#i love how much she loves Chita

[clarissadalloways]

(New to me) interview with Bebe Neuwirth for the Chita Rivera awards in 2017.

[bomberqueen17]

the saga isn't quite over yet tho

So, the kitchen. Well it still needs painting but also now I have to put everything away. We ate dinner Friday night over at dude's mom's house because all our food was there and also we didn't have chairs in the new kitchen yet.

Yeah. We gotta go find chairs.

First I want to start off with this detail.

[image description: a close-up of the white tiled wall, where it intersects with the ceiling, one of the cabinets, and the stainless steel vent hood over the stove. The tiles are staggered in a regular pattern, but there is a tiny, maybe half-inch-wide segment of tile next to the cabinet in every other row, which I know Jim had to painstakingly trim off and carefully adhere like that, so that it looks like the pattern goes behind the cabinet.] I pointed those out to Jim and said I loved them, and he smiled and said they were a pain in the ass but there's no other way to do it, and I said I would always always look at them and think about what a pain in the ass they had been to do.

Anyway. Friday evening we brought the cat over and she realized with delight she could not only get to her window but also then traverse the entire expanse of cabinet, daintily picking her way over the stove to go over the sink and stare out that window too. She's not likely to get into stuff and clearly did not enjoy crossing the stove, so I'm not super worried about her actually getting into trouble. We made do, sitting at the counter on a combo of the folding stool and dude's work chair which is adjustable to... not high enough but... well at least it's sort of comfortable.

There is a pile of very long trim pieces that is shoved into the living room and is sort of preventing use of about half the couch, so I didn't have anywhere else to sit all evening, lol. Good thing the chair was comfy, and I didn't totally mind it being too low.

But I was resolved that Saturday we were getting chairs somehow.

Saturday morning we got up and got ready, and discovered that our coffeemaker, a Mr. Coffee in excess of 15 years of age, had developed a fatal issue. Dude's mom only has a little one-cup Keurig and so we brought our machine over, and in the move it developed a crack in the pipe that brings water from the heating element to distribute it over the grounds. This is not really repairable. I had to kind of convert it from a drip to a pour-over, and stood there with the kettle carefully pouring water through the basket. RIP Mr. Coffee, you served us well and long.

Dude opened Wirecutter and looked up drip coffeemakers. He also researched stainless steel cleaners for me, and confirmed our itinerary with me.

We hit the road and got to Target before 9am. We got a bin to fit under the sink for recyclables, we got the last bits of shelf liner I still needed, we got a dish drainer (a nice, new, small one so we could retire the large decaying bamboo one we got also 15 years ago). We got hot glue sticks, randomly, because I need some. And we got the Cuisinart coffee maker that Wirecutter had said was the best drip coffeemaker for most people.

Then we went to Big Lots in case they had counter-height stools. They didn't.

Then we went to a different commercial region ten minutes away. (That's how it works, there are little clusters of shops along various roads and there's different ones in different areas. This other cluster also had a Target but an inferior one.) We went first to a plaza with a Petco, to get the special cat food Chita likes that isn't at the grocery store, and next door to that was a Harbor Freight, that sometimes has good rolling stools, but they did not have anything suitable. Next to *that* was a Raymour & Flanagan furniture store.

Well. When we entered the furniture store, we unwittingly passed through some kind of portal, as it was much larger on the inside than on the outside. We wandered, dazed and lost and slightly overheated; we sat in some chairs and they weren't quite right, those were too hard, these had nail head designs on the backs that dude didn't like, these were a dark wood that matched nothing in our house. The saleslady found us and asked to help, and we tried to show her the first ones we'd looked at, which had been sort of close to what we wanted, but we could not find them and roamed a long time, together with her, finding new rooms full of other furniture, lost and weary. Finally she just searched their website, and found that nothing answered the description we'd given her and that she was sure she'd also seen somewhere around here. She gave us her card, and we stumbled back out into the morning, feeling like we'd sojourned a thousand years in the fairy world.

We went to Homegoods, which I'd been to the week before, and they'd had some stools that I thought sounded a lot like what Dude was describing as his desired seating item. So I led him straight to them. They had a total of six stools in their display. Four of them were of one set. And Dude was like "Oh yeah! Just like that!"

So we pulled one out and sat on it, and it was comfortable enough, and the right height, and functional, so we said probably we should get these. And we went over and got some kitchen storage thingies, some lazy susans and a drawer organizer thing and whatever, but then we came back to these stools and there was an employee there and we asked her if we were supposed to just shove these in our cart or what and she was like oh hang on and got a guy from the back to come take them to the front, and he was like "your name's on 'em so just say those are yours when you check out". Bada-bing. We got two of them, apparently Nautica brand, which I've heard of but don't know anything about. Sure!

[image description: a view into the trunk of a hatchback (Subaru Forester), showing two gray-upholstered wooden stools crammed in 69-style to the left (in the progress of being crammed in, there's Dude's arm in the middle pushing the second one), and to the right is a Target bag and the box of a coffeemaker and the recycle bin and all the shit we got at Target jumbled into the corner.]

Triumphant, we set out for home, but there was another furniture store on the way home and Dude wondered if we ought to go see, just to see what they had. So we did, we went in and I beelined for the recliners.

See, the thing is, Dude's mom has a recliner in her living room. And it's the throne, where she watches TV. And Chita loves to sit on it, it's where she spent most of the time we were staying there. And I sat in it mostly because that's where the cat wanted to be, but oh wow, it was comfortable. And lo... when I stood up, my hip was in the right place, and there was no pain, unlike when I unfold myself from shrimping on the couch and have to put myself back together every time.

And yeah my general pain levels were way down the whole time we stayed there, even though the mattress is way too hard and ought to have fucked me up pretty good. And...

shit. I'm the kind of middle-aged that needs a recliner.

And they had one, at Ashley, and it was on sale for enough that the delivery fee and taxes still made it come out less than the sticker said. But they can't deliver it until late January. Which is fine because our living room is full of kitchen furniture and I have to finish putting all of it away.

So. New kitchen and also new living room furniture. But I'll worry about that later.

Now we could go home triumphantly and get started putting stuff away.

The chairs are yet another neutral, but it's a coordinating neutral, they kind of match the countertops, with a creamy-white kind of base color flecked in grays. We have made no progress thereby at choosing a color for the kitchen-- I had been prepared to accept a boldly-colored item and have to pick colors around it, but no. We remain classy, tasteful, and neutral, and I'm going to have to do something about it.

[image description: A bay window with a glossy countertop in front of it, and in front of that are a pair of counter-height stools, with cream-upholstered seats and backs, and wooden legs.]

I think I need a better lamp to go on this windowsill. There's plenty of lighting in the room, but no non-overhead light for this space, and nothing controllable from this end of the room. I'm vaguely considering a tiny chandelier if I can find such a thing, that would be fun.

I also think it would be fun to install some kind of art piece up there in that chunk of wall between the trim and the ceiling, you see that narrow band there? It's like six or eight inches by like. 48 inches. I'll measure it later. A slogan would be funny but I also just had the idea of like, a mini Bayeux tapestry only depicting some other kind of event, not sure what.

I'll put it on the list, LOL.

Anyway-- the really critical things are 1) that it turns out our gray kitchen coordinates beautifully with our gray cat, who is of course the most beautiful, and 2) our gray cat can hop up on these stools and thus is able to avail herself of Attention and Snuggles. (I had worried I'd have to get her a stepstool I'd have to then leave set up, so she could reach this window.)

[Image description: a gray and white cat is encircled within a man's arms on the kitchen counter, and has the back of her neck pressed against his face, her eyes closed in contentment.] She was rubbing her ear against his nose, which is a thing she for some reason loves to do.

So. All is well. I've been putting things in cabinets and taking them back out, and running everything I possibly can through the dishwasher, and to my astonishment haven't wrecked a thing yet I didn't intend to (I already know from being at my sister's that a certain category of plastic container will mostly melt in there but that's fine if you're just trying to get it clean to recycle it, it's not like it gets onto other things). And Dude realized the dishwasher has an app, so he paired his phone to it.

At Middle-Little sister's prompting, we've named the dishwasher Suds MacKenzie, since it lets you pick a name and that's the funniest one we could think of.

We retrieved our groceries from Dude's mom's house and cooked dinner and set off the smoke alarm so now we've really broken it in.

The stove is *really level*. For the record.

[ducktoonsfanart]

Daisy Duck and Rosinha Maria Vaz dance a Latin dance - Louie Duck cries along with Tanya Mousekewitz and Princess Ariel - Tribute to Chita Rivera and Erika Robledo - Quack Pack and crossover voice tribute

Usually I don't publish drawings related to the death of famous and dear people, except for All Souls' Day, but I was partly affected by this news when I found out about it on Instagram, so I dedicated two drawings to famous people who died these days.

The first drawing shows Daisy Duck and Rosinha Maria Vaz dancing a Latin American dance modeled after the famous Broadway dancer, singer and actress, Chita Rivera. Chita Rivera was born in 1931 and is really famous for many things especially when she acted on Broadway. Unfortunately, she died yesterday, that is, on January 30, 2024. Many thanks for the great performances as well as learning how to dance, and Daisy and Rosinha in my headcanon are definitely big fans of her, and I used these versions as a fusion of Quack Pack with Ze Carioca Brazilian comics in my own way. Yes, considering that Daisy is Donald's girlfriend and Rosinha Vaz is Jose's girlfriend, and Donald and Jose have been together for a while, it wouldn't be bad to see the two of them together.

The second drawing shows a tribute to Latin American Spanish actress Erika Robledo who has voiced various characters in the Latin American Spanish dub, but especially Louie Duck from the Quack Pack, Princess Ariel from The Little Mermaid (mainly the Disney TV series) and Tanya Mousekewitz (in their dub Tanya Ratonovich) from the movie An American Tail and other characters. Yes, unfortunately she died last week at the age of 48. So I drew Louie from the Quack Pack, Tanya and Princess Ariel hugging each other and crying and grieving for being abandoned by the actress who played them. And to be honest, even though I haven't watched that many Latin American Spanish dub videos, at least as much as I have watched Quack Pack in Latin American Spanish dub she wasn't bad and she was great at her job. Many thanks for the great acting. Of course, other persons and people who died recently, may their souls rest in peace.

Rest in peace, Chita Rivera and Erika Robledo! Amen.

Feel free to like and reblog this, but don't use these ideas without mentioning me, thanks. However, it is sad when some loved ones leave early. May God grant them the Kingdom of Heaven! Amen.

[dietraumerei]

I like your OCs so much so like, in How To Fall (In Love With An Angel), do you have any thoughts on what they're all up to? And how Aziraphale and Chita's relationship is?

Ooooh -- this is a good one to ponder over!

