#i swear the glee cast still has one of the best versions

[shadowfromthestarlight]

I struggle to find the best versions of O Holy Night every year and I finally realized that’s because I just want to hear Josh Groban’s version but sung in a female voice. 

[portuguesedisaster]

From the three songs ask meme: 2, 3, 11, 13, 21, 22, 23, 28 maybe, 29, 30 😁

LET'S GOOO. This is a lot ahahah

2. three last songs you listened to

Ophelia by The Lumineers (I LOVE THIS ALBUM OMG, just bought it on CD 😍)

Bring it on Home by American Authors ft Philip Phillips and Maddie Pope

Glee's cover of Home (originally by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros)

3. three songs you were recently obsessed with

Oh hard, let's see

Broken Crown by Mumford and Sons (my boy Rand Al Thor song and no one can convince me otherwise)

Ex-Wives by the cast of SIX The Musical (bop bop bop, historical bop)

Crystals by Of Monsters and Men (still looking for this CD if anyone has a copy... 😉)

11. three favourite songs from movie or TV series soundtrack

Ok, I'm gonna consider just general soundtracks don't come after me :)

Bright by The Cast of Julie and The Phantoms (look here Netflix I have a knife 🔪)

Hey Ferb by The Phineas and Ferb cast :)

Louder than words by The Cast of Tick Tick... BOOM

13. three songs you want at your funeral

Funeral by Lukas Graham

See you again by Wiz Khalifa ft Charlie Put - the Sami Jebari version tho

Idk actually ( something more in the line of LG than WK though)

21. three songs of your childhood

Nights by Avicii

Huntik Go from the Soundtrack of Huntik (this series as a whole is a big part of my childhood)

Price Tag by Jessie J (no idea why my school ran with this song's hype)

22. three songs you listen to when you’re sad

Eraser by Ed Sheeran (don't ask lol)

Daylight by David Kushner

Oak Trees by Daniel Nunnelee

23. three songs that never fail to get you pumped up

Jump up Superstar from the soundtrack of Super Mario Odyssey

Gold by Bunt (unreleased I guess but it counts !)

Could have been me by The Struts

28. three best songs to get drunk or high to

Nancy Mulligan by The Wellerman Ft Malinda (the original is by Ed Sheeran)

Everybody Talks by Neon Trees (dk if anyone still listens to this but y'know)

Soldier, Poet, King (dk why but it vibes drunk)

29. three songs that influenced you most (some songs change or save lives)

Cleopatra by The Lumineers ( I was taller than the rafters)

Scared to start by Michael Marcargi

For those below by Mumford and Sons

30. three songs you really want your followers to know (for reasons other than all those above)

Gypsy Heart by Bunt ft Neil Ormandi

Eleanor Rigby by Cody Fry (the original is by The Beatles)

I lived by One Republic (but the version from One Night In Malibu- that entire album features the best version of all these songs I swear)

[tuiyla]

Do you fast forward through all male plot lines on Glee? Do you like any of their stories? What do you like about the main male characters?

I don't fast-forward anything and I do like a lot of the boys' storylines. I swear I'm not a misandrist y'all lol, just because I generally much prefer the girls' characters and stories I can still enjoy and appreciate the boys. It's just personal preference, partly stemming from my interest in the ignored perspectives in all stories and that tends to be the girls in Glee.

That said, here's the boys’ version of mainly thematic things I like about Glee characters:

Finn Hudson

I make it no secret that Finn's a very frustrating character to me but I do genuinely like a lot of things about his basic concept as a character and his journey. The Finn I choose to like in my head has this contradiction going for him: he's the beloved All-American quarterback on top of the high school social hierarchy but, as the series goes on, he's acutely aware of how little that means in the real world. He often leans into his popularity and is just as concerned about status as chs like Quinn or Santana but there's this sense of dread when it comes Real Life and post-high school. Because Finn knows this isn't all there is to life but he's terrified that if he's not the quarterback or even the leader of the New Directions, he's just a big aimless loser. His fragile sense of identity is fascinating in all his flaws and triumphs, if only Glee had explored that more. It's a shame tragedy struck and we never got to see how he would grow as a teacher and leader. I think his arc of finding meaning in not being the star but helping others with their dreams was poignant.

Kurt Hummel

Kurt's story is easily the most well-developed in the series and the care with which his story was formed is evident. I've said it before and I'll say it again, his season 2 arc in particular is the best of Glee (along with Santana's, but then hers wasn't followed up on in s3). If I had to choose one aspect for him it's for sure his compassion and how it shines through in a lot of story beats. Kurt can have an air of arrogance about him but I think he more than most has amazing moments of compassion. He really defies "hurt people hurt people" and shows there's another way because where others lash out he reaches out and tries to make it so others don't have to feel the way he did. A good heart is the best trait to have. A standout moment is him forgiving Karofsky and helping him after the attempt because really, it would have been understandable if Kurt didn't want to ever see him again after s2. But he found it in himself to realize Karofsky was also struggling and helped Dave while also acknowledging that he didn't deserve to be hurt by him. And that's called healthy.

Artie Abrams

I think Artie was done dirty in terms of storylines compared to his overall presence and just looking at things like how well featured his voice was, but there’s still stuff to like there. I have to admit that I’m perhaps the least invested in him as a character but I see his main arc being that of limitations and overcoming them. And that can mean limitations because of his disability of how people perceive him as a disabled person, and even limitations he sets for himself. It’s not just that he’s in a wheelchair but he’s a self-described nerd and loser as well, and I think towards the beginning he really leans into that role. But as he goes on and gains more confidence, largely due to his relationships with women, he interestingly goes a bit too far much like Tina did with her newfound confidence. What I’m referring to is things like his womanizer are in season 5 and how easily he casts Kitty aside, even though he once worried so much about cheerleaders being out of his league. His sexism is where he loses me but I also do see some of it as just overdone and misplaced confidence and as a whole his arc about outgrowing limiting labels is interesting. Justice for Wildebrams though, damn shame.

Noah Puckerman

I always struggle with Puck because I actually really, really like so much about his character, themes and journey but then the icky things overshadow that. Still, focusing on the stuff I like, I think Puck's relationship with people's expectations of him, like with all the popular kids, is super interesting. (Seriously, I need to write about the Finn-Quinn-Santana-Puck quadrangle one day.) He pretends like he loves beng the resident bad boy but he’s actually really hurt when people assume the worst and has this deep-seated fear of being a loser, much like Finn does. He’s terrified of becoming exactly like his father but it’s often as if he can’t help but double down on worst expectations because it’s easier than proving he can be better. He, like Santana, proves how much it can mean when there’s just one person who believes in you and how it makes all the difference in the world. I really think Puck doesn’t want to be a bully or a bad boy or a bad student, he just defaults to it when he thinks it’s the best way to navigate social hierarchies. The way season 3 handles this in particular is really interesting and I wish what little he had in later seasons was more in line with that and just in general better.

Mike Chang

Mike, like Tina when it comes to the girls, is given by far the least and though I still think there’s much to like about him, so much of it is confined to the background. He only has one real storyline that is truly his as a main character but luckily I do like it. Mike’s plot about going against his parents’ wishes and pursuing the arts instead of a ~better~ and more stable career is imo well done. Do I love that according to Glee only a career in the arts is one worth having because otherwise you’re settling, no, but it works well for Mike. Here we have this quiet but popular guy who’s good at football but not the best or anything, and who carries much of ND without the appropriate appreciation. And he skates by being the one in the background but he does learn in that choir room that he loves performing so much and, with some prompting, stands up for that passion. Contrast is always nice to see in stories so contrasting Mike’s overall chillness with him ultimately standing his ground and wanting to dance is interesting. Sadly, we never get to see much more of his story and how life goes after graduation. The single most underutilized character.

Sam Evans

Sam’s tricky because, and I think many can agree, he changes a lot throughout the series and so I don’t always know where I stand with him. I’m gonna have to get back to you after I rewatch the whole series. But overall I think people don’t give him nearly enough credit for stepping up and looking after his family at such a young age. I don’t think the storyline was particularly well done for many reasons - in Rumours it’s not even really about him, rarely mentioned again, being an underage sex worker played for laughs, and only Chris Colfer even remembered it all happened by season 5. But still, it gives his character depth and him having to grow up so fast but then also having this himbo vibe is an interesting concept. He can be goofy and even seem immature while also being emotionally intelligent and looking after his siblings. It should have been explored more but ah well. As another thing, his relationship with his own body is also an interesting one and I guess more comes of it but not by much. Sadly, for being so relatively well featured Sam doesn’t actually get to tell his own story often so even though I do like him, I don’t have as much to say as with others.

Blaine Anderson

I talked about Blaine a while back but basically, I most appreciate Blaine when it comes to his flaws. Personally, I view his story as a deconstruction of the dreamy boyfriend he was in season 2 and the gradual peeling back of layers until we get ananxious and imperfect boy. The thing with Blaine is that his character was built almost retroactively, at first mainly just being a jukebox and Kurt’s amazing boyfriend, but still there is a story there and imo it’s a juicy one. He’s somewhere in the middle in terms of how much there’s to analyse: you have to read into it more and put the energy in more than with Kurt, Finn, and Puck, but Blaine certainly has more going for him than Artie, Sam, and Mike do. For me, the thing I like about him is how he turns out to not be perfect, because of course, and is instead grows into his own as just another messy teenager who makes mistakes but loves his friends and is just trying to his place in the world.

[new-sandrafilter]

How Timothée Chalamet Channeled The Blockbuster Pressure of Leading Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Dune’ Back Into His Role – Venice Q&A

DEADLINE: In a few days Dune will premiere at the Venice Film Festival. You first met Denis Villeneuve about the role in May 2018 and started shooting in the early half of 2019. It was always going to be a long journey, but the pandemic stretched it even further. How does it feel to have finally arrived at this moment?

TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET: You know, I like to think that with every film I’ve done, whether it’s Call Me by Your Name or Beautiful Boy, The King, or Little Women, the character you play is almost a piece of your flesh. And that’s always true, but simply from the perspective of how long the shoot for Dune was, and also the arc that Paul Atreides is on, as well as the huge love and almost biblical connection that so many people have for the book and the original film, it really felt… tectonic, if that’s the right word for it. Just getting to this finish line feels like: phew.

And independent of what the film is now, and what it has become, the experience of making it was I was put in such a safe environment, which you can never take for granted as a human, as an actor, but especially when you’re just starting your career, and when this is the first film of this size you’ve ever done.

