#it was SO. it was Hamlet but it’s a time loop and everyone but Hamlet knows they’re in a play and it was completely insanity-inducing

[panhasapen]

I saw a CRAZY fucking good Hamlet production over the weekend and I am going insane forever and ever. in case anyone was wondering

[agentravensong]

sometimes i think about how fully absent horatio is from r&g are dead even though one of the primary reasons for ros & guil’s existence in hamlet is as obvious negative parallels to him (see pages 42-3 of horatio’s hamlet for more on that);

and i think of those meta takes about how hamlet both starts and ends with horatio because he’s the one burdened with telling the story, and how it brings everything full circle;

and i think about horatio’s appearance at the end of r&g are dead. how, in this context, he’s putting the bow on a story that was by no means his to tell — one he may even severely misrepresent depending on your read / the staging of “he never gave commandment for their death” — but a story whose two protagonists exist in the shadow he casts, and cannot escape it.

a story that’s, in a sense, haunted by him: the “better” version of ros and guil (“we didn’t do anything wrong, did we?” ros asks, and the answer is everything and nothing) who wouldn’t have suffered this terrible fate (horatio’s being a different flavor of tragedy); the version that, if he were ever shown on stage with them, would be an even more obvious signal than the title of the show itself that the two of them were failures, and written to be that way.

and then sometimes i start thinking about a version of r&g are dead that has ros and guil interact with horatio. the one who actually understands hamlet (the man) but still can’t sway his or the story’s course; who gets to see how things play out, but in witnessing and knowing it also knows for a fact how pointless it all was; who, unlike the two of them, is spared from death, but also therefore never gets to rest; who, like the two of them, will never not come when summoned, and yet finds himself ultimately reduced to a spectator (though in both hamlet and r&g are dead all spectators remain complicit).

they would have things to talk about, i think. if only they didn’t forget it all when “next time” rolls around.

[itzkawaiiduh]

Heh. Hello. Do you have Prospero theories. Perhaps. Or. Prospero anything. 😁😁 Prospero.............🖤🖤🖤🖤❤❤❤❤❤😍😍🤤 WHATWHO SAID THA T

BAHAHHAA HELLO ANON.... you're a pretty big Prospero fan huh.. well yeah! I got some theories for you! Please excuse these are not polished, and some are headcanons as well! -Prospero isn't a big fan of large, empty halls. Like, he sees a photo of The Shining hallway, and while he pays homage to the symmetricity, it scares him because based off of his literature, a large black room with a grandfather clock is quite scary. -Taking inspiration from his flashback, he likely got accused of being insane or challenged authority and got put to be experimented with. There's a scene in Netflix's The Fall of the House of Usher where Frederick goes to Prospero's party hall before it gets demolished, and he falls paralyzed from the drugs in his cocaine, laying on the ground as he tries to escape before the building gets demolished, but his efforts are moot. Verna lays with him before the pendulum comes from the overhead, and slices him open, ultimately killing him as the building collapses around him. The Pit and the Pendulum additionally has rats and plague, so.... this is a brain dump Additionally, maybe he died from vivisection (supported the hands all over him, pleading with them that he's not neurotic) Perhaps being a hypochondriac who is a doctor is hard. -He definitely knows how to ballroom dance. He just seems like the type of guy to be able to do that. -My gut tells me that The Pit and the Pendulum & The Masque of the Red Death are two stories that connect to Prospero. If not, some William Shakespeare play. Perhaps Hamlet? Imagine he recites the iconic "to be or to not to be" line. -We know that when Prospero lifts his mask, it's full of blood. If someone takes off his mask, it just shows a man who is bleeding profusely from his pores and every orifice of his body. It's actually terrifying, but it makes him more vulnerable. It's scary, but it's how Prospero in Masque died, so it's perfect. -When Prospero uses his paralysis ability, he feels it, but it motivates him to keep going, recalling his past life and the feeling he felt when he manifested over and over. It just keeps looping in his head, and he grows more lethal. He's put in the role of the mysterious stranger with disease. He read it in a book that you keep recalling how you died, your abilities grow more intense. (just a thought) -Plague doctors were existent during the bubonic plague (around 14th century), so Prospero definitely was a doctor during his time era. This is just common knowledge but I'm putting it here nonetheless.

-Prospero has notes on everyone in his group's spectres, but he has more notes on William. He finds it odd but curious why he keeps so much to himself, and how he puts himself down so much. He is a little grateful for it, because he doesn't want Will to turn into him, so he keeps his composure and reveals very little about his life. And while Will is genuinely curious and amicable, there is something offputting about him that makes Prospero a little uneasy. Why is his name William but on the merit board, it says Will? -He's definitely a little jealous of William's spectre, but finds curiosity in it. Why can he shapeshift, duplicate? At least when he bleeds, it's black, wax-like blood and not red. -Prospero is the type of guy to always be cold. He needs like 10 layers of sheets to sleep. one more... Montresor: yo, rq can i put on some white noise? it helps me sleep Prospero: ...sure?? Montresor: thanks pretty boy closes his eyes while at full volume, Like Whiskey plays in the room.

Annd that's all! I'll update this if I recall anymore. Thank you for the ask, anon!

[lavampira]

5 songs I’m into meme

ty @birues @coldshrugs @impossible-rat-babies for the tags 💚

and tagging (with no pressure) @erielake @aphoticfairy @sirotras @galadae @winedark @bethesdas @kirnet @disequilibria @vampirebiter @astralogian @daggertongue @famewolf if anyone would like to do it !!

1. sage - onlyoneof / always and forever a banger to meeeee, I think it’s ended up on my spotify wrapped every year since I first heard it. junji the vocalist that you are…….. augh. also really fun to listen to during pvp in ffxiv.

2. landmark - the spill canvas / okay. obligatory sidalia playlist inclusion. it’s been a regular listen while I work on my fic and part of the lyrics might have inspired the working title for it. stay tuned.

3. day is gone - noah gunderson / yes this is from the hamlet on bikes show soundtrack, yes I’m still obsessed. makes me teary-eyed every time and I could probably throw it on a handful of oc playlists but I can’t do that to my heart either. still listening to it often tho.

4. so cold - breaking benjamin / a relic of my childhood that I’ve had back on loop lately after hearing it on the xm radio while spending time with my dad last week. I know everyone loves the diary of jane, but this is forever my fave BB song, and seeing it performed live a few years ago was an amazing experience for me.

5. heat waves (slowed) - glass animals / I love the regular version of this song too but the slowed has been very chill to zone out with some ffxiv crafting and vibe in the middle of the night lol

[bracketsoffear]

Not!propaganda for Not-Avatars:

The Ancestor (Darkest Dungeon): The relative of the player character who unearthed the portal and caused this whole mess to begin with. Having committed suicide some time before the game's events, he now serves as the game's narrator…although that might be the Heart using his voice. As a young man, he tried to murder The Countess at a party, then fed her blood to visiting nobles, causing an orgy of frenzied violence and turning them into Bloodsuckers. However, he accidentally ingested her blood too, granting him a vision of the Heart of Darkness beneath his manor and the horrifying true nature of the world. He began searching for forbidden knowledge, learning from the Necromancers and the Hag and hiring mariners to retrieve artifacts and relics for him. Using blood sacrifice and summoning rituals, he put dark spirits in the bodies of pigs, creating the Swinefolk that he left in the Warrens. He murdered the Necromancers and reanimated them to prove his prowess, but then the undead necromancers started raising the dead too. When the mariners demanded more pay, he hexed their anchor to drag them into the depths, then sold a village girl who had a crush on him to the Pelagics of the cove (who turned her into the Siren, their monstrous queen/breeding slave) because he wanted jewels and was bothered by her following him around. A homeless man started preaching that The Ancestor would bring doom upon the world and turned the people against him, so after multiple murder attempts failed, he lured the man to the dig site and drove him mad with the terrible truth. He also hired a band of brigands to reassert his rule through force by culling The Hamlet’s population to manageable numbers. At some point in all of this, a miller approached him for help after his crop failed, so The Ancestor lured an eldritch comet onto the miller’s land, turning everyone into crystalline abominations trapped in an endless time loop. The Ancestor finally unleashed The Heart, bringing cosmic horror to The Hamlet, and killed himself after sending a letter to The Heir asking them to come fix his mistakes. However, he may have been faking regret to string The Heir along, since he reappears in the Darkest Dungeon as the Heart’s herald (although that may have been The Heart impersonating him). Either way, his foolish quest to unearth The Heart and all of the immensely horrible things he did to everyone around him to make that happen left The Hamlet in shambles and the surrounding lands infested with all sorts of nightmarish monsters. TLDR; the living embodiment of "fuck around and find out."

Stanford Pines (Gravity Falls): A paranormal researcher who came to Gravity Falls to study the town’s anomalies, which he catalogued in three journals. He made a deal with Bill Cipher to gain the knowledge necessary to build an interdimensional portal, but realized that Bill was tricking him so he could invade Earth. Spiraling into paranoid madness, he hid two of his journals and tried to get his twin brother Stanley to hide the third, but they got into a fight that sent Stanford through the portal. He wandered the multiverse for decades searching for a way back home and the means to defeat Bill, and eventually was brought back by Stanley. He then mentored Dipper in the supernatural as he sought to stop Bill’s plans, eventually defeating the dream demon after reconciling with Stanley and headed off to go on more adventures with his brother. Understandable that he didn't make it, because Stanley was also in contention and Ford veers too much toward The Eye.

Fiddleford McGucket (Gravity Falls): A scientist who studied the paranormal activity in Gravity Falls with Stanford Pines. After being traumatized by a Gremoblin showing him his worst fear, he invented a memory eraser gun to get rid of bad memories. Fiddleford and Stanford built an interdimensional portal, but when Fiddleford was briefly dragged through it during a testing accident, he caught a glimpse of the Nightmare Realm and prophesied that armageddon would come if the portal reached its full potential. He quit the project, but was haunted by memories of his supernatural encounters and plagued by paranoia and insomnia. He continued to use the memory gun, which became an inspiration for Fiddleford to found an organization within Gravity Falls known as the Blind Eye Society, hoping to give others a similar chance at alleviating their deepest regrets and awful memories. Unfortunately, continuous encounters with paranormal entities within the town and a heavy over-reliance on his creation deteriorated Fiddleford's mind, draining him of his sanity and increasingly devolving him into a crazed and lunatic old man. By July of 1983, Fiddleford was a ghost of his former self, estranged from his wife and son and now known as the garbage-dwelling Old Man McGucket, Gravity Falls' local kook. He also started making killer robots to get revenge and attention.