I think everyone is basically doing well. Elsie never really settles down, but she's always got lovers and friends, and is happy and has a lot of good sex and is very pleased with her life. I think Asha winds up moving away to be with her girlfriend (...whose name I am blanking on, whoops). Not in a bad way, just in the way of life, and they fall out of touch with her but maybe text once a year or so on birthdays.

Aziraphale and Chita come back stronger than ever, and love each other fiercely. They both always regret their fight, and try to make up for it, and for the time lost to fighting, even years and years later. Chita is always, forever, very close to Aziraphale and Crowley, and deeply loved by them both.

[leleamo]

Part 27

— Go to the explosion site and take the crystals? — Panther said, looking at Chita with Ray in her arms, who fortunately wasn't bleeding as much now. The people of the village were walking around the destroyed place. The snake commander, along with some soldiers, were listening to the conversation.

— Yes, that's what Krystal said. Can you do that? — Wolf said over the radio.

— Of course, just wait a little bit. — Panther turned off the radio and walked over to his beloved. — Honey, we need to go to the explosion site. Krystal's orders.

She stood up, with difficulty because she wasn't used to Ray's weight in her arms. — And where am I going to leave Ray? I can't just leave him here and

— My dear, look around, they'll take care of him- — No! Let's go together! — The commander said with a smile like his soldiers. The rest of the people looked at them, confused. — We know what that thing was that our empress turned into! and we know very well how to solve this problem!

— and we want to save our empress!! — said one of the soldiers, the rest of the people nodded courageously, and Panther and Chita looked at each other, then smiled at each other

So, everyone ran to the site of the explosion, when they arrived, they acted as if they were happy and excited about the situation, that was not common for them, but they certainly loved helping Anabel, while Panther removed the last crystal and turned on the communicator, a snake looked at Chita, with its eyes on Ray, the snake approached, touching her shoulder and saying "don't worry, he'll be fine, just like I was fine the last time this happened" the snake said looking at the circle, now without crystals, and left Chita, who... didn't quite understand what she meant...

— ready Krystal, crystals removed — Wolf said on the radio, flying over Anabel

— perfect! now her skin must be weaker! let's shoot everyone together! the real Anabel must be inside! Someone will need to go in there... — everything Krystal had said came from the mysterious voice in her mind

— I'm going there — Slippy said, looking at Anabel sadly, but with hope!

— Great plan, Krystal — Fox said proudly of his girlfriend — okay! everyone! follow me! — he and the others accelerated in their ships, got ready, and shot! the shots hit Anabel, who definitely felt it hard, moving slowly, in pain, could see her skin opening, revealing the inside of her body to be a huge storm, the shots stopped, and Slippy advanced into the storm.

the place was not very visible, with black clouds, carrying thunder and lightning, flying lower, he saw Anabel, sitting, wet from the rain, surrounded by small crystals and crying...? the arwing landed and Silppy got out, going towards her

— Anabel...?

— Silppy...

— what happened? Andrew said you went with Molino during the fight in the village..

— That creep promised to stop everything if I went with him... all so I would get stressed out about what he said..

— What did he say?

— That I'm useless, that I failed my only mission, that I failed you guys who-

Slippy took her hand, with a cute smile on his face — Anabel, relax, it's okay, Molino is gone, you haven't failed anyone, and accepting to go with him just to save your people will never be failing your people...

The empress smiled, feeling warm inside and slowly calming down, the storm slowly dissipated... she stood up — You speak well, Slippy, let's go...

Slippy blushed a little, but anyway, he got into the arwing and she sat on the wing

— Don't you think it's better to get in? It's safer

— there's clearly no room for someone as big as me there

— eh... hehe, true

Taking flight, they left there, distancing themselves, while the carcass of the chinese dragon slowly transformed into light, which exploded, in silence, while the bright light spread throughout the universe...

Now, Star Fox, Star Wolf, landed in Radia, near the circle, everyone screamed with happiness, running to their empress who slowly descended from the wing, she received hugs, praise, and thanks to the heavens for being alive.

"Madam, the light passed through here!" said one of the snakes, creating a smile on Anabel's face, she looked at everyone from Star Fox and Wolf, and announced lovingly

— Please, a moment of everyone's attention, for a long time, my family lived with this power and connection to the crystals, even coming from melancholic feelings, thanks to the powers of the crystals here, we always have a moment of happiness after these monstrous storms, and one of them is this...

Slowly over the sky, very small points of light fell on them, as if it were snowing, but it wasn't cold, it was warm, like a hug from a family member, one of these white and shiny dots fell on Fox's hand...

— What is this...? — Fox asked

— I don't know

— Neither do I

two familiar voices came from behind Fox, he turned around scared, they were the voices of his parents, not only their voice, but their bodies too! transparent and bright as crystal

James and Vixy, ladies and gentlemen! Fox burst into tears and went for a warm hug

Falco, who was at his side, was startled, but smiled awkwardly — cool, we're seeing spirits, and it's a good thing my parents aren't here... heh

— Mommy!! — Slippy said, almost falling off the arwing to hug his mother, a chubby little frog shorter than him — this is a miracle!!

while the little frog jumped for joy, Anabel and her grandparents looked

— is this your suitor? — asked the strong blue Chinese dragon, seeing her granddaughter blush

— Grandma, be quiet— she said, while her grandfather glared at Fox and Krystal with hatred

Krystal looked around, hoping not to find her parents among the dead but...

"They're already dead, dear, just like me" the mysterious voice said, as a strong light came out of the crystal on Krystal's forehead, the light formed into a fox lady, very similar to Krystal, only older

— Grandma... was that you?

— Hehehe, I lived here for a while in my life, and if I wanted to be somewhere before I died, it was with my granddaughter... come here

the two hugged each other warmly, and went to look for Krystal's parents among the crowd

Wolf watched James from far, while Yanter was by his side

— Aren't you going to say hi to your old boss, Wolf?

— I can see your parents from here, why don't you go talk to them?

— haha- wait, SERIOUSLY?!

she ran to her parents, almost knocking them over with her hug, she cried with joy without being able to speak, between the laughs and cries of joy, James called for his old friend, he missed her too, and so did she.

— brother! — the little chameleon said hugging her brother, Leon

— hi little thing! long time no see!

— please, don't tell me you killed her — Panther asked scared, the girl looked eight years old

— hehe, no, but it was my fault, I was the one who decided to run away from home with her, by the way... shit, my parents haven't died yet? I'm going to pay them a visit in Corneria... hehehe

— you don't say that with your sister around- Ahu! — Panther felt a blow on the back of his neck, he turned around and saw a dead dog, apparently one of Chita's coworkers — what happened? shouldn't you be with your leader?

— I saw from up there how you treated her! You better take good care of her or I-

— Oh, save your time and leave me alone — he heard her snort, but he didn't care, he smiled as he watched Chita cry at the reunion of her deceased teammates

And Andrew was happy, holding Ray in his arms, Ray who had his wounds healed by the miraculous light, both happy, hugging each other lovingly

— Then I shot Molino in the head and bam! His brains flew everywhere!! Hahah!!!

— Oh, how disgusting, Andrew!! Hahaha!

— See? I told you I was going to free you!

— Thanks man... huh? — Ray noticed someone in the distance, he seemed confused... it was Molino.

— No... I failed..?? No, no... — Molino was shaking, but he bumped into someone he didn't want to, Andross — Ah!! Master! I'm sorry, I- I tried!! I tried with all my life!!!

— ... pathetic. — was the only thing he said, and he walked away, leaving Molino alone and in tears...

— wow... — Ray said

— well done, hey! now that everything is over, I think it's time for you to start over, only with me! let's live in this infinite universe together!!!

— hehe... I'd love to!

now, slowly the spirits disappeared, returning to the afterlife, it was time to go, Chita had to go along, but she promised to meet Panther, and Yanter, she wanted to go with her brother, to try to solve her cigar problems in Corneria, and Anabel said goodbye to Slippy with love

now, back to Corneria, with the end of this adventure, it was time for a new adventure! but that would be for another day...

The end!

[ryosmne]

OMG SIA!!! IM SO HAPPY FOR YOU!!! 🤩💜👏✨

200 people that appreciate and love your talent [including me ofc 😜]

I would love more about Dancer!Sukuna Please 🥺. Maybe Sukuna and MC end up late at the studio rehearsing the new choreo but since it’s just them the mood is less strict and more fun and flirty!! 💃🕺

About me? Well, since I found out your Tattoo Artist!Sukuna my brain has been in brain rot Sukuna state 25/8 lol 😆 but tbh, I don’t regret it 💅✨, funfact I’m a fashion student and my pronouns are she/her 😬.

Anyways, I’m so proud of you! And I know you’ll reach even more within the time and the amazing works you come up!!! ✨💜✨

Thank you so so much for the kind words, I really appreciate it a lot 💜💜💜

I completely forgot I had made Dancer! Sukuna headcannons, so thanks for reminding me :D I'm glad I could infect you with my constant thoughts of Sukuna as a secretly really soft tattoo artist 💕. Again thank you so much I'm all giddy and happy :> and I'm sorry it took a bit long, college was a bit of a bitch but I'm getting back on track :D will definitely revisit Dancer! Sukuna too. Hope you enjoy reading and have a good one :> 💗💜💜💜

Choreographer/ Dancer! Sukuna x F!reader

Warnings: a bit of suggestive content, language, that's all.

"You're dragging your left foot again."

Of course y/n was dragging her feet at this point, the studio was supposed to be closed, but her and Sukuna stayed late, a common practice amongst them, cause Sukuna wants to show her the choreographies that don't make the class, today was a bit different though.

"What's with you, I've showed you the routine three times and you're still messing up the footwork"

Y/n grasped choreos really fast, usually by two ties she'd have everything down tonight wasn't the same, she didn't really know why but she was much more nervous that usual.

"I don't want to keep you here if I keep messing up, I'm sure you've got better things to do and I've got class tomorrow"

Sukuna gave her a little laugh, this girl was an open book. "What's the fun in going home so early? We haven't even gotten to the good part yet and you better be designing those sneakers I asked two months ago in your 'class'"

Good part? Y/n questioned in her brain, fearing that her oh so lovely trainer would have her do flips. Again.

"My legs hurt, give me a break."

"Come on, you're always so whiny, let's just do it together"

Together?

Sukuna turned the music on again, that guy who lives upstairs would definitely make another noice complaint, but Sukuna couldn't care less. This scene has been stuck in his mind for days and a guy with a stick up his ass isn't going to stop him from actually living what he's been replaying in his head, dying to actually experience.

"Come here"

Y/n didn't need to be told that twice, and hurried over to him, Sukuna grabbed her shoulders and placed her Infront of him as gently as he could, he's a big guy.

"Ok, follow my lead"

He did his usual five, six, seven, eight and quickly begun moving.

Y/n followed along as best she could, her muscle memory kicking in, she found it easy to execute everything Sukuna was showing her for about an hour and a half.