To get to work with Denis on it, to get to work with someone of his caliber, let alone on a book that he considers the book of his youth and one of the things he has connected to the most… When he would have it in his hands on set, his body language would become that of a fan; of a kid who had fallen in love with the book at home in Montreal. And when all the kids around him were wearing hockey jerseys with their favorite players’ names on the back, this was a kid wearing a jersey that said ‘Spielberg’ on the back.

For it all to come together, especially with the added challenge of the pandemic, it has all combined to make this moment feel especially spicy [laughs].

DEADLINE: The entire ensemble will show up in Venice.

CHALAMET: Right. And I just can’t believe it; Jason Momoa has the number one film on Netflix right now with Sweet Girl, which I just watched. And since we shot, Zendaya has had all this success with Euphoria and Malcolm & Marie. Just to be part of this cast, period, let alone as one of the title characters, it’s really the shit you dream of.

And let me not forget, too—and I know I’ve told you this before—that The Dark Knight was the movie that made me want to act. That movie had a score by Hans Zimmer, and he has done the score for Dune. And it’s almost not what you’d think. It’s totally appropriate and excellent for the movie, but he has somehow managed to do something subversive, in my opinion. It’s a pinch-me moment all over.

DEADLINE: So, take me back to the start. Is it true you had a Google alert set up to track the latest news on this project before you were ever cast?

CHALAMET: Yeah, it’s true [laughs]. Not right away—Legendary had the rights and was developing it—but as soon as Denis got involved, I set up a Google alert and that’s when I got the book.

In total honesty, I think my understanding of Dune at that point was from a graphic novel I’d seen at Midtown Comics when I was shopping for Yu-Gi-Oh! cards when I was about 10. The year you and I first met, when I was there at Deadline Contenders with Call Me by Your Name, that would have been 2017 or early 2018, and Denis was there with Blade Runner. I remember I was trying to put myself in front of him as much as possible and set up a meeting with him. We had a night at the BAFTA where one of my good friends, Stéphane Bak—who’s also an actor—saw Denis across the room and was like, “Hey buddy, he’s right over there.” So, we went over to talk to him. I kept trying to put myself in front of him, but I didn’t really get a sense of the possibility [of working with him].

I was about halfway through the book when I got the call that he was going to be the president of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival, and I was in London prepping The King. He asked me if I could come out there, so I quickly busted through the second half of the book as best I could. So, like, the first half of my copy is properly annotated and full of my thoughts, and then the second half I just raced through. And then I had that meeting with him, and it was such a joy.

I’m struggling with this even now, as I’m working with Paul King [on Wonka], because he’s another guy I have huge respect and admiration for, and it’s hard to feel on a level. Not that you ever are, because as an actor you’re a cog in the machine, and you’ve got to be humble to the vision of the director. But with Denis, he was pacing around the room, throwing ideas around, in some fancy suite in Cannes, and all I could think was that a year before I was just sat on a stoop on 9th Street in the East Village or something.

DEADLINE: Was that your first time in Cannes?

CHALAMET: Yeah. Well, bizarrely, my sister would do dance camps growing up. Ballet intensive programs in a town called Mougins, which is nearby Cannes, so I spent a lot of time there growing up, but never during the festival, and not on the Riviera. To get to be there for the festival was just nuts. I went to see the Romain Gavras movie, I think, and it was just a huge joy.

I got attached [to the role in Dune] a couple of months after that, and it was nerve-wracking from the announcement, because like I said before, the fans of the book, and the fans of David Lynch version, the computer game, and everything, there’s so much love and strength of feeling. And so much of our pop culture and films and books have been derived from Dune, and all the philosophy the book. I’ve been shocked to learn how many people have a next-level connection to the book. I compare it to how our generation grew up with Harry Potter, and that one makes sense to me. But it’s cool to see with Dune also, when you actually sit down and read it… It’s not that it’s a quote-unquote “hard read” or anything, but it’s not made to be consumed easily, I think that’s fair to say.

So, I was grateful to be working on something of this size not only with Denis Villeneuve leading it, who between Polytechnique, Incendies and Prisoners had nailed the smaller indie film across languages, and then had nailed Arrival and Blade Runner, but who, in his own words, he didn’t feel he’d made his greatest film yet. But also, to be working with this cast. I don’t know if there’s some nightmare version of a film where a young lead is not supported by the rest of his cast, where every one of them had been the leads in their own huge projects. But on this, everyone was there to support, and I think it’s because we all wanted to be foot soldiers for Denis, and I think we understood the potential, based on the script by Eric Roth, Jon Spaihts and Denis, that this could be something really special.

DEADLINE: I don’t have a connection to Dune; this movie is really my first experience of the story. What strikes me is this is clearly an enormous universe—a broad canvas being painted with various families and factions and politics and mythos—but that ultimately it comes down to very elemental, human themes, and we feel them through this character you play, Paul Atreides. Did those themes help ground the experience for you?

CHALAMET: Yes, and I would give the credit entirely to Denis. He would constantly say on set that he had some opposing drumbeat or something. In my diminished intellectual standing, I didn’t understand it, but it was like some vision for the movie based on how biblical the book is that tries to tackle so much that it doesn’t tackle anything. I think he felt the need to be close to a character in it, and Paul is that guy in the book. He’s a character that is still in formation, like a lump of clay, which makes him a great figure for the audience to mirror off.

It speaks, I think, to Denis’ premonition and his directing ability that there were times when we’d move on from a shot or move on from a scene, and I swear, literally, we’d go back because Denis wanted to get something over my shoulder, or push in on my reaction, just to make sure [it stayed on Paul].

And again, it’s something where I’m pinching myself. I had the best time on Interstellar, and that was one of my favorite films I’ve ever worked on, but it was very much something where I was aware of when I had the opportunity to do real acting. And on a movie like Dune, again, one could think it would get lost in the scale and scope. But I felt every day like my plate was full.

DEADLINE: One of those themes is fear, and Paul must overcome his to become the person he needs to be. When you are number one on the call sheet on a project of this scale, and the cast list reads like an address book of Hollywood in the 21st century, and Legendary has injected hundreds of millions of dollars into this production, and it’s all falling on your shoulders, I have to imagine fear is a theme you can readily relate to.

CHALAMET: Oh yeah, and they can bleed into each other for sure—not to diminish the other work that goes in. It’s great when your life experience can inform the role. That’s not at all to say I’m on some crusade in the universe or anything, but definitely… And I had that same good fortune with The King I think. My life is not nearly as significant or as exciting as Paul or Prince Hal, but we all share an unwitting needle in the haystack feeling. On The King that feeling was because I was so new to having a career. On Dune it’s because of, as you say, just feeling the pressure of the hugeness of the project in all those different ways. Those things can absolutely inform each other.

And then there are the moments of glee that come, too, like seeing Jason Momoa running at you at a hundred miles an hour, or just getting to shoot the shit with Josh Brolin, or getting to do a scene with Oscar Isaac. I felt so supported, whether it was Rebecca Fergusson or Charlotte Rampling. When Zendaya came, it was a total breath of fresh air, and she’s one of my favorite parts of the movie. I just got really lucky, and I can’t wait to see them all in Venice.

Denis split the book in half, and the hope is a second movie will get a greenlight. That’d expand Zendaya’s role in the story.

CHALAMET: Definitely, Chani will play a huge role in the next film. I don’t know if there’s a script yet, but just based on the book, along with Lady Jessica [Rebecca Fergusson], they have a lot to do together, let’s put it like that. And Zendaya was incredible in this movie; the moment she pulls the mask down, it felt properly showstopping and powerful. I was hiding behind the camera, counting my lucky starts, because I was there in month two of the shoot and here was a total powerhouse just coming in for the first time.

And as I said before, this was before I’d seen Euphoria and Malcolm & Marie. She’s doing such incredible work and is just trailblazing her own path, and she’s so, so cool. She also happens to be in the most-watched trailer of the moment, too, for Spider-Man: No Way Home. I cannot wait for that movie, and I was there, by the way, with everybody else, clicking through the trailer frame by frame looking for clues [laughs].

[amedetoiles]

@suibian-chenqing​ ME TOOOO!!! It is my ultimate endgame in any version of cql/mdzs. Just Lotus Pier in some way, shape, or form being the home where everyone returns to.

So please consider a universe where everyone makes better choices, has healthier conflict resolution skills à la conversations over soup, and lives happily ever after. Hear me out:

We all know that the chaotic Jiang disciples are the unsung heroes of the story, always merrily dragging their grumpy grape sect leader from danger and picking up after his dramatically discarded capes across various parts of the country.

What if after that staged fight while Jiang Cheng angrily copes with brozilla wedding planning (they hear him crying yelling multiple times at all the notebooks full of wedding ideas Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng have jotted down over the years), they decide that this is just not conducive to the happiness of their two favorite Young Masters?

Or equally important, the continuation of their beloved tradition of monthly Lotus Pier lake parties. A Jiang pool party without their resident chaos king and undisputed champion for the highest caliber splash swan dives? This Will Not Stand!

Obviously it is their Duty and their Right as the protectors and purveyors of Jiang culture for a few of them to secretly stow away while Jiang Cheng is having an epic meltdown over fabric.

“800 thread count? Are you out of your goddamn minds? My only sister, and you expect us to throw her a wedding with disgraceful eight hundred thread count fabric?! Do we Jiangs look like barbarians to you?!”

The Jiang disciples go to Yiling, rush up the Burial Mounds, and shout very convincingly, “Da-shixiong! Da-shixiong! Zongzhu, he – he –”

Wei Wuxian, war-torn, living with ten thousand ghosts, and constantly on edge, panics immediately, jumps to the absolute worst conclusion, and doesn’t even clarify before he rushes down the mountain because oh god, oh god, no, not again, didn’t he leave so his siblings would be safe, didn’t he promise to keep Jiang Cheng safe?????

Wen Qing warily agrees to come along because they clearly now have this well-established ongoing unspoken agreement to constantly save each other’s little brothers.

If the Jiang disciples have caught Jiang Cheng brooding over a pretty redwood comb wrapped in a silk handkerchief more than once, then they don’t say anything. Just share silent looks of glee when no one is watching.

By the time they reach Lotus Pier, Wei Wuxian has worked himself up into such a state of frenzy that he bursts through the doors of Lotus Pier like a black thundercloud of overprotective fury and worry, screaming, “JIANG CHENG! JIANG CHENG!”

.... Jiang Cheng is sitting on the floor of the Sword Hall, surrounded by a mountain of square fabric samples, with bits of thread stuck in his hair, totally gobsmacked at the sight of his windswept big brother.

