#i am also looking at the theater play names i need to translate later i never had a good look at it

[dubaipenthouseupdates]

INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE | The Thing Lay Still (2/2)

[jo-com]

˙✧˖°📷 ༘ ⋆｡° ➛ Recital

Charles Leclerc x Fem!Ballet reader x Max Verstappen

Summary: They show the whole world how proud they are for you by attending your recital, along with them was your cutesy little angel.

Genre: throuple and Wholesome moment with them

Note: This is not proofread and they contain grammatical errors also google translated french and dutch but i hope you enjoy

───── ─ ୧⋆｡🩰✧ ─ ───────

“Maman?” Your two year old daughter babbled, her hands moving up and down and fingers balled up to a fist—creating a grabby hand like gesture.

Motioning for Charles to carry her to which he gladly obliges.

“Yes, mon bébé, we are going to see maman” Charles said in a toddler like voice and then proceeds to twirl her in the air earning a cutesy giggle from their daughter.

“Stop, papa” she laughed, gripping tightly onto charles’ shirt to avoid slipping off his embrace. “Okay, okay, i’ll stop in one condition.”

Charlotte cocked her head to the side curiously; waiting for her dad to continue.

“With a kiss” Charles added, grinning mischievously as he stared at their daughter’s expression. Her once curious gaze turned into happy ones after hearing his “condition.”

“No papa, kisses are only for maman” she shook her head a ‘no’ and rested both her hands on her tiny hips.

She was trying to look intimidating but with her doey face she just looked like a bunny trying to act tough.

With that Charles erupted into a fit of laughter at their daughter’s movements. Making charlotte lean her head to the side and looked at her dad confusingly— thinking what made him laugh like that.

“What are you guys doing? Have you even finished getting ready?”

Charles freezes, hearing a familiar voice that came from the corner of the room to where the door was— and let me tell you; that voice does not sound happy. At all.

“Ah mon amour, yes we’ve finished” he chucked dryly.

“But papa, we haven’t put in my bows” she whispered, well she was trying to at least.

“I heard that” Max said, his brows knitted to a frown and hands rested in his hip. Wow like father like daughter.

Charles widened his eyes and scratched the back of his neck, mumbling a low ‘oh hehe’.

Max rolled his eyes, not in a mean way though more like a ‘i am going to kick your ass later’ kind of way. “We’re going to be late” he muttered and carefully took charlotte out of charles’ arms.

“Come on Mijn liefste (my sweet), let’s get you ready”

“Do you need any help, Mon cœur?.” Charles asked, wanting to ease his lover’s anger. He smiled from ear to ear showing of his dimples and of course max can’t resist that look.

He shook his head and playfully rolled his eyes this time, “sure darling”— Charles’ heart then swelled with love at the nickname.

Without a moment to spear the two of them started to fix Charlotte’s bow.

…

Finally, after what felt like forever they had arrive at the theater to where your recital was happening.

They walked along the crowded floor; looking for their reserved seat, and once they spotted their names they soon sat down and waited patiently for the show to start.

…

“Curtains up in five people,” the assistant director yelled, loud enough for only the people in backstage can hear.

You sighed nervously— shaking off the nerves with a few practice Battement tendu. You do that every performance you do, just to let out some of the pre show jitters. It somehow calms your nerves down.

After five minutes was up, the spoke person started to announce the performance and tiny little information about the recital; along with it was the curtains being pulled up to reveal all the ballet dancers including yourself.

The First song was then played and all of you started dance gracefully to the beat of the sound— who ever watched it, will be amazed on how Synchronized you guys were. As if you all were one person that’s playing tricks on their mind making them think that you’re plenty.

Amidst the crowd, there charlotte was. Her eyes fixated on your dancing figure; she was at awe on how beautiful and elegant you look just by dancing alone.

She mindlessly tugged Max’s tux without breaking her eyes off yours.

“Maman is so pretty papa” she mumbled.

Her heart full of adoration for her mom. She wishes she could be there at stage with you and hug you like crazy.

Max smiled, looking at their daughter as she gazed at you; eyes filled with proudness and love. He then tapped Charles on the shoulder and whispered what charlotte said to him.

Now the three of them were smiling brightly.

…

After the show ended, the three of them made their way backstage to your dressing room.

Charles was holding charlotte in his arm but she was quick to go down as soon, as you guys stepped in-front of your door.

She knocked frantically, waiting for you to open the door, when you did she ran as fast as she can and hugged you tightly down your waist.

“Maman, you looked so amazing back there” she yelled, her hug only getting tighter with excitement.

“Merci mon bébé” you smiled, stroking the roof of her head soothingly.

Both Charles and Max went towards you two and kissed the both sides of your cheeks.

“If you were there, you could see how adorable she looked” charles chuckled, making charlotte pout.

“You’re not supposed to say that papa” she grumbled and broke from your embrace and softly hit Charles’ leg.

Max and you giggled at the two; seeing them ‘fight’ was the cutest thing ever. At that moment you were so happy to have them, if you were to choose to replay one memory it would be this— the laughter from both your husbands and the pouty face of your daughter. Everything was just so perfect.

…

Miss.y/n just posted!

Liked by Charles_Leclerc, Balletreview, Maxverstappen and 1,378,025 others

Miss.yn Merci to my number 1 supporters!🩰

View all comments

…

Sorry I couldn’t write for a while because of my writes block😭😭 but i js finished this and there are more in my draft so i hope you enjoyed!!

[ohsalome]

What are some amazing, most read Ukraine authors? The only one I know is Gogol and I would like more on my radar.

First important disclaimer is that without knowing ukrainian, your pool of choice is very limited. Unfortunately, our translators haven't done nearly enough to make ukrainian literature acessable for english speakers, so a lot of genuinely amazing stuff would require you to know the language.

The second important disclaimer is that I am going to recommend you a lot of poetry, and, with no disrespect to the translators, it doesn't hit nearly as hard in english as it is in ukrainian. I've recently heard the phrase "to read poetry in translation is like to take a shower wearing a raincoat", and it is so true. So, apologies for this barrier, but there is nothing one can do.

With that in mind, let's start from classics:

The first most important author is Taras Shevchenko. He mainly wrote poetry, but has some prose works as well, and during his life he was more known as a popular artist. The Bible of his works is Kobzar (a ukrainian word for travelling blind musicians), and the same word is also often used as a nickname for Shevchenko - akin to how Shakespeare can be called the Bard. Among the most important poems pay attention to A Dream (the poem for which he was imprisoned by the russians with an explicit ban on writing and painting), The Caucasus, My Testament, Kateryna, A cherry orchad by the house, О thoughts of mine

The second big name to know is Lesya Ukrainka. Lesya is also more known for her drama and poetry than her prose, but she also was a prolific translator and a feminist. Her most well-know play is The Forest Song (a cartoon adaptation is soon to be released after 7 years of production, but from the trailer it looks like it's not going to be close to the text). I find her Бояриня play to be much more interesting and relevant, however, it looks like it has not been translated yet. Among her poems, some of the most important are Contra Spem Spero and Cassandra (the latter has had some successful stage prouctions in Great Britain last year, mayhaps it will gain popularity)

Some links to her works: [x] [x]

Fun fact: there are speculations about Lesya Ukrainka's relationship with her close friend Olga Kobylyanska. The letters they exchanged are quite intimate and sometimes even erotic in nature, which lead some academics to believe that they were more than friends (most still fall in the "gal pals" camp tho). However, if that were true, that would mean that Lesya Ukrainka is the only bisexual woman to ever be printed on banknotes.

The third pillar of ukrainian classical literature is Ivan Franko. Once again, we are talking about partiotic poetry, but there are also many socialistic ideas in his works (although he became dissilusioned with it in his later years ), which I think many western readers will find appealing - (side comment - it looks like "collective west" is going through the same processses that we overcame a century ago, so ehm... good luck, y'all will need it). I haven't been able to find much of his works translated in English, so here is a good master page. Zakhar Berkut is considered to be one of his greatest works (a ukrainian-american co-production movie The Rising Hawk was released a couple of years ago, it was shit). If you manage to put your hands on it, I would greatly recommend The Painted Fox and Moses. Also, reading Eternal Revolutionary imprinted on me so much in childhood and determined who I grew up to be, I pretty much consider Franko to be my spiritual father.

A great event that happened this year is that Valeryan Pidmohylny's The City is finally getting an english translation. I have been gushing about this book on this blog before (you can also find the link to the publisher there), because for the archetypical ukrainian literature this book is a breath of fresh air. It's beautiful, it's modern, it's urbanistic, the protagonist is irredeemable asshole, it's amazing and I should re-read it as well.

Among the authors that are much more difficult to find, I greatly recommend Ivan Nechu-Levytsky. In my humble opinion, he like no other has managed to capture the "ukrainian spirit" and his plots are extremely captivating and dramatic as hell.

I will always, always add Ivan Bahryiany to my lists of ukrainian "must reads". He is an author of the first ever ukrainian adventure novel Tiger Trappers/The Hunters and the Hunted, which is the book that is loved even by those who don't like ukrainian literature. However, I personally find his Garden of Gethsemane to be a much more important (but take care, it is much more depressing as well). This author is extremely important, but I struggle finding PDFs of his work - perhaps, you'd have to search the libraries or ukr diaspora publishers for paperbacks. I have also been unsuccessfully hunting for an english translation of Why I am not going back to the Soviet Union? pamphlet for years - and I know for sure it exists because the USA first lady at that time has read it and it influenced her opinion on the USSR - but I've had no luck so far.

Another very important author of the same time period is Mykola Khyvylovy. One of his plays has actually been recently put to stage in English (shamefully, I haven't watched it yet, but I can vouch for the text it was based on - it's brutal).

I can't speak about ukrainian literature without mentioning crimean tatars, and although their works are much, much less known (in Ukraine as well, unfortunately), please do not overlook it. It is a gorgeous culture, and reading it, I grew to love and value Crimea so much even without ever visiting it. There are some english translations avaliable, including those of Noman Çelebicihan - an extermely important figure in Crimean Tatar history, the founder of the unfortunately short-lived Crimean Democratic Republic, the author of their national anthem, and overall very influential revolutionary.

Now let's jump to the popular modern authors. Many don't have english translation, but the problem is much less prominent in comparison to the ukrainian classics. With these authors, you shouldn't have trouble with finding paperbacks. Among the most influential authors I can recommend Serhiy Zhadan (Timothy Snyder has once said that he expects Zhadan to receive a Nobel Prize in literature and I agree), Oksana Zabuzhko (she either aught to release soon or has already released an english-exclusive book about the russian-ukrainian war), Yuri Izdryk (extremely modern and unconventional, but he's a good represention of the current state of art), Yuriy Andrukhovych (love his mastery of language, hate his characters). These authors are more light-hearted, but a grim necessity for today is Stanislav Aseyev's The Torture Camp on Paradise Street. It is a autobilgraphical book describing his experience being imprisoned by russians between 2017 and 2019. Western journalism often describes the war crimes russians commit on our land, but just listing the number of people lost doesn't show the face of the russian horror. Read this book to understand why we were screaming about the russian threat before the full-scale invasion, and why every time we regain the territory we brace with terror of what we'll discover there - because everywhere russian army goes, they build hunderds of such Isolyatsya camps that the book describes.

Also check out Serhiy Zhadan's band!

[leseigneurdufeu]

Papy fait de la résistance !

I've got absolutely NO context so I'm going to have to interprete ok?

Are you asking if I know it? If I can sum it up? OK:

I know it. Papy fait de la Résistance is a french parodic war/resistance movie in which acted essentially the Troupe du Splendide (a theater kids group except they knew each other as theater kids but also went on to have cinema and theater careers, mostly in comedy, mostly in movies where they were all or many of them at once like Les Bronzés, Le Père NOël est une ordure, etc.). Brief (who am i kidding i'm unable to sum things up briefly) it starts with the father of a family of three who dies in stupid circumstances after a whole day of bad luck, except he was in the resistance. Two years later, the germans decide to take his house because they need a couple rooms to lodge a general (who not only has a name that only sounds german but is most probably czech or something, his name also sounds exactly like "sponge"). THe resistant father was living with his flamboyant wife, his mad-scientist-vibes-but-not-a-scientist father-in-law, his gay-caricature-with-collabo-undertones son and his two daughters. After his death, they took in a latin teacher to get rent and make ends meet, and he ended up getting engaged to the eldest daughter.

So when the general arrives anyway, they get the fiancé out of his room to give it to the general (despite the fiancé noting that there are other rooms in the house, a big mansion, which are empty and could be used, to which he's told back that everyone has to make sacrifices, big cliché of the resistance movie turned absurdist because of the other rooms). The grandfather procedes to loudly insult the germans (believe me he knows what he's doing, it's not like he was not as bright as in his youth or anything, he will procede to gleefully lie to the germans about menial things to wreak havoc in their orders for the rest of the movie, completely unprompted) who in retaliation put the whole family in the cellar (again, spacious because under a mansion) instead of the one-bedroom-and-one-bathroom that were confiscated.

The son of the family proceeds to say that after all the germans won so they can do whatever they want and adds that the german radio has very good songs after all (so he listens to it), which horrifies the rest of the family. Since they're all musicians, they take their piano, tuba, everything, and start playing and singing the Marseillaise, which prompts the general himself, arrived in the mean time, to arrive, compliment them for their talent because he's an art-enthusiast, ask them what the heck they're doing in the cellar since the house is full of empty rooms, and quotes Goethe to prove he likes art. The Goethe quote is identified by the son, so the general congratulates him, then leaves. THe whole family turns on the son and calls him a "dirty traitor" for knowing a bit of german/idenfiying the quote.

But plot twist! The son is actually Super-Resistant, a guy dressed like the phantom of the opera (except for the mask which is different) who terrorizes the nazis in Paris ever since his father died. To get what I'm talking about I'm going to pull some screenshots from my archives.

he looks like this... aaaaand i just realized that's my header so that might be why you sent the ask but too late I'm invested in this so I'll keep going.

Message by him found at the former general's place, which he bombed (also the guy apparently had his head against the bomb because it was against his pillow and is in better shape than the appartment so it really doesn't make any sense:)

the guy on the left is the new general, pointing to it to ask the former one "what the heck is this". It translates as "bon voyage fat ass (signed) super-resistant".

Anyway the son goes back home via a secret passage between the mansion and the Louvres (I think? or maybe another museum) and sneaks on the general (who obviously uses the room in which the passage arrives).

The mother, the eldest daughter and the fiancé go to the Kommandantur (administrative place where the germans govern the location and around, and where they take complaints if need be) to complain that they were put in the cellar (which... again, absurd, because the general offered them to get the rest of the house back because his soldiers were stupid to put them in the cellar, and they refused) and there they see an english (scottish?) soldier, wounded and prisonner, who is obviously left unattended for a good five minutes during which they pass him a weapon. He uses it to kill the collabo (used that word twice already, if you don't know what is it's a french guy who collaborates with the occupation forces) who was trying to get the family to denounce any jews they would know (other big cliché as far as i know) and they all run away, except he's shot in the leg and they split up, the family bringing him back home (re: in a house full of german soldiers) and the fiancé forced by the eldest daughter to go find him so medicine. He manages to be made a prisonner by the germans because of some dumb mistake/altercation and is about to be shot, along with other guys including a resistant, when Super Resistant arrives and saves them before trying to make a fundraising for the resistance (hence the Croix-de-Lorrained metal pots on the picture) but everyone dodges the collect and tries to flee which... i mean, is logical. The fiancé starts pestering the other resistant to join the resistance and the other resistant ends up telling him about a secret reunion when the fiancé tells him about the british aviator in his cellar.

In the mean time, waiting for the fiancé to come back with the medicines, the family is operating the british guy, the grandfather having been a military doctor during the first world war. The gestapo arrives at that moment, led by Mr Adolfo Ramirez, who used to do oddjobs at the Opera de Paris and who was at odds with the family because of a mix of inferiority complex and political disagreement. Ramirez starts insulting the family while the british guy is trapped head-down in a wardrobe, then as the german general arrives in his back, Ramirez doesn't see who is arriving and tells him to shut up, calls him a gay slur and threatens him then asks his name and the guy is like "sponge. general sponge." anyway shenanigans ensue.

Half of the family and the british guy go to the secret reunion that the fiancé was told about, it's in a brothel (which is alas the reason the movie is PG rated or should be) but the fiancé sees Super Resistant entering the brothel for the reunion and thinks there's a masquerade ball inside, so he disguises himself as hitler before entering and stumbling upon a bunch of german soldiers having a good time. Awkwardness ensues.

The secret reunion is upstairs where Super Resistant and a british envoy conclude an alliance, but Ramirez arrives, starts shooting blindly, someone shoots him back, he is then arrested by german soldiers for starting a shootout (the resistants ran away safely) despite being part of the Gestapo himself. Super Resistant and the others steal the car the family had come in, and see inside it the aviator and the younger daughter in a passionate make out session, which infuriates Super Resistant (which, remember, is the son of the family) who starts calling the british names and loses control of the car to bash him over the head. The alliance is moot. It lasted like 5 minutes.

In the mean time, the eldest daughter and general squarepants (er... Sponge) start a romance because after all he's not that bad and he doesn't want war etc. At that moment the general receives the news that Hitler's hidden twin brother (or was it half-brother?), field marshal von Apfelstrüdel (german for... Apple Pie) is about to go visit Paris and they want to organize a party for him because with how Super Resistant is messing things up, a party is the only way to save themselves from prison/destitution.

Turns out Apfelstrüdel hates parties, and the only way Sponge can save the night is to have the family sing and play, because Apfelstrüdel has nothing against opera. The family refuses because the reason they needed the fiancé to pay rent in the first place was because they refused to sing in front of nazis, but Ramirez finds the secret passage in the house and Sponge blackmails them with that (although they had no idea there was a passage, also they don't know where the son has gone). THe fiancé gets a bomb by the resistant he met when they were almost shot and places it under the table but Apfelstrüdel invites the family to eat with him, which prompts the fiancé to go under the table to try and deactivate it. He only manages to break the table in... a suspicious way let's say.

and is arrested, but not before Apfelstrüdel had a whole musical number about how the mother of the family looks a lot like this girl he knew in Germany (who he makes a very unflattering description of) and sings with an awfully inaccurate german accent "Je n'ai pas changé" (I didn't change, literally) which was a popular pop song at the time the film was released.

Anyway the fiancé is arrested. The general tries to take his defense but is arrested too. Ramirez gives Apfelstrüdel an earful about how he, Ramirez, is the only real nazi in Paris and is arrested too because why not.

At that moment Super Resistant arrives, slides down a banner with a dagger and sends a sword to Apfelstrüdel to do this mano a mano. The more I write about this movie the more I have to check the dvd on my shelves because it feels more like a fever dream than a real movie but alas.

Anyway they take Applepie hostage and steal a tank before riding into the sunset. Then twist! What we saw was actually a movie inspired from real events that the protagonists were watching in this french emission in which people who participated in the movie comment on it during the second part of the night.

The journalist (the same who did the emission in real life) starts the emission by introducing everyone: we've got the fiancé who became minister after the war, we've got Adolfo Ramirez Jr, who came back from Bolivia especially to participate to the emission, we've got Sponge and the older daughter who are now married, and we've got the brother/son/super resistant who looks more stereotypically gay than he ever did at the beginning of the movie.

Chaos enfurls as the minister tries to monopolize the conversation, the brother denies having ever been Super Resistant, and Adolfo ramirez jr (played by the same as AR Sr) not only pretends his father was never a nazi (ARJr: "my father was never a nazi! He was actually a double agent! He had wormed the gestapo to fight them from the inside!" / the minister: "Mr Ramirez if your father was a double agent then I'm working for the KGB" / ARJr: "well I've got no proof you don't!") but also starts digging up dirt about everyone. He pretends the couple consumed their marriage way before the wedding (the details he gives pinpoints the "consumation" to a part of the movie where his "father" intruded on the couple kissing), that the minister embezzled millions, and that Super Resistant killed his best friend because he was sleeping with the youngest daughter. The couples leaves, outraged, and the other two start beating Ramirez up on air while the journalist concludes the emission alone.

So anyway hey that's my "brief" summary of Papy fait de la Résistance (Grandpa is in the resistance, lit.) which I can't encourage y'all to go watch if you can, if you speak french, and if you're more than 15 because there are a few scenes (mainly in the brothel) which contain nudity.

[giuliano-fan-account]

hxh ch 393

I THOUGHT THAT THEY RELEASED ONLY ON SUNDAYS HELP? WAIT? ANYWAYS so i read this a little later than I wanted to since i thought it released tomorrow but thats okay. 

Its review time!! I have a little less to say this chapter than the last two, but I still have a little word

spoilers, obviously

So, we’re back to Luini... 

Tbh Im KIND OF GLAD THAT HE JUST DESTROYED HIM HE WAS BEGINNING TO GET A LITTLE ANNOYING...

Its interesting to think about it. 

He could have been downright offensive to these three as all of the troupe is still processing the deaths of Shalnark and Kortopi and hes just telling them to discard all of that. 

Imagine if somebody like Luini showed up after Uvogins death/during their requiem.. yea... I have a feeling Nobunaga would be even more pissed.

ALSO NOBUNAGA DOESNT LOOK SUPER WONKY IN THIS PANEL YAY

In the previous chapters and stuff he just looked so strange and it wasn’t bothering me or anything but yaa there he is. 

Luini is the negative fanbase and This guy is the positive fanbase. 

This translation lets people curse and im living for it (also hes doing the funny point pose)

Imagine dying like this..... what a way to go. Also, was he just like this the whole time he was talking to the troupe? Just. his butt out of the wall?? 

Anyways. Luini is always making me think about things I don’t want to. Good riddance. 

WHY IS HE LITERALLY JUST NAMED DEMON AND WHY IS HE A REAL-ESTATE AGENT. I NEED ANSWERES. It might just be this translation for the name, but still.. Real estate agent? Eh. It’s not like all the other occupations are very expected to join a mafia anyways.

Whoever this person is i love them. They are named after a dessert AND they are a pro gamer AAND they have the hxh trademark strange eyebrows.

Also, it took me whoever to know who this guy was but he’s the guy at the stand that Lynch first punched (23 members).

We have a Pro Gamer and a Game Centre Employee. They either get along very well or hate each other with a burning passion. Either way, I want to see if they have a dynamic bc thats interesting.

Oh god please die I don’t know anything about him other than the fact that he is a human trafficker PLEASE DIE HELP. I hope he dies very quickly.

