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eluciis · 10 months ago

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A shot in the heart doesn't make it unbreak || Dean Winchester

Notes:

This is reposted from my ao3 (Elucii)

Hello! I've been thinking of starting this story for a while and finally decided to give it a go. I know the child trope isn't everyone's favorite choice for supernatural, but I'm throwing my hand at it anyway and will try to update every week. I admit that it's fully self indulgent, but I hope you enjoy anyway! Kudos and comments are always welcome but not expected.

TW: Minor character death, canon typical violence, Zachariah being a giant piece of shit.

Story title comes from Hayloft II by Mother Mother. Highly recommend it, because it captures some great emotions that'll relate to the story at some point.

The face claim for Jenna Reed is Ellen Pompeo (think early seasons of Greys Anatomy)

The face claim for Nora Reed-Winchester is Katherine Langford (think 13 reasons why)

-Luci

Lifeless.

The entire house looks lifeless, as if it has been devoid of life for weeks. In reality, it has only been about six days. Nora had been in the hospital for four and with her uncle the other two while the police finished their investigation. It wasn't overly messy (aside from her mother's room) and it hasn't been long enough for dust to accumulate, but that isn't what made it feel lifeless. It's the absence of her mother. The lack of scrubs strung throughout the house from a week of working, no humming in the kitchen, and the missing scent of her favorite candles burning. It's an empty shell of a home without her.

Nora ignores the deep chill that settles over her and heads upstairs towards her moms room for the first time since her death. She remembers her uncle mentioning that they had a forensic company come in to deep clean the room, but it doesn't make much of a difference in her eyes. She had already seen the damage first hand and no amount of chemicals or scrubbing could erase that from her memory. She's right, because when she opens the door the scent of heavy chemicals hits her before she can fully take a step into the room. She takes in the sight before her and notices just how much is missing. The broken side tables, the dresser with the shattered mirror, and her mom's favorite blue rug. It would frustrate her more, but the dark stain on the hardwood floor catches her attention instead. It's smaller than she remembers and she knows they tried their best to clean the mess, but they didn't try hard enough. If anyone else were to see the stain, they may assume that it's red wine or spilt paint. Not Nora. She knows that spot is where her mother bled to death, where the blood seeped into the wood and would stay there for years to come.

_____________

Nora startles awake to the sound of glass shattering. She's still drowsy when she pulls her sleepy body out of bed and reaches her bedroom door, but rouses back to full consciousness at the sound of her mom yelling at someone down the hall. She practically falls through the door from the speed of her sprint and freezes at the sight of an older balding man towering over her mom. He has one hand in her blonde hair, gripping her tightly as tears stream down her face. Nora lets out a gasp and he turns to her with a creepy grin on his face before he holds a finger up as if to shush her. Whatever he does works, because she can't even get a squeak out.

"I'll get to you in a moment," The man says. Nora sees her mom struggle against him when he says this and he clicks his tongue at her disapproval, "Calm down, Jenna. We both know I can't kill her, she has Winchester blood. We might need her later on,"

"Leave her out of this," Jenna hisses.

"Tell me where he is and I'll think about it,"

"I haven't seen him in years!" She exclaims.

He gives her this look, one that shows that he knows she's lying, "Are you sure about that?"

"I only saw him in passing. I didn't even talk to him,"

"Let's try that again," He says calmly. He draws back his arm, large and fisted, and strikes her. She lets out a cry and blood is pouring from her nose, but he's still gripping her hair with no reaction.

"Let me go and I'll call him. I'll tell him I want to meet up,"

"Smart but not smart enough. Do you think I'd just walk into a trap like that?" He laughs.

"I'll tell him that I still love him," Jenna explains. Her voice is shaking, but even Nora can tell that it's genuine. She does still love him, "He'll think it's just drinks,"

"No, he wouldn't." He says, "Thanks for being a giant waste of time,"

In the blink of a second the man is wielding a silver blade. One second his hands are empty and the next the blade appears out of thin air. It feels as if the stuffy air is suffocating Nora, all she can think about is her moms bloody face and the fact that they’re both going to die. They’re both going to die and she’s standing here, gasping for air like a fish out of water. She can’t just stand and let it happen.

Nora doesn’t know how to fight. She’s never been in a fight and she learned everything she knows from crappy cop shows on tv. She knows she can’t take on a man four times her size, she can't even wrestle with her best friend without tapping out immediately and he's nearly the same size as her. She does know that everyone has similar weaknesses. That much she knows. She’s rethinking her choices as she runs at the man, because he looks like a brick wall between her and her mom. She isn't a quitter though and follows through with a hard kick behind his knee. He buckles forward from the unexpected force and she takes the advantage to reach for the blade's handle.

For two seconds, two very meager hopeful seconds, she thinks she may have managed to get a good grip on the blade. But the hope fades just as quick when he pulls the blade away, slicing her hand open in the process. With the flick of his wrist, Nora flies across the room. She crashes into the wall with a sickening crack and she isn't sure where exactly the sound came from. Electrifying pain bursts through her body in white hot waves and it's hard to pinpoint where it's originating from. She attempts to pull herself back up again, but the applying pressure to her arm makes her buckle with a loud cry.

Everything feels blurry around the edges, as white stars dot her vision. She sees her mom bloody and screaming out, but the brick wall of a man crouches in front of her and blocks her line of sight. He's uglier up close.

“You’re lucky I can’t kill you. Not yet. Her though,” He waves the blade towards Jenna, “She’s fair game,"

Nora gathers the strength she has and pulls herself forward just enough to spit in his face. It lands perfectly between his eyes, "Fuck you,"

"Big mistake," He glares. With a twist of his hand, she can't breathe. Her lungs are constricting and she's gasping, flailing her hands towards him and digging her nails into the first piece of flesh she feels.

"Please" She chokes out.

"That's more like it," He grins.

The pressure in her chest loosens and she falls limp while heaving oxygen into her sore lungs. She's never really thought about breathing in depth, but she is now and she knows not to take it for granted. Her breathing finally slows and she has splinters under her nails from digging at the hardwood floor for stability. He's still watching her with a bored expression as if stealing the air from a teenager's lungs is a normal occurrence for him. His fat fingers reach out and grasp her chin and he forces her to focus her attention on his face. He seems pleased with the watery eyes, splotchy cheeks, and blue tinted lips.

"Now, if you're ready to listen. I can kill you if I really wanted to, then bring you back and do it all over again. But I think that was a good lesson, right?" He questions.

"Yes," Nora whispers. Her throat is raw and burns with the single word.

"Good," He smiles. He runs his thumb over her lip as the shade fades back into its fleshy pink color, "When you find your father, I know that you will, I want you to tell him that Zachariah paid you a visit,"

She closes her eyes and grits out an, "Okay,"

"And tell him that if he doesn't do what we want, we'll just use you and do whatever we'd like with your precious little meatsuit,"

"W-What?"

He gives her face a few light slaps and stands back up, "He'll understand,"

Zachariah stalks back over to Jenna. Nora can't move and she isn't sure if it's from injuries or the weird power the man seems to have over her. All she can do is watch as he crouches in front of her mom, just as he had done in front of her seconds ago. He moves just enough for her to see her mom's blue eyes staring back at her. She turns her head and forces her eyes shut, but her neck moves against her will and forces her to stare at them once more.

"It's okay, Nora. It's fine," Jenna calls out. She doesn't sound scared at all.

"Mom," She cries out.

"Nora Marianne, I love you," Her voice is watery, "Your dad, he'll take care of you,"

"No, I don't-"

Jenna cuts her off, "Baby, find him. I know you two will fight, but it'll be fine. Tell him I love him just like I love you,"

"That's sweet," Zachariah gives them a fake smile, "But enough of that"

Then he brings the silver blade up and slices across her neck with ease. Blood pours from the wound like a waterfall, transforming her once grey sweatshirt into a deep crimson. Her body thuds against the floor moments later, her wide eyes twitching and hands attempting to reach for her neck. Nora's screaming, pleading, and praying. It still doesn't block out the sound of Jenna gasping and the blood gurgling in the back of her throat. She's fighting, trying to move but stays glued to the floor. Zachariah is pacing back to her and she's screaming every curse word she can think of at him.

"Remember this and hopefully it won't be you in the future," Is all he tells her.

After a swift kick to the side of her head, he's gone. And all she's left with is the horrifying sight of her mother soaked in blood and turning a ghostly shade of white. She's fading into unconsciousness, she knows it. Everything feels cold, dark and raw. Before everything goes dark, she has a single thought she burns into her memory.

If this is her father's fault, she’ll make his life a living hell.

#dean winchester #sam winchester #dean winchester/oc #dean winchester fanfiction #spnfandom #spn fanfic #supernatural #supernatural fanfiction #sam and dean #dean/oc #dean spn #spn #original character #fanfic

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pvandermeer409 · 4 years ago

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Harry Potter and The Lost Child - Chapter 12 out now!

Excerpt

The bell dinged as the door opened and two tall blond figures walked in. Albus recognised his best mate from school immediately – the tall, balding man next to him must be his father then, Draco Malfoy. Albus’ own father never spoke much about him despite them having gone to Hogwarts together. Regardless, it was quite a well-known fact that the two, though cordial these days, did not get along during their time at Hogwarts. Scorpius’ dad was a notorious ex-Death Eater and though he, along with his family, did abandon Voldemort’s cause before his downfall the Malfoys were now shunned in almost all wizarding circles. They were still quite wealthy enough to subsist off their fortunes and properties for the rest of their lives of course, but they nevertheless lived a very private and secluded life.

Check it out:

For the past couple of months, I’ve been working on a fix of the (in my opinion) less than great Cursed Child. I guess I just wanted to give these characters the sequel they deserve. This is a second/next generation canon-compliant (though not with CC obviously) continuation of the series I love so much.

You can find it here:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/30081021/chapters/74086224

and here:

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13823288/1/Harry-Potter-and-The-Lost-Child

This story is meant to provide an alternative for people who would like to know ‘what happened after the story’ and would rather not bother with the hot mess that is CC (again my opinion).

General summary: no Delphi, VERY canon-compliant (except for CC of course), the plot draws a little from the Cursed Child but improves upon it (at least in my opinion), and NO BLEEDING TIME TRAVEL.

Reviews/kudos/comments/suggestions/insults are always welcome!

Doing a new chapter every other week bc I’m SUPER busy but I will probably start writing one per week once I'm done with my studies.