Wei Wuxian, still panicked, falls to the floor in front of him, grabs Jiang Cheng by the arms before he can even react, and frantically checks him over. “Are you okay? Are you hurt? What happened – I thought –”

Jiang Cheng stares at him. Wei Wuxian blinks. The Jiang disciples have all conveniently disappeared.

Behind them, Wen Qing heaves a big sigh, slow and long through pursed lips. She bows respectfully, says “I will be outside,” and gets the fuck out of there.

There is a tense silence. Wei Wuxian realizes he’s been tricked, but he is so overcome with relief after all that soul-crushing fear that he doesn’t even get mad, just sags forward with his face in Jiang Cheng’s chest as the adrenaline leaves him all at once. He pretends he’s not shaking.

Jiang Cheng doesn’t know if he wants to shove Wei Wuxian away, hug him back, or wrap him in as many blankets as he can possibly find until a-jie comes home. He does none of those, just demands, half-strangled, half-something-like-worry, “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“They said – I thought you were in trouble or – or –”

[long pause] “You – came all the way here shouting like a possessed lunatic because you thought I was in trouble?”

Wei Wuxian hunches a little defensively and starts to move away. “Of course I did.” He makes sure to add, with emphasis, “Idiot.”

It doesn’t matter if Jiang Cheng can’t make up his mind because apparently his hands can, and they grip both of Wei Wuxian’s elbows to keep his brother from pulling away. They stare at one another.

”You said you didn’t want anything to do with the Jiang sect.”

Wei Wuxian looks away, grumbling. “How else was I supposed to keep you and shijie safe? Besides, you’re the one who stabbed me.” He is very pouty about this.

Jiang Cheng, immediately incensed and indignant, shouts, “You broke my arm! I had to be in a cast for a whole month!”

An almost smile flashes over Wei Wuxian’s face. “Hey, it was only your left arm. You were still able to write.”

Jiang Cheng glares at him and shoves his shoulder. Wei Wuxian instinctively shoves him back. They stare. Wei Wuxian scrubs his face tiredly with his hands. Jiang Cheng has to push away the urge to motherhen with blankets again.

He says, “I never asked you to protect me.”

Wei Wuxian gives him a look. “I don’t need to be asked.”

Jiang Cheng grits his teeth. “I don’t want you to protect me, idiot.”

Wei Wuxian heaves a very resigned sigh. “Then what do you want?”

Several answers come up, all too serious and too revealing without the support of a-jie’s soup and copious amount of alcohol. So Jiang Cheng just throws a handful of fabric samples at Wei Wuxian’s face. “Help me pick through these until a-jie comes home. You should have fucking heard Jin Zixuan’s suggestions last week. If we let the peacock plan a-jie’s wedding, it’s going to be an absolute disaster.”

Wei Wuxian’s smile this time is real and genuine and lasts the entire afternoon of bickering over fabric squares until Jiang Yanli rushes into the pavilion with many Jiang disciples in tow and hugs both her brothers for the first time in months. They manage to not horribly cry all over each other.

Jiang Yanli insists Wen Qing has dinner with them. There’s plenty of soup after all. Jiang Cheng is awkwardly stiff and doesn’t look Wen Qing in the eye the entire time, and Wei Wuxian pokes him repeatedly with silent  what the hell is wrong with you.

They talk about growing turnips, purifying rice wine, that the scariest thing about Wen Ning is his ability to create a disturbingly large variety of dishes from turnips, and how Wei Wuxian has essentially adopted baby A-Yuan as his own.

Later, Jiang Yanli tells Wen Qing, with a smile, her eyes alight like a flame, that she will take care of it. Wen Qing has no idea what this means. Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian share a look as only little brothers with intimate knowledge of their big sister’s stubbornness could and wisely choose to remain silent.

Jiang Yanli enlists the help of both Jin Zixuan and Madam Jin and somehow does indeed take care of it.

Many back door conversations occur between Jiang, Jin, Lan, and Nie sects. Jin Zixuan is the sole Jin representative. Nie Mingjue is initially leery but comes at the behest of Huaisang and Xichen.

At some point, Wen Ning tells Wei Wuxian that if they are going to do this, then it’s best if they have no more secrets. Wei Wuxian glares and tries to pretend that he has no idea what he is talking about, but neither Jiang Yanli nor Jiang Cheng allow Wei Wuxian to run away this time.

There is an emotional golden core reveal, followed by an equally emotional I didn’t go back for their bodies, with lots of shouting, shoving, crying, and clinging. In the aftermath, the Jiang siblings form an even stronger co-dependent unit around each other.

Jiang Yanli coordinates with Lan Xichen (and a begrudgingly cooperative Jiang Cheng) to bring Lan Wangji to Lotus Pier to help Wei Wuxian control his powers. Wangxian are desperately cute, and Jiang Cheng makes pointed gagging sounds whenever he’s around them that leads to several incidents of lake shoving, an excitable gaggle of Jiang disciples swan diving into the water after them, and a very, very confused Lan.

In the end, Wei Wuxian refuses to hand over the Stygian Tiger Seal to any of the sects, but he does agree to destroy it if Wen Qing, Wen Ning, and the remaining Wens are granted clemency and allowed to live freely without persecution. Jiang, Lan, and Nie sects agree.

Jin Guangshan tries to make an uproar, but in a surprising turn of events, Jin Guangyao (grateful for Jiang Yanli’s non-judgmental kindness over the past year) reveals all of his father’s treacherous secrets, including ordering the slaughter of Wen civilians, pardoning and releasing Xue Yang, and purposefully fueling the mob against Wei Wuxian to acquire the seal for himself. Jin Guangshan is shamed, sentenced, and dies imprisoned some months later.

Jin Zixuan formally recognizes his newly renamed brother Jin Ziyao.

Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian decide that their sister is even scarier than they had believed.

The Wens leave the Burial Mounds and build a small village together in Yiling where they branch into farming non-turnip crops much to the delight of Wei Wuxian. Jiang disciples are dispatched to help with the construction of several buildings, including one extremely beautiful apothecary. Jiang Cheng is seen in Yiling fairly regularly.

Jin Zixun, the most vocal opponent against the pardons for Wei Wuxian and the Wens, tragically falls off a cliff one day. Sect Leader Yao tries to pin it on Wei Wuxian, but Jiang Cheng shuts him down with scathing ferocity.

Someone also puts a Silencing Spell on Sect Leader Yao and keeps it going. Every Lan swears it was not them and thus cannot remove the spell. It lasts for two glorious months. Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji get along disturbingly well from that point on.

Wei Wuxian is there when Jiang Yanli gets married in a magnificent splendor of red and gold. He is there to see Jin Ling born, to watch Jiang Cheng tie a purple bell to their nephew’s robes, and to gift little A-Ling a bracelet on his first month birthday. He is there to watch Jiang Cheng rebuild their sect with unending grit, respect, and loyalty. He is there to see Jin Ling and A-Yuan grow up underneath a sky he helped clear, loved and adored by all the different parts of their family. And some years after he and Lan Wangji are happily married, Wei Wuxian is there when his little brother dons red robes and bows to the heavens, to the earth, and to a woman with a redwood comb in her hair whose life became entwined with theirs so very long ago.

[kuiinncedes]

every little bump in the road

for @gleeadvent day 5: exhale

happy new yearrr lmao i'm still here doin this in the new year hehe 🤪 idk i guess i'll be trying to write for all of them just for the sake of writing ya know so yeah lol

1123 words; title from "breathe (taylor's version)" by taylor swift

set during 4x06 glease - maybe warning (not sure) for a small mention of marley's situation in 4x06 (after trying the skirt on and it being revealed that kitty fucked with it bc she's a fucking evil little -- anyway) also swearing lol

what else do i usually put heres lmao uh written for glee advent day 5 which means it's actually december 5 :] idk about you (but im feeling 2022) except i'm actually not i think it's actually just uh december 32 (not that i Want 2021 to continue but like it just does not feel like it at all 😂 Anywayyy sorry i'll shut up now fghjlkd)

read under the cut or on ao3 💓

Tina… probably needs a break. Needs to go to sleep before 2 am, mainly. She could tell her friends had the same thought from Blaine and Sam’s hesitance to leave after rehearsal, when she insisted that she was fine staying by herself, just had a few costumes to finish up, but ultimately Blaine and Sam had talked about running lines together and she suspected Blaine just wanted the comfort of his own home. So they left without too much fight and Tina’s at school alone again, like she has been almost every day for the past month, mostly voluntarily -- but with Mike being back and horrible wardrobe updates and finally thinking she’d gotten a chance to get out of the supporting side role for a moment but even Finn not believing in her potential and kind of accidentally taking on all of the costuming for Grease by herself, she’s a little… tired.

She’s been a little tired. Of a lot more than making costumes.

But she sets her stuff down on the piano backstage, makes her way to the costume racks, pulls Marley’s yellow skirt out and the new measurements taken today after the failed fitting, and tackles that first, because she does love doing this, and she loves the show and wants to do her part to make it the best it can be, even as the start of tech week grinds her already-rough sleep schedule to smithereens and her teachers this year don’t seem to like leniency very much. (They also claim to be fed up with glee club nonsense, but this really isn’t glee club-related, even if the entire main cast is from the glee club, and most of the rest of the cast, and the pit is mainly comprised of the glee club band, and it’s being directed by current and former glee club members….)

No one else in the glee club was interested or capable enough to volunteer for wardrobe, but Tina then also insisted she could do it herself, so a part of her being the only one is stubbornness. At this point, she kind of wants Finn to call Kurt back to help her with it since he could do that with Santana. It could be like nationals her sophomore year again, where they were in charge of making the girls' dresses and she still somewhat stayed under Kurt's tutelage at that point, but he helped her and assured her in her skill enough that she was able to take over more in his senior year. And she had someone to talk to about fashion who had ambitions and passions in it that she didn't know in anyone else.

But Tina knows that won’t happen, for completely unrelated reasons. She’s not sure she should be wanting that at all, as she remembers Blaine’s crushed expression after his audition, the smile that didn’t reach his eyes when she asked if he was okay, didn't reach his eyes when he got Teen Angel, hasn’t reached his eyes in weeks, since returning from an impromptu trip to New York.

The waistband of Marley’s skirt has been taken in a few inches, folded over itself and sewn in place, the overlap a small but significant length. Tina kicks herself for not noticing earlier today, when Marley got so distressed about having gained weight, and also not noticing until now that her new measurements are the same if not a bit smaller, so it couldn’t have been that.

Fuck -- her brain isn’t working; she makes sure that stays true by dropping her forehead to the table, and after a short forceful exhale she sits back up and grabs scissors, carefully snipping through the stitches that are actually done really well and tight and by whom? and pulling the waistband taut again, measuring it fully just in case, and hanging it back up.