I like this guy he seems silly and i like silly people, so. He’s yet another cheery light haired guy that very vaguely resembles shalnark (the other being Giuliano, i love Giuliano by the way I really like Giuliano, anyways heres a comparison)

Nonetheless please don’t stop making this brand of guy he’s just like me.

Matovelle gets an extra point though because he is probably also insane. 

I love when the characters are so short compared to the others that you can only see the very top of their heads.

I feel like this person is also going to be dangerous... they look like the Hei-Ly underboss (I think??), so im sensing a little bit of a pattern lol. (please bring back the Hei-Ly underboss lady or whoever she was i need her  i  anyways) 

I SERIOUSLY THOUGHT THIS WAS KORTOPI AT FIRST AND I WAS SO CONFUSED BUT ANYWAYS OH MY GOD OH MY GOD I WAS SO HAPPY WHEN I SAW THIS PAGE.

THEYRE ALIVE AND AND I LOVE THE WAY THAT  ZAKURO WAS DRAWN AND AN ANYWAYS I NEED TO CALM DOWN. phew ok... I am beginning to like Lynch and Zakuroa  lot theyre great. 

I feel like theyre getting themselves into yet another hassle. Hopefully this time they won’t underestimate their enemy, that is if they do find them this time. 

This seems like a pretty good deal, but theres got to be a catch later. I’m guessing that may be Chrollos state of mind by the time they find him... Again, given that he looks like this

yea he’s not doing so good. 

Also, this must be a reference of some sort..

PSHHH I HOPE HE NEVER STOPS PUTTING REFERENCES IN HXH. The movie theater was a perfect place to do this.

Im pretty sure that this is Alien but I cant see it very clearly.

It would be so fun to have a concept like the Thing come into play in the succession war... I think that it would be a perfect opportunity for horror. I mean we already have Prince Tserriednich’s first Nen beast. I’m so excited. 

And there he is. Gah I love the framing of this panel. You can see everybody’s face but Hisoka’s, and he’s split in the middle with all the white space of the theater. It gives an ominous feeling specifically towards Hisoka. 

Just an aside here, too, the way Hisokas hair is styled and the way his eyes are drawn looks similar to Chrollo’s the last time we saw him, which is interesting to me. The resemblance isn’t too strong, but It’s interesting to think about.

The way that he just sits down in this panel and immediately starts talking is so funny to me just change the text to anything.

ANYWAYS thats unrelated. I really like this scene. I get the impression  that Hisoka is above it all, and just deciding to comply with what Xi-Yu and Cha-R wants without any true dedication, and I feel like Hinrigh is aware of this because he knows exactly the type of person Hisoka is, so he’s being honest.

I’m also beginning to really like Hinrigh as well because of his intuition, understanding, and efficiency. No wonder he’s the underboss. Knowing and dealing with the type of freak Hisoka is is no small feat. 

Hes trying to mess with him by getting close but Hinrigh is just like ‘Ok.’

This was an awesome interaction though tbh. I want to see more conversations between them since its an interesting dynamic. Hinrigh isn’t directly against Hisoka, which is seen in his disinterest in getting in the way of his and the spiders quarrel, so they agree over that, but he has to keep him under surveillance due to the situation. Everything about Hisoka goes against this, however. He is going to defy this without question, and I am certain Hinrigh knows this, so what does he have in mind to stop him? 

these must be more references. the girl choking the other one seems familiar but i dont know about the others and I dont know what that one is from.

The other part isnt super interesting to me, so I’ll leave it for me to delve back into on another read. I often understand things better on the second time anyways.

.......................... I HAVE NO WORDS. NONE AT ALL CAN EVEN.. I CANT >... I GENUINELY CANT TELL IF THIS IS INTENDED TO BE FUNNY OR SCARY BUT OH MY GOD I   HELP ME  

THIS DOESNT MAKE IT ANY EASIER TO TELL SERIOUSLY IS THIS SUPPOSED TO BE COMEDIC OR SERIOUS...

Gosh, these page layouts are great, the shading of the bed on the second one I am enjoying thoroughly, and again with the middle focus and the front and back look at the room... aaahhhhhhghhgg anyways. 

WHY ARE HINRIGH AND THE OTHER GUY SO TALL (I forgot his name uh oh). It’s either that or the cabins are very small, which is probably the case.

Its funny, this page layout is a little unnerving, and then you just see how short the doorway is ...

Final thoughts on the chapter, Hinrigh is so cool, and this guy definitely is hiding something. I think he’s not a threat himself, but rather is innocent and is being forced to cover something for somebody who is a threat.

A little later than I wanted to post my review but its okay. I’m looking forward to the next one, since honestly I don’t know what it’s going to throw at me. Often times it proves my predictions wrong, but thats okay, it’s fun to think about more. 

It’s nice to know people actually read these too, it’s relieving to write these down to get all of my thoughts out, and I feel happy when other people actually acknowledge them even though theyre often just rambles of things off the top of my head when I read these things lol.

I plan to read and review all of the chapters (if i can)!! 

Have a good dawn, morning, noon, afternoon, day, evening, dusk, night, midnight, or past midnight! (I present to you hisokas favorite movie) 

[dirty-urie]

McBrendon

Second Person

Brendon x Female Reader

Unspecified Era

Smut Oneshot

NC-17

3.2k Words

Warnings in order of appearance: RPF, language throughout, not pre-discussed roleplay scene, medical roleplay and language, sex

Author's Notes:

So, basically, I was re-watching Grey's Anatomy, and I was like, "What if Brendon was here?" and then this was born. I have no idea if someone who's never watched Grey's Anatomy would understand or appreciate this, but basically what I think you need to know is that Derek Shepherd and Mark Sloan are sexy manwhores (in the earier seasons), and a common recurring joke in the earlier seasons of the show is putting "Mc" in front of adjectives to describe love interests. The fic is supposed to be more silly than sexy, but maybe it's sexy too, I don't really know.

"Wait, what about those two?" He asks, and you sigh exasperatedly.

"Brendon, just assume that all of the doctors on the Doctor Sex Show have slept together. That's the whole point."

He groans and slumps back in his chair, "Remind me why we have to watch this overdramatic doctor smut in the theater? The theater should be a sacred space for Disney movies or action movies with boobies and explosions, not 'ohhhh does McCreamy only like Natalie because she hooked up with Appendectomy?.'"

"It's my week on laundry duty, and whoever's folding laundry gets to watch whatever they want wherever they want. That's the rules, but you can go watch something in the living room or on your computer or on your phone if you don't like it," you offer, trying to get rid of him. You love Brendon, you love him so much, but sometimes you need to sit in the dark and fold laundry with no other noises except your soapy little doctor show.

"Fine. The men of the house are going to go watch something manly, don't bother us. Come on, Bogart!"

Brendon's little Jack Russell turns to look at you as if asking to stay, but you pat his back and send him off to go snuggle with his dad. You don't think you could handle Brendon's betrayed gasps if you let Bogart finish the episode with you. You and Penny will be fine ogling at Patrick Dempsey while file-folding Brendon's 68 pairs of gray and black sweatpants alone. Brendon kisses your cheek before he leaves. "Have fun with the boobs and explosions, babe," you tell him on his way out of the room.

"Oh, you know I will!"

•••

Two weeks later, it's your turn to fold laundry again, and you're back to watching Grey's, this time in the living room. The dogs are sitting next to you, eyes glued to the screen. Brendon's also in the room, bitching about "introducing this drivel into our home," but you're ignoring him because you don't need that kind of negativity in your life.

He finally quiets down, and you appreciate the five minutes of peace. Until… "Are you unsatisfied with our sex life?" He asks out of the blue.

You're taken completely aback for a second before you scramble to pause the tv. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, what? Where did this come from?" you ask him. What the fuck? Is he unsatisfied with your sex life?

"Well, we haven't had sex in weeks practically." Three days actually. It's been three days, but you don't interrupt him. "And you keep watching this sexy doctor show, so I don't know, maybe you're feeling like a bored housewife," Brendon explains.

You laugh at him, and he looks offended. "You're overthinking it, baby boy. It's just a show! Sure, the sexual tension between the entire hospital and Mark Sloan is spicy and exciting, but I'm not trying to compensate for anything lacking in my life. If anything, all that spice just translates into better sex for both of us. Okay?"

He looks very skeptical. "Hm, sure. I totally believe you."

You don't necessarily think you properly got your point across to him, but Meredith just made another bad decision, and you need to see how it pans out. "Okay, great, now go watch a manly show with Bogs in our room if you're going to keep whining."

Brendon does not, in fact, go into your room to watch a manly show on his laptop. Instead, he and Bogart start watching season 1 of Grey's Anatomy, immediately getting highly invested in the lives of the ambitious-yet-messy surgical interns. He's trying to figure out what exactly appeals to you about the show.

•••

It's his turn to fold the clothes, and he's doing it wrong, but you're resisting the urge to do it for him because you're a feminist, damnit. He's still letting you watch Grey's Anatomy because he's a doll (and you don't know this, but he's also become a bit of a fan.)

"Do you think I'm more a Mark Sloan or a Derek Shepherd?" He asks.

You scoff, "You're a George."

"I am not! I'm way sexier than George!"

"You're just jealous because I'm an Addison."

"Pshh, you're a Bailey. You wanna know how I know?" He asks.

"Fine. Tell me." You give in.

"You desperately want to correct my laundry technique."

•••

"Meet me in the on-call room in five," Brendon whispers against the back of your neck while you're drying the dishes from dinner. What is this man doing? "Meet you where?" You ask, but he's already walked away. You're not sure whether to actually wait the five minutes or just try to go find him.

You give him three minutes before going to the bedroom. You honestly don't know what you were expecting, but it wasn't Brendon laying on his side in the middle of your bed, shirtless under a white coat. He has on a pair of navy blue scrub pants that aren't particularly flattering, but they still look nice on him.

"Explain to me what's happening here, homie," you tell him.

"I'm being sexy for you! So sexy! I'm Dr. Brendon "McKinky" Urie, I'm a general surgery attending, but my real specialty is pleasure."

You visibly cringe for him. "You're a McDoofus, and your real specialty is probably malpractice."

He pouts. "Play along. Come on. Please? Be Dr. Y/N Sexy."

You roll your eyes. "Why do you get your real last name, but I'm Dr. Sexy?"

"Because we're not married in this fantasy! We're both cheating on our spouses but not in a tragic way, in a sexy way! Come on! Let yourself have fun," he pleads.

You feel yourself start to cave. "Fine, I'll play along, but I'm stopping this the minute I feel weird, okay?"

"Of course. And, babe, if you don't want to do this, you absolutely do not have to," he says, serious now.

"No, no, Brendon. I'm down for this. I think you're a total goof for doing it, but I trust you."

He brightens, "Great! Now it's time for your examination." He waggles his eyebrows, climbing off the bed and gesturing for you to take his place.

"Exam? Am I a patient? Why am I in the on-call room if I'm a patient?" You ask.

"Doctors need exams too, y'know. We're both doctors, but I don't know, you need a routine exam for like moles or something. Take your clothes off." He says, and you take a split-second to be grateful that Brendon got discovered for his musical talents and will therefore never be an actual doctor.

You stifle back your laughter and strip down to your underwear, lying on your back on top of the white sheet he put over the comforter to protect the bed from any potential messes. He stands over you next to the bed, and you're happy that you at least get to stare at his body during this little experiment. The whole "doctor" thing may not be driving you wild on its own, but your half-naked husband always will.

"Thank you for coming to this appointment, Dr. Y/N Sexy," he says. Don't laugh, don't laugh, don't laugh, you chant in your head. "First," he says, making his voice husky, "I need to test your reflexes." Something tells you he won't be using one of those little hammers. He bends down and breathes against your neck. You shiver, and goosebumps appear on your arms. You're glad you wore your front clasp bra when he unclips it and has immediate access to your breasts. He circles around your nipple with his finger, and they harden quickly. "Mmm, good reflexes indeed. Very responsive," he purrs. "I don't think your test results are conclusive yet. You should keep going," you encourage. He rubs your scalp, and your head rolls back. You're worried that you'll start drooling.

Brendon smirks at you a little, and his smugness is slightly infuriating. Yes, you like him touching you, but that hardly proves that his weird roleplaying was a good idea. "Just like I observed, fantastic reflexes. But I now must move on to the chest exam." He rests his head on your chest, and you're beginning to suspect that this whole thing was just a ploy to touch your boobs a lot. "Is your heart rate always this fast or just when your hot coworker is touching you?"

"Normally only my husband, also named Brendon… for some reason, can get me so worked up, but now I'm thinking of leaving him for you, McCrinkly."

"It's McKinky, and your husband sounds gorgeous and super smart. You should keep him around," he says, climbing onto you and groping your breasts. "In my professional opinion, these are nice tits."

You have to bite your lip to resist the urge to laugh again. You wouldn't quite say you're aroused, but you are having fun at least. "Okay, okay, doc. Enough of the preliminary exam; I need five and a half inches, stat."

"You couldn't round up to six while we're playing!?"

"Oh, come on, you're lucky I rounded up to five and a half!"

"Rude! So rude!"

You kiss him to shut him up. "Sorry, baby, I won't bully you anymore. Now, how about a cervical exam?" You suggest, craving his thickness inside you.

That cheers him up. Brendon resumes his doctor roleplay. "First, let me complete the dermatological examination. If you could remove your undergarments, please."

You throw your bra on the floor and take off your underwear.

He admires the small amount of newly-exposed skin. "So many marks on your breasts and pubic region. Did your hot husband leave these too, or should I investigate for a skin condition?" He asks, ducking between your thighs to add some more.

"Yeah, he left them there. My sexy husband is kind of the best, but enough about him," you say.

New dark spots pop up after he finally moves his mouth from the sensitive skin of your thighs. "Oops, I think I just burst a couple of capillaries."

Well, someone did some light googling. "Do you think I'll make it?" You ask, faking drama.

"Yes, but you'll need someone to pay lots of attention to the area between your thighs."

He never mastered the art of subtly, did he? "I don't think that will be an issue. My husband will be thrilled."

"Great, that's taken care of. Shall we commence with the cervical exam then?" He asks, rolling off you to tug off his scrubs and underwear. He keeps his dumb coat on, which is more goofy than sexy without clothes underneath, but you don't tell him that. "And we can test your motor skills at the same time. Hands and knees, please."

You obey, and he moves behind you to enter you. He pushes into you quickly and hard, just like you like it. "God, there's so much blood in my, hm, um corpus cavernosum… I think," he says.

"Your what? Are you trying to cast a Harry Potter spell? because that's a whole different roleplay," You crane your neck back to see him, and your eyes widen. "Brendon, are you," you need to pause to choke back your laughter, "are you reading from a flashcard? While inside me?"

He's on his knees behind you, squinting at a white notecard. He flips the card over and reads from it, "the corpus cavernosum is, um, the main erectile tissue in the genitals. So, uh, I was trying to say that I'm hard for you."

That's it, you can't contain your laughter. You can't even bear to look at Brendon without cracking up. Tears are streaming down your face. He hisses, and you think it's because you've upset him, but you turn back to look at him, and he's biting his lip, his head tilted back.

"Are you good, B?" You ask, a little worried.

He's breathing hard. "Yeah, just your laughing caused contractions around my cock, and I was not prepared. Felt good, just unexpected." He pulls almost all the way out and then jerks back in, not quite slamming but gearing up to it.

"Faster, please. Careful still, but faster," you request.

He speeds up perfectly, finally filling you up and relieving the ache inside you. You relish each time his hips meet your body, feeling close to him, even if the position isn't as intimate as he usually likes. You suppose successful Dr. Kinky, notorious womanizer, wouldn't necessarily want to make loving, passionate eye contact with all of his conquests.

"So, Dr. Kinky-"

"No, it's doctor Urie, McKinky."

Jesus, you need a script. "So, Dr. Urie, do you have enough energy after all those lobotomies or whatever to rub a girl's clit? I bet my husband, the other Brendon, would touch me."

"Well, I would never even bother to compete with such a stellar man, but I can still try to get you off." His hands move between your thighs to touch your cunt. "Oh no, so much excess fluid here. I hope nothing's wrong." He puts a finger on your throbbing clit and feigns a sigh of relief, "Good, I've found a pulse." His touch is feather-light as he slowly strokes you. The contrast between his fast, hard thrusts and delicate strokes somehow enhances both of his actions.

"Oh, that's nice," you moan.

"You mind if I have you roll over? I still have to test your flexibility, and I'd love to do that with your legs on my shoulders."

"Fuck yeah."

He pulls out, and you get on your back; he gets you ready by situating the pillows underneath you. You rest a leg on either shoulder, and he thrusts in again. You don't want to admit it to him, but you feel like you'll need to come soon. The spikes of pleasure pulsing between your legs have been getting stronger and closer together, and now that you can see what you do to him, rather than just hearing his occasional grunts, you feel even closer to crossing that finish line.

"I'm observing some rapid contractions, Sexy. Should I note in your chart how close you are to coming all over me? Because it seems to me that you're failing your stamina and endurance evaluation," Dr. Urie teases.

You close your eyes to try to eliminate a source of the arousal, but you still feel painfully close to the edge.

Brendon inadvertently shifts a bit, and that does it. Your arousal peaks intensely, and you try to restrain your reactions on the off chance he doesn't notice. However, you're pretty sure he does notice your orgasm when his movements slow to a stop, and that's confirmed when he outright says it. "You just came," he states. It's not a question.

You nod, not bothering to deny it.

He pulls out, and you finally get to see his still-hard cock soaked with your wetness. "Well I suppose, we can run… further tests to reach a full diagnosis," he practically croons, pulling his scrub pants back on, and a wave of lust spreads from your stomach. Fine, the doctor thing is a little hot. "It's up to you though, I defer to your professional opinion."

"I think my exam is complete, actually, but I know you've been complaining of some pain in this region," you give his crotch a quick squeeze. "Do you mind stripping so I can investigate?"

He immediately takes off his coat, obviously excited, and gives it to you, so you put it on. "So, can you describe the pain?" You ask, putting a hand on his thigh.

"Kind of an ache, I guess?"

You squeeze his thigh, "And you'd say the pain is mainly here?"

"No, uh, um, to the right."

You squeeze his other thigh, "Oh, I see, right here?"

"No, not, um, my thigh."

"Sorry, I understand." You lay your hand flat on his stomach, still carefully avoiding his cock. "Your stomach must be hurting."

"Still not quite."

You clench your jaw in fake frustration. "Well, could you just show me where you need my attention, Doctor Urie?"

He shoves down his pants and grasps his leaking cock, groaning in relief when he starts to tentatively touch himself.

"Yes, very good, thank you. Would you say the ache subsides with stimulation?" You ask professionally.

Brendon nods and smirks a bit, "Yeah, you could say that."

"Well, I think you just need to achieve ejaculation," you diagnose.

"Is that, ah, covered under my insurance?" He asks cheekily, still jerking himself.

You laugh, going to dig the lubricant out, "Okay," you nudge his hand away, "leave this to the professionals." You pour the clear lube into your hand. "This may be a bit cold," you warn. He doesn't really need the lube, he's both leaking profusely and still slick from being inside you, but you want to keep up the "doctor vibes." You grasp him firmly and stroke quickly, trying to get him off as soon as you can. You kind of want to use your mouth, but you can't think of a good reason to within the roleplay. That's mostly fine, though, because you can tell he's about to come.

He comes all over your hand without warning a minute or so later. He shudders and groans, spurting twice more. You didn’t realize how worked up he was. Of course, you saw how hard he was, but to come this much from just jerking him off means he was really turned on. "Outstanding sperm production, sir," you say, crudely wiping him up with a tissue.

"Okay, no more doctor talk. My brain is too mushy," he groans.

You take off the coat and get into bed, cuddling against him. "If your brain is mushy, you probably should see a doctor."

He giggles. "So, would you do this again?"

You think for a second. "Well, I'd roleplay with you again, but you have to warn me next time. And probably not the doctor thing again. It was hot playing with you, but thinking about actual medical procedures is not my thing."

He yawns, "Noted about the warning you next time, and that's too bad. I was really looking forward to the oral exam. How big is your mouth? How's your swallow technique?" He says, half-jokingly.

"Hey, don't push it, or we're doing a prostate exam, and due to budget cuts to the hospital, we're going to be low on lubricant."

He cringes, "Point taken. I don't need a doctor roleplay; the next time I want a blowjob, I'll just ask."

You get out of bed and put on your pajamas. "Well, if it's in the next 45 minutes, your request is getting denied because Penny Lane, Bogart, and I are watching the real Grey's Anatomy in the theater while you're still too weak to complain about it. And this is a good time to tell you that my character is not actually a medical doctor. I have a PHD in film studies. I’m a fraud.”

His mouth drops open, "You're telling me that wasn't an official medical handjob?!"

"I trust that you'll get over this. Love you, babe."

He scowls but still mutters a quiet, “I love you too.”

[dweemeister]

2020 Movie Odyssey Award for Best Original Song (preliminary round)

Yup, it’s back (bullet indentations are not working, so this post will look very ugly on your dashboards)!

Tagging a few folks who have participated before in this annual tradition/folks who I would like to extend an open invitation to (please contact me if you’re interested so I can sort you in a group ASAP... you will also be tagged for the final unless you tell me you are not interested): @birdsongvelvet, @bitch-genius, @dog-of-ulthar, @idontknowmuchaboutmovies, @loveless422, @lvl9gay, @neverwasastoryofmorewhoa, @phendranaedge, @poncho-honcho, @sayaf, @shadesofhappy, @thethirdman8, @uncoolforelimb, and @wehadfacesthen.

Hello everybody. For my fellow Americans, I hope your Thanksgiving was a good one. For the non-Americans reading things, I hope you are doing well, as always! Many things have fallen to the wayside in this unforgettable year. So in hopes of providing some sense of continuity and normalcy, here - as you have agreed to - is the Preliminary Round for 2020's Movie Odyssey Award for Best Original Song (MOABOS). This is the eighth time it has been contested and the seventh consecutive year it has been open to involvement from family, friends, and tumblr followers.

For those new to this, my classic movie blog traditionally ends the year by honoring some of the best achievements from movies that I saw for the first time this calendar year (the "Movie Odyssey") with an Oscar-like ceremony. I choose all the nominees and winners from each category, save one: Best Original Song. It is the only category I can think of that does not require you to watch several movies in their entirety. I consider MOABOS as a sort of cinematic-musical thank-you for your moral support in various ways.

