#i really hope we get prefed a lot this year!!!

[halfdeadwallfly]

DRAFT DAY TOMORROWW!!!!

[theydontknowaboutusimagines]

Yes - Harry Styles Mini Series (Part 7)

Part 6

**Word Count 2,129

Harry was now back in the UK and was headed to see you. He couldn’t believe how much he missed you the past week while he was in LA. You two went over a year without seeing one another, but this last week was miserable for him. It didn’t help that he was worried sick about you and the baby and the fact that you and his mom were still on the outs. 

To keep his mind off of being away from you, Harry had picked up some new parenting books and read them before bed and on the plane. Reading all the books sort of put his mind at ease at the whole parenting thing, but it also made it more nervous because there was a lot. 

When he pulled into the driveway of his mom’s house, he parked his car and got out. After getting his bags from the back, he walked inside. His Mom and Robin were nowhere to be found, so he headed up to his old room and opened the door. 

Right as he opened the door, he caught sight of you on the floor doing some sort of yoga pose. He smirked a bit as he watched you before making it known that he was there. 

“Hey, baby,” he smiled. 

“Jesus!” You gasped holding your chest. “Way to fucking sneak up on someone.” 

“Sorry,” he laughed dropping his bags on the floor and walking over to you. 

“I wasn’t expecting you to be back for a few hours,” you said. “I would have looked better than this.” 

“I caught an earlier flight and you look fine,” he smiled wrapping his arms around you. “God, I missed you.” 

“I missed you too,” you smiled leaning up to kiss him. 

He smiled into the kiss and pulled you even closer towards him. He laughed and picked you up, spinning you around causing you giggle. 

“So, how are feeling?” He asked. 

“I’m doing well. That tea really helped with nausea,” you smiled. 

“I’m glad,” he smiled bringing you over to the bed. He put his hand on your belly and kissed your head. “Are you hungry? I could see what Mum has in the kitchen and cook us up some dinner.” 

“No, you’ve been traveling all day, I can do it,” you said. 

“No, I don’t mind, really,” he smiled. 

You sighed. “Okay, okay.” 

He smiled. “I’m just going to get changed and then I’ll start,” he said. 

You nodded and sat back on the bed. Harry grabbed his suitcase and grabbed some clothes before changing. You tried not to make it obvious that you were staring, so you started scrolling on your phone. 

“Has anything gotten better with my Mum?” He asked. 

“Yes, and no,” you mumbled. 

He looked at you with a care to elaborate look and you sighed. “We’ve been cordial since that one conversation, but we’re not exactly talking about anything.” 

He sighed climbing up on the bed next to you. “I’m sorry,” he sighed. 

“It’s not your fault,” you whispered. 

He sighed wrapping his arms around you. “I know you don’t want me to talk to her, but I’m going to, okay? I don’t want this to continue between the two of you anymore. You both are special to me and whether she likes it or not, you’re going to be in my life for the rest of my life and not just because we’re having a little one together, but because I want you there,” he whispered. 

“She’s just worried that I’m going to ruin your life,” you sighed. “And I can’t blame her, to be honest. This is possible the worst year to be having a baby...” 

“Don’t say that,” he shook his head. “Will it be hard for us to figure things out especially since I’ll be on tour, yes, but it doesn’t mean that it won’t be worth it. And I really need you to stop worrying about what my Mum thinks. I can see that what she’s saying is getting to you.” 

“Because I’m afraid that she’s going to be right,” you sniffled. “I just don’t want you to ever look back and wish you never made that call a few months ago.” 

Harry turned to face you and took your head in his hands to make you look at him. “I love you, Y/N. God, I’m fucking in love with you and I have been for years. When are you going to realize that you are the only person I want in my life? The only thing that I regret about making that call to you, was that I didn’t do it sooner than a few months ago. I’m never going to look back and wish that night never happened. I’m happy with you and fucking estatic that we’re having a baby. I don’t want anything that my Mum is saying to make you question my feelings for you or why I’m with you.” 

You sighed. “I’m sorry,” you whispered. 

Harry wiped away your tears with his thumb and kissed you. “It’s okay, I know that you’re going through a lot and I’m sorry I wasn’t here this last week for you, but I’m here now and I’m not going anywhere.” 

“I love you,” you whispered. 

“And I love you,” he smiled. 

**

The next morning Harry woke up before you. He slipped out of bed and walked quietly downstairs. He knew his Mum’s routine, she would be the first one up in the house and have a cup of tea in the morning before making breakfast. When he went into the kitchen, he saw her sitting outside in the backyard. 

He made himself some tea before heading outside to join her. 

“Morning,” he said softly sitting in the chair across from her. 

“Morning, sweetheart,” she smiled. “Did you sleep well?” 

“I did,” he smiled. “It’s good to be home.” 

“I’m glad you’re home,” she smiled taking a sip of her tea. 

“Can we talk?” Harry sighed. 

“Of course,” she said. “You know we can talk about anything.” 

“First I want to thank you for being there for Y/N this week,” he said. 

“You’re welcome,” she said. 