Before she can worry more about who might have done it, though, the sound of people coming very loudly up the stairs to the stage echoes in the empty auditorium, startling her for a moment and then Blaine and Sam poke their heads out from behind the curtain and she smiles. Blaine waves, Sam holds up a plastic bag. “We brought food.”

“I thought you guys were running lines?” Even though neither of them have huge parts, and she knows they already have the songs down. “You wanted to come annoy me instead? I'm touched.”

Blaine smiles slightly as they walk towards her. It’s still not the smile she misses from him (she really misses) but she thinks it might be getting there. Tina gives him small smile back and a side hug as he corrects, “Wanted to come help you instead. And we can run lines here with you!”

She pretends not to notice the slight red around his eyes, the bit of rasp in his voice and the way he sniffs and clears his throat quietly; she just cranes her head up to kiss his cheek and goes to hug Sam, too.

“You need help with anything, T?” Sam asks, opening the bag to set Chipotle items on a table that Tina just cleared of some fabric scraps. “Besides food, of course. Since you basically live here now.”

Tina laughs and pushes Sam gently, and runs through the list in her head while opening her bowl that she sees immediately doesn't really contain her usual order, even though this is not the first time she’s tried entrusting it to Sam and Blaine to get, but she’s grateful anyway. For the food, and for their presence and energy pushing her tiredness aside, making her almost forget it was there in the first place.

She has to start finish her own costume for “You’re The One That I Want,” which is probably the biggest thing, but she also has to alter Santana’s and Kitty’s costumes a bit, and she has a few “Beauty School Dropout” headpieces left to make.

… that’s it? Tina looks around… pretty much. She’s a little surprised by her own sticking to schedule; the first dress rehearsal is in a few days still and she’ll definitely be done by then. She’s confident enough that she decides not to spend her limited time and energy teaching her friends how to correctly glue the tin cans together, or any sewing, and just says, “I don’t have much left. You guys can run lines or whatever, or run the songs while I do other stuff -- it’ll help me too.”

“Cool,” Sam agrees around a mouth stuffed with burrito. He bangs a fist on the table. “‘Beauty School Dropout’?” he asks, facing Blaine who does a half-smile again as he opens his bowl and responds, “Maybe after we eat, dude.”

--

(end notes bc i like this part of posting on ao3 lmao so i'll just put it here here's some more randomness 🤪)

this was maybe gonna stay just tina?? but guess what there's two fuckers (affectionate) who decided to show up (started writing these three as sunset curve in katp and now i can't escape the blamtina brainrot) (3/5 of my glee advent fics are blamtina let's see what it ends up being at the end lol)

idk shit about glee bc i haven't watched it in a long time lol jk but i also dk shit about grease bc i've never seen it all hgjdfk i know is like what was on glee and like what i could learn from jojo siwa's dwts grease dance XD so if there's any inaccuracies or whatever idk that's why lol

also i have never done shit with like clothes and stuff lmao so idk how that works either i based things on my experience in two high school musicals in the pit not at an arts-hating school and having no idea how the costuming works so it's probably a little different lol, and i also based things on my experience fucking up my sleep schedule this semester :P

[allkinds-oftrash]

Ya girl is watching the latest HSM series ep and Imma live blog it hshshs and will add my reactions under the cut so it doesn't end up a long post. Anyways, let's goo:

AHHHH THE MORNING SHOW WITH GINA AND EJ WE LOVE TO SEE IT

They really said we're gonna let life imitate art with Nini and Olivia huh

Ricky was SUPPORTIVE??? Damnn I really thought we gonna get a classic Ricky tantrum....

But also wow sir that sounds salty and should definitely talk to someone abt how you're feeling...A therapist maybe 👀

I know we needed to contextualise how Ricky felt abt the song but I really wanted to see Nini's interview in full!!

Sebby you're so cute I do wanna see yall do DEH

Shjshshs not the rights not being available for another 5 years 😭😭

I dunno how they're in great shape and closer to the Menkies Gold after not having a single proper rehearsal, but go off Miss Jenn

Omg honestly Kourt's costumes are always amazing and on point Imma excited to see it

Kourt is such a simp we love to see it

Carlos is so pissy this episode we love to see it shshhs

Also love the way Seb calms him down and keeps him nice it's such a funny dynamic

"We had 20 people make our Belle dress over 50 hours" Okay North High shut the fuck up

I'm calling it now the reason North High knows so much is cos Howie is the leak and Kourt has been unwittingly telling him. The way her phone keeps going off as they discuss how North High knows everything is really good foreshadowing if my prediction is right

Also like her phone went off just as Carlos said "How did they know that?" THAT'S PEAK FORESHADOWING

If Howie ain't in North High, I dunno what Tim is doing

GSJAGSHAH KOURTNEY MAKING ABS FOR EJ I CANNOT

"I have abs" We know sweetie

"I PADDED THE THUSH FOR YOU" "AWW THANKS KOURT I NEEDED THAT" THIS INTERACTION IS EVERYTHING THAT WAS SO FUNNY!! I love that it is now canon that EJ has abs but no butt love that for him

Okay but like damn these costumes are great!! North High can fuck right off with its high end ones I just wanna see lowkey homemade costumes by students; I'd watch a Broadway show if I wanted to see professional costumes okay

Damn Carlos has killer eyesight clocking in that mask in the trunk

GINA BBY DON'T SAY THAT AND HAHSGSH NINI NUDGING HER WAS SO FUNNY

Nini's little look over at Gina was like "Omg you guys my girlfriend is so cute and dumb" GINI STANS HOW WE FEELING?

Miss Jenn don't be that naive, your boyfriend probably put them up to it

That Insta page is prophetic with their timing tbh; all the info is a leak obviously looking at your Howie but like the timing of it all. Those kiddos don't know that they are discussing the stolen mask at this exact moment (Kourt has put down her phone after Carlos snapped at her so Howie doesn't know they are talking abt it rn)

"We don't dance with the enemy" *cuts to her dancing with Zackey later*

SEBBY WEARING THE TEACUP COSTUME OMG HE'S GOING MAKE SUCH A CUTE CHIP (yes I am still mad Seb/Joe was robbed but Imma fangirl over the costume anyway)

Wtf why does North High look so expensive - they are literally in the same district as East High right??? How did they get this much funding

North High is a very artsy and rich for a public school; they should have had Nini go here instead of YAC tbh (like this campus feels like what YAC should have been) NOW THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN AN INTERESTING STORYLINE

Seblos' dynamic IS ON POINT THIS EP I really love my bois so much and their back and forth is hilarious

Shhshs DIANE who loves volleyball and North High okay I totally believe it

WHY ARE RED AND ASHLYN SO KINKY EVERY DAMN EPISODE TIM THESE ARE UNDERAGED CHARACTERS STOP IT

Shshsh we love Gina knowing herself and practicing self control by volunteering to be the lookout

Omg yall listen to Carlos and stfu they are so lucky no one saw or heard them yelling Wildcats

Oh no no no no no Miss Jenn you gonna get sucked in; this is gonna be so messy

Omg I saw someone post about this scene before I watched the ep YALL ARE RIGHT THAT BOI HITTING ON GINA IS SO FINE Babes go for that one, not EJ

NOT THEM FAKE DATING UGH E W TIM STOP MAKING ROMANTIC PORTWELL A T H I N G I honestly do not understand how some of yall can ship it romantically knowing Sofia is a whole underaged babey and Matty is a whole ass grown man - like I get the appeal of the Wonderstudies getting together and they do have chemistry but the irl age gap is creepy and outweighs the appeal of shipping them romantically

As I always say; Portwell/Wonderstudies should be a BROTP not an OTP

Ugh Brotp Portwell would have clocked Lily right away; romantic Portwell making googly eyes at each other isn't helping anyone

Living for Nini getting the recognition she deserves - I really like her solo arc this season she's so much more interesting without Ricky tbh

Aww Kourt you simp I love her and I'm so happy she's happy I wanna be wrong about Howie being a North High kid

Where is the mask??

OHMYGOD THESE KIDS COMING IN LIKE A HORROR MOVIE

Lily really wishes she was Jesse St. James huh; you could never Lily so stop

Andrew Barth Feldman and his cute little French accent I love him so much

Hnng Miss Jenn gonna get manipulated by this hoe. Omg wowow Zackey really is a hoe, making out with another girl before the show THE AUDACITY OF HIM SAYING MISS JENN WASN'T GOOD ENOUGH I WILL THROW HANDS WITH THIS MOFO

Wait the kids didn't steal it BUT WHAT IF ZACKEY DID

Ssjsgfajhdfg I CANNOT WITH ANDREW'S ACCENT but I can't tell if its really bad or really good but I'm also confused why didn't they just cast a French person as Antonie shshhs Antoine is adorableee and a little shit the best type of character

Lily is so annoying b y e sis bye and Olivia Keegan is talented I just wish they didn't make her character such a cartoony villain type

"How about if we bop to the top" SEBBY I LOVE YOU AND NEVER STOP BEING SO CUTE I SWEAR and Awww Carlos called him Honey I am s o f t

Hnng why do these fools are really gonna give into North High calling them chickens

OHHH NO SHE DIDN'T JUST SAY THAT ABOUT ASHLYN FUCK A DANCE OFF I AM ABOUT TO THROW HANDS WITH A 16 YEAR OLD

"She told us not to dance with the enemy. She's better than this" No Sebby, she's not *cuts to her dancing with Zackey* AND OMG THE WAY I SAW THIS EDIT COMING BEFORE IT CAME

Ooooh I like this song wayyy more whatever the mess The Mob Song became (when I first heard it drop on Spotify yesterday) Around You is such a great song musically and lyrically very relevant to these two and gosh I love their voices together

They have so much chemistry damn, go home Mike (well he technically has oop) and Mr. Mazzara

YES YOU DO MISS JENN YOU ALWAYS HAD IT

Oh god this is the scene from the trailer; she's gonna make a move on Ricky isn't she?? Leave him alone Lily he doesn't need a 3rd girl to be confused about he needs a therapist

Lily shut the fuck up with quasi; STOP TRYING TO MAKE QUASI HAPPEN

"I love Nini's song" Sure, Jan.

...Okay yes you should have called him out but don't bait him LIKE THAT oop there's the scene from the trailer

Ohmygod is Andrew Barth Feldman gonna hit on Ashlyn

Okay this is so cute but also I am VERY annoyed with the way this show handles its characters like they aren't relevant or important unless they get into a relationship or a love triangle?? That's such a shitty way to give out screentime and arcs to characters. Is it not enough to develop the characters on their own and strengthen their friendship???

