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fatalfanfiction · 4 years

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On Air - Zuka (ZukoxSokka)

On Air

Rating: M

Pairing: Sokka/Zuko

Chapters: 1/2

AO3

Summary:

“Your voice sounds familiar,” he muttered as he took Sokka’s card.

“I host the university’s radio station at night during the week,” Sokka said with a proud grin.

“That would explain it,” the barista shrugged, “We always have it playing.”

“Well, glad to know someone listens at night,” Sokka gave a laugh.

“I look forward to it, actually. It gets pretty slow in here on these night shifts,” the barista shrugged.

Sokka almost fainted at the compliment.

[Or the one where Sokka hosts the late night University radio station and Zuko is a new barista at the University coffee shop and their worlds collide because Sokka can't stop thinking about Zuko]

I still take commissions y’all! You can hit me up on here or AO3 or basically any of my social media, really!

It wasn’t hard to do Sokka’s job but he still knew he was good at it. Working for Omashu University’s radio station had an obnoxious amount of perks—He could get discounts literally anywhere on campus, he was well known simply by his voice (and if it was one thing Sokka loved, it was attention), and he had a platform so he could promote things like clubs, social movements, and people—when he found someone he wanted to get the attention of, anyway.

Sokka was a flirt so this had been a regular occurrence in the past but that was beside the point because the new night barista at the 24 hour coffee shop is so gorgeous that he has made it a habit to stop in before and after each shift just to buy… anything.

Now, Sokka just had to get his attention.

He’s spoken to him on a few occasions, sure, but they were mostly small talk while Sokka bought his nightly and morning coffee.

“You’re here a lot,” Sokka once said.

“I work nights so you just happen to catch me in the beginning and the end of my shift,” the barista once muttered in response.

And my god, Sokka was so enchanted by the barista’s raspy voice that he forgot to ask why he was the only barista that didn’t wear a nametag—especially since the barista knew his name by now. There’s only so many times the two men can have the conversation of:

“What’s the name for the order?” he would ask and then, “—oh, Sokka, right?”

And then Sokka would say, “Yup, that’s me.”

After a few times of this, their conversation turned to:

“Your voice sounds familiar,” he muttered as he took Sokka’s card.

“I host the university’s radio station at night during the week,” Sokka said with a proud grin.

“That would explain it,” the barista shrugged, “We always have it playing.”

“Well, glad to know someone listens at night,” Sokka gave a laugh.

“I look forward to it, actually. It gets pretty slow in here on these night shifts,” the barista shrugged.

Sokka almost fainted at the compliment.

But Sokka never got the barista’s name and that was an issue.

So, once his shift was over, Sokka made a beeline for the coffee shop and waited in the line that the morning rush had created. Sokka could see the exhaust in the barista’s face and felt himself frown. He realized then that all he wanted to do was make that barista smile and Sokka, being the joke person he was, took on that challenge.

He stepped up to the counter and could hear the university radio playing quietly in the distance of the café as the barista looked up from the cash register and gave Sokka smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

“How can I help you?” he asked.

“I’ll take my usual,” Sokka said with a smile, “You know me, so adventurous.”

The barista gave another smile that—again—didn’t reach his eyes.

“$5.95,” the barista stated, clicking buttons on the register.

“Don’t forget my discount,” Sokka mentioned and handed the barista a twenty.

“Right, I apologize. It’ll be—“

“It’s fine. Keep the change as a tip,” Sokka said with a wave.

“What?” the barista said, “I couldn’t possibly accept this.”

“You can,” Sokka said, “Just tell me your name.”

The barista froze and Sokka saw his eyes squint—his injured eye significantly less so than the other. After a moment a single word left his lips;

“Zuko.”

“Zuko,” Sokka echoed with a smile, “I like it.”

“Thanks?” Zuko muttered as the shock continued to set in.

“Have a good day, Zuko,” Sokka said softly.

“You too,” Zuko muttered.

Sokka left without his drink and chose to enjoy the remainder of his Saturday napping.

Sokka spends most of his free time on homework when he isn’t in class. His schedule is incredibly packed; again, working for the radio station had its perks which meant he got extensions on almost all of his assignments (only because he had an evening job on campus). His classes were all afternoon classes this semester, too—unlike past semesters where he would be ping ponging between sporadic classes and the station.

He realizes quickly, however, that he begins to search for Zuko. Sokka had never seen the guy before a week ago and the university was large, sure, but everyone knew everyone after a while (especially Sokka but that’s not the point). Sokka had to physically tear his eyes from each window he would pass as he would sometimes stop and search the courtyard for Zuko��s figure.

