss OST — nobody knows how to make trashy pop music like Kesha. [8]

Jonathan Bradley: I respect the outré ambition here — it's fun to hear Kesha find new paths into the realm of the obtuse — but this song has some very annoying sounds. The accordion is annoying! The brassy high-pitched delivery of the title on the hook is annoying! Declaring yourself to be "mother" more than a year after Meghan Trainor did it is annoying! [3]

Alfred Soto: Immersing himself into the Eurotrash with which she has long flited, Kesha sounds buoyant like she hasn't been all decade. She sounds best when harmonizing with bleeps and bloops and synth gahoozits.  [8]

Ian Mathers: Not the accordions I thought I wanted but, it turns out, the accordions I needed. Hyperpolka? Can that be a thing for a bit? [7]

Taylor Alatorre: It’s an open question why the most prototypically American pop singer to emerge from the Recession Era – sorry, Lana, but you first hit the U.S. top 40 with a Cedric Gervais remix – would want to declare her label independence with a high-density slab of blaring Eurotrash. In freeing herself from one set of constraints, Kesha seems to have placed herself under a not-entirely-new one: a dual mandate of familiarity and novelty, of embracing the garishly extroverted attitude of Animal and Cannibal while running away from their most obvious sonic totems. "Joyride” is too fixated on these matters of branding and self-presentation to truly give off the uninhibited vibe it wants to, though Kesha’s everything-at-the-wall approach does produce at least one undeniable hook: those perfectly timed, perfectly trashy car horns. An appeal to the 5-year-old in all of us, who just wants to hear the big vroom-vroom machine go beep-beep. [5]

Hannah Jocelyn: When someone's trying to make another campy "Padam Padam"-style summer hit, I hear it and I know -- this is a fascinating mix of effortless strangeness and 'omg this is for the gaaayzzz brat summmerrrrr so juuuliiaaaa' pandering. There's a lot of off-putting material here; the chorus melody sounds like that meme where every note in "Fireflies" is tuned to C and the spoken title drop sounds uncannily lifted from an ARTPOP reject (you can't tell me that's not Gaga!). In a lot of ways, this isn't too far from a song like Camila Cabello's "I Luv It", but Kesha is an actual weirdo cramming her weirdness into a pop song, not Cabello retrofitting her normalcy into a would-be weird song. That's why she's much better at calling herself "Mother" than other singers, and why she can get away with an accordion in place of the usual synthesizers. "Joyride" is not trying to be an accidental masterpiece; it's just zaniness for the sake of zaniness. There's nothing wrong with letting her be like that.  [7]

Will Adams: "I've earned the right to be like this" is one hell of a mission statement (and she's right). "Joyride," like any other successful Kesha single, has an appealing weirdness -- the accordion riff, the octave swoops in the chorus, dramatic-ass choir -- that makes for a fun ride. However, there's some light pandering in the form of "mother" and the Mean Girls quote which stops it just short of being a full Obnoxious Banger (though this self-remix by producer Zhone takes it there). [7]

Jackie Powell: What makes Kesha such an instinctual pop star is how well she knows herself. With “Joyride” she returns to the type of cheekiness and camp that introduced her to the world. Her diction and enunciation on some of the consonants in each verse is what is so unique to Kesha. She knows what words to accent and which ones not to. Not every artist has this awareness. Kesha had to take a bit of an artistic journey to return to her old sound with as much spunk and moxie as “Joyride”, and unlike another artist we know, she did it successfully. Kesha and Madison Love wrote a song that empowers without being too cheesy, frivolous but without being meaningless.  [7]

Kat Stevens: Admittedly I've left it a little late to qualify for Paris 2024, so I must now set my sights on LA 2028. It's true that I'm now older than US swimmer Dara 'Grandma' Torres was when she won three silver medals in Beijing, however legendary Uzbek gymnast Oksana Chusovitina managed an average 14.166 score for her two vaults in Tokyo (aged 46), and still hasn't officially retired. There's hope for me yet! As such I got cracking with my altitude training this morning (running up Crystal Palace hill, elevation above sea level: 112m) and switched up my playlist from French house to a new Los Angeles-themed one, with "Joyride" by Kesha in pride of place at the top. Beep-beep, bitch -- we're going to the Olympics! [9]