An unspecified number of songs have already advanced to the final round. 24 songs will contest this prelim in two groups - Group A and Group B. In a year when COVID-19 has closed theaters (and which I refused to go to an indoor theater even when they reopened), a year that I did not feel compelled to watch the newest releases on streaming services, there is not a single 2020 entry for 2020's MOABOS. That is, obviously, a MOABOS first - no other MOABOS edition has lacked a shortlisted song from a film released that same calendar year. And as of writing this sentence, I have not seen a single film released in 2020. Despite the lack of 1930s songs, this year's shortlisted songs might be the oldest on average. In other news, this year's field is a modest improvement from the record monolingual field of last year's (which contained only English and two Vietnamese-language entries). 2019's preliminary was the most chaotic we had ever seen, with shocking last-day stumbles and surges from certain songs ("I Dug a Ditch" from Thousands Cheer) that riled up a lot of participants. It's 2020 - will there be a repeat or even more drama at this stage?

INSTRUCTIONS Please rank (#1-12) at least six of your group's songs. Please consider to the best of your ability: how musically interesting the song is (incl. and not limited to musical phrasing and orchestration); its lyrics; context within the film (contextual blurbs provided for every entry for those who haven't seen the films); choreography/dance direction (if applicable); and the song's cultural impact/life outside the film (if applicable, and, in my opinion, least important factor). Imperfections in audio and video quality may not be used against any song. I encourage you to send in comments and reactions with your rankings - it makes the process more enjoyable for you and myself! The top five songs in each group automatically advance to the final round. I reserve the right to pick 0-2 songs from one or both groups that finished outside the top five in their respective groups to contest the final round.

The deadline for submission is Saturday, December 12 at 11 PM Pacific Time. That is 9 PM Hawaii/Aleutian Time. That deadline is also Sunday, December 13 at 1 AM Central Time / 2 AM Eastern Time / 7 AM GMT / 8 AM CET / 9 AM EET. This deadline - as we have seen in the last few years - may be pushed back if there are a large number of people who have not submitted in time. However, I very much do not wish to extend the deadline because the final round is more intensive and usually involves more participants. Tabulation details are in the “read more” below.

Please participate in the group you have been sorted into, if you have not yet been sorted into a group and would like to participate, please contact me. You can access most, not all, of your group’s songs in these YouTube playlists: (Group A) / (Group B). Again, please note that not all of your group's songs are in the playlist for various reasons.

Happy listening. Feel free to listen as many times as you need, and I hope you discover music and movies that strike your interest. The following is formatted... ("Song title", composer and lyricist, film title):

GROUP A

“Blue Shadows on the Trail”, music and lyrics by Eliot Daniel and Johnny Lange, Melody Time (1948)

Performed by Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers

This is the introductory song to the final segment of Melody Time. That segment is dedicated to the legend of Pecos Bill, and this atmospheric song leads into the telling of that story.

“Born Free”, music by John Barry, lyrics by Don Black, Born Free (1966)

Performed by Matt Munro

Winner of the Academy Award for Best Original Song

This version with lyrics appears in the end credits. The main theme in the song is introduced in the opening credits and is incorporated extensively in John Barry's score across the film. Born Free, based on the non-fiction book of the same name is about two white Kenyan conservationists who raise an orphaned lion cub and eventually release her into the wild.

“But the World Goes 'Round”, music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, New York, New York (1977)

Performed by Liza Minnelli

In this musical, USO singer Francine Evans (Minnelli) has been performing in New York City nightclubs, hoping to someday become a major recording star. This song appears as she is recording that very hit that will propel her to stardom.

“Exsultate Justi”, music and lyrics by John Williams, Empire of the Sun (1987)

Performed by orchestra and chorus under the direction of Williams

Lyrics in Latin

In this historical epic, affluent British school boy Jamie Graham (a young Christian Bale) is living with his parents in Shanghai when the Japanese invade. Jamie is separated from his parents and placed in an internment camp. Soon before the end of WWII, the prisoners are moved elsewhere, but Jamie hides and stays put. This song plays as Jamie bikes around the empty camp and continues to play as he encounters liberating U.S. troops. Jamie is dirty and malnourished when found; one can argue that this song is used ironically. It plays once more over the end credits. "Exsultate Justi" is a variation on a theme John Williams develops over the course of the film and harkens back to Jamie's past, attending Anglican services with parents.

"Farewell to Storyville",  music by Louis Alter, lyrics by Edgar De Lange, New Orleans (1947)

Performed by Louis Armstrong and his band, Billie Holiday, and company

In New Orleans, the Storyville district was a den of drinking, gambling, jazz, and prostitution. The district was the home to a heavily black populace. The U.S. military, about to establish a Naval base nearby, forces the city to close the district for good. This song is a jazzy dirge to a center of jazz - a musical genre looked down upon by many of the city's upper-class whites due to its ties (real and imagined) to crime.

"Hawaiian Sunset", music and lyrics by Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett, Blue Hawaii (1961)

Performed by Elvis Presley

In a musical packed end-to-end with songs, Chadwick "Chad" Gates (Elvis) has taken a job with a tour guide agency - and this includes performing during a luau for tourists. "Hawaiian Sunset" appears as one of the dinner show's numbers.

"Is There Still Anything That Love Can Do?", music and lyrics by Yôjirô Noda, Weathering with You (2019, Japan)

Performed by RADWIMPS

Lyrics in Japanese (translation)

Weathering with You is a romantic fantasy anime about a high school boy who runs away from his rural home to Tokyo, where he meets a girl who can manipulate the weather. It has been inexplicably raining for weeks without interruption in Tokyo, so they form a business to help clear the inclement weather for special events. The melody of this song is heard throughout the film's score. It does not appear with lyrics until late in the film. The song is played under the boy's seemingly impossible attempt to save her from an unwilling human sacrifice.

There is so much plot in this damn film (it's all Makoto Shinkai's fault) - I can't explain the context of the song or this movie in a reasonable amount of space.

“Mad Monster Party”, music by Maury Laws, lyrics by Jules Bass, Mad Monster Party? (1967)

Performed by Ethel Ennis

(opening credits version) / (soundtrack version with no sound effects)

In this Rankin/Bass stop-motion animated film, Baron Boris von Frankenstein (Boris Karloff in his final Frankenstein-related role) has discovered a formula that can destroy matter. Dispatching his bats to send the news, he summons the various members of the Worldwide Organization of Monsters to inform them of his discovery. This song is performed over the film's opening credits and the various introductions for the monsters as they receive their summons.

“My Dream Is Yours”, music by Harry Warren, lyrics by Ralph Blane, My Dream Is Yours (1949)

Initially performed by Doris Day; later reprised by Hal Derwin

Singer Martha Gibson (Day) has abruptly left New York City for Los Angeles to become a star on the radio. In a film where personal sacrifice is central, she stresses over how to bring her son out west with her, the direction of her career, and her tumultuous love life. "My Dream Is Yours" is the song that makes Martha a star, laying out the film's themes in its lyrics. I was unable to find Derwin's reprise, but no matter as the reprise is rather inconsequential.

“Ride the Wild Surf”, music and lyrics by Jan Berry, Brian Wilson, and Roger Christian, Ride the Wild Surf (1964)

Performed by Jan and Dean

Ride the Wild Surf is a surfing film that, unlike most surfing films of this time, is a drama. It follows three surfers (Fabian, Tab Hunter, Peter Brown) who have come to Oahu at the end of December to ride the large waves of Waimea Bay (made famous internationally by this song, this movie, and the Beach Boys' "Surfin' USA"). This song appears in the film's closing credits. The video provided is a montage of surfing footage that appears in the film.

“That’ll Do”, music and lyrics by Randy Newman, Babe: Pig in the City (1998)

Performed by Peter Gabriel

Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song

This song begins at the end (and through the end credits) of Babe: Pig in the City, the second and last film in this series about a sheep-herding pig who perseveres amidst other animals and humans with ulterior agendas. The title is derived from the famous quote said by Arthur Hoggett (James Cromwell) to reassure Babe: "That'll do, pig. That'll do."

“Waqt Ne Kiya Kya Hassen Sitam”, music and lyrics by S.D. Burman, Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959, India)

Performed by Geeta Dutt (dubbing Waheeda Rehman)

Lyrics in Hindi - roughly, "Time Has Inflicted Such Sweet Cruelty On Us"

Song begins at 1:03:31 and ends at 1:07:51

Make sure to turn on the video’s English captions

In this romantic tragedy told in flashback, Suresh Sinha (Guru Dutt) is a director looking back on his life. Suresh is unhappily married to a woman whose in-laws look down on him because, to them, working in films is contemptible to their social class. Suresh meets a woman, Shanti (Waheeda Rehman), on accident and she is soon cast as the lead for his next film. They fall in love, but it is never consummated for various reasons. This song is the most explicit statement of that love in this film. How much of the scene's set-up is observable by the characters is up to the viewer's interpretation.

Group A participants include: @addaellis, @introspectivemeltdown, @memetoilet, @myluckyerror, @plus-low-overthrow, @shootingstarvenator, @themusicmoviesportsguy, @theybecomestories, @umgeschrieben, @underblackwings, @yellanimal. Seven others - including myself and my sister - are currently slated to be voting in Group A.

GROUP B

“Angela”, music and lyrics by José Feliciano and Janna Merlyn Feliciano, Aaron Loves Angela (1975)

Performed by José Feliciano

(English-language version) / (Spanish single version)

Played over the opening credits to this teenage drama that is partly a blaxploitation film, partly an interracial coming-of-age romance. The movie wasn't a hit, but the Spanish-language version of this song was received well in Latin America.

“Aren’t You Kind of Glad We Did?”, music by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin, The Shocking Miss Pilgrim (1947)

Originally performed by Betty Grable and Dick Haymes

(soundtrack version with Judy Garland and Haymes) / (modern arrangement far more faithful to how song sounds in the film)

Cynthia Pilgrim (Grable) is the top typewriting student from a business college in this period piece where the typewriter is the newest invention to sweep the business world. This song appears as Pilgrim and her boss, John Pritchard (Haymes), are about to go out on a date for dinner after talking about how society looks down on women in public without a chaperone.

“The Blues are Brewin’”, music by Louis Alter, lyrics by Edgar De Lange, New Orleans (1947)

Performed by Louis Armstrong and his band and Billie Holiday

(in-film version) / (Billie Holiday single)

After being evicted by the U.S. military from the historic Storyville district of New Orleans (the Navy had just opened a base in the area, and would not tolerate places of gambling, jazz, and prostitution nearby), the characters played by Armstrong and Holiday tour the country with a jazz band in tow. This song appears within a montage showing the passage of time.

“Dekhi Zamaane Ki Yaari / Bichhde Sabhi Baari Baari”, music by S.D. Burman, lyrics by Kaifi Azmi, Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959, India)

Performed by Mohammad Rafi (dubbing Guru Dutt)

Lyrics in Hindi - roughly, "I Have Seen How Deeply Friendship Lies / I Have Seen People Abandon Me One by One"

Part 1 (3:44-8:27) / Part 2 (2:16:29-2:20:42)

Make sure to turn on the video’s English captions

In this romantic tragedy, Suresh Sinha (Dutt) is a washed-up director looking back on his life. In the first part, the song leads into the rest of the film - which is almost entirely a flashback. In brief, Suresh is unhappily married to a woman whose in-laws look down on him because, to them, working in films is contemptible to their social class. Suresh meets a woman, Shanti (Waheeda Rehman), on accident and she is soon cast as the lead for his next film. They fall in love, but it is never consummated for various reasons. Eventually, his career crashes after a box office bomb and her career is ascendant. Leading into the second part of the song, Suresh is penniless and working as an extra at the movie studio. Shanti recognizes him, wants to help, but he refuses to revive his career on the back of her success. Kaagaz Ke Phool has elements of autobiography, and Suresh's fate has parallels with what happened to Dutt after this film was released.

“End Theme from Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades”, music by Eiken Sakurai, lyrics by Kazuko Koike, Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades (1972, Japan)

Performed by Tomisaburo Wakayama

Lyrics in Japanese (translation)

Video provided is not safe for work (NSFW) due to stylized violence

Ogami Ittô (Wakayama) is a former, disgraced executioner for the Tokugawa shogunate who wanders the land with his young son. He is intent on exacting revenge on the clan that murdered his wife. This song is played non-diegetically after Ittô has slain dozens of a corrupt governor's bodyguards and walks onward, pushing his son in a babycart, away from the dead left in his wake. This is the third of six films in the Lone Wolf and Cub series.

"Happy Endings", music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, New York, New York (1977)

Performed by Liza Minnelli and company (that's Jack Haley - who played the Tin Man and was, at the time, Minnelli's father-in-law - roughly seven minutes in)

(use in film) / (soundtrack version)

It is highly recommended one sees how this song is used in the film. Bear with me: this song is part of a movie within a movie. Within that movie within a movie, there is another movie. "Happy Endings" is the title end song to a film called Happy Endings within New York, New York. Singer Francine Evans (Liza Minnelli) has made it big as a recording artist and caps off her hit film, Happy Endings, with this song. We see Francine's ex, played by Robert De Niro, in the audience as the film ends. "Happy Endings" is a homage/deconstruction to midcentury Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) musicals. It serves the film as "The Broadway Melody" does to Singin' in the Rain (1952) or the 17-minute ballet does to conclude An American in Paris (1951).

"Here They Come (From All Over the World)", music and lyrics by P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri, The T.A.M.I. Show (1964)

Performed by Jan and Dean

The link above provides the entire film. You only need to watch from 0:00-4:11. If you like music from this era or want to hear more, this film is highly, highly recommended.

This is the opening credits song to a concert film recorded over two days in Santa Monica, California on October 28 and 29, 1964. The Teenage Awards Music International (T.A.M.I. - yes, I know it's an awkward name) Show included many of the most popular musical stars of that time - almost all of them name-dropped in this song. Jan and Dean, a surf music duo, served as hosts (and performed during) the show. You folks are lucky that this is the only original song from this film!

“Moonlight Swim”, music by Ben Weisman, lyrics by Sylvia Dee, Blue Hawaii (1961)

Performed by Elvis Presley

In a musical packed end-to-end with songs, Chadwick "Chad" Gates (Elvis) has taken a job with a tour guide agency. On his first day, he drives his first clients - a school teacher (who not so secretly is attracted to Chad) and four teenagers (one of whom becomes smitten) - to their destination.

“On the Boardwalk (in Atlantic City)”, music by Josef Myrow, lyrics by Mack Gordon, Three Little Girls in Blue (1946)

Performed by Carol Stewart (dubbing for Vera-Ellen), June Haver, and Vivian Blaine

(original soundtrack) / (Dick Haymes single)

In this rarely-seen musical (20th Century Fox wasn't very good at promoting its back catalogue compared to some other studios, and the situation is worse now that they are owned by Disney), three chicken farmer sisters (Vera-Ellen, Haver, and Blaine) decide to travel to Atlantic City in hopes of marrying a rich husband after learning their aunt's inheritance is not nearly as much as they want. They sing this song as they arrive and check into their hotel suite - which they apparently have not looked up the rate for.

Those who listened to the soundtrack version... FYI, $9.25 in 1902 is $280 in 2020.

“Personality”, music by Jimmy Van Heusen, lyrics by Johnny Burke, Road to Utopia (1946)

Performed by Dorothy Lamour

(in-film performance) / (live radio performance)

In the fourth film of the Road to... comedy series, Bob Hope and Bing Crosby's characters have just overpowered two Alaskan thugs with a history of murderous violence. As they enter a saloon dressed up as those two thugs, all of the patrons - in a town that only knows the thugs by reputation - shut up in terror. They are treated to a performance by Sal (Lamour), who is trying to find a map of a gold mine that the real outlaws supposedly have. A visual narrator (Robert Benchley) interrupts the scene before the song briefly.

“Please Don’t Stop Loving Me”, music and lyrics by Joy Byers, Frankie and Johnny (1966)

Performed by Elvis Presley

(in-film performance) / (single version)

Johnny (Elvis) and girlfriend Frankie (Donna Douglas) work on a Mississippi River riverboat as performers. Johnny is addicted to gambling and believes that another woman is spurring on his recent run of good luck. During a fit of jealousy-as-acting, Frankie accidentally shoots Johnny during a bit of musical theater (someone switched out the blanks for real bullets). This song occurs after Johnny has recovered from the accident.

"Wichita", music by Hans Salter, lyrics by Ned Washington, Wichita (1955)

Performed by Tex Ritter

This is the opening title song to this Western. It is one of many Wyatt Earp movies set before the famous Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Earp (Joel McCrea) arrives in an otherwise lawless town of Wichita, Kansas where gunplay is rampant. In a radical move, Earp orders to seize the firearms of anyone living in or entering town - which doesn't sit well with some outlaws. This song is incorporated throughout the film's score.

Group B participants include: @cokwong, @emilylime5, @halfwaythruthedark, @maximiliani, @thewolfofelectricavenue, and @voicetalentbrendan. Twelve others - including me and my sister - are slated to be voting in Group B.

Contact me however you wish if you have questions or comments regarding MOABOS' processes or something specific about a song or a few. Please let me know as soon as possible if you are having difficulty accessing one of the songs (especially if it is region-locked) or if there is an error in the playlist.

I thank you all for your support for the Movie Odyssey, the blog, and for me personally - no matter how long I’ve known you or in what capacity. You will be contacted for the final round regardless of your participation here. If turnout in one group is lagging behind compared to another, I will ask some of the more senior participants to participate in the other group, too. No pressure if you cannot get to this, although I will be checking in as the deadlines get close. Stay safe and socially distanced, everyone.

TABULATION This preliminary round uses a points-based, ranked choice method which has been used since the first time I asked friends, tumblr followers, and family to help out. A respondent’s first choice receives 10 points, the second choice receives 9, the third choice receives 8, etc. The winner is the song that ends up with the most total points. The tabulation method used in this preliminary is used only as a tiebreaker in the final round (more on how the final is tabulated when we get there).

This tiebreaker will look slightly different this year.  

Tiebreakers for above: 1) total points earned; 2) total #1 votes; 3) average placement on my and my sister's ballots; 4) tie declared

[sirfrogsworth]

Subs or Dubs? How about both?

Parasite has caused some internet debate with regards to subtitles and ableism. 

I personally believe subs AND dubs are an important topic to discuss in the disabled community. 

If you think subs are annoying and complain about them, that is ableist. 

If you look down on people who prefer dubs and joke “learn to read, dumbass”... that is ableist.

There should be no competition about which is more important. Both are needed by many people. Disabled people are quite varied and can consume content very differently depending on the circumstances involved. The more options they have, the better. 

Personally, I have a very hard time with subtitles. My intense brain fog makes it very challenging to concentrate on reading the movie and taking in the visuals at the same time. I can do 5-10 minute stretches if I am feeling decent. But beyond that, it gets very hard to focus. 

On that note... let’s improve subs and dubs across the board. Let’s spend real money on them. 

I want everything to have well-translated subtitles available in as many languages as possible. The jokes should be rewritten with care for delivery and timing. Phrasing and expressions should be translated to make sense to the intended audience. Nothing that fundamentally changes the spirit of what they are saying or the original author’s intent. I just don’t want the Google Translate version. English speakers are pretty lucky in this regard, but translations into other languages can often be quite dubious. 

Translations need a human touch. It’s quite easy for even a single word to change the nature of a sentence.

I’ve turned my sentence into a murder mystery. 

I also want technology to help make subs more accessible. There are some places that have special glasses you can wear that display subs as you watch a movie. Let’s get this tech into the hands of everyone that needs it. And let’s make sure it is well done and easy to use. 

An app, some Bluetooth, and glasses are all it would take.  You pull up the movie on your subtitle app.  Hit play when the movie starts.  Boom. Subs everywhere you go. 

Whether you’re on the couch with friends or in the theater, the Subtacles have you covered. 

Okay, that kinda sounds like a separate, lower down pair of testicles and not subtitle spectacles. 

Ya know what, we can figure out the name later. 

It would also be nice if dubs were given more resources. I remember watching a dubbed Korean film and there was a little girl in the movie. Clearly they cast an adult woman to do her voice. She just made her voice a little higher and gave it an annoying, childish affectation. It was so offputting I had to stop the movie completely. 

So let’s take the Cowboy Bebop approach and put real effort into the dubs. Cast dubbing actors like they do a regular movie. Seek out real actors who will treat it just as seriously as if they were in the movie. Give them multiple takes and proper professional direction. Record all the actors together so they can feed off each other’s energy. Also, record the voices in similar environments with similar gear as the scenes in the movie so it doesn’t sound like a goddamn podcast. (I also had this idea to maybe CGI the lips to match the new language, but after the Superman mustache debacle, I'm not sure we’re there yet.) 

I know some people will say all of this might alter the purity of the original work. But I’m wondering if it was a collaborative process maybe we could solve that as well. Give the dub team access to the original director and actors so they can ask questions and maybe get approval. Give the sub team access to the original author(s). Have them sign off on any changes. 

Not only will this make foreign films more accessible, but it might even help Americans start seeking out new perspectives from other places. And, of course, the disabled folks who need those dubs will be able to enjoy the movie in a much more immersive way.

I think this approach would have a profound effect beyond helping people who need subs and dubs. Imagine being able to make a movie in any country and have the potential to be successful all over the world. I’m not saying better subs and dubs will accomplish that on their own. But I do think that is a good place to start. Maybe if people in the US saw great movies from Mexico or Syria or Somalia we wouldn’t be building a giant wall and restricting flights from other countries. 

[technicolor--dreams]

Letter from Gene Kelly to his daughter Kerry

If you speak french, you can hear the whole letter being read here. Also, special thanks to @mostlydaydreaming for helping out during this journey trying to find the whole letter and translating it, and for letting me upload it in its entirety even though she originally posted the first half on her page.

P.S. grab a tissue, it’s very moving!

March 1943

Dear Kerry,

I can't wait until you're old enough for me to talk to you Kerry, and for you to talk to me. I have a lot to tell you and I want to make sure you understand me.

But maybe I shouldn't say that I want you to grow up. You’re so pretty now, I’m already worried. Imagine how worried I will be when you are seventeen ...

Kerry, when you grow up, I hope you will be an actress. If you’re not an actress, I hope you’ll be a singer or a dancer… Because I think it’s the most awesome profession in the world, with the most awesome people.

I especially hope that when you grow up Kerry, you will be able to work at what you like and raise your children in a less painful time than the one we know.