She barely even noticed the intimacy of their moves at first, untill Sukuna's hand found her waist and pulled her back to reality. His presence was almost suffocating and the way his eyes never left hers didn't help either, but y/n tried her best not to mess up from his constant distraction. One way to do that is to play along, but what would happen if she did? There was undeniable chemistry between the two, everyone could see it, rumours were spreading in the studio that something was going on with them and the little crowd that gossiped and fawned over them doing their thing only added fuel to the fire.

Sukuna and y/n moved in perfect harmony, the sharpness he had complimenting her softness, their styles are so different but they work so well together, their eyes still locked, Sukuna found y/n's expression impossible to read as the song was close to an end, but he only wanted to saw her in closer just so he could figure it out.

The song was over much sooner than either of them wanted, the final poses being a bit too close for comfort, with y/n laying under Sukuna, who stared down at her with a grin plastered on his face

"Would you look at that? you should've said you wanted to do it together from the beginning, you didn't miss a single step."

Y/n let a groan out as he rolled off of her.

"My legs are killing me."

"I can think of a few ways to loosen up."

Y/n reached over to him and smacked him on the arm too tired to try and argue with him.

How was he not out of breath after this many hours and still in his usual teasing mode, one can never know.

"You should make them blue, like that top you wore yesterday, hightops."

"What?"

"The shoes, I want them in blue."

"Didn't you want purple and orange Chita print last time?"

Both of them were sweaty laying there staring at the ceiling.

"I didn't think you took that seriously."

[unpopularwiththepopulace]

Chicago at Long Beach, LA, 1992: A Story of Bebe Neuwirth, Choreography, Riots, Revivals, and Relevance

Recently and rather excitingly, more footage made its way to YouTube of the 1992 version of Chicago staged at Long Beach in LA, featuring Bebe Neuwirth as Velma and Juliet Prowse as Roxie.

Given its increased accessibility and visibility, this foregrounds the chance to talk about the show, explore some of its details, and look at the part it might have played as a contribution to the main ‘revival’ of Chicago in 1996 – which has given the show one of the most resonant and highly enduring legacies seen within the theatre ever.

This Civic Light Opera production at Long Beach was staged in 1992, four years before the ‘main’ revival made its appearance at Encores! or had its subsequent Broadway transfer, and it marked the first time a major revival of Chicago had been seen since the original 1975 show disappeared nearly 15 years previously.

This event is of particular significance given its position as the first step in the chain of events that make up part of this ‘new Chicago’ narrative and the resultant entire multiple-decade spanning impact of the show hereafter.

But for all of its pivotal status, it’s seldom discussed or remembered anywhere near as much as it should be.

This may be in part because of how little video or photographic record has remained in easily accessible form to date, and also because it only played for around two weeks in the first place. As such, it is a real treat on these occasions to get to see such incredible and unique material that would otherwise have been lost forever after such a brief existence some 30 years ago.

This earlier revival of the show still feels like what we have come to identify “Chicago” as in modern comprehension of the musical, most principally because the choreography was also done by Ann Reinking. As with the 1996 production, this meant dance was done “very much in the master’s style” – or Mr Bob Fosse.

The link below is time-stamped to Bebe and Juliet performing ‘Hot Honey Rag’. As one of the most infamous numbers in Broadway history, it’s undoubtedly a dance that has been watched many times over. But never before have I seen it done quite like this.

https://youtu.be/4HKkwtRE-II?t=2647

‘Hot Honey Rag’ was in fact formerly called ‘Keep It Hot’, and was devised by Fosse as “a compendium of all the steps he learned as a young man working in vaudeville and burlesque—the Shim Sham, the Black Bottom, the Joe Frisco, ‘snake hips,’ and cooch dancing”, making it into the “ultimate vaudeville dance act” for the ultimate finale number.

Ann would say about her choreographical style in relation to Fosse, “The parts where I really deviate is in adding this fugue quality to the numbers. For better or worse, my style is more complicated.” The ‘complexity’ and distinctness she speaks of is certainly evident in some of the sections of this particular dance. There are seemingly about double the periodicity of taps in Bebe and Juliet’s Susie Q sequence alone. One simply has to watch in marvel not just at the impressive synchronicity and in-tandem forward motion, but now also at the impossibly fast feet. Other portions that notably differ from more familiar versions of the dance and thus catch the eye are the big-to-small motion contrast after the rising ‘snake hips’ section, and all of the successive goofy but impeccably precise snapshot sequence of arm movements and poses.

More focus is required on the differences and similarities of this 1992 production compared against the original or subsequent revival, given its status and importance as a bridging link between the two.

The costumes in 1975 were designed by Patricia Zipprodt (as referenced in my previous post on costume design), notably earning her a Tony Award nomination. In this 1992 production, some costumes were “duplications” of Zipprodt’s originals, and some new designs by Garland Riddle – who added a “saucy/sassy array” in the “typical Fosse dance lingerie” style. It is here we begin to see some of the more dark, slinkiness that has become so synonymous with “Chicago” as a concept in public perception.

The sets from the original were designed by Tony Walton – again, nominated for a Tony – and were reused with completeness here. This is important as it shows some of the original dance concepts in their original contexts, given that portions of the initial choreography were “inextricably linked to the original set designs.” This sentiment is evident in the final portion of ‘Cell Block Tango’, pictured and linked at the following time-stamp below, which employs the use of mobile frame-like, ladder structures as a scaffold for surrounding movements, and also a metaphor for the presence of jail cell bars.

https://youtu.be/4HKkwtRE-II?t=741

Defining exactly how much of the initial choreography was carried across is an ephemeral line. Numbers were deemed “virtually intact” in the main review published during the show’s run from the LA Times – or even further, “clones” of the originals. It is thought that the majority of numbers here exhibit greater similarity to the 1975 production than the 1996 revival, except for ‘Hot Honey Rag’ which is regarded as reasonably re-choreographed. But even so, comparing against remaining visible footage of Gwen Verdon and Chita Rivera from the original, or indeed alternatively against Bebe and Annie later in the revival, does not present an exact match to either.

This speaks to the adaptability and amorphousness of Fosse-dance within its broader lexicon. Fosse steps are part of a language that can be spoken with subtle variations in dialect. Even the same steps can appear slightly different when being used in differing contexts, by differing performers, in differing time periods.

It also speaks to some of the main conventions of musical theatre itself. Two main principles of the genre include its capacity for fluidity and its ability for the ‘same material’ to change and evolve over time; as well as the fact comparisons and comprehensions of shows across more permanent time spans are restricted by the availability of digital recordings of matter that is primarily intended to be singular and live.

Which versions of the same song do you want to look at when seeking comparisons?

Are you considering ‘Hot Honey Rag’ at a performance on the large stage at Radio City Music Hall at the Tony Awards in 1997? Or on a small stage for TV shows, like the Howard Cosell or Mike Douglas shows in 1975? Or on press reel footage from 1996 on the ‘normal’ stage context in a format that should be as close to a replica as possible of what was performed in person every night?

Bebe often remarks on and marvels at Ann’s capacity to travel across a stage. “If you want to know how to travel, follow Annie,” she says. This exhibits how one feature of a performance can be so salient and notable on its own, and yet so precariously dependent on the external features its constrained to – like scale.

Thus context can have a significant impact on how numbers are ultimately performed for these taped recordings and their subsequent impact on memory. Choreography must adjust accordingly – while still remaining within the same framework of the intention for the primary live performances.

This links to Ann’s own choreographical aptitude, in the amount of times it is referenced how she subtly adapted each new version of Chicago to tailor to individual performers’ specific merits and strengths as dancers.

Ann’s impact in shaping the indefinable definability of how Chicago is viewed, loved and remembered now is not to be understated.

An extensive 1998 profile – entitled “Chicago: Ann Reinking’s musical” – explores in part some of Ann’s approaches to creating and interacting with the material across a long time span more comprehensively. Speaking specifically to how she choreographed this 1992 production in isolation, Ann would say, “I knew that Bob’s point of view had to permeate the show, you couldn’t do it without honoring his style.” In an age without digital history at one’s fingertips, “I couldn’t remember the whole show. So I choreographed off the cuff and did my own thing. So you could say it was my take on his thoughts.” Using the same Fosse vocabulary, then – “it’s different. But it’s not different.”

One further facet that was directly carried across from the initial production were original cast members, like Barney Martin as returning as Amos, and Michael O'Haughey reprising his performance as Mary Sunshine. Kaye Ballard as Mama Morton and Gary Sandy as Billy Flynn joined Bebe and Juliet to make up the six principals in this new iteration of the show.

Bebe, Gary and Juliet can be seen below in a staged photo for the production at the theatre.

The venue responsible for staging this Civic Light Opera production was the Terrace Theatre in Long Beach in Los Angeles. Now defunct, this theatre and group in its 47 years of operation was credited as providing some of “the area’s most high profile classics”. Indeed, in roughly its final 10 years alone, it staged shows such as Hello Dolly!, Carousel, Wonderful Town (with Donna McKechnie), Gypsy, Sunday in the Park with George, La Cage aux Folles, Follies, 1776, Funny Girl, Bye Bye Birdie, Pal Joey, and Company. The production of Pal Joey saw a return appearance from Elaine Stritch, reprising her earlier performance as Melba Snyder with the memorable song ‘Zip’. This she had done notably some 40 years earlier in the original 1952 Broadway revival, while infamously and simultaneously signed as Ethel Merman’s understudy in Call Me Madam as she documented in Elaine Stritch at Liberty.

Juliet Prowse appeared as Phyllis in Follies in 1990, and Ann Reinking acted alongside Tommy Tune in Bye Bye Birdie in 1991, in successive preceding seasons before this Chicago was staged.

But for all of its commendable history, the theatre went out of business in 1996 just 4 years after this, citing bankruptcy. Competition provided in the local area by Andrew Lloyd Webber and his influx of staging’s of his British musicals was referenced as a contributing factor to the theatre group’s demise. This feat I suspect Bebe would have lamented or expressed remorse for, given some of her comments in previous years on Sir Lloyd Webber and the infiltration of shows from across the pond: “I had lost faith in Broadway because of what I call the scourge of the British musicals. They've dehumanized the stage [and] distanced the audience from the performers. I think 'Cats' is like Patient Zero of this dehumanization.”

That I recently learned that Cats itself can be rationalised in part as simply A Chorus Line with ears and tails I fear would not improve this assessment. In the late ‘70s when Mr Webber noticed an increase of dance ability across the general standard of British theatre performers, after elevated training and competition in response to A Chorus Line transferring to the West End, he wanted to find a way he could use this to an advantage in a format that was reliable to work. Thus another similarly individual, sequential and concept-not-plot driven dance musical was born. Albeit with slightly more drastic lycra leotards and makeup.