“I really hoped that her being here would have given you two the opportunity to start repairing your relationship, but I know that it’s only made it worse. She told me what you said and I know how you feel about her and our situation, but Mum... I can’t have you and my girlfriend disliking each other,” he sighed. 

“I’m not sure exactly what she told you I said to her, but I will say what I told her was how I truly felt,” she said. 

“And you’re entitled to your opinion, but that doesn’t make it true,” he said. “Y/N and our baby aren't going to ruin my life or my career. I know that Y/N and I have a past of ups and downs and breakups and makeups, but this time we’re in this for the long haul. And it’s not just because we’re having a baby together. it’s because we love each other,” he said. “She’s the one for me Mum and I’m just asking you to please just set your feelings aside and actually see how we feel about one another.”

She sighed. “I’ve heard this all before Harry. Do you know how many times you’ve said in the past that you two are going to work things out? And then you two broke up and you were broken. If that happened now, I know that you would be beyond devasted and there’s a kid to think about.” 

Harry shook his head. “Yes, there’s a kid to think about, Y/N’s already pregnant, so there’s no going back from that because we’ve decided to keep. Now, yes there is a chance given our history that this time it might not work out, but that is our decision. It’s our relationship and our life and you just need to accept that. Y/N’s pregnant and she already has to worry about what the entire fucking world thinks about her, so she shouldn’t have to worry about what my Mum thinks about her,” he sighed. 

“I’m only like this because I love you, sweetheart and I want what’s best for you,” she sighed. 

“I know you do, Mum, but right now what’s best for me is that you give Y/N and I a chance and move on from our past and what you think might happen between us,” he sighed. 

“You’re right,” she sighed. “I’ll do everything I can to make things right.” 

“Thank you,” he smiled hugging her tightly. 

“I can’t believe my baby is gonna have a baby,” she laughed wiping her eyes. 

“I know, but I couldn’t be happier about it,” he smiled. “When I was in LA, I bought all these parenting and baby books,” he laughed. 

“Oh my god,” she laughed shaking her head. “This is really happening isn’t it?” 

“Yeah, it is,” he smiled. 

** 

That afternoon Harry packed up a nice picnic lunch and grabbed a nice blanket to set up in a special part of the backyard. Once everything was packed up he went out back and set everything up, before going back into the house and getting you. 

“Wait!” he said wrapping one of his old head scarves around your head to cover your eyes. 

“What are you doing?” You laughed. 

“It’s a surprise,” he said taking your hand. “I’ll lead you, so don’t worry.” 

“I’m pretty sure that’s what the killer says to their victim,” you joked. 

He laughed.” You’ve been binge watching Criminal Minds again haven’t you?” 

“Maybe...” you said innocently. 

He shook his head as he helped you outside and over to the blanket and basket of food. 

“Okay, now open,” he said taking the scarf off. 

You saw a huge blanket, flowers, and food all scattered out. You smiled widely before looking over at Harry. 

“You did this?” You asked. 

“Don’t sound so shocked,” he joked. 

“No, I just when did you do this?” You asked. 

“Oh, I just threw this together,” he smirked. 

You laughed sitting down and he joined you before getting the food out and you both started eating. 

“This is nice,” you smiled leaning up against him after you finished eating. “Thank you for this.” 

“Anything for you,” he said kissing your head. 

You smiled looking up at him. “So, I think there are some things we should probably talk about,” you said. 

He nodded and looked down at you. 

“Well, we should probably figure out where we’re going to live, so that I can get find a doctor and get started to seeing them on a regular basis,” you said. “I mean, I assume that we’d live together right?” 

“I don’t want to be away from you if I don’t have to,” he said. “So, yeah, I want to live with you,” he smiled. 

“But where is the question? I mean I have my house in LA, but I know you’ve been staying in the UK for a while,” you said. 

“Where do you feel more comfortable?” He asked. 

“I’m fine with either one,” you said. “The only thing is my family. We’d have to make sure they’re able to fly out when we need them if we’re here, but it would be the same with your family if we were in LA.” 

“True,” he nodded. 

“Where would you prefer?” You asked. 

“Um, honestly, I’d prefer London,” he said. 

You smiled,”Then London it is.” 

“Are you sure?” He asked. 

“Yeah, it might be nice to get out of LA and we definitely wouldn’t have to worry about paps as much being in London compared to LA,” you said. “And we don’t need another incident like the other night.” 

“If that ever happened again...” he said annoyed. 

“Hey,” you said. “Don’t get worked over it.” 

“It’s hard not too,” he sighed. 

“I know, but it’s over with,” you whispered. 

He nodded and put his hand on your belly. “How do you feel about your talk with my Mum?” He asked. 

“Better. I mean it’s not going to change overnight, but I feel better after our last talk than the ones before,” you admitted. 

“I’m glad,” he smiled. 

“Thank you for talking to her,” you whispered. 

“You’re welcome,” he said. “I just want you two to get along and for you not worry about her.” 

You smiled and laid down on the ground pulling Harry down with you. He laughed and wrapped his arms around you. 

“I love you,” you whispered poking his nose. 

He laughed. “I love you too,” he smiled. 

You scooted closer to him and the two of you fell asleep right there in the middle of the garden. 