HUH TIM why you so obsessed with compulsory heterosexuality??(well also homosexuality for Seblos but they are the only ones I'm not annoyed with their relationship cos its a hella big step for Disney to have a gay couple and their relationship isn't in our faces or overshadows the plot and its just spinkles of cuteness every time they interact - they are honestly who Rini wishes they were; besties in love. They are a couple that Tim should be taking notes from; leave the relationship drama in the background, focus on the theatre and friendship aspect of everything)

My mini rant aside; this is a very adorable interaction between Ashlyn and Antoine.

"TOM HOLLAND ON STILTS" GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE WITH THAT COMPARISON I AM SCREAMING ANTOINE THAT'S SO FUNNY

This is so funny he keeps picking out the hottest guys of the group; as if he himself isn't the French version of Big Red they look super alike ngl shshsh

WHY YOU RUIN IT WITH THAT ANTOINE I WAS ROOTING FOR YOU

Drama between Antoine and Red is already spicing up shshsh I cannot

Why are you so dramatic with the shuffle Lily gtfo of here...also this doesn't make sense?? She wasn't even on a BATB playlist; what if a non BATB song came on ahahah

Good to know they aren't big fans of The Mob Song like I am Awww EJ you cutie, okay I will appreciate the OG Mob Song just for you

OH WAIT HE PROLLY LIKES IT COS ITS A GASTON LED SONG TIM GIMME THE EJ SOLO I DESERVE IN THIS NUMBER

I'm being robbed of Gaston for the last 7 eps I at least deserve an EJ solo for compensation

The way the set looks straight out of Broadway but also like omg the blue lighting and fancy stage gave me intense flashbacks to that Glee episode where Vocal Adrenaline sang Bohemian Rhapsody

RICKY STOP BEING SALTY AND ACTUALLY COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR GIRLFRIEND LIKE A NORMAL PERSON

OMG THE SUBTITLES SAID ITS HOWIE SINGING AS THE BEAST I FUCKING CALLED IT

Howie you hoe you gonna break my girl Kourtney's heart

Yeah...still not a fan of Antoine's Dance Remix

Yall know Gina would kill the dance number if she wasn't wearing that fit

Okay but it's Gaston led song WHY DOES EVERYONE BUT EJ HAVE A SOLO IN THIS SONG??

First the Beasts led it (Howie sounded better than Ricky ngl), then the Lumieres (their voices worked hella well together; I always forget what a talented singer Frankie is THEY NEED TO GIVE HIM A SOLO SONG) and now the Belles are going at it (Ashlyn's voice is superior)

BIG RED BEING JEALOUS AND SALTY IS SO FUNNY ITS LIKE A PUPPY BEING ANGRY I CRI

...Did anyone really win, Lily??? STFU

CARLOS IS RIGHT AND HE SHOULD SAY IT

Oooh I did see someone talk about this when the Rose Song dropped last week, apparently its illegal to add songs to a musical you're doing for a school play; I really thought the show would brush past that irl rule but I guess they are playing into it

THE WAY EVERYONE TURNED TO EJ FOR THE SPORTS METAPHOR I AM D Y I N G AND HIS FACE WAS GOLDEN! ITS LIKE THAT LISA SIMPSON MEME SHHSHSH

Okay Nini is being a little pissy about leaving her song out of the show and its a little selfish to wanna keep it at the risk of being disqualified but I also understand why she's hurt

Everyone is dog piling on her right now being against her idea and it feels like they are being against her song and her herself instead of them not wanting to be disqualified. Also like she poured her heart and soul into the song after Miss Jenn lowkey rushed her to write it. So I can see why this feels like a rejection of her and her song and why she's so hurt rather than her seeing the big picture right now

It doesn't help that Ricky said the final blow causing her to walk off

Okay maybe Zackey gets some rights for being chill and wanting the kids to be peers

THIS MOTHERFUCKER I KNEW HE WAS SHADY Also the way I gasped even though I predicted he stole the mask halfway through this ep shshsh

Stab him Miss Jenn STAB HIM

Bitch why you so threatened by East High if yall have such a Broadway-esque show planned??? They honestly should have stuck to the Little Mermaid; I really wanted to see the aquarium

"It's just a song Ricky" "A song can mean everything" Do you get deja vu? Anyone else getting intense flashbacks to Jan when DL first dropped and all the drama happened 👀

YES PLEASE STAY CO ANCHORS Gosh I love them so much esp once you take the romantic connotations out of their interactions

ROUGE GRAND I'M SCREAMING

I love this long take of checking in with everyone's relationship status (still hate how romantically focused this show has become but still a cool shot)

I K N E W IT I WAS RIGHT

Okay but like looking at Kourtney's face I have never wanted to be wrong so bad GOD I HATE IT HERE I really think he likes her and I hope they work it out

Nini setting up her own music acc feels like when Olivia rebranded her whole IG to be just for her music stuff - love this for both of them

AHHHHH SHE'S NINA NOW YALL

I know everyone loves her as Nini but like I have always loved the name Nina and it really suits her to be honest also shows how she's growing up now and kind of leans into the lyric "I won't be confined to your point of view" from The Rose Song because Nini is the nickname Ricky gave her so it shows that she's outgrowing him too and I love that for her!

Overall thoughts; they really crammed all the North High drama into one ep huh. Personally would have liked it if all of this was spread out throughout the last few episodes; like different hijinks for every episode. I'm just a big fan of properly setting up the overall arc over the season instead of patching it together closer to the climax/end of the show. Cos now it lowkey feels like two different seasons - 2A felt like The Rini/Rina Show esp with YAC storyline and whatever was going on with Rina and now 2B is finally feeling like what this season should have been all this time

[freshlyjuicedbeetles]

Commodore Norrington x Reader Fic! Chapter 3

Title: The Same Water

Genre: Romance, Supernatural

Rating: General Audiences thus far.

Warnings: Mentions of trauma, drowning, and racism.

Summary: Commodore Norrington washes up on the shore and you must find out why.

Notes: I intentionally kept the main character ambiguous (but female) so readers can fill themselves in!

James and I got up early the next morning to head down to the marina. The sky was a dazzling pink only an island could produce.

“Here she is, Seaclusion! Don’t make fun of me. My dad named it.” James got a chuckle out of the other punny names of the neighboring boats.

We climbed aboard, and James inspected the vessel, fascinated by hundreds of years of progress.

“Here,” I said, tossing James a life vest and securing my own.

“What is this?”

“It’s a life jacket. It’ll help you stay afloat if you fall overboard.”

“Ingenious!” James said in awe as he put his on.

“Oh, and these,” I said, digging around in a compartment by the wheel. I pulled out a pair of old aviators and sunscreen. “To protect your eyes and your skin. Though you’re probably already riddled with skin cancer from living in the Caribbean unprotected for years. Keep an eye on that freckle behind your ear.”

James touched the freckle self-consciously.

“You know how to swim, don’t you?”

James rolled his eyes and scoffed, “Of course I do.” He put on the aviators and dang, he looked good. I wouldn’t want to be on the other end of interrogation with him. He had an intimidating air about him that he could turn on and off.

The engine roared to life, and the beginning cords of ‘The Real Thing’ by George Strait played on the speakers. James looked overboard to the motor and rudder underwater.

“I’m sure you have better sea legs than I do, but you might want to take a seat,” I said, gesturing the rows of seats on the front deck.

“Hold on!” I said and came up to speed, pulling out of the marina. James was pushed back in his seat by the motion, not expecting a boat to go that fast. I wanted to show him what ships were like nowadays. Even over the rushing wind, I could hear him laughing with glee.

We sailed to the other side of the island with dolphins in our wake. How lucky was I that I lived somewhere where dolphins were so accessible!

I turned down the speakers, “This is Pier 21. Our cruise ships dock here, and on the other side are the shrimp boats that supply these restaurants first.” Large pelicans lazed around the docks and boats, hoping for some fish scrap from the sailors. James wasn’t paying attention; he was gazing at the Elissa like a starved man in an oasis.

“What is this glorious creation?” James stood as we idled.

I smiled, “That’s the Elissa. A little after your time, but I’m sure you can sail her just as good as anyone else on this island.”

The Elissa was a tall ship from 1877. After many different roles in life all across the globe, she was moored in Galveston.

“Is she still functional?”

“Oh yeah, she goes on one big sail to Europe once a year. She’s mostly a teaching vessel now. And next to that is a yacht. Some restauranteur owns it and has a staff to keep it ready around the clock even though I’ve seen him use it like five times.”

“Is it common for laypeople to own such vessels?” He asked, finally pulling his eyes from the Elissa.

“Here on the island, yeah, pretty much everyone has a boat. They’re still quite common on the mainland, depending on how close you are to water. I’d say a boat is definitely attainable to the upper-middle class.”

“You mentioned a ‘cruise ship’?”

“Yeah, they’re huge ships that can hold thousands of people who sail for vacation. See that huge thing over there?”

“Is that a ship?” He asked in disbelief.

“Yep, let’s get closer.”

We were dwarfed by the cruise liner. James looked up in disbelief as we buoyed in its shadow. “Galveston is a port city for cruise liners, bananas, farm equipment…Oh, and you need to see this,” I said as we turned and sped into the open water.

“I think you’ll like this,” I said as we pulled up next to the wreckage of a rusted and splintered ship.

“I am perplexed, yes,” James answered.

“This is the Selma, and it’s totally made out of concrete, or mortar, I guess is similar.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“Yep.

“Surely, she never saw the open ocean.”

“It did actually. Until it was damaged, and it was far too costly to repair due to war, and it was scuttled.”

James looked to the horizon, “Why are those ships not in the harbor?” Container ships always loomed in the distance of Galveston Island.

“Again, costs too much but also because the channel isn’t deep enough.”

“Are pirates a concern?”

“I’ve never seen a pirate in my life. I guess pirates were your version of terrorists,” I said.

James thought, then nodded, seemingly decided the word was correct.

“Unfortunately, we still have a problem with terrorism, plus pirates as you would know them. Instead of big ships, they run around on jet skis or dhows today. They’re mostly a problem in the Indian Ocean and around that area.”

“So, they’ve been cornered…”

“What? Down boy! You want to go pirate hunting? Well, unfortunately, pirates are actually looked upon favorably as of recently.”

James looked at me like I’ve grown two heads, “Especially here. I guess people like the freedom of just going wherever you want to and forget that they were actually terrorists. Not that piracy is now legal or anything.”

“And what are those machines in the distance?”