But back in America, the Terrace theatre could not be saved by even the higher incidence of stars and bigger Broadway names it was seeing in its final years, with these aforementioned examples such as Bebe, Annie, Tommy, Juliet, Donna, or Elaine. The possibility of these appearances in the first place were in part attributable to the man newly in charge as the company’s producer and artistic director – Barry Brown, Tony award-winning Broadway producer. 

Barry is linked to Bebe’s own involvement with this production of Chicago, through his relationship – in her words – as “a friend of mine”.

At the time, Bebe was in LA filming Cheers, when she called Barry from her dressing room. Having been working in TV for a number of years, she would cite her keenness to find a return to the theatre, “[wanting] to be on a stage so badly” again. The theatre is the place she has long felt the most sense of ease in and belonging for, frequently referring to herself jokingly as a “theatre-rat” or remarking that it is by far the stage that is the “medium in which I am most comfortable, most at home, and I think I'm the best at.”

Wanting to be back in that world so intensely, she initially proposed the notion of just coming along to the production to learn the parts and be an understudy. Her desire to simply learn the choreography alone was so strong she would say, “You don’t have to pay me or anything!”

She’d had the impetus to make the call to Barry in the first place only after visiting Chita Rivera at her show in LA with a friend, David Gibson. At the time, the two did not know each other that well. Bebe had by this point not even had the direct interaction of taking over in succession for Chita in Kiss of the Spider Woman in London. This she would do the following year, with Chita guiding her generously through the intricacies of the Shaftesbury Theatre and the small, but invaluable, details known only to Chita that would be essential help in meeting stage cues and playing Aurora.

Bebe had already, however, stepped into Chita’s shoes multiple times, as Anita in West Side Story as part of a European tour in the late ‘70s, or again in a Cleveland Opera Production in 1988; and additionally as Nickie in the 1986 Broadway revival of Sweet Charity – both of which were roles Chita had originated on stage or screen. In total, Velma would bring the tally of roles that Bebe and Chita have shared through the years to four, amongst many years also of shared performance memories and friendship.

They may not have had a long history of personal rather than situational connections yet when Bebe visited her backstage at the end of 1991, but Chita still managed to play a notable part in the start of the first of Bebe’s many engagements with Chicago.

After Bebe hesitantly relayed her idea, Chita told her, “You should call! Just call!”

So call Bebe did. One should listen to Chita Rivera, after all.

Barry Brown rang her back 10 minutes later after suggesting the idea to Ann Reinking, who was otherwise intended to be playing Velma. The response was affirmative. “Oh let her play the part!”, Annie had exclaimed. And so begun Bebe’s, rather long and very important, journey with Chicago.

In 1992, this first step along the road to the ‘new Chicago’ was well received.

Ann Reinking with her choreography was making her first return to the Fosse universe since her turn in the 1986 Sweet Charity revival. Diametrically, Rob Marshall was staring his first association with Fosse material in providing the show’s direction – many years before he would go on to direct the subsequent film adaptation also. Together, they created a “lively, snappy, smarmy” show that garnered more attention than had been seen since the original closed.

“Bob Fosse would love [this production],” it was commended at the time, “Especially the song-and-dance performance of Bebe Neuwirth who knocks everyone’s socks off.” High praise.

Bebe was also singled out for her “unending energy”, but Juliet too received praise in being “sultry and funny”. Together, the pair were called “separate but equal knockouts” and an “excellent combination”.

Juliet was 56 at the time, and sadly died just four years later. Just one year after the production though, Juliet was recorded as saying, “In fact, we’re thinking of doing it next year and taking it out on the road.”

Evidently that plan never materialised. But it is interesting to note the varied and many comments that were made as to the possibility of the show having a further life.

Bebe at the time had no recollection that the show might be taken further, saying “I didn’t know anything about that.” Ann Reinking years later would remark “no one seemed to think that the time was necessarily ripe for a full-blown Broadway revival.” While the aforementioned LA Times review stated in 1992 there were “unfortunately, no current plans” for movement, it also expressed desire and a call to action for such an event. “Someone out there with taste, money and shrewdness should grab it.”

The expression that a show SHOULD move to Broadway is by no means an indication that a show WILL move. But this review clearly was of enough significance for it to be remembered and referenced by name by someone who was there when it came out at the time, Caitlin Carter, nearly 30 years later. Caitlin was one of the six Merry Murderesses, principally playing Mona (or Lipschitz), at each of this run, Encores!, and on Broadway. She recalled, “Within two days, we got this rave review from the LA Times, saying ‘You need to take the show to Broadway now!’” The press and surrounding discussions clearly created an environment in which “there was a lot of good buzz”, enough for her to reason, “I feel like it planted seeds… People started to think ‘Oh we need to revive this show!’”

The seeds might have taken a few years to germinate, but they did indeed produce some very successful and beautiful flowers when they ultimately did.

In contrast with one of the main talking points of the ‘new Chicago’ being its long performance span, one of the first things I mentioned about this 1992 iteration was the rather short length of its run. It is stated that previews started on April 30th, for an opening on May 2nd, with the show disappearing in its final performance on May 17th. Less than a fleeting 3 weeks in total.

Caitlin Carter discussed the 1992 opening on Stars in the House recently. It’s a topic of note given that their opening night was pushed back from the intended date by two days, meaning Ann Reinking and Rob Marshall had already left and never even saw the production. “The night we were supposed to open in Long Beach was the Rodney King riots.”

Local newspapers at the time when covering the show referenced this large and significant event, by noting the additional two performances added in compensation “because of recent interruptions in area social life.”

It sounds rather quaint put like that. In comparison, the horror and violence of what was actually going on can be statistically summated as ultimately leaving 63 people dead, over 2300 injured, and more than 12,000 having been arrested, in light of the aftermath of the treatment faced by Rodney King. Or more explicitly, the use of excessive violence against a black man at police hands with videotaped footage.

A slightly later published review wrote of how this staging was thus “timely” – in reference to an observed state of “the nation’s moral collapse”.

‘Timeliness’ is a matter often referenced when discussing why the 1996 revival too was of such success. The connection is frequently made as to how this time, the revival resonated with public sentiment so strongly – far more than in 1975 when the original appeared – in part because of the “exploding headlines surrounding the OJ Simpson murder case”. The resulting legal and public furore around this trial directly correlates with the backbone and heart of the musical itself.

I'm writing this piece now at the time of the ongoing trial to determine the verdict of George Floyd’s murder, another black man suffering excessive and ultimately fatal violence at police hands with videotaped footage.

I think the point is that this is never untimely. And that the nation is seldom not in some form of ‘moral collapse’, or facing events that have ramifications to do with the legal system and are emotionally incendiary on a highly public level.

Which perhaps is why Chicago worked so well not just in 1996, but also right up to the present day.

Undoubtedly, we live in a climate where the impact of events is determined not just by the events themselves, but also the manner in which they are reported in the media. Events involving some turmoil and public outrage at the state and outcome of the legal system are not getting any fewer or further between. But the emphasis on the media in an increasingly and unceasingly digital age is certainty only growing.

[iamnotusnavi]

Let’s Dance

Chapter One 

Lin x Reader

Warnings: A little bit of ✨hurt✨, but I swear it’s not much.

A/N: WOWWW...it’s been so long. I’m so sorry, I’ve been busy this week (and the weeks before that). Yes, I have drawn myself to finish this chaptered story. I hope you guys enjoy it.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

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*Knock Knock*

“Y/n?” Someone called in a red bolero shirt and a hat.

“Oh, hey Lin” You said sweetly. Mandy, your co-star, was looking at you like a Cheshire cat.

“Are you guys ready for-“, the show caller cut you off.

“5 minutes to curtain call, 5 minutes to curtain call.”

It was opening night for “In the Heights”. It took 10 years for Lin to finally get it on Broadway and you were proud of him. You auditioned for the role of Carla months before but instead got the role of Vanessa. When you stepped into the rehearsal space, everyone there was friendly. Everyone in the cast was your friend especially Lin. You and him really hit it off right away and became close friends really quick. After months of rehearsal and his years of hard work, the futhamucker finally made it to the opening night on Broadway.

“Are you guys ready?” Lin asked looking cute and standing on the door frame. You were really swoon.

Before you could even reply again, Mandy decided to answer the question.

“HELL YEAH”

With that, Lin smiled at you and Mandy before he left for the back of stage. As soon as you guys were both alone, Mandy decided to break the silence.

“Would you stop looking at each other like that?” Mandy said with annoyance present in her voice.

“Like what?”

“Ay Bendito!” She then continued, “With the googly moogly eyes at each other. Why not just tell him you love him.”

“Mandy, I swear to-“

“You both look at each other like that. All blushing and whatever. Also, it’s obvious to everyone already.” She cut you off from finishing your sentence. You took a gasp for air and tried to calm down.

“Mandy, if you say that one more time, I won’t tell you anything anymore.” With that you guys left your dressing room and went backstage.

While walking there, you thought about the scene that happened a while ago. Yes, you had a crush on the writer, actor, and basically your boss of “In the Heights”. Ya know, the one you were gonna perform and perform with. Everytime he came into the room; you were feeling giddy and smitten towards the man. I mean to be fair he was cute, handsome, not to mention smart, and an all-around great and nice young man about your age. Every time you had rehearsal for “Champagne” or anything that has a close distance performance with Lin, you always felt nervous and blushed, hard. Performing “No Me Diga” with the ladies was your savior in a form of a performance. You had time to calm your nerves from all the feelings you got carrying near Lin.

“Lights up on Washington Heights, Up at the break of day. I wake up and I got this little punk I gotta chase away. Pop the grate at the crack of dawn. Sing while I wipe down the awning, Hey y'all good morning.”

With that you went to work.

------------------time skip to after the show--------------------

During “It Won’t Be Long Now” Robin who was playing Sonny, was getting low at you and it honestly made you laugh. His dancing never failed you. Short after came Lin with his “drunk Chita Rivera dancing skills”. You tried to contain your laughing because you were aware that you were still on stage. As you faced Lin while he was dancing, he decided to wink at you and you were so sure that you were blushing. Thankfully you had to do a scene with just Robin and Lin didn’t see your face turning red like a tomato.

After the song, a different scene was on and you were backstage. You took the time to freshen up and think about what had just happened. You still can’t wrap your head around it considering you were having a huge crush on him. You suddenly remembered, “Champagne” was coming soon and you had mixed feelings about it.

--------------------Skip to Champagne------------------

You mentally prepared yourself for this backstage. You finally got your nerves together and sang the first lines of the song.

“So, I got you a present, I went downtown to get it. Doing anything tonight?”

“Cleaning”, Lin responded following the script.

“Done for the day”

“No way.”

“Cause we got a date.”

“oKay.”

“Before you board that plane”, You chuckled-sang the line because of the way Lin said “okay”. You then continued.