The SCP Foundation (SCP): The SCP Foundation, more commonly called simply "the Foundation", is an international covert non-governmental organization responsible for the containment of anomalous objects that behave against natural scientific laws. Their operational ability is expansive, covering scientific and military fields. Their command hierarchy is headed by the Overseer Council, an enigmatic council consisting of 13 members with classified identities. The Foundation enforces The Masquerade as part of their mandate to protect the world from the abnormal using coverups and amnestics. On a good day, the SCP Foundation is a group of individuals willing to go to extreme lengths to protect the human race, and despite their coldness can show kindness to many of the sentient anomalous objects. On a bad day, the SCP Foundation is a horrendously corrupt and even inefficient organization who don't care for humanity in anything but the abstract and that can even escalate the threats they create, but still work to prevent humanity from being destroyed.

Roy (DHMIS): Yellow Guy’s father, who created the simulation that Yellow Guy, Red Guy, and Duck are trapped in. He sends Teachers to give them “lessons,” which inevitably go horribly and turn out to be thinly-veiled torture sessions, seemingly aimed at punishing Yellow Guy for the faults Roy finds in him.

Lesley (DHMIS): A live-action human, and the presumed controller of the entire TV series. She presumably lives in the attic of the house. While she does not do anything directly antagonistic, it is implied that she is the reason why the trio is seemingly trapped in the show and why random objects keep coming to life and “teaching” them about various topics--which in practice means tormenting them physically and psychologically. She also wants to keep the students from investigating the true nature of their world: she noticeably keeps Yellow Guy from investigating further into the house's reality, and if she knew in advance that returning to the first floor would risk Yellow Guy losing his batteries (and thus being unable to understand or explain what he saw), then she also deliberately played on his friendship with his roommates to trick him into heading back downstairs. She clearly does have considerable power over the world, but there are stairs leading higher than her and she seems amused/enraged at the idea that she created everything. She could almost pass for a normal kids' show host with her colorful clothes and sweet demeanor, but there's clearly something off about her. It is heavily implied that Yellow Guy is a copy of her son, who died in a car accident, which is why she’s trying to “teach” him.

The Doctor (Doctor Who): A Time Lord who, like all members of his kind, has a life span measured in centuries/millennia, some degree of psychic ability, and the ability to regenerate when near death. Unlike other Time Lords, they became bored and/or terrified by the Gallifreyan way of life when they were “young”, stole an antique TARDIS, skipped town and "never stopped running". As the series progressed, it has become the norm that any villain who recognizes who this strange individual calling themself "Doctor" is immediately browns their trousers. A number of times the Doctor themself calls attention to their identity for that effect. The Doctor remains the same person throughout their lives and maintains the same core mindset and (for the most part) memories, but different incarnations have different appearances and somewhat different personalities, being anything from an angry, grumpy, callous, arrogant, ruthless Jerk with a Heart of Gold Anti-Hero to a fun-loving, eccentric, clownish, childlike alien with an unscrupulous, manipulative streak to a dashing, charismatic, heroic Cultured Badass Ace with Insufferable Genius tendencies to a sensitive, vulnerable, fallible Gentleman and a Scholar. Consequently, different incarnations have been predisposed towards different Entities: for example, Seven seemed to be drawn to the Web, Eight was Stranger-aligned, Thirteen could be argued as aligned with The Lonely, and so on; this means that while The Doctor is adjacent to many Fears, they’ve never really been pinned down as an Avatar of any particular one. Presumably disqualified because several Doctors had been in previous brackets.

The Collector (MCU): The person with the largest collection of interstellar fauna, relics and species (including sapient ones) in the galaxy, who wants to collect all of the Infinity Stones. He has several “assistants” tending to his collection, who he tortures and imprisons as part of the collection if they don’t do their jobs well enough, to the point that one of them (who may be his daughter) disintegrates herself with the Power Stone because she’d rather die destroying his collection than live as his slave. He has immense greed for rare and precious objects and beings; for instance, he wants to collect the Infinity Stones seemingly just to own the complete set, and tells Groot “You must allow me to pay you now so that I may own your carcass. At the moment of your death, of course." While the Guardians look quite horrified when they see footage of the Power Stone being used to cause death and destruction, the Collector seems rather fascinated by its formidable power and is practically orgasmic when he sees the stone out of the Orb, even calling it "beautiful". He also has the Tivan Group conduct illegal and dangerous mining operations to collect organic materials from Knowhere.

And one more I didn't think to submit--

The Masters (Fallen London): SPOILERS FOR FALLEN LONDON: A bunch of disastrous space bats who dropped London into a cave to try and get a sufficient love letter for the Bazaar to deliver to the Sun so it’ll be able to get over being rejected by its crush. They’re an eclectic bunch of horrors ranging from “capitalist asshole who tries to get you to steal someone’s baby for it and attempts strikebreaking,” “mostly nice but sells very questionable meat,” “impersonating another Master and serial killing to get vengeance stories in order to save the Bazaar,” “hunts people for sport--and not even in the proper ways,” and “runs a murder game but that’s not so bad in the Neath because death isn’t as permanent as it should be.”

.

[rosebloodcat]

Otherworlder Wally AU

I've been sitting on my notes for this au idea for a while, so I decided it was high time I shared this. So here are my (incomplete) notes. Please talk to me if want to know/see more!

Home is bad-ish in this au. Not evil, per se, but definitely did some not-great stuff to Wally out of personal frustration (and some unawareness of things). (Slowly working on getting better)

Home was the one in “power” until Wally finally S N A P P E D and (re?) awakened his powers and fled from Home.

Wally's an incarnate of something, but not even he knows what.

Potentially has memories of a different “life” where he was in a similar situation before managing to escape. Because of that, he has no fear of Home or its powers and has instead dropped right into apathy toward his former residence/friend.

Home (the hamlet/village) sprang into existence because of the Welcome Home show, but the place has been stuck in a stagnant “loop” for decades.

Home has been using its power to “maintain” the safety of its little world, and it wasn't happy about this situation. It had, to a degree, been taking that frustration out on Wally as the resident living inside of Home until Wally's powers Awakened.

Wally is actually a lot stronger than Home, but he's currently too new to his abilities to realize it.

He's also physically changing because of his powers.

He's staying in the woods, but everyone is oblivious because of the strange force/spell (?) that's keeping them on the WH Scripts/behaviors.

Everyone is kind of robotic/super-predictable (like background npcs in a game). They can't tell that there's anything wrong (because of the studio shutting down and them never really being “fleshed out” as people) or notice that they've all been following the exact same routine for years now.

Wally tries to hide his changes/presence from them all to avoid breaking the illusion that they all seem to be under. They all seemed so happy and none of them seemed to be going through the same things as him, waking them may do them more harm than good...

(He absolutely blurts out “Pajama Day” when someone spots him running around in his bedclothes near the start.)

There are Things in the dark, but Wally and Home are strong enough to keep them at bay. The Things only come out at night/after curfew. Usually, being in their houses is enough to keep everyone in Home safe.

Wally hadn't known about them until he ran off and was staying in the woods. A lot of the stuff he first figured out about his powers was from fighting them alone during the night. It's why he looks like such a mess.

One of the reasons Wally bolted when his powers woke up was due to his Creature Instincts:tm: wigging out at being “surrounded” by Home.

Those same instincts are part of the reason he hasn't worked up the nerve to try and get his stuff from inside Home.

Home hadn't realized Wally was also an Otherworlder, it had thought he was just another of its oblivious charges that it needed to keep track of because it didn't want to be totally alone in this place.

It usually did that by trying to keep him “on script,” ensuring that he and the rest of the puppets didn't go out at night and occasionally throwing tantrums if Wally tried to break too far from routine. (Home had been trying to keep Wally safe, but neither of them realized that Wally's buried instincts were acting up and trying to get him more active.)

Wally and Home are two different kinds of Otherworlders and their differing instincts drive them apart for a long while.

Home is a Territorial Dweller; Meaning they chose one place/area to claim as Theirs and fiercely guard it against invaders/outsiders. They sometimes allow smaller/more fragile beings to surround them/live in their territory, while the Dweller's get to hunt anything that might hurt them. They usually take the form of something large and inanimate, like abnormally Large trees or Hills, rock formations, etc. And, though stories of the supernatural happen to sprout up around them, they usually try to remain unknown/secret.

Home, however, made the mistake(?) of turning into a house, which Wally had taken up residence in. (Though it became very attached to its little resident, even though their relationship has become way more strained/damaged now.)

Wally's species, however, are more Well-Hidden Roamers. More the sort prone to wanderlust and adventure-seeking. Though some are more instinctively geared toward “nesting”, choosing a place/area to settle into or find solace in repeatedly returning to. But they can't keep to a permanent routine like what's settled over the hamlet, hence Wally's instincts making him break free of the “spell” over it.

The conflict of instincts was what made them both snap at each other (in different ways).

[kimium]

Hey friend, I love you so much and thank you for supporting me when my anxiety tries to take over. What are some book recs from what you’ve been reading lately?

Hi friend! You're welcome! I'm always here to be your support! Love you tons too!

Book recommendations! I am super excited to talk about those! Some maybe books I've talked about before. Sadly, even though I have a ton of books on my shelf, I haven't had time to read them.

Book Recommendations in no particular order

-The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

If you have not read this book, go read it now. Easily my favourite book in recent times, the retelling of the myth of Achilles and Patroclus is breath taking. The care, passion, and knowledge of Greek myths woven into the book is excellent. Achilles and Patroclus's love for one another, even if it is doomed, will keep pulling me back to the book.

This book has some of the most breath-taking, heart-wrenching lines ever. Seriously, so many sentences live rent-free in my brain.

(Also, every time someone uses a quote from this book for Satosugu my heart leaps twice in size.)

-The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

First, the entire premise of two magicians with actual magic performing magic and pretending they don't is amazing. Next, the imagery in this book is so beautiful. The scenery and magic is described is so vividly crafted and the enchanting element to a circus is captured well within the pages.