And if, as you grow up, you become an actress, I know you will work hard and try to do well. Because, believe me, it is only by trying to do things very well that, even if you fail, you will realize yourself and enjoy your work.

I always keep trying to be an actor, Kerry - and here are the things I learned along the way: you are useless when you are not honest. Honest in everything we do: studies, shows, attitude.

If you keep this honesty and sincerity in your work, and you have a certain natural talent, you will inevitably learn something and become brilliant.

... But it is I who must instill in you this notion of sincerity. Even if for that, I have to write it at the bottom of your cereal bowl.

Let’s skip all of your younger years, Kerry - I know it’s going to be a lot of fun for you, your mom and me. Because after the war, we are going to travel to small places where we went before your mother and I, and that we would like to see again. Strange little places that almost nobody knows or visits.

Maybe then we can spend a weekend in China or elsewhere, by plane, and you can see all the places your old father always wanted to see, but he never actually managed to visit.

And Kerry, please, for the love of Heaven, have a sense of humor. This is one of the blessings and virtues that you will never learn in catechism. But it’s a gift from God as wonderful as faith, hope and kindness ...

Always be ready to smile at anything and make people smile with you.

And it doesn't matter if it's old-fashioned: don't forget to work hard. Because it doesn't matter if you become beautiful and brilliant, you will never achieve anything without it.

Be nice to people, Kerry. Try not to hurt them. But don't get me wrong: I don't want you NOT to be a fighter, and not to fight for your rights. But be nice. The nicest thing in the world is to walk down the street and have people say "Hi, nice to see you! ", Really thinking it.

Let me tell you why I wanted to be an actor: I know that when you’re an actor, a good actor, you have to be an artist and look at the world that way. And when you’re an artist, a good artist, you do a lot of good.

Your old father knows all about it because he would like to do this job for this reason. Hopefully one day he can really say that he is an artist.

Don't be scared off by people who tell you that acting is tough, Kerry. Or that of singer, dancer, or any other theatrical profession. Because it is.

But all these hard knocks and struggles - believe me, you will often face them if you evolve in the world of the theater or in another similar medium - are good for you. And if you keep that sense of humor that I told you about, you’ll have a lot of fun too. Even when times are sad.

Also, being in the entertainment industry is always a thrill. Each new film, each new play, each new musical, each new ballet is a new adventure and marks the beginning of a whole new world. And that Kerry is something. Because it fuels interest in humanity. You have to stay interested ... I hate bragging about the woman I married - who, by accident, happens to be one of your loved ones, Kerry, by blood - but one of the things I love most about the show business is that it allowed me to meet your mother, my wife.

When you are a little older you will read the story of “Cinderella” and other fairy tales to whom wonderful things happened. But let me tell you a real, realistic fairy tale that will never cease to be a source of amazement for me.

I was putting on a show for Billy Rose in New York when a young red-haired girl with stars in her eyes came to me for a job as a dancer in the choir. She was an excellent dancer. She got the job. A few weeks later, I started going to lunch with her, then inviting her to dinner, and then taking her home the evening after the show. One evening after the show, we ran into a friend of mine named William Saroyan who, after a five-minute conversation, gave him the lead role in one of his new plays, "The Beautiful People".

She had never played a role on stage before. But he was so impressed with her sincerity, honesty and obvious beauty that he knew, from the first time he saw her, that she could play this excellent dramatic role in her important production, a great play New Yorker. It looks like one of those scenarios that nobody believes in in the movies - but it happened to that girl. Yes, that girl was your mother, Kerry, as you guessed I guess. The play was a success, and so was its performance. Then another of those miracles that theater makes possible happened.

I remember now what my mother and father told me about their childhood, the mistakes they made and the things they would like to have a chance to do again - all of this “went in one ear and out the other”...

And here I am a father now, trying to tell my child about these things that my parents have no doubt told me before. I hope that you will be smarter than your father and that you will remember some of them.

When I was going to school in Pittsburgh when I was a little boy, I was always afraid of doing anything "different". I always had to do what all the other boys did. Even though sometimes I didn't want a boy to pick on someone else and everyone to join him, it seemed normal to do, since it was what the whole world did, and that’s having enough courage, Kerry - to refuse to do something just because everybody does it.

I remember when my mother sent me to take dance lessons. I was, you could say, in a gang, and they all thought that dancing was for sissies and that real guys didn't do this kind of thing. I was often beaten while going to dance classes, and then when I got home, white as a sheet and the recipient of black eyes in many fights with the children who used to bother me. Now I love to dance. But because everyone thought it was a sissy thing I fought terribly with my parents until they finally let me quit. Bless them for their patience dealing with me!

Of course, Kerry, being a little girl, you're not exactly gonna get the same problems I've had when I was a little boy, but you may have similar ones and when you will have to face them, you’ll need the courage to make your own decisions, even if that means you have to be different, because, you see, those are the things that can make you successful. I'm in the theater - today I'm a dancer, so…

Kerry, if there's one thing that you really care about, do not be afraid to do it, no matter the number of people who make fun of you. Tell yourself that if you care so much about something, it has to be done. It's the same for the Curie school.Try to find out what you wish the most to do. Personally I hope you will go to university, but if you decide on the contrary it's okay, because what you'll get out of your studies will be proportional to your interest. I wasted many years when I was in college, but it wasn't anybody’s fault but mine, plus, the more effort, the more you learn. Nobody learns when you throw things in their face.

Even if some knowledge remains, I'm already thinking about the book that I'm going to buy you when you're old enough to read it.I really want for you to find out these great, adventurous, worlds of excitement and knowledge that others have lived and that you too can live, even as a child, thanks to these books. I just hope you enjoy reading enough, so you don't spend all your free time listening to all those radio shows we throw at children in these days.

I hope you'll use your imagination and that you won’t have any superficial ideas, but please, Kerry, don't grow up too quick because I'm crazy about you, I want to keep you close to me as much as possible.

But when you grow up, marry and have children who will look like you, I won't realize it right away, but it's the most amazing thing in the whole world.

With all my love, daddy.

[selectedhq]

oh  ,  wonderful  !  welcome  welcome  ,  let’s  get  this  show  on  the  road  ,  shall  we  ?  not  like  we  have  the  rest  of  our  afterlife  to  dwell  upon  ,  am  i  right  ?

well  ,  i  would  like  to  officially  welcome  you  to  the  good  place  .  i’m  sure  you  are  all  wondering  why  you  are  here  ,  but  we  will  get  more  into  that  later  as  we  experience  the  afterlife  as  a  whole  .  take  a  look  around  ,  these  are  your  neighbours  ,  friends  ,  significant  others  &  your  community  members  .  during  your  time  on  earth  ,  all  of  us  here  at  the  good  place  ,  had  taken  it  upon  ourselves  to  watch  you  carefully  &  take  careful  consideration  in  picking  you  ,  specifically  .  we  have  our  own  point  system  ,  which  you  will  see  on  the  screen  behind  us  ,  where  you  would  gain  simple  points  such  as  holding  a  door  for  someone  or  handing  some  money  to  someone  that  was  less  fortunate  as  you  .  we  did  track  some  of  the  negative  things  that  you  have  done  in  your  life  ,  but  they  ----  usually  balanced  out  the  good  .  the  overall  existence  of  this  place  was  built  with  you  and  for  you  ,  you  were  chosen  for  a  purpose  &  we  hope  that  purpose  will  become  clear  to  you  during  your  stay  here  .  now  ,  we  shall  begin  with  the  briefings  .

LOCATIONS

i’m  sure  that  you  have  noticed  that  this  place  is  quite  large  !  we  have  many  establishments  throughout  this  town  &  they  were  all  made  to  fit  the  likings  of  our  fellow  community  members  .

𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐓  𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄

where  you  will  find  a  lot  of  marine  life  and  water  .  i’m  sure  that  many  of  you  who  have  enjoyed  water  during  your  time  on  earth  have  found  yourselves  situated  in  a  home  directed  that  way  .  you  will  find  canoes  and  row  boats  that  will  allow  you  to  enjoy  some  peace  on  the  lake  ,  as  well  as  a  beautiful  waterfall  just  around  the  bend  .  while  here  ,  we  encourage  you  to  take  a  look  around  the  ponds  ,  we  have  some  amazing  fish  that  would  love  to  have  some  of  the  food  that  is  sold  in  the  downtown  area  .  we  also  encourage  you  to  take  a  nice  hike  up  the  waterfall  ,  with  a  cliff  right  off  to  the  right  .  once  you  hit  the  destination  ,  maybe  have  a  wonderful  picnic  with  a  loved  one  or  try  some  cliff  diving  if  you  were  much  too  frightened  before  on  earth  .

𝐖𝐄𝐒𝐓  𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄  

the  wooden  area  that  many  people  enjoy  when  they  need  some  peace  and  quiet  .  there  are  a  few  households  within  this  neighbourhood  ,  usually  selected  for  people  who  enjoyed  the  seclusion  and  warmth  of  being  connected  to  nature  .  our  local  greenhouses  are  kept  up  there  ,  you  can  find  some  wonderful  plants  that  you  could  take  home  or  take  a  few  selfies  with  the  help  of  kimmy  to  hang  up  in  your  home  .  we  also  have  the  community  garden  out  that  way  ,  where  you  can  grow  your  own  vegetables  or  even  help  gather  some  ingredients  for  the  restaurants  as  some  extra  credit  options  towards  gaining  more  points  (  yes  ,  you  can  still  gain  them  here  !  )  .  we  have  a  few  trails  within  this  area  as  well  ,  where  you  can  feel  one  on  one  with  nature  once  again  ,  where  the  sun  will  beat  on  your  face  ;  you  can  practically  hear  the  bugs  buzzing  around  you  !

𝐍𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐇  𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄

where  many  of  you  may  usually  find  yourselves  ,  it  allows  itself  to  be  integrated  with  the  downtown  area  just  behind  you  .  you’ll  be  able  to  see  the  large  households  that  are  within  that  area  ,  where  many  of  our  community  members  are  staying  ,  either  by  their  lonesome  or  with  someone  they  believe  to  be  close  to  them  .  in  the  north  side  ,  you’ll  find  a  lot  of  educational  things  ,  including  our  school  for  the  afterlife  .  the  school  is  still  working  out  some  last  minute  kinks  alongside  our  trusty  kimmy  ,  but  will  be  up  &  running  within  the  next  week  ,  so  make  sure  that  you  take  some  time  to  visit  the  campus  &  take  a  good  look  at  the  classes  that  will  be  offered  .  we  would  love  to  keep  you  educated  on  things  around  the  good  place  during  your  stay  here  .  while  school  can  be  quite  boring  ,  i’m  sure  we  can  rope  you  all  into  attending  with  the  small  bribery  of  flying  !  you  have  all  witnessed  it  briefly  during  our  halloween  event  ,  but  we  will  be  having  mandatory  flying  lessons  for  everyone  who  joins  the  school  in  the  beautiful  courtyard  out  back  .  you  like  gymnastics  ?  well  we  can  find  you  some  balance  beams  .  football  ?  well  what  is  the  afterlife  without  some  tackling  ?  cheerleading  ?  well  you’re  in  for  a  treat  because  i  sure  would  love  to  hear  some  fun  rhymes  !  you  name  it  ,  we  got  it  .

𝐒𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐇  𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄

is  currently  under  construction  ,  so  we  do  ask  that  you  avoid  that  area  at  this  moment  .  the  weather  is  not  corresponding  correctly  to  the  systems  we  have  put  into  place  &  we  definitely  do  not  want  a  mix  up  with  any  of  you  .  so  please  ,  we  ask  that  you  do  not  move  past  the  colourful  rainbow  tape  that  is  surrounding  the  south  side  until  the  construction  of  that  area  is  done  .  we  are  working  very  diligently  to  get  it  up  &  running  as  i  am  sure  many  of  you  are  hoping  to  find  yourself  located  in  that  wing  !

𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐍𝐓𝐎𝐖𝐍  

the  place  that  you  will  always  find  yourself  wanting  to  come  !  we  have  a  little  bit  of  this  &  a  little  bit  of  that  for  everyones  liking  .  there  are  local  restaurants  around  town  that  will  serve  you  anything  that  you  could  dream  of  !  many  of  which  could  be  your  favourite  meals  ,  favourite  drinks  ----  oh  &  did  we  mention  the  endless  options  for  desserts  ?  if  you  look  around  ,  we  also  have  endless  froyo  stations  ;  many  of  which  will  have  flavours  that  create  a  very  similar  feeling  to  joy  &  happiness  .  ever  wonderful  what  it  would  taste  like  after  getting  straight  a’s  on  your  exams  ?  what  about  the  feeling  of  warmth  after  being  outside  in  the  cold  all  day  ?  well  i’m  sure  we  can  mix  up  something  for  you  !  we  also  have  entertainment  sectors  such  as  bars  ,  clubs  ,  even  a  movie  theater  to  play  your  favourite  movies  from  when  you  were  on  earth  !  bookstores  ,  florists  ,  clothing  stores  ,  you  name  it  !  it  may  look  a  bit  confusing  on  the  outside  ,  with  you  questioning  our  tastes  but  we  have  never  questioned  you  &  i  cross  my  heart  that  the  moment  you  walk  into  any  of  our  stores  ,  you  will  always  find  something  tailored  to  your  specific  tastes  !

i  am  sure  that  you  all  have  many  questions  ,  we  are  here  to  always  help  you  !  we  shall  go  over  the  wonderful  rules  that  we  have  in  the  good  place  &  what  is  deemed  appropriate  .

RULES

there  will  be  a  zero  tolerance  violence  policy  .  although  we  do  not  have  the  jurisdiction  within  the  good  place  to  arrest  ,  but  you  will  be  losing  points  with  violence  .  

you  are  free  to  ask  kimmy  any  questions  that  you  deem  necessary  ,  but  they  must  be  appropriate  .  kimmy  will  refuse  to  answer  anything  that  is  not  needed  .

as  stated  earlier  ,  we  will  not  allow  anyone  in  the  south  side  of  the  good  place  at  the  moment  .  if  found  there  ,  you  will  be  brought  into  my  (  michael’s  )  office  &  punishments  will  be  discussed  between  the  architects  .  

WHAT  IS  THERE  TO  DO  ?

well  good  question  !  you  are  able  to  sign  up  for  the  local  school  classes  that  kimmy  will  listen  later  in  the  weekend  ,  we  do  hope  that  we  get  some  good  responses  !  we’ve  worked  hard  to  coordinate  the  classes  !  we  also  allow  you  to  work  in  the  local  agencies  ,  but  please  be  aware  that  money  is  not  a  thing  in  the  good  place  !  you  do  receive  points  towards  your  community  involvement  &  that  will  boost  you  up  on  the  scale  in  the  architects  system  .  we  welcome  you  to  join  the  local  clean  up  group  that  dedicates  themselves  to  cleaning  up  any  possible  garbage  that  is  fluttering  on  the  streets  ,  or  maybe  you  are  interested  in  the  party  planning  committee  ,  which  is  usually  run  by  tahani  but  we  would  love  to  have  more  people  join  &  put  in  their  ideas  !

LITTLE  THINGS  TO  NOTE  

be  aware  that  the  good  place  is  tactical  to  your  needs  &  wants  .  if  you  don’t  enjoy  someone  using  a  curse  word  ,  then  your  mind  will  blank  it  out  &  possibly  replace  it  with  a  new  word  .  if  you  are  fluent  in  another  language  ,  we  have  all  implanted  a  translator  in  your  mind  .  although  someone  might  be  speaking  english  to  you  ,  they  could  actually  be  speaking  french  or  spanish  but  you  are  able  to  translate  it  instantly  .  

housing  units  are  there  for  your  liking  ,  if  you  would  like  to  move  in  with  someone  ,  we  will  allow  that  but  please  run  it  by  kimmy  or  myself  (  michael  )  to  let  us  know  that  you  will  be  moving  so  we  can  use  your  old  home  for  something  enjoyable  for  other  community  members  or  reinvent  it  into  a  new  home  for  someone  that  will  be  joining  us  .

lastly  ,  we  do  not  want  to  overwhelm  you  today  ,  so  if  you  ever  have  any  questions  please  let  kimmy  know  !  kimmy  is  programmed  to  know  every  answer  in  the  universe  &  she  will  be  at  your  beck  &  call  .  all  you  have  to  do  is  call  her  &  she  will  appear  to  answer  anything  that  you  need  .  the  architects  are  quite  busy  making  sure  that  this  place  is  designed  properly  ,  which  allows  kimmy  to  answer  questions  for  us  .  anyways  ,  without  further  ado  ,  please  !  explore  all  the  fun  things  that  are  surrounding  you  ,  we  can’t  wait  to  begin  planning  more  things  !

SOME  OOC  DETAILS

this  plotdrop  isn’t  as  dramatic  as  the  future  ones  will  be  ,  but  we  tried  to  answer  most  of  the  questions  that  have  been  floating  around  !

this  plotdrop  is  to  show  you  the  amount  of  things  that  your  character  can  do  around  town  &  the  jobs  that  they  could  do  if  they  want  to  boost  their  points  (  like  characters  that  don’t  believe  that  they  belong  here  -  they  might  want  to  boost  their  rating  by  helping  around  the  community  )

as  said  !  if  any  characters  or  muns  have  questions  --  ask  kimmy  !  make  sure  that  you  follow  the  blog  for  kimmy  ,  where  you  can  send  messages  to  ask  her  about  things  around  the  good  place  or  questions  about  anything  you  need  to  be  answered  !  she  will  definitely  answer  to  the  best  of  her  ability  ,  it  will  allow  the  architects  to  start  fixing  up  that  nasty  south  side  . 

if  asking  kimmy  a  question  ,  make  sure  that  you  start  the  question  with  ‘hey  kimmy  !’  so  that  she  knows  to  appear  to  answer  the  question  you  type  in  the  askbox.

you  are  welcome  to  continue  your  event  threads  ,  we  just  ask  that  you  don’t  make  any  new  starters  at  the  moment  for  it  .

we  will  also  be  introducing  meme  days  this  weekend  ,  so  definitely  keep  an  eye  out  for  that  one  !

if  you  have  any  questions  that  kimmy  can’t  answer  (  something  ooc  that  could  be  bothering  you  )  then  don’t  hesitate  to  message  the  main  admins  ,  we  will  make  sure  to  help  you  out  !

[itscookieoverlordtoyou]

40 Questions — Meme for Fic Writers

Don’t you sometimes see those ask games and wish you could just fkg do them all? On this sunny Saturday, we make our dreams reality lolol

1.  Describe your comfort zone—a typical you-fic.

Short fic, I usually get a small scene I want written so I write around it, plus I love short stories with interesting punchline.

2.  Is there a trope you’ve yet to try your hand at, but really want to?

Probably, I don’t know them all ^^’

3.  Is there a trope you wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole?

Writing about stuff that disgust me I guess.

4.  How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Care to share one of them?

Like 5-6? I want to write about a restaurant but set in a world where people have powers I think the combo could be very funny. The main character has the power of insight, the plonge is a giant pool where you swim around cleaning. Backstories of characters with shitty and amazing powers and how they ended up here. Rival to lover character that has the power to see into the future.

5. Share one of your strengths.

Dialogues, subversion, and humor; classmates often said I have a touch to spin a sad story into something positive/happier.

6.  Share one of your weaknesses?

I get tired when I describe something for longer than 4 sentences.

7.  Share a snippet from one of your favorite pieces of prose you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

“In what kind of trouble have we walked right into?”, I ask my companions as they’re idly fixing their attire. Together, we’ve face many perils and this mission ranks among one of the most dangerous. Yet, the others had been…how should I say it…professional! Rescuing kidnapped princesses, vanquishing terrifying monsters, quests to restore mythical artifacts, save nations from insidious plots. Oddly enough, “Does this dress make me look fat?”, is not the answer I’m looking for.

Ribbon in my hair is the first time I wrote about my knights, I first dreamt about them when I as 18, my boyfriend at the time called my idea stupid and my world building pointless so I only started writing about them when I was 21. Now I write about them a little bit every year :)

8. Share a snippet from one of your favorite dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

“Do you really want your last words to be complaints?”

“I die as I lived.”

“Will we become a fruit tree?”

“I don’t think so, it’s never been the case for my ancestors.”

“I’d love it if we could turn into a banana tree.”

“I’m not from the southern regions, plus I like apples more.”

“Just imagine, our fruits could have been banana flambée”

This death scene was a big finale to a story I wrote for a class in Uni, a story of war between clan of forest and volcano people, of the supposedly brutal death of a Goddess, of a mysterious apple tree whose fruit give vision of the past. I should revisit it.

9.  Which fic as been the hardest to write?

My analysis on D’Artagnan and the figure of the hero. Granted it’s an essay for school but I deeply loved it. I was too afraid to write or ask for help from the professor in charge of me (which made our relationship tense ^^’) but when I did, it was beautiful and I was very proud got 89% :D

10.  Which fic has been the easiest to write?

A play called Adelaide where an old couple reads their old fairytale book about a Prince on a quest to save a Princess. They bicker about the other misreading the story but we finally get to the part where the Prince tosses the princess apart to get a better view of the dragon of which he falls instantly in love. The book is actually their wedding album.

11.  Is writing your passion or just a fun hobby?

It’s one of my passions, but it’s not something I think I could live on so I delegated it to my hobby.

12.  Is there an episode above all others that inspires you just a little bit more?

The wedding scene in Shrek 2, my mind was blown when I saw it in theaters and when I need inspiration to write, I rewatch it.

13.  What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever come across?

Presentation is important. If trying to read you gives people headaches, they’ll stop. Choose a nice big font, space with paragraphs, be mindful of your spelling and missing words. Read out loud because some things written are bad said.

14.  What’s the worst writing advice you’ve ever come across?

I must’ve been lucky in this regard, I don’t think I’ve ever received advice that made me go NO, but I did have to listen/read stuff that made me gag.

15.  If you could choose one of your fics to be filmed, which would you choose?

I would love to the Adelaide acted out, some adjustments would be required because I’m no expert in play writing but I think I’d be great.

16.  If you only could write one pairing for the rest of your life, which pairing would it be?

Luyenor’a and Taram, names are placeholders as of now but they’re two of my knight, being the “only pairing I’m allow to write about forever” means I’d get more knight shenanigans done.

17.  Do you write your story from start to finish, or do you write the scenes out of order?

I’m doing bullets point of what I want to happen and write stuff without much order. Some days I have no inspirations for what goes in the beginning but have loads for a later point. I surf the wave when it presents itself.