“I owe you a bottle of cold Champagne. Yeah, cold Champagne.”

“Yeah, bottle’s all sweaty and everything you went and got this”

“Pop the champagne.” As you sang the rest of your lines, the few minutes flew by quick. You were actually having fun performing this song. A few lines passed by and you got to the climax where Vanessa tries to persuade Usnavi with reasons to not leave the barrio. You suddenly remembered you had to kiss Lin. You were suddenly nervous. You then coped with it by redirecting the energy to the song.

“I'm going down to West 4th Street; You can take the A.” You sang with more emotion.

“What are you trying to say?” You saw his face looking like he was concerned. You wished it were genuine, but it was just acting.

“You're leaving the country and we're never gonna see you again”

“What are you trying to say?”

You noticed he sang his line with a bit more curiosity than normal, but you decided to ignore it.

“You get everyone addicted to your coffee and off you go”

“Vanessa, I don't know why you're mad at me”

“I wish I was mad.” You then took all your emotion and packed it up as you turned around. You pulled his collar and kissed him. You wished it were real, you wished you could tell him your feelings, but you knew you had to keep it professional. During the few seconds of both of you kissing during the scene, you felt Lin pulling you towards him more. You were about to melt in, but as soon as you were about to, you remembered, this was just acting. You pulled yourself away from him and sang your last line for Champagne.

“I'm just too late.” A part of you was happy inside about how the performance went. Gladly, it was successful, but a part of you was feeling a bit numb. You’ve done a hundred or more rehearsal kisses with him. Why did it feel different this time?

You then parted ways from the stage. As you left you had to act down, but it didn’t take much effort. You were sad about the thought that it was just acting. You wished Lin had felt the same meanwhile, you didn’t know, but he was feeling the same thing too.

As “When the Sun Goes Down” was being sung by Chris and Mandy, you were re-evaluating your thoughts. You tried convincing yourself that it was just acting and you should move past it, but it felt too real, too strong.

The song Chris and Mandy were singing was moving towards the end. You then prepared yourself for the “Finale” and got yourself together for the final performance.

---------------------------------------------------

A/N: I’M SORRY IT’S SHORT. Please forgive me for this unsatisfying monstrosity. I swear I’ll release the next one next week. SEeEE yA THEn!

[scarletarosa]

Durga

Hindu goddess of power, strength, courage, war, justice, righteousness, determination, protection, salvation, and divine wrath

Maa Durga is the power of the Universe and is Mother Shakti herself. She is Jagdamba, Mother of the Whole Universe and one of the most powerful manifestations of the cosmic mother, Shakti. She is also known as Ambika (Mother) and Chandika (Fierce). She is beyond everything, beyond all space and time. It is this devi who brings peace, compassion, love, and justice into disorder, while punishing all those who bring evil. Durga is the Divine Mother Goddess who presides over the cycle of life, death, and rebirth and contains absolute power. Her name means ‘the invincible, unconquerable, and unassailable one’ and she is completely free of fear, allowing her to accomplish whatever she desires.  

With the guidance of Maa Durga, we can be filled with her courage and determination so that we can face any obstacle in our paths and become strong at heart. She is blindingly beautiful, with footsteps that shake the very Earth. Her roaring laughter fills the skies and sends chills down the spines of her enemies. Durga is known to be so powerful, that in one myth, she is even described as destroying an enemy with a mere sigh. She was born from pure power and righteous anger, with unmatched might. As the annihilator of pain and fear, she holds the name Durgatinashini, which means “The One Who Eliminates Sufferings”.

Durga is said to be the truest manifestation of Adi Parashakti along with goddess Parvati. Though it is Durga who not only plays the role as the unbeatable warrior, but also as our Mother. So while Parvati represents Shakti’s peaceful and nurturing aspect, Durga is her active and fiery aspect. Durga is deeply nurturing, loving, and protective, but is a terror to her enemies. She is connected to fire, and so is called Jwala or Jyotawali Maa, meaning “Mother of the Divine Flame”. Durga is Karma, Mahamaya, and Moksha (enlightenment). 

Maa Durga’s appearance is that of an alluring young woman dressed in a red silk sari (symbolizing action) and is sitting upon a lion or tiger, representing that she is ready to battle evil at all times and that she is ultimate courage. She has either ten or eight arms with which she holds her magical weapons- a trident, a rope, a thunderbolt, the shield of knowledge, a chakra, a lance, a bow and arrow, an axe, a mace, and a conch-horn for heralding her victory in battle. She may other times be holding a lotus flower and a sword along with the other objects. Durga is shown with having three eyes, which symbolize the earth, moon, and fire. Her many arms represent the fact that she constantly protects everyone from all directions.

                             Durga Slays the Asura King, Mahisha

When the buffalo-asura Mahisha was causing turmoil, none of the gods were able to defeat him due to his boon that he would not be harmed by any of the gods’ weapons. So the gods then came together and combined their powers, which created a blindingly radiant golden light which then formed into the invincible Durga- a direct manifestation of Adi Parashakti (in some versions, the goddesses Parvati, Lakshmi, and Saraswati merge to form Durga). The Matrikas then began to arm the warrior goddess with their magical weapons- a trident to awaken the fullness of her inner-power, a rope to bind illusion, a thunderbolt, the shield of knowledge, a chakra, a lance, a bow and arrow, an axe, a mace, and a conch-horn with which she would blow to herald her victory in battle.  

Durga then rode to the top of a mountain upon a lion and awaited Mahisha to see her. As planned, when the asura king saw the goddess, he was dumbfounded by her beauty and majesty, becoming completely intoxicated by her sexuality and raw power. This caused Mahisha to lose all logical thinking and he proposed marriage to Durga. To which the warrior goddess announced, “I will marry only he who can defeat me in battle.” Lost in his lust and eagerness, Mahisha attacked the goddess with his army without much focus. Finally, after a long and fierce battle, Durga struck down the asura king and blew her conch in triumph. Thus, peace was restored and the gods held Maa Durga in great praise. The tale of this great battle is a metaphor for the war we wage against our ego (represented by the asuras) in order to bring our Divine Selves to light. 

                                Kali emerges from Durga’s Rage

In the Devi Mahatmya, Kali is described as manifesting during Durga’s great battle against the asura Raktabija. As Durga battled him, each time a drop of Raktabija’s blood hit the ground, it formed into a clone of himself. This deeply frustrated and enraged Durga so much that from her forehead emerged the fearsome Kali, with a beautiful youthful form, pitch black skin, wild hair, and wearing nothing but a garland of human heads and a girdle of human arms. The destroyer Kali then began to devour every drop of blood from Raktabija, and fiercely slew all of his duplicates, allowing Durga to finally be able to vanquish him. With help from the eight Matrikas, the entire asura army was annihilated. However, Kali was still drunk on blood-lust and began massacring onlooking worshippers, drinking their blood. Here we see the uncontrollable nature of Kali, how she consumes all in the end of time, sparing none. 

Seeing this act of slaughter, Shiva came to the battlegrounds in order to calm his wife (as he is wed to Shakti). He lays himself on the ground before her as a corpse, symbolizing how Shiva is lifeless without Shakti. When Kali ends up trampling onto his chest, she realizes that she is standing upon her great love. This causes Kali to calm down and take the form of Bhadraka, the tranquil form of Kali whose skin is the colour of a dark blue lotus, and is pleasant in expression. She steps off of Shiva’s body and thus ended the battle’s slaughter. In triumph, the Matrikas danced and became drunk on the blood of their enemies. This glorious battle serves as a metaphor that Durga, Kali, and the Ashtamatrikas (eight mother goddesses) have complete power over life force, symbolized by blood.

Thus, Durga the Unlimited Power and Mother of the Universe is the eternal protector of mankind. She is beyond weaknesses and fears, and assists us in our struggles to help us to become strong as well. She destroys vices from our hearts and purifies us with her love. 

Epithets: Abhavya (the fearful goddess), Anantaa (infinite one), Bahula (she of many forms), Balaprada (giver of strength), Bhavini (the beautiful one), Bhavani (mother of the universe), Brahmavadini (the omnipresent), Buddhi (embodiment of knowledge), Buddhida (bestower of wisdom), Chandi (fierce one), Ambika (mother), Chita (preparer of the death bed), Vaishnavi (the invincible), Sarvasuravinasha (destroyer of evil), Jaya (victorious one), Bhavya (the magnificent)

Offerings: honeyed tea, cow’s milk, lotus flowers, passion fruit, red berries (any), figs, pineapples, ghee, red sandalwood, mahogany wood, tiger eye stone, orchids, pearls, red jade, silverware, gold emblem of the Goddess (Shakti), Durga statue, vanilla flowers (and incense), cobalt element; incense of dragon's blood, cinnabar, jasmine, or musk

[tybaltsjuliet]

nicky’s archetype playlists, 02/11: the succubus.

you're born of a jackal! you're beautiful!

(listen.)

i. i say damn your kiss and the awful things you do. they never saw us coming till they hit the floor; they just kept begging for more, more.

miss jackson (panic! at the disco) // killer queen (queen) // trust in me (selena gomez; from the jungle book) // hit and run (lolo) // bette davis eyes (kim carnes) // nicotine (panic! at the disco) // oogie boogie's song (rodrigo y gabriela; from the nightmare before christmas/nightmare revisited) // kiss of the spider woman (chita rivera; from kiss of the spider woman)

ii. all i can ever be to you is the darkness that we knew. please don't bother trying to find her; she's not there. (well, let me tell you 'bout the way she looked, the way she acted, and the color of her hair!)

mein herr (liza minnelli; from cabaret) // habanera - remix (crazy monkey; from carmen) // the ballad of mona lisa (panic! at the disco) // love me dead (ludo) // light my fire (the doors) // bad romance (lady gaga) // tears dry on their own (amy winehouse) // she's not there (the zombies)

iii. i slithered here from eden just to sit outside your door. will you still love me when i've got nothing but my aching soul? (i know you will; i know you will; i know that you will.)

i don't care much (alan cumming; from cabaret) // carmen (lana del rey) // from eden (hozier) // mary magdalene (fka twigs) // la califfa (sarah brightman) // young and beautiful (lana del rey) // the point of no return - symphonic (london symphony orchestra; from the phantom of the opera)

iv. i found the devil; i found him in a lover. there is a shortage in the blood supply; there is no shortage of blood. the way i feel about you, baby, can't explain it: you got the best of my love.

coming down (halsey) // never enough (loren allred; from the greatest showman) // anything but lonely (sarah brightman; from aspects of love) // international small arms traffic blues (the mountain goats) // you must love me (lana del rey; from evita)

+ bonus: bringer of light, from on high, bound to the earth, unable to fly. how can heaven love me (sarah brightman + chris thompson)

[bomberqueen17]

ok ok ok ok. ok ok. ok

yeah so i think i mentioned this? we'd contracted with the same company that replaced all the windows in our house to also completely remodel our kitchen. and we were on the schedule for february. and obviously what happened was someone was like "wait i can't have my kitchen torn out from Thanksgiving through Christmas through New Year's that's insane", and the company was like "ok cool we'll postpone," and then called everyone on the list asking if they wanted to move their project up, and got all the way to us before some sucker (us) was like "tear out a quarter of my house during the holidays? oh sure sign me up."

anyway. I hadn't realized but they're tearing out to the studs, and adding insulation and replacing the plaster with drywall. i mean this is all the way. Which is good because when they installed the bay window in the front wall they left a crack that the wind literally blows in from outside, in among the layers of plaster and lath and such, and i have a napkin shoved in there and had sort of been wondering if they were gonna fix it and if so how well. That well, the whole wall is going. So, good.