“Oil rigs. They dig oil from the earth, and we use it to power just about everything. Crews live on them for weeks at a time. Usually, there are less parked here, but the price of oil has dropped, so companies don’t need as many.”

Container ships and offline oil rigs loom in the distance of Galveston Island. It’s almost like the giant guardians that protect us.

“Do you want to try?” I asked, gesturing to the wheel.

He looked hesitant at first but quickly accepted. “The wheel is the same as it ever was, this is the accelerator, how fast you want to go, the kill switch if something goes awry…” I explained. James and I then switched places, but I stood behind him in case something happened. I could tell he was uncomfortable with the proximity to another person and a woman, but when we got up to speed, he looked like a bird who could finally fly again. I almost didn’t have it in my heart to ask him to surrender the wheel.

When we got home, there was a package at my doorstep. My heart started to thrum when I saw it was from the police department. I hurriedly tore it open when we got inside. The contents of the box smelled like mildew, salt, and brine. It was James’ uniform. I pushed it to him as I read the letter that was on top of it. It was a standard form letter saying they were closing the case due to insufficient evidence that there was nothing out of the ordinary about the uniform.

James held the uniform in his hand. “Do you have a fireplace?” He asked.

“Why?” I asked.

“It makes me ill.” He replied.

“You don’t want it?”

“It’s a mark of failure, both personal and professional. I would think it best if it was gone.”

“I have a fire pit.”

“Splendid.”

Later that night, Jericka came over, and we started the fire. James unceremoniously dropped the heap of clothes in the fire and sat down with us around it.  Jericka and I drank while James abstained.

“To new beginnings,” I said, raising my bottle of Ziegenbock. James nodded, watching the fabric burn.

“You know, there are probably costumers and historians who would have dove in there for that uniform,” Jericka said.

“So…what happened? Before you died?” I asked.

James was silent for a moment, composing his thoughts. “I can pinpoint the exact day when everything changed. An idiot pirate sailed into my port. To attempt to capture him, my men and I sailed through a hurricane. Only a handful survived, and I resigned in shame. I essentially became a pirate myself for the time, drunk, and destitute. Then, I meant Davy Jones.” James leaned forward, the fire casting shadows on his face, almost making his sharp features look hawk-like.

“You can’t be serious,” I said.

“I am. He is something of a grim reaper of the seas. I was stabbed by one of his crewmen. That’s all I remember.”

“You sailed into a hurricane?” Jericka asked, “And you made it all the way to Admiral?”

James scowled. “I had no choice.”

“But what’s so wrong about the uniform, or being called Admiral?”

“I didn’t earn it, nor was it through the Royal Navy. I worked for the East India Trading Company, who were no better than pirates themselves when I was an admiral. I took the post out of necessity, greed, and selfishness. I was only serving myself, not the Crown, not the people. I was no better than a pirate as well. I much rather be called commodore if you have to address me by title.”

Jericka gave a low whistle, “Then I’m sure you heard of Galveston before.” She took a drink from her bottle.

“Was it a pirate’s den?”

“Oh yeah, Jean Lafitte owned the place.”

“Lafitte? I have heard of him. I always seemed to run into a sun-drenched lunatic named Jack Sparrow.”

“He sounds like quite the character.”

“He was. If Lafitte settled here, I must be in Campeche.”

I snapped my fingers. “I never thought of that! That’s like Galveston history 101!” I said to Jericka.

“Well, I know where I’m at, so that brings some more comfort,” James said.

“Okay, Commodore,” Jericka said, “Tell us about yourself.”

James looked like we just asked him to explain nuclear physics.

“Pets? Did you have any pets?” I asked.

“Well, I had a horse named Scout back in the Caribbean.  I think she tried to kill me once.” James said casually. “And there were coconut crabs all over the fort I was stationed at. They stole everything.”

“A horse? Tried to kill you? And crabs stole your stuff?” Jericka asked skeptically.

“No one believed me! Even then!” James said adamantly and gestured wildly as he told the story, “I swear this horse was calculating, and she hated me. How would a horse know to stop right below a hanging lantern so my tricorn would catch fire?”

“Maybe you should have been paying better attention…” I said gently.

James started to speak, but thought better, “Fair enough.”

“Oh, oh, oh!” Jericka said excitedly, “We need to take him to Pieces of Ship! Down on Mechanic street!”

“Excuse me?” James asked, not believing his ears.

I laughed, “It’s a shop that sells parts from ships; maps, flags, wheels, bells, you name it.”

“No, Mrs. Norrington, huh?” Jericka teased as James stoked the fire. She winked at me.

“Close, but it wasn’t meant to be,” James said, looking down for a moment.

“Yeah, everything I’ve read about you never mentions anyone,” I said. I was noticing I was relieved when I found out James never married. However, by his wording and the tone of his voice, there was someone he wanted. Jealousy tingled at my nerves.

“I appreciate time for forgetting such a blunder.” He gave a small, defeated smile.

“Sweetheart,” I said, “I think you need to see a therapist.”

We burst out laughing.

By the end of the night, we were laughing incessantly. I felt like we became friends with James at that point.

[sionnables]

So… 

Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, you guys.  

Let me explain something first: the Broadway musical First Date is my SHOW.  I mean, it’s NOT-- I had no part in the creation or performance of it, obviously.  But it’s “mine” in the way that people tend to take possession of things they like, you know? 

“That’s my song!” 

“That’s my precious fictional baby!”

Or, I guess, like that weird thing sports fans do when they insert themselves into their favorite team, like, “we need to box out the endzone and get some points on the board” or whatever.

First Date is mine not only because I loved it, but because it felt like the creators reached into my heart, plucked out all my experiences and emotions, and put them up on stage.  I mean, it went to TATTOO LEVELS, so you know it’s both serious and a little ridiculous. 

 Six years later, I still fucking love that show. 

(The intensity has gone down a bit, but that’s probably the best for everyone.)

So when I happened to find out that the book writer of First Date was the creator/writer of Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist AND it was a musical, I obviously wanted to check it out.  It was delayed slightly by a deep-dive into a Schitt’s Creek hyper-fixation (David and Patrick can have my entire heart and, like, overall existence), but I finally started watching a few days ago.

And it is delightfully First-Date-y.

It’s also a really good “I can’t handle anything too sad or heavy right now due to reality” option.  There’s some romantic angst and family tragedy thrown in, but it’s not like This Is Us: The Musical or anything (thank christ-- seriously, how does anyone watch that show? It’s Ugly Cry Central over there).

I’m not going to do the plot summary thing because Google exists.  But here’s the thing: yes, there are multiple tropes here that have been done to death (*cough*lovetriangle*cough*), but you know what? The show is cute, the cast is really talented, and the writing’s pretty effing funny. I don’t need groundbreaking television to be entertained. And I’m a sucker for “nice comedy” nowadays, you know? Like, I could never get into Glee because the characters were HORRIBLE to each other. I can’t do a show full of selfish, mean people, it just doesn’t work for me.  Give me a well-written ensemble comedy where everyone messes up but they’re ultimately trying their best and growing, and I’m pretty much in.

That all being said, here’s what I need to discuss (spoilers ahead, obviously):

1) Zoey’s definitely got that whole Zooey-Deschanel-adorkable thing going on, but you have to appreciate a show that is like, “STEM Women FTW!” because we need that.  Also, maybe it’s Fellow Millennial Empathy, but I appreciate that she has no idea what she’s doing and is still trying so hard to be a functioning and successful adult, WHILE dealing with family tragedy, AND sudden musical powers, AND being a woman in charge of a department full of men (girl, been there done that), AND confusing mushy feelings. It helps that Jane Levy is so talented that I was convinced she was British (she is not).

2) Mo. Is. Everything.  More representation of gender-fluidity is wonderful to see, for one thing. But he’s also the smartest character on the show, as well as the most well-balanced and emotionally mature.  And his VOICE, okay? I love that it seems like Mo is going to sort of be Zoey’s guide through all of this, and I’m looking forward to seeing their friendship grow.

3) Simon is a gorgeous, gorgeous man.  If he was at ALL single, I’d be like, “Zoey, hit that IMMEDIATELY”. But I don’t love the direction that their relationship is going (HE IS ENGAGED, FFS) OR the whole Jessica vs. Zoey thing they’re pulling.  I’m willing to give the first part a pass because both of them are grieving and emotional instability can definitely equal bad decisions (we may not like it, but you can’t say it’s unrealistic). But that second part? Simon is way more to blame than Zoey. No more girls hating on girls, okay? Like, I don’t want Jessica and Zoey to necessarily become besties (that whole “it’s always about your dad” comment was way too awful for me to like her THAT much), but you know what I mean. The longer this goes on, the less I like Simon.  And it’s such a BUMMER, because I feel like Zoey and Simon could really use each other, platonically. 

4) Speaking of not liking people, Zoey’s brother is a dick. Not ONLY because of the shit he pulled with going out to bars instead of being with his PREGNANT WIFE/STRUGGLING MOTHER, but that whole thing about him having to “convince” his wife to have kids when she didn’t want them? YUCK. He’s the one character I do not like at ALL and I hope that Emily leaves him and ends up an awesome single mom with a hot boyfriend. I’m glad Zoey told her what was up. GOOD. WHAT A JERK.

5) Zoey’s mom is amazing and deserves the world. That is all.

6) Full disclosure: I am 100% Team Max. But within that 100%, I’m 50% Zoey Is Clearly Not Ready To Date Him Or Even Process Her Feelings About Him Right Now So He Needs To Just Be Her Friend and 50% Zoey Is Clearly Terrified Of Feelings And Max Might Need To Push Her a Little To Get Her To Get Past That.  This is coming from a place of experience, because I was once terrified of feelings and commitment and basically my husband is only my husband because he chose to ignore the many, many times I tried to break up with him and was very persistent with me. Please note that this DOES NOT MEAN that Max needs to be all pissy about “friendzoning” and/or pushing TOO hard, TOO quickly. Which he’s sort of toe-ing the line with, at the moment.  I don’t think that Zoey ever really gave him the impression that she was interested in him romantically before the whole “flash mob” debacle (I cringed when Mo said that touching his shoulder and having him come over to watch a movie was leading him on, because please don’t do that, writers, Mo is too smart and progressive for that BS), and the flash mob itself was a really weird, out-of-character move (at least thus far) for him.  Look, I get the whole “omg, Max can hear her/no wait, there’s real singing” thing was an unexpected twist, but I’m not a fan of twists over characterization. Max knows Zoey, and I think he’d know that declaring feelings in public while making her the center of attention would not be her thing (but I find public proposals super cringe-y, so maybe that’s just me).  I’m sort of not happy with that. What I DO think is appropriate is him asking for some time/space after she asks to just be his friend-- I count that as being respectful of her decision and needing some breathing room to disconnect his romantic feelings towards her. I also don’t blame him for being upset that she knew his feelings way beforehand and didn’t say anything, or for being upset after seeing her sing to Simon. The singing thing is not Zoey’s fault at ALL, but that is some serious emotional whiplash! Nevertheless, I hope these two are endgame and don’t hurt each other too much in the process. That boy will do ANYTHING for her, and I kind of love him for it. Please don’t turn him into a “Nice Guy”! Also, can we all agree that he outsang EVERY SINGLE ONE of the Jonas Brothers with “Sucker”? Goddamn!