18.  Do you use any tools, like worksheets or outlines?

Word on my computer, a notebook in my bag, the note app in my phone.

19. Stephen King once said that his muse is a man who lives in the basement. Do you have a muse?

I have little trinkets all around my computer to invite inspiration.

20. Describe your perfect writing conditions.

Freshly woken up, having eaten, drinking something sugary and sometimes apple cider because the alcohol help lower my inhibition.

21.  How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?

I read out loud at least once the whole thing, helps with missing words but dude I reread my stuff on ao3 and always find mistakes still ^^’

22. Choose a passage from one of your earlier fics and edit it into your current writing style. (Person sending the ask is free to make suggestions).

I’m not going to put here because it’s in French and I don’t want to translate now but I wrote Vision of a world, mine when I was 16 and damn was I already depressed then?

23.  If you were to revise one of your older fics from start to finish, which would it be and why?

The Princess and the Soldier, some gay fairytale I think my first one, I’m sure I can do better bow

I also have one about a janitor and it’s a murder mystery I could redo

24. Have you ever deleted one of your published fics?

Once by accident, I was so angry I never rewrote it.

25.  What do you look for in a beta?

I don’t really use beta (beta reader right?) but I guess I’ve had like 3-4 when I was in Uni and had to read people’s wip and they read mine. They’d talk about what they liked, links they noticed, things that seemed weak or to change

26.  Do you beta yourself? If so, what kind of beta are you?

I usually just point out the stuff I like

27.  How do you feel about collaborations?

For a class in college, we had to act out a play we wrote collectively. Ten sketches written in pairs/alone. I made sure I was alone so I wouldn’t be saddled with someone else to write my sketch

28. Share three of your favorite fic writers and why you like them so much.

I don’t follow fic writers; I just am in a mood for a ship and read what’s available. I do like my friend @alumort ‘s fics tho ^^

29.  If you could write the sequel (or prequel) to any fic out there not written by yourself, which would you choose?

There was a Phineas and Ferb fic focused on Perry I really loved. Their world building was something I’d never seen and they abandoned the story, so I did fanfic of a fic. Never dared to post it anywhere I mean it was their world to begin with.

30.  Do you accept prompts?

Of course, when inspiration is given I accept

31.  Do you take liberties with canon or are you very strict about your fic being canon compliant?

I don’t care about canon but I do love using it when there are little trivia to enrich the character.

32.  How do you feel about smut?

Love to read it sometimes, would love to write it. Some I’m like………….youveneverhadsexhaveyou…………………

33.  How do you feel about crack?

Love it!!!!!!!! I’m too self-conscious to write it tho. Oh maybe that could be a never before written trope I could try?

34.  What are your thoughts on non-con and dub-con?

Rape I can’t, dub-con where underlying requited feelings exist but anxiety™ don’t let the characters express them but they’re drunk so it surfaces is okay

35.  Would you ever kill off a canon character?

Hell yeah! I do when/if the death makes sense (I am still pissed at Kishi for Neji)

36.  Which is your favorite site to post fic?

Ao3 is where I post,I used devianart when I had one

37.  Talk about your current wips.

Marry Me for the Love of Cake: God I’m so sorry to the few people who followed it, I said I’d pick it up before the end of 2019 and well……I have the ending in bullet points

Yours, with Love: I hope I’ll finish it…I have most of the ending in bullet points

I guess I’m into rom com at the moment lolol

38.  Talk about a review that made your day.

I made my best friend read All this for a Roll Cake, and she laughed so much at my work, I took a picture I look at from time to time to remain humble.

39.  Do you ever get rude reviews and how do you deal with them?

Thankfully I’ve never received a rude review. My professor once told me it seemed kinda unnatural how unlucky my protagonist was vs. how lucky his love interest was (All this for a Roll Cake) but that was the whole point of the story so I just ignored her.

40.  Write an alternative ending to [insert fic title] (or just the summary of one).

Writing this I realised I lost my final version of All this for a Roll Cake T^T so I guess I’d rewrite the ending I have of the before the last version I still have.

Well this was fun ^^ got to revisit my works and remember many beloved pieces of fiction I wrote, I look forward to my next projects

[likeaflowingriver1019]

Afterthoughts about 🍌 🐟

So I finished watching banana fish and I will save this spot to write some personal reviews and opinions.

「時の中に閉じたバラは枯れずに咲き続ける　愛��ひとひらは 胸の奥にしまっておこう　永遠の時に閉じて」

I first heard about this work on Tumblr when someone was talking about the so-called “holy gay trinity”, which includes YOI, BF and Jeweler Richard, so I kind of like “well it sounds like nothing to do during this summer break on the way to graduate program plus quarantine why not start some new stuff to get into”. Long story short I first know about YOI in 2016 but I stopped watching it in the middle of airing I didn’t know why. I picked it up and finished watching it. It was a great show and it is literally making history throughout the time. Then I started watching Jeweler Richard and that was very good too. Put in one word or icon to summarize those I would use the the art style of female directors at Takarazuka, for YOI I will take it as 小柳奈穂子-ish and for Jeweler Richard I will say it is very 植田景子-ish. I would probably talk about them in the new posts. Those are just very personal view and if you don’t know about Takarazuka and those female theater directors you will have no idea what I am talking about.

And after I finishing these two I started watching BF, which is my favorite among the three and I will give it totally 上田久美子-ish.

There is an important thing I want to say that episode 24 of BF was in air somehow around Dec. 21st and that is also the day of F. Scott Fitzgerald ‘s death. People won’t take this seriously but it really means something for me that 月組 also revived the show The Last Party - S. Fitzgerald's Last Day. It was played by 月城かなと as Fitzgerald, 海乃美月 as Zelda and 暁千星 as Hemingway. They mentioned 楽園のこちら側 (This Side of Paradise), 美しく呪われし者 (The Beautiful and Damned) and 夜はやさし (Tender in the Night) in the play, but regrettably no ワルツは私と (Save Me the Waltz). I will talk more about this work later.

You know there are many literature references regarding the works by Hemingway and Fitzgerald in the plot and the ending cards of each episode, and the day of the double-shoot is just a ... mental suffering.

It also reminds me of Sisi, the Empress of Austria, but I would like to call her エリザベート. This vibe starts with a realization that the way Ash and Sisi died somehow shares something in common as they are both stabbed by someone else (although Lao is intentionally but Lucheni was not). It is sad and very torturing for me think about this because Sisi is my favorite historical figure and a character in Musicals, no exceptions. Thinking about two favorite characters died in same way is a terrible but blessed experience, no matter how you understand it. In Sisi’s “I-want” song Ich Gehör Nur Mir there is line saying she wants to be a bird and fly to the sea, and you know that Eiji jumped over that wall in EP1 like a bird, so...there is nothing left for me to say.

I also want to add that I found 七海ひろき probably is a great fan of BF (and I am not surprised that she is) because in some photos of her 入待ち/出待ち she was taking a Tasche with contents related to BF on it or it is just an official goods but I don’t know. 壮一帆 also mentioned in her radio program when ポーの一族 was on stage performed by 花組 in 2018 that she see this work as her “bible”, and she also agrees that it would be fascinating if River Phoenix would be able to perform Ash in a real person adaptation of BF.

I did start to rewatch ポーの一族 as well as はいからさんが通る to get a little bit more sense of so-called 少女漫画. I found that together with BF these three are all categorized as 少女漫画, the differences between them are too much to list. Like many other people I questioned a lot why BF is also categorized in it because there are many things in it you won’t be able to see in other works in the same genre. But during my second watching of BF I somehow could get a glimpse that it is truly a 少女漫画. And I think the main issue is with the logic in the plot. Sometimes you don’t need a very sophisticated logics in the plot as you need in Desinated Survivor or Into the Night (yes they are my two favorite Netflix shows) . Thinking about はいからさんが通る, do we need so much reasons for 少尉 doing whatever he can to get 紅緒 out of trouble? So the twist is the same at here, although the relationship between Ash and Eiji is not simple as it between 少尉 and 紅緒, but might be as complicated (in a good way and needs effort to interpret) as Edgar and Alan? I put my words here because when Yut-Long wants Ash to give him the research materials about banana fish and go back to Golzine otherwise he will kill Eiji, Ash then go to Max and asked for the files (with his gun aiming at Max). Max almost doesn’t say nothing and gives it to him but he points out that Ash is doing this for Eiji. I think this part is kind of out of the logic because Max would not be so willing to give the files to him, and Ash did all those things only because of the threat that If he doesn’t do this Eiji will be killed by Yut-Long and Blanca. This is a completely 少女漫画 thing I would say, and it is not bad.

My favorite episode is definitely EP9 “Save Me the Waltz”, Save Me The Waltz is a novel written by Zelda, and this is the only literature work that has been mentioned in the ending cards that written by female writer. This is one reason and feminists like me love those small detailes that can inspire a lot of interpretations. Ash’s appearance in this episode is fabulous, and it is a classic actualization of カリスマ, as you might see in the 中詰 of EXICTER!! The moment when Arthur loosing the chain and Ash reaching for gun looks like an angel is forced falling to the ground, it is beautiful.

The discussion in episode 17 when Ash and Eiji heading to Long Island on the Ferry was amazing. I keep thinging of the song 彼女はエメラルド by DaizyStripper. I strongly recommend you to check it out. I would also want you to go over the album Born To Die by Lana Del Rey, especially Dark Paradise and Summertime Sadness. You may also want to try Old Money and Young And Beautiful. It is better for you to do this after finishing the whole season, but it’s completely up to you.

I also love how eng subtitles translate THAT line as “I am going prostituting”, which is much better than the Simplified Chinese version. 

I went to New York first time in my life in 2017, by that time I am not obsessed with anything related to this “greatest city in the world”. I also went to St. Petersburg and Moscow this year and that was my first time to visit Russia. My second visit to NYC was in 2018 when I was there for getting a visa to Germany. I went to Trinity Church for Alexander Hamilton, Elisabeth Schuyler and Angelica Schuyler (okay I know it is not a proper time to reveal this but I think lot about “everything is legal in New Jersey” for the episodes when Ash was in that psychiatric facility in NJ). In 2019 I was obsessed with another fandom which I choose not to tell at here but I want to visit Queens at least once in my life time.  Finally now in 2020 I am recalled back to this great city and observe more -- the lovely the disgusting things, as well as the summertime sadness.

From that Hamilton vibes I also want to say that Garden of Light makes me think of Who lives, Who dies, Who tells your story. It seems that BF brings in more ideas to the discussion about “what is legacy”, the question that never will be out of date. 

And...this is just a meme but how about THE PHANTOM OF THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY??? 

「私の真の愛を受け止めて　いつもあなたが　音楽で私の心　包むように」

The song that immediately came to my mind after the ending of EP24 was the last number of musical Don Juan in Act 2, which is called Don Juan Est Mort. In Japanese version directed by 生田大和 and played by 望海風斗 this number has a lyric like “愛に呪われて愛に散った男 忘れない”, which impacted my heart with the insurmountable sorrow and sadness. I never feel drastically sad when I watch the ending of Don Juan, but this time I feel more than anything I have came up with when I do it. 

Please let me to share something personal at here:

Aslan means “dawn”. Ibe’s niece has 曉 as her name. I also have 晓 in my name. My mother chose this character for me because I was born at 7am in the morning. When I was reading Garden of Light I think there are so much feelings that I couldn’t express perfectly in words. I know I am strongly related to this story and I am so happy I get to know this amazing work. This is a epic I will never forget. 

[phantasieandmirare]

Okay so this is going to be fun. I haven’t seen Cats yet and I’m torn between wanting to just for the Experience and not wanting to to preserve the love I have for the musical itself. But I know a lot about the musical and characters (and I’ll be sharing my/the fandom’s general headcanons with you) because I watched the 1998 TV film on repeat when I was younger. So here’s what happens in the musical (keeping in mind that I’ve only seen the 1998 movie and not the actual show but I know that the show is different) that y’all are missing.

If you didn’t know at this point, the entire musical is based on the book ‘Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats’ by T.S. Eliot which is a book of short cutesy poems. This was one of Andrew Lloyd Weber’s favorite book when he was younger and he wrote the entire musical as a composition exercise to see if he could write music with predetermined lyrics.

There are so many interviews of Andrew Lloyd Weber explaining what the musical is about in the 80s and it’s just as awkward as literally anyone trying to explain Cats right now. But he’s trying his best. Cut him some slack.

I am literally watching the 1998 movie on YouTube as I type this. It’s all available there. Please watch it if you need to purge the Cats movie from your brain and replace it with something watchable.

I used to have all of the names of the cats memorized. I’m not kidding. I could tell you who was singing what line in every song. I knew the background characters. I could look at a picture and tell you who everyone was in it with extreme accuracy. I had every song memorized. I knew everything. I am the Cats God.

Munkustrap is the narrator of the musical. He’s also the de facto leader/protector of the Jellicles when Old Deuteronomy isn’t there. He’s like the prime minister to Old Deuteronomy’s queen/king. From what I understand he does not have the same sway in the movie which sucks because he’s my favorite and I love him.

There are two cats in the musical who are psychic. They’re twins. Their names are Coricopat and Tantomile. I’m not making this up. I think this is only mentioned in the stage show itself but on the off chance that it’s not and I just happen to know this now you know too.

“There’s a man over there with a look of surprise. As much as to say ‘well now how about that’. Do I actually see with my own very eyes a man who has not heard of a Jellicle Cat? ‘What’s a Jellicle Cat? What’s a Jellicle Cat? What’s a Jellicle Cat?’” Please tell me this line is in the movie. I’m begging you. Because this is hilarious now that this is now every single person’s reaction to the very concept of Cats.

From all the reviews I’m guessing that The Naming of Cats is not in the movie or it’s not played the way it is on stage. Which is a shame because that would be another delightful moment that confuses and horrifies everyone who has no idea what Cats is. If they played The Naming of Cats the way that they do on stage that alone would have cleared the movie theater instantly. For about three minutes they tell you how cats are named. In complete sync. They get louder and move closer to the audience as they go on. It’s low key terrifying. I also had this memorized. It was one of my favorite songs in the musical.

Our boy Mr. Mistoffelees is not named Mr. Mistoffelees for most of the show. He’s called Quaxo. The consensus is that ‘Mr. Mistoffelees’ is a separate identity and/or personality. I swear I’m not making this up.

Victoria and Quaxo/Mistoffelees are brother and sister. That’s a general headcanon that either I came to or is a consensus in the fandom. Not making this up either. Bustopher Jones/James Corden is their father. This is all assumed based on their coloration. This is also where I mention that I used to know all the family dynamics in this musicals and who’s with who.

It’s also a general consensus that Victoria isn’t ‘new’ but has just reached the age where she can be involved in the Jellicle Ball. She has the very first dance solo in the musical and is the one to finally accept Grizabella but that’s the only importance she has for the entire musical. She doesn’t have any lines or her own song but is instantly recognizable in every picture ever.

Jennyanydots is introduced wearing a large fur coat/get-up that she can barely stand up in and then removes it to reveal a flapper dress later. I assume that’s what they were going for with the whole ‘Rebel Wilson takes off her skin’ issue. Her song/dance is tap-based. She’s the wine aunt of the group. She never eats the cockroaches. That’s never mentioned in the song. I don’t know why they did that.

Rum Tum Tugger is supposed to be based on Mick Jagger. I don’t know how well that translated into the movie but I hear they tried to redesign him into a more modern version on stage recently that did not go well at all because it was kinda racist. So let’s just stick with the Mick Jagger version cause it works better. All the girls in the group are obsessed with him/groupies. All the moms/queens are so over it. He and Quaxo/Mistoffelees have a love hate relationship. I used to read fanfiction and people ship the heck out of them. General consensus is that he and Bombalurina/Taylor Swift are a thing.

Grizabella’s entire deal is that she used to be a show cat who got dumped/a mangy stray who used to be beautiful but then got into too many fights/it’s vaguely implied that she was a cat prostitute. 

Elaine Paige originated the role of Grizabella and then reprised it for the 1998 movie and that is the only reason that I know who Elaine Paige is.

The entire plot of this musical is that Grizabella is touch-starved. 

Is Demeter mentioned in the movie? She’s also my favorite. Does she have a major role? Where’s my girl? Where is she? Anyway Demeter and Munkustrap are often shipped together too. 

Bustopher Jones is essentially the Godfather and is the 1% of the Jellicles. Everyone loves him. He’s like Tugger for the older ladies/queens because they all also adore him. Quaxo/Mistoffelees chases him and plays with his tail and stuff like that a lot in the stage show and generally has this really proud air around him/is center stage in the song during his song which adds to the headcanon that Bustopher Jones is his dad.

To clear it up, Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer are brother and sister, they are not together. They’re also twins. 

Old Deuteronomy shows up. The psychic twins say that he’s coming. As far as I know that’s the only indication we get ever that they’re psychic.

Tugger and Munkustrap are friends/frenemies. The headcanon is that Tugger wants to be the leader or just doesn’t like that Munkustrap tries to keep them all in line/doesn’t let Tugger do whatever he wants but besides that they’re buddies. 

I think it was also implied somewhere/I had the headcanon that Old Deuteronomy and Grizabella are brother and sister. I think. I also think I had the headcanon that he’s Quaxo/Mistoffelees and Victoria’s grandfather because they also hang around him a lot. Ken Page who you may recognize as the voice of Oogie Boogie in The Nightmare Before Christmas plays Deuteronomy and originated the role and casually mentions that he’s probably the father of most of the cats so there you go. 

They cut this from the movie and I understand why now but there’s a musical number about a battle between two tribes of dogs that they put on as a performance for Old Deuteronomy. Yes it’s musical inception. This is a big song for Munkustrap because he narrates and sings the entire thing. At one point Tugger plays bagpipes in it. I’m not kidding. Munkustrap spends the entire song being an exhausted stage manager trying to keep everything under control and it’s not going well and I feel that. 

There’s a cat superhero called the Rumpus Cat. Yep.

The Jellicle Ball begins proper. There’s a lot of flirting and dancing and acrobatics and generally wild stuff for a good ten minutes. Generally it’s framed as Old Deuteronomy deciding which one of them gets to enter the Heaviside Layer through dance. What is his criteria for who gets to die? They never tell us. 

Anyway Victoria performs the mating dance with a cat named Plato/Admetus (again, Victoria and Quaxo/Mistoffelees are never together and they are siblings thank you very much). The orgy is real folks. We don’t talk about it. I think I watched this scene once when I was little (also when I say little I mean like 12/13) and then never again because it’s extremely awkward to watch. I would just skip right over it as soon as the music started getting slow and move on to Memory. This right here is the first time that I’m watching it in literal years. It’s still as awkward as it was then. 

There’s a cat named Jemima/Sillabub (a lot of these cats have multiple names/their names are different between productions/regions if you haven’t picked up on that already). She’s basically what they made Victoria into in the movie and is important for the plot. I don’t know why they focused in on Victoria when Jemima/Sillabub is right there. 

Gus the Theater Cat sings his song and I also cry every single time because Gus is the sweetest cat in the entire musical and I love him and also the song is sad as heck especially if you think about how this is an older man playing this role and talking about how his acting days are past him. There’s another musical number about one of Gus’s most famous roles but they didn’t put that into the 1998 movie because of budget issues and not having enough space on the set to do it anyway. 

I do not remember this moment but for about ten seconds a specter of Gus as his most famous character comes out, walks around menacingly, and then leaves and I DON’T REMEMBER THAT AT ALL. Anyway Gus follows it around because it’s his memory of his younger self and the heartbreak on his face when it disappears and the fact that this character cries at the end of the song and doesn’t even finish it shatters my entire heart. Gus has six minutes and then he leaves and we never see him again and sometimes I think about Gus and cry. 

So after breaking your soul with Gus we jump directly into Skimbleshanks the Railway Cat who is also a delight and from what I hear people in the movie really liked him too. If you like nothing else about Cats you have to agree that Skimbles is wonderful. 

Macavity the Mystery Cat is my second favorite song in the entire musical. Bombalurina/Taylor Swift and Demeter both perform it together (I listened to Taylor Swift’s version after I finished watching this and I am so mad that they cut Demeter out of it entirely because Demeter makes this song and she’s another one of my favorites). It’s the female power ballad of the entire musical and their voices/belting is sick as heck and also I used to have the choreography memorized on top of everything else. It’s implied that Demeter and Macavity used to be a thing before she escaped him. There are layers to this. 

Macavity tries to sneak back in dressed up as Old Deuteronomy but because Demeter is his old flame she sees right through it. The cats all fight and then Macavity escapes and is never mentioned again. We can safely assume that he does this every year.

My absolute favorite song in the entire musical/the first one I ever heard is Magical Mr. Mistoffelees. Tugger introduces him and sings most of the song. Mistoffelees actually doesn’t sing for the entire thing, it’s all Tugger. Tugger keeps singing about how Mistoffelees has a signature move called the ‘conjuring turn’ which on stage is twenty-four consecutive fouettés en tournant and it’s impressive as heck. Mistoffelees is one of the most demanding dance roles in the entire musical. Here’s the thing though, they don’t have the conjuring turn in the 1998 movie, the way that the music is cut we can assume that they filmed it and then it got cut or they lost the footage or something so for a long time I never saw it and then I looked it up and it was awesome. Anyway this is my cat son and I love him. 

Onstage Grizabella ascends to the Heaviside Layer in one of two ways: either by a staircase that descends from the ceiling, or (again I’m not making this up) in a flying saucer. If you’re still confused about the plot of Cats take the fact that they ascend to cat heaven on a UFO and go forth knowing that the answer to ‘What is Cats?’ has a legitimate answer of ‘Aliens’.

So that’s Cats. Namely the version that I hoped we were getting and that we were robbed off in favor of God-awful CGI and a lot of uncomfortable horniness (or at least more than there normally is in the actual show) and Rebel Wilson tearing off her skin. 

[thatdisneydame]

The Rise of Skywalker

This is a FULL review so do not read this if you do not want spoilers. To read a basic review please go HERE. 

To give a quick backdrop of the state of mind I am in while writing this review, it is 2 AM the night after watching The Rise of Skywalker. I have been thinking of only TRoS since walking out of the theater, trying to process and absorb all my feelings about it. In general, I give this movie an 8/10 or 4 out of 5 death stars. While I wholeheartedly enjoyed the movie I still had some small issues that just added up. Edit* after watching it again 48 hours later, I have changed my review to 8.8/10 or 4.4 out of 5 death stars.