Nortey Dowuona: Madison Love woke up in the morning, saying fuck P. Diddy.  [6]

Mark Sinker: Nothing shorthands my favourite year in pop for a long time than responding to whatever anyone now says or does with the word “JOYRIDE” in a Kesha voice.  [10]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox]

[sol-consort]

omgg a mass effect blog?? in 2024?? unreal and amazing (0-0)!!! I saw that you write for every character so I was wondering if you could write some relationship hc’s for Jack x gn! Renegade!Shepard? I’m such a sucker for the asshole x asshole but are secretly soft for each other trope😭 Also i’m amazed you write fro Ashley too?? Like is my girl finally getting some love? I remember how much the fandom hated her some years ago, like say something as simple as “I like Ashley and her character arc” and boom you were labeled as alien racist yeehaw 💀. It was hard being an Ash enjoyer 😔

I'm reviving this bitch! I just discovered the fandom this month I will be loud and annoying about it until the zombies come out.

And here you go! Here is your request. <3 I hope you enjoy it.

I had to go watch renegade maleshep with Jack so i can get the vibes right and my god, I am so happy I picked femshep bc the male voice acting is very...stoic potato with angry eyes drawn on it. But I missed on Jack's romance which is bullshit bc she states she has slept with woman before so why not meee :"(

But I also it gave me a different perspective on her character. Kelly mentions how avoiding having sex with Jack is the way to gain her respect. And because femshep can't romance her, it means Jack respects you way earlier than maleshep and it kinda shows in her dialogue. Like she got a true friend and women supporting women!

I took the paragon options, which yeah made her make fun of me, but I felt like she was owed some kindness. I am making my Shepard a bit naive too, It adds flavour when i get betrayed.

AND ASHLEY I LOVE HER I ADORE HER. if i had a nickle each time an hated woman character in the fandom with little fanwork made me start a whole blog out of spite just to post about her then I'd have two nickles, which isn't a lot but it is weird that it happened twice with bg3 Minthara then this.

Ashley is just so adorable? Even without her romance she genuinely shows love and devotion. Like yeah Kaidan is Shepard's bf but that's all it feels like. Just a romance option.

But Ashley??? Ashley is femshep true pal and bro. She's been there through thick and thin. Her voicelines are priceless and I took her with me on every single mission in ME1 new game plus.

But damn yikes- they do know that half the humans start off as alien racists and change? Even Ashley wasn't that extreme about it, and she goes through character growth and becomes fond of aliens. Pressly also called them animals, and Kaidan says he isn't big on alien cultures.

Ash wasn't afraid to speak her mind, she always expressed her opinions and took it in stride if you criticise her views and tell her to pull herself together. She considers your words and becomes better.

And we can make Kaidan more alien racist, that guy is willing to become a xenophobe for some pussy, but only if you're femshep. While Ashley can be changed without having to romance her. People really can't handle women with flaws or personality.

And let's not forget that it was Ashley staying on the deck with three different aliens on it and not once did a problem accure. Ash was defensive because she thought they wouldn't like humans, not because she hated them. Not once do Garrus, Wrex or Tali mention anything bad that Ash has done ever. They were right besides her too! Because she hasn't done anything bad.

She is so cute, so precious and the fact her grandpa salutes to her. The fact she walked into the military where they blacklisted her family just to restore their honour and make her grandpa proud? I'm choking in tears rn. And her precious sisters that she took care of, she practically raised them.

She is strong and unimaginably brave. Also, look at this adorable video of her saluting.

[randomestfandoms-ocs]

Ten facts Jeremy?