Anyway. So. I've been back from the farm for six days now and I've spent all of those cleaning the house-- clearing space in the living room, which fortunately hadn't really been put back together after the windows thing-- all the living room chairs are still in the basement-- and now the sideboard is in the living room, with all the dishes in it and all the food on it. We had our microwave and toaster on a stainless steel countertop unit from IKEA and now that is disassembled in the basement and the microwave and toaster are on a bookshelf in the living room. And our coffee has always been on a wooden cart shoved against the entryway wall, and now that's moved to a corner of the living room as well, to Chita's great delight (she can get on there. there's nothing to do on there but she can Sit There which is great.)

So anyway. Today I have to take everything out of the cupboards in the kitchen, that's what's left to do. Pots and pans, all our glasses and mugs, our dry goods and baking supplies, and then last but not least our tupperware and shit. It's not that much. it's okay. It's going to take me a bunch of hours. I can do it. It's not that much heavy lifting. Dude is at work with a full slate of meetings, so he'll be away the whole day. I have yet another sinkload of dishes to do, too.

AND a DIFFERENT company is also coming today, to replace our garage door, but that should be straightforward. They had said they'd do this two weeks ago and then just never got back to us, and yesterday we were going to call them and tell them that they were going to have to negotiate for driveway space with the kitchen remodelers, but they called us instead and said they'd be by today. the last possible day they can come. which is good because until they come, we cannot get our snowblower out of the garage, since the existing door is broken. which i did not know about until i was home the time just before turkey processing, during which time i had set up the estimate and contracted for the job and then they just didn't call us back and we hadn't thought it was urgent until the kitchen thing suddenly got wildly moved up. (I had MENTIONED the impending kitchen remodel to the estimator too, but only in a conversational "well it's not until february" kind of way, but i HAD mentioned it.)

So anyway. I need clothes on and I was just finishing my coffee and Chita has just climbed up into my lap and informed me we're going to sit here for several hours. Sorry booboo, i'd love that for us but nope.

[wrathofmadelinekahn]

January 2021 Music Wrap-Up

One of my New Year’s Resolutions was to listen to at least 3 new (to me) albums a month and diversify my music taste, since my Spotify Wrapped this year was basically “You Are Not Immune To White Men Telling Stories, feat. Guitars”, and what better way to keep myself accountable than to submit to the mortifying ordeal of being known on the Internet?

I’ll be posting my new listens at the end of each month, give or take a bit (please yell at me if I haven’t done so bc cyberbullying is my love language <3) with a bit of background as to how I found them and my thoughts!

So, in no particular order:

1. You Knew by Mother Falcon

I’d had “Marfa” off this album in a playlist for years, but finally gave in and listened to the whole album last week after going down a YouTube spiral which included their Tiny Desk appearance. One of the few albums in which I like the SOUND of it more than the singing- I wish I knew more about music so I could describe how incredible what they do sounds, but I’ll settle for glorious cacophony. Favorites are “Marigold”, “Dirty Summer”, and “Marfa”.

2. Odetta Sings of Many Things by Odetta Holmes

Forever grateful to @woolstation‘s Folk playlist for having “Troubled” on there, true king shit. HOW have none of you ever told me this woman is everything I’ve been searching for for as long as I’ve had eardrums in the womb?!!! I never want to hear about Joan Baez’s weird boyfriend again, we stan only Odetta, ‘Queen of American Folk Music’ in the Ames household. Genuinely cannot pick a favorite, basically the whole album.

3. West Side Story (Original Cast Album)

Ok, I vaguely remember listening to this in 2016 but was too mentally ill to APPRECIATE it, so I’m counting it as a new listen. Being Puertorican, this was basically The Only Representation I knew of in popular American media growing up unless you’re counting drug dealers in cop shows or that one racist joke in All In The Family that I heard as a kid and STILL think about to this day, so I knew the Big songs from the different revival albums but hadn’t heard the original cast until Saturday, January 23rd, also known as Chita Rivera Day in our hearts and @kissofchita‘s dash. To celebrate both queens I put it on and listened to the whole thing 3 times in a row. I laughed, I teared up (saved the actual tears for watching Chita sing “America” <3), and fell head-over-heels in love. It’s definitely in my top all-time Broadway shows.

4. Song To A Seagull, Joni Mitchell

After months of James @if-only-angels-could-prevail​ banging pots and pans to the tune of Blue, it was actually Spotify’s Discover Weekly that gave me the first dopamine hit I needed to say “Hey, that Joni lady’s on to something here!” Her voice is truly a once-in-a-lifetime sound, I can’t even begin to describe all it manages to evoke in a split-second. This is her first album and I have been assured that it only gets better from here, which is bonkers to think about since, as stated in the beginning, Storytime feat. Guitars Is My Shit. I have no doubt that I’ll be slowly but surely making my rambling way through her discography. Favorites are “I Had A King”, “Night in the City”, “Nathan La Franeer”, and “Cactus Tree”.

5. Stay Alive by Laura Jane Grace

Again I owe James my whole life and wig. I was already an Against Me! and Devouring Mothers fan (it might be an overstatement to say that Transgender Dysphoria Blues was instrumental in keeping me alive through the darkest days of suicidal thoughts, dysphoria, and anxiety in 2018-2019, but not much of one), but had no idea Laura Jane had done a quarantine album until they mentioned it the other day and I immediately listened to the whole thing. I feel like this album will be a slow-burner for me; she’s always poured her heart and soul into every word she writes and sings and I know from experience that when her work hits, it’ll knock me off my ass in the best way possible. Even though she’s talked about not wanting to be seen solely as A Trans Artist and I will support everything she does, my wildest concert dream is to see her perform True Trans Soul Rebel live.

[dietraumerei]

Whumptober 2021: Crush Injuries

You can read this, and my other Whumptober stories, on AO3 here: Hurts So Good: A Whumptober 2021 Collection

Summary: The cutest woman in the WHOLE WORLD has just moved to Crowley's village. Obviously, she comports herself with dignity and grace.(Not many couples essentially get two meet-cutes, but here we are!)

(A new Human AU, with femme Aziraphale and Crowley. I borrowed a few OC's from my Castle Terra AU, but you don't need to have read that to understand them here :) )

CW: serious injury, broken bones

“How did you...you were walking down the street,” Chita said, frankly impressed.

“I saw her,” Crowley said miserably.

“Her-her?” Chita asked, eyes going wide. “Your crush who lives in our tiny village but whose name you somehow don't know? You really saw her?”

“Chita, don't tease,” Crowley snapped. “Yes, I saw her and I stepped wrong off the curb and now my ankle is magnificently broken, all right?”

Chita softened immediately. She and Crowley had dated years ago, before she figured out she was aro-ace, and in the way of lesbian lore they had broken up and remained the best of friends.

“I'm sorry, love. I shouldn't tease you.” She leaned over and kissed Crowley's forehead. “It's really bad?”

“Yeah. I'm lucky like that.” Crowley grimaced. “Surgery and everything.” “Poor duck,” Chita said. “It's all right, we'll take care of you. This isn't usually what they mean by crush injuries, you know.”

Crowley gave in and laughed, and gave her friend a little shove. “Shut up and go and get me an overnight bag, all right?”

Chita laughed, and hugged Crowley tightly. She was good at hugs, and the fact that her right arm ended just below her elbow did nothing to change that. “I'll be back lickety-split. And then we are tracking down your mystery angel. She deserves to know the chaos she's caused.”

“Oh, God,” Crowley said, but Chita was already gone.

“Crowley!” Chita ran over and hugged her gently. “I can't believe you made it.”

“Honestly, same.” Crowley smiled and hugged her back; she was getting good managing the crutches. She'd been invited to Elsie's birthday party before breaking the fuck out of her ankle, but it had been a month since the surgery and she felt...fine. Good. Her ankle had mostly stopped hurting and although she was in plaster for another few weeks, she was pretty good at hobbling around. And if there was one thing to be found at Elsie's, it was accessible spaces; with all of this combined, there was no way Crowley was going to stay away.

“You look wonderful,” Chita said, and kissed her cheek, and the shit of it was Crowley believed her. She'd got her pixie cut touched up, and her shorts maybe weren't enormously flattering, but she looked cute in a soft butch sort of way; she and her hairdresser had even agreed to leave her little baby lesbian mullet, so soft waves tickled the back of her neck.

“You're very kind to the invalid,” she teased and followed Chita over to a shockingly comfortable Adirondack chair. She didn't have to keep her leg elevated all the time anymore, and enjoyed sitting a little out of the way, scooting to the edge of the seat when Elsie next made her rounds so she could hug and kiss the birthday girl, and make much of her.

“You absolute gem,” Elsie said, cupping her face. Figuring out how to hug her in her chair while they were both seated had been interesting, but worth it. “Are you well-watered? Oh good, you've got a drink. Make us take care of you, dearest.”

Crowley made a face, and Elsie laughed. “I'll bully you into it. I'm so glad you came.”

Crowley wriggled a bit and got so she could hug Elsie again. “Of course. I wouldn't miss your parties for the world. Happy birthday, love.” She kissed Elsie, friendly and sweet, and smiled at her. “I brought a card, and I owe you a present.”

“Tch. You can pay it off by inducting a new friend into our circle,” Elsie said. “Her name's Aziraphale – she's due any minute, had to work today, poor lamb.”

“Of course,” Crowley said. She'd been new herself, once, brought into the circle of village queers by her relationship with Chita. When that had ended, she'd just never left.

She was up and over by the food, talking with Chita in fact, when Chita went stock-still, her eyes huge, and then she grinned.

“What?” Crowley asked, twisting around to look and.

Oh.

Oh shit.

It was probably good she was already on crutches so when her knees turned to jelly, she didn't collapse.

It was her.

It was the angel.

She was tall and thick. Big hips, big stomach, big bosom, her arms were round and her legs thick and Crowley wanted to find out if being held by her was as soft as it looked. She was wearing a prairie dress and chunky boots and her hair was long with the sides shaved and it was back in a braid, silver-blonde and she had blue eyes and she was coming right toward Crowley.