In my previous review, I mentioned that the pacing was very quick. The movie opens up with Kylo Ren absolutely destroying everyone and everything in his way to get a Sith Wayfinder. We immediately see that Kylo Ren is on his way to a new planet called Exegol where Sheev Palpatine is “alive,” but literally looks like a zombie marionette. IMMEDIATELY Palpatine welcomes Kylo Ren. Palpatine has been expecting him and how he has been controlling Ren from the beginning. He was Vader’s voice that Kylo heard, he was Snoke and now as a returned Emperor he will give Kylo Ren all the resources, a sith fleet, he needs to make the First Order the Final Order and kill Rey. I am going to just digress for a moment here and say that by the end of this series of events maybe fifteen minutes have passed in the movie and that includes the opening crawl. The crawl did nothing to prepare me for Palpatine to be the way he was and let me tell you that he looked terrifying. His body looked like it was decaying, he was missing fingers, his eyes were clouded over and he was literally being hoisted around like a puppet. 

Palpatine then tells Kylo Ren that if he truly wants to rule the galaxy, he needs to kill the girl (Rey), but to beware because she is not who Kylo thinks she is.

Continuing, we then find out that there is a message from a mole in the First Order which is retrieved by Poe and Finn on the Falcon. But where is Rey you might ask? Rey is being trained by Leia and our first shot of Rey is one of my favorites of her. Rey has been spending her time trying to connect with all the Jedi of the past by levitating herself and a bunch of rocks while she meditates. I do not do the shot justice, but in just a couple of seconds, the audience sees how powerful she has gotten. When she doesn’t connect and gets mopey about it, Leia does the coach thing and lets Rey take the Jedi equivalent of a lap which she does, but fails due to flashes of memories and visions of her childhood and a very brief glimpse of Dark Side Rey. Rey is very put off by this and gives Leia Luke’s lightsaber saying she has to earn the saber. Transmission over the radio from the mole signifies the start of rising action, the introduction of the Final Order and the total destruction of the remaining free systems. The resistance freaks out over the return of Palpatine “how is he back?” “Cloning, lol IDK.” We don’t really get an answer so my answer is, the dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural. Well now the resistance needs to find him and nobody knows where...except Rey because she has been reading Luke’s diary. She says she doesn’t know where to find him, but she knows how because Luke was looking for a sith Wayfinder too and she will find (and kill) Palpatine with or without Leia’s blessing.

Flash forward to the desert where there is a dagger that can lead Chewbacca, C-3PO, Rey, Finn, and Poe to the Wayfinder. Rey heals a new creature, whose name I can not think of right now, which thanks to The Mandalorian ep 7 we know is a light side/Jedi ability which allows them to escape sinking sands and escape on a ship. This is also important for later in the movie. Well, the ship happens to be the same ship that Rey’s parents left on when she was a child. Also, this ship was captained by a sith sympathizer. Just as Rey, Finn, Poe, C-3PO, and Chewbacca start to leave Rey senses Kylo Ren coming in his tie fighter and waits for him. During this time the First Order has captured Chewbacca and the dagger and taken him on a transport ship. Rey uses the force to keep the ship from entering the atmosphere and Kylo simply plays with her and just starts using the force to propel the ship higher. Rey becomes enraged and OH MY GOD SHOOTS LIGHTNING OUT OF HER HANDS AND CAUSES THE SHIP TO EXPLODE! Sidebar: when Rey did that I was so absolutely shaken. I was both amazed by her ability and vexed that she had killed Chewbacca. In my other review, I said that some scenes seemed longer than they needed to be. Watching it, at the moment, I was wondering when something was going to happen because it felt like they could have continued their game of push and pull for the rest of the movie. Looking back I believe that scene was the perfect length. While the whole desert sequence maybe seemed/was too long, the build-up to Rey’s force lightning was perfect BECAUSE it was taking longer. You start thinking this is taking fore-OH, MY GOD!  EDIT* after watching it a second time the scene was shorter than I thought, but the first time I watched it, it felt like triple the time it actually was. The whole desert sequence, in my opinion, lasted too long.

Well with Chewbacca dead and no knife, the group must travel to a different planet to visit a black market droid hacker to retrieve the translation of the sith runes stuck in C-3PO’s memory. Well, why doesn’t C-3PO just tell them the translation? Because it would make the movie 20 minutes shorter and not require two other characters. Just kidding. C-3PO’s programing is forbidden to translate restricted languages i.e sith runes. This will cause a total memory wipe though. They go through with it and have to escape the planet because the Knights of Ren and Kylo Ren are coming. As they start to head out Rey senses Chewbacca on Kylo’s Star destroyer. He’s alive. There is dramatic irony because we, the audience, saw that Chewbacca survived because of the second craft in the desert. The group and a newly rebooted C-3PO go to Ren’s Star Destroyer.

Once there they split up. Rey goes to find the knife which she feels she needs while Poe and Finn go to find Chewbacca. The knife is in Ren’s chambers. Just as she finds it, Kylo and Rey connect via the force, Ren is on Kijimi while Rey is on the destroyer. Kylo taunts Rey about her lineage and if she still counts the days since her parents left her. While she fires back asking if he still sees his father. It gets to be too much for Rey and they start a really cool fighting sequence where we see just how powerful their connection is. They accidentally destroy a pedestal with Vader’s helmet and Kylo figures out where she is, he is going to tell her exactly who her parents are. Meanwhile, Poe and Finn managed to break Chewbacca out but were captured. They are about to be executed when Hux takes a blaster from a trooper saying he wants to do it. We hear three shots and the camera turns to Hux and three dead troopers to which he says “I’m the spy!” Finn and Poe are blown away. Hux takes them to where they are keeping the Falcon but tells Finn to shoot him in the arm. Finn shoots him in the leg. Finn asks why he’s helping. “I don’t care if you win, I need Kylo Ren to lose.”

Cut to Rey and Kylo Ren confronting each other on the destroyer. Rey is ready to fight, but Kylo is not fighting, he’s here to give her the news. She should join him, they are a dyad in the force, two parts of the same element. Her parents weren’t nobody but chose to be. Her parents sold her to protect her from her grandfather. Rey’s father was the so of Palpatine. Rey is a Palpatine. Kylo asks for her to join him, but she refuses and Poe and Finn show up with the Falcon allowing the whole group to escape.

We then see Hux on the bridge reporting to Pryde about how and why Finn and Poe escaped. Pryde seems calm and orders the people around him to alert the supreme leader. He then snatches a blaster out of a trooper’s hand turns and kills Hux. “We found the spy.” I thought this was very anticlimactic for Hux’s character.

The group heads toward the Endor system to find the Wayfinder as 3P0 said it would be there. The group crash lands and gets the help of former first order troopers. Rey, being impatient and more resolved than ever to rid the galaxy of Palpatine and the Sith takes a skimmer to the Death Star wreckage to find the Wayfinder. After climbing we see her in Palpatine’s throne room where she discovers a hidden door that leads to the Wayfinder. She is confronted by her dark side self who has filed teeth. She gets knocked out of the room, drops the Wayfinder and is confronted by Kylo Ren who tells her she can never go back for the same reasons he can’t go back. Rey is not going to be goaded and sternly tells him several times to give her the Wayfinder. He destroys it which causes Rey to attack. They have a spectacular fight, possibly one of my favorite fights in the entire saga. They are totally utilizing the force and doing moves we hadn’t seen. Eventually, Kylo gets the upper hand and is about to kill Rey when he sees a vision of his mother calling his name. He drops his saber, but Rey catches it and impales him as Leia dies. Rey sees what she’s done and retracts the saber. She heals Kylo Ren the same way she healed the serpent, telling him she did want to take his hand, Ben’s hand. She leaves in his tie fighter, leaving Kylo on the Death Star to mourn and contemplate.

Poe, Finn, Chewie, C-3PO, BB-8, and D-O make their way back to the Resistance Base where they demand to speak with Leia and are told she’s gone. Chewbacca has a heartbreaking reaction. Poe goes to pay respects to Leia and asks how she did it. Lando enters the room and tells him that they had each other, Luke, Han, Leia, and Lando. Poe realizes that he needs help and promotes Finn to general. The two of them begin preparations to confront the Final Order and the Sith Fleet.

Meanwhile, Kylo Ren is still on the Death Star thinking when he is confronted by the memory of Han. I was not expecting this at all and it was handled so well. The two mirror the conversation they had on the bridge of Star Killer base. Han tells him that while his mother is gone the beliefs she fought for are still there. “I know what I have to do but I don’t know if I have the strength to do it.” “Yes, you do.” Kylo Ren gets emotional, “Dad.” “I know.” He then turns and throws his lightsaber into the ocean, officially coming back to being Ben.

We then see Rey throwing logs onto a burning Tie Fighter, crying. She then takes out the lightsaber and chucks it into the flames, when Luke’s hand stretches out of the fire and catches it. He tells her a Jedi’s weapon deserves more respect. She tells him she is going to stay there forever like he did. Luke tells her he was wrong, that it was fear and that she doesn’t need to be afraid of who she is, Palpatine is just a name. Rey realizes Luke and Leia both knew who she was but trained her anyway because of her spirit, her heart. Luke then brings her to a hut where Rey discovers Leia’s lightsaber. Luke tells her that Leia gave it up when she sensed the death of her son but would be used again by someone else. Rey has no way of getting off the planet or finding Exegol to which Luke responds she has everything she needs. Rey goes back to the ashen Tie Fighter and retrieves the only remaining Wayfinder. Luke is then seen lifting his old X wing out of the water mirroring the attempt on Dagobah years before, instead this time Luke succeeds.

At this point, everything gets kicked into high gear. Rey goes to Exegol, the Resistance follows her signal. Rey goes to confront Palpatine. Who is ready and waiting for her. “Long have I waited for my granddaughter to come home.” He then says one of the coolest and bone-chilling lines in the whole movie. “Welcome Empress Palpatine.” Rey refuses to take the throne and become a sith, she will destroy the sith as a Jedi. Palpatine can sense her anger and hatred and tells her that’s what he wants because if she kills him with her hatred all the sith will pass on to her. Meanwhile, the Resistance is fighting the fleet with the planet-killing canons. Finn rides in on the backs of animals to fight and target the signal that was made to guide the fleet out. Ben shows up on Exegol ready to help. He runs into the Knights of Ren and fights them, getting his butt kicked due to his lack of a weapon. Palpatine shows Rey that her family is losing and the only way to stop it is to kill him. She reluctantly agrees knowing that this is the only way to save her friends. Rey and Ben sense each other and right as Rey is about to strike she sends the Skywalker lightsaber to Ben like a cool magic trick allowing him to defeat the Knights of Ren and Run to help Rey. Meanwhile, Lando has returned with Chewie on the Millenium Falcon and hundreds of ships answering the Resistance’s call for help.

Palpatine realizes he is going to get nowhere when Rey wields Leia’s old saber and Ben wields the Skywalker saber. Palpatine decides he is going to kill them. But while using the Force on them he gets healed and finds out they are a dyad in the Force. Two parts of a whole. There combined souls give Palpatine strength and he reforms and heals himself in a way that reverse mirrors the healing ability. Instead of giving life, he takes it. Rey and Ben collapse, appearing dead. He sits on the throne of the Sith and casts Force Lightning, causing all resistance ships to short circuit. Ben starts to stagger up but Palpatine uses the Force to throw the last Skywalker down a chasm in his own twisted sense of poetic justice. Rey opens her eyes and sees the destruction happening in the sky. She tries to connect with all the Jedi of the Past while we zoom past the fighting into the atmosphere and into space when we suddenly hear the voices of the past Jedi giving me major Avatar: The Last Airbender series finale vibes. They all call out to her telling her that they are with her as all the Jedi were with them, telling her to get up and fight. This is truly a beautiful scene, an emotional one that tugs at your childhood. Rey stands up, weak but ready to fight. Palpatine uses force lightning, just playing with her telling her she can’t defeat him, he is all the Sith. Rey uses Leia’s lightsaber to block the lightning with ferocity. She tells him “And I. I am all the Jedi.” she uses the Force to pull the Skywalker saber toward her and she crosses them and advances forward causing the lightning to redirect and as she gets closer Palpatine disintegrates like Thanos snapped his fingers. The Resistance has defeated the fleet by officially destroying the leading ship and take out the planet-killing cannons causing them to explode. 

Rey has completed the battle and retracts the sabers. She drops them one by one until she collapses. Dead. Finn senses it and suddenly stops and leans against a wall saying, “Rey.” I had been rooting for Rey since the beginning of the trilogy so this scene got me. I started getting tears in my eyes. Not because of the scene, but because she did it. Despite the odds being stacked against her more or less from the beginning. Because of the terrible life she lived before the events of TFA. We then hear Ben climb out of the chasm. How he survived, I do not know. He sees Rey’s body and begins to crawl to her as quickly as he can. He picks her up and cradles her while he tries to not cry. He then remembers the healing ability and heals her. She wakes up, smiles and calls him by his real name. “Ben.” They kiss, and Ben smiles, content with the way things turned out when he slumps over and we realize that Ben has died. In a really sweet moment, Ben and Leia’s bodies disappear simultaneously becoming one with the Force, at peace.

Rey and the Resistance meet back up with a tearful celebratory embrace amongst Finn, Poe, and Rey. Celebrations on various systems including Endor are seen. Chewie finally gets a medal, given to him by Maz.

The final scene of the movie is of Rey on Tattoonie at the Lars moisture farm where Luke grew up. She looks around and then buries Luke and Leia’s lightsabers deep in the sand. My first thought was ok so she did not just connect with all the past Jedi just to end the order by hiding the lightsabers. Then she pulled out another lightsaber. This is her own. She ignites it and it’s yellow/orange like Cal Kestis’ could be from fallen order. I’m uneasy about the color, but I’m just glad it’s still there nonetheless. A woman remarks that nobody has been at that farm for many years and wants her name. She says, Rey. The old woman probes more, “Rey who?” She looks in the distance and walking toward her are the force ghosts of Luke and Leia. “Rey Skywalker.” They smile lovingly at her. The final shot is Rey and BB-8 standing in front of a beautiful binary sunset. With that, the Skywalker saga comes to a beautiful full circle end.

I’ve read and watched some reviews where people were upset at Rey calling herself Skywalker. I loved it though. First of all, that’s what I wanted from the beginning, Rey Skywalker. But more importantly, it signifies that Rey got to choose her family. Rey chose to honor the people who took her in and loved her. Family is more than your blood. Rey Skywalker is so much better than Rey Palpatine. Rey Skywalker honors all the actions and sacrifices made by ALL the Skywalkers, Ben included. While I understand that some people did not like it, I personally did. 

I have questions though that were just not answered.

What was Finn going to tell Rey while they were in the sinking fields? EDIT*: It was revealed that Finn was going to tell Rey he is force sensitive and I like that a lot more than the idea of Finn telling Rey he loved her. I could see why people thought he was going to say that, but I like the idea of the Force Sensitivity more.

Now that there is no more First Order to fight, what will Poe and Finn do?

What will Rey do?

Where does Rey go?

Will Rey train Finn as a Jedi now that we know for sure he is force sensitive?

Will Rey train other Jedi inductees? 

If BB-8 is with Rey on Tatooine does that mean Poe is with her?

I do have a list of the things I did not like

The pacing- this could have easily been an Endgame length swan song and because JJ did so much to course correct from TLJ that we got so much information in such a short time. I needed a 4-hour long movie with slower parts to let my brain catch up. *EDIT* there are pretty credible rumors of a 185-minute cut and this is what I needed. Also, it makes it longer than Endgame at 181.

All the new characters that were introduced had such limited screen time. This goes with the above but a longer movie would have allowed more time for the new characters who I thought were so cool.

I’m going to get some serious hate here but...I did not like the Ben/Rey kiss. It seemed a bit much and a hug could have been so much more intimate in my opinion. Now, I hated Kylo Ren from the beginning, though he was plain evil, how he brought Rey back from the dead and died in her place was *kisses fingers* Que Bella, and an intimate hug would have pushed me over the top.

I wish Rey being Palpatine’s granddaughter was revealed later in the film. It could have hit harder and been a bigger shock. That knowledge in the back of my mind kept eating at me for the last two acts of the movie and sometimes it was all I could think about.

A list of things I absolutely loved

The lightning Rey shoots- just so freaking cool how she did that man. It was so unexpected.

The lightsaber fights. They seemed so different from the others.

“Empress Palpatine”-chills for days

The “match cut” shots of Han and Ben on the Death Star and how the scene was slightly different but ended in the total opposite of TFA. And MAJOR PROPS to the cast and crew keeping Harrison Ford’s part on the DL.

Leia and Ben dissolving like true Jedi

Daisy Ridley making me think she was actually dead for like 5 minutes. A+ acting.

Ben’s full smile.

Light Rey vs Darth Reydar

The force healing ability and the life-draining ability

“General.” “General.”

C-3PO. He kind of annoyed me the whole saga, but the comedic timing and the performance that was given was just so good.

ALL the Jedi speaking to Rey, I mean: Luke Skywalker, Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, Qui-Gon Jinn, Mace Windu, Aayla Secura, Adi Gallia, Ahsoka Tano, and Kanan Jarus all telling Rey to get up. Just beautiful and helped tie all three trilogies, TV shows, and novels together.

The Force abilities we had not seen before in the main movies. Weirdly enough I also have a “problem” with this. I really like the new powers, but I wish we had seen them more evenly distributed over the trilogy or the whole saga. But in general, I loved them. They had a purpose and that made it worthwhile.

Ben becoming one with the Force.

“Rey Skywalker”- so nice. so beautiful.

The full circle. The Skywalker story starts on Tatooine and ends on Tatooine and I love how poetic it is. 

Things I would have done differently. Well, first let me begin by saying that anything I would have done differently is more or less of a minor change.

Rey’s lineage revealed- I’m still a little uneasy about her being a Palpatine, but I’ve accepted it. I just wish the reveal had been later, as I stated before. JJ having to reveal it early in the film is probably a way to undo/clarify what Rian Johnson did in The Last Jedi. 

I wish Rose had a bigger part. I like what they did with her, but I wish it was more. Rose’s character was more sure of herself and I liked that so much more than the character we met in The Last Jedi. I’m not saying she needed her own side mission, but a couple more scenes with her at the center would have been great. Maybe she is leading a meeting or getting a squad ready, I don’t know, but just a couple more scenes. Kelly got absolutely trashed because of how, in my opinion, poor her character was written and some more scenes like the way Rose is now would have had great fan turn around I believe.

There would be no Reylo. I do not and have not shipped Reylo ever in this whole trilogy. I still don’t. I will yield to the fact that there were canon feelings for each other. I, however, would not have had that. Ideally, everything would have been the same, but instead of kissing after Ben saved Rey, there would have been a platonic hug, a friendly but loving embrace between two people who have fought for the same ideals and have had a roller coaster of a relationship. I feel like it would have been more impactful and a MUCH harder punch to the gut when he dies. I didn’t ship Rey with anybody because she was one of those characters to me that didn’t have to have a male counterpart. I’m not a huge Marvel fan, but I thought the same about Black Widow. I just didn’t see a need for romance or a romantic relationship. 

Hux’s secret and death. Like Rey’s lineage being revealed I thought killing Hux so early may have been a mistake. The last scene with Hux before he was killed was extremely humerus and they could have kept something like it, but having General Pryde kill him after felt wasted. There were a lot of potentials. What I would have loved to have seen Hux sabotage something big, try to kill Pryde or whatever. I just thought it was an anticlimactic death, once it was said and done. The actual death came as a shock, but looking back I wish it had been more meaningful and bigger. This character had been built up to be one of the most “hated” characters and I just felt like his death should have been bigger and not just a shock.

The final battle. I wish it had lasted longer. This is supposed to be THE battle to end all battles. This is the conclusion of the Skywalker Saga and the final battle against Rey and Palpatine lasted like 15-20 minutes. I just wish it had been longer. Maybe a whole duel between Rey and Palpatine or Rey, Ben, and Palpatine.

The Jedi talking to her. I would have shown their astral bodies, their Force ghosts. The scene was beautiful in its simplicity, but to be able to see the Jedi would have been the icing on the cake. To see them give Rey their power to connect to the Force would have been very moving for many fans. Star Wars Theory on youtube has a pretty neat video about how that scene could have gone with the Force ghosts, I highly suggest you check it out.

Leia as a Jedi. While hardcore fans knew about this due to Legends, the casual fan would have been shocked. We saw Leia use the force in The Last Jedi, and I appreciate how JJ expanded on that. He did not leave anything unanswered. I do not know if that was ever going to make it into the mainstream movies i.e if this was going to be done all along, or if this was JJ’s answer to Leia using the Force in the Last Jedi, but I think it was done really well, and the CGI in that scene made me think I was looking at a young Mark and Carrie/ Luke and Leia. In general, this is a whole series “I would have done it differently.” We can keep Leia training to be a Jedi, but I would have planted that seed much earlier in the trilogy or even the saga. I think that the scene in TLJ would have gotten a better reputation if more seeds were planted.  

The final scene- I understand why it was Luke and Leia, but I would have loved to see the whole Skywalker clan up there. Anakin, Luke, Leia, and Ben all smiling lovingly at Rey, the adopted Skywalker. 

Before I conclude this review I want to make it clear about a few things. 

I am not getting anything from anyone for doing this, this is purely out of enjoyment and so people can read a review.

I feel like I have been bashing on The Last Jedi a lot in this review, and while I liked the TLJ as a movie, I did not like it as a Star Wars movie. It is one of my least favorite in the entire Star Wars franchise. BUT, if you liked it, awesome. That is the best part about Star Wars, people can have different opinions. Without those opinions, we wouldn’t have some of the discussions that we have brought up.

This film was not perfect. It had flaws, it had things I wanted to happen differently, it had parts I did not even want to happen. This movie was a well done, emotionally exhilarating, visually stunning work of art that showed the heart the whole team that works on the Skywalker Saga put into this film. This film was 42 years in the making and like a thank, you note to the fans. To be honest, it is hard for me to accept that this is the conclusion of a series that I have loved so much. It reminds me of when I finished Harry Potter or Percy Jackson and just couldn’t believe that this was the end. This is not to say that this is the last Star Wars movie. We know of an unnamed 4th Trilogy that Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni are rumored to be involved with after the success of The Mandalorian. Rian Johnson is rumored to be working on more Star Wars projects as well. This is not the end of Star Wars, but to me, it is still like saying goodbye to a friend. 