-The King of Infinite Space by Lyndsay Faye

Look, it's a modern day retelling of Hamlet where everything is the same except Hamlet (renamed Ben) is suffering the loss of his Broadway baron theatre father, Horatio and Ben 100% hooked up, and Ophelia has more of a role along with three sisters adding a Macbeth reference. What more could I want? I love this book and I highly recommend it, even if Shakespeare isn't your thing.

-The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

I always love stories where the main premise is a character exploring the endless alternate dimensions where they can see how one decision altered their reality. Also love this as a story telling device for people to explore themselves and who they are as a person.

-The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

A murder mystery novel where it's a time loop and each reset of the loop the detective finds himself in the body of another character within the mansion? Sign me up. I Love this book so much.

-Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

Yeah, I know most people recommend Good Omens, but this is my first Neil Gaiman book that I ever read, so it has a special place in my heart. (Not the first of his stories though: that was Stardust and Coraline.) Anyways, I love this book and the radio play is amazing too.

-Gideon the Ninth/Harrow the Ninth/Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

It's lesbian necromancers in space with a sci-fi magic system that breaks my brain and a narrator in 2/3 of the series that also breaks my brain. I ended Nona the Ninth going "OH NO" and also "My brain needs an 8 hour break NOW".

-The Raven Cycle series by Maggie Stiefavter

I love the characters and I love the story. I love the magic in this series too. I highly recommend this series to everyone and its sequel with Ronan as the narrator.

[quecksilvereyes]

I posted 8,205 times in 2022

That's 3,315 more posts than 2021!

373 posts created (5%)

7,832 posts reblogged (95%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@vaspider

@feuer-bluete

@cardentist

@mushroom-in-space

@ohboywonder

I tagged 1,758 of my posts in 2022

#text - 280 posts

#timezone reblog - 180 posts

#reference - 99 posts

#sewing - 42 posts

#poetry - 42 posts

#larissa makes things - 30 posts

#wormdelivre - 27 posts

#cardentist - 23 posts

#signal boost - 23 posts

#quote - 21 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#1) hebrew 2) spanish 3) chinese 4) literally any slavic language i just think theyre neat 5) any language with clicks in it. i cannot make t

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

i always find it so funny when ppl whose first language is english are like "oh i dont know if i like this song i just cant understand these lyrics i dont speak the language" bestie 5 year old me spoke neither italian nor english and still begged my parents to play "eros ramazotti feat. anastacia i belong to you" at any given opportunity

its not about understanding the lyrics, its about the vibes! did you like the beat, did it make you feel something, did you make up a whole different meaning for it in your head?

we didnt all lose our shit about drangonsta din tae for people to only listen to music in languages they understand

727 notes - Posted June 19, 2022

#4

sometimes i think about narnia and i vibrate out of my skin like...

you walk into a world you cannot understand, frozen and dying, and it is you who thaws it. you who kills the witch, you who breaks the stone table, you who slays the wolf. it is you who is crowned and it is you who wails for two worlds when the wardrobe doors shut behind you.

your skin never sits quite right and your teeth are too dull. there are wars in your bones and decades in your eyes before you can reach the telephone on the wall.

you are king. you are queen. they won't let you read the newspapers at breakfast.

it calls you back from beyond a train and from within paint. begs with bloody palms and salt-crusted cheeks. takes from you all that you can give - and sends you back.

you watch your sister fade.

you are a child twice and an adult once. and when you stand in your home again, with crushed bones and the smell of coal still in your nose, you watch them sneer at your sister.

your sister is the sun above you. she is, beautiful and stone-cast, alive in a world you could never stomach. she smiles, still, and stretches her skin over human bones.

she is no longer a friend of narnia. do you tell them it is her who has to bury you all and the stars that are falling from the skies in shards?

2,553 notes - Posted August 16, 2022

#3

anyone wanna hear my rant about how marvel basically destroyed media literacy

27,288 notes - Posted February 11, 2022

#2

im obsessed with stories that have a fixed ending before they even start. stories with narrators who are crying as they tell it because there is only one way this can end.

there is only one way this can go.

stories where the characters might know how it all ends and beg the audience to change it, knowing they can't. stories where the characters are unaware, but given the people they are and the situations they're in- well, what else are they supposed to do?

stories that are loops. that start with everyone dying and getting back up again to do it one more time.

because this time, maybe, it will be different.

the narrator cries.

34,674 notes - Posted August 16, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

since im on a roll about tragedies:

i am sick to death of fourth wall breaks that are funny. i want fourth wall breaks that make me want to cry.

give me hamlet looking up during his monologue to see the audience and plead with them for help. give me orpheus, on the road back up from the underworld begging us to make sure eurydice is there, to tell him she is safe. give me orpheus turning when the audience stays silent.

give me someone, bloody and full of tears monologuing to the camera when the narrative has wound itself so tight that they can't escape it anymore.

"youre just watching me. help me. im dying and im rotting and im losing myself and you wont do a thing."

i want the tragedy to be the performance. i want the tragedy to be, truly, in the eyes of the beholder.

59,905 notes - Posted August 26, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[tilbageidanmark]

Movies I watched this week (Year 4, week 8)

"Rudy calls me The Queen Of Auschwitz"...

After waiting for many months, I finally had a chance to watch Jonathan Glazer's transcendental The Zone of Interest. It's the most spine-chilling horror film I've ever seen, and I'll bet it will grow to become one of the greatest films of all time.

Making art about genocide is nearly impossible. Few Holocaust movies were able to tackle the topic honorably (Claude Lanzmann's epic Shoah', and Alain Resnais's 'Night and fog', both documentaries). But fictional dramas about concentration camps and Nazism are usually an affront against humanity. This one is different: Restraint, oppressive to the bone, ambient, extraordinarily disturbing. 9/10.

🍿  

2 with Swedish actress Lena Olin:

🍿 Another film about the holocaust. One life is the directorial feature film debut of James Hawes, who directed two of my favorite 'Black Mirror' episodes ('Hated in the nation' and 'Smithereens'). Anthony Hopkins plays Nicholas Winton, who saved the lives of 699 Czech children by transferring them to England, just before the beginning of World War 2.

Watching Hopkins is always a delight, but unfortunately much of the film is a historical flash-back, a genre I dislike in principle. But even as much as I can't stand the period posturing and sub-par acting in the flash-back, the pathos and manipulation used here were so effective, it left me in tears for most of the film. 8/10.

🍿 The Adventures of Picasso is a Swedish surrealist comedy, very much in a 1970's absurdist style. Including a few lovely scenes (A dubbed Rossini duet, violinist Henri Rousseau ascending to heaven to the tune of 'I dream of 'Jenny', an excessive cauliflower farting performance) among mostly low-brow and stereotypical caricatures. Woody Allen did it better in 'Midnight in Paris'. 2/10.

🍿  

And a third movie about related topic, Hitler Lives - Wow! A virulent anti-German propaganda film, originally written by Dr. Seuss and directed by Frank Capra, but which was remade by new director Don Siegel, and even went on to win the 1945 Oscar. Commissioned by the War Department, it was so over the top, that even George Patton walked out of the screening for top military brass, calling it 'Bullshit'.

['Today I learnt' that Don Siegel directed his first two movies in 1945, this and 'Star in the Night', and both of them won the Oscars, one for Short drama, and one for Short documentary!]

🍿  

River, my second charming comedy by Japanese director Junta Yamaguchi (after his original 'Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes'). Like the previous one, it's a quirky "2 minute time loop" story, where every 2 minutes, time rewinds and everyone returns to where they were before. It takes some getting used to, but it's more relaxed [maybe because the location is a traditional inn, 'Ryokan', in a beautiful rural area]. The dozen participants adjust their responses to the Loop, and learn to behave accordingly. 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.

🍿  

2 Korean police thrillers:

🍿 Cold eyes is about a team of surveillance officers tracking a gang of highly-sophisticated criminals. Excellent fast-action, cat and mouse plot (with improbable tech). 6/10.

🍿 The Outlaws is a fast action, brutal story of a gang war in seedy Chinatown in Seoul. Tough as nails and hard hitting, the captain in charge of the investigation goes against one of the most ruthless screen villains I've ever seen, a loan shark who likes to chop people's hands off. Lead officer Ma Dong Seok is relentless and uncompromising, and with the most powerful knock-out punches. The all-out brawl at the airport bathroom executed as well as the fight scenes from 'True Lies' and 'Terminator 2'.

The film was a big success in Korea, and they already made 3 sequels to it. 8/10 - My most entertaining surprise film of the week!

🍿  

"Something is rotten in the State of Denmark".

Laurence Olivier's brilliant adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet, the first British film to win the Oscar for 'Best Picture'. It got everything: A son avenging the murder of his father, a ghost story, incest and madness, suicide, poetry, politics of the day, as well as stunning photography in German Expressionist style. Also, a 'foppish courtier', tight tights for the men and giant protruding codpieces.

I wish I was much more versed with Elizabethan English, so that I could enjoy it even more.

🍿  

Marlene Dietrich as a conniving murderess X 2:

🍿 First watch: Witness for the Prosecution, a terrific Billy Wilder drama with Charles Laughton and Marlene Dietrich, and with Tyrone Power in his final role. My dislike for pompous courtroom dramas was surpassed by the wit and fluidity of the Agatha Christie story. 8/10.

🍿 The 1950 Stage Fright was a mediocre Hitchcock Noir, with a similar set up, featuring a conspiring, duplicitous Marlene Dietrich as a remorseless co-conspirator to a murder. Not as engaging, or as staged. The most memorable performance in it was the 'Laziest Gal in Town' scene, which was parodied so well by Madeline Kahn. 3/10.

🍿  

Re-watching 'Singing in the rain' X 2:

🍿 Another frequent re-watch: Nancy Meyers perfect feel-good hug, The intern. Meyers directed only 7 movies, but wrote nearly 20 romantic blockbusters. She's a superb screenwriter, and this is a marvelously-constructed bonbon. De Nero is super cute, and even Anne Hathaway is wonderful here. The relationship between them develops in stages so well. And it culminates with the heart-warming You Were Meant for Me scene at the Mark Hopkins Hotel. 10/10.