“There you are!” Elsie was pushing herself along cheerfully. “Crowley, meet Aziraphale. She's new to the village, I was telling you about her earlier.”

“Gyuh huh,” Crowley said as her brain turned inside out. “Um. Hi.”

“Aziraphale!” Chita grinned. “It's so good to meet you. I'm Chita, but Crowley is your appointed friend buddy.”

“I am a lucky girl,” Aziraphale said, and grinned at Chita and then, blushing, her eyes dropping, at Crowley. Well, at Crowley's foot. “Um. Hello.”

“We'll leave you to it!” Chita trilled, and Crowley contemplated kicking her.

“You both like good wine and good food, and can't abide folk music,” Elsie added helpfully, before pivoting gracefully and metaphorically rolling off into the sunset.

Crowley contemplated chasing her down and kicking her.

“Um. So. Hi.” Crowley cleared her throat. “Do you want a drink? Something to eat? The wine's pretty good.”

“Th-thanks. Yes. Ah. So food's right here?” Aziraphale looked up through her lashes, smiling shyly. “Do you want anything? I can fill plates for both of us.”

“Yeah! That would be great, um. Thank you. Uh. Thanks.” Crowley smiled weakly, and followed Aziraphale down the buffet, mumbling her requests as the gorgeous woman beside her filled their plates, and got them each a glass of wine.

Her hand was shaking.

She was nervous too.

Instantly Crowley's heart softened, and any nervousness was put aside in favour of making Aziraphale feel comfortable and welcome. She could have a breakdown later, now that she knew her angel's name, and that she had a beautiful deep voice and a beautiful...everything, actually.

“Do you mind carrying mine over there?” she asked, nodding to two chairs set together, a little out of the way. “I won't make you eat with me.”

“No! I mean. Of course I'll carry it over. And I don't mind eating with you. Unless, um, you want to be alone. Or if you want me to get someone – you must have friends you'd rather spend time with?” She bit her lip, worried it with her teeth, and Crowley fell in love.

“No. I mean, uh, I have friends. But I'd like it if you joined me, really. Please.” She tried a smile and probably didn't look too weird? Well, no weirder than usual.

“I'd love that,” Aziraphale said quickly, and they went the short distance, Crowley settling down with a stifled groan; she'd been standing for a bit.

“Do you want something to put your leg up on?” That soft, rich voice. Dear God.

“No, no, I'm fine. I broke it like a month ago, it's stopped hurting,” Crowley said as Aziraphale handed over her plate and glass, and joined her in the chair beside her.

“Oh, gosh. I hope it wasn't serious?”

Crowley shrugged. “Pretty bad, but it's all right. Got two more months in plaster, then I can start walking in a boot. Could be worse.”

“I don't see how!” Aziraphale covered her mouth, and blushed. “Please forgive me. I'm glad you're not in pain at least, Crowley.”

“None at all,” Crowley assured her, and not just because she was pretty sure she'd never feel pain again, the way Aziraphale smiled at her. “I think I've seen you around the village – you've been here a month or two, right?”

“A bit longer than that, but I was, um, recovering from surgery,” Aziraphale said. “So I wasn't out much.”

“Oh, honey. Is everything all right? Do you need anything?”

Aziraphale smiled. “I'm fine. It's part of why I came here. Uh. I transitioned a couple years ago, but only got just my surgeries – finally – and just...wanted to start over somewhere new.” She blushed. “Silly, I know.”

“No, sweetheart. I'm so glad for you, though.” Soft, gentle, gentle. Crowley was so in love. “This is such a good place to live, I swear. Even if falling off the kerb can sometimes be a bit dicey.”

Aziraphale giggled. “You poor thing!” She smiled warmly at Crowley. “I think I'm going to like it here a lot.”

They made it to their second date before tumbling into Crowley's bed and making love until dawn. Aziraphale was still moaning softly as the sun rose and the world turned from grey to colour, and Crowley kissed her girlfriend, long and tender. “I love you,” she said, even though it was way too early.

“I loved you the first time we met,” Aziraphale confessed, and they curled up together, careful of Crowley's foot, Aziraphale fussing tenderly and finding a pillow. “You were so handsome and so kind, I didn't know what to think.”

“Can I tell you a secret?” Crowley asked, once her lady was back in her arms and kissed.

“Of course.” Aziraphale's smile was so nice, and hid a wicked tongue that had made Crowley laugh for hours already. Also moan.

“You know I broke my ankle when I stumbled off a kerb?”

Aziraphale nodded, and tweaked a nipple. “Clumsy love.”

“I stumbled because I'd seen you. You were so beautiful, I lost my balance.”

Aziraphale's jaw actually dropped. “Crowley! You're lying!”

“I swear to God.” Crowley was laughing, and reached for Aziraphale's hand, kissing her knuckles. “You can ask Chita. I had such a crush on you; didn't even know your name. But I saw you across the street and didn't look where I was walking and down I went.”

“Crowley! That's awful!” Aziraphale was laughing though, gathering her close and kissing her tenderly. “Bless Elsie for shoving us together. You need a minder.”

“And a girlfriend. And a lover.” Crowley pressed a long kiss to Aziraphale's throat feeling her pulse thrumming away. “My darling.”

“Silly,” Aziraphale murmured, but they still twined together, naked bodies held close, and, finally, dropped off to sleep still holding one another.

[leleamo]

part 19

our two teams, Star Fox and Star Wolf, along with Chita Chinchin (who came sitting on the wing of Panther's ship) returned to the village.

while the moon shone in the sky, everyone had dinner calmly, Fox was talking to Anabel

— impressive, so that's what I always saw flying and walking around my lands, it's terrible how someone from your planet could suffer the consequences here, tell her I'm sorry... — Anabel said as she watched Chita shyly eat her food

— don't worry, Anabel, Chita must know that the mutation is not your fault, and in the end she is still alive, and will return home — Fox was next to her, smiling and happy, even though it wasn't over yet

— and as for the other invaders...?

— after dinner, I promise to start making a plan to end this

— Thank you Fox, for your loyalty and help in this difficult time for my tribe, and even if you leave after this, I would love to welcome you here on my planet again... especially Slippy, he... is really adorable...

With a silly laugh and a flushed face, the conversation ended and Fox went to eat

After dinner, it was time to start a plan, and Wolf started talking

— I don't know if we have much to defend, Molino's army-

— my army.

— eh, Amdrew's army that was stolen by Molino only has acid, they literally attack with acid, we are fast enough to dodge, but I don't know if our ships can handle it if they are hit...

— Hmm... my lady, with your knowledge about this beautiful world, would you know of any plants that would survive acid? — Panther asked while stroking Cheetah on the cheek, who seemed quite happy with the affection

— hm... I don't think so... sorry... I mean, the plants here are as alive as the beings here, so it wouldn't change much, especially since they aren't always in contact with acid so... no ...

— Ah, I have an idea!— Amdrew got up from his chair with an arrogant smile— let's make that idiot Molino show up here with the entire army, you all distract him and- wait, maybe I need Ray for that, I'll be back soon!!

Amdrew ran out of the place and left, no one really understood, just Slippy, who didn't seem very excited about the end of this plan...

part 18 - part 20

[bittersweetmelxdy]

Hi again! Thank you so much for answering my ask! Can i ask a scenario for victor with a (super hero?) S/o who can control animals and talk to them and use their natural habilities? Like bread under water like fishes, run super fast like a chita etc? Thank you!

You sent this months ago and guess who only now got around to it, me! Jokes aside, thanks for you continued patience dear, hope you enjoy this, it was interesting to imagine MC with another Evol, apart from precognition, so I had fun with this, hope you like it xxx

Title: a hidden side of you Pairing: Victor x MC Words: 1,438

Victor at first did not believe you possessed an Evol, and thereby was fully committed to be your knight in shining armour. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe you couldn’t survive on your own, but he was surprised you had survived this long on your own. He had literally seen your clumsy self knock into the same table twice, in the span of five minutes, and you would have done it a third time if he had not moved it out of your path of movement. So, Victor felt he of all people knew the extent of your abilities, but like always, you never failed to surprise him.

You rocked back and forth on the balls on your feet, tapping the cellphone in your hand as you waited for Victor to answer.

“Hello?” Victor’s deep voice answered.

“Victor?”

“Who else would answer my phone, idiot?” Victor deadpanned, chuckling as he heard you huff and he could see in his mind’s eyes your puffed out cheeks, and pout on your lips, “Do you need something?” he asked, his tone more tender.

“Are you free on Wednesday afternoon?” you asked, worrying the nail on your thumb anxiously.

You could hear Victor tapping his pen on either his papers or his desk, and you deflated knowing Victor was keeping you waiting on purpose, checking his schedule slower than necessary just to mess with you.  

“I’m free.” Victor finally replied, and you let out a quiet sound of excitement, and over the phone, Victor felt a smile tug at the corners of the lips, “So, where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise, just pick me up at 2 on Wednesday.” You stated happily.

“Alright, see you then.”

“See you, love you Victor.”

“...”

“Victor?”

“Hmmm?”

“You going to say it back?”

“...”

“Victor!”

Victor laughed for a minute, “Dummy, love you too.” and you hung the phone, smiling as you went back to work.

Wednesday rolled around before you knew it, and once work was over you were dusting off your skirt, checking your hair in your pocket mirror, as you felt someone sling their arm over your shoulders.

“Wow Boss, you dressed a little too nice for a simple pre-shooting outing.” Willow teased, wiggling her brows at you teasingly.

You blushed, ducking your head, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Willow whistled, “I see... your using the company as an excuse for a date.” she continued to tease, her volume alerting Kiki and Anna who were close by.

“A date?” Kiki asked, “Wait, is this why you said you were fine going by yourself? You sly girl.” you rolled your eyes, as they continued to poke fun at you, when Anna cut in.

“Alright, I think her ride’s here, so let her breathe.” Anna smiled at your grateful look, and you waved at them as you left.

“Tell the CEO, we said hi!” they called, as the company door swung shut.

Reaching Victor’s car, you opened the passenger side door and climbed in, giving Victor a quick kiss on the cheek as greeting and then sitting down and clicking the seatbelt. He smiled wryly at you, watching as you inputted the address into his car’s GPS system, theatrically trying to hide the screen from him. He played along, pretending to be more confused as the ride went on and the city blended into the countryside, relishing in how proud you were that you had kept this such a secret. Once he had parked the car, and killed the ignition, he turned in his seat to look at you.

“So, why are we at Loveland’s animal research centre?” Victor asked.

“Surprise!” you beamed, shaking jazz-hands at him, “We’re doing a documentary, so they said they’d let me walk around today, before we start shooting.”