Sokka being an engineer major meant he was mostly secluded to one building during his classes but he had friends with such different majors that he knew the buildings and its attendees well and, of course, he was the radio host that was known for playing the best music when he would cover for weekend shifts.

During the week, however, Sokka took a different approach but his boring work was not at the front of his mind.

The point was Sokka knew people—lots of people.

Sokka’s mind was always occupied with Zuko.

Entering the coffee shop early come Monday was new for Sokka but he figured he could get a little studying in before his shift—that was his excuse, anyway. In reality, Sokka was tired of not seeing Zuko around the campus and insisted to himself this needed to change. Zuko had yet to arrive which made sense. Sokka doesn’t usually drop in for another hour and a half and has to be at work in two hours but it’s not like Sokka necessarily knows Zuko’s schedule, either. Less than two days and he was restless—what was this obsession?

Sokka had a type, he thought as he took a seat at one of the free tables.

“Oh, you’re here,” a voice came from behind him and Sokka looked up to find Zuko over his shoulder.

“So are you,” Sokka responded.

Zuko smirked, “I work here?”

Sokka paused for a moment before letting out a laugh.

“Right, of course. I just uh—came here to study,” Sokka stated, motioning to his closed English textbook.

“You came to study English?” Zuko asked with a raised eyebrow.

Sokka had just grabbed a random textbook, if he were to be honest (Actually, he realized this was Aang’s textbook and not even his). In reality, he had every intention of sitting on his phone scrolling through various social medias before Zuko arrived.

“Oh, no—I just—uhh, formatting, you know? MLA verus APA and all that,” Sokka stumbled over his words, leaning his chin on his fist where it rested on the table.

“You’re a Psychology major?” Zuko asked.

God, Zuko wasn’t easily fooled.

“I’m a Sociology major,” Zuko said before Sokka could correct him, “anyway, I was hoping I would catch you here.”

Sokka’s heart skipped a beat and he was sure Zuko could see the blush creeping across his ears.

“Why is that? Also, you should sit. Relax a bit before your shift—That’s what I’m doing,” Sokka said, hand extending to the empty chair across from him.

“I thought you were studying,” Zuko chided through a soft smirk but he accepted the offer and took a seat. “I wanted to return this,” he muttered and dug in his pocket before sliding a twenty across to Sokka.

Sokka sighed.

“Not this again. Will you just accept it?”

“You didn’t even buy anything, really! I won’t just put it in the till and there’s no way I deserve this big of a tip,” Zuko shot back.

“I think you do,” Sokka shrugged.

“How could you possibly know that? We’ve met a handful of times—“

“And you’ve been delightful every time,” Sokka shrugged again, “You think I come here for the discount? I could easily go to the Starbucks around the corner and get the same thing. It’s actually closer to the radio station than here.”

“Then why do you come here, exactly?” Zuko asked carefully, hand leaving the bill in the center of the table.

“I like supporting the school, I like the atmosphere, I like the workers— Just to name a few reasons,” Sokka spoke nonchalantly.

Zuko rolled his eyes and Sokka smiled.

“Take the damn twenty. You looked tired the other day. You deserved it.”

Sokka pushed the twenty back across the table and leaned back, arms crossed.

“Fine, but you don’t pay for any more drinks while I’m working,” Zuko sighed and pocketed the twenty slowly.

“I’m not going to let you get in trouble over a—“

“I’m allowed three free drinks per shift. I drink tea which is given freely to the workers—Besides, my uncle owns the place,” Zuko shrugged.

“Wait, your uncle has ties with the school?” Sokka asked carefully.

Zuko just nodded.

“I don’t know much about it. It’s coincidence I chose this university,” Zuko shrugged.

Sokka was positive this was not a coincidence.

“I have to get back there,” Zuko said, standing from the table, “Will you be here for a bit?”

“Yeah, I have another hour before work,” Sokka said.

Zuko nodded and disappeared without a word. Sokka took that as a sign of the end of conversation and turned his attention back to his phone—fighting himself to pay attention to something other than the dark haired beauty. But moments later, a large drink was placed in front of him with a playful wink by said beauty.

“Hope you wanted your usual,” Zuko muttered.

“Are you sure about this?” Sokka asked carefully.

“Just take it,” Zuko said before giving a small wave and returning behind the counter.

Sokka didn’t bother to hide his watching of the other man until he had to go.