#HP #hp fanfic #Harry Potter #Harry Potter fan fic #Hermione Granger #Ron Weasley #Draco Malfoy #albus potter #scorpius malfoy #hogwarts #wizarding world #fantastic beasts #cursed child #fixing it #Neville Longbottom #minerva mcgonagall #dean thomas #hagrid

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the-awkward-outlaw · 5 years ago

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A New Adventure

Warnings: None

Word count: ~2300

**Author’s note - This takes place in Utah (for my own reasons). This one shot is to set up my modern reader x Arthur Morgan head cannons. I am open to requests and ideas! If you like what you read, leave a comment!**

Masterlist

Read on AO3

You’re walking in the park by your home. It’s something you like to do every day with your dog, not only to give her exercise but so you can get some too. After all, working in an office at a desk doesn’t allow you to walk around much.

The park is pretty and you’re lucky to be living just down the street from it. It sits at the foot of a mountain range in your home valley. Right now, there’s some snow on the ground from a big storm that came through a few days ago, but it’s already melting. Perks of living in the west. Sure, winters are cold and long and the snow sucks worse, but at least it only sticks around for a few days. You love living out here though. The mountains are beautiful, you wouldn’t trade them for hardly anything.

You walk along the west side of the park right at the base of the mountain. There’s a small cave there, it only goes back about twenty feet and the local kids like to go play in there, and sometimes the older kids go in there to smoke or drink. Luckily because you live in a small neighborhood that isn’t close enough to the big city, kids smoking is about the worst that happens out here. You’ve been inside the cave once. There’s a weird drawing on the back wall, but several people have left their artists marks behind in it, so you’ve never thought anything of it.

As you begin approaching, Sage, your Bernese mountain dog, begins barking at it. Strange. She rarely barks and she’s been past this cave pretty much every day since you’ve had her. Maybe there’s a racoon or a skunk in there tonight.

You tell Sage to shush and continue walking towards the cave. She settles down but still growls. You begin thinking of other things and forgetting about her behavior when a man steps out of the cave. You recognize him, not by his face, but his outfit. He’s dressed as Arthur Morgan from your favorite video game Red Dead Redemption 2. You smile at him. Cosplayers are a pretty big deal in your state, thanks to the rise of your local comic book convention. However, he’s dressed up for the wrong time for the con, it’s not until September. It’s only February. And why the hell would this cosplayer be in the cave dressed up? Weird.

You keep walking. Sage wags her tail at him but continues on with you, no longer growling. She probably could smell him and not see him, explaining the barking. She’s an overly friendly dog so you’re not worried about her.

The man looks around as though he’s no idea where he is. Maybe he’s on something. As you get closer, you think he’s an exceptional Arthur Morgan. He looks just like him. Not only are his clothes exactly like the character’s, even worn and dirty in the right spots, his face is exactly like him. Broad shoulders, tanned skin, light stubble on his jawline and unkempt hair under his iconic hat. You can even see the bald spot on his chin where Arthur has a scar.

He continues looking around, confused, and then he spots you. You’re too close to just ignore him so you smile.

“Nice cosplay!” you say.

“Excuse me?” he says. Man, he even sounds like Arthur!

“I said, nice cosplay! You going to a costume party or something.”

“A what? Lady, I ain’t got no clue what you’re saying.”

You’ve stopped by this point to look at him, giving him a confused smile. “Man, you’re really in character too! I gotta admire that. I’m a cosplayer too but I can never stay in character. Kudos to you though!”

You’re tempted to ask for a picture, but it seems perhaps a little inappropriate. He’s looking at you like you’re a freak, as if he wasn’t the one who just popped out of a cave.

“Well, have a good night,” you say, walking on.

“Uh, sure I guess. Hey, ma’am?” he jogs up to you and stops a few feet from you. He’s beginning to weird you out. Just because you live in a small neighborhood doesn’t mean you don’t know how dangerous people can be, particularly men. Besides, if he’s on something, he could be even more of a threat. You keep a tight leash on Sage. She’s not likely to attack him, but you don’t want him to know how much of a pushover pooch she is.

“Sorry, ma’am, guess I’m just a little lost. Um, maybe ya can help me?”

“Sure, I guess. What you wanna know?”

“Well, where the hell am I, for starters.”

You tell him the name of your town, keeping a hard eye on him.

“Where is that exactly? Are we in New Hanover? Or West Elizabeth maybe?”

“Oh boy, you really are selling this cosplay, ain’t you? Well, okay. I’ll play along. Mr. Morgan, you are in Utah.”

“Utah?” he says. He looks away and mouths the word. You know that Utah wasn’t a state until 1896, three years before Red Dead 2 takes place. Boy, this guy is really selling this.

“Yeah. Come on, dude, quit playing. Your cosplay is on point, in fact everything about you is on point. But… come on, man what’s your name?”

“Well, seems you already know my last name, miss. Name’s Arthur. Arthur Morgan.”

“Still playing, huh?” you say with a sigh. “Fine, have it your way.” You wonder if he’s one of those people with an illness that makes him believe he’s someone else. Like Teddy from Arsenic and Old Lace, who firmly believed he was Theodore Rosevelt. “Well, come on,” you say, wondering if you need to call the police or have him checked into a hospital.

“Ma’am, I promise you I ain’t crazy and I ain’t playin’ whatever you think I’m playin’. Tell me, is it still 1899?’”

“What? Dude, come on. It’s 2020.”

“2020!” he cuts you off. “What the hell?” He looks around again and towards the east side of the park where the rec center and playground is, and beyond that the main road, busy with cars heading home for the night. His look of confusion and even fear is so genuine that you wonder what’s really going on.

“Look, mister. What was the last thing you were doing before coming here?”

He looks at you for a moment before answering. “I was in Big Valley collectin’ orchids for some crazy feller. I walked into this cave and saw a dinosaur bone. Some lady, don’t remember what she called herself, said she’d pay me for locations of bones. I went over to mark it and I saw this weird symbol on the wall. I touched it and the mouth of the cave got wickedly bright, it got hot, and when the light went away, I stepped out here.”

He looks around again. “You seen a horse anywhere?”

You look at him sadly. This poor, deluded man. Truly believes he’s Arthur Morgan, picking flowers for that collector in Saint Denis and finding bones for the paleontologist lady. You wonder who this man identified with before Red Dead 2 came out in 2018.

“Mister, only rich people own horses. There’s some about a mile north, but they don’t belong to you I don’t think.”

He looks at you, confused again.

“Come on, mister,” you say, beckoning him to follow. “Let me, um… I think you need to see someone.”

You begin walking again but he calls to you.

“Still don’t believe me, do ya miss?”

“Listen to yourself!” you say. “Arthur Morgan is from a video game. A video game! He’s not real, but you are. Please sir, I think you need help.”

“Lady, I don’t know what the hell a video game is, but I can prove I am real and I am Arthur Morgan!”

He reaches into his satchel and pulls out a slightly ruffled looking orchid. The kind you know from playing the game grows in Big Valley in West Elizabeth, in the forest where the pigs and cougars spawn. He then pulls out a newspaper and hands it to you.

The newspaper’s called “Saint Denis Times” and it’s dated June 18, 1899. The top headline is reporting the bloody massacre of the Grey family in Rhodes. You’ve read the newspapers in the game once before and you remember the article. It’s exactly the same as the one from the game. He then pulls out his pocketwatch. It’s worn and dirty just like the one from the game.

He continues pulling out more objects, even some dried meat. As he shows you more things, you inspect the guns in his holsters. They look real. In his holster on his right hip, you see the double-action revolver with its gold barrel and white handle. You see the engraving of a stag’s head on it.

The more he shows you, the more you find it hard to believe he’s not the real Arthur Morgan. But how in the hell is this possible? It can’t be and yet here he is. He even pulls out his journal. He doesn’t open it, you’re not surprised. You’ve played the game enough to know he’d never show you what’s inside (even though you’ve already seen it). Everything he’s shown you seems so genuine, so real. Something inside you says he’s not making it up, but how in the hell can it be real? There’s no logic to it!

You tell him to put his things away as you try to think how this could have happened. Arthur, or whatever his real name is, asks to show you the drawing he touched in the cave. You say okay, but keep a firm grip on the pepper spray in your pocket (you never go anywhere without it). The man leads you to the cave and you pull out your phone and turn on the flashlight.

“What is that?” he asks to the slim device in your hand, trying to stare into the light, flabbergasted by it.

“It’s a phone,” you say, continuing on in the cave. Sage sniffs along the ground happily, but as you approach the back, she starts barking. The same way she was before the man came out of the cave.

“That’s it,” he says, pointing to it. The drawing looks like some strange symbol. Although you’ve studied some anthropology and symbolism, you’ve never been able to place the culture or meaning of the symbol and just assumed some kid did it. However, getting closer to it, you see it’s been carved into the rock and looks like it’s been there for a long time.

Arthur grabs your shoulder. “Don’t get closer to it, miss. I ain’t too sure what it is, but… well, it ain’t good I think. It’s what I touched and that’s how I ended up here.”

You heed his warning and take a few steps back. You take a picture of it so you can do some research. You aren’t too sure what to do at this point. Something tells you that you can’t take this man to the hospital, and calling the cops wouldn’t do any good. However, the sun’s setting and you have to work in the morning. All your logic says he can’t stay with you, this isn’t a Disney movie after all. He might be playing an elaborate hoax or something.

“You still don’t believe me, do you?” he asks.

“How can I?” you demand. “I mean, listen to yourself! You can’t be Arthur Morgan! He’s from a video game!”

The man sighs and walks over to the wall, placing his hand on the symbol. Sage begins barking like crazy and the opening of the cave becomes too bright to look at and the cave fills with hot air. After a few seconds, the light dims and it cools.

You step outside the cave and find yourself standing in Big Valley. You’re in awe. Somehow, you’ve been transported to 1899 into the game of Red Dead. A pig somewhere nearby squeals and you see, maybe 50 feet away, a huge Ardennes warhorse. She snorts at Arthur.

“You believe me now, miss?” he asks.

You nod, still unable to speak.

“Good. I… I have to admit, I wasn’t sure that’d work.”

You finally look at him understandingly. “I’m sorry, Arthur. I didn’t think it was possible.”

“I can understand why, miss. I wouldn’t believe it myself if it hadn’t happened to me.” He looks around and then begins to cough.

“Shit, Arthur. You okay?”

“Yeah,” he says, spitting into the grass and wiping his mouth. You see the small line of blood left away.

“Arthur, you have TB, don’t you?”

He looks at you, shocked. “How… how do you know that? I only saw a doctor for it two days ago.”