**This was sort of a filler update, I’ll be fast-forwarding a bit in next week’s update! :) 

[emptyxhere]

Rules for mobile users

[[here’s a google doc for the updated list of rules, applicable for all my blogs]]

anything under this cut is from my outdated rules.

[rules updated: 07/28/2019]

–STUFF YOU SHOULD DO–

• No godmodding. No sending (implied or explicit) homophobic/transphobic/bigoted messages to me or my character either.

• Assume the majority of this blog’s interactions will take place over social media. However, I’m still interested in doing face to face interactions for this muse, upon request, or if you send in an ask meme starter prompt! If you’re not interested in blog-style roleplaying, that’s alright. This Frisk is connected to the player known as Zenith (@xceancyes) so some lore stuff might happen on this blog if you want to follow along with online shenanigans.

• In any face to face interactions: if you start getting bored with the roleplay, feel free to drop it and/or end it. We can always start up another thread in the future.

• Please don’t over-pester me for replies. I promise I’ll get to them. Feel free to drop me a reminder after at least a week of no replies, though. In return, I usually give you a week too, unless otherwise specified in your own rules, until I remind you if it’s your turn to reply (or more often, I chicken out and trust that you’ll eventually respond/want to drop it and end up never bringing up that particular thread ever again). You’re always free to start multiple threads with me, that is greatly encouraged because I love having lots of threads with people.

• However, please let me know if you want to drop a roleplay thread! It can give me major anxiety when I’m waiting for a response that’s never going to come, and I wonder if I did something wrong and assume that’s why you’re not replying anymore :’) I’m not forcing you to let me know if you want to drop a thread, you can drop it without saying anything too. But I personally really appreciate being told about that sort of thing.

• Don’t reblog a f2f thread you’re not part of. This should go without being said, of course. Personals will be immediately hardblocked, and rp blogs will receive a warning.

• Please know that any in character post is okay to reblog or reply to if we’re mutuals! But out of character posts are not okay to reblog, unless stated otherwise, or it is a promo or art I’ve done.

• If you can trim your threads, please do! It’s fine if you can’t, though, because I will most likely trim the thread for you. If you don’t trim threads with other people, however, I’ll be less likely to follow you since I don’t like scrolling through long posts.

• Please don’t claim any of my art as your own. If you post it somewhere, the least you can do is credit me by at least including a link to my blog or something. Bonus points if you ask me first before reposting my art, but I understand if you’re anxious because so am I :’)

• That being said, if you’re following me, please let me know if I’m doing something that’s making you uncomfortable or is breaking one of your rules!! I do read the rules pages of everyone, but I’m human and forget things, and I’m not a mind reader either ;~; I care, so please tell me if I’m ever doing anything bad

—

–STUFF YOU SHOULD KEEP IN MIND–

• I am of age to do smut, but Frisk is definitely not! They are a baby!! No smut in this house.

• This blog is not a spoiler-free one.

• I’m alright with roleplaying nsfw in general, minus smut. Gore, violence, and generally dark roleplays are cool with me. It should be, considering this is a genocide Frisk anyway. I love angsty things just as much as I love fluff ;w; Plus, their first instinct to seeing a monster now is to kill them, so they’ll probably fight any monster muses on sight. Speaking of gore, you’re more than welcome to fight/harm/injure my muse to any extent! You don’t even have to ask! If you want to do a rp where they die, however, please dm me first. (this rule is for f2f interactions)

• I prefer not to interact with personals. Personals in general are allowed to follow me though! However! Personals are not allowed to reblog roleplays, in character posts, or ooc posts especially if I say in the tags that I’m going to delete the post later. Only things that are tagged with my “reblogs” or “musings” or “art tag” tags are okay to reblog. Headcanon posts are not okay to reblog unless I say otherwise.

• Like spamming is okay! I very occasionally lose roleplays, and getting lots of notes from likes are never a factor for that, for me personally. If I lose a roleplay, it’s mostly just because I forgot, so that’s really a “me” thing. And I like it when people like my posts! It lets me know that you like my blog and the stuff I post, and it makes me happy :’)

• If you are an OC, I will assume our muses have never met unless you plan ahead with me what their relationship is like.

• That being said, characters who have already interacted in canon will know each other. Unless the roleplay takes place in a different point of time and we are staging their first meeting, of course.

• Frisk will be pretty meta sometimes. They are aware of who Players are (they’re definitely not fond of them considering what their’s made them do), and they know they live in the game world. Although they are not aware of alternate universes and things of that nature yet.

• Like I said above, Frisk is connected to the player known as Zenith. He was the player who controlled their adventure three years ago.

• Frisk is nonbinary on this blog. Although, I don’t care if you refer to them as a boy or a girl (Frisk has no preference). Their order of preference for pronouns is they/she/he, although they will definitely like you more if you use exclusively they/them pronouns. I respect all headcanons about Frisk’s gender, and same goes for any Krises and Charas. If you play a KFC kid, gendered or not, I will use the pronouns they want used, and I do hope that you use they/them pronouns for my Frisk. I personally will default to using they/them for other Krises, Frisks, and Charas unless specified on your blog. No discourse about this, please.