Sokka settled into the seat he would be occupying for the rest of the night. Suki, his call screener, sat beside him and hummed a song quietly as she double checked the buttons on the switchboard in front of them. They were friends and gave each other a pleasant greeting upon seeing each other but they saved the rest of their conversations for on-air.

Even someone as talkative as Sokka can get tired of talking when it’s his job.

Sokka’s on-air persona wasn’t too different than his normal self but Suki was a different story—she was a strong, boisterous person usually but on-air she was reserved and soft. Sokka sometimes wondered if it was because she wanted to seem likeable and other times he wondered if she was just somewhat shy on-air.

“So how was your weekend?” Suki asked as she finished setting up.

“My weekend started off interestingly enough,” Sokka said nonchalantly.

“Did that have to do with the cute boy I’ve been hearing about?”

“No, not at all,” Sokka said with a shrug.

“No, not at all despite all the texts about how soft his hair looks, his soft features, his raspy voice—“ Suki trailed with a knowing smirk.

“Please stop, we need to focus.”

“I mean, do we?” Suki asked and Sokka laughed.

“Let’s just do this,” Sokka said chuckling and Suki nodded, flipping the correct switches.

“Hi listeners and welcome back to the Sokka and Suki show—“

“Sokka, that isn’t what we’re called,” Suki laughed and Sokka shrugged towards her.

“It might as well be, right?” He asked, adjusting his headset.

“I’m rolling my eyes,” Suki stated but she didn’t and Sokka flashed a smile.

Monday wasn’t anything special topic-wise for their show so Sokka and Suki would just occasionally talk between songs that would usually play based on requests but as the night got later, requests became fewer and fewer. (If you were to ask Sokka, it was actually an interesting concept that the school app had a section just for the station where people could submit questions, comments, secrets, song requests—whatever their topic of the day happened to be. Suki thought it was unnecessary.) Once the song requests slowed, Sokka began choosing the songs and Suki (who wasn’t blind in the slightest) called him out almost immediately.

Worst of all, she did it on air.

But Suki was bold and that boldness came out even through her radio persona.

“I notice you are queuing a lot of love songs, Sokka,” Suki said and Sokka shot her a look.

She smirked.

Suki, despite being his coworker, friend, and ex-girlfriend never stopped being hot—even when she was being a little shit.

“Maybe I’m just in a loving mood,” Sokka countered.

“Maybe it has to do with that new—“

“Nope! Here’s Dua Lipa’s Good in Bed,” Sokka said quickly and switched off their mics and the song began to play, “God you’re—“

“Hot? Sexy? Overwhelmingly beautiful?”

“And annoying,” Sokka laughed and Suki smirked.

“You said he listens. I just thought I would help you out a little,” Suki shrugged.

“I don’t need your help,” Sokka mocked, “I’m a flirt naturally without my ex trying to help.”

“As your ex, I can say you definitely need help,” Suki chimed.

Around three, it had been a solid two hours since their last request when a quiet ding! played through his headset and he looked at the screen to see a single sentence that made his heart jump just a little.

I like the love songs. You should keep doing it. Sometimes it helps.

And god, if Sokka didn’t know how that felt. Part of the reason he applied for the job was because of Sokka’s interest in music and the expression music gave—and music about love, especially unrequited, was a whole different level.

“Looks like someone is listening—even now,” Suki commented.

“Yeah,” Sokka muttered.

He wasn’t going to pretend that Zuko was on the sending end of that message but it was an interesting thought.

Leaving the station yawning wasn’t any different than usual but Mondays were difficult because his sleep schedule would often get reset over the weekend and here he was, walking dead on his feet. Five in the morning on campus was empty to say the least. The cool breeze hitting Sokka’s cheeks and the sun rising had him stopping and watching the sky on more than one occasion.

He wished he could say he wasn’t thinking of Zuko but that was a lie.

But maybe this was going too far.

Zuko was a barista and Sokka was a customer and that’s all that it really was. Zuko was nice because he had to be and Sokka was flirty because Sokka was just a flirty person and yet— Sokka trudged towards the coffee shop.

The shop was the busiest place on campus at this time but there were only a handful of customers inside. Upon entering, Sokka flashed a smile and Zuko returned it. There was no line and Sokka walked up to the register where Zuko greeted him officially.

Zuko didn’t look as exhausted as he normally did.

“Good morning,” Zuko said and Sokka groaned.

“It’s not morning until I sleep,” Sokka said and Zuko nodded.

“I know that feeling,” Zuko responded.

“Night shift life,” Sokka muttered.

“Your usual?” Zuko asked and Sokka nodded.