Where to begin with this, you wonder. “Um… it’ll take some explaining, but come on. Let’s see if we can go back and I can get you some medicine for it.”

“You mean… there’s a cure for it where you come from?”

“Well, sort of. We don’t have a cure, per say, but we do have antibiotics. They’ll kick your ass just about as much as the bacteria, but at least you’re more likely to live.”

He looks at you and you see a glimmer of hope. “Okay. I’ll go with you, miss.”

You head back into the cave and touch the symbol. It surprisingly works again and you’re taken back to your time and your park. You’ll take Arthur to a doctor, but you have to drop Sage off at your house and get a car. You have to smile to yourself as you tell Arthur to walk with you. What an adventure this is going to be.

#red dead redemption 2 #rdr2 #red dead fanfic #rdr2 fanfic #arthur morgan #arthur morgan x reader #arthur x female reader #arthur morgan x female reader #arthur morgan x female #R* Games #rockstar games #I'm awkward #Van Der Linde Gang #a new adventure

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lordfarquuuad · 5 years ago

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This is Our Peace chapter 10 preview

Well guys I wasn’t going to post a preview because this chapter is plot heavy but, it is christmas, so consider this my gift to the fandom and readers who have given kudos and given comments. You guys are great, and have a very good holiday and new year. all my love.

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Winter had crept in quickly through the glooms of the night, when Valery woke it was to a world veiled in white and silence. It was so quiet, so he felt so should he be. Valery pulled the covers of the couch around his body and with chattering teeth tugged on woollen socks, flexing his toes until some life returned to them. He placed his glasses on his nose and turned to the fireplace to his left, now dead and blackened, it will have to be relit, Valery thought. But it can wait for now, he was not quite ready to venture out into the morning’s cold.

The usual part of his day dragged him to his feet slowly, regretfully he shrugged off the thick quilts and shuffled into the kitchen where a full kettle waited for the hot flames. Like clockwork, Valery lit the hob and shuffled over to his pantry where a small handful of coffee beans sat lamely at the bottom of its jar. I will need to buy more soon… Valery took them over to his grinder and began to crank the handle. But that would mean walking into town, in that, the professor frowned at the thick drifts of snow blanketing the world. Oh for a world with cars. The kettle started to whistle, and Valery quickly pulled it off the flames before his ears could smart any more from the noise. The coffee grinds, placed in a tea pot frothed at the hot water and he briefly wondered if a splash of Vodka would help waken the joints, but ruefully decided against it.

Soon the brew was in an earthen coloured mug, which Valery held gingerly in his hands, the heat burning before it warmed them. With a sigh, Valery looked at the door, hoping to see a letter with a green seal, but was once again left disappointed. ‘When will you write again?’ Valery asked the empty room. That being said, perhaps it was himself to blame, Valery never responded to Boris’s last letter. What words could he have for such a response?

Back to the lounge, his new bedroom. He idly sat back down, one hand nursing the coffee, the other resting and scrunching into his pillow. It no longer smelt like him. A few of the morning rays caught against something shiny, drawing Valery’s eyes. The dictionary sat pretty on the coffee table like an old friend, impulsively Valery picked it up and flickered through it, seeking words he had not yet seen.

His finger landed on “L”, and he idly browsed through the text.

‘Loquacious, a talkative person’ Valery mumbled in near perfect Ukrainian.

‘Lovastatin, a chemical for medication’, the professor was familiar with it from his old lab.

His finger drifted further down and froze at a word so much shorter than the others. ‘Love’ he said so silently that it wasn’t certain that he spoke. Intense feelings of deep affection, he thought. That doesn’t damn well cover all the other feelings! But it was only text on a page, it could only do so much in explaining everything. Valery closed the book, distressed and hurt all over again. ‘With love…’ he said, thinking of the last letter sitting with the others. He swigged the coffee, the bitter brew mixing nastily with his heart before it sat in his stomach, it twisted at the fluid and Valery briefly considered eating before discarding the idea. The garden was calling to him, even if it was barren of all his beautiful blooms. Perhaps it could distance him from this “love”.

The winter chill greeted him like a child’s greedy embrace and Valery immediately turned around and wrapped himself in the blanket tightly before even looking back out there. It was still cold, so, so cold and it burned his ears not unlike how the coffee burned his shivering hands. But the silence greeted him with more care than the winter. In stilled his heart that was jumping anxiety and eased his chest to rise and fall deeply and smoothly. ‘Maybe there is something to be said for winter after all?’ Valery said out loud. Wind stirred the naked branches making them clatter in response and Valery eased himself onto the veranda that overlooked the garden. He read of old monks sitting and staring off of their monasteries into the Kathmandu mountains, quiet and proud. Valery briefly wondered if he would fit in as a monk but quickly removed the idea. Living life with a bald head made Valery’s pride wince. Though his garden was barren, the sight of the earth, the tall strong trees now sleeping made Valery smile. His heart did have a special spot reserved for nature and for all things that grew in peace and quiet. It was only when his heart was almost asleep with content that Valery allowed his sharp mind to unpack everything.

With Love, he thought. Valery had never loved anyone before, he never ever allowed himself that luxury, yet to whittle that feeling down to just “a deep affection” seemed so wrong to him. ‘That word deserves paragraphs belonging to it, deserves essays, deserves scientific articles. Maybe then I can finally understand it’, he sighed and began to sup at the coffee. A swatch of snow broke through the trees and landed on the ground with a muffled thud, a branch groaned from the weight of slush, and the wind whistled on and on. The only other sounds to be heard was the quick sips of coffee and the occasional sigh. The sun rose marginally higher in the sky and Valery’s eyes were lazily turned upwards when another sound joined the muffled noises. It was the barest crunching of snow that grew slightly louder with each second, yet Valery didn’t quite notice it.

But is that how I feel? How do I know, how do I tell? Valery took a sip of coffee, it was starting to grow cold and he swished the brew around his mouth. If it is that complex is it even worth the time? Valery rolled his shoulders trying to relax the stiff muscles the locked in his sleep, mild pain flared, and he put down the mug. He attacked the muscles mercilessly with his hand, his eyes closed, and his lip pulled up in pain as he dug his fingers in. Perhaps I should start sleeping in my bed again, he felt unhappy with the idea, yet his back felt otherwise.

#my fanfiction #My fic #valoris #valoris fanfiction #valery x boris #boris x valery

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upontheshelfreviews · 5 years ago

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Last year I talked about Fantasia, which is not just one of my favorite Disney movies, but one of my favorite movies in general. And if I may be self-indulgent for a moment, it’s also one of the reviews that I’m the proudest of. Fantasia is a visual, emotional masterpiece that marries music and art in a manner few cinematic ventures have come close to replicating. One question that remains is what my thoughts on the long-gestated sequel is –

…you might wanna get yourselves some snacks first.

As anyone who read my review on the previous film knows, Fantasia was a project ahead of its time. Critics and audiences turned their noses up at it for conflicting reasons, and the film didn’t even make it’s budget back until twenty-something years later when they began marketing it to a very different crowd.

“I don’t wanna alarm you dude, but I took in some Fantasia and these mushrooms started dancing, and then there were dinosaurs everywhere and then they all died, but then these demons were flying around my head and I was like WOOOOOAAAHHH!!”

“Yeah, Fantasia is one crazy movie, man.”

“Movie?”

Fantasia’s unfortunate box office failure put the kibosh on Walt Disney’s plans to make it a recurring series with new animated shorts made to play alongside handpicked favorites. The closest he came to following through on his vision was Make Mine Music and Melody Time, package features of shorts that drew from modern music more than classical pieces.

Fast-forward nearly fifty years later to the golden age known as the Disney Renaissance: Walt’s nephew Roy E. Disney surveys the new crop of animators, storytellers, and artists who are creating hit after hit and have brought the studio back to his uncle’s glory days, and thinks to himself, “Maybe now we can make Uncle Walt’s dream come true.” He made a good case for it, but not everyone was on board. Jeffrey Katzenberg loathed the idea, partly because he felt the original Fantasia was a tough act to follow (not an entirely unreasonable doubt) but most likely due to the fact that the last time Disney made a sequel, The Rescuers Down Under, it drastically underperformed (even though the reasons for that are entirely Katzenberg’s fault. Seriously, watch Waking Sleeping Beauty and tell me you don’t want to punch him in the nose when Mike Gabriel recalls his opening weekend phone call).

Once Katzenberg was out of the picture, though, Fantasia 2000, then saddled with the less dated but duller moniker Fantasia Continued, got the go-ahead. Many of the sequences were made simultaneously as the animated features my generation most fondly remembers, others were created to be standalone shorts before they were brought into the fold. Since it was ready in time for the new millennium, it not only got a name change but a massive marketing campaign around the fact that it would be played on IMAX screens for a limited run, the very first Disney feature to do so. As a young Fantasia fan who had never been to one of those enormous theaters before, I begged and pleaded my parents to take me. Late that January, we traveled over to the IMAX theater at Lincoln Center, the only one nearest to us since they weren’t so widespread as they are now, and what an experience it was. I can still recall the feeling of awe at the climax of Pines of Rome, whispering eagerly with my mom at how the beginning of Rhapsody in Blue looked like a giant Etch-A-Sketch, and jumping twenty feet in the air when the Firebird’s massive eyes popped open. But did later viewings recapture that magic, or did that first time merely color my perception?

We open on snippets from the original Fantasia…IN SPAAAAAAAAACE!

It reminds me a little of the opening to Simply Mad About The Mouse, where bits of classic Disney nostalgia fly about to evoke the mood of this upcoming musical venture. In a clever conceit, snippets of Deems Taylor’s original opening narration explaining Fantasia’s intent and music types plays over the orchestra and animators materializing and gearing up for the first sequence, which jumps right into –

DUN DUN DUN DUUUUUUN – I mean, Symphony #5 – Ludwig Van Beethoven

Here, a bunch of butterflies flee and then fight off swarms of bats with the power of light – I can’t be the only one who saw these things and thought it was butterflies vs. bats, right?

It does look cool with its waterfalls and splashes of light and color bursting through the clouds, but this brings me to a bit of contention I have with the movie.

When I planned this review I was going to do a new version of “Things Fantasia Fans Are Sick of Hearing”, except there were only four major complaints I could think of that. On further introspection, I admit they are legitimate grievances worth addressing. I’m going to get them out of the way all at once in order to keep things rolling.