• Doubles are welcome to interact too! I’m also cool with interacting with and following multiple blogs who portray the same character other than Frisks as well!

• This blog will not have mains. Of course most of the monsters in their timeline are dead, other than Flowey, Asgore and Sans(?), and any monster who managed to evacuate.

• Regarding face to face interactions: I’m pretty lenient with short replies. Don’t feel pressured to match the length if my reply gets long! Multi-para (usually 2-5 paragraphs) is my go-to for roleplays, so I usually do long replies by default.

• Adding onto that, I honestly don’t mind one-liners. Of course, in crack/online roleplays it’s fine but I’m okay with it in serious roleplays too. I prefer it if you don’t give me one-liners, but hey, as long as I’m still having fun with the roleplay anyway, it’s cool with me! I understand not being able to think of anything to write, so just as long as you don’t give me one or two words as your reply like ‘He smiled.’ or ’*laughs*’, I’ll be cool with it. Put at least some effort even if you’re only gonna give me one sentence, otherwise I’ll drop the rp once it becomes a repeat offense.

• I will not change the formatting of my roleplays to fit yours. I’m comfortable with sticking to only paragraph style roleplays, thank you very much. Feel free to keep formatting your own posts though, because I think formatting looks really cool! I just don’t want to format my posts, however. I do not currently have any icons for this blog, and I will not go all out with formatting my own posts with all that cool ‘small text’, and indents, and bolding and all that. The most I ever do with my formatting is italics for emphasis on certain words.

• I tend to move f2f roleplays from asks onto its own post. If I send you an ask meme and you answer it, I’ll respond by making a new post, tagging you, and linking to your reply. Until formatting on asks are fixed, I will answer any asks sent to me in a new text post rather than asks.

• I accept any sort of asks! If they aren’t answered after a while, either I don’t know how to answer it or I might be drawing it out and I am a very slow artist- Sorry-

• Feel free to tag me in any of those tagging memes! I don’t mind and I think they’re pretty fun to do! ^^

• Adding onto the above rule, you’re more than welcome to send me those chain asks like “send this to 10 roleplayers you think are really great!” because it’s super duper nice that you would think to send one to me! But don’t expect me to send them to other people, because I won’t :’) my anxiety won’t let me, so I’m sorry-

• If I follow you, that means I’ve already read all of your rules. I might not send the codephrase, though, because most of the time I get very anxious over having to send things like that. I’m very sorry–! But if I follow you then chances are that I have definitely read them before following- If you choose not to trust me on this, I understand.

• I generally follow every rp blog that follows me, but I might not follow some people back for a few reasons. Some might be for the type of content you post on your blog. I will interact with most people (unless you wanna rp gross things or you’re a mean person,,,, like your muse can be as much of a dick as you want, that’s no problem but don’t be gross to other people as yourself) and if I do roleplay with you, I will be more likely to follow you as well.

• Adding onto the above rule, however, please respect that it’s nothing personal if I ever unfollow you either! It’s not that I hate you or anything, but if you haven’t followed me back and you’re a private rp blog, or if we’re mutuals but never really roleplay, our muses just don’t click, you spam stuff that I don’t want to see on my dash, or you’ve become inactive for years and/or don’t interact with me anymore, there’s nothing wrong with that! We can still be friends but I prefer to have all the people I follow be potential rp partners. Feel free to follow me on my personal, @briightskies if you still wanna keep in touch but not rp :’)

—

–ABOUT THIS BLOG–

• This blog is OC and crossover friendly! I love OCs and have many of my own tbh, you’re all more than welcome to come interact with me!!

• This blog is semi-selective with blog post interactions. I’ll mostly just interact with people I’m following, but I’m definitely open to interacting with other rp blogs too. Regarding f2f interactions, I am non-selective!

• I’ll also interact with fandoms I’m not into either, as long as you have a good about section for your character, which also indicates how you portray them (any headcanons or AUs you have that aren’t canon, or whether you portray them as canonly as possible, unless they’re OCs of course since a regular about page is a given) and I’ll probably look up other things about that fandom in its wiki if I don’t know what something is anyway.

• I really shouldn’t have to say this, but I feel like I’ll need to anyway. I will not be shipping with this muse! They’re not in the best mental space for relationships at the moment, and they are also Too Young to be dealing with anything more than small crushes at kids their age.

• This blog might contain triggering content. I will tag common triggers and such, but don’t be afraid to tell me if you have something you want me to tag! I promise I’ll remember to tag it from then on. I do not have any known triggers myself. Any trigger warning tags will be written as “tw; ____” with a semi-colon, not a colon. If I feel like something should be tagged as a trigger but I’m not sure what to tag it exactly, I’ll just tag it as “tw” as a sort of catch-all tag.

     Requested tagged triggers:

 none at the moment

• I will only talk through the IM system ooc. If you send me a message through there, I will not respond with ooc brackets ((these things)) because I will automatically assume you know that you’re talking to the mun. I do not do roleplays or ic interactions on there.

-

Thank you for reading this really long list of rules! It means a lot if you did!

There’s no password, because I’m also anxious with those for other people’s blogs as I said above. But if you would like to interact with me, you can shoot me an ask directed to my muse, or @ them or something!