Please tell me what you thought of the film. Leave your responses. Do you agree or disagree with my opinions? I’d love to hear from you.

[doodlebuggity]

Testimony of a surgeon working in Bergamo, in the heart of Italy's coronavirus outbreak.

“There are no more surgeons, urologists, orthopedists, we are only doctors who suddenly become part of a single team to face this tsunami that has overwhelmed us.”

Daniele Macchini works in Humanitas Gavazzeni Hospital, Bergamo in Italy. This is a directly translated account of his experience there. It was written on March 7th, 2020. Italy has since gone into lockdown.

“In one of the non-stop e-mails that I receive from my hospital administration on a more than daily basis, there was a paragraph on "how to be responsible on social media", with some recommendations that we all can agree on. After thinking for a long time if and what to write about what's happening here, I felt that silence was not responsible. I will therefore try to convey to lay-people, those who are more distant from our reality, what we are experiencing in Bergamo during these Covid-19 pandemic days. I understand the need not to panic, but when the message of the danger of what is happening is not out, and I still see people ignoring the recommendations and people who gather together complaining that they cannot go to the gym or play soccer tournaments, I shiver. I also understand the economic damage and I am also worried about that. After this epidemic, it will be hard to start over.

Still, beside the fact that we are also devastating our national health system from an economic point of view, I want to point out that the public health damage that is going to invest the country is more important and I find it nothing short of "chilling" that new quarantine areas requested by the Region has not yet been established for the municipalities of Alzano Lombardo and Nembro (I would like to clarify that this is purely personal opinion). I myself looked with some amazement at the reorganization of the entire hospital in the previous week, when our current enemy was still in the shadows: the wards slowly "emptied", elective activities interrupted, intensive care unit freed to create as many beds as possible. Containers arriving in front of the emergency room to create diversified routes and avoid infections. All this rapid transformation brought in the hallways of the hospital an atmosphere of surreal silence and emptiness that we did not understand, waiting for a war that had yet to begin and that many (including me) were not so sure would never come with such ferocity (I open a parenthesis: all this was done in the shadows, and without publicity, while several newspapers had the courage to say that private health care was not doing anything).

I still remember my night shift a week ago spent without any rest, waiting for a call from the microbiology department. I was waiting for the results of a swab taken from the first suspect case in our hospital, thinking about what consequences it would have for us and the hospital. If I think about it, my agitation for one possible case seems almost ridiculous and unjustified, now that I have seen what is happening. Well, the situation is now nothing short of dramatic. No other words come to mind. The war has literally exploded and battles are uninterrupted day and night. One after the other, these unfortunate people come to the emergency room. They have far from the complications of a flu.

Let's stop saying it's a bad flu. In my two years working in Bergamo, I have learned that the people here do not come to the emergency room for no reason. They did well this time too. They followed all the recommendations given: a week or ten days at home with a fever without going out to prevent contagion, but now they can't take it anymore. They don't breathe enough, they need oxygen. Drug therapies for this virus are few.

The course mainly depends on our organism. We can only support it when it can't take it anymore. It is mainly hoped that our body will eradicate the virus on its own, let's face it. Antiviral therapies are experimental on this virus and we learn its behavior day after day. Staying at home until the symptoms worsen does not change the prognosis of the disease. Now, however, that need for beds in all its drama has arrived. One after another, the departments that had been emptied are filling up at an impressive rate. The display boards with the names of the sicks, of different colors depending on the department they belong to, are now all red and instead of the surgical procedure, there is the diagnosis, which is always the same: bilateral interstitial pneumonia.

Now, tell me which flu virus causes such a rapid tragedy?

Because that's the difference (now I get a little technical): in classical flu, besides that it infects much less population over several months, cases are complicated less frequently: only when the virus has destroyed the protective barriers of our airways and as such it allows bacteria (which normally resident in the upper airways) to invade the bronchi and lungs, causing a more serious disease. Covid 19 causes a banal flu in many young people, but in many elderly people (and not only) a real SARS because it invades the alveoli of the lungs directly, and it infects them making them unable to perform their function. The resulting respiratory failure is often serious and after a few days of hospitalization, the simple oxygen that can be administered in a ward may not be enough. Sorry, but to me, as a doctor, it's not reassuring that the most serious are mainly elderly people with other pathologies. The elderly population is the most represented in our country and it is difficult to find someone who, above 65 years of age, does not take at least a pill for high blood pressure or diabetes.

I can also assure you that when you see young people who end up intubated in the ICU, pronated or worse, in ECMO (a machine for the worst cases, which extracts the blood, re-oxygenates it and returns it to the body, waiting for the lungs to hopefully heal), all this confidence for your young age goes away.

And while there are still people on social media who boast of not being afraid by ignoring the recommendations, protesting that their normal lifestyle habits have "temporarily" halted, an epidemiological disaster is taking place. And there are no more surgeons, urologists, orthopedists, we are only doctors who suddenly become part of a single team to face this tsunami that has overwhelmed us.

The cases multiply, up to a rate of 15-20 hospitalizations a day all for the same reason. The results of the swabs now come one after the other: positive, positive, positive. Suddenly the emergency room is collapsing. Emergency provisions are issued: help is needed in the emergency room. A quick meeting to learn how the to use to emergency room EHR and a few minutes later I'm already downstairs, next to the warriors on the war front. The screen of the PC with the chief complaint is always the same: fever and respiratory difficulty, fever and cough, respiratory insufficiency etc ... Exams, radiology always with the same sentence: bilateral interstitial pneumonia. All need to be hospitalized. Some already need to be intubated, and go to the ICU. For others, however, it is too late. ICU is full.

And when ICUs are full, more are created. Each ventilator is like gold: those in the operating rooms that have now suspended their non-urgent activity are used and the OR become a an ICU that did not exist before. I found it amazing, or at least I can speak for Humanitas Gavazzeni (where I work), how it was possible to put in place in such a short time a deployment and a reorganization of resources so finely designed to prepare for a disaster of this magnitude. And every reorganization of beds, wards, staff, work shifts and tasks is constantly reviewed day after day to try to give everything and even more. Those wards that previously looked like ghosts are now saturated, ready to try to give their best for the sick, but exhausted. The staff is exhausted. I saw fatigue on faces that didn't know what it was despite the already grueling workloads they had. I have seen people still stop beyond the times they used to stop already, for overtime that was now habitual. I saw solidarity from all of us, who never failed to go to our internist colleagues to ask "what can I do for you now?" or "leave that admission to me, i will take care of it." Doctors who move beds and transfer patients, who administer therapies instead of nurses. Nurses with tears in their eyes because we are unable to save everyone and the vital signs of several patients at the same time reveal an already marked destiny.

There are no more shifts, no more schedules.

Social life is suspended for us. I have been separated for a few months, and I assure you that I have always done my best to constantly see my son even on the day after a night shift, without sleeping and postponing sleep until when I am without him, but for almost 2 weeks I have voluntarily not seen neither my son nor my family members for fear of infecting them and in turn infecting an elderly grandmother or relatives with other health problems. I'm happy with some photos of my son that I look at between tears and a few video calls. So you should be patient too, you can't go to the theater, museums or gym. Try to have mercy on that myriad of older people you could exterminate. It is not your fault, I know, but of those who put it in your head that you are exaggerating and even this testimony may seem just an exaggeration for those who are far from the epidemic, but please, listen to us, try to leave the house only to indispensable things. Do not go en masse to make stocks in supermarkets: it is the worst thing because you concentrate and the risk of contacts with infected people who do not know they are infected. You can go there without a rush. Maybe if you have a normal mask (even those that are used to do certain manual work), put it on. Don't look for ffp2 or ffp3. Those should serve us and we are beginning to struggle to find them. By now we have had to optimize their use only in certain circumstances, as the WHO recently recommended in view of their almost ubiquitous running low. Oh yes, thanks to the shortage of certain protection devices, many colleagues and I are certainly exposed despite all the other means of protection we have. Some of us have already become infected despite the protocols. Some infected colleagues also have infected relatives and some of their family members are already struggling between life and death. We are where your fears could make you stay away. Try to make sure you stay away.

Tell your family members who are elderly or with other illnesses to stay indoors. Bring him the groceries please. We have no alternative. It's our job. Indeed what I do these days is not really the job I'm used to, but I do it anyway and I will like it as long as it responds to the same principles: try to make some sick people feel better and heal, or even just alleviate the suffering and the pain to those who unfortunately cannot heal. I don't spend a lot of words about the people who define us heroes these days and who until yesterday were ready to insult and report us. Both will return to insult and report as soon as everything is over. People forget everything quickly. And we're not even heroes these days. It's our job. We risked something bad every day before: when we put our hands in a belly full of someone's blood we don't even know if they have HIV or hepatitis C; when we do it even though we know they have HIV or hepatitis C; when we stick ourselves during an operation on a patient with HIV and take the drugs that make us vomit all day long for a month. When we read with anguish the results of the blood tests after an accidental needlestick, hoping not to be infected. We simply earn our living with something that gives us emotions. It doesn't matter if they are beautiful or ugly, we just take them home. In the end we only try to make ourselves useful for everyone. Now try to do it too, though: with our actions we influence the life and death of a few dozen people. You with yours, many more. Please share and share the message. We need to spread the word to prevent what is happening here from happening all over Italy.”

His original Facebook post.

Italian newspaper (Corriere della Sera, edizione di Bergamo) transcript.

[salmon2245]

Rewrite the Stars

Romeo et Juliette fanfic

Paris/Benvolio, Romeo/Juliet, Mercutio&Tybalt mentioned in the background

The Greatest Show au

Characters based on R&J French musical 2018 China tour

Translated from Chinese. Apologize for any grammar mistakes cause I suck at it.

Feel free to ask me anything

1

    It all started with Juliet's unreasonable little wish.

    Tired of high-end restaurants, classical music concerts and art exhibitions in museums, Paris's fiancée decided to go to the eastside of the city for a popular circus show on her next date.

    Can you imagine? circus! Only Juliet dared to make such a request to him. Paris, the youngest son of the Escalus, being a play actor more like a hobby than a job. And the kind of performance that only high-class families can afford to enjoy. After his marriage with Miss Capulet, he will have to inherit the huge industry of his family as his real living method.

    Considering of his status as well as his own occupation, he naturally put himself and the circus on the opposite side. Even if the performance of the now more than famous Circus has been discussed all over the streets, he has never thought of stepping into that low-level entertainment site. However, lady first, since his fiancée made such a request, Paris has no reason to refuse. It was just an innocuous circus show, he thought, just a date as usual.

    He likes Juliet. Miss Capulet is as sweet, kind and clever as people say. He certainly appreciates such kind of girls, but what outsiders don't know is that Juliet is far from the virtuous wife they need who can be pushed around by her man. So Paris won't treat her like his wife-to-be. Juliet doesn't love him. Paris knew that very well. He didn't care about spending the rest of his life with such a perfect girl, but Juliet herself obviously is waiting for a gentleman who she is willingly to give up everything for.

    Before that, they will just allow their parents to match a couple who certainly don't fit together. Anyway, their lives are already trapped like this, and there is no other bird in the cage to accompany them.

2

    Juliet didn't like holding Paris's arm. Except where she had to do this. She prefers to drag Paris through the crowd, and often when Paris turned around, the girl is nowhere to see. When she appeared again, Juliet shoved the propaganda poster she had bought after the ticket into Paris's arms, pointed to the black silhouette with excitement and said, "Look, it’s the trapeze!"

    Paris frowned and flattened the ink-rich poster. He checked his shirt to make sure there isn’t any ink trace. He saw the two little men pointed by his fiancée's finger. "It must be interesting." Paris nodded in concurrence.

    It turns out more than just fun.

    When the two trapeze actors made their final appearances, Juliet squeezed his hands. Paris is incompatible with the noisy surroundings. He embarrassedly lowered his head and played with his pocket watch all the time. He lifted his head feeling the pain caused by Juliet on his hand, and right at that moment, he saw the most breathtaking scene that he had seen in his short life. A brown-haired boy hung upside down on a swing and flew towards him with a gentle and confident smile. When Paris thought he could reach him with a hand, he fell back and accelerated. He doesn't have wings, right? Or is he actually an angel with beautiful wings on his back, and Paris as a stupid mortal has no right to see the white feather? He knew the circus were all freaks, but this was different from what he imagined.

    "Who is that?" He asked.

    Juliet let go of his hand and pulled out a poster sheet that had been folded into a small piece. In the dim light of the auditorium, she was struggling to identify the small line below the picture.

    His fiancée told him: "It's Montague brothers."

3

    Juliet showed extraordinary enthusiasm for the circus in the east of the city. The following month, she took Paris to the circus performance three times, and made an excuse to leave when the third performance was about to end. She told Paris: "The housekeeper will come to pick me up, I’m sorry you have to go back alone, sir. Forgive me."

    Even though it was an engaged relationship, Juliet still called him sir of Mister but not his name. Well, Paris doesn't care. He figured out the names of the trapeze brothers at the ticket seller today, the one who flew to Paris is the older brother Benvolio. He wonders if it was a coincidence that he and Juliet always buy the seat close to the trapeze show every time.

    Paris found that he had already begun to appreciate this critic's farce. The surrounding audience was infected with this pure happiness, they exclaimed, laughed loudly, and even stood up and danced at the final climax! He had never seen such a scene in his own performance before, and this wonderful experience made him overwhelmed. The most important thing is that every time the flying boy swayed in front of his eyes, Paris's heart seemed to stop beating, he held his breath unconsciously, catching the flashing light in the maroon pupils.

    The show is over, Juliet probably has already gone back, and Paris walked out of the theater somewhat dreamily. The carriage he had hired would arrive later, he thought he would go to the park after show with Juliet as usual, and he was left alone with nothing to do but wait. He lit a cigarette, standing against the wall and couldn't help recalling the trapeze actor named Benvolio. Paris hasn’t figure out what was special about that boy, he was a circus actor, Paris’ worst counterpart. But he smiled so nicely that he seemed to be the most free bird in his flying posture. Paris couldn't see the chains on his body, and Paris himself had always been with them.

    "Mr. Escalus?"

    The lighted cigarette was dyed because he didn't get two sips, the burning feeling on his fingertips brings him back and he turned his head. The face that had been seen on the stage several times reached his eyes.

    Paris did not expect that the person who had just disturbed his mind would suddenly appear beside him. He hesitated before responding and asked him, "Do you know me?"

    Benvolio tilted his head and looked at him with a funny look, and asked, "Can anyone in this city not know you? The most famous young actor, you can be on the newspaper just because of your engagement!"

    "I'm not saying that I want to be in the newspaper like this," Paris shrugged a little helplessly. "You know; the reporters just don't want to let me go."

    "Yeah, what a big piece of cake you are!" Benvolio said and patted Paris's arm with the back of his hand. Wow, he mumbled that it was quite strong.

    Paris took out a new cigarette and handed it to Benvolio. He pushed back with a smile: "I don't smoke, besides the flying performance, the circus also needs me to sing."

    Paris didn't notice, Benvolio also participated in the collective song and dance performance of the circus, but there were too many people at that time, and he couldn't tell which voice belonged to him.

    He knew that singers have to protect their throats, feeling embarrassed, Paris took the cigarette back, thinking about it and saying, "Your performance ... is very interesting, although I can’t actually get it from a professional perspective. Proper words to describe ... "

    "Are you happy?" Benvolio interrupted him.

    "Well," Paris agreed, "yes. I believe I am. Happy."

    "This is what we hope to achieve, Mr. Escalus," the boy smiled at him again. "We are a circus, which just need everyone to be happy, happiness is the most important thing."

    "Call me Paris." He raised an eyebrow. Why do people like to call him Mister that much, it sounds a bit of distanced?

    "Well, then my name is Benvolio," Benvolio reached out to him, Paris shook his hand, and felt several rough cocoons in the acrobat's palm. "Next time you come to the circus, try to find my sound will you?"

    In fact, every time he came to the circus, he thought it would be the last time, at least he believed so. Moreover, Juliet left the scene early today. The girl might have finally lost interest in this circus thing, and he would never come see the circus alone. Even so, Paris nodded.

4

    Romeo removed his bandages that help to protect his hands and feet in their small dormitory. Banvolio pushed the door open. His brother was lying on the bed, holding the bandage, apparently thoughts lost in somewhere else. Benvolio tugged him on his shoulder. With a bounce, Romeo patted his chest in guilty conscience, and asked, pretending to be okay, "Where have you just been, brother?"

    Benvolio sat down next to Romeo's bed and slipped off his shoes. "I ran into a big bug at the exit of the theater, and just talked to him by the way."

    "Which big bug?"

    "Oh, you won’t believe me," Benvolio sneered. "The famous drama actor Paris Escalus, never seems to be the one who come for circus."

    Romeo's expression seemed like he has just crewed a fly, he swallowed hard and asked: "Is that Mr. Escalus who recently engaged?"

    "Yeah, what's the name of his fiancée ..." Benvolio helped Romeo remove the bandages and put them away, then turned around to arrange the clothes they left at the end of the bed, while racking his brain he remember, "Juliet or something, right? I don't remember the last name."

    Romeo's face was even more pale. He is lucky that Benvolio just turned his back on him at the moment, and quickly adjusted his emotions before his brother can find out.

    "I want to take a leave form rehearsal tomorrow," Romeo grabbed Benvolio's hand, "please help me to tell the boss."

    "Just take your break then, what are you so nervous about?" Benvolio looked at him confused. "Our performances during this season are all current projects, and you are already very skilled, I’m sure there won’t be any problems for one day off."

    Romeo dropped his shoulders with relief: "That's good."

    Benvolio thought about it and realized there was something wrong. He asked again, "What do you need the break for? It’s not like you have other things to do anyway."

    His brother blushed.

    "Oh," Benvolio went to slap Romeo's arm until he howled. "My little boy finally grows up, now he knows to go out with the girl and entertain himself."

    "It's a date! It's serious!" Romeo explained anxiously.

    "Date it is, whatever you say." Benvolio grinned and couldn't stop grinning. He reached out and rubbed Romeo's face, and he was still happy when his brother managed to punch his stomach.

5

    Before Paris realized, he bought another ticket for the circus show. For the price of a few coins, he comforted himself, watching 10,000 shows like this was nothing to him. Though he also knew that this was not about money at all.

    This time he still smoked against the corner of the theater after leaving, and Benvolio actually did appear like last time.

    "Did you hear me singing?" The flying boy hasn’t changed his costume off, just added a coat over it. Paris noticed that he was just a lean acrobat without scary large muscles, when wearing normal clothe he still looked a little thin.

    As Benvolio approached, Paris stopped his smoke.

    "No," Paris told the truth. "There are too many people, forgive me for not hearing so well."

    "And now I know that well-educated people do speak differently. Even this thing can be expressed as an apology for you," Benvolio joked. "It doesn't matter; I can sing again if you want."

    So Benvolio sang their curtain call song. Paris listened very carefully. After all, he felt depressed for not recognizing Benvolio’s voice before. He has listened to too many well-known singers. He has been invited to the Golden Hall of Vienna. The golden voices that are proud of various countries have cooperated or communicated with him, but no one sings like Benvolio.

    What magic does he have that makes people so happy? Even his expression of singing was cute, and Paris can’t stop smiling.

    On the way back, Paris couldn't help but feel tangled. Juliet didn't mention to him the circus anymore. It is likely that he would not have chance to come with his fiancée, but he still wanted to see the show. God, Paris, what’s the matter with you, he asked himself in his mind. This is a circus! You are the most promising drama actor, but let yourself indulge in this stupid joy, you let yourself corrupt, Paris, which is not a good thing.

    But ... think about Benvolio, think about this magic boy.

    Paris covered his face and suddenly realized that it wasn't just about professional dignity. Fuck, he fell in love with the flying boy.

    It doesn't matter, Juliet doesn't love you either. He comforts himself, but couldn’t feel better. Damn, hell, he really can't go to the circus anymore.

6

    The last time always becomes the past time.

    It wasn't until he pressed Benvolio to kiss him on the wall of the alley behind the theater that Paris realized that there would never be the last time. Benvolio felt as good as he imagined. Long-term acrobatic training gifts him the perfect figure, and apart from those tight muscles, there were always some soft places that could surprise him.

    "This is not the usual service I would offer," Benvolio paused after Paris let go of his lips, "but ... it makes you happy, right?"

    Paris nodded.

    "Well," Benvolio seemed to have made a very important decision, "keep going then."

    Although Benvolio did not seem to disagree, Paris refused to have sex in such an inconsiderate place. He took Benvolio back to his home. Juliet never came, she would only wait for him at home and have date in public places. They huddled on the king size bed where Paris always sleeps alone.

    The boy is not particularly experienced, but he is enthusiastic enough, his soft body can be put into various poses, and Paris just have extraordinary patience. Their bodies fit perfectly. Sex is generally happy. But when your sex partner is Benvolio, Paris thinks of the sleeping person in his arms, then this happiness will exceed imagination.

    The next morning, when Paris opened his eyes, Benvolio was looking at him with a smile he was already familiar with, and he said, "How much would you pay me?"

    And Paris woke up completely. He bounced, for a moment has no idea what to say: "I don't, this is not ... you ..."

    "Not what?" Benvolio also sat up. "Paris, you are already engaged. There will be a new mistress in this bed six months later."

    "I don't want to," Paris rubbed his sleepy hair. "I won't think of you as ..."

    "It's okay," Benvolio sighed. He climbed out of the bed, with the body full of marks they made last night, picked up his clothes and put them on one by one. "I know you're a good gentleman. You don't do such indecent things. At least give me some money for the carriage?"

    Paris gave Benvolio a soaring amount of unnecessary carriage money, and he watched the boy wave at him on the carriage: "Anyway, you are welcome to come and enjoy our show."

    He watched the carriage go further and further, and his heart sinks into somewhere deep undersea. Well, there can’t be pure joy in real world, welcome back to reality, Paris, you should wake up.

7

    He didn’t know how Romeo and his mysterious girlfriend is going. Sitting in the carriage heading east, Benvolio thought so. His body is still a bit sour. If Romeo has a "dating day" today, he can practice less without cooperating with him, which is a good thing. Benvolio just hope that Romeo doesn't fall in love with some rich young lady. Benvolio laughed out, his silly little brother, how can any rich young lady fancy him? However, it reminded him of Paris. No, Paris is different.