Banned from the kitchen bc he keeps setting shit on fire and doesn't know how he does it

Loves to skateboard, part time stoner, mario kart champion probably of ohio

Undiagnosed ADHD king (and anxiety)

Favourite childhood memories include Jesse playing mostly classic rock records for him while Johanna and Chad would fight and, when Jesse got his license, Jesse driving him to Dairy Queen (and still playing classic rock in the car) to keep him away from the fights

His favourite comfort food is stouffers Mac & Cheese (specifically/only that brand) because it's what Jesse used to make for him every day, sometimes twice a day, in New York until he learned how to cook a few things – his other favourite food is pasta with garlic bread

Surprisingly good at math, especially algebra, he finds it very fun and is really good with memorizing equations

Jeremy's broadway debut is as Romeo in Newsies, which he does in the summer after s5 (well the summer after 100/New Directions). After university, his first leading role on Broadway is as Jack Kelly in Newsies

Accidentally gets recruited to the Cheerios and eventually becomes Head Cheerio – he still doesn't know how it happened (but it starts with Sue seeing him do a duet of Hot Patootie with Carl in Rocky Horror Glee Show)

In his verse, not only does Jeremy go to school in LA (he wants to be close to Jesse & Roman) but so do Sam, Blaine, and Artie – Artie goes to USC, Sam goes to The California Institute Of The Arts, Jeremy goes to the American Musical Dramatic Academy, and Blaine goes to CalArts with Sam – and they get an apartment together. Since Sam, Blaine, and Artie graduated first, they all spent a year in dorms and then when Jeremy moved out there, they got an apartment

Jeremy's emotional support hoodie was a red hoodie of Finn's that got left at Josh's apartment years ago, has faded to more of a pink, is still too big on Jeremy, and Jeremy will never ever give it back

Bonus – I keep forgetting it but Jeremy (technically Josh but really Jeremy) has three pets: a cat named Phantom that Josh got when he was 5, a pug named Cha Cha adopted when Jeremy was 9-10, and a portuguese waterdog named Corny Collins that they got when he was 13-14 (all here)

[asirensrage]

20 Questions for Writers

I was tagged by @chickensarentcheap!!! Thank you!!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

53

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

764,479

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Oh god. Divergent. Stranger Things. Supernatural. Shadow and Bone. MCU. I have written for HP but not in a long while. Spartacus. Leverage. Jack Reacher. John Wick. Teen Wolf. Criminal Minds. Walking Dead. Lord of the Rings. Star Trek (2013). Beauty and the Beast (2017). Lost Boys. Sons of Anarchy. Knives Out. Naruto. Jujutsu Kaisen. Demon Slayer. My Hero Academia. Blade. Tokyo Revengers. True Blood. Whar Wars. From Dusk Til Dawn (TV series). Special mentions for Buffy the Vampire Slayer and others that I used in my SPN crossover fic.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

On Ao3?

Tammy Thompson Takes on the Upside Down (Stranger Things) Kudos: 1,226

The Art of Seclusion (Divergent) Kudos: 829

there's a heaven above you (don't you cry) (The Lost Boys) Kudos: 534

Barred (Shadow and Bone) Kudos: 415

It's Always Darkest Before the (Second) Dawn (HP/Shadow and Bone Crossover) Kudos: 357

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes! Eventually I respond to all. It just takes me awhile before I do it in large batches lol

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Oh god. For ones that are completed and posted, it's The Art of Seclusion. I have others that...will not have "happy" endings but they aren't finished or shared yet.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I have no clue. I haven't finished many outside of oneshots or series. It might depend on the reader. We'll see ;)

8. Do you get hate on your fic?

Not usually but it has happened. I had one person leave a review on AoS being very angry about my lack of warnings and promoting toxic relationships. They had a legit point about the warnings as I hadn't updated them in years despite the fic getting worse lol. I thanked them for pointing it out, updated my warnings and on my next chapter made a point of reminding my readers that the relationship wasn't healthy and not something to aim for. Never heard back lol.

9. Do you write smut?

Do I? 😃 You know it.