[belmonttheta-blog]

Senior Spotlight: Taylor Pederson & Zoey Bloom

Taylor Pedersen is an Economics and Marketing double major from Elgin, Illinois.

During her time in Theta she has served as Event Director and Chief Marketing Officer in addition to being a involved in Bruin Recruiters, the Pre-Law Society, International Justice Mission, and on the Finance Committee of SGA. 

She has also served as a TT Leader and Summer Staffer during her time at Belmont.

Finding Theta: "They are bright. They are thinkers. They are problem-solvers. They want to make the world better and fairer. The walls and political divisiveness that I feel so heavily in my daily life seem to evaporate when I walk into chapter, into a sanctuary in which I witness powerful women actively working to improve their communities, create impactful artwork, start businesses, or conduct innovative research. The necessity of their work cannot be overstated. I know that my sisters’ minds and talents will leave footprints on hundreds of other communities beyond our beloved Nashville, as many already have.” Favorite Theta Moment(s): “Sophomore year formal at The Standard, relationships with Giovanna, Erin, and Annie, rooming with my soulmate Zoey Bloom, rooming with Emery, rooming with Sam, kite sister date with meg mac, 12 hour long kite sister date with AnnVan, Red Bicycle dates with Madi, Breanna’s 22nd birthday on a boat, working with Queen HNelly, prefing Alyssa, Elenor, and Sandra, rapping BO$$ and doing a basket toss in Sophomore year Greek Sing, and traveling to Alaska with Hannah.”

Lessons Learned: “Ladies got to stick togetha!! It is so beautiful when women build each other up, loving, praying for, and supporting each other instead of viewing each other as competition. #fem #in #ism.”

Favorite Quotes: “Life is a combination of magic and pasta.” Words of Wisdom: “Reach out to sisters that post on the prayer request page, it takes a lot of courage to do that; SCHOLARSHIP REALLY IS THE HIGHEST AIM; Never take this supportive community for granted; Know that your gifts are recognized; Being more vulnerable leads to more meaningful relationships; Apply for summer staff; Never let anyone convince you that beauty is more important than intelligence and good character.”

Shoutouts: (Graduated: Giovanna, Breanna, Hannah, Kayla, Maddy) Zoey, Erin, Annie, Gracie, Madi, Haley Nelly, AnnVan, Maddy Clarke, MegMac, Ryann, Austyn, Carol, Megan Albright, Alyssa Seefeldt, Sarah Ritter, Sara Scannell, Marissa Vogelsang, the Marketing Committee, 2016 MDC, 2016 Exec

P.S. Thank you to everyone who was not mentioned that contributed to my Theta experience, saw the potential in my abilities, believed in my when I didn’t believe in myself, and empowered me to be a better follower of Christ, a better student, and a better member of my community. I love you all and I can’t wait to continue my involvement in Theta for the rest of my life.

Zoey Bloom is an International Business major from Libertyville, Illinois.

During her time in Theta she has served as IT Director in addition to being involved in SGA and Bruin Recruiters.

Finding Theta: “I wanted to find a community in college of people who would challenge me, make me laugh, and support me emotionally. Theta women just embody leadership, drive, and a work-hard, play-hard, love-hard attitude that I felt immediately during recruitment.” Favorite Theta Moment: “I’ve loved every single formal/semi-formal because it is so fun to get all dressed up with sisters and dance like crazy together. Actually, any time we burst into a spontaneous dance party would be my favorite memory. Thetas know how to get down.”

Lessons Learned: “Theta has taught me that women supporting other women are an unstoppable force. I’ve learned how to use my ambitions and goals to help others, and to chase after chances to be a leader in my community. I’ve learned that black and gold are definitely my power colors. I’ve learned to let faith, hope, and love guide me as I figure out my place in the world.”

Favorite Quotes: “To those who stay put, the world is but an imaginary place. But to the movers, the makers, and the shakers, the world is all around, an endless invitation.” - Unknown Words of Wisdom: “No matter how strong you think you are, it is okay to be vulnerable and let your guard down sometimes. When you you surround yourself with good quality friends, they will love you and care for you when you’re down.”

Shoutouts: Tay Ped for being the most fun roommate ever and one of my closest friends. Olivia Hosey for taking a chance on my old study abroad program and letting Antibes into her life. Mare Rote for being Mare Rote. Ryann Dean for being the only person I knew at Belmont when I first got here and for being one of the sweetest sisters I could have asked for.