    Paris appears unlike what he should be at all, which annoyed Benvolio. If he was just an aristocratic master with only sperm in his head, it would be much easy to deal with. The problem is that not only is he not, but he even actually knows how to be general and kind. And probably, know how to love another soul. Benvolio finds out for the first time, that he may be unable to handle him.

    Benvolio, stop dreaming. He rubbed his arm. Who do you think Paris is? The promising young actor, the cover character of newspapers and magazines, with a fiancée who is in the perfect matched status. The only thing you can get from him is money, nothing more.

    This thought did not make him feel better. The gentle touch seemed to remain on his body. The skin he had been kissed on shoulder and neck still feels on fire at this moment. Benvolio sighed and leaned back into the seat. It's best that Romeo doesn't have a "dating day" today. He doesn't want to think about something he shouldn't think because he has too much spare time to waste.

8

    Before any of them came up with a solution to current situation, Mercutio makes his move. Paris was surprised to be visited by the head of the circus. He couldn't think of any reason to let the freak come to see him.

    "Oh, I'm feel my heart broken," Mercutio pouted. "Don't you remember me ... my dear nephew?"

    Nephew?

    The head of the circus is the one who ran away from the Escalus family?

    Paris didn't expect this. He only knew that there was a rebellious relative in his family. He had abandon his family name for a long time because of disagreement. It’s been years, and Paris barely had any impression of that guy. He only remembered that he had exaggerated black long curls and swagger through the street with no shame at all.

    Alright, Paris accepted that the head of the circus was his uncle who ran away from home. And his so called uncle is actually as young as him.

    "I'm here to offer you an opportunity," Mercutio looked at him confidently. "Look what a shit you live right now! Champagne, daydreams, messy parties ... Paris, we all come from the upper class, I bet you understand how boring and disgusting that circle is more than I do. I know you came to my circus, and you have been there several times. What do you think, interested? "

    He was right. Paris's life now is totally full of shit. He has a fiancée who doesn't love him and will never love him in the future. He has a job to please those peerages. He has a family property waiting to be taken over. He also has a little trapeze in his heart. Shit's fine. Definitely a huge bag of shit.

    "Join us, maybe you can make your life more miserable, who knows," Mercutio is really not a lobbyist, "but maybe you will get some happiness, happy is the product we yield."

    Paris took over the olive branch Mercutio offered, he became a member of the circus, he knows how to pack and promote, therefore the performance became more popular, he managed to attract more audiences, who sat below watching Benvolio flying in the air.

9

    Paris waited for Benvolio at the back door of the theater.

    He still went to bed with Benvolio, they also talked and did some causal things together. But Paris just couldn't talk about feelings in a serious way. After all, he didn't have the qualification. Fortunately, as long as he didn't bring it up, Benvolio won’t. He used to think that he would spent the rest of his life with Juliet. If the girl doesn’t like him, it’s fine. Given that they became married as the Escalus couple by name, it didn't matter what their real life is behind that reputation. He won’t mind Juliet falling in love with any other man, he was saying, this is the freedom she had, right? All they need is a paper confirmed engagement, a pair of rings, and they can continue their own lives afterwards.

    But now, he met Benvolio. Benvolio became the biggest change in life. The boy flew into his life and shone so bright that he failed to move away his eyes. Paris couldn't help thinking about what a whole different life he will live if having Benvolio by his side ... happiness, joyful, just like the best life in the world would be.

    The stage door of the theater was in an inconspicuous corner. There were no people passing by. A few of stinky trash cans standing in the night silently not far away. Paris walks as usual, and stood still, froze. He saw someone he never thought he would meet here.

    Juliet changed her usual luxurious dress and wrapped herself in a humble dark shawl. She waited there with a light smile, her blond hair fell out of her hood and hung on the girl's red fluttering face.

    "Juliet?" Paris tentatively called his fiancée's name.

    The girl was jumped by his voice. She saw Paris, and her face was completely bloodless. She opened her mouth for a long time without saying a word, and finally whispered to him: "Mr. Escalus."

    Paris could tell that Juliet was waiting for someone, she was holding a rose in her hand. He found it hidden under her shawl subconsciously. Well, Paris understood most of it. His lovely fiancée didn't lose interest in the circus, it’s just they are not appropriate to enjoy it together anymore. Like he said, Paris didn't mind this, he calmly asked: "Are you waiting for someone?"

    Seeing no sign of angry, Juliet gave her a sigh of relief and added: "the trapeze."

    Paris froze again. "Me too," he said.

    "Pardon?" Juliet looked at him puzzled.

    "The trapeze." Paris tried to smile at her.

    Well, things are getting awkward now. Paris recalled seeing the circus for the first time, and Juliet clenched his hands unconsciously at the beginning of the trapeze show. How likely is he and his fiancée to fell in love with the same person at the same time? There was the figure of Benvolio in his mind again, remembering that he smiled mildly and asked how much he could pay him ... his thoughts began to slide away in some unclear directions, and Paris clenched his fists. He did not want to speculate maliciously others, but, but. Even if Benvolio is Benvolio, he is still a low-ranking acrobat, how he grew up, if he will fall to his knees just to survive his life, and how much loyalty had left for people at the bottom of the society like him? Paris knew nothing.

    His fiancée looks no better than him. Paris didn't know if he should comfort him or not, poor girl.

    The door opened, and the two came out laughing and joking, then both stopped.

    "Romeo?" Juliet called Romeo's name carefully, as if asking for proof.

    Benvolio looked at his younger brother, Miss Capulet, who was still conspicuous even when dressed like this, and finally Paris.

   "Fuck," he groans, "fuck."

10

    Romeo and Juliet no longer have their love life underground.

    After the embarrassing showdown night at the back door of the theater, the little couple seemed to be finally freed from prison, and they started their sweet and bright dates. Romeo smiled even more often, and Benvolio didn’t know this can be possible for Romeo, who already wear a silly happy face most of the time.

    The boy writes poems, draws small greeting cards on his own, and picks up his old skill in childhood for handicrafts to make various gadgets for Juliet. Benvolio is wrapped in a quilt and shrunk on the bed to see his brother sitting on the floor ambitiously making gifts, with a slight headache . Romeo, like every young man out there who fell in love, went blind and hold his heart in his hands. Benvolio couldn't help worrying about him. It’s Juliet they are talking about, the well-known young lady who got the pure blue blood. The aristocratic stratum Romeo can never climb in all his life, let alone that she was half Step into the grave of marriage.

    "Romeo, you get yourself too involved," Benvolio frowned at him, "this is not a good thing."

    "I love her, she loves me," Romeo didn't look up. "I don't think there is anything wrong. You should see how happy Juliet is with me. She is my rose, my star. I will marry her someday. "

    He raised the newly folded paper rose to his brother, and with a dreamy sweet smile on his face, Benvolio was stabbed in his heart, he grabbed the flower: "She won't marry your."

    "Why not?" Romeo was a little angry. "You don't know her. You don't get to say what kind of girl she is. Give the flower back."

    "It’s true I don’t know her," Benvolio wrinkled the paper rose in his hands without knowing it. "But I know what her family name is, and I know she has a fiancé that you absolutely can't compete with. I know what is waiting for them at the end of the year. A church wedding. Romeo, she may love you, but she won't marry you, even if she wants. "

    "I'll ask her myself, you don't speak for Juliet," Romeo snatched the paper flowers back, carefully flattening the folds. "And Paris loves you, why should I compete with him?"

    "Paris doesn't love me," Benvolio retorted without thinking. "We are just business, not love."

    "How can you think so?" Romeo looked at him in shock. "He loves you, and I can see that, you are so cruel!"

    It's not cruel or ruthless. Benvolio sighed in his heart. He began to reflect on whether he had protected Romeo so well in the years when the two brothers depended on each other, now that he became like this—simply ridiculous, unreserved, and too easy to be broken.

    Take a thousand steps back, even if Juliet really loves Romeo, and take another thousand steps ... even if Paris really loves him, this is impossible. They are trapeze, even if they are stars in the circus, even if they bring people joy and laughter, they are still the lowest entertainment practitioners when walking on the street. The job of trapeze performance is for the young. They can’t make a live by that for a lifetime. What will happen after they can no longer fly? How can they struggle to afford a roof and bread? They don’t have a future to be looking for. Mercutio gave them this home, but Benvolio knows that the good time is mean to be end. Moreover, the two trapeze brothers and Paris or Juliet, they were originally from two separate worlds.

    "She'll marry me," Romeo waved his fist violently at Banvolio. "You wait and see."

11

    Paris and Juliet's engagement was like a fishbone stuck in Benvolio's throat. Now he not only has to find a way to deal with his feelings for Paris, but also spread half his mind to worry about his little fool-like brother.

    The Mr. Escalus was not satisfied with just having sex with him. He invited Benvolio to see his drama performances. He took Benvolio to dinner with so much folks and knives that he couldn't figure out how to use. At least the food was delicious, Benvolio thought. He watched Paris's performance on the stage. He is another kind of star. He raised his hands and pitched his feet in an elegant and decent manner. Sometimes, Benvolio couldn't understand what he was saying. They were all in a state of contemplation. He was sleepy, and felt that it was unreasonable to fall asleep in the Grand Theater. After several too obvious yawns, the gentleman sitting beside him shoots him a glare.

    Even though he was uncomfortable staying in such a place, Benvolio persisted until the end of the show. Paris ran over to him and asked with anticipation how he performed. Benvolio smiled awkwardly, saying, "You look great."

    "This script is probably too rigid," Paris scratched Benvolio's shoulder indifferently. "After becoming a partner of the circus, I increasingly feel that such a drama is not interesting at all, your performance is the best. I’d like to see the audience laugh. You are the professor. I have tried to learn your skill for a long time and yet still making no progress at all. "

    Benvolio hums absent-minded. He followed Paris and walked out, feeling tired and sleepy as hell, worried that he would not have the strength to deal with the bedroom thing later tonight.

    However, the carriage called by Paris did not drive back to the man’s house, but instead it returned Benvolio to the dormitory where the circus lived. When the carriage stopped, he was awakened by Paris, not knowing where he is for a second. Paris walked him to the gate. Benvolio asked why he didn't return to his home.

    "I didn't really expect that you would come to see my show today," Paris hugged him. "This is a wonderful date, thank you. You have to be on stage tomorrow. Take a good rest."

    Before he could react, Paris kissed him with his face in his hands, his fingers brushed through Benvolio’s soft brown hair. Benvolio watched him leave blankly, pushing open the door of his dormitory. Romeo was doing his daily stretch before going to bed, and shocked to see him wearing the emotionless face. He ran over to support him and asked worryingly, "what happened?"

    "He said, this is a wonderful date," said Benvolio.

    Romeo didn't know where the problem was, and he asked with confusion, "Yeah, haven't you had a good date?"

    "We're not dating," Benvolio wide his eyes, "Romeo, that's the problem. We're not dating."

    "God," Romeo frowned his hair, "Benvolio Montague, don't you understand what is happening right now? You love him, he loves you, it's that simple! Bro, not I said, can’t you live even a tiny bit happier? I got tired just by looking you struggling. "

    "I do not……"

    "Don't you try to quibble with me," Romeo interrupted. "Is it that hard to follow your heart? It's just a matter of simple admission that you love him."

    Benvolio thrust his palm into his eye socket. The farce should have stopped, otherwise no matter he or Paris, no one will be able to retreat. He didn't want to end up like that. Too good memories are poison for people like him, and Paris's life can't bear such a stain.

12

     Critical comments appeared in the newspaper, and more and more people gathered to resist the circus performance, no matter how they shouted freaks, bullshit or social maggots, Benvolio tried to calm things down, but failed every time. From time to time, wounds appeared on Romeo’s body. Benvolio knew that they were not caused by the training. His righteous young brother always fearlessly rushed to the front of the theater to argue and protest, never really pay attention to what Benvolio used to warn him. When Benvolio is warping his wounds, the boy who used to be loud and sorrowful didn't say a word, just gnashed his teeth and let the anger grows in his heart silently.

    There is nothing Benvolio can help, and all he could do was telling Romeo to make sure he protects himself. Because of the frequent conflicts, everyone in the troupe has recently got bruises and cuts on them. Benvolio went to purchase medicines, and finally gave his mind a little time to think about Paris.

    He refused several dates to Paris for the passing weeks. But being a formal member of the circus, Paris came to the show as usual. Benvolio had already remembered where Paris was always sitting. He flew in the prescribed direction and Paris reached out to him.

I must tell him, Benvolio thought. With only two months left between Paris and Juliet's wedding, Benvolio knows that the two have begun to prepare. Juliet had complained to Romeo that there are too many cakes to taste, and the wedding invitation has been sent all over the world.

They have to stop.

    He walked back with a pack of pills and saw ominous black smoke coming out of the street. Benvolio hurried with fear, their flaming theater gradually became clear in his eyes. His friends stumbled out of it, panting awkwardly, and Romeo stood outside holding the elephant dragged by him coughing. Benvolio grabbed his arm and shouted in a mess: "Where is Paris? Where is Paris!"

    "I didn't, I didn't see him," Romeo said intermittently, shaking his head. "Mercutio, said he came to discuss the loan today."

    Benvolio looked around in a panic, and Mercutio was outside, hands supporting on the animal trainer girl to keep her from tremble--Paris was not with him.

    "Romeo!" Juliet didn't know when she came over, the girl cried and rushed into Romeo's arms, and the two clasped together, starting to control the sobbing voice. "God, gosh, you're fine, you're alive. "

    Benvolio dropped his bag and stormed into the sea of ​​fire.

    "Benvolio, come back!" Mercutio cought sight of the boy running toward the theater, and was about to pull him out. The fragile door finally collapsed after it’s long struggle in the fire, "Benvolio! "

    Romeo stood up in shock. He glanced at Juliet. Tears and sweat are all over her cheeks, but she firmly grasped Romeo's hand and nodded. However, Mercutio held him down and shouted: "You stay here."

    Their boss wrapped himself in a soaked curtain, breaking in the building through the side window.

    

13

    The fire made Benvolio's familiar theater strange. He couldn't see the path clearly and could only fumble forward with his impressions. Collapsed prop structures everywhere now became his roadblock. The thick smoke ran into his throat and he couldn't breathe. He was hurt and felt a burning pain in his body, but he kept walking inside.

    The wooden beam fell and rubbed his shoulder, Benvolio hissed in pain. He was smashed to his knees and climbed up on the hot ground. He called Paris' name, but his voice was hoarse enough that can’t make a sound. Since Paris was here to find Mercutio, he should be in the studio on the second floor ... Benvolio quickly ran towards the stairs and was hugged from behind when he stepped onto the first step.

    "Benvolio!" It was Mercutio calling him, "Get out with me!"

    "Let me go ..." Benvolio tried his best to push away Mercutio's arms around his waist, but he couldn't shake it, "Paris ..."

    "Paris is not here. He's gone to the bank!" Mercutio carried him to his shoulders without further explaining, and Benvolio struggled restlessly. Mercutio shouted at him, "I won't lie to you!"

    Mercutio ran out with him and fell out of the window at the last moment of the theatre dump. He didn’t see it when in the firing theatre, but now his vision became clear. Benvolio's shoulder and neck were burnt with flesh and blood, he carefully lowered the person, and Benvolio tried hard to open his eyes. He saw a white figure running towards him. Paris knelt beside him. For a while, his didn’t know where to place his hands. He wanted to hold the boy in his arms, but he dared not touch him anywhere. Benvolio pinched and reach out to hold his fingers, the stone in Paris’ heart finally fall. Benvolio smiled at Paris and lost consciousness.

    The rescue team called by Mercutio had arrived. They carried Benvolio on the stretcher, and the wound was urgently bandaged. Scarlet blood was still seeping through the thick gauze. Paris followed the way and they rushed to the hospital. only was left outside the operating room. Romeo and Juliet were sitting with him. Juliet grabbed Paris's hand. Romeo's eyes were terribly red. He whispered: "My brother rushed in because he can’t find you outside anywhere... I can't stop him."

    Paris closed his mouth and took a deep breath, he didn't know what to say, damn it, Paris, you're a lucky bastard, what the fuck are you still struggling with? You know he just doesn't say it.

    "I shouldn't say that, but," Romeo paused. "He loves you."

    he knows. Paris lost his words under the huge impact. He couldn't speak, then Juliet turned and hugged him.

    Suddenly something coming to his head, Paris took Juliet's arm and asked her in a pleasurable tone: "Miss Juliet Capulet, I'm sorry, I beg you to cancel our engagement."

    "I will, I will," Juliet said with tears. "I'll tell my parents tomorrow."

    "No, you don't have to," Paris interrupted her. "It was me who broke the engagement, you didn't do anything, you know what I mean. You did nothing."

    Juliet knew she needs to play the role of a victim, and even if she didn't want Paris to take all the responsibility, the man didn't care about anything now. She nodded: "I understand."

    "Thank you." Romeo also took his hand.

14

    Benvolio fell into a long coma, during which he had many unreasonable dreams. However, these dreams had a strange similarity. His palms were always wrapped in something warm. He was unable to lift from the swing because of his weak arms. When he fell down, there would always be some invisible force grabbed him tightly to prevent him from falling, strong and eager.

    Until one day, the warm he feels disappeared, Benvolio fell to the floor of the stage, and woke up in severe pain. The nurse told him that during his unconscious days, someone came to see him every day, held his hand and said something bland. Benvolio opened his mouth and asked when he came, only to find his voice hoarse. He reached out to rub his itchy throat, accidentally touched a pothole in the side of his neck.

    That day he saw for the first time what he looks like now. The left shoulder and neck were covered with burn scars on his arm. He had recovered more after a few weeks of treatment, but still, he trembled in the mirror and touched it. He still felt the sharp pain of being licked by the fire. Which should be a psychological effect. The muscle was inevitably injured. At first, his left hand couldn’t even hold up a cup, in the future he can only recover to a normal life under rehabilitation training. Benvolio knew he couldn't return to the stage.

    He was already asleep when Paris came to see him later, but after he woke up, Paris never showed up again. Romeo came to see him and mentioned Paris, Benvolio just avoided the topic: "I don't want to talk about this."

    Benvolio had been in a coma for too long, weeks passing by, it was time for Paris and Juliet's wedding. He was probably so busy now that he didn't have much time to see himself ... not that Benvolio wanted him to come. He had better not come. It's better not to come now for everyone, not even Romeo.

    He didn't dare to look at himself now. After confirming with the doctor that he would not be infected, Benvolio covered himself with a high-necked coat and scarf. He decided to get discharged on a cold day, and predicted to leave alone, but ran into Mercutio who is waiting at the hospital door.

    When he was hospitalized, he read the newspaper and knew that the troupe had abandoned the reconstruction of the theater. They set up a tent. As usual, Mercutio quarreled with the critic named Tybalt on the media. They won’t get up on persuading each other.

    "The contract hasn't expired yet," said Mercutio, "I'm not about to fire you."

    When found by Mercutio, the desperate Montague brothers almost signed the longest contract allowed in their careers so they could play in the circus until their retirement.

    Benvolio shook his head: "I can't fly now, can't sing, can't move the props, what do you pay for my salary? I can't even sit in the ticket office ... people will be scared away."

    "In the beginning, everyone thought that others would be scared away by themselves," Mercutio laughed. "Isn't that why I start looking for all of you in the beginning?"

    "Everyone is waiting for you to come home."

15

    Benvolio finally determined to leave.

    He really didn't know what else he could do, and while there was still a little deposit, most of which was he saved from Paris's carriage money, he had the opportunity to start a new life elsewhere. He knows that no one has given up on him, he just, he just doesn't know how to face these familiar people, and Paris. Fortunately, Paris will not appear in the theater now.

    Romeo respected his decision, so there was nothing else to say. Benvolio said goodbye to everyone. He packed up his few luggage, bought the midnight train ticket, and received everyone's hug.

    Paris's residence was empty at the moment. Juliet knew that he had been taken away from his house by the elders of the family. Romeo ran on the wide street with Juliet. The girl stepped on Romeo's shoulder and climbed over the wall. Romeo was outside the wall. Anxiously waiting, Juliet picked up a stone and smashed it at Paris's window.

    Dissolution of the marriage was undoubtedly a scandal. The reason why there was no news yet was because Paris was under house arrest. He cheated, had an affair, deceived his fiancée, and broke the heart of a good girl. Juliet was at Capulet's house. That two lines of tears are the best proof. The Escalus insisted on keeping their marriage relationship. They came up the solution of keeping detain Paris before the wedding, and then forced him into the church until the raw rice was cooked.

    Paris opened the window, leaned forward and asked expectantly, "Has he been discharged?"

    "Benvolio is leaving!" Juliet jumped under the windowsill anxiously. "It's the train tonight!"

    Paris then noticed that Juliet was carrying a thin bundle of rope. The girl tried it several times, and finally threw the end with the heavy weight into Paris's room. Paris fixed it and flipped out of the window. He slipped too fast, wiped his palms with two bloodstains.

    The cloak with the big hood covered him with only one face exposed. Benvolio was sitting on the platform holding the box, and he kept looking up to see the clock in the hall. Passengers passed one by one, his tickets were tucked in his pockets and soaked with sweat. Benvolio couldn't tell what he was waiting for. Benvolio thought, maybe, just a little possible, that Paris would come to him. But it was Benvolio who chose not to tell him, how could Paris know? Even if he knew, he was about to get married in a week, this was probably a sensitive time.

    Benvolio waited quietly until his train enter the station, waited until he got on, and Paris didn't show up until his train set off. He had been out of the platform for a long time, with his luggage kept between his feet. He lowered his head to study the signature that everyone wrote to him, his nose started to feel sore. The circus no longer has its own theater. They are performing in tents. They will go to perform all over the world. They will meet again, Benvolio thought. He was worried what Romeo would become of after Juliet got married. How could his brother learn to accept the reality when his elder brother left him?

    There was a gentleman coming in this deck, it seemed that he had gone the wrong way before. From the perspective of Benvolio, he could only see one leg passing by him, and then stopped and sat down opposite him. He looked at the familiar white leather shoes, felt a stinging stab in his eyes, and turned to look out of the window. The reflection from the windowpane reflected the image of the person opposite him, it’s Paris waved to him in the window: "Hi, Peter Pan."

    Benvolio turned his head in shock, and Paris smiled at him.

    "I finally caught up with you."

16

    You may afraid that I will sacrifice other options for this choice. But I only want to give you the second half of my life.

    You are willing to do it for me, and I am willing to do it for you.