Victor nodded, and then the two of you left the car to enter the facility, he actually knew exactly where you were going, as you had mentioned to him excitedly over the phone weeks ago how you had secured the approval for the documentary. But it was more beneficial for him to feign ignorance, especially since he got to see the expressions you made. One of the researchers gave each of you a pass, and since the animals were all in enclosures, you were free to walk around freely, they would only monitor you on the video surveillance.

You and Victor walked around, and you filled him in on the history on the animals as you passed, stopping suddenly in front of an enclosure containing chameleons.

“These were rescued from some rich family that were keeping them as pets as mistreating them. You said softly pressing your hand against the glass, Victor seeing the empathy in your eyes, moved closer to you, wrapping a hand lightly around your waist.

“Do you see them?” he asked, trying to distract you slightly from your sadness.

“They’re a little scared, so they’re hiding.” you said, pointing a little further into the thicket, “Hey, don’t worry, we aren’t here to hurt you, in fact we’re going to make a show about you guys, so please come talk to me.”

Victor furrowed his brows, confused by your choice of words, but watched raptly as you looked to locate the cameras, as once you knew they wouldn’t see you, you stepped closer touching a branch one of the chameleons was on, and he was beyond surprised as he watched your hand changed. Your skin tone shifted before his eyes, changing from its usual tone until it resembled the wood of the branch, in colour and texture, your hand becoming almost an extension of your arm. The chameleon shuffled slowly over to you, before crawling onto your finger, it made a series of noises, and Victor watched, still shell-shocked, as you appeared to understand exactly what the creature was telling you.

“Wait, you understand it?”

“Him. Victor, him.” you corrected, “But yes, I do, he says he happy to meet us and he’s very happy here in the facility,” you turned to the chameleon, stroking it gently with your other hand, “I’m very happy to hear that, I know you’ve suffered.”

You spent more time with the chameleons, introducing yourself to each of them, before moving on to the other enclosures. As there were still other researchers walking around, Victor didn’t question you, afraid someone may overhear you, but he continued to observe as you displayed other abilities normal people wouldn’t be able to do. But once you were back in the car, he didn’t start the car, and the two of you sat in silence for a couple minutes.

“Um Victor, are we going home?” you asked.

“How long?” he asked, “how long have you been able to do all that?”

“I’ve always been able to talk to animals and use their abilities,” you admitted, “It’s my Evol.”

“And you couldn’t tell me?” Victor said, softly, his voice barely audible, hurt clear in his tone.

His stare was becoming a bit too much for you, and you looked down at your hands, fiddling with your fingers nervously, “I’m sure you know that most normal people don’t possess an Evol. So, when I was little, all the other children saw me as a freak and bullied me for it. So, I stopped using my Evol in front of others and pretended I didn’t have one.” You looked up at Victor, self-depreciatingly, “That didn’t stop me getting bullied in high school, but you can’t have everything, right?”

Victor reached across the console, and wrapped his arms around you, bringing you close to his chest, and breathing in the scent of your hair. You wrapped your arms around his neck, reciprocating the hug, and as you could tell Victor was struggling with his next words, you patiently waited.  

“I’m so sorry you had to go through that, but I’m here now and I’m not going anywhere, so you don’t have to hide from me.” Victor smiled into your hair as he felt you nod into the crook of his neck.

Retracting from you, Victor started the car, and you began to feel a little shy having unloaded your past onto Victor and clasped your hands tightly in your lap. Before you could spiral into your thoughts, Victor placed his warm hand atop yours, coaxing your hand to turn over so he could interlace your fingers as he never took his eyes off the road, and continued to drive safely. You squeezed his hand in gratitude, and the two of you made your way home in a comfortable silence, hearts much closer than they had been before.

[d-criss-news]

When it was announced that The Rosie O'Donnell Show would be back for one night only with a guest list of about 15 million Broadway talents, many of us wondered, would it be a return to the glory days of her multiple Emmy-winning daytime talk show or more like her ill-fated attempt to resuscitate the primetime variety format on NBC in 2008. It turned out to borrow from both those predecessors while evolving into something completely different — a low-tech lovefest that felt like eavesdropping on a group chat among friends looking out for one another in a time of need.

It was spontaneous, messy and blighted by some of the worst audio glitches imaginable. Yet it was often affectingly intimate, and even over an endurance-testing three-and-a-half commercial-free hours, also strangely addictive. The lack of slickness seemed to carry through to the relaxed manner of the guests, and their refreshing unpretentiousness.

Conceived by actor-producer (and occasional tech-support helpmate) Erich Bergen and live-streamed on Broadway.com and the website's YouTube channel, the show was a benefit for The Actors Fund, the charitable organization founded in 1882 that supports performers and behind-the-scenes theater workers. It raised more than half-a-million dollars, O'Donnell announced at the end of the marathon, sitting in a Hamilton hoodie and offering a champagne toast in a glass emblazoned with the face of Barbra Streisand.

She conducted the entire show from behind a laptop in her New Jersey garage, its floor spattered with the paint spillage of countless craft projects. "I'm a little bit of a Broadway nerd, I admit it," said O'Donnell, establishing her dual role as host and superfan.

Part of the show's unique pleasure was seeing favorite Broadway performers chilling in their own homes, almost all of them dressed down, with little visible attention to makeup or hair, and zero concern about unflattering angles. It was a great equalizer, proving that even artists who can hold packed theaters in the palm of their hands with a song are housebound and trying to make the best of a bad situation just like the rest of us — staying close to their families, killing time, learning to cook, wondering how long this unnerving isolation will last. Or how much longer we can put off that shower.

It was kind of comforting to see Idina Menzel sitting by her microwave and confessing, "I guess I'm going a little bonkers," while lamenting a failed lasagna attempt and sharing the challenges of homeschooling her son when she's no math genius. Likewise, hearing Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker talk about watching Columbo reruns or catching up on The Crown, while SJP begged for no spoilers on the final episode of The Sopranos, which she may now get to at last. Seeing Annette Bening on her Los Angeles balcony wearing a "Make America Kind Again" baseball cap was as much a tonic as watching Neil Patrick Harris do a card trick with his adorable twins. And who doesn't want to meet Gloria and Emilio Estefan's cute rescue dogs or hear about Lin-Manuel Miranda's kids' reaction to their first exposure to Singin' in the Rain?

Then there were the musical interludes.

Where else could you catch Patti LuPone, in magnificent voice, singing the urgently upbeat 1930s standard "A Hundred Years From Today," unaccompanied while sitting by the jukebox in her basement? Or Kelli O'Hara nestled into an armchair honoring Stephen Sondheim's 90th birthday by wrapping her crystalline soprano around "Take Me to the World," a hymn to unity from Evening Primrose? Or husband and wife Audra McDonald and Will Swenson duetting on the Charlie Chaplin evergreen, "Smile," from their Westchester living room? Or Darren Criss pouring his heart into another Sondheim classic about the desire for connection, "Being Alive," from Company, accompanying himself in a lovely pop arrangement on acoustic guitar from the sofa of his Los Angeles home? And while sound problems plagued Barry Manilow's selection of hits, ending with "I Made It Through the Rain," I was tickled to see his Judy Garland Kleenex dispenser.

Many of the song choices were thoughtfully apropos of the current crisis, offering comforting reassurance of the eventual return of resilience and togetherness while people in major cities all over the country self-isolate as the infection rate of the coronavirus pandemic continues to climb. Maybe Tituss Burgess at his home keyboard singing "The Glory of Love" is exactly the kind of uplift we all need right now.

Even in the seemingly random numbers, the entire enterprise was characterized by a spirit of generosity and sharing.

Kristin Chenoweth celebrated a Starbucks romance in "Taylor the Latte Boy." Matthew Morrison goofed it up on ukulele to a mashup of "The Bare Necessities" and "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" from his Disney Dreamin' album. Alan Menken whipped through a medley of his songs from The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Little Shop of Horrors, among others, at the piano. Ben Platt, also at the keyboard, did Bob Dylan's "Make You Feel My Love." And Adrienne Warren, the sensational star of Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, growled out "Simply the Best" from her bathtub. That was on the third attempt during a particularly troublesome audio patch, by which time her bubbles were history.

Prompted by O'Donnell, more than one guest reminded viewers that The Actors Fund is not just about Broadway artists pulling star salaries but also stagehands, makeup artists, wigmakers and ushers who work in what is very much a gig economy. The organization provides emergency financial assistance, social services, affordable housing, healthcare and insurance counseling and addiction support.

"Everything's a one-off," said Tony-winning actor Brian Stokes Mitchell, who serves as chairman of The Actors Fund. "That's how we get by, and many people are living on the edge right now."

"We're all just one, two, maybe three paychecks away from bankruptcy," added Billy Porter, whose mother is in an Actors Fund nursing home. "In this community, our whole job description is insecurity," said Judith Light.

Porter, along with Lea Salonga and longtime activist Light recalled how Broadway was on the frontlines of another life-threatening struggle during the early days of the AIDS crisis. All of them urged viewers to stay strong and take the time to reflect on the value of solidarity.

While O'Donnell has never been shy about her opposition to Donald Trump and everything he stands for, the show was remarkably light on politics, with just the occasional dig slipping through. She opened with a little celebratory "Yay!" while admitting she had missed the president's daily coronavirus press update, and then explained that she and her guests were not there to talk Trump. When Harvey Fierstein, O'Donnell's 2005 stage husband in Fiddler on the Roof, reminded her of all the election work still to be done, she said, "Let's all just know, we deserve a leader who tells the truth." And the delays in making coronavirus testing more widely available prompted a comment that the government should have gotten busy on that back in January when the writing was already on the wall.

Mostly, however, the hastily revamped Rosie O'Donnell Show was about bringing people together at this time of anxiety and isolation, as the host reconnected with artists whom she has championed since her reign as the Queen of Nice. "Everyone in the community loves you," she told Chita Rivera in a particularly effusive greeting. "You are our queen mother!"

Many of the performers would have been decompressing after rehearsals or Sunday matinees if the Broadway shutdown hadn't happened — Criss in American Buffalo, Broderick and Parker in Plaza Suite, Warren in Tina, Lauren Patten and Elizabeth Stanley in Jagged Little Pill. Sunday would have been LuPone's opening night in the gender-flipped revival of Company. Gavin Creel, who abruptly ended his London run in Waitress to fly home and is in isolation in a cabin in upstate New York, revealed the fear that he might have contracted the virus, given that several others in the cast have fallen ill, with one of them testing positive.

The show bridged the gap separating us from artists whose work we normally experience on the other side of the footlights. Most of us will never again get to see Stephen Sondheim and Andrew Lloyd Webber exchange greetings in song on the birthday the two composers happen to share. From those celebrated veterans to rising-star newbies, the common denominator here was everybody facing the crisis just like us, reaching out a hand of friendship, albeit from a mandatory safe distance.