[likeivesailed-blog]

Brisbane Matilda Trip- January 14 2017

So I haven’t written a review before but I haven’t seen or heard too much about the Brisbane Matildas so I thought somebody might be interested in hearing about my wonderful show experiences. WARNING- this ended up being a very very long and detailed post!! I was lucky enough to see the show a few times in Sydney but it’s been almost a year since I saw my last show (Sydney closing) and I was having Matilda withdrawals. So in November I booked a trip to Brisbane with my mum to see the show again. It’s quite a trip to Brisbane for me- a 5 hour drive from Canberra to Newcastle to meet my mum and then a flight to Brisbane- so I booked cheap restricted view seats in order to be able to afford to see two shows. My mum had seen the show with me once in Sydney and had not particularly enjoyed the actress’ portrayal of Matilda in that performance. She’s quite critical and hadn’t enjoyed the stoic, expressionless take on the character. I was definitely hoping she’d enjoy the show a bit more this time around because I wanted someone to be as excited about the show as I am. The Matinee performance featured Annabella Cowley as Matilda, Ethan Beer as Bruce, Alice Lowther as Lavender, Reuben Rivalland as Nigel, Caliese McEachern as Amanda, William Todd as Eric, Romme Williams as Alice, Emma Cobb as Hortensia and Zac McCulloch as Tommy. All the main adult cast were on except Rachel Cole was on for Mrs Phelps. I’ll start by saying that our seats for this performance weren’t great which I knew in advance. They were on the far right of the stage and about a third was obstructed from view. That being said I wasn’t bothered by it and we were only about 6 rows back so we had a close view of all of the front of the stage. However being school holidays there were lots of young kids in the audience and it was a bit noisy. I had a 4-5 year old girl behind me and she struggled to understand most of the show. She was constantly asking her mum questions and although she was super cute she was pretty loud. At the end of the show, just before the Wormwoods and Rudolpho rush in Matilda is standing quite close to the front of the stage on the right looking out over the audience. The little girl comes out with “Mummy, why isn’t she waving at me? Why isn’t Matilda waving at me?” It took all my might to hold in my laughter it was so sweet but I’m pretty sure the entire audience (not to mention the performers) could hear her. Annabella was very good. I can’t work out exactly how to describe her portrayal of Matilda. She was fearless but a little bit aloof and softer than some I’ve seen. I personally really enjoyed her version of Quiet (my favourite song in the show) and some of her line deliveries were particularly good. She did stumble on a few of her lines and although her accent was quite good it was a bit forced and I could see her concentrating on it for most of the show. I’d love to see her again a bit further into the run to see what she would add to her performance once the accent comes more naturally. Ethan Beer as Bruce was the stand-out of the other children. His monologue before Bruce was the clearest, and best-timed/articulated that I’ve heard. His vocals in Revolting Children were excellent and his dance moves were outstanding. I was really impressed with him. There were no other real standouts amongst the kids in this performance. When it comes to the adult cast I always leave feeling awestruck. I know I’m biased but I feel like we are incredibly lucky to have these talented performers in the show. Elise McCann is such a warm, soft and gentle Miss Honey and you can really feel the connection she has with each of the children. Her voice is also beautiful. Marika Aubrey is faultless. Seriously I can’t imagine seeing anyone else as Mrs Wormwood she’s just so incredible. For me Loud is a song that I think could be quite annoying but she sings it with the perfect mix of spoken lines and variance in volume, inflection and tone that it’s supremely confident and patronising without going over the top or being screechy. James Millar also never fails to impress me. His comedic timing with line delivery, paired with his physical comedy skills are so brilliant. I think he gets more laughs out of the audience each show than the other cast members combined. This was my first time seeing Rachel Cole as Mrs Phelps and I quite enjoyed her portrayal although quite different to Cle Morgan’s. Rachel’s Mrs Phelps has a very endearing, and in my opinion, convincing Irish accent and comes across as much more child-like and excitable than Cle’s. She just seems so enthralled and amazed by Matilda and her stories and she seemed to interact with Annabella a lot more which I enjoyed. Overall both my mum and I thought the performance was very good and we were excited to be going back to see the evening performance. Although I had tried not to see or hear too much about the Matildas before going I had listened to a recording of Venice and I hoped to get the chance to see her. When I walked into the lobby of the theatre for the evening performance and saw Eva’s name on the screen I’ll admit I was slightly disappointed... that feeling did not last long. After seeing 5 different Matildas in 6 performances (and numerous other musicals) I have to say that I have never experienced such a powerful performance. I feel so privileged to have witnessed this show. It was absolutely phenomenal!!! Besides Eva the evening performance featured the same adult and child cast with the exception of Exodus Lale as Bruce. The audience for this performance was so much better than the one earlier in the day and right from the first lines of miracle they were involved. The whole show was filled with laughter, applause and cheers and it really changed the energy and the atmosphere in the theatre. The same child cast I hadn’t been particularly impressed with were so much stronger and energetic and every cast member on stage fed off the audience’s enthusiasm. It’s amazing how much the audience’s interaction and attitude can influence a performance (for better or worse). Our seats for this show were also better. Although billed as restricted view I could see 90% of the stage and we were only 3 rows back with no seats in front of us. Those seats had been removed to allow for the stairs to the stage that the performers enter and exit by so we got a very good view of James Millar as the trunch during the Bruce scene where he pauses to declare chokey as the second part of the punishment. I could have