#1 – This Seems Familiar…

Certain sequences are noticeably derivative from the first movie. It’s as if they were afraid of trying too many new things that would alienate audiences so they borrowed from their predecessor in an effort to say “Hey, we can do this too!” Symphony #5 is clearly trying to be Tocatta and Fugue with its abstract geometric shapes swooping all over to kick things off. Though I love how much character the animators managed to give two pairs of triangles, Tocatta’s soaring subconscious flights of fancy leaves me more enthralled. Carnival of the Animals literally began as a sequel to Dance of the Hours until the ostriches became flamingoes. And Roy E. Disney openly stated he wanted the last sequence, The Firebird Suite to have the same death and rebirth theme as Night on Bald Mountain/Ave Maria, which they got, right down to a terrifying symbol of destruction emerging from a mountain to wreak chaos.

‘Sup, witches?

#2 – Too Short

Speaking of repeating the past, the original idea for Fantasia 2000 was to follow Walt’s vision in that three favorite segments would make a return amongst the newer ones – the Nutcracker Suite, which was eventually cut for time, Dance of the Hours, which I’ve already stated morphed into Carnival of the Animals, and finally, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, the obvious choice to keep since that’s the most popular piece out of any of them. Cutting things for time doesn’t make that much sense, however, when you realize that Fantasia 2000’s runtime is only 75 minutes. A very short animated film by today’s standards that lasts barely half as long as its previous installment. I don’t see why they couldn’t keep at least one other sequence from the first Fantasia to make things last a little longer and keep in the original idea’s spirit.

#3 – All Story, No Experimentation

Unlike the first Fantasia, all of the sequences have a linear narrative structure that’s easy to follow. Not a bad thing and kudos to you if you’re among that group who prefers Fantasia 2000 for because of that, but again, I admire how the original film didn’t stick to a coherent story the whole time; how it was unafraid to let the music, atmosphere, and visuals speak for itself without sticking to a three-act plot and designated protagonist for every piece.

#4 – The One You’ve Been Waiting For, The Host Segments

One of the things that turned Fantasia off for its detractors was Deems Taylor’s seemingly dry narration. But maybe Fantasia 2000 can fix that with some folks who are hip and with it, perhaps a wild and crazy guy or two…

Eh, he’ll do.

Now, the idea of varying segment hosts isn’t an altogether bad idea. Most of them work well: Angela Lansbury gives the lead-in to the Firebird Suite plenty of gravitas befitting the finale, as do Ithzak Perlman, Quincy Jones, and James Earl Jones, who build plenty of intrigue for Pines of Rome, Rhapsody in Blue and Carnival of the Animals respectively; this seriousness makes James’ reaction to what the Carnival segment is really about a successful comic subversion. Even Penn and Teller for all their obnoxiousness kind of works with The Sorcerer’s Apprentice due to the linking magic theme.

I suppose what turns people off is the self-congratulatory tone and seemingly forced attempts at comedy you get from Martin, Penn, Teller, and Bette Midler. But you know what? They still make me laugh after all these years (well, you have to laugh at Bette Midler’s antics or she’ll come after you when the Black Flame Candle is lit). In fact, I have to hand it to Midler’s intro in particular. Fantasia 2000 came out right around the time I began taking a keen interest in what animation really was and how it was made. For me, her preceding The Steadfast Tin Soldier piece with tidbits about Fantasia segments that didn’t make it past the drawing board was like the first free hit that turned me into an animation junkie (plus this was before you could look up anything on the topic in extraneous detail on the internet, so it had that going for it). If I have to nitpick, though, The Divine Miss M referring to Salvador Dalí as “the melting watches guy” is a bit reductive. That’d be like calling Babe Ruth “the baseball guy” or Walt Disney “the mouse and castle guy”. Plus, Dalí and Disney were close compadres with a layered history. They planned on many collaborations, though the fruit of their labors, Destino, would not be completed in either of their lifetimes. Couldn’t show just a modicum of respect there, Bette?

Ahhh! I take it back! Don’t steal my soul!

So, I wouldn’t say I hate or even completely dislike the host segments. Sorry to disappoint everyone who was hoping for me to rip into them. They’re not awful, just uneven. And if you think they ruin the movie for me, you’ve got another think coming.

Pines of Rome – Ottorino Respighi

The idea for Pines of Rome’s visuals came about due to an unusual detail in some concept art. Someone noticed that a particular cloud in a painting of the night sky heavily resembled a flying whale. So why make a short about flying whales? The better question would be why NOT make a short about flying whales? A supernova in the night sky miraculously gives some whales the ability to swim through the air over the icy seas. Again, seeing this in IMAX was incredible. There’s just one minor issue I have with. This and another segment were developed well before Pixar made its silver screen debut, and unfortunately, it shows twenty years later; the worst cases are the close-ups.

Okay, who put googly eyes on the moldy beanbag?

There are ways of blending CGI and hand-drawn animation well, and this isn’t one of them. I understand the necessity of having expressive eyes but simply dropping one on top of a CGI creature gives it a bit of an uncanny valley feel. They should have either stuck with traditional all the way or made the whales entirely CG. The CG animation of the whales themselves isn’t too shabby, so they could have pulled it off.

Because simply giving whales flight apparently isn’t enough to hold an audience’s interest, we have an adorable baby whale earning his wings, so to speak. Once he gets his bearings above the surface, he swoops ahead of his family and bothers a flock of seagulls. They chase him into a collapsing iceberg, leaving him trapped, alone and unable to fly. The quiet dip in the music combined with the image of this lost little calf adds some genuine emotional weight to this piece. The baby navigates the iceberg’s claustrophobic caverns until he finds a crevice that elevates him back to his worried parents. From there a whole pod of whales rises out of the ocean to join them as they fly upwards to the supernova’s source.

“So long, and thanks for all the krill!”

As the music reaches its brilliant crescendo, the whales plow through storm clouds until they reach the top of the world and breach through the stars like water. It’s an awe-inspiring climax of a short that, flaws and all, reminds you of what Fantasia is all about.

Majestic.

Rhapsody in Blue – George Gershwin

The music of jazz composer George Gershwin? Timeless. The art of renowned caricaturist Al Hirschfeld? Perfection. All this brought to life with the best animation Disney has to offer? It’s a match made in heaven. Eric Goldberg, who animated the Genie among other comedic characters, idolized Hirschfeld and drew plenty of inspiration from drawings, so getting to work alongside him while making this was nothing short of a dream come true. That attention to detail in rendering Hirschfeld’s trademark curvy two-dimensional style goes beyond mere homage. It is a love letter to a great artist that encapsulates everything about him and his craft, and to a great city that we both had the honor of calling home. The story goes that Goldberg screened the final product for Hirschfeld shortly before his 96th birthday and his wife told him after that it was the best gift he could have ever received.

All this to say I am quite fond of this particular short, thank you very much.

The piece follows four characters navigating 1930’s Manhattan and crossing paths over the course of a single day:

Duke, a construction worker torn between his steady, monotonous job and following his dream of drumming in a jazz band,

Joe, a victim of the Great Depression desperately looking for work,

Rachel, a little girl who wants to spend time with her parents but is forced to attend lesson after lesson by her strict governess,

and “Flying” John, a henpecked husband longing to be free from his overbearing wife –

And her little dog too!

By the way, John is modeled in name and in looks after Disney animation historian John Culhane, who also was the inspiration for The Rescuers’ Mr. Snoops, hence why the two look so similar. He’s not the only name who appears in this sequence: Gershwin himself makes a surprise cameo as he takes over Rachel’s piano solo halfway through the story.

Speaking of, my family used to compare me to Rachel because at that point in my young life I was doing or already did the same mandatory activities as she – swimming, ballet, music, sports, all with the same amount of speed and varying degrees of success.

No one can argue that art is where we both excelled, however.

The physical timing of Rhapsody in Blue’s animation is hilarious, though it doesn’t rely wholly on slapstick for its humor. The sight gags and clever character dynamics all weaved into the music milk plenty of laughs, and envelop you in this living, breathing island that is Manhattan.

I speak from experience, this is the most accurate depiction of commuting on the 1 train that there ever was.

Even with such a premise and two masters of combining comedy and art, there is still enough pathos to keep the story rooted. Take when all four characters are at their lowest point. They look down on some skaters in Rockefeller Center and picture themselves in their place fulfilling their deepest desires. Seeing their dreams so close in their minds and yet so far away while paired with the most stirring part of the score is heartwrenching.

In the end, things pick up as the characters unwittingly solve each other’s problems. Duke quits the construction site, leaving an opening for Joe to fill. Joe accidentally snags John’s wife on a hook and hauls her screaming into the air, allowing him one night of uninhibited fun at the club where Duke performs.

“Anyone hear something? Nah, it’s probably just me.”

Rachel loses her ball while fighting with her nanny, which Duke bounces off the window of her parents’ office, which in turn gets them to notice their daughter about to run into traffic and they save her. Everyone gets their happy ending and it ends on a spectacularly glamorous shot of Time Square lit up in all its frenetic neon glory.

And not a single knockoff costumed character hitting up tourists for photos. Those were the days, my friend.

If you haven’t guessed by now, I adore Rhapsody in Blue. It’s easily my favorite part of the movie; a blissful ménage-a-trois of art style, music and storytelling, and it’s so New York that the only New York things I could think of that are missing are Central Park and amazing bagels. This sequence is gut-busting, energized, emotional, and mesmerizing in its form. I don’t often say I love a piece of animation so much that I’d marry it, but when I do, it’s often directed at Rhapsody in Blue.

Piano Concerto #2 – Dmitri Shostakovich (aka The One With The Steadfast Tin Soldier)

This piece has an interesting history attached to it. Disney wanted to do an animated film surrounding Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales – including The Little Mermaid and The Steadfast Tin Soldier – as far back as the 30’s, but the project fell by the wayside. During Fantasia 2000’s production, Roy E. Disney asked if they could do something with Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto #2 since he and his daughter were attached to that piece. He looked over sketches and storyboards made for the unrealized Tin Soldier sequence and discovered the music matched in perfect time with the story.

This is the second sequence that features CGI at the forefront. Unlike Pines of Rome, though, it works because the main characters are toys, and you can get away with your early CGI looking shiny and metallic and plastic-like when you’re animating toys.

Hell, it worked for Pixar.

The story centers on a tin soldier cast with only one leg who is shunned by his comrades for routinely throwing off their groove. He falls in love with a porcelain ballerina when he mistakes her standing en pointe as her also missing a limb. Despite his embarrassment when he learns the truth, the ballerina is enamored with him as well. This rouses the jealousy of an evil jack-in-the-box who I swear is a caricature of Jeffrey Katzenberg minus the glasses but with a goatee and Lord Farquaad wig.