It's amusing to think how different this movie will be if Michael Caine and Tina Fey (or Reese Witherspoon) would play in it, as originally planned. That would actually be a good project for a 2026 A.I. "Alternative Version" re-make! ♻️

/ Female Director

🍿 So I had to watch Singing in the rain again. If there ever was a perfect musical, this is it. There isn't much I can say that hadn't been said before many times, so here:

The 'You were meant for me' scene which is the emotional center of the movie, happens (as it often does in well-timed Hollywood classics) at the 48:25 mark, precisely one hour before the end.

Gene Kelly wears this ridiculously-giant white chapeau. I don't even know what it's called.

The musical numbers are composed of mostly very long shots, with few, nearly invisible, cuts!

Debbie Reynolds was only 19 when she was cast as Kathy Selden.

And, Clockwork Orange's Alex DeLarge definitely altered forever any connotation to the beauty of 'just singing and dancing in the rain'...

10/10 - will watch again. ♻️

🍿  

Once Within a Time is Godfrey Reggio's 8th experimental feature. Like his famous Koyaanisqatsi trilogy, it's an abstract non-linear montage, but this time with a different element of story-telling, that of children watching today's world disintegrate.

With a Philip Glass score (once again), exec-produced by Steven Soderbergh and with a cameo by Mike Tyson (?). It's a psychedelic, surreal trip, with animated dreamscapes, like La Planète sauvage on digital Psilocybin. 5/10.

🍿  

"Today I learnt" about Stig Anderson, "The fifth ABBA". He was their promoter, manager, lyricist and manager. Stikkan is a new Swedish documentary about one of the most fascinating and influential people of Swedish music. (Even though the narrator has a very irritating intonation!).

🍿  

"Obviously, Jesse is Tom and we're all Greg's"...

From Southbank Central, A fascinating panel discussion with Jesse Armstrong and four other brilliant writers of 'Succession' on September 15, 2023. 8/10.

And just to follow up, I revisited the masterful 'Pilot' episode, Celebration. Directed by Adam McKay, it introduced all the unpleasant main characters in such a way that one is being lured to obsessively follow them for 40 additional hours. It's also obvious from the very first viewing of Kendall Roy, with his sloped shoulders and forlorn sad-dog looks, that he is a 'Loser' who'll never be able to fill his father's big shoes. 10/10. ♻️

🍿  

"I like your hairstyle... I like your polyester look"...

When Saturday night fever first opened in the 70's, I was a film snob and refused to see it. After stumbling upon the iconic opening scene today, I though I'll give it a shot. But Tony Manero still was a strutting, empty-headed, raping asshole, and the rest was not for me either. "Rocky but for Disco"? I saw Rocky recently and it was a great story. This was a ridiculous, sexist, stereotypical chauvinist, and pathetic ride. And was there a Ron Jeremy cameo? 1/10.

🍿  

“I’ll be watching you, al-jazeera..”

Where do I even start? Poultrygeist, Night of the Chicken Dead is a piece of low-budget Troma schlock full of absurd, tongue-in-cheek body-fluid gore, the kind of shitshow I usually avoid. I thought I'll be able to see how bad can it really be, but after another explosive diarrhea gross-out scene that lasted for 2 or 3 minutes, I had to give it a permanent pass. 'Bye, Lloyd Kaufman. 1/10 - didn't finish.  

🍿  

(My complete movie list is here)

[yeahyankee]

The Moth of Glen Mailey

Glen Mailey was an old municipality ten miles outside the town proper.

A drowsy place where life took its time, only moving as fast as the river that ran through it. 

Grandmother Shannon lived here with her ancient cat, tucked away on the outskirts of the hamlet. Her front yard was the forest–she liked to say–and the only thing that separated her home from the rambling woods was a short clearing, cut through by the river that carried water into the larger city downstream. 

The older townsfolk who still lived in Glen Mailey had a tradition: Never cross the river into the woods beyond. 

Over the years, the tradition lost its definition, a fading inscription carved on overgrown stone. Just like the kudzu that cascaded over the old, abandoned homes, forgotten cemeteries–anyone who could remember had long forgotten why they felt a chill sense of dread when they looked across the river, to the twisted lace of the forest beyond. 

But living this close to the woods never seemed to bother Gran. Even the other townsfolk–though they seemed disapproving of the forest itself–did not seem to cast the same disapproval on her grandmother. They spoke of her in quietly respectful tones, as if she hung on every blade of grass, like a drop of dew. 

It would be difficult to describe in detail, that Grandma Shannon was an integral part of the order in town, but Orla had always remembered her being treated that way. Whenever she ran into town on an errand, or delivered a letter from her grandmother, they’d stop and stare at her for a moment. Like she was a junebug in the sun, pulling them into some distant memory of a summer long past.

“You Shannon’s granddaughter?” 

It was a question she was used to receiving whenever she pulled into town. It was strange to receive it from someone so young, however. 

Orla blinked at the gas station attendant as she pulled out her crumpled cash to pay. 

He made a looping gesture towards her face from across the counter, “It’s just–you sorta look like her. Your hair, too, it’s curly like hers. Don’t see that around here often.”

“Yeah, I get that sometimes,” she gave him a tired smile and waited for her change. 

He handed it to her and smiled, “You looking after her house while she’s gone?”

Orla nodded, reminding herself that everyone tended to mind everyone’s else’s business in a town this small. She found it heartening that her grandma talked to people when she traveled into town these days. “And the cat–though lord knows the cat takes care of herself,” she stuffed her change away and pocketed her wallet. 

“Ah well, it’ll be good to have someone looking after the place while she’s away.” 

Orla noticed that there was a soft look of relief in his face, and she felt a slight sense of disease when she couldn’t place why. “Of course.”

“Hey, you used to spend summers here, I remember,” he said suddenly as she readied herself to leave.

Orla paused as she slid her sunglasses back on, “Yeah, that’s right.”

“You ever see anything up by the cabin?” He said, eyes going wide. 

“See anything?” Orla said, wondering if she wasn’t getting the joke.

“You know,” he gestured vaguely, “Weird stuff, in the woods.”

Orla felt the hairs on her arm prickle, her fingers giving an unintended squeeze on her grip around her keys. “What do you mean, like animals? Ghosts?” She tried to laugh it off. People were superstitious, and although it had been a century since the last wolves came prowling through the night in frontier towns–the fear of the unknown among the wild trees still existed. 

Something shifted in the boy’s face, as he blinked, then re-adjusted–as if suddenly realizing he’d addressed the wrong audience. “Sorry, forget it, I’ve been listening to too many podcasts.”

She gave him an empathetic laugh, looking around the lifeless store, “It definitely helps pass the time.” 

He nodded, but his nervous look failed to leave his face, “Have a safe night,” he said, more like a blessing than a goodbye.

[lesbianlanval]

‘The audience is observing the characters’, ‘the characters realise they’re characters’, ‘they’re all trapped and doomed and dead all along’ boring!! boring! wanky! find a better way to express your sense of powerlessness!

the characters are alive because they matter to you! their fishbowl is infinite and you only portray a glimpse! if they were ever alive at all they never truly die!

[retiredteabag]

Valentines Day Special

Just Like The Books 

Pairing: Shoto Todoroki X Reader

Genre: Fluff

Word Count: ...

Synopsis: Valentines day was only a few days away and Shoto had not yet asked you to be his valentine!! Were you too romantically inclined from all those books you read or was Shoto just trying to make things extra special?

SPECIAL NOTE: This story is being read aloud by Mad July on youtube!!! The link will be posed here very soon, please give the channel all your love!

Link To Video- Here!!!

Link To Channel- Mad July

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

It was less than four days until Valentine’s day and Shoto, Y/n’s boyfriend of a year and a half, had yet to request the spot as their valentine. Pure radio silence on his part. They weren’t worried though. Seriously! Y/n knew Shoto wasn’t the best with romancy stuff- it just didn’t come naturally to him which was fine! Still… everyone in 1A had a valentine. Heck even Mineta had received a love letter! Of course, everyone was painfully aware he had sent it to himself but either way- it was a bit embarrassing- what to have a significant other and them not even ask… whatever- Valentine’s day wasn’t even a big deal anyway!

Despite that- when the little envelope- wax sealed with a fingerprint- showed up in their school bag- they couldn’t help but feel the tiniest bit relieved. The paper was light brown and smelled of burned wax, after struggling for a second to open it without ripping the letter- they read to themselves:

“For every day that passes- I realize how many more I want to spend with you. Is this how Mr. Darcy felt when he was with Elizabeth?”

A smile grew on their face- Having introduced Sho to Pride and Prejudice last summer, it made their heart flutter to hear him bring it up.

“In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.’ It must have been…will you accept my confession?”

-          Your Secret Admirer

Not only did he remember their infatuation with the book, but he quoted the line too… he was just too cute! They folded the letter and gently put it in the box in which they kept all his letters. Only to promptly pull it out and read it a few more times.

The next day- it seemed Shoto was ignoring them. In class they would turn- only for him to look away. This wasn’t like him, usually he had no trouble staring- in fact, in the past Shoto would stare until Y/n was embarrassed, not realizing how hard it was to have him look so intently.

That night- after a whole day of hiding- it appeared that Shoto had been on their balcony. Strange as it is, there was a very obvious glow of a flashlight outside Y/n’s dorm room. Sat in the middle of the balcony’s ledge was another letter, held down by a small box. Y/n took at least a minute to look at the whole set up. It wasn’t crazy or anything- just a bit cute. The flashlight shown right through their curtain so they could see the display. Eventually they reached for the envelope. Wax sealed with a fingerprint just like it had been before.

“’Doubt thou the stars are fire; Doubt that the sun doth move; Doubt truth to be a liar; But never doubt I love.’ I remember when you read Hamlet to me- I remember knowing I loved you when I heard the smile in your voice when you read those words. Do you remember? When you quoted them to me while you braided my hair? Do you remember when you leaned over and said them that last day of summer? I hope you do… Because I can’t stop thinking about them.”

-          Your Secret Admirer

 “Yes” they thought, “Yes, yes of course I do.”

It was a little funny, Sho referring to himself as their “Secret Admirer” when everyone knew they were dating, still- they couldn’t help but find it charming.