literally reached out and touched him (I didn’t of course in case you were wondering). From the moment Eva rose from below the table in Miracle I had a sense that the performance was going to be strong. There was just something about the way she carried herself and she had such a determined look in her eyes. Right from the outset it was clear that there was no vulnerability to her Matilda and neither Eva, nor her Matilda lacked any confidence. A few things about her Matilda became apparent in the first couple of scenes and it made me incredibly excited to see what she’d do next. - Her British accent was effortless and flawless. I very much enjoy the sound of this accent and I’m so glad the Australian production decided to teach it to the girls however it doesn’t come naturally to all the Matildas and it can sometimes be distracting when it’s obvious they’re concentrating so hard on not dropping the accent. It’s such a big ask and I find it so impressive that they’re able to do it at all. Eva’s accent was so natural that it enhanced the performance for me instead of detracting from it. - She was very responsive and reactive to everything that was going on around her. Even when she wasn’t the main focus of a scene there was not one minute on stage that she wasn’t completely present as Matilda. This made her Matilda incredibly easy to relate to. - Her face and eyes are incredibly expressive and her ability to show exactly what she’s feeling through facial expressions and actions is the best I’ve ever seen. It was difficult to take my eyes off her because I felt so invested in her story and how she was feeling. - Her line delivery, timing and the choices she made in portraying Matilda were incredibly well thought-out, considered and natural. I also found some of her choices unique to her which is always interesting. No line was ever rushed, felt contrary to her chosen portrayal or mumbled and as such nothing felt out of place or false. It was very easy to follow the story in this performance. Ok so now to all the details. So many line deliveries and choices were unique from what I’ve seen so far, and in my opinion, perfect that I almost want to describe the entire show. Her Matilda was angry. At the beginning of the first act it was very subtle, bubbling below the surface and only noticeable in small expressions and the intonation and tone of some lines. By the beginning of the second act it was more pronounced, but never exaggerated or over the top, shown in a few clenched fists, a clenched jaw, and some very scathing and pointed looks. This built very strongly and cleverly right up until The Smell of Rebellion where you could see the anger written all over her face and it just boiled over into “big, fat bully” and “Quiet” when she just couldn’t control it anymore. Every Matilda I’ve seen has practically shouted/yelled/declared indignantly the “I’m a girl” lines. Eva instead very firmly and evenly states “I’m a girl”, giving the impression that she’s said it so many times in her life that she’s simply resigned herself to the fact that her father is never going to acknowledge that she’s a girl. There’s also a very subtle hint of anger and frustration in her voice about this. Naughty- the part on the shelf was the strongest I’ve seen largely due to her facial expressions. Her ninja moves were also very sharp and strong which is something that fits my personal preferences. The only thing that could even remotely be considered a mistake on her part happened during the first library scene. There was a slight hesitation from what I imagine was a lapse in memory but she ad-libbed so quickly, and resumed the correct dialogue so seamlessly that I would have had no idea if I wasn’t so familiar with the show. When I spoke to my mum about it during intermission she had no idea what I was talking about. In the scene at the Wormwood house, where Mr Wormwood tears up the library book, Eva’s facial expressions and acting choices were so good. Instead of just sitting silently she chooses to open her mouth to appear as if she is about to talk back to her father but she gets silenced when he rips the book from her hands. She then goes from looking shocked and appalled, to looking downright incredulous when her father acts like an idiot (especially when he slams his face against it and shakes it in his mouth) and can’t even work out how to ruin the book. Rachel Cole’s more child-like Mrs Phelps really complemented Eva’s Matilda who seemed like the adult in all of their scenes together. She was so enthralled and enthusiastic about the stories. Eva’s stories were inspired- her intonation, tone, volume and facial expressions changed so appropriately that you couldn’t help but be sucked in by them. Quite a few of the other Matildas I’ve seen have been caught up with the accent, a bit rushed/mumbled or seem to be concentrating so hard on remembering the words and accompanying actions that it’s hard to stay in the moment. With Eva I couldn’t wait for the next part they were so expressive and engaging. Her reactions to Mrs Phelps’ interjections and interruptions were also played differently from what I’ve seen before. Her “I don’t know, not yet anyway” was quite drawn out with a slow and considered “I don’t know” like she was surprised by that and a 2-3 second pause before the “not yet anyway”. You could see her really trying to think about it and work out what might come next, like she was just as interested to know as Mrs Phelps, but she just didn’t have anymore. It felt very realistic.  And all of her exit lines “Bye Mrs Phelps see you tomorrow!”, “yeah I’d better go” were also delivered differently. They’re often played for laughs but Eva’s deliveries were very serious. You got the sense she was very much trying not to burden Mrs Phelps with the reality of her situation. There was also a heartbreaking hint of sadness, especially after Mrs Phelps declares it “must be nice for a child to be so wanted”. She held her face and tone even (with slight forced positivity) during her “Yes, wonderful. Goodbye Mrs Phelps” but after she’d turned around her face dropped, her shoulders dropped and there was deep sadness in her eyes. I felt like crying. You could just see the weight of the effort for such a little girl to be so strong all the time against all the bullies in her life. Her delivery of “Mrs Phelps, It’s just a story” was also quite unusual. Mostly I’ve seen Matilda appear quite incredulous that Mrs Phelps could think it was real, or it’s played for laughs. Eva didn’t do either of these things. Instead