“MUST. CHOP. EVERYTHING!!!”

The jack-in-the-box and the soldier duke it out for a bit before the former sends the latter flying out the window in a little wooden boat. The boat floats the soldier into the sewers and attracts a horde of angry rats who attack him, because animated rodents seem to have a natural hatred towards toy soldiers.

Case in point.

The soldier hurtles into the sea where he’s eaten by a fish – which is caught the following morning, packed up to be sold at market, bought by the cook who works at the very house he came from, and he falls out of the fish’s mouth on the floor where his owner finds him and places him back with the rest of the toys. Now the story this is based on hints that the jack-in-the-box is really a goblin who orchestrates the soldier’s misfortunes with his malicious magic. But based the extremely coincidental circumstances of his return home, I’d say the soldier’s the one who’s got some reality-warping tricks up his sleeve.

The soldier and jack-in-the-box duel again that evening, but this time the harlequin harasser falls into the fireplace and burns up. Our hero gets the girl and lives happily ever after. A nice conclusion, though a far cry from what happened in the original tale: the ballerina is knocked into the fire, the soldier jumps in after her, and all that remains of them by morning is some melted tin in the shape of a heart. I gotta say, for all my love of classic fairytales, Disney made the right call. Andersen’s life was far from magical and it reflected in his stories, making many of them depressing for no good reason. The triumphant note the music ends on also would have clashed horribly if they stuck with the original. Even the Queen of Denmark agreed with Disney’s decision to soften their adaptations of Andersen’s work. I don’t know if I’d call The Steadfast Tin Soldier one of my very favorite parts of Fantasia 2000, but in the end, s’all right.

Carnival of the Animals: Finale – Camille Sant-Saëns

This shortest of shorts (clocking in at less than two minutes) kicks off with James Earl Jones asking with as much seriousness as he can muster from the situation, what would happen if you gave a yo-yo to a flock of flamingos?

The answer –

Good answer!

Fie on those who dismiss this part as a silly one-off that doesn’t belong here. Fie, I say! It’s a pure delight full of fun expressions and fluid fast-paced action. Once again we have my man Eric Goldberg to thank for this, though this time he animated it entirely by himself. I’d call it a one-man show except for the fact that his wife Susan handpainted the entire thing with watercolor, making it look like it sprung to life straight from a paintbrush. It’s a simple diversion about a flamingo who wants to play with his yo-yo while the other snooty members of his flock try to force him to conform. As you can see from the still, they fail quite epically. Nothing beats the power of nonconformity and yo-yos (also every yo-yo move featured here is authentic; I love when animators go that extra mile).

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice plays next, but since I already touched on that in the first Fantasia review, I’m skipping over it. The segment ends with Mickey congratulating Leopold Stokowski (again), then crossing the barriers of time and space to inform the conductor, James Levine, that he needs to track down the star of the next segment, Donald Duck. Levine stalls by explaining a bit about what’s to come while Mickey frantically searches for his errant costar. The surround sound sells the notion of him moving around the back of the theater accidentally causing mischief all the while. Thankfully, Donald is found and the sequence commences.

Pomp and Circumstance – Edward Elgar

This famous piece of music was included at the insistence of Michael Eisner after he attended his son’s graduation ceremony. He wanted to feature a song that everyone was already familiar with. Of course, since this was after Frank Well’s untimely passing and no one was bold enough to temper Eisner’s worst instincts with common sense, his original pitch had every animated couple Disney created up to that point marching on to Noah’s Ark – and then marching out with their babies.

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Okay, A: Unless you’re doing a groin hit joke or are Ralph Bakshi or R. Crum, cartoon characters don’t have junk as a rule. And B, one of the unwritten rules of Disney animation is that barring kids that already exist like the titular 101 Dalmatians or Duchess’ kittens, the established canon couples do not in any official capacity have children.

To which Eisner laughed maniacally and vowed that they would.

But in order to placate Eisner’s desire to turn every branch of the Disney corporation into a commercial for itself, the animators compromised and agreed to do Pomp and Circumstance with the Noah’s Ark theme, BUT with only one couple – Donald and Daisy Duck. In this retelling of the biblical tale, Donald acts as Noah’s beleaguered assistant (I guess Shem, Ham, and Japheth were too busy rounding up the endangered species). Daisy provides emotional support while preparing to move on to the ark as well. It’s refreshing to see these two not losing their temper at each other for a change. I wish we got to see this side of their relationship more often. Donald returns Daisy’s easily lost plot device locket to her and as the rain rain rain comes down down down, he starts directing the animals on board; the lions, the tigers, the bears, the…ducks?

Anyway, all the animals and Donald get on board – well, most of them do.

The world’s first climate change deniers.

Donald realizes Daisy hasn’t arrived yet and runs out to look for her, unaware that she’s already boarded. Daisy sees Donald leaving but is too late to stop him before the first floodwaters hit their home. Donald made it back to the ark in time, however, though both of them believe that the other is forever lost to them. I find it astounding that they never run into each other not even once during the forty days and forty nights they’re cooped up on that boat. It’s the American Tail cliche all over again, and well, at least it’s happening in a short and not the entire movie.

Soon the ark lands atop Mount Ararat and the animals depart in greater numbers than when they embarked on their singles cruise. Daisy realizes halfway down the mountain that she’s lost her locket again, which Donald finds at that very moment while sweeping up, and the two are joyously reunited.

“I thought you were dead!” “I thought YOU were dead!”

I kid around, but I truly enjoy this short a lot. There’s so much warmth to Donald and Daisy’s relationship that makes their reunion at the end all the sweeter, and there’s plenty of great slapstick to offset the drama in the meantime. I will admit it’s nice to hear there’s more to Pomp And Circumstance than just the famous march, and the entire suite matches flawlessly with the visuals, though the main theme itself is so ingrained into the public consciousness that it’s difficult to extricate it from that what we’ve seen accompany it countless times.

Come on, you all know what I’m talking about.

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“What? Don’t tell me YOU don’t think of heads exploding like fireworks when you hear Pomp and Circumstance! Name one other life-changing moment could you possibly associate it with…you weirdo.”

The Firebird Suite – Igor Stravinsky

Fantasia 2000 comes to a close with a piece that has some emotional resonance if you know your history. You might remember from my first Fantasia review that Igor Stravinsky was disappointed with how Rite of Spring turned out, especially since he was a big admirer of Walt Disney and really wanted to do more projects with him beforehand. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that they picked his premiere ballet to end the movie on decades later. After all these years, Disney worked hard to do right by Stravinsky – with a few twists, though. Instead of a balletic retelling of Russian folktales involving kidnapped princesses and immortal sorcerers, we have a fantastical allegory for the circle of life.

No, not that circle of life.

A lone elk who I’m fairly convinced is the Great Prince of the Forest walks through the forest in the dead of winter. With his breath, he awakens the spirit of the woods and one of the most beautiful characters Disney has ever created, the Spring Sprite.

I. Love. This character. Her design is gorgeous, shifting from a shimmery opalescent blue as she steps out of the water into an eternally flowing fount of live greenery spreading from her hair in her wake. Wherever she moves, grass, flowers, and trees blossom, fulfilling the idea of a springtime goddess more than Disney’s own Goddess of Spring ever did. The Sprite was a massive influence in developing my art style, particularly in her face and expressive eyes, and I used to draw her a lot. Visit any relative of mine and chances are you’ll find a picture of her by me hanging up on a wall somewhere in their house. Yet there’s far more to her character than just a pretty representation of nature; there’s plenty of curiosity, spunk, determination, and a drive for creativity. I love her frustrated expression when she’s dissatisfied with the tiny flower she sculpts out of the ground and how her face lights up when she morphs it into a buttercup as tall as she is.

The Sprite paints the forest with all the colors of the wind (mostly green) until she reaches a mountain that isn’t affected by her magic. Perplexed, she climbs it until she finds a large hunched over rock figure – or is it an egg? – standing inside. She reaches out to touch it and…

The Sprite has awakened her counterpart, the wrathful and deadly Firebird. Think giant evil phoenix made of smoke, flame and lava. And it goes without saying that seeing this on the biggest screen left quite the terrifying impact. One of the biggest inspirations for this sequence was the eruption of Mount St. Helens (though the shot of the Sprite surveying the breadth of the Firebird’s destruction reminds me far too much of the Australian bushfires going on) and the sheer horror of nature’s irrepressible chaos is fully captured here. But the Firebird refuses to settle for merely destroying the Sprite’s handiwork, oh no. It won’t rest until creation itself is consumed, and the Sprite is reduced to a powerless mite as she scrabbles to escape the Firebird’s relentless pursuit of her. Try as she might, however, the towering monster corners and devours her in one fell swoop.

The forest is reduced to gray ashes in the wake of the Firebird’s rampage, but the Great Prince has survived. Once again he brings the Sprite to life with his breath, only this time she is tiny and weak (the animation of her slowly developing from the ash into her huddled ragged form is breathtaking). Now, I didn’t think I’d get emotional revisiting a small part of a single movie I’ve rewatched countless times before but viewing this through a mature eye combined with the beauty of the Firebird Suite’s climax and its timely message has caused me to see it in a new light:

The Sprite is utterly broken by what she’s been through and the destruction she carelessly caused. She’s lost all faith in herself and in the idea of returning the forest to what it once was. Even so, the Prince gently insists on carrying her on his antlers to the remains of their favorite cherry blossom tree. Where her tears fall, grass shoots begin to sprout. This fills the Sprite with hope, and she soars into the air becoming one with the sky and rains life down on the forest. New trees burst from the earth. The air is filled with leaves and pollen and new life flowing from her essence. The Sprite’s joy and power grow so strong that she even encircles the Firebird’s mountain in all her verdant glory. Life and creation overcome death and destruction. It’s not Night on Bald Mountain/Ave Maria, but it’s close.

And unfortunately, that’s the biggest problem Fantasia 2000 has.

While working on the original Fantasia, a storyman made the mistake of referring to the work they were doing in “the cartoon medium” in Walt’s presence. Walt turned on him and snapped “This is NOT ‘the cartoon medium’. It should not be limited to cartoons. We have worlds to conquer.”

And conquer they did…just not the way Walt intended.

The point I’m trying to make is Walt was breaking new ground and experimenting with things nobody ever tried when it came to Fantasia. While those risks were initially deemed a failure, it eventually gained the recognition it deserved from the animation and filmmaking community. Any attempt to recreate the magic of Fantasia is no small feat. But rather than taking new risks that not even the first film dared, the studio opted to adhere to Fantasia’s formula with pieces that recall if not flat out copy from the original segments. I hesitate to call it a pale imitation or cash grab however because this was done for the art much more than the money (though Eisner was probably hoping it would bring in some bank). There’s even a little bit of depth to it: while the first Fantasia had themes of differing natures in conflict – light vs. dark, fire vs. water, etc. – Fantasia 2000’s theme is accidental but brilliantly meta: CGI vs. traditional animation, a conflict Disney would become very familiar with in the decade following the film’s release. In some ways, it reminds me of Epcot’s genesis. The driving force behind it was long gone, but the attempt to bring it to life as close to the original vision as possible is still much appreciated.

For all my gripes, I really do enjoy Fantasia 2000. Perhaps not on the same level as its predecessor, but it has its moments, oh yes. And believe me, as far as Disney sequels go, you could do far, far, far worse than this one. Fantasia 2000 is Fantasia’s kid sister mimicking its beloved older sibling in an attempt to show it can be cool like the big kids too. But hey, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this review, please consider supporting this misfit on Patreon. Patreon supporters receive great perks such as extra votes for movie reviews, movie requests, early sneak-peeks and more! If I can hit my goal of $100 a month, I can go back to weekly tv series reviews. As of now, I’m only $20 away! Special thanks to Amelia Jones, Gordhan Rajani and Sam Minden for their contributions! I’ll see you in a few weeks when I and review the 1959 Disney animated classic, Sleeping Beauty!

Artwork by Charles Moss.

Screencaps from animationscreencaps.com

Yes, I know The Lion King and Lady and the Tramp ended with the titular characters having babies, but was there anyone out there apart from Eisner who demanded there be sequels to those films that focused on their offspring?

January Review: Fantasia 2000 Last year I talked about Fantasia, which is not just one of my favorite Disney movies, but one of my favorite movies in general.

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weakeninghope · 6 years ago

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Kiss me (whispering words of love)

Pairing: Ash Lynx/Eiji Okumura

Rating: Teen

AO3 link here

Summary: Eiji discovers that there are other ways that can make him fly besides pole-vaulting.

Notes: aye aye! I'm here again and I seriously think you'll get tired of seeing me here but whatever-I'm here with what I think will be a three-shot! I had this idea in my head for a few days and ended up writing the first chapter in an afternoon because I just couldn't resist it. I've had so much fun writing the Sing vs the stool... and kudos for who guesses who the sound technician is ;)also sorry if i depicted depression the wrong way? I don't think so 'cause I suffer from depression and I pretty much wrote what I feel, but if you feel like i fucked up, please do tell me!Btw! I'll list the songs referenced, they are all songs I love hehe so I self inserted myself a little bit hereNever gonna give you up by Rick Astley (yes, I like it unironically) You're gonna go far kid by the Offspring The Riddle, the cover by Cecile Corbel Luka by Suzanne Vega and My long forgotten cloistered sleep by Yuuki Kajiura! I think this one is an Asheiji song and I really love it! this song is from where I got the idea for the titleSee you in the next chapter <3 please tell me what you think! Kudos and comments are much appreciated

fic under the cut!

“Ei-chan, are you sure you can do this?” Ibe-san asked from his bed. He was feeling rather sick even though he said and insisted otherwise, but that wouldn't fool Eiji Okumura that easily. He had known Ibe-san for quite a lot of time and it was him who brought Eiji to the United States in the first place, so of course they knew each other.

“Ibe-san, I told you like ten times already. Yes, I can. I'm your assistant, but I'm not a 7 year old boy handling his new toy camera.” Eiji snapped in a friendly demeanor. “It's not a hard job anyway, right? I've just got to take pictures of the singers” Eiji finished.

That was it, nothing more, nothing less. A cafe called Banana Fish, which was just around the corner where Ibe and Eiji lived in their small, rented apartment, had just announced they would be holding open mic nights, and the first one was going to be that very Saturday night. In fact, Eiji had to take his leave soon if he didn't want to run late for the job, even though it wasn't his job to begin with.

Eiji carefully took the cameras (he chose three of them, the first one he received, a present from Ibe, another one that was quite good, and then Ibe's, the best camera they had) as Ibe-san eyed him from the bed, cold towel in his forehead, a habit they performed in Japan; jeez, the man was still being stubborn even after Eiji convinced him to stay in bed?

He had always been like that. When Eiji had started pole-vaulting he didn't see himself as the subject for professional photographers, he never thought he was enough or that he could fly as high as other people did, but Ibe-san believed in him and was stubborn until the end. After a few months, Shunichi Ibe became a famous athlete photographer and Eiji Okumura became an excellent pole-vaulter.

Until the injury came and Eiji fell into a deep depression. He did not want to get out of bed anymore, he did not have a reason to stay awake anymore now that he couldn't devote himself to the only thing he enjoyed, the only ray of light in the darkness and dullness of his life. Sure, since he started going to the therapist everything was getting better, but he knew that staying in the same place would not help him at all, since his room full of prizes reminded him that everything was over.

That was when Ibe-san and his world-famous stubbornness returned to Eiji's life, and they went to America together, Eiji working as Ibe's assistant. He had been in a lot of places helping Ibe; in music studios, in the radio, in concerts... Ibe was constantly being asked for his services since people knew he was a great photographer that exceeded himself not only in the field of athletic photography, but in photography in general.

And then Nadia Wong, the manager and owner of the Banana Fish cafe contacted him since her brother Shorter had had the idea of hosting open mic nights, and unlike the majority of Shorter's ideas, the open mic night seemed something appealing to the customers.

Eiji carefully packed everything into his bag and waved goodbye to Ibe one last time, telling him not to leave the bed and to call him if something happened, too.

Eiji was incredibly responsible for being only 19. He had to be since he had an 8 year old sister and had to take care of her most of the time, since their parents worked a lot of hours and were to tired to babysit when they came home.

After literally five minutes of walking down the beautifully lit street, Eiji reached the cafe. From the outside it didn't look like anything special: there was a lit sign at the top of the door, the yellow lights blinding Eiji a little bit. There was a small banana next to the B and a small drawing of a fish in blue lights at the end of the sign, next to the S. The door was that; a door, nothing more, nothing less. It was a wooden door with a crystal pane on the middle, so you could see the inside. A small “we're open” sign hanged from the doorknob. The Japanese inhaled a sharp breath and entered the place, unsure of what he was going to find.

He found what he had expected; just a few people. The establishment was far from being empty, but it was far from being full, too. Not that Eiji was displeased by that, he didn't really like huge crowds. As the small bell hanging from the doorknob rang when Eiji entered, a bald guy with sunglasses approached him (who the hell wears sunglasses when it's not sunny and they're not even outside) (also why was he bald).

(and why was Eiji thinking about that).

“Yo! You're the photographer, right? I'm Shorter!” The boy -Shorter- introduced himself and energetically held out his hand, which Eiji hesitantly held for a moment.

“I'm his assistant, Ibe-san is sick so I came here instead. Are you the boss?” Eiji innocently asked.

A huge, loud laughter was Shorter's response, followed by two -also loud- friendly pats on the Japanese's back.

“Oh, no, I'm a bartender. My sister's the boss.” He said.

Oh, right. Nadia Wong. He had forgotten about it. He was too nervous to remember all the details since Eiji had a little weakness for singers and he was going to witness an open mic night and there was a high chance of cute boys being part of the participants.

He gulped. Focus, Eiji. Focus.

“Nadia's busy with paperwork right now so she asked me to welcome you here, so welcome, I guess?” Shorter said. He looked like a kind, easy-going guy, Eiji was feeling good talking to him.

Before coming to America he had shut himself in and forgotten everything about social interaction; he stopped seeing his friends, stopped talking to everyone but his family and (reluctantly at first) Ibe. However, after having spent a few months in New York with Ibe and his friend Max, he was starting to feel comfortable with people little by little.

“Thank you. I guess I can have a seat now? When are you starting?” Eiji kindly asked. The establishment wasn't very modern, nor posh nor classy; it was simple, but it had its charm, or at least, Eiji saw that charm, because he felt pretty welcomed.

Eiji then took a sit and took out his cameras of the bag, carefully studying them wondering which one he would use.

“May I order something?” Eiji asked.

“Of course! It's on the house.” Shorter answered, snapping his fingers in a “cool” gimmick.

“Okay, I'd like a green tea, then.” Eiji told Shorter with a smile.

“Gotcha!” Shorter answered as he took his leave and went to the counter to rapidly prepare Eiji's tea.

A few minutes after their conversation, Shorter came back with a small cup of a hot, steaming green tea. Its smell was delicious.

“The first participant will be on the stage in 15 minutes” Shorter stated. “Hey!! you have three cameras? How cool! Can I touch them?” Shorter asked energetically, as a child who has just gotten a piece of candy and wanted more.

“If you keep insisting... okay, take this one. But please be careful, it carries a high sentimental value for me.” Eiji fondly said, this camera was a present by Ibe. He came one day to his house with this camera and told him that they would be going to the USA if he didn't mind, because he cared for Eiji and he knew that he needed to do something, or otherwise, he would end up more depressed as days kept going by.

Eiji reluctantly handed his first camera to Shorter, who started touching it all over and shaking it and, due to the camera being a little bit delicate, the locker where the batteries where stored loosened and three out of the four fell straight to Eiji's tea.

Really? Why did this have to happen to Eiji?

“Fuck! I'm so sorry! I'm bringing another tea to you right away. And here, take the safe battery, you can still use the camera, right? Well, not that you need it if you have two spare ones.” Shorter mockingly laughed.

They aren't spares Eiji thought. But at least he still had one battery so he could use it to take a few non-detailed shots.

A few minutes after that Shorter returned with Eiji's second tea. The Japanese observed the stage; it wasn't huge and it was kind of modest. Wooden floor, a stool that could be lowered down or put up depending on the participant's height, a mike with the same characteristics, a PA system for the mike to be plugged on, and, lastly, an amplifier.

As time kept going by, the establishment began to fill up, even though not to the brim, so Eiji was still okay. Shorter came with Eiji's tea at the right moment, when the first participant got up the stage.

He was a huge, black muscled guy, wearing sunglasses -like Shorter, seriously-. He was wearing a sleeveless denim shirt, half opened, so you could see his muscular chest. He was quite handsome, Eiji had to admit.

The audience thought so, too, as there were a few whistles when he got up the stage, grabbed the mike and introduced himself as “Cain Blood”.

After that, he turned his head to the left, signaling the sound technician to play the song.

Eiji wasn't ready for what he was about to witness. Cain didn't sit in the stool, neither did he sing a lovely song, or a sad ballad, or some piece of heavy metal.

He chose an eighties pop song.

Never gonna give you up by Rick Astley.

Eiji's head lowered until he hit the table with his forehead and he almost spilled his precious green tea.

Why did Ibe-san had to get sick.

Again, focus. Eiji had to take some pictures, he didn't have to record the whole show or to take twenty pictures per participant, right? It would be okay with a few.

But damn if Cain's hip movements and his deep voice weren't distracting as hell. That song had turned into a meme over the years and Cain was making it sound attractive. Eiji didn't know if he wanted to cry, to laugh, to smash the camera or to get up on the stage to dance with Cain. He had to admit that the guy was performing flawlessly, and the loud cheers coming from the audience were another irrefutable proof of Cain's talent.

Before Cain ended singing and dancing, Eiji managed to take some pictures of him; some were blurry and you couldn't distinguish anything because he took them with the second camera but his hand was trembling, but the last ones were taken with such care -and with Ibe-san's camera- that you could even see Cain's sweat in HD.

Good lord.

Before Eiji could realize it, the three or so minutes that the song lasted had passed and Cain thanked the audience. Eiji couldn't help but wonder what would be coming next. He didn't expect Japanese music to sound there (even though he would lie if he said he didn't want to) but he really wasn't expecting the first song to be Never Gonna Give You Up.

What was coming next?

What came next was definitely a funny turn of events.

A short boy came onstage and shouted to the sound technician to hold the stool up higher for him because the mic was too tall firm him to reach it. The boy screamed that loud that all the cafe could hear him and laughed at his little problem, which in turn caused the boy to get angrier.

Unbelievable.

A hard laughter escaped from Eiji's mouth. And he was complaining about this? Damn, this was being a really interesting night, he would have to tell a lot of stuff to Ibe the next day!

His laugh was that hard that even the boy onstage heard him. Oops.

“Hey you! What is it that it's so funny?” He asked, angrily kicking the stool so he almost fell off it. The sound technician had to help him. Poor man, the stool almost hits him in the mouth, what could have happened to his teeth?

Eiji shook his head ant told the boy that nothing was wrong. The boy let out a “hmpff” and hoped off the stool, then grabbed the wired mike and introduced himself.

“I'm not going to need this shit” He said, angrily staring at the stool as if it was his lifelong enemy. “I'm Sing Soo-Ling, by the way.” Sing ended. What a way to introduce yourself, though.

When the music started playing and Sing started moving and energetically shaking his fist to the rhythm of You're gonna go far kid by The Offspring, Eiji grabbed his second camera and started -trying- to take some shots.

Trying being the keyword.

As it had happened before with Cain, Eiji was too distracted. But now he was distracted in another sense of the word.

He was about to burst out laughing and how was he supposed to take pictures like that.

Sing looked like the classic angsty teenager in his rebellion phase screaming, shouting, getting the pitch wrong, jumping like the world was about to end... that was too much. Maybe his battle with the stool had riled him up way to much.

The end of the song was near, so Eiji stilled himself, took a few deep breaths and got a few nice shots. He wasn't just an assistant, he was Shunichi Ibe's assistant, and that meant he wasn't as bad as he thought he was. He was working on his self-esteem, too. Ibe had recommended him to go see a renowned therapist, Blanca. And truth be told, Blanca was really helping Eiji to be more objective about his faults and his virtues; he was more helpful that the 4 types of antidepressants he had tried to take when he was back in Japan.

He could get better. He was getting better.

A sweaty Sing muttered and angry thank you and got off the stage. Eiji wondered if there were many participants left; it was almost 11PM and he wanted to check on Ibe, so he called Shorter to ask him how many people were left.

He protected his cameras with his arms that time. Shorter told him that only three participants were left, two boys and a girl. Eiji thanked him and nodded to himself. Three participants weren't a lot, so he could handle that easily.

The next participant was a boy, but he knew so because Shorter had told him that the girl was standing next to the stage, she was blonde and was wearing a pair of red earrings. Hadn't been for Shorter's information and he would have mistaken the beautiful looking, delicate boy for a girl. He was wearing a long Chinese dress, he was slender and his long, black soft-looking hair was carefully braided. While setting his way to the stage, the participant walked next to Eiji's table and shot him an ugly glare.

Why?

That night had to be one of the strangest ones he's had in ages, Ibe-san wouldn't believe him when he told him about all that: an attractive muscular man singing Never gonna give you up and making it sound sexy, a shorty rivaling a stool, and a delicate looking unknown boy shooting him a glare. What was next?

The boy got up onstage and sat on the stool, which was now settled at his height, as well as the mic. Eiji was busy fumbling with the cameras when the music started playing.

Oh no.

It was a harp. Traditional music. A cover of The Riddle by Cecile Corbel. Not that he disliked it, but it was late in the night, Eiji was irritated, and Yut-Lung's voice (he had introduced himself like that) was way too soft, like a whisper, barely audible.

And he had the guts to glare at him? Eiji smirked to himself. He took hold of the camera with only one battery and started taking blurry, ugly shots. A stupid grin was plastered on his face, he would lie if he said he was not having fun with his little revenge.

But suddenly he was dragged out of his concentration by the noise of someone dragging a chair next to him and a soft voice whispering he's such a snake, isn't he? to Eiji's ear.

He dropped the camera to the table and it almost broke for real.

“My, my, did I scare Mr. Photographer?” The mysterious boy -wearing sunglasses too- asked.

Why the hell did everyone in the Banana Fish wear sunglasses? Was it a Trademark Sign? Was it a prank? Was Eiji dreaming?

What the hell was going on?

Eiji was questioning himself about the sunglasses thing when the boy took them off and his jade green eyes locked with Eiji's dark ones.

He gulped hard.

It would have been better if he had kept the sunglasses on.

“E-excuse me, I have to leave” Eiji said. He had to leave. He has blushing so hard and he didn't want the boy to see this because...

Because he was really good looking.

“How rude of a photographer to leave when there's still two participants left.” He said, and then got up. “Hope you stay to hear me sing.” He whispered, teasingly. And then he left to the other side of the establishment.

That night was being incredibly surrealistic.

Nevertheless, Eiji had to get back to work. Yut-Lung had ended singing and was glaring him from the stage, probably because he had realized that he only has focusing the camera on him for like a minute and that the only pictures he took were completely half-assed.

Whatever. It was time for the fourth participant to start singing, it was the girl's turn.

She introduced herself as Jessica and sang Luka, by Suzanne Vega, a really nice song Ibe liked-

Wait. Jessica? That was Max's wife! What a coincidence, he didn't know Jessica like singing and liked open mic nights.

This was the first one the Banana Fish café was hosting, though.

She sang Luka, by Suzanne Vega. Eiji knew that song; it was about child abuse and it told a heart-breaking story. Eiji liked songs with strong messages such as this one, which informed against some actions that had to be stopped. Jessica was looking nice under the lights and her voice was soft, so he enjoyed the performance. He even teared up a little bit because the song was so sad he couldn't bear to listen to it without tearing up.

After three minutes, Jessica thanked the audience and left the stage.

Only one participant left, only one participant left... Eiji repeated in his mind like a mantra. One participant-

Shit.

That boy.

Effectively, just as Eiji had thought, the last participant was that boy. The blond, attractive, good-looking, handsome too smooth for this world stranger he met in Yut-Lung's performance. He sat in the stool, which was adapted to his height (he was pretty tall) and introduced himself as Ash Lynx.

A wildcat? More like a kitten, you're too beautiful Eiji thought as he grabbed Ibe's camera. There were some things in this life that you have to capture in high definition, and Ash was one of them.

And if that hadn't been enough, when the music started playing, everything became dream-like. Ash started singing In my long forgotten cloistered sleep by Yuuki Kajiura.

Yuuki Kajiura.

A Japanese composer. One of Eiji's favorite composers.

He loved the original version, but the minute he heard Ash start singing he decided against it. He preferred Ash's.

Ash's voice was... magical. He sounded like an angel. Eiji felt himself travel to a whole other world where he was alone with Ash, because through the camera lens he could tell Ash was looking at him and he couldn't bear that while the boy was singing someone kissed me whispering words of love. He wondered if a normal human being on the Earth's surface could bear this. He was hearing an angel and he was looking at an angel.

Maybe he shouldn't say that, but... he was glad? Ibe-san was sick. Eiji knew he was blushing, but the only thing that mattered at that moment was Ash's voice, his magical words and his perfect melody dragging him to a world beyond his imagination... everything was so soft he couldn't believe it was coming from the teasing boy he had met a few time ago. He could tell Ash was kinder and gentler than what he wanted to look like.

God, was he glad that he had not left. Just for witnessing such a marvelous display of magic it had been worth it bearing with Yut-Lung.

My long forgotten cloistered sleep had always been one of Eiji's favorite songs; he would sing it to his sister when she went to sleep, he would mutter it to himself whenever a mental breakdown was coming... this song had been by his side since he had been a child; his father has always loved Yuuki Kajiura, and Eiji did too, thanks to him.

And now Eiji adores Yuuki Kajiura with his whole soul thanks to Ash.

Unnfortunately for Eiji, though, even if for him it could be eternal, Ash's song ended. Without noticing what he was doing, Eiji started clapping his hands energetically, prompting the whole audience to join him. He knew he was tearing up, but he didn't care; this had started mending his soul, he was feeling better than he had in the past few days and it was thanks to a freaking open mic night and a stranger singing his favorite song.

Ash got up from the stool, thanked the audience and smiled right at Eiji.

That was it. He was going to combust, he was blushing impossibly redder, too. His heart was ready to leave his chest and never come back. RIP Eiji Okumura, cause of death; overdose of cuteness and wholesomeness and-

“Did you like my performance?” Ash asked, suddenly being near Eiji.

“It was magical” He said. “There are so many things I could tell you about it but I have to go, my boss is sick and I don't want to leave him alone.” Eiji rambled, he had to come up with an excuse even if it wasn't really an excuse because Ibe was sick and he wanted to take care of him before going to sleep.

“Well, you can tell me tomorrow.” Ash said, his voice soft -he had an amazing singing and speaking voice. Eiji was so glad he came here that night. So glad.-

“When's the next open mic night?” Eiji asked “I might have to come again because my boss always overworks himself and ends up sick too often.” He finished.

“Next Saturday, it's once a week.” Eiji made a sad face, he was going to have to wait a whole week to see Ash again? The world was cruel “But” Ash interrupted his thoughts “We can meet here tomorrow to discuss the pictures you've taken of me.” Ash finished saying, while smiling gently and looking at Eiji.

“Oh, um, okay.” Eiji stuttered. Was this happening for real?

“Give me your number, I'll text you when I get home.” Ash demanded, and Eiji complied immediately.

After that they waved each other goodbye and Eiji waited to be out of the establishment to jump, he really felt like he was flying again, just like when he had heard Ash sing. And he could meet him again!

If this was a dream, Eiji didn't want to wake up.

Wait, he had to wake up, because he was meeting Ash tomorrow.

God, he loved open mic nights; and if he was going to hear Ash sing again, he was going to love them even more, Eiji was positive of that.

#writing #banana fish #asheiji #fluff #coffee shop au #no spoilers #ash lynx #eiji okumura

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rottenwoodandwiltedsunflowers · 6 years ago

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Waffle Recapish (Turned Into A Full-On Recap) Show #86 5/19/18 Late

*Alright folks! You all wanted more recaps so here goes. This is long but that is how I do recaps. I had a terrific run of shows but I am headed back to the real world so who knows if I will get any more done. -Waffle

Today I was sitting in my hotel room thinking about the last few shows this past weekend when I realized it was absolutely beautiful in New York today and so I decided to take advantage of the spring weather and head to the Highline to work on a recap. Let’s see how successful I am!

Our weekend started Saturday with the Lost Supper at The Attic. It exceeded expectations and I didn’t feel cheated out of my $175 ticket price which was my main concern going in. Huge Kudos to Lily Ockwell- if that is what kind of shenanigans her mind comes up with to share, I would love to see what else is lurking in there. Beyond that, I am not going to say much because it is still running for several more weeks and I don’t want to spoil any of the fabulous surprises for anyone going in the upcoming weeks. I do have some photos that I will share when the experience closes.

After that, it was on to the late Friday show. THE CAST DID NOT DISAPPOINT!

We attended a quick show last weekend but other than that, this was my first return to the hotel since January. There has been a cast changeover which always brings interesting, new residents in and often showcases old residents in new roles. While I am intrigued by the prospect of discovering new residents, my bucket list was admittedly filled with some new roles for old residents. Two things on the top of my bucket list, Evelyn’s Lady Macbeth and Colin’s Matron were in the cast Friday. I spent significant time watching both.

I arrived in the ballroom to excitedly find Evelyn’s Lady M. I was intent on following it until I saw several fellow friends follow her out. They were actually all people who I would ordinarily follow characters with. All respectful, fun following buddies. I just knew I was in a mood that seeing familiar faces (no pun intended) would take me out of the performances so I made the decision to catch her later knowing the crowds would be a bit bigger but hoping to disappear into anonymity in my distracted mind at least. So I went to my go-to follow, Sexy Witch. Marissa was on and she is always a solid performance with flirty and fun vibes. As I made my way over to exit to the lobby with Boy and Sexy, so did about 15 other white masks. Nope nope nope. Nope nope nope. I got to the bottom of the staircase, saw the mob, and backed up into the corner to let them get by me. The best-laid plans. Am I right? Back down to the ballroom where I found Jenna’s sexy with one other audience member (that I knew but hey, you can’t win them all). Jenna is a FUCKING powerhouse! If I have to take 3rd fiddle in my original plans, it’s great to take a 3rd fiddle that is really the 1st fiddle any other night.

Jenna’s ballroom solo was stunning! The way she seizes Macduff and stops him dead in his tracks, manipulating his every move while effortlessly avoiding his advances is a beautiful tribute to the character of Bald witch. She does the Bald witch reveal as well as anyone even with the hair. I’m so glad I was forced back to the ballroom. Her attitude while taking Boy witch out of the box is clearly, “Let’s have some fun...but not too much fun because we have work to do. She is expecting us. LET’S GO!” The rave was high energy. I tried to watch but Tori’s Hecate always siphons off my attention. When I did turn back, I got the absolute best visual of Tyler Phillips boy witch launching (for lack of a better word) himself over the bar. Air for days! He just used the top as a glorious springboard using one hand. It was awesome.

Post-rave, I followed Jenna back to the apothecary where she singled me out to dry her back in the most gloriously Bald witch way possible. A look full of leering and uncomfortable smirking on her part. I think when you become as accustomed to the show as I am, you become very desensitized to the nudity. While it is very jarring and uncomfortable at first, it becomes more commonplace and less shocking. A great Bald witch will make you feel super uncomfortable about the fact that you are in her space and she is topless and staring you down. Mission accomplished. I was sufficiently uncomfortable. I think it is something about the way they pose themselves, crouched over, legs spread, slowly drying their chest while simultaneously maintaining creepy eye contact. She finished her routine and before exiting, grabbed me by the back of the neck, pulling me in and hissing out an ominous warning to “Beware the Thane of Fife!” She left to head to the banquet and I headed up.

I arrived at the Matron’s hut to find Colin drawing on the window jam. Bucket list happiness! He drew crosses then connected the dots to form what looked like the hut window or door or perhaps hut itself. He has a bit of Fulton to his Matron at one point climbing on a chair to place a horseshoe over the window. Clearly, he is disturbed and frightened by the possibilities that lay outside the forest. I have to be honest with the fact that I was highly skeptical going into this performance. Usually, I am very open to new interpretations and am not the type of person who is picky about how my favorite roles are played. I like my Matron a certain way though, mainly female. I’m sexist, sue me. I was very pleasantly surprised. His pairing with Andrea was solid. I believed his trepidation about what was going on outside his world was felt. His 1:1 was surprisingly terrifying. I was genuinely caught off guard when the moment came. I’m glad I gave him a shot.

Then there was the star of the show for me, Evelyn Chen’s Lady Macbeth. it is a new thing and a rare thing (as of now) so I headed back to find her. I found her in her room post ballroom. I braved the Macbeth crowds and she didn’t disappoint. Her dancing was bold and beautiful and passionate. It has been quite awhile since I have done this loop so it was full of little surprises for me. She was engaging beyond belief and I found myself being thankful that I knew the building so well because I ended up needing to use alternative routes for much of the moving between scenes due to the sea of people following her.

Her Out Spot dance was particularly moving. The way her pain played out in her ferocious dancing. Throwing herself from corner to corner. Flipping over the bed from one end to the other. The mental anguish and struggle to remain grounded and her ultimate slipping sanity portrayed perfectly through her physical movements. Upon winding down physically, she slinked back into the corner pulling the sheet over her head and hiding in a ball in the corner for several moments. When she emerged, she looked much calmer. A peaceful demeanor set in for just a moment. Just enough time for the audience to digest the total breakdown and think the storm was over. Then you saw it. It was perfectly executed. I didn’t see any signs that something was amiss or that there was cause for concern until there was. Her face portrayed tiered, calm, and thoughtful but her nose started to bleed. It was a very unsettling sight, Lady Macbeth’s quiet face and still mind while the blood slowly trickled down her lip. Everything was fine until it wasn’t. She reached up and hesitantly touched it setting off an instantaneous second violent storm. She raced to the bathtub absolutely panicked. Frantically trying to rid her self and the tub of any remnants of her part in the plan.

There was no turning back though. What is done cannot be undone. Her walk down High Street was full of audience interactions. She fell to the floor upon entering the space before looking up at me and extending her hand. I helped her up, she handed me her necklace and bowed her head. After placing the necklace on her we were headed down the street together. She was broken and mumbling the whole way. Macbeth showed up and the relief on her face was immediate. They were off to the banquet.

I love the banquet. It is one of the most beautifully executed pieces of choreography I have ever seen hands down. No matter who I follow, one moment in particular that almost always holds my attention is when Lady Macbeth is seated and begins to turn in her chair in slow motion. I am a sucker for silhouettes in that building and the picturesque moment created when she extends her arm straight out pointing behind her with her head resting on her shoulder seemingly frozen in time is everything.

I followed as she exited the ballroom but found myself overwhelmed by the swell of audience members trying to jam themselves into the stairwells. Cue my gratitude for knowledge of the building. I hightailed it over to the opposite stairwell and up to 5. Apparently, I was feeling especially athletically inclined that evening. More than likely I was just excited to play out the rest of the loop. Thank you congestion on the stairs! I beat Lady M up to 5 and watched her come down the hall into the room with the beds. After all the horror stories we all hear and witness with audience behavior, I am always genuinely surprised when the residents put themselves out there in extra vulnerable scenes. I watched Evelyn extend her hand and have an audience member help her out of the tub. She then had me lay her robe over her shoulders. On a side note, am I the only one who gets extremely nervous when instructed to do things like this. I always feel like I am doing a horrible job. I’m sorry I put it on slightly askew. I think my nervousness about being extra respectful often results in me performing the task awfully. Sorry. We headed back down and it was like the last hour never happened. All the memories of nightmares were wiped clean and the story was back at page 1. She went back to manipulating Danvers and Macbeth with blissful ignorance of what awaited her.

I took a little break in the bar and was back down to the ballroom early to get a good spot for the finale. I realized I had never had a Lady Macbeth walkout before. I am never watching from the front of the stage but tonight I wanted Evelyn’s walkout. I had such a great night with her character and I will confess that I was hoping to thank her for the experience. Turns out it wasn’t even a problem as it seemed the audience was a bit frightened of the stage. I wasn’t even that close but I felt like I was practically standing on it because as the ballroom filled in, the audience flicked to the back. It was one of those weird situations where I thought I would be in the front but I ended up being aways in front of the audience. I actually took a step back because I felt a bit like an island. Lady Macbeth exited the stage and immediately came to my side. She grabbed my hand and watched her husband's fate play out while clinging to my arm. We proceeded to the Manderley and I got the opportunity to thank her for a brilliant performance!

It was Tyler Phillips last show and I didn’t follow him because like someone else has said, I didn’t have a strong connection to him or the character of Boy witch in general. One thing I will mention (that I didn’t see but KaeLyn and every other Boy witch fan did) is that Tyler wins the award for most dramatic exit of a resident. HANDS DOWN! Apparently while performing his last cabaret in the hotel lobby, He pulled out a pair of scissors, mid-song, and cut off his hair! Who does that?!?! Brilliance! I can actually imagine him standing on stage with scissors in one hand, a fist full of hair in the other, crying and lip-syncing to “Is that All There Is?” I do wish I has seen it. Bravo and you sir will be missed!

#Sleep No More #mckittrick hotel #recap

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