7) Tobin is so stupid, but WOW is that character a brilliant representation of every single, straight, young, insecure, emotion-denying, Reddit-using, product of toxic masculinity gamer boy that you’ve ever met in your life. Holy SHIT. They’re nailing it with him. He is 100% the guy that yells a “make me a sandwich” joke in front of his friends and then goes home and cries about not having a girlfriend. I have met 10,000 versions of Tobin in my life and he CRACKS ME UP. Bless him.

8) Leif is Draco Malfoy and I hope that Joan is using him for sex and then ditches him in a humiliating fashion. IF THEY MAKE HER FALL FOR HIM I SWEAR TO GOD. She’s too smart for that. I want Joan and Mo to take over the world together.

9) I don’t want to talk about Zoey’s dad. HE’S FINE. EVERYTHING’S FINE. HE’S TOTALLY GOING TO GET BETTER. THIS IS A HAPPY SHOW. 

Okay, I think I got all of my thoughts and feelings out. Until next week, at least.

[renywrites]

The Seas Greatest Treasure

Gotta love siren Keith.

Growing up, Lance had always loved the beach. Every weekend, when he was growing up, his family would all pile into the old minivan and head to the beach. The weekend was spent camping on the beach, building sandcastles, throwing each other into the waves, and hunting for small crabs and seashells.

The ocean was a part of Lance. He’d lived in Mariel, Cuba all his life, with the ocean behind their house and the sea breeze constantly ruffling his hair. When he was away from home, he found comfort in the gentle breezes, in saltwater taffy, in homemade meals and in good company.

He’d gone to Spain as an exchange student in his first year of college, but his parents had run out of money and he’d had to come home. Now, Lance spent his days working at the local market. He fished for the small company he worked at, bringing in fish in exchange for a paycheck. Working nights wasn’t ideal, but it brought home money for his large family.

Lately the pickings had been slim where he cast his nets, so Lance had chosen a new spot to lay traps in the sandbars just off the coast. It was the last thing he did when he left, daybreak at his back as he goes to make his delivery and retire for the day.

Lance whistles a tune to himself as he makes his way down the bank and into the high tides. His rowboat was bobbing gently as the surf lapped at the sand. The moon was high and full in the sky, shining down on the water.

There was something the Cuban adored about the sea at night. Everything felt so much more magical. The stars were brighter, the area quieter, the waves more peaceful. He didn’t forget the dangers lurking below in the sea, however. He was no fool - he had seen what the waves could do when they had the mind to. He’d seen countless boats drift ashore in pieces, their passengers coughing up seawater or unlucky enough to have been dragged down to the depths for the currents to play with and the fish to nibble at.

All of this echoed in his head as he rowed his way to the nets. Lance was one of the men lucky enough to earn the sea’s favor, despite taking her creatures away to make a living. He utters a small prayer of thanks, unsure who he was praying to. His mother was a devout catholic, but he had always been in awe of the beauty of marine life.

His nets were decently full, he realizes, as he drops an anchor and sets the oars aside. He rubs the soreness from his forearms, leaning over to pull the nets into the boat. To his frustration, they wouldn’t budge.

“Come on…” He says under his breath, yanking harder. The net moves slightly, but doesn’t give way. Lance scowls at the trap, turning and reaching for his pocket knife. Maybe it was stuck on the rocks.

The sight that comes when he turns back around is enough to make him drop his knife back into the boat. It clicks, the blade snapping open and shining devilishly when it lands on the floor.

Wide amethyst eyes stare up at him, alien in the way they glow pale in the moonlight. Sharp teeth poke out from a pair of rosy lips and onyx hair swirls like an oil spill in the water, just inches away from Lance’s arm.

The creatures lashes out mere seconds after Lance yanks his hand away, scrambling to the farthest corner of the boat. Sharp claws break the surface of the water, swiping at the open air. Lance looks down at the creature, at the bubbles that escape from between rows of sharp teeth as the beast snarls.

The net strains as this magnificent being writhes, desperately trying to get away. He’s stuck, Lance thinks belatedly, watching in stupefied wonder. He sees a flash of red and gold scales before the creature gives up, going limp and looking up, a pitiable gleam in his eyes.

“Christ,” The Cuban mutters to himself, edging closer and picking up his knife, just in case. That thing had teeth that looked needle sharp. “Where did you come from?”

It just stares at him, eyes wide and body tense.

“Huh, right. I guess you don’t talk much.” Lance says, feeling foolish as he talks to this being. He doubted that it could understand him. “I guess I should get you out of here, huh?”

There was one problem: Lance’s whole catch would be dumped from their confines and left to escape if he helped this… he racks his brain for a word. Siren? That seemed appropriate. He didn’t think that the sea would take too kindly to one of her children being kidnapped, let alone sold to a fish market. With a great sigh, the Cuban comes to a decision.

“I’m going to cut you free, alright?” He waves the knife.

The siren bares his teeth at him, elongated ears pinned to the side of his head.

Right. Okay. So… waving a knife at a creature who ate people for a living probably wasn’t the best idea. Lance scratches his head sheepishly. “No, I mean…” He pantomimes cutting something. “You know?”

It didn’t know. It begins to writhe again. The fish in the net do their best to dart out of the way, some of them just barely missing the razor sharp nails that the siren was waving about in his panic. Lance could see where the siren had tried biting and clawing himself free. He didn’t imagine that it’s teeth were meant to do that.

“No, No!” He quickly sets the knife down, raising his hands placatingly. “I didn’t mean it like that, I swear! Oh, shoot. I’m going to- just hold still, alright?”

He picks up the knife, leaning over the side of the boat and yanking the net closer. The siren goes incredibly still, a stream of bubbles escaping his mouth right before the knife slices the net, tearing it open.

There’s a pregnant pause before all of the fish he’d captured rush out of the net and disappear into the black water, leaving the siren where he was. Lance hesitates, then reaches down and gently tugs it off the creature and back into his boat. He looks mournfully down at it. That was going to cost him a lot for repairs.

The siren breaks the surface after a moment. The Cuban looks up at the soft sound. He backs away slightly, reaching for the anchor rope just in case he needed to make a break for it. The siren drifts closer, then lets out an ear piercing screech.

“Woah!” Lance squawks, falling backwards, surprised at the noise. When he sits back up, he comes face to face with the beast.

The Cuban swallows hard, trying not to panic as the boat dips with the new weight. Bright, intelligent eyes stare into Lance’s, unblinking. From here, he can see the tiny scales patching the siren’s face, the needle-tip points of teeth poking out from under his upper lip.

He expects to be eviscerated. He expects to be sent home in his boat, a wreck of carnage and blood. That was if this being didn’t eat him and leave his bones to decorate the sea floor. Lance can feel each beat of his heart in his throat, can feel the blood turning to ice in his veins, can hear himself breathing.

To his surprise, the creature sinks back into the water with no fuss. It’s clawed, webbed fingers still grasp the side of the boat, keeping him close and watching the fisherman.

“U-Um,” Lance takes a deep breath, willing his hands to stop shaking. “Hey there. You, uh… you okay?”

The siren’s ears perk, it’s tail flicking and splashing water into the boat. It makes an inquisitive sound.

“Sorry for… you know, the whole net incident.” He rubs his neck. The being must’ve been hunting or chasing the shoal and gotten caught up in the trap. He winces. Maybe this wasn’t the best place to cast his nets.

The siren peers up at him. A moment later, Lance has a lapful of curious mer-being. He makes a soft sound - half fear, half surprise - and tries his best not to shove the creature off for fear of death or serious injury.

Lance gawks at the being, who simply makes himself comfortable and takes the Cuban’s face in his hands. He tilts his head this way and that, his amethyst gaze searching. One claw carefully brushes over his lips, over his nose, over his eyebrows. The siren makes a shrill sound of what he hoped was amusement when Lance quirks one of his eyebrows.

“So… am I forgiven?” He asks, wincing when the creature takes a handful of his hair and tugs.

The siren hums softly, then lets go of Lance’s face and stretches his tail out to his full length, looking up at Lance haughtily. I don’t know, his gaze seemed to say. Why should I forgive a petty mortal?

Lance hadn’t half a mind to be scared - he was too busy gazing at the siren’s tail in awe. It was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. The colors ranged from the deepest garnet, to spilled blood ruby, to daybreak gold, and to a pale red just where his skin met his tail. Scales littered the siren’s torso, but the thing the Cuban was most entranced with were its fins.

It wasn’t anything he would’ve imagined them to be - no amount of cartoon movies could compare. The fins were a delicate membrane, stretched gracefully across strong muscles. They were a pale reddish color, gleaming in the moonlight.

Lance looks back up to a smug half smile, the beautiful siren’s ego significantly boosted. He coos softly, tilting his head knowingly. He was aware of his beauty. It was almost as if he was aware of the songs written about him too, Lance noted.

“You… you’re magnificent.” The Cuban offers a shy smile.

The creature wriggles in glee, reaching down to pet at his scales fondly. It looks up at Lance mischievously, eyes gleaming from under a mop of inky hair. You like these, don’t you? It’s gaze practically screams as he scratches at his scales.

Lance’s face heats up, his eyes widening. Was this the siren version of flirting? Oh God, he hoped he wasn’t reading too much into this. “Yes, your scales are- they’re very lovely.”

The siren watches him a moment, then leans down and picks one of the bigger ones off the base of his tail. They grew back, it wasn’t a huge loss. It takes Lance’s hand, pressing it into his palm and closing his fingers around it.

The Cuban looks down at his palm, then back up at the siren. “Oh, I couldn’t, really… this belongs to you.” He tries to hand it back to the siren. It growls loudly, thrusting Lance’s hand back toward him. He decides to keep it. “Well, um. Thank you for… not eating me. And for your scale.”

The siren preens, brushing a claw over his jawline before slipping back into the water. It peers up at Lance, making a soft noise.