By the time they had read the letter for the fourth time- the icy air had chilled their skin considerably. The wind whooshed past their face, but it was hard to leave their spot on the balcony knowing he had been right there. They had already stood before they remembered the box that had been used as a paperweight.

Leaning over to pick it up they ran their hand over the silk exterior. Inside, delicately placed on a velvet stand was a silver ring- a tiny sun on one side and on the other? A tiny moon. It was exactly their ring size and was so beautiful they had half the mind to keep it hidden in a box and not wear it at all. It took a particularly cold gust of wind to bring them back to reality and go inside.

 At lunch the next day Y/n sat with Jirou and Kaminari. Food was the last thing on their mind. All their thoughts were occupied with was the fact that Shoto Todoroki had been wearing a ring in class today. A ring that had tiny, engraved stars all over. They couldn’t even thank him because he was gone when class ended. Y/n had even stood quickly and ran after him to try to go looking but he was nowhere to be found.  

“Hey- what’s wrong?” Mina stared worriedly. Y/n was sure everyone could tell something was up. It wasn’t the fact that they hadn’t been asked anymore-but that Sho seemed to be avoiding them. They couldn’t answer their friend because suddenly Kaminari jumped upright- startling the whole table. Jirou and the man in question were sharing a look. Jirou looking exasperated and shifted her eyes from the bag hung across his chair- then at Y/n and then back at Kaminari.

“Oh! Oh!!” Kaminari clapped his hands as if remembering something. He bent down and pulled out an enveloped from his bag- it had the tiniest of stems attached- little clusters of baby’s breath had been sealed to the letter. They looked up from their table with Jirou, Kaminari and Mina and watched Deku from across the lunchroom nudge Sho with a worried look. He just took a breath in and stared at his lap- a content smile on his lips.

“Just ask me Sho…” They thought. Maybe this was his way of asking. Previously- whenever Shoto wanted attention- he never asked- he would pull on their sleeve or tug on their belt loop… maybe he didn’t know how to ask. Either way- Y/n wanted to thank him for his gestures- to give him a gift too- even if it wasn’t as nice as what he gave to them.

“If you asked anything of me- I believe my heart always replies- ‘As you wish.’ You read to me all about Buttercup’s requests of Westly- I myself have a request of you if it is not too much. Would you be willing to meet with me at my dorm this evening?”

-          Your secret admirer

And when they looked up- Sho was gone from his seat with Deku and Iida.

 Tomorrow was Valentines- and y/n had spent so much time worrying whether Todoroki would ask them that they didn’t even have a gift for him. Needless to say- they skipped final period to go out and get something.

That night Y/n was nervous- “Pull yourself together” they told themselves- they’d dated over a year and yet it was still a bit nerve wracking to see him. They didn’t really get all that dressed up- just changed out of their uniform into something comfortable and made their way to Shotos dorm room. They had his gift in a small bag and while they knew he would love anything they gave him- it didn’t feel like enough. Simply him reflecting on the moments they had shared had warmed Y/n’s heart to no end.

Romance novels were sort of a part of their relationship- a little thing Shoto had never experienced before they had the chance to become close. And when y/n heard such a horrible truth? They made it a mission to read to him all their favorite stories.

They twisted their ring and took a deep breath- “It’s just Sho…” they told themselves before they knocked.

Instantly the door swung open- as if Shoto had waited for them to knock- “You’re here” he said softly- his hair was fluffier than normal, spread across his eyes- he had also changed out of his school uniform.

“Yeah” is all they could muster- eyes falling on his expression. He looked so good even when he didn’t mean to.

He slowly took a step forward and tugged on their waistband. Pulling them into his room. It smelled like wood and varnish inside- within the brief second in the room they spotted the books laying on his desk. Pride and Prejudice- Hamlet- and The Princess Bride were all neatly set in a pile next to his laptop- behind those were some other stories y/n had shown him- The Notebook, Anne of Green Gables and The Phantom of The Opera were set on his wall.

 He grabbed their face- “Y/n” he cleared his throat-

“I’ve been meaning to ask you- and seeing as- “He pulls his finger from their pants elastic- his hand messily grasped at their sleeve before tightly grasping it and then letting it go. He looked at the clock on the wall and faltered- “seeing as- I have three and a half hours before well- you know- I think its best to ask- the thing? You know- Tomorrow is Valentines day and I was wondering if you wanted to stay- with- stay here… with me- until then. So, we could spend the day together?” Somehow his hand had gone back to their sleeve and was shyly tugging on it.

“Oh right!!” he let go. “What I meant was, would you be my Valentine?”

And the hand holding Shotos gift let go somehow and had pulled him in by his neck.

And you know, it really was just like the books. Time slowed down and it was so warm, and they didn’t want to move- so they didn’t.

They pulled away “Yes, yes that would be just perfect.” And then Shoto pulled them back in again by the shoulders and quietly murmured, “oh thank goodness.”

[sk1fanfiction]

the many faces of tom riddle, part 1

-no hate (this is merely my humble opinion) but i strongly dislike tom hughes as tom riddle, and here’s why-

FULL DISCLAIMER THAT THIS IS JUST MY OPINION OF A CHARACTER WHO DOESN’T HAVE THE STRONGEST CANON CHARACTERIZATION, AND THUS ALL THIS IS BASED ON MY CONCEPTUALIZATION.

Just personally, this fancast induces a lot of cognitive dissonance for me, but this is the first time I’ve been able to sit down and articulate properly why it always throws me for a loop.

Now, does he fit the visual/aesthetic archetype?

Yes. I understand completely why people like this fancast. We know that he is studious, intellectual, and (at the time people generally fancast him for) involved in the criminal underground, and he more-or-less fits the physical description.

And, to be clear, it’s not that I don’t think Tom Hughes could play Tom Riddle, it’s that I don’t think the character he plays in the fancasts is a close enough approximation of Tom Riddle.

For me, herein lies the issue.

Tom Riddle’s character is all about the emotions bubbling under the surface. He’s a disaster waiting to happen -- he’s angry, he’s lonely, he wants revenge, he feels empty and hopeless and desperate, he’s irrational...

Not sure what movie/show the Tom Hughes clips come from, but the character he plays isn’t that at all. the character he plays is very self-possessed, poised, self-aware. Reflective. Remorseful (there are clips of him crying when/after he shoots someone). Introspective. 

That, to me, is not Tom Riddle at all. 

Yes, he does deal with moral conflict, but it’s never at the forefront of his mind. It’s not something he’s constantly grappling with. He doesn’t really... brood in this Hamlet-esque way.

Tom doesn’t think. Sure, he plans, he ruminates, he rationalizes a posteriori. But he’s very unaware of himself (in fact, it’s one of his fatal flaws). It’s not that he doesn’t have emotions; just that his internal state is a mystery most of the time.

He doesn’t connect with his own emotions; he is completely estranged from them. Tom cannot tell you whether he is happy or sad (not just because of his pride). He keeps his emotions and moral compass (which are highly uncomfortable things), in a locked little box, swallows the key, and disregards them. And yet, this character connects so deeply with his emotions that even the audience can see exactly what he’s going through. 

(There’s an openness -- an ease of vulnerability -- that Tom Riddle doesn’t have)

The thing about Tom, is that he hates himself just as much as he hates everyone around him. Creating Horcruxes to save himself from death is not an act of self-love, or even narcissism to the extreme; instead, forcibly ripping your own soul seven times is the most literally and metaphorically self-destructive thing a person could possibly do.

"Of the Horcrux, wickedest of magical inventions, we shall not speak nor give direction —"

If we go all the way back to Book 1, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, you’ll remember that the eponymous material (first described in the Epic of Gilgamesh) is capable of producing the Elixir of Life, a magical substance that makes its drinker immortal, as long as you have a steady supply. Not only that, but according to the beliefs of historical alchemists (such as Nicholas Flamel), it was capable of curing any disease. In the alchemical tradition, it symbolized perfection, enlightenment, and heavenly bliss.

If all Tom Riddle was concerned about was prolonging his life, this is the obvious (and better) option.

Here’s the alchemical symbol of the Philosopher’s Stone. Looks kind of like the Deathly Hallows symbol, right? It represents the interplay of the (at the time, believed) four elements of matter -- a sort of periodic table, if you will.

The mature Philosopher’s Stone was believed to be a red stone (for making gold), and the immature one a white stone (for making silver). Rubeus Hagrid and Albus Dumbledore, anyone??

"So he's made himself impossible to kill by murdering other people?" said Harry. "Why couldn't he make a Sorcerer's Stone, or steal one, if he was so interested in immortality?"

And Dumbledore responds:

"But there are several reasons why, I think, a Sorcerer's Stone would appeal less than Horcruxes to Lord Voldemort.”

"While the Elixir of Life does indeed extend life, it must be drunk regularly, for all eternity, if the drinker is to maintain the immortality. Therefore, Voldemort would be entirely dependent on the Elixir, and if it ran out, or was contaminated, or if the Stone was stolen, he would die just like any other man. Voldemort likes to operate alone, remember. I believe that he would have found the thought of being dependent, even on the Elixir, intolerable...”

And while, yes, he did try to steal it rather than make it, I am sure that in the time it took Tom to make all of his Horcruxes, he could have learned enough alchemy to produce it for himself (or wheedled the information out of Nicholas Flamel). While Dumbledore hypothesizes that it’s because Tom hates feeling dependent, this must be irony, because he spends the first book as a literal parasite, the next three as a virtually helpless creature, and the remainder still reliant on his Horcruxes.

"Well, you must understand that the soul is supposed to remain intact and whole. Splitting it is an act of violation, it is against nature."

But, like me, Dumbledore is making guesses at Tom Riddle’s internal state, and in this case, I think, he’s made an oversight. Horcruxes make him equally as dependent as the Philosopher’s Stone would have. It’s been established in canon that you cannot make yourself immortal without help; either you rely on the continued existence of your Horcruxes or your supply of the Elixir.

And while the Elixir represents the positive aspects of eternal life, like renewal, rebirth, and the cyclical nature of the universe (see above the ouroboros of Cleopatra the Alchemist, one of the four women who knew how to make the philosopher's stone), a Horcrux is antithetical to life. It represents disorder, and once the creator of Horcruxes dies, they are unable to move on from Limbo -- shut out of the cycle. Harry describes Tom’s mangled soul as looking like a flayed and mutilated baby -- permanently immature and stagnant.