10. Do you write crossovers?

Not often, but yes. Caught in the Crossfire is a crossover with characters from multiple worlds coming into the SPN universe. It's Always Darkest Before the (Second) Dawn is on hiatus but it's a crossover between HP and Shadow and Bone.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Yes. Someone took Tammy Thompson Takes on the Upside Down and posted it as their own...only changing the name Tammy to Sammy 😂😂 I've also had fics being posted under my name on sites I didn't approve of. I had to contact the site directly to make them remove it.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes. Someone translated Famous Last Words into...Russian? It's on Ao3 too.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic?

Yes! I love working with ppl to write. I consider myself basically cowriting a bunch of fics with @vixenofcourse (even if sometimes she doesn't agree) because she gives me ideas for it. I cowrote Caught in the Crossfire with friends of mine, mainly the one who wrote all of Kelly's povs. (fun fact, she doesn't write fanfic on her own but she wrote that lol)

14. What‘s your all-time favourite ship?

Me with everyone I love 😂 No, i have no idea. My ocs and their pairings.

15. What’s the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

....

16. What’s your writing strengths?

No idea. Dialogue? Not sure what else... lol

17. What’s your writing weaknesses?

DESCRIPTIONS. I find them the hardest....and don't ask me about describing my characters...

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I don't speak any other language well enough for that. I don't mind it, but usually I just write in English and show they're speaking another language somehow. If I do write in another language, I try to have the translations clearly understood.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Digimon lollll

20. Favourite fic you’ve ever written?

ALL OF THEM! And all the ones I haven't posted! There are so many i could show you but they're not done and I agreed not to post new long fics if they're incomplete.

tagging: @ninjasawakenedmystar @nejires-hado @arrthurpendragon @elmunson @mabonetsamhain @kingsmakers @sxrvivc and anyone else interested.

[fireworkss-exe]

for the ask game jack kelly

I'm so in love with him you don't even know

how I feel about this character- insane about him. I've been a member of the jack kelly fanclub since 8th grade and I'm not going back in the foreseeable future. absolutely crazy about the whole santa fe as a metaphor for escaping new york, the chains of poverty, etc, because he doesn't ACTUALLY want to leave his family but he feels like he can never be free unless he leaves the city that broke his parents and is currently breaking him

all the people I ship romantically with this character- I'm not really crazy about him and sarah, I think they're cute but they're not really my thing. however. I am a davey x jack x katherine truther FOREVER because jack can hold two people's hands at once and I feel like they balance each other out perfectly. they're like the challengers crew but not manipulative and toxic

my non-romantic otp for this character- him and crutchie/crutchy. besties for life. they contrast each other really well and I especially love how much they look out for each other in 92sies

my unpopular opinion about this character- not strictly about him but I hate how much hate him x katherine gets. I hate when katherine gets ignored in favor of davey like they're both main characters hello? ship what you want, idc, but it's just something I personally don't like. also I don't really mind the fact that he's not a wannabe cowboy in the stage version. it would've been fun but it's just an alternate take and I don't really care that it got changed. adaptations will ALWAYS change something, it's inevitable

one thing I wish would happen to him in canon- I wish in 92sies he would've actually boarded the train and then davey les and sarah run after it all dramatically and at the last second he jumps off and hugs them. it would've been cliche and corny and I would've cried

[lesbiancolumbo]

Hey Sydney (you finally found some luck etc)! How was the show??

hello friend!!! i was waiting for you to reach out (though i was gonna make a post when i got back home)

warning for those who are reading on - i’m on mobile so no read more, and these incohesive thoughts WILL include spoilers for the film and musical versions of wine and roses. read on at your own risk!

so i loved it, though as always i have thoughts. first thing i want to mention is i love the staging. i was up super close and the pre-show staging is reminiscent of a greenhouse

which i found so evil! but they were creative in the staging to keep the action moving. my favorite bits were the pivotal pier scene takes place overlooking the audience. brian and kelli moved over the set piece and stepped out onto us and were literally staring right down at us as they spoke! kelli’s first line for that was “look at all this trash” which got us a laugh. there were also two little pools of water on stage which they utilized nicely. there was one moment when kelli’s character is on a bender and she falls and for a minute we forget the pool is there and she almost falls in. they also had brian climb up the side of the stage to act out the climbing out the window to the greenhouse.