she calmly and slowly said, “Mrs Phelps?” with a questioning intonation. It came across as very concerned, trying to make sure she was back in the present moment, and led into a reassuring “it’s just a story”. She spoke to Mrs Phelps in a very similar manner to how a mother might speak to a frightened child. It was interesting and quite effective given Rachel Cole’s Mrs Phelps. It might not have felt so believable with Cle Morgan’s portrayal but I obviously haven’t seen this and I wouldn’t be surprised if she adapted her delivery to suit. In the playground scene when Lavender introduces herself you can see she’s very confused and not quite sure how to take such a happy, bouncy, outgoing child. You can practically see her thinking “Who is this kid and why is she talking to me?” She starts to soften after Lavender declares her her best friend after the success of the narcolepsy scene. Another thing I really liked was her reaction just before the “biggest hug in the world”. Often I find that after Miss Honey explains her plans for the selection of books to challenge Matilda’s mind there’s just an uncomfortably long pause. While I know what’s supposed to be happening in Matilda’s head it’s mostly not very clear and the pause seems to stretch out too long. Eva’s eyes, however, initially showed some confusion- it was obvious she wasn’t used to such kindness and didn’t really know what to do. Her expression then changed very slightly, it was almost a twitch, and I don’t really know how to describe it… gratitude perhaps… and then she launched herself into Miss Honey. She managed to convey in this performance what has been lacking in most others I’ve seen. Now I should probably also mention Exodus Lale as Bruce at this point because he matched Eva in his strength in this performance. They are an incredible pair together. His Bruce is very funny and his timing and expression in the Bruce monologue was great. He also did something I’ve never seen before. I don’t know if it’s because I’ve always sat straight on to the stage and haven’t been able to see it but just after he’s sat in front of the cake he looked around the classroom and mouthed “help me” with an incredibly desperate/pleading expression to a few of the other kids. I thought it was funny and very clever. His delivery of “thank you” after the Trunch appears to be letting him off the hook was also different- very incredulous but obviously relieved. Overall the strongest Bruce performance I’ve seen and I was overall very impressed with the two Brisbane Bruces I saw! Ok I promise I’m up to the last few points. Eva’s quiet is one of my favourite renditions I’ve ever heard and certainly one of the best 2 I’ve heard live. The first part of the song is incredibly strong and angry, her face, her voice and her hands/arms (forced trembling) all show how much she’s struggling to contain it and her articulation of all of the words is very clear and controlled. All of this anger builds up to a very strong, clear and controlled belt. The second part of the song is strong but incredibly smooth and beautifully sung. It seems effortless. I wish I could listen to it over and over. Her delivery of the “Am I strange?” line was also very unique. It was delivered fairly slowly with the “strange” spoken very softly, almost whispered. It gave me the impression that she was a little bit in awe of her powers and slightly scared of the way her overwhelming anger had manifested. It led to the next exchange with Miss Honey being quite sweet and you could see how much they cared about each other. It became quite a powerful scene for their relationship and fed very nicely into what is the most interesting My House scene I’ve witnessed. You can just see everything Eva’s thinking and the lines are so well timed with her taking in her surroundings and also processing what Miss Honey is telling her. You can practically see the moment she understands how Miss Honey sees her small, modest house as her sanctuary. She’s also very focused on Miss Honey during the actual song when they’re sitting side by side… there’s no wandering eyes or moments with no expression on her face. The “but she’s got everything that’s yours” is almost pleading as if she knows Miss Honey is going to be averse to doing anything about it. She’s practically looking into Miss Honey’s eyes, trying to read her and understand her, for quite a bit of the song. As a result the two characters interact quite a bit more and I felt more of a connection between the two in this scene than I have before. During the whole show she only made three choices that didn’t really appeal to my preferences. I felt she emphasised the “shiny, white scarf” a bit too hard in the first part of the story. It was very slow with a pause between each word. She did turn to Mrs Phelps and look her directly in the eyes at the time- almost as if to make sure she didn’t miss what ends up being a key part but I would have preferred it to be more subtle. She also played the “could have heard a fly burp” for laughs a little bit which just isn’t my preference. I like the line delivered seriously as If she doesn’t realise that her story could maybe be funny. She also exaggerated the “That was badgers, it was a program about badgeeerrrrrsssssss” line and drew out the last badgers quite long. Marika Aubrey’s adapted response of “same thiiinnnggggggggg” with the same drawn out delivery and tone almost makes me like it. And Eva’s expression of sheer disbelief when her mother days “Russians are nocturnal you know” was just priceless. Well you’ve made it to the end. I think you can see how much I enjoyed the performance and my mum was completely blown away. She couldn’t stop talking about how amazing Eva was and she doesn’t believe the show could ever be done any better than that. Regardless of personal preferences her performance is so strong, and so totally present that you can’t help but appreciate her brilliant performance. She’s truly incredible. It was also lovely in bows to see her smile after seeing only negative emotions during the show. The whole crowd also loved the performance and rose to their feet for a standing ovation but it happened while they were turned to acknowledge he orchestra so she did this delightful little bounce and giggle when she turned back around to find everyone on their feet. She practically skipped off stage in joy. Every single performer on stage for this performance was absolutely on the top of their game. So if anyone is lucky enough to see Eva as Matilda be prepared for a phenomenal, and emotional, show.