“Will I see you again?” Lance asks hopefully, leaning over the side to better see his new familiar.

We shall see, the siren’s smirk tells him. With one more playful splash of water, the magnificent being ducks under the water. He’s gone in an instant, Lance’s eyes unable to make him out in the black depths of the sea.

The fisherman sits there for a long while. He picks up the net, looking down at it, unable to help the smile that creeps up on him. He looks back out at the sea, at the moon’s reflection, at the mysterious world that he could only dream of understanding.

Never had he been more in love with the ocean.

Part 1 of The Children of the Sea Part 2 | Part 3

[feelssogoodinmyarms]

Ali Stroker

Ok so storytime. I go to arts high school and Ali Stroker came to our school last year. Krysta Rodriguez is a graduate of my arts school (Orange County School of the Arts, in case you were wondering) so that's how Ms. Stroker got the gig. Ali Stroker came to our school to do a show the musical theatre conservatory has each year called "Performing With the Pros". Someone who's famous(ish) who graduated comes back to do a variety show that kids in the conservatory can audition for. The show is directed by the "pro" and the show also centers around them.

So one day during tap class (that's my gym, i'm very lucky) everyone goes to one of the theaters on campus for Ali to give an assembly. At the time, I was very into spring awakening, just not deaf west's spring awakening. I had gotten started with obc and there wasn't even a cast recording for dwsa so I didn't see the point. Also I was far too obsessed with Jon Groff and Lea Michele to consider another version of SA. I've actually only seen the bootlegs of dwsa's touch me and woyb reprise I'm watching it this weekend I swear. So I walked in with a pretty closed mind. I was only excited because she had something to do with spring awakening, the show I couldn't get enough of and still can't tbh.

So Ali rolls out on stage and starts singing, and oh my god you guys she is the most talented, sweetest, down-to-earth person. And my god she's beautiful. She answered questions and told us why she was in the chair and how she got to Broadway. She even talked about sexuality and how to start that conversation with our parents. I'll never forget how she talked abou Glee. She was so happy to see another person in a wheelchair on tv. When she found out that the actor playing Artie wasn't actually in a wheelchiar she was heartbroken. And she brought up a great point, I'll never forget it. She said to her, Artie not actually being in a wheelchair is just like dressing in blackface. I'm still not sure if I agree with her, but it was a great point.

Now even though musical theatre is the reason I go to arts school, I'm not in the musical theatre conservatory. I applied to several and was accepted by Integrated Arts. It's a great conservatory, don't get me wrong. In Integrated Arts we do everything that my school offers (art, theatre, dance, photography, ect.). This show Ali was doing was only offered to kids in the musical theatre conservatory so I couldn't audition. I was heartbroken, but my best friend got to audition. She told me all about how great Ali was and how fun the show was they were doing. I came and saw the show, and I was astounded. It was so so good. The senior girls did a little bit of my junk (Ali was Anna of course) and it was just like the dwsa production, they had the picnic blanket and everything. They did the scene before but they didn't start signing until they sang. I fangirled so hard oh my god it was so good!! But the beat by far was at the end of the show, when everyone came on and they did purple summer. They signed and the last chorus was done accapella. Then they just signed. I got chills you guys, chills.

So why did I tell you this? Well I never got to meet Ali and I'm so salty about it. And if I did, I would ask her to confirm that Anna's a lesbian and in love with Martha and that they're chicken farmers in the country aghgg!!!

Anyway Ali Stroker is an amazing person. I'm so glad I got to have this experiance. Please hmu if you wanna hear more stories she told us, there were some great ones that I'm not gonna type out rn because it's so late and I'm so sick. Thanks for reading. I love Ali Stroker. K good night❤️

Keep in mind I didn't proofread this and probs have a fever and may regret this in the morning

[y0ung-and-l0aded]

1-100 ;)

1. What is you middle name? Ew. Jiandong. It’s Chinese and I don’t even know how to pronounce it tbh2. How old are you? 223. When is your birthday? March 14, 19954. What is your zodiac sign? Pisces5. What is your favorite color? Green6. What’s your lucky number? 147. Do you have any pets? Ye. I have a cat of my own, her name is Stella, and my family has two dogs - Rosie and Tilly. Tilly is my everything8. Where are you from? China, but I grew up in upstate New York9. How tall are you? 4′11″ RIP me10. What shoe size are you? 4 kids11. How many pairs of shoes do you own? 812. What was your last dream about? Honestly I had a nightmare and all I remember about it was that it involved the Great British Baking Show, specifically Nadiya from season 613. What talents do you have? I can play the piano, but idk if it’s much of a talent14. Are you psychic in any way? Lol no15. Favorite song? I HAVE MORE THAN ONE. All time favorite - “We Are Young” Glee cast version. Close second all time favorite - “Decoration Day” by the Drive-By Truckers. And then a one of my other favorites is “High Hopes” by Kodaline16. Favorite movie? The Shining and also I recently watched Train to Busan and that’s deff one of my faves17. Who would be your ideal partner? Someone I’m in love with, can see myself spending the rest of my life with, trust, have fun with. All that good stuff18. Do you want children? Yesss19. Do you want a church wedding? Yes and no, but honestly I’m pretty indifferent about it20. Are you religious? Lol nah21. Have you ever been to the hospital? Yes. I was inpatient three times, had to go for a day another time, and had an overnight and those were for mental health issues. When I was younger I went a few times bc I had a tic disorder and had to get these weird brain tests done. I also have scoliosis so have been a few times for that. And then when I started testosterone I went every week to get my shot until I learned how to do it myself lol. And recently I went for a consultation for top surgery!22. Have you ever got in trouble with the law? Kind of. It was a complicated situation23. Have you ever met any celebrities? Yes24. Baths or showers? Showers25. What color socks are you wearing? Black. One with a grey stripe and one with a red stripe26. Have you ever been famous? LOL NO27. Would you like to be a big celebrity? Not a big one. I’d like to get a bit more popular on YouTube, but my ultimate goal is 1000 subs, so just a mediocre celebrity lol28. What type of music do you like? EDM/electronic instrumental and tropical house29. Have you ever been skinny dipping? I was in a lake when my friends skinny dipped, but I didn’t myself30. How many pillows do you sleep with? 0-2, depending on the night31. What position do you usually sleep in? On my right side32. How big is your house? I don’t even have a house lol, I have a studio apartment and it’s v small33. What do you typically have for breakfast? I usually don’t have breakfast34. Have you ever fired a gun? Yeah it was really cool tbh35. Have you ever tried archery? Yep. I sucked haha36. Favorite clean word? Porkchop37. Favorite swear word? I don’t have a favorite, but I say shit and fuck the most 38. What’s the longest you’ve ever gone without sleep? 44 hours, that was actually a couple weeks ago39. Do you have any scars? Yes40. Have you ever had a secret admirer? Who knows, that’s why they’re called secret admirers 41. Are you a good liar? I guess I can be idrk42. Are you a good judge of character? I’d like to think so43. Can you do any other accents other than your own? Yes, I can do a British accent but I have never done it for someone44. Do you have a strong accent? Not to me and compared to the people around me, but I’m sure I do to someone else in the world45. What is your favorite accent? BRITISH 46. What is your personality type? ISFJ-T47. What is your most expensive piece of clothing? LOL I have no idea, I probably paid $30 dollars for a sweatshirt at some point in my life48. Can you curl your tongue? Nope49. Are you an innie or an outie? Innie50. Left or right handed? Right51. Are you scared of spiders? FUCK YES52. Favorite food? Mashed potatoes but I have recently been obsessed with frozen key lime pie. And I really like pork fried dumplings53. Favorite foreign food? Chinese hands down54. Are you a clean or messy person? Both but overall more clean than messy55. Most used phrased? I say what the frick a lot usually when I play video games56. Most used word? Recently it’s been dude57. How long does it take for you to get ready? Ready for what? In the morning like getting ready for work not long, maybe ten minutes58. Do you have much of an ego? Not at all59. Do you suck or bite lollipops? Suck then bite60. Do you talk to yourself? Yes61. Do you sing to yourself? I sing in the car to music I turn all the way up62. Are you a good singer? I can match pitch but I wouldn’t say I’m good63. Biggest fear? Being burnt alive64. Are you a gossip? Not really65. Best dramatic movie you’ve seen? Train to Busan (I think that can be classified as drama)66. Do you like long or short hair? Short hair on me. I’ve found I’m attracted to girls with long hair and guys with short hair67. Can you name all 50 states of America? If I thought about it and wrote them out, probably68. Favorite school subject? Music and if you don’t count that then Englsih69. Extrovert or introvert? Introvert 70. Have you ever been scuba diving? No71. What makes you nervous? Social situations72. Are you scared of the dark? Not really73. Do you correct people when they make mistakes? Not really. It’s a downfall74. Are you ticklish? No75. Have you ever started a rumor? Never76. Have you ever been in a position of authority? Not authority per se, but I’ve been in a position of leadership a couple times77. Have you ever drank underage? Yeah lol78. Have you ever done drugs? I smoke weed if you count that and I accidentally did molly one time79. Who was your first real crush? This girl Megan I went to elementary school with. When we were in eighth grade I realized that I was totally in love with her (if that’s what it even was in eighth grade, but that’s what I thought at the time) and that’s when I realized I was into girls haha80. How many piercings do you have? One81. Can you roll your Rs? Nope82. How fast can you type? Very, very fast83. How fast can you run? I used to be able to run really fast. I was a sprinter in high school for the track team. I could probably still sprint really fast but I’d be near to death after it84. What color is your hair? Black85. What color is your eyes? They is brown86. What are you allergic to? Cats, lanolin (it’s in sheep’s wool and some lotions), nickel and cobalt, and eggs but I still eat them bc it’s pretty minor87. Do you keep a journal? Yes. But I haven’t written in it for at least a year probably88. What do your parents do? My mom is a third grade teacher and my dad does some political science thing or something or other for the NYS government89. Do you like your age? I guess? I wouldn’t mind being a couple years older tbh but 22 isn’t bad90. What makes you angry? When people lie to me91. Do you like your own name? Ye92. Have you already thought of baby names, and if so what are they? I want to name my son Price if I ever have one, and I have’t really thought of girls names93. Do you want a boy a girl for a child? Both 94. What are you strengths? I don’t think of myself having strengths 95. What are your weaknesses? I’m too dependent on people96. How did you get your name? I chose it lol97. Were your ancestors royalty? I don’t know anything about my family history due to being adopted98. Do you have any scars? Yes, but not any new ones since question 3999. Color of your bedspread? Blue100. Color of your room? The walls are like tan/beige

:D