i want to start with brian. he was incredible. i’ve always loved him and this is a fact, but god damn he was crushing it. it was honestly really emotional seeing him up close! he has an amazing voice and he really captures the complexities of joe - it’s hard to fill an established film star’s shoes, and BDJ has shown he can go toe to toe with jack lemmon AND tony curtis. the scene that got me with him was the greenhouse scene (i’ll elaborate on this more in a minute). he really goes for the physicality of it - my only note, and i know this is bc it’s staged, is that i really wanted to see brian go for it and just tear up the greenhouse the way film joe does. his performance is intense but i wanted to see him GO THERE.

kelli is the star of this show. most people at my show were there for her, but also she gets the big songs and the big moments, and that’s fine bc she’s fucking kelli o’hara. she is an amazing singer…. and kirsten is a really hard character to play. she really had me concerned for her at so many moments (where she sets the apartment building on fire… i knew that was coming but there were several little fake outs that had me holding my breath).

i have issues processing songs on a first listen so it’s hard for me to talk about the music, but i will say the song they sing every time they fall off the wagon gutted me. the first time it’s so charming! a little dance ditty (and watching them dance is SO FUN) but when it continues to come up again and again i just started crying lol. there’s also a really good song brian and then later kelli sings about finally recognizing yourself while sober. kelli and the actress who plays their kid have a song that made me cry too towards the end

so my biggest “issues” with the show are that…. i don’t really like how the show adapts the jim storyline! the actor who plays jim is great, but so many of his lines are about how joe is a born drunk and he’ll die a drunk and once he accepts that he can get sober, etc., which feels……. i don’t know! not very nuanced re: addiction. especially when the show cuts out one of the most important bits of dialogue from the movie, that kirsten’s love of chocolate may have been a warning sign of an addictive tendency. the show seems to imply that joe was born this way but he MADE kirsten an addict, instead of the reality that she already had those same tendencies too. it’s a weird change that kinda alters the dynamic the characters have.

i also wish the show had utilized some of the most powerful visual moments from the film: joe being so drunk he crushes the flowers he brings home (this happens in the show but it’s never really addressed), joe seeing his reflection in the mirror and not recognizing himself (brian does this in passing - if you’re looking at him you see it, but the focus is on kelli so it can easily go unnoticed and it’s never addressed!), and the last shot of joe and the BAR neon sign. this last one is most likely something they wanted to do but couldn’t in lighting, but still! it’s an iconic and heartbreaking shot. i would have loved to see that.

little things i loved: brian and kelli were clearly having so much fun and that was a joy to watch, they have such an easy chemistry, you could easily buy that these two people were in love, brian does the thing he always does where he shimmies his hips and it’s so embarrassing, he also does a little strip tease and i was fucking dying, the actress who plays their kid is so good and she has one of the most heartbreaking lines that no one seemed to get — “i know how to do everything,” which made me cry! again, the greenhouse scene is just amazingly well done and the greenhouse set becomes a part of the staging for the rest of the musical, as if joe’s actions continue to haunt him throughout the rest of it.

i’m trying to think of what else to say! it’s just really good and i’m so happy i got to see it. i don’t know what will happen with the show in the future, but i hope more people get a chance to listen to it or watch it.

also i didn’t talk much about meeting brian! he was really nice, when i showed him the ssos script he was genuinely stunned. he was like oh wow! and when he asked me who to make it out to, he thought i was joshing him when i said my name was sydney. but he was kind - i told him how much he means to me (and all of us!) and he thanked me. he was like don’t miss kelli!! before he left. kelli was super sweet too - she had the same reaction lol, “oh wow!” and then bc i can here’s me and the bestie again: