#oh i forgot hamlet

[hamletthedane]

Hamlet randomly being kidnapped by pirates halfway through the play - an event that happens entirely offstage and is only revealed by Horatio reading a letter out loud - has the exact same energy as “Somehow, Palpatine has returned.”

[apricotopera]

i really like how much of bbs + it’s tragedy functions on how little each character knows about the other arcs and my favorite little example of this is the in universe disagreement on who actually killed eraqus. if you ask terra it was xehanort. if you ask xehanort he’ll say it was him but terra helped. yen sid decides to cause problems by telling aqua ‘it was xehanort…..and terra’ even though later in 3 he walks that back and says just xehanort. aqua hears what yen sid says as terra did it. poor ven is so miserable at that point he has no idea even though the reason terra did it at all is to protect him. if you ask ME. it was terra ❤️

[gatheryourships]

So, because @gunslingerorchid asked, here's a post about my self-insert Tav, Rosenna.

-

I’ll be honest I don’t have a whole lot about her fleshed out. And even trying to write this up for you, so much got changed and rewritten a number of times, and even this response is a complete start over from the very long and honestly confused lore bit I wrote.

Basically what I wrote for the fake BG3 intro post I reblogged on here is pretty much all I got, lmao. But I’ll try to give some more info, as much as I got nailed down right now. Maybe some more that’s not so concrete yet either.

Um, so. Rosenna is an only child, born and raised by a farmer and his wife (last name undetermined) in a little hamlet (also name undetermined) located along the Chionthar river a little ways down from Baldur’s Gate.

Right around that little nook maybe, where the red dot is. I still haven’t decided which side of the river it’s on. But around that area. So that’s it’s between the Fields of the Dead and the Woods of Sharp Teeth.

Rose (for short) lived a nice, little life with her parents. Helped her mom with house chores and what not as commoner daughters do. Also helped her dad a little with the farm - probably a bit less common for daughter to do, but eh. She likes helping and only doing house chores drove her crazy. And it’s something different so she was fine with it, despite getting a little dirty sometimes because of it. Also it was spending time with dad, so… That’s nice. xD

From a young age, Rose had been immersed with stories about heroes. Not necessarily intentionally mind you. Just parents telling their kid stories, censored versions of course. And from there, as she grew up, just got into reading stories about heroes herself.

And between having a good, kind, caring heart and just being a feisty, determined woman who only wants to do right she naturally felt an inclination towards such a life.

However… her mother had another plans for her. Not out of ill-will, just normal life plans that a commoner daughter would typically live. Help her mother until she (Rose) found someone to marry, which her parents were starting to push that onto her, except Rose didn’t have much interest in that. (Yet, anyways. Hero thing first, romance later possibly, ya know.)

What Rose did have an interest in was going to the docks and rubbing shoulders with people who came from Baldur’s Gate and even elsewhere afar, wanting to hear real stories of adventures and journeys from real people that they’ve had, especially recently.

Now it’s here where I’m unsure whether to spin it off as how she picked up some sense of handling a sword. One way is that because going to the docks and rubbing shoulders with strangers is obviously a terrible, dangerous thing to do and her father (and mother) become worried for her and so her father (who’s also maybe part of the citizen militia for the little hamlet - no standing army) decides to teach her (in secret/aka behind mom’s back) so she stops trying to go to the docks (and possibly end up kidnapped or worse one day). Fun, nice, gets interaction with her dad. But like, I just realized it’s the same as the other self-insert for another character I like/liked. So, since I’m already doing that plotline with another character, I’ll probably go with the second option then lmao.

The other one was an idea I had before but was unsure about it (then not now) where she does meet someone from the docks. Not a romantic interest, but thankfully a friendly and honorably decent person. He obviously realized that she’s young (20s, since I didn’t mention that before) and a bit starry-eyed, but she means well and was looking for more in her life, more than this little hamlet could give her. He befriended her and indulged her in giving her stories of his travels and interesting little adventures and happenings he found himself in every time he came into town (only ever stopping by, as did anyone else whoever found themselves at the docks there). Eventually, he himself buys her a sword and trains her how to use it.

From there to BG3 events however… One day it’s too much. Rose’s reckless immaturity has become too much for her mother. So Rose and her mother got in an argument. Her mother had not been oblivious to Rose and her love of heroes, but had hoped that Rose would grow out of it as she got older (she didn’t, it only grew stronger). And enough was enough. It was time to be a grown woman, look for a partner, and settle down and become not just a wife but mother herself. To say Rose was unhappy about this would be a completely understatement. After a yelling match with her mother, Rose quickly packed some things (including her stashed away secret sword) and left home. She got on the first ship to Baldur’s Gate and that was that.

For a year, Rose tried her best there. She got jobs. But they weren’t great. Didn’t pay great. By the end of it, things were… pretty bleak, mentally speaking for Rose. (In my playlist, as confused as it is with this summarization of character, I literally have The Parting Glass (Walking Dead version) followed by the instrumental version of I Want to Live from BG3. I think that says plenty.)

The next morning as she’s going about town is when the mindflayers come and she gets unfortunately (or technically speaking, quite fortunately) snatched up. (Only way to become a hero is go on a crazy adventure right? 😉)

[palebloodpresence]

what if i said my genuine opinion of "rom the vacuous spider" is that she's actually not like, peaceful because she's stupid, she's just extremely fucking chill bc she's so enlightened. like she WILL defend herself but really she just wants to hide in her cool lake world and hide dark rituals

[the-queer-classic-lit-ship-ever]

finals: losers

[edettethegreat]

Your profile pic is a mood. I feel her (⁠•⁠ ⁠▽⁠ ⁠•⁠;⁠)

asdkjhasdjkhhads THANK YOU

I forgot what my profile pic was and now that I’m looking at her again I’m kinda embarrassed by it,, that’s a really old doodle. I could do better than that. But Thank You again,!!

[longing-for-the-past-times]

Their reaction to seeing you reading

Task Force 141 x Reader headcanons

notes: I don't know if this was done before, but once I got the idea, I couldn't get it out of my head before writing it down. This is my first time writing headcanons, I hope I did the characters justice :). Let me know what you think about it!

find it on a03 masterlist

Captain 'John' Price

He is headed towards the lounging area after staying overtime because of due paperwork. It is already dark outside and, when he sees the lights on, he thinks someone just forgot them that way.

You may understand his surprised reaction when he sees you sitting cross-legged on the couch, a book in your hands.

“Nearly gave me a heart attack, kid!”

You give him a sheepish smile and hide your face behind the book, staying true to the principle: out of mind, out of sight. You didn’t mean to stay long - you just wanted to finish the chapter. But it ended in a cliffhanger so you had to at least begin the next chapter and the vicious cycle went on.

It doesn’t take him long to realise that you are, in fact, holding a book. And he can’t hide his grin when he figures you must have lost track of time because of it.

“Didn’t take you for a reader, kid!”, he raises an eyebrow as he joins you on the couch, his eyes drifting to the cover. “And certainly did not know you read classics!”

“Always full of surprises, Captain!”, you smile at him as you look around, searching for something. A triumphant smile graces your lips when you find the piece of crumpled paper, and you proceed to put it on the page you remained at, before closing the book.

Definitely asks you about the book you’re reading and what else you’ve read, proceeding to compare your literary preferences

He may not read as much as he did when he was younger, but he can and will boast with the filled bookshelves he has at home

Encourages your reading habits when you are at the base and brings you reading snacks when you decide to spend your evenings in the base’s lounging room, curled up with whatever book you’re reading at the moment

Might sometimes join you with a book of his own. Nobody dares to say anything about the two operators who occasionally spend their lunch break with their noses stuck in a book.

Lieutenant Simon "Ghost" Riley

Never been much of a reader as he simply did not have the time, or the available resources

So at first, he does not understand why you are sobbing by yourself in the kitchen, frantically highlighting something with a neon marker

Who did that to you? Did he need to hunt down someone?

It was when he got closer that he realised you were actually reading something and the content must have made you upset

No problem, he’ll track the writer down and-

"Oh, Ghost, didn’t see you there!", you looked up at him, a shy smile on your face.

He is at a loss for words and ends up nodding towards the open book: “Is it any good?”

“Well, I think it would be an insult to say Shakespeare is ‘just good’, don’t you think?”

All he’s thinking of are those literature classes he should have paid more attention to.

He quickly steers the conversation in another direction, asking you about training and whatnot. Something blooms in his chest when he sees you setting the book away in an instant, a warm smile gracing your features as you turn your attention towards him.

He spends the following evening researching Shakespeare’s works as much as he can. He’d caught a glimpse of the book you’d been reading, Hamlet, and he ends up ordering an annotated copy.

It takes him an entire week to get through it, but the look on your face when he asks you about the book is priceless.

You spend the entire afternoon talking about it (you talk, he mostly listens), and he was surprised he didn’t notice your reading habits earlier. When you talked about books, you could light up the room with your enthusiasm and passion.

Is the kind of man who would build you a bookshelf from scratch

“Your books wouldn’t fit in a standard bookshelf anyway. And I can paint the wood to match the tone of your walls.”

Sergeant John "Soap" MacTavish

The type of man that says he’ll wait for the movie to come out

And if there is a book adaptation, he'll definitely make you watch it with him to prove his point

You spend the next hours pointing out why the book was better than the movie, while he tries to convince you otherwise

Constantly teases you about your reading habits, but secretly, he loves to watch you read. The array of emotional states you seem to go through when reading fascinates him.

"Maybe we should start calling you Belle from now on, bonnie. You know, the Belle from Beauty and the Beast - the one who's always with her nose stuck in a book?"

One day a recruit decides to prank you and hides your current read in the men's showers.

Soap takes note of your distracted state, but doesn't push it. He knows you'll come to him when it feels right.

Until he stumbles upon what was left of your book when preparing to take a shower. He recognizes it only by the vibrant colour of the cover as the pages are wrinkled and illegible, due to the water exposure.

It does not take him long to find the culprit. He was too busy boasting about his "achievement" to his team-mates, in the locker room.

Soap makes sure he regrets his actions by assigning him to latrine duty for the following month.

He also makes it his personal mission to buy you another copy of the book. The only problem is that he does not remember the title. Or the author. Or the plot.

"It has this orange cover, with two people on it! And there's white text on it too!"

Safe to say, the librarian is unimpressed by his comprehensive description.

So he has to spend an entire night scrolling through an online library page to find it.

But it's all worth it in the end. He'll never forget the shocked expression on your face when he handed you the hastily wrapped book. Or the wide smile that spreads across your face, followed by a tight and warm hug.

He might buy you more books in the future, just to have you grin at him like that.

Sergeant Kyle "Gaz" Garrick

Like Ghost, he didn't particularly care for reading. It was not that he didn't like it, he just had other priorities

He wasn't even aware of your reading habits until you were both stuck in a safe house, waiting to be evacuated.

You were leaning against the wall, next to him, when you pulled a book out of your pocket.

He had to do a double take- why did you have a leatherbound book in your pocket? Were you carrying it throughout the entire mission? What if you got shot - was the leather thick enough to stop the bullet if it got past your tac vest?

"Gaz, you're staring."

"Just took me by surprise, love."

You playfully rolled your eyes at the endearment, your hand leafing through the pages.

He knew you could feel him watching you, but he couldn't help himself. He felt like he just unlocked a new part of your personality.

"Is it any good?"

"Do you want to read it?"

"I wouldn't mind you reading to me..."

Once again, you rolled your eyes in fake annoyance but complied with his request and went back to the beginning of the chapter.

The story was quite gripping, something about a rich bachelor who must be in search of a wife. Kyle tried to focus on the story, but he was more intent on enjoying your calm and soothing voice.

He unintentionally fell asleep and you did not realise until you felt the weight of his body leaning against your shoulder.

As retaliation, you forced him to join you on a trip to the library. He did not bother to hide the fact that he did not see it as a punishment, not when he knew it would make you happy.

He let you drag across the entire fiction section and patiently listened to you describing all the books you've read. He also took a lot of mental notes on the books you intended to read in the future- if only the covers did not look so similar!

Eventually discovers he's more of an audiobook person.

So he would listen to the novel you were currently reading, excited to meet with you at the end of the day and discuss it with you.

[simvanie]

7 Sins Legacy - generation 5 (gluttony)

Gulshan: 'Morning!... ...

Gulshan: What? ... Oh god, please don't tell me that I forgot to put on pants this morning-

Lord Hamlet: OINKOINKOINKOINKOINK!!! 😃🏃‍♂️

Gulshan: Hamlet! Buddy! What are you doing here?! I missed you so much! Britney: Guess what?! The rules for pets in restaurants have changed! We personally submitted a request for Lord Hamlet, and it got approved!

Gulshan: Really? That's amazing! Why did the rules suddenly change? Britney: We got some help from someone who had the connections we needed... Someone you know very well.

Gulshan: ...Don't tell me you asked my mother for help- Britney: Listen, she wanted to help us and-

Gulshan: The only reason she would ever help me is because she can feel good about herself! It feeds her narcissistic ego, not because she actually wants to help me. I should've handled this myself-

Temperance: Hey, but you have Hamlet back, right? And now other restaurants have the opportunity to have pets as well! ...Let's just focus on that.

Gulshan: ...You're right. I'm sorry- I really appreciate you guys. Thank you.

[choiwonder]

FIRST KISS . HAN JISUNG

tw/cw ༝ 0.8k wc, ummm a little tiny bit suggestive, hints of pining, teasing, making out, my little interpretation of college/frat boy jisung, i am actually going over shakespeare and hamlet in class so i’m lowkey projecting, hyunjin is a cockblocker!!!!

“hey,” han steps aside as he opened the door.

you look around the house, not surprised by the amount of drinks, trash bags and food surrounding the kitchen. being a close friend of hyunjin would initially lead to you being constantly invited to his parties, “hey, where’s hyunjin?”

“he just went out to buy snacks for you guys.”

“oh, okay,” you nod, setting your bag down on the couch. you place your notebook, papers and laptop to prepare for tonight.

“what’re you guys going over tonight?” jisung asks, taking a seat and looking over what you set down on the table.

“shakespearean drama and the tragedy of hamlet,” you sigh, eyes lifting away from your phone and over to his, “we need to discuss the theme, its significance and the relationship of hamlet and horatio.”

han shook his head, leaning back, “so glad i don’t have to deal with that shit anymore. my classes are way better this year.”

“oh, yeah,” you smile, copying the way jisung leaned back on the couch and moved a few inches closer, “i forgot you switched majors… what’re you doing now?”

“dance.”

impressed by his response, your eyebrows raise. han’s lips stretch at your reaction, his body impulsively turning to face you.

“surprised?”

“kinda.”

he feigns offence, “why? what’d you expect?”

“maybe rap or producing,” you laugh as if it was obvious.

while hyunjin always invited you out, jisung was also there and you couldn’t help but admire him from afar. though you knew he was a good dancer, you also took notice at how good he was at rapping, singing and producing music. you were astonished and respected him for being hardworking and remaining humble.

“i know it’s something you’re good at… plus,” you voice drops down to a whisper and your hand aims for him to come closer as if someone was listening to this conversation. han leans over, fulfilling your request when his ear is next to your lips, “you’d look really hot working in a studio.”

jisung leans back, just enough for your faces to be inches apart. he could only smile at your comment, his pearly whites peeking through. his deep brown eyes flicker across the features of your face, solely focusing on the canvas of your lips.

han sucks in a breath, his hand carefully placed on your knee, itching to caress the palette of your thigh, “… do you think hyunjin would care if i kissed you right now?”

“mmmmm…. maybe,” you shrug with a small smile. if hyunjin were to find his two best friends kissing each other he’d likely throw a fit about how weird it is; but that was the least of your concerns, this conversation with jisung was far more important.

jisung falsely pouts, lightly squeezing your cheek, “well that’s too bad,” he pulls away with a sigh, all the warmness drafting from his skin vanished all too soon.

“such a tease,” you huff, rolling your eyes. you knew he wanted you to plead and beg for something as simple as a kiss but your stubbornness was stronger than his desire to see you compliant, “i have homework to do, go away.”

“aw, don’t be like that,” jisung laughs, “here, come, i’ll give you a kiss.”

you roll your eyes again, pushing him away as he tugs on your arm, but he doesn’t budge, his strength completely pulling you towards him. like mere seconds ago, han places his hand on your knee, leaning in close enough his mouth hovers centimeters above yours.

his free hand cups your cheek and you wait for him to make the first move but he does nothing except lean you back against the couch.

you heart thumped out your chest, yearning for this exact moment. you caved just as jisung hoped you would, but he only pulls back by a centimeter to watch you continuously feen for a kiss.

of course, knowing you’d push him away with no qualms of forgiveness, he finally fills the gap that settled between you. is this a dream? you think, feeling and adoring the way he drops his body weight, his knee resting idly between your legs. jisung hums, his hand moving up your thigh and under your shirt.

you quickly grip the back of his head, holding him close to you as he dares to pull away. from what was initially a simple first kiss turned into a mini makeout session. han could only chuckle, his breath intake reaching its limit, “you know i would love to continue but hyunjin’s here…”

a sigh of disappointment left the traces of your lips, you kiss han once more before moving away from him. he smiles, squeezing your cheek, ready to report back to his room, “don’t miss me too much, alright?”

taglist: @luvrhyune @ttyunz @uno7

© choiwonder ༝ do not copy, translate, modify or repost any of my work on any platform, or claim it as your own.

[variousqueerthings]

well, that was bad. thank goodness DT didn't make it in American TV, I'm sure he would have been miserable + his accent is atrocious

finished off today with the cbeebies bedtime story he did, which honestly... do recommend to any DT doctor who fans, it gave me a bit of doctor who feelings (at the end he does a sort of "I know another story about someone who ran away in a blue box...")

+ cbeebies bedtime is good for calming down the busy brain

it's a "watch all the david tennant stuff that's free on youtube with my partner" evening, and that's nice

[deathzgf]

( almost ) all of my sketches & wips from ~ 5 november 12023 - now

vaguely oldest - newest but i am lowk just fuck it we balling it

ogay let ' s go

shitty hamlet hamilton thing to start us off yay based off of that one line in the musical

thomas jefferson

i cannae remember if this was meant to be sj or cami but Pony

GET OUT OF MY HEAD GET OUT OF MY HEAD GET OUT OF MY HEAD

me versus drawing sj with a Fuck Ton of piercings ( the demons )

kill

This Fucking THING

holy fucking shit my first napolexander art

yeah

i drew this whilst rewatching 2023 napoleon in cinema Based upon a 2002 napoleon scene

james fitzjames

shkroeder please i have a wife and kids

ekkochoso

i hate his stupid fucking hair so i drew a cat with him

i love my wife i forgive her for almost killing me

thomas jefferson getting high with the french except rousseau keels over and dies whilst robespierre just Oh Dear

idk why i drew the social contract that thick brah

based upon a twitter interaction i had with the owners of these ocs

what the fuck is going on in the upper right corner

different jules times ( 1789 , 1793 ( ? ) , 1794 )

calijules i drew on the plane to japan

i also watched succession on the plane . catboys & catgirls You ' re welcome

turn washington ' s spies hewlett sorry i am the # 1 annalett yuri truther

jules ref sketch i forgot to fucking crop

sleepy calijules

violent calijules

freak

+

[enbysiriusblack]

Tell us about how you'd direct your hamlet!

okay warning this is going to be long...

and firstly i'd like to say that i don't like when productions cut out any lines so like. every line is being said no matter how long that makes the performance go on for

so it opens up with francisco alone on stage, clearly scared. then when bernado comes along, they act very uhh close and caring with each other. but once horatio and marcellus come along (through the audience and they also leave through the audience. no one else does btw), it becomes much more co-worker-esque gossiping.

the ghost wouldn't be played by anyone... hear me out !! they'd be a smoke machine on stage during the ghost's scenes and they'd be a voice, but on actual person visible on stage. i feel like it'd work well with the back and forth discussion about whether the ghost is actually there or not.

in the second scene, hamlet if extremely depressed. like everyone is standing upright and proper but still smiling and visibly happy. whilst hamlet sits in the corner of the stage for most of it, sagging and clearly frowning throughout.

and claudius is very loud and booming and kinda like most portrayals of santa claus yk? like extremely cheery and charming and friendly. gertrude is quiet and sweet and a kinda picture of older feminity- she speaks to hamlet with a lot of honest care and concern. they both stand on this litle platform bit at like the centre of the stage.

when everyone leaves, hamlet is still in his little corner, moping, but when horatio comes in he suddenly springs up with a huge smile and embraces him, holding horatio's face in his hands and everything- but then is quite dismissive towards marcellus and bernado and clearly doesn't even notice them at first

ophelia and laertes are like. joking around, very usual brother & sister behaviour. ophelia is confident and at the same level of laertes (neither being on the platform), they lightly hit each other and laugh and mock each other etc.

then when polonius comes in, he wraps his arm around laertes and guides him onto the platform whilst ophelia remains below and is suddenly quiet and shrinking in on herself a lot more, and laertes is clearly concerned about her and a bit pissed off about his father's interruption but pretends not to be.

oh polonius is like this. trying to be charming guy? like i forgot to mention in the scene with claudius, polonius is very clearly mimicking claudius' facial expressions and physical gestures like very obviously. and here it's kinda still there? like he's smiling but it's very clearly strained and drops every now and then, but he's also kinda pushing both his kids around the stage, making them stand where he deems

when hamlet sees the ghost he is very distraught and sobbing and on the flear pleading and shit, and also actually stand where the smoke machine is, whereas like before horatio and the guards were standing on the other side of the stage to the smoke

ophelia's in act 2 scene 1 is like. a mess. but she stil looks perfectly put together, dress and hair and makeup all perfect and pretty and dainty. but she's crying and flailing her hands and sitting down (yes like hamlet previously did. that's the point)

rosencrantz and guildenstein are like. frat boys. that's what they act like. but are also trying to be respectful and proper in front of the king so it's a real juxtaposition

(also btw. claudius and gertrude are once again on the platform as usual)

so the scene with polonius and hamlet (one of my faves)- hamlet is starting to pretend to be mad now, so he's like. kinda acting like ophelia just did, ish. also polonius immediatly went on the platform as soon as claudius and gertrude left the stage, but when hamlet comes on, he also jumps onto the platform (for the first time) and just sits on it, feet dangling off. he's also grinning and laughing manically a lot. and also his book is upside down, in which polonius tries to correct this (near the "what do you read, my lord" line, and hamlet swats his hand away. also when hamlet makes the "have you a daughter?" and the sex joke, he does thrust his hips at polonius.

when hamlet sees rosencrantz and guildenstein, he also transforms into frat boy... they all chest bumb before proceeding to make their sex jokes (but then hamlet kinda remembers he's meant to be pretending to be mad so reverts back into how he was acting with polonius)

when hamlet gets alone, he suddenly switches back to how he was a the start- sad and mopey. also he changes tempo a lot in his solilquys, like sometimes having super long pauses where he's just breathing and glancing absentmindly in the distant, to then suddenly speaking a mile a minute like he's thinking all these things at once na has to get it out

when ophelia talks to hamlet, she's being her very careful, timid self (like how she acts with polonius), and hamlet seems instantly curious and suspicious by that (so it's like she usually acts with him how she does with laertes)- they're also both very clearly avoiding the platform in the middle of the stage, like both skirting around it whilst they argue and walk and follow each other around bitterly BUT when hamlet leaves and ophelia does her short solilquy, she puts one leg up on the platform and is back to that confident self again. but she then removes her foot from the platform and shrinks against when polonius and claudius return

when hamlet and horatio see each other again, they're back to their extreme closeness and touching, etc. hamlet has dropped the facade but is still smiling- just more honestly now. horatio looks at hamlet with great admiration and affection

during the play scene- all the actors (other than those playing the players) come off the stage to sit with the actual audience. hamlet and ophelia sit extremely close together and are laughing and shit- hamlet is still putting on the facade however it does drop slightly sometimes depending on ophelia's reactions (it drops when ophelia says "i think nothing", in a very jokey/witty manner in which he laughs honestly instead of manically) hamlet is also very clearly excited for the play and ophelia finds this very funny/is happy for him. he also keep looking over at claudius and gertrude to see their reactions

after the play and his earnest conversation with horatio, he speaks extremely fast with barely stopping- rosencrantz and guildenstein (and polonius a bit later) are barely keeping up and look very confused throughout

in the scene where hamlet is about to kill claudius, claudius isn't on the platform but hamlet does go on it (claudius kneeling just in front of it)

when polonius is hiding, he uses the actual curtains at the back of the stage. and hamlet also drags the dead polonius around the stage a bit like a toy, after killing him (before then dragging him off at the end of the scene), he only stops to go stand in the smoke when the ghost returns- and when he drags polonius off, he goes into the audience and past them and actually puts the polonius actor in the theatre lobby (so the audience will see him just lying there if they go to the toilet or after the play ends)

the scenes after this are extremely manic, with everyone rushing around and coming on and off stage every few seconds

in the scene with gertrude and ophelia and horatio, ophelia comes in and firmly stands on the platform- which gertrude was on but leaves in order to create distance between herself and ophelia. ophelia is acting much more her actual self (the confident self she was in her first scene with laertes), and isn't even acting that madly (hamlet was clearly acting much more mentally unstable than her)- but she is standing straight and relaxed and and is singing and humming and speaking her mind and cracking jokes. ophelia also can't sing- she's very out of tune and her melody of whatever keeps changing- and her costume is now untidy and not fully on, her hair down and wild, and her makeup is scrubbed off. when claudius comes on stage, he tries to go on the platform but ophelia stops him- and everytime claudius calls her pretty she gives him a scathing glare. and she sings the valentines song directed towards horatio, who lets her swing his arm and make him dance to it with her

when ophelia comes back on stage, her dress and body and hair are now covered in mud, as she hands flowers to everyone. when she gives a flower to laertes, she strokes his face in affection.

the graveyard scene should be peak comedy at first. full on laughter and jokes. hamlet smelling a skull and going 'pah' at the stink of it, horatio laughing at his reaction before saying 'even so'

when like everyone else comes on stage for ophelia's burial, hamlet and horatio both go and sit in the audience. they place ophelia on the floor, below the stage, so laertes jumps off the stage when he *leaps into her grave*, and hamlet leaps into her grave from the other direction (the audience)- and hamlet says 'brothers' very sarcastically- as if he thinks laertes was never a good enough brother for ophelia

when hamlet is messing with osric, horatio is laughing alongside him, and osric is just blistfully confused and innocent. horatio makes a silly little comment and hamlet laughs then hamlet makes a silly little comment and horatio laughs, and osric is just standing there trying to figure out if he should be putting his hat on or not. but after osric leaves and horatio starts saying that hamlet won't win the fight, they get very serious, cause like horatio is very worried about if hamlet is going to die and hamlet tries to comfort him

the fight scene is very tense. everyone's sort of watching it very closely, most people knowing what's really going on. and gertrude takes the poisoned drink innocently- she doesn't know it is poisoned, but realises once she falls and is then kinda yelling to hamlet to warn him what is happening, and laertes too regrets his involvement (i mean obvious from the lines, but i'd probably have him actually like pushing hamlet towards the king in order to try to get hamlet to kill him), and when hamlet kills claudius, claudius falls off the platform.

then when hamlet says to horatio that he's going to die, he climbs onto the platform to lay down, horatio running across the stage to him and frantically grabbing the cup of poison for himself, which hamlet rips from his hands and chucks off stage. hamlet dies in horatio's arms (kinda like the tennant production), both sitting on the platform with horatio just loudly sobbing for a few minutes, with everything else silent, and an array of bodies across the stage and a few minor actors, like osric, just standing awkwardly in the background watching horatio.

when fortinbras finally comes on stage, horatio hesitantly stands up to deliver his lines. and once fortinbras' men take hamlet's body off stage to give him a respectful burial, horatio also leaves the stage and heads into the audience whilst fortinbras takes onto the platform, talking to his men (audience unable to hear it), and horatio takes his seat in the audience again and remains there, still loudly crying as the audience clap as the curtains draw

[tgrailwar-zero]

Who are you cheering for, Astolfo? :D

ASTOLFO: "I dunno! Probably the funny guy with the bird head."

ASTOLFO: "..."

You were given a 'I'm pretty sure I don't know who you are but you clearly know me so either I forgot or I'm missing something and I don't want to say something first so I'm just going to give it a second to see if anything gets cleared up'-type of look.

It's a very distinct expression.

The Expression remained.

KUKULKAN: "...The spooky voices? From the Hamlet?"

The Expression evaporated.

ASTOLFO: "Oh, yeah! How the heck have you been? I've been doing okay! Lots of this and that. You have arms now! That's awesome! I've had arms for my whole life, except for that one time where I had branches, but when I got my arms back after that I was pretty happy!"

[lizardrosen]

ah you see, polonius has two hands, and each of his lovers are adding another to the count, that makes four!

and yeah... yeah, that would be a good reason to keep them apart

funniest possible solution to the timeloop story is if laertes finds out that his dad and claudius used to hook up and he and ophelia do their level best to matchmake them, so claudius doesn't even think about killing king hamlet so he can marry gertrude

it's not the route i'm going, but i do keep chuckling about it

[lukethompsondaily]

He is best known for Netflix hit Bridgerton, but Luke Thompson’s theatre pedigree encompasses Shakespeare, Greek tragedy and Ivo van Hove’s marathon A Little Life. He talks to Fergus Morgan about his passion for the stage and his worries for its future

Luke Thompson might have shot to stardom thanks to his role as Benedict in Netflix’s smash-hit series Bridgerton, but the 35-year-old actor is most at home on stage.

“I spectate on myself,” Thompson says. “I always have done. It’s been a bit painful in my life. And the only place on earth it doesn’t happen is on stage when someone else is spectating instead and so I don’t have to worry. You’re watching me so I don’t have to watch myself. I feel free. Those are the best moments of my life.”

Fortunately, Thompson has not been short of stage work. Born in Southampton in 1988, he grew up just outside Paris, returning to the UK to study English and drama at the University of Bristol, before training at RADA. He landed his first job almost immediately after graduating in 2013: playing Lysander in Dominic Dromgoole’s staging of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Shakespeare’s Globe in London.

Since then, alongside screen roles in BBC One’s In the Club and Bridgerton, Thompson has starred in Julius Caesar at the Globe, Oresteia and Hamlet – opposite Andrew Scott – at London’s Almeida, and King Lear and A Little Life in the West End. Both he and co-star James Norton were nominated for Olivier awards for their performances in Ivo van Hove’s acclaimed adaptation of Hanya Yanagihara’s hard-hitting novel.

“A Little Life was such an intense experience,” Thompson says. “Intense in a good way, I mean. The material was very bleak, but acting is always pleasurable because you are indulging in a fantasy, even if it’s a dark one, and that is inherently fun.”

Thompson also thinks that theatre has lost some of its belief in itself. “Theatre is supposed to be provocative. I’m not on social media, but I think it can be very aggressive and vicious, and I think theatres cave to that a bit. Deep down, theatre is the opposite of social media. It is about people being in a room, exchanging opinions and emotions. I worry that social media is spoiling that a bit, which is a shame.”

What production made you fall in love with theatre?

I remember standing in the Yard at Shakespeare’s Globe in 2009 and watching Thea Sharrock’s production of As You Like It, and thinking: ‘Oh, wow, this is really funny and it actually works. When done simply and confidently, Shakespeare still speaks to us today.’ For my first job to be at the Globe a few years later was magical.

What are you finding inspiring at the moment?

I love watching Ivo [van Hove]’s company do stuff. There is something so wild about the acting in his shows. We get very bogged down with facts in this country, but Ivo understands the dream logic of plays. Some of the most moving things I’ve seen don’t completely make sense. I find that inspiring.

What do you wish you could change about the performing arts industry?

I wish theatre had more confidence. Right now, it feels unsure about how useful it is and about how taboo, complex and provocative it should be. I feel as though theatre has lost confidence in its societal function.

What is the worst thing that has happened to you on stage?

There was a scene in A Little Life in which James ran around naked for a bit, then I would bring him clothes. During one show, I couldn’t find his underpants, so I just brought him his trousers and he put them on. But I forgot that people pulled his trousers off again later and they were expecting him to be wearing underpants. James knew it was coming and I knew it was coming and we couldn’t look at each other for the rest of the play. I hope he doesn’t mind me telling that story. It was so funny.

What is the best thing that has happened to you on stage?

There are so many. That sounds naff but I don’t care. I love the challenge of going on stage night after night and trying to make something feel alive in front of an audience.

What role do you really want to play?

I would work with Ivo again at the drop of a hat. And there are loads and loads of roles I would love to play. I did a reading of a rewriting of The Seagull the other day. The role of Konstantin is really beautiful. I’d love to play that. I’d love to play Iago one day, too. Of course, I’d love to play Hamlet but it’s boring to say that.

What projects are you involved in at the moment?

I’m playing Berowne in Emily Burns’ production of Love’s Labour’s Lost with the Royal Shakespeare Company. She has set it on a Polynesian island owned by these big tech billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg or Elon Musk, of which I am one. It’s a really smart concept that unlocks a lot of very interesting stuff in the play. Season three of Bridgerton is coming out in May and June, too. And we will be filming season four soon after that. There’s a lot still to come.

Source: The Stage