This theme of destruction is furthered by the Golden Trio’s discussion on how to reverse the process:

Ron: "Isn't there any way of putting yourself back together?"

Hermione: "Yes, but it would be excruciatingly painful."

Harry: "Why? How do you do it?"

Hermione: "Remorse. You've got to really feel what you've done. There’s a footnote. Apparently the pain of it can destroy you. I can’t see Voldemort attempting it somehow, can you?"

With this in mind, we can surmise that Tom is either (a) impatient, which we know he is not (b) there was some deeper reason for favouring Horcruxes -- so, yes, I believe that either metaphorically or literally, this was self-harming behaviour.

He takes on the name of Lord Voldemort because he hates himself, Tom Marvolo Riddle. He hates the Muggle part of himself so much that he’s willing to tear apart his entire being. 

"Voldemort, is my past, present, and future, Harry Potter..."

If that isn’t renouncement of himself, I don’t know what is. He was clearly not born Voldemort.

While of course, this does NOT excuse ANY of his actions, I find it vastly implausible that the likes of Malfoy, Mulciber, Carrow, etc... would have been welcoming in any way, shape or form to an assumed ‘Mudblood’ in scruffy secondhand robes from a London orphanage, and as such, indoctrinated him into his fanatic belief in blood-purity via antagonizing him. 

(Imagine Hermione, but poor and without parents, in the 1930s/40s. She would not have been treated well in Slytherin, either.)

Children are more vicious than you think. And while Tom probably gave as good as he got at Wool’s Orphanage (and was possibly an active aggressor himself), Hogwarts wouldn’t have been a level playing-field. (I’ll talk a bit about this and the significance of the Gaunt Ring in Part 2).

In other terms, I think Tom was bullied for having dubious origins. That’s often the swiftest way to radicalize someone, and would have left Tom with a crippling sense of self-hatred that I don’t think he would have even picked up from the orphanage.

(And it’s possibly this early experience with relational aggression that results in his constant need to be on the offensive/defensive, distrust of others, and fear of vulnerability. To me, this is an archetypal response of someone who was a past victim of bullying.)

Why else would an extremely powerful half-blood subscribe so strongly to those beliefs? (Rather than discriminating via amount of raw power or something -- because what Tom is immensely proud of when Dumbledore meets him is his ability, not his parentage). But I digress.

Now, Tom Riddle is never, ever quietly menacing like this. The mask is either completely on or completely off. We never see this character angry. Tom Riddle, when the mask slips off, is fury incarnate. Anger is the one emotion he doesn’t find weak; the one emotion he’s completely and utterly honest with.

Besides, that brings me to my next point. Tom’s not quite so austere. In fact, he’s quite witty, and often quite pleased with himself.

Just look at the difference in their body language. Tom has much more fluidity (he’s circling Harry, the head-tilt, the eyebrows move and he smiles a bit) than the other character, who has so much tension. Yes, they’re both menacing, but in completely different ways. Tom is comfortable with his actions, no matter how shitty they are. This other guy doesn’t like doing what he’s doing, but he’s going to do it, anyway.

Contrasted with the above, Tom’s unawareness of himself is such that we end up with a character who has a bizarre mix of extreme self-hatred and high self-esteem -- he always believes he is in the right -- in this case, doing Salazar Slytherin’s noble work -- while going to extreme, self-destructive lengths, such as tearing himself in half at the mere age of sixteen.

So, sorry... I kind of get the appeal, but... I don’t like the fancast. 

(More unpopular opinions coming at 5:30 PM EDT tomorrow!)

[troped-fanfic-challenge]

JATP ROUND TWO FICS!

We received seventeen (17!!!!!) Fics for the Second Round of the JATP TROPED Event! These fics were fluff-filled and super fun, and we loved to see how you all challenged yourselves with the theme, tropes, and pairings!

Please try to read as many fics as you can! Take some notes, leave some kudos/comments for the authors, and help us vote on the winners!

Voting will be open until May 14th at 11:59pm EST! Vote here:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BZ3W5FT

Please rank ALL the fics in each question based on the USE of each trope, the theme, the fics overall, and the two bonus polls (best setting + most unique pairing)! Your #1 spot should be the best answer and your last spot the least likely answer for the question. The Best Overall Poll will determine who will be writing in the Final Round! We ask that you please rank EVERY fic, so we can avoid technical difficulties! A reminder that you must include a Tumblr or AO3 username/URL, and you may only vote once, we will NOT count multiple votes by the same person.

————

Okay, Campers, Rise and Shine! (Rated T) [Julie x Luke]

Summary: When Reggie launches a particularly ill-advised prank war at HGC Ranch, Luke's fully prepared to take it in stride.

When the days start looping, though, he begins to suspect that this might all be a little bit above his head.

In other words, he's at least 78% sure that the time loop isn't a direct result of Reggie's pranks.

Maybe 77%.

Oh, well.

At least he's not in it alone.

(The Groundhog Day meets Gravity Falls meets Summer Camp meets The Author's Own Distaste For Prank Wars AU that no one asked for. Ever. At all.)

Starting To Forget (Just What Summer Ever Meant To You) (Not Rated) [Flynn x Carrie]

Summary: Last summer didn't end on a positive note for Carrie Wilson - she and her girlfriend broke up on the last night of camp, and she's been miserable since. But it seems that the universe is intent on having her fix that this summer. Even if that means she has to live through the same day over and over and over again until she does.

Creative B.S. Was No More, Was No Less (Look Around, You're Gonna Miss What You Found) (Rated T) [Alex x Luke, Flynn x Reggie]

Summary: The midnight men move again

Don't know when

Best friends forever

In trouble again

Here's to you, here's to me

Over the rafters and we're free

--- Over the Rafters, Rick Schiffman

***

Alex and Luke go undercover on a mission to a summer camp in order to find a talisman that could endanger the camp and all the kids. While there, they bond with the kids and make peace with the fact that they broke up.

While Alex and Luke are away, Flynn accidentally fucks with time.

bitch but like romantically (Rated T) [Flynn x Carrie]

Summary: The dining hall’s exactly the same as it has been for two mornings now, and Flynn doesn’t hesitate to poke Willie twice on the nose and whisper “pancake” on her way past their seat.

His eyes widen and he whips his head around to follow them, excitement glimmering in their eyes.

“Really?” they blurt. Flynn rolls her eyes and nods.

~

or: flynn gets stuck in a time loop. {for troped jatp round 2}

down by the bay (Rated T) [Alex x Willie]

Summary: Over time, Camp Phantom has simply become known as a selective summer camp: one that took only the kids that Caleb saw promise in. And Caleb wasn’t exactly lying. He really did take only the ones he saw promise in, he simply looked for different traits than others might.

For example, say, hypothetically, a boy who could see the future. Or, hypothetically, a girl who could interact with ghosts. Or, hypothetically, a boy who could summon objects to him with a simple thought. Or, and this is completely hypothetical mind you, a boy who could manipulate time.

Those might be some traits that Caleb saw promise in. Just, like, as examples.

Time will tell (But only if you do it right) (Rated T) [Flynn x Carrie]

Summary: Carrie had been acting a little off for a week or so, but Flynn was pretty much known for seeing something in nothing, and that was probably what they were doing then. If something was going on, Carrie would tell her eventually.

OR

Who knew all it took was a little bit of miscommunication to mess up time itself?

and so it begins (Rated T) [Bobby x Reggie]

Summary: It’s the first day of their second week at Camp Carolling (they’re spending an entire month, and they’re getting paid to be there!) when Reggie gets a little lost in the woods. During this misadventure into the woods, he finds an egg shaped rock, an inhabited cabin that may or may not be riddled with signs, and something that might be magic. He probably doesn't get paid enough to discover magic.

or, when they were thirteen years old, four boys met at camp carolling and eventually became a band that almost became something legendary. now, all four boys are coming back as counselors, three boys in one band and one boy in his own solo act.

so begins the reunion, though it doesn't go how any of them imagine.

Porcupine Day (Rated T) [Bobby x Ray x Rose]

Summary: It’s been fifteen years since Trevor broke up with Ray and Rose and they’re... not fine, but managing. But when Trevor to adds insult to injury and buys the camp across the lake from the one they once owned together, the two camps become locked in a bitter rivalry. With neither side willing to set aside their pride and work out their issues, the universe decides to settle their fates itself.

Day After Day (After Day After Day) (Rated T) [Alex x Willie]

Summary: When Alex met Willie just after their senior year of high school, they spent a wonderful three months dating before their relationship ended in a blaze of glory. Now, four years later, they meet again as counselors at a summer camp. The only problem? Alex keeps reliving their first day together. The day that Luke had declared "Prank Day."

This is not how Alex pictured his summer going.

clocks move faster (it's all we're after) (Rated G) [Julie x Luke]

Summary: Julie likes it when her friends are happy, so when she realizes she's stuck in a time loop, she uses her knowledge to make sure everything works out for everyone... except she conveniently forgets to factor herself (and Luke) into the mix.

Touch of Magic (Not Rated) [Alex x Luke]

Summary: When everything stands in Luke and Alex’s way of getting to be with the people they love, they have to repeat the day over and over until they can get the happily ever after that they want.

The play's the thing (that goes wrong) (Rated T) [Alex x Willie]

Summary: Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow creeps in this petty pace from day to day for Macbeth, but not so for Alex and the production of Hamlet that he is directing and starring in. And while he's stuck repeating the day of the performance over and over, mishaps of all kinds befall the cast.

anything, anything (for another run with you) (Rated T) [Alex x Willie]

Summary: The moment Alex steps foot in Camp Greenwood, he knows that this summer is a bad idea.

He knows it as soon as he sees tan skin, long hair, and a tie-dyed crop top at the check-in table.

Willie.

-

the camp counselor/exes/prank war/time loop fic of your dreams (unless you read all of the other troped round 2 fics lmao)

there’s a glorious sunrise, dappled with the flickers of light (Rated T) [Julie x Luke]

Summary: What comes next happens in slow motion. Luke’s foot catches on the last rung of the ladder. Julie watches as he stumbles a step forward, barely catching himself before falling on his face. The ladder clatters to the floor below. The trapdoor, no longer propped open by it, falls closed with a loud thunk, the lock clicking into place. They’re stuck.

“Luke!” she exclaims loudly. “Look what you did!” Julie drops to her knees in front of the trap door, desperately trying to fit her fingers between the wood and the stone to pry it open again. Of course it doesn’t work.

“What?” he snaps back. “I wouldn’t be up here in the first place if it weren’t for you trying to fuck us over.”

or: ex-best friends Luke and Julie, working as camp counselors at rivaling camps, find themselves stuck in a time loop

the daughter of apollo (Rated T) [Julie x Luke]

Summary: (the JATP x Camp Half Blood AU that nobody asked for)

maybe the world isn't ending (maybe it's been postponed) (Rated G) [Julie x Luke]

Summary: Alex runs his fingers through Willie’s hair. “I think it’s best to just leave them to their own prank war at this point. Let’s not forget that time Julie put hot sauce in the coffee pot and my mouth was on fire for an entire hour.”

“You’re exaggerating, Alex-”

“I most certainly am not,” Alex cuts Reggie off.

“Or how about the time Luke tried to put glitter in Julie’s bed,” Carrie joins in, “but got my bed instead? I can appreciate some glitter, but even I know when enough is enough.”

“Suffice it to say,” Willie finishes after they’ve passed around a dozen or so more memories of pranks from the summer, “we’re all done being your collateral damage. Whatever Julie has planned for you tomorrow, Luke, you’re on your own.”

-

It's the last day of camp and Julie has one more prank planned for Luke. He just doesn't know what it is.

Here We Go Again (Rated T) [Julie x Luke]

Summary: Julie blinked as she stared at the place Euterpe had disappeared. What did that even mean? What journey? Old places and lost faces? What was she talking about? But before she could dwell on the questions swirling around in her mind, the sky full of stars began to move, shifting in place and descending until they were all around her. Julie felt her feet leave the ground as she rose up and up. One star in particular was burning brighter than the others, growing bigger in front of her.

It grew and grew, until the light was blinding and Julie had to throw a hand up against the harsh light. She closed her eyes as the light surrounded her and then she was falling. Falling down, down, down.

[marvelsimp]

The New Kid: Friend or Foe

The New Kid Masterlist

Ch. 5

Genre: Fluff? Pairing: Peter & Lesbian!reader, Avengers & Reader, (eventual Wanda x Reader it’s a slow burn) Warnings: violence(training), blood, stabbed, strong language Description: Y/n is getting used to living in the tower and makes an unlikely friend Reader’s Powers: Healer, telepath, and empath. Word Count: 2278

“You can’t pull your punches, Y/n/n.  In a real fight, you’re gonna have to fight for your life.”

“You know my whole power set is pacifist.”

“That’s why I have to train you,” said the slightly annoyed red-haired woman. “Now get your head in the game and let’s go again.”

You scoffed; you were frustrated that you had to do this.  That you had to learn how to hurt people.  You took a moment to stretch and you both went back into your fighting stances to start again.

You went to punch her face, but she dodged, she then raised her leg and tried to kick but you caught her foot.  She quickly got her foot free before you could do anything with it.  This went on for a while, you both got some good punches and kicks.  You did land on your ass a few times, but you got up each time and went back to it.

“Time out”

Thank god.

Steve walked in. Oh god no. You knew what was coming, you were gonna have to fight Steve.  You very dramatically fell on the floor and spread out. “Come on, Nat. This is creeping up on child abuse,” you laugh.

You earned a chuckle out of both of them.  Steve stood above you and offered you his hand to which you accepted. Nat went onto showing you some simple moves to help you fight someone bigger than you after about an hour you finally got to go and get a shower and really start your day.

The last week and a half passed by quickly.  Peter stayed at the tower for the first few nights but went back home once school started.  But he would come after patrol and he still video called during homework, like usual.  

Most of your time was spent in one of the labs.  You have been helping Tony with one of his suits as a way for him to familiarize you with the machines and programs.  Bruce did less hands-on work he worked on calculations for his own projects and did some work for SHEILD.  You went down to the Med Lab a few times to give Dr. Cho some blood samples or some information about your powers.  She took a small sample of skin, fat, and muscle from your thigh, but it healed within a minute like nothing ever happened.  

You also spent some time in the gym, which you hated but the others made it a little more fun.  You were really only doing it to get ready for training with Nat.  When you first went in you had no clue what you were doing.  Sam, Bucky, and Steve were doing some training exercise when you entered but Sam quickly saw your very clueless face and walked over to help.

“Hey, kid.”

“Hi.”

“I’m assuming you have no clue what you’re doing?  You look as clueless as I would if I went up to the Tech Lab.”

“That obvious?”

He let out a chuckle.  Sam gave you some stretches to warm up and then showed you how to use some of the machines.  He gave you advice on how long to use each machine and told you that if you needed anything just yell.  The rest of your time in the gym you watched the three men do whatever they were doing.  Sam and Bucky’s bickering was very entertaining and so was Steve yelling at them to focus. You were there for around an hour every day until Nat started to train you.  You very quickly learned that you grew muscle faster than the average person and you weren’t sore for very long.  

When you weren’t in the lab or the gym you were probably in your room playing a game or you were talking to Wanda while she was making a meal. “So, are you the assigned cook?” you joked.  You’d only ever seen Wanda prepare meals since you got here.

Wanda just shook her head, “Not really.  I just enjoy it, so I usually am the one to cook.  But Bruce sometimes cooks and so do Steve and Bucky. When I first joined I helped Steve add a bit of flavor to his meals.  Thank god I didn’t live in the 40s.” She laughed a little, you love her laugh and smile, they seem to make the room a little brighter.

You weren’t a cook yourself so you didn’t help too much, but you would talk to her and get her something if she needed it but usually, she’d just use her powers.  

That’s really the only time that you see Wanda, most of her day is spent training.  She’s Strange’s apprentice.  You still haven’t met him, for someone who can make portals you’d think he’d pop in at some point.  You asked Wanda about seeing him, but she told you that you need to be invited or it needs to be something important.  She warned against pissing him off because it takes a while to get back on his good side.  But she told you she’d mention it to him.

You got into a rhythm of training, breakfast, tech lab, lunch, med lab, tech lab, supper, and Video games, the library, or more time in the tech lab.  It was rarely thrown off.  Every few days someone would go out for a mission or return from one.  Nat only missed two training sessions, so Bucky stood in.  You enjoyed training with Nat, but Bucky made sure to put some fun into it.   At first, he seemed so cold but after some warming up, he really was just a big Teddy Bear.  He can still be an ass though.

Your days stayed on this loop for another week until Thor returned with Loki.  No one fully trusted Loki so Stark ended up putting a tracker on him that Wanda enchanted so that Loki couldn’t remove or deactivate it… he was not impressed.  Well, he was, just not pleased.

“You must be Lady Y/n,” Loki smirked.

Thor whacked the back of Loki’s head. “Be good,” he whispered.

Loki just let out a mischievous laugh, “Don’t worry brother.”  Loki turned back to you, “So you’re the one who discovered me? I wouldn’t expect a mere mortal would be able to find me out... not even THE Scarlet Witch did.”

“You’re impressed?” you scoffed. “Or maybe a little jealous.” You knew that he’s the god of mischief and you aren’t gonna deal with any of his shit, you’ve got enough going on.

“No,” he defended, “Just interested.”

“I’m a telepath and empath,” you explained, “and a healer.”

“Oh! So, you cheated!”

“What do you mean cheat? Your thoughts were so loud you were giving me a headache!”

“I will get my revenge.”

He’s going to so annoying, isn’t he?

Loki was surprisingly quiet over the next week until you went to the tower’s library.  

The library itself is a whole floor, it has a copy of every book you could think of.  It even has a librarian who is almost constantly putting up new releases.  It’s a bookworm’s dream.  

You wanted to find a physics book or two and you weren’t against finding a new queer fantasy book.  You returned your books and asked Mx. Anderson where you could find what you were looking for and they quickly gave you directions and suggestions.

You found and picked out a few physics books and then made your way to the young adult section. The queer books have a rainbow sticker on the spine.  You picked out a few then headed to leave, you walked into the “classics” section and there was Loki on a couch reading with a pile of books next to him.

“Hey,” you smiled.

“Hello,” said the Asgardian who didn’t even look up from his book.

You bent down a little to sew the cover of the surprisingly thin book. “Oh, you’re reading Shakespeare!” He was reading Hamlet.  “My favorite is Romeo and Juliet. Have you read it yet?” He finally looked up from his book.  “No,” he seemed a little confused, “But I did read a few others of his work and I think that is in my stack.” He turned to find it. “It has such odd language compared to the rest of you.”

“They were written like four hundred years ago,” you explained, sitting next to him.

“Ah, language does change quite quickly.”

You nodded in agreement.

“What are you reading?” he said pointing at your stack of books.

“Oh, uh um. These big books are physics books, and these smaller ones are fantasy romance.”

“Hmm, you don’t seem to be one who reads romance.”

“Well, I’m really more into it for the fantasy elements but I do enjoy a good romance.”

He gave you a smirk,” Besides Romeo and Juliet and any of Shakespeare’s works. Do you have any recommendations for me?”

You went on to recommend some classics and some more recent books.  He listened to every word and asked a few questions.  You didn’t stay long; you were tired and just wanted to dive into one of your books.  You would usually be in the lab at this time, but it was nice to have a few hours to yourself before dinner.  

“Knock, knock,” said a voice at your door.

“Hm?” you looked up. “Peter!” you set down your book and ran to him for a hug.  It had been a while since Peter had come to the tower.  He hadn’t even been introduced to Loki, formally that is.  ‘How’s my favorite bug!”

Peter let out a laugh, “Good! You’re acting like we don’t talk every day.”

“Video calls and in-person are completely different things! Anyways what are you doing here?”

“It’s Thursday aka movie night.”

“Oh, yeah!”

You and Peter walked out of your room and went to the common space to eat dinner.

“Lady Y/n,” said a booming voice.

“Yes, Thor!”

“Would you and the Man of Spiders like to sit next to me and my brother?”

“Yes, we’d love that,” you laughed.

“So, you’re telling me that you’ve never had ice cream!” you practically yelled at Loki.

Everyone was surprised with how comfortable you and the trickster were with each other, especially Peter.  

“What’s with you and him?” Peter whispered.

“We bonded over books,” you whispered back. “Your girlfriend would like him.”

Peter smiled, he’s pleased that you’re getting along with everyone and most of all that you’re happy.  

The rest of the night was nice, it was just like the last two movie nights.  Dinner, talking, movie, and then Peter had to leave to finish his homework or go on patrol.  

The next week was just like you had gotten there but Loki had decided that it was a perfect time to really embrace his title.  He started to pull little pranks, nothing too bad or really anything that went beyond a little annoyance.  Or at least he didn’t until today.  

It was Saturday so you slept in because you thankfully did not have to go to training.  You were about to leave when you noticed a box on your desk.  It was about the size of a backpack.  So, you decided to open it and when you looked inside there was a black cat with emerald eyes.  Who got you a cat? You like cats and like…thanks?  But still, who would get you a cat out of nowhere? You picked up the cat and as soon as you did it started to transform, and you felt a sharp pain in your side.  The cat continued to transform into of course… Loki.  The raven hair man quickly sprinted out of your room to the common area.

You looked down and there was a fucking kitchen knife in your side.

“You bitch! I like this shirt!” you yelled while running out of your room.

When you entered the common room, Loki was nowhere to be seen.  But Nat, Bucky, and Steve were there.  “Where did he go?”

“Who?” Nat turned around and saw the knife in your side.  Her eyes widened, then she looked fucking pissed.  “What the fuck! Are you okay?”  The men's emotions followed the same track.

“Oh yeah,” you said nonchalantly.  You pulled the bloody knife out of your side.  Some blood soaked into your shirt’s fabric, but you weren’t worried.  But you do like this shirt… that bitch is gonna pay.

“Do you want me to kill him?” said the brunette man bluntly.

“Don’t worry, I got this.” You rushed into the elevator and told Friday to take you to Loki.

The elevator lowered to the Library. Of course.

“Sorry, Mx. Anderson!” you yelled while running by their desk. “There will be yelling and possibly blood shed!”  You already know where he is.  He’s in the classics.  

There he was sitting on the couch, nonchalantly reading the Iliad.

“You’re a fucking bitch you know?  I really like this shirt!” you waved the knife in your hand around.

“Oh please.  You’re a healer, you’ll be fine.”

You crossed your arms, “LOKI. My fucking shirt.”

He raised his arms in defense. “It just a blood and a slight rip.”

You walked up to Loki and took off your shirt, thankfully you were wearing an undershirt that you didn’t care about.  You handed the shirt to him.  “Fix it then.”

He accepted the shirt and scoffed. “Fine.” He waved his hand over the shirt and it was now good as new.

“See, that was easy.” You grabbed the shirt and started to walk away.  “And don’t stab me again! I think two assassins would very happily kill you!”

NEXT CHAPTER 

Ice Cream or Blood

[invisibleicewands]

His beard bloomed and his hair sprang forth, like a riot of corkscrews, during lockdown. Now Michael Sheen sweeps on to the National Theatre’s Olivier stage in the manner of an Old Testament prophet descending from Mount Snowdon – or must we call it Yr Wyddfa?

Sheen is best known as a great mimic who played Chris Tarrant in last year’s TV series about the Who Wants To Be A Millionaire coughing scandal, Quiz, and Tony Blair in the 2006 film The Queen opposite Helen Mirren – plus David Frost in Peter Morgan’s play and film Frost/Nixon and Brian Clough in the The Damned United movie.

Here though he takes on the role of the narrator in Lyndsey Turner’s bittersweet revival of Dylan Thomas’s verse drama written for radio in 1954 – re-imagined here in a care home. [...]

Looking pallid and paunchy in his creased shirt and saggy trousers, Sheen takes the role of the story’s narrator, made famous by Richard Burton. Only here, Sheen relates the tale not to the audience but to his father, whose memories have been robbed by Alzheimer’s.Inebriated by the whisky he keeps hidden in his jacket, Sheen stumbles eagerly through the verse as if making it up as he goes along – painting pictures of people (and their dreams) in the Carmarthenshire port that lies ‘fast, and slow, asleep’. [...] The care home setting does feel cheerless at first, but it’s a clever way of focusing the rambling yarn. And furniture on casters – including a shop counter, steaming stove and kitchen table, set with multiple cloths to denote different homes – add a sense of magic and playfulness.Nor could you wish for a more loquacious, richer narrator than hirsute, woody-voiced Sheen, who looks like he’s been training outside an off-licence. I just wish it had been bookended with silence rather than someone else’s words. DailyMail

[...] On the circular stage of the reconfigured, socially distanced Olivier auditorium, Brown’s character patiently sets about starting up the day’s routine with the residents drifting in to sit and talk and stare into space. But the temperature climbs with the unexpected arrival of Mr. Jenkins’ son Owain (Michael Sheen), whose short-fuse exasperation turns swiftly to anger when his father cannot or will not communicate with him. Calmed by the staff, he and his father begin looking at an old family photograph album and Thomas’s original text takes over, now presented as a portrait of the village of Mr. Jenkins’ not-quite-forgotten past. [...] Whenever it is staged — it was last seen at the National 25 years ago — the chief problem is the lack of momentum. Characters’ (in)actions lack consequences, which makes it hard to engage with them except on a momentary basis. Owen and Turner’s new frame seeks to address that directly by making Sheen’s character not an inert, impartial observer but a man desperate to tell the story to and with his father in order to connect, to awaken his father’s distracted mind. Previously neutral descriptions are thus charged up, which intermittently animates proceedings. [...] The ultimate moment of connection between father and son is affecting but the production’s dangerous proximity to unearned sentimentality is also visible. And in the foregoing hour and three-quarter running time (with no interval), the sustained inertia grows wearing. There’s welcome tenderness aplenty but, when it comes to storytelling, there’s too much telling and, alas, too little story. Variety

                                                                                                                             Michael Sheen is terrific in Dylan Thomas’s linguistic tour de force, which remains undimmed by the years [...] The whole home thing is a nice enough idea that ambles on agreeably… but it’s a thrill when the play proper starts: it feels like the air suddenly fizzes and crackles when Sheen’s narrator introduces us to Llareggub on one ‘starless and Bible-black’ night. Ultimately, the care home business feels minor and diversionary, a framework to (kind of) explain why the poem is being performed. But it doesn’t really have a payoff or purpose beyond the performance of the poem itself. I'm not sure anyone really needs my opinion on I ‘Under Milk Wood’ as Thomas wrote it. But for what it’s worth I think it’s brilliant – time hasn’t dimmed it, his language remains bracingly wild, elemental and weird. And this is a very good, detailed performance of it – Sheen is impassioned and urgent, like he’s electrified by the surging flanguage; the cast of mostly older actors tend to get more playful roles, and seem to be having terrific fun. [...] You bought your tickets to see Michael Sheen doing ‘Under Milk Wood’ and you’ve got Michael Sheen doing ‘Under Milk Wood’ – nobody’s going to feel disappointed. Time Out

[...] Sheen – shaggy, bearded and full of humanity – leads as the narrator but this is really an ensemble show, animated with amusing turns by Siân Phillips, Cleo Sylvestre and Ifan Huw Dafydd among others. It comes with an inventive framing device (additional material is written by Siân Owen) in which Sheen plays the son of Richard Jenkins (Karl Johnson), who is losing his bearings when he is visited by Jenkins Junior in his nursing home. [...] While this is a charming production that bewitches, it begs the question of why a drama that is so consciously retreating into the past is revived now, and how it speaks to our pandemic landscape. Thomas draws a picture of a place steeped in stasis and saturated in nostalgia. Time has stood still here, as Thomas makes clear in the symbolism of the village clock’s frozen hands, and it arguably represents his yearning for a bygone world after the second world war. This production seems entirely conscious of its retreat into the past and it resembles a lost world that is both comforting and jarring after the horrors of the pandemic. The Guardian

To hear Michael Sheen deliver Under Milk Wood feels akin to witnessing Gielgud's Hamlet or Rylance's Rooster Byron. It is nothing short of theatrically seminal.As hoped, the poetry is magnificent. He orchestrates Dylan Thomas's posthumously performed masterpiece as a maestro conductor, all waving hands and syncopated rhythm. There are times when his words seem to literally hang in the air, leaving the socially distanced Olivier audience hypnotised. I could listen to him say "Now behind the eyes and secrets of the dreamers in the streets rocked to sleep by the sea…" on loop forever. [...] The concept doesn't always feel completely cohesive - it seems strange that everyone so willingly joins the performance when Sheen's character is so cold and skittish with them initially - but Lyndsey Turner's beautifully choreographed in-the-round production is convincing enough to override such niggles.The metanarrative also has the noticeable effect of causing Sheen to speak as if he is conjuring Dylan's words on the spot. This lends both an immediacy to the language and also a purpose to its rich imagery - after all, here is a man desperately trying to paint pictures in his father's addled imagination. Under Milk Wood is in some sense a victim of its own familiarity, and Turner's staging lends a much-needed freshness over reverence. [...] Whatsonstage

A charismatic Michael Sheen is part showman, part shaman in this staging of Dylan Thomas’s 1954 radio play, conjuring a Welsh town into lyrical, beguiling life with mostly older actors on a bare stage. Lyndsey Turner’s production marks a triumphant reopening for the National’s Olivier Theatre, where the audience now sits on all sides, a configuration that lends itself to simple production values and a deeper communion between actors and onlookers.It begins oddly, though, in the middle-distant past with Sheen as an angry, wild-bearded writer visiting his demented father (Karl Johnson, heartbreaking) in a care home. Thomas’s poetry is the only way to reach the old man, and his fellow residents are duly summoned to incarnate the townsfolk of the author’s fictional Llareggub (“bugger all” backwards). It’s an awkward framing device with a serious point: to stress the importance of community and memory, and salute the talents and rich lives of elder generations. But what a lovely, bittersweet spell this show casts. Sheen, like Richard Burton and Anthony Hopkins, grew up in Port Talbot, an hour from Laugharne where Thomas lived and partially wrote the play. He has the contours of the language and the landscape in his head, and an orator’s relish for Thomas’s evocative phrasing. We first see Llareggub asleep, “starless and bible black” and meet its inhabitants in their dreams. [...] Eveningstandard