Zuko pressed several buttons and just as Sokka pulled out his card, Zuko swiped his own card. Sokka sighed and Zuko flashed a knowing smirk—a confident smirk.

“I’ll get right on that,” Zuko muttered and Sokka thanked him.

Sokka watched Zuko pace back and forth behind the counter—graceful and precise. Sokka could get lost in the way Zuko’s long, pale fingers gripped the empty plastic cup while his opposite hand added a shot of expresso. Zuko set the cup down and bent over to grab a jug of milk from below the counter and yeah Sokka didn’t mind that view either. However, the icing on the pale, gorgeous cake that was Zuko was his arms.

Veins strained against his skin as they traveled up Zuko’s muscular arms and Sokka had to look away to stop himself from drooling.

When Sokka looked back, Zuko was placing Sokka’s drink on the counter and sliding it across to him.

“Enjoy.”

“I always do,” Sokka winked and left the shop with a wave.

Sokka collapsed on his bed as soon as he got back to his dorm and groaned when Aang entered from his first class several hours later. The two only really saw each other in passing and Aang mostly saw Sokka unconscious due to his schedule but that didn’t stop the two from having a solid friendship—Aang’s relationship with Sokka’s sister was, however, usually a taboo subject that neither chose to bring up except maybe in passing.

“How was work?” Aang asked and Sokka yawned dramatically.

“Same old,” Sokka muttered.

“You left pretty early last night. I thought that was odd,” Aang mentioned passively as he dropped to sit at his desk.

“Yeah, I wanted to drop by the coffee shop on the way to work.”

“You left like two hours before you usually—“

“Yeah, yeah. There’s someone I’m trying to get the attention of,” Sokka waved off his friend and Aang wiggled his eyebrows excitedly.

“Well, good luck. Knowing you, I’ll be forced to spend the night at Katara’s this entire weekend as you two bang on every surface that will support your weight,” Aang said.

Sokka laughed and shook his head.

“Don’t get your hopes up too much. Besides, I don’t know about this one. I’ve only spoke to him for a few days in passing—“

“That’s longer than it usually takes,” Aang stated and Sokka looked at him.

Aang was right. Sokka was the hit ‘em and quit ‘em type and normally he didn’t care he was crossing lines like hitting on a barista while being a customer. In fact, the amount of times he had ended up sleeping with someone solely based on face expressions across a busy room was a triumph to Sokka—a sexy, exciting triumph.

But he was being much more careful with this one.

“He’s pretty,” Sokka mumbled with his eyes on the ceiling, “And somehow handsome at the same time?” It was a question but not really—Sokka’s words didn’t do the man justice but that didn’t make them any less true. “He has this raspy, dark voice and when he talks, you expect him to be rude but in reality he’s just reserved. Fuck, and don’t get me started on the smile—the rarest yet most pure thing I’ve ever seen.”

“And you barely know this guy?” Aang asked slowly.

Sokka just nodded before his eyes fell on his bald friend.

“You should probably get to know him a little more, then,” Aang offered.

Sokka took that as his chance to nod and turn his back towards Aang, indicating it was time for him to sleep again.

Sokka continued his schedule for the following days but (if he were honest) come Thursday, he was exhausted. The extra shots of espresso that he usually got in his drinks were messing with his sleep and he had maybe slept a full five hours since the weekend prior. However, Zuko had stopped asking if Sokka wanted his usual and began making it early when Sokka got off work so it was ready for Sokka when he got there and Sokka simply didn’t have it in him to tell Zuko to stop or to change his order.

Sokka was getting free drinks and conversation with the most beautiful person on campus (besides himself)—what was there to complain about?

Absolutely nothing, Sokka decided and waltzed into the coffee shop.

Sokka was early, again, but he stopped with the studying excuse today. He was surprised, however, to find Zuko waiting for him at Sokka’s usual table. Zuko’s head was resting in his palm and his eyes were glued to his phone as he scrolled through social media. Sokka hadn’t even thought to check for Zuko’s social media—

“Oh, hey,” Zuko said from across the shop and Sokka flashed a smile before joining him.

“You’re here early,” Sokka commented and took his seat.

“I could say the same about you.”

Sokka smirked, “You work here.”

Zuko laughed quietly and Sokka almost cried at how beautiful it was—Sokka was dramatic, to say the least.

Sokka yawned suddenly, covering his mouth at the last second as his exhaust hit him for a moment before he rubbed his eyes to refocus on Zuko who was looking at him worriedly. Sokka quickly stopped and apologized before stretching out his arms across his chest.

“You look exhausted,” Zuko said and Sokka flashed a grin.

“Thanks, I’m sure the dark circles under my eyes take away from the sex appeal—or they add onto it, depends what you’re into,” Sokka’s joke fell onto Zuko’s blushing form.

“I didn’t mean—I mean, you always look—“ Zuko huffed and Sokka broke out in a chuckle.

“Don’t have an aneurism,” Sokka smirked and Zuko rolled his eyes, “I haven’t slept well the past few days.”

“It might be all that caffeine you drink—and those extra shots of espresso—“

“Thanks, Mom,” Sokka shot and Zuko shrugged.

“I’m just saying.”

Sokka sighed heavily and finally gave in.

“Yeah, it probably is that, actually. I can’t imagine it’s a healthy thing to have extra shots of espresso right after I get off of work when I’m supposed to be getting sleep,” Sokka admitted, pulling out his phone if only to tap at the screen absentmindedly.

“You know I can make whatever you like. It doesn’t have to be your usual,” Zuko stated.

“Yeah but it’s so easy to just accept that instead of saying that I don’t want it. Especially when it’s already made—“

“Hang on, hang on.” Zuko said suddenly, eyebrows knitting together in a flash of distress that Sokka suddenly felt guilty for, “Are you telling me that you haven’t been sleeping because you didn’t want to tell me you didn’t want your usual?”

“I didn’t want you to remake the drink and then I would end up drinking it on my way back to the dorm and—It’s not your fault,” Sokka finally said when Zuko’s face began contorting into a series of upset expressions.

“I know it’s not my fault,” Zuko snapped and Sokka—Sokka didn’t know this side of Zuko, “It’s your fault. That is so—“ Zuko growled.

Sokka didn’t know Zuko.

That realization hit Sokka hard and so suddenly that Sokka was just staring at the man across him.

“So what?” Sokka asked, quiet and rough.

“So stupid and unhealthy!” Zuko seemed exasperated but angry and Sokka just couldn’t wrap his mind around him.

“Right, well,” Sokka muttered and stood suddenly, pocketing his phone in a quick motion.

“No, wait—“ Zuko sighed and rubbed his hands over his face.

“No, I think I’ve been spoken down to enough for today,” Sokka said defensively.

“I wasn’t trying to—“

Sokka just walked away, ignoring Zuko’s words.

Zuko didn’t follow him.

Sokka made it through most of his shift and only fell asleep twice sitting up. Suki had to elbow him hard and he would stand and shake his head. She asked why he was so tired but he just shrugged her off and said he hadn’t gotten his usual coffee before work. Then she was asking why he sounded off and he sighed in annoyance.

Suki stopped asking after that.

“It’s Tell-All-Thursday,” Sokka said into his microphone and fought back a yawn, “For those of you who are new, you can access us on your My Omashu University app and submit anything anonymously that can be chosen to be said. We’ve had people asking for advice, sharing secrets, admissions, even threats but those were less fun.”

“Significantly less. Let’s try to avoid those, guys,” Suki said into the mic and Sokka chuckled.

“So let’s get into it,” Sokka said and turned towards the screen.

“You know, we’re in a different time now,” Suki said to Sokka who nodded enthusiastically.

“Society has a long way to go but many of them are much more accepting now. When I was struggling with accepting I was—well, me—I did the thing that I thought was scariest which was hold another man’s hand in public. It wasn’t a significant other, in fact it was my best friend—but we weren’t stared at or made fun of. We were barely looked at. It took over a year for me to get there, though, and you have to remember that comes with time,” Sokka said.

“See, and I feel like it’s important to get involved with the rest of the community, even if you find out you don’t identify exactly with them. That fear is something people feel every day and a little compassion and empathy can help a lot.”

“That’s some good advice, Suki,” Sokka smiled at her, “I would start with our on campus LGBT group—Queer Space. You don’t even have to identify as anything to attend and it’s just a really accepting environment.”

“That’s a great idea, too. They meet every Wednesday in the Psychology building for those of you interested,” she chimed as Sokka turned back towards the screen.

“Oh, this looks like a confession. Let’s see:

"I miss you and I don’t even know you. I think of you when I’m awake and dream of you when I’m asleep. I don’t know why you’re so different than everyone else but you just are; I hate it and I love it. I think I messed everything up. I always do. I wish I could tell you that and just stop being me for a minute. I’m sorry.”

“Woah, that’s deep,” Suki said.

Sokka’s mouth was dry because it fit, didn’t it? Did it?

“Y-Yeah,” Sokka stumbled, “I know this isn’t asking for advice but uh—“ Suki eyed him carefully, “If I was on the receiving end of that, I would want to hear that apology from you. It may be uncomfortable but sometimes opening up and being painfully honest about everything can get you somewhere.”

“Especially if it was done romantically,” Suki chimed and Sokka broke out of his mind to chuckle.

“Yeah, especially.”

By the time Sokka was off of work, Sokka was more than slightly sleep deprived and even if he wanted to stop by the coffee shop, he wouldn’t. Sokka needed sleep and definitely not caffeine or—or Zuko. Sokka scoffed at the thought and shoved his hands into his pant pockets as he trudged across campus.

Sokka refused to fall into his own mental trap—he refused to believe Zuko cared enough to write to the station.

That was that.

Sokka slept. It wasn’t particularly well or deep but he slept. He woke after a few hours to attend class but he was anxious. Sitting in class was torture—more than usual. In fact, Sokka enjoyed the engineering classes usually but sitting was causing his arms and legs to ache. And as class came to an end, a cold chill washed over him and of course, being sick was just what he needed.

Sokka fell onto his bed.

Normally, he would be making his way to see Zuko before work but, instead, he opted to rest. Sokka closed his eyes and by the time his phone’s alarm began to blare to wake him up, Sokka was clutching desperately at his head and keeping his eyes screwed shut.

His head felt like it was going to split open at any time.

“You okay?” Aang asked from across the room when Sokka groaned.

“No, I think I’m getting sick,” Sokka mumbled.

“You never get sick,” Aang said, “I thought you were immune to germs.”

“Apparently not. I have this overwhelming anxious feeling all the time and I’m just so tired and now my head is killing me—“

“Sokka, have you had any caffeine today?” Aang asked suddenly.

Sokka sat up slowly and looked at him with an annoyed look because he was really tired of thinking about Zuko all the time—the last thing he needed was to talk about him more.

“No, I haven’t.”

“But you’ve had a pretty significant amount of the past two weeks straight, right?”

“Basically, yeah,” Sokka answered, “Why?”

“I think you might be suffering from withdrawal,” Aang chuckled.

Sokka was just annoyed.

“That’s stupid,” was his response.

Sokka’s journey across campus consisted of Sokka reading over the symptoms of caffeine withdrawal according to Google so by the time he showed up to work, he was incredibly irritable (another symptom of caffeine withdrawal, apparently).

“Oh no, you’re in a bad mood again?” Suki asked, exasperated.

“No, apparently I’m just suffering from mild caffeine withdrawal,” Sokka muttered and sank into his seat.

“You didn’t get coffee again today? Did you and Zuko get into a fight or something?” Suki’s question was a joke but the look Sokka gave her quickly quieted her laughing, “What happened?“

“I don’t know the guy,” Sokka muttered, “That’s what it comes down to. There’s no point—“

Suki guffawed.

“You didn’t know me and that sure as hell didn’t stop us from fucking in the back of your car our first year,” Suki said and Sokka rolled his eyes.

“He snapped at me,” Sokka said suddenly but there was no hurt in his voice—it was a statement—a fact, even.

“And? I punched you in the face the first time I met you,” Suki smiled at the thought.

“He looked surprised by it, too,” Sokka said.

“Surprised by his anger?”

“Surprised that he cared. Look, I don’t need to know Zuko well to know that he’s someone who gets angry as a defense mechanism—when he cares about someone or something.”

“You have a type,” Suki chimed.

“Don’t I, though?” Sokka asked and the two shared a laugh.

“So what’s the issue?” Suki asked, “Come on, we’re running out of time here. Just tell me.”

“Maybe I don’t want to make the same mistake—“ Suki’s eyes widened and he sat up suddenly, “No-no-no that’s not—“ he groaned, “You weren’t a mistake but you have to admit, looking back on all failed relationships, isn’t it hard not to see it as a-a waste of time?”

“I guess but, Sokka, I learned so much about me when I was with you. That’s why it was so easy to remain your friend and you aren’t anything like you were when we dated. You’re a lot more down to Earth,” Suki countered.

“And not a misogynistic asshat?” Sokka asked.

“Usually, yeah,” Suki chuckled, “You know what I think your real issue is?”

Sokka already knew whatever she had to say would be right because Suki just knew things, sometimes, and he was so sure this would be one of those times.

“You aren’t used to being the one doing the chasing,” Suki said, “You’re hot with a big personality and that attracts people—even reserved people like Zuko who, I’m sure, could use more open mindedness in their lives. By now, you would’ve taken him into the coffee shop bathroom to get him off and called it a night but you want more and that’s okay, too.”

“I think I’m just—“

“I’m not done. I know you think you have a cursed love life with your past relationships and I know that this guy makes you second guess everything you’ve come to feel comfortable with but maybe that’s worth a shot.”

Yup, Sokka thought. Of course Suki was right.

“Why didn’t we work out, again?” Sokka asked.

“You were too self-involved and I was more focused on finishing my BA,” Suki answered with a smile, “And now, I think we’re better off.”

Sokka nodded because there she went again—being right.

Striding across campus, Sokka had more energy coursing through him than he had in days and he was thankful of that because having this conversation while exhausted wouldn’t have gone well, he was sure. Sokka didn’t enter the coffee shop, however, and instead seated himself on the permanent outdoor table. Zuko would get off in a few minutes and Sokka could only hope the man would talk to him.

Yeah, that was his big plan.

He was the plan guy, after all.

The door opened behind him twenty or so minutes later and the two looked at one another.

“Sokka,” Zuko said quietly.

“Hi, Zuko. How was—uh—How was your shift?” Sokka asked, unmoving from his position as Zuko stepped closer, coming into full view of Sokka.

“Not terrible,” Zuko said, “Yours?”

Sokka shrugged, “Yesterday’s show was much more eventful.”

Zuko’s eyes averted from Sokka’s for just a moment and Sokka nodded slowly because there it was—Sokka could read the man so easily.

“I heard,” Zuko said and Sokka just gave a laugh.

“I’m sure you did.”

“Was it that obvious that it was me?” Zuko muttered so quietly that Sokka wasn’t absolutely certain it was even he who said it.

“No,” Sokka said, “but wishful thinking is a bitch.”

Zuko’s lips rose into a smirk that did reach his golden eyes and Sokka sighed as he rested his forearm on his knee, willing it to stop the subtle shaking from the lingering withdrawal symptoms.

“And the love songs?” Zuko asked slowly.

“Definitely on purpose,” Sokka gave a grin.

Zuko laughed and a hand slipped into his sweatshirt pocket as he spoke, “Thought so.”

“We aren’t very subtle, are we?” Sokka asked, “We aren’t very slick, either.”

“I disagree. You’re—“ Zuko hummed and his eyes lifted to the morning sky as he thought for half a moment, “—enchanting?”

Sokka scoffed because, “You obviously have never met yourself.”

Sokka could see Zuko’s lips part to disagree but the pale barista simply shook his head and crossed his arms; defensive even with compliments.

“Stop it, I can only handle that scowl so much,” Sokka chuckled.

“I do not scowl,” Zuko said, scowling.

Sokka laughed, loud and hard.

“Can I—“ Sokka began through his laughter when he could see Zuko’s lips return to a soft smile, “Can I take you out, by any chance?”

“Oh,” Zuko said suddenly and just as Sokka was about to backpedal on the offer, Zuko continued, “Yeah—Yeah, I’d like that. When were you thinking?”

“I know you just got off work but—uh—now?”

Zuko’s smile was sincere and his eyes softened for the first time as his arms fell to his sides.

“Y-yeah, I’d like that,” Zuko nodded.

Sokka stood and returned the smile, “I know usually you don’t do this until after the date but I’m notorious for doing things out of order so—“

And Sokka leaned forward to close the distance between them in the softest, most chaste first kiss Sokka had experienced in years. Sokka was accustomed to deep, heavy kisses that often led to sex and rarely anything more—but Zuko’s fingers brushed Sokka’s neck as his thumb rubbed across Sokka’s jaw and it was just pure and sensual and hot. Sokka’s grasp was on Zuko’s hip, however, pulling their two bodies against one another if only just to feel the contact—to feel it was real.

And when Zuko’s tongue swept across Sokka’s lip, Sokka moaned and pulled back in mild embarrassment at the noise, covering his mouth. Zuko’s pale cheeks were rosy and his lips were slightly more tinted than before and Sokka cleared his throat.

“Sorry,” Sokka muttered, “I didn’t—You’re just—Let’s get through the date before I start moving too fast.”

Zuko gave a heavy nod and when Sokka turned on his heel to lead the way to a nearby diner, Zuko pressed his fingers to his lips and took a shaky breath.

This would get interesting, they were both sure of that.

#avatar the last airbender #atla #sokka #zuko #college #fanfiction #smut #zukka #barista #coffee #fatal in fillory

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margridarnauds · 6 years

Note

Ronan Mazurier for the character thing. I want to know your first impressions of the Trash Panda Boi.

Keeping in MIND that my first time watching 1789, I was 17.

First impression

I’ll be honest, I think it was something like “Oh, he’s hot, but scruffy. Oh wow, they’re both hot. But I’m not bi as fuck, oh no. I just want them to both live and have babies and survive the Revolution.” Like, the ONE thing I can distinctly remember from my first time with 1789 was spending long periods of time looking up fanfic on ff.net after my creative writing class at my local community college, desperately hoping for someone to give me the “Ronan and Olympe live in the countryside and raise a litter of Ronans” fic my teenaged self so richly deserved. (Which…is HILARIOUS given what I WRITE these days. I came so, so close. Incidentally, I REALLY didn’t like Lazare.)

My issues with Louis Delort’s Ronan aside, I can STILL say that he’s pretty damn attractive. He’s just…also whiny. And bitchy. And really shouldn’t be within 5 feet of Olympe.

With Zuka Ronan, I don’t think I BOUGHT it? Mainly because I didn’t understand that Ronan was DESTINED to be a twink. I think that I thought he was too helpless.

With Teppei’s Ronan, it was like, “Wait a fuck, he looks familiar. Wait a second…is that L? IT IS. Oh my God he looks like a baby. HE’S SUCH A SCRAPPY LITTLE SHIT.”

With Kato’s it was, “…Oh. It’s you. Again.”

(These are really more my impressions from the 2018 trailers VS the 2016 ones, because Toho!1789 REALLY didn’t leave that much of an impact on me when I first saw the trailers. Yet another area where my teenaged self was very, very clueless.)

Impression now

Applicable to all Ronans, across the board: Scruffy Boi. Goblin. Also a definite twink. Possibly a reincarnated raccoon.

In all honesty, I’ve tried to put so much thought into him over the course of nearly two years, it’s hard to really put Ronan into WORDS for me. Like, he’s become very, very important for me the last couple of years. He’s very, very flawed, he makes some terrible decisions, he’s hot-headed, can’t hold his liquor, narrow-sighted, insensitive, and is basically like a cat that someone tossed in a pool at one point and sometimes gets into random fights in the street (also might have fleas). But he also has SUCH a huge heart and really EMBODIES the spirit of the revolution as it stood in 1789, idealistic and fierce and so TIRED of a world that told them that they were fated to die in the muck because of a trick of their birth, questioning WHY they shouldn’t have the same rights as everyone else. There’s just this…SPARK to him.

Favorite moment

When he high fives Charlotte during Au Palais Royal, that moment in the Zuka one where he starts singing about how they can be with the ones they love and Peyrol comes up from behind him, when he calls out the Revolutionaries for their asshattery…

Idea for a story

I have, like, 50 different ideas at any given period of time. I really, really want to get the Zombie Apocalypse AU off the ground, and the Assassin’s Creed AU (When I…actually…am able to get ahold of the glitchy Assassin’s Creed). And the Tanz der Vampire crossover (Ronan VS Herbert fighting for Lazare’s affections), the Terra Nova crossover, the Reincarnation Fic that is also a College AU…

There’s also one moderately fucked up thing I’ve considered as far as dealing with Ronan’s reaction to Thermidor, but I would be VERY scared to actually write it up even though it would be 100% consensual. And one of these days, we’ll actually GET to the main body of the Abomination, though I have no idea what the fucking plot is anymore.

Unpopular opinion

I don’t THINK that there’s really enough in the 1789 fandom to really…HAVE an unpopular opinion on Ronan? There was a time when I was a bit of a minority in the English-speaking 1789 fandom as far as actively LIKING him while still not really shipping him with Olympe, but I think the balance has shifted a little since then. My evil plan is working.

One thing that I’ve noticed a bit in, say, the Russian and Chinese fandoms in particular is to have a particularly weak, subby Ronan VS HYPER sexual, predatory Lazare and…I mean, I can ROLL with it, but I tend to think that with them in a genuine RELATIONSHIP, Ronan has Lazare wrapped firmly around his finger and is the one most likely to initiate…things. I blame Takarazuka!Laz for looking so smitten half the time while he’s interrogating him. Like, Ronan’s a sub, but he’s not SPINELESS. Peyrol wouldn’t have noticed him if he didn’t have a spine, and he’s going to call Lazare out every single step of the way. It’s a kind of odd equilibrium that they establish.

Favorite relationship:

I have no idea what to choose. Me? Have a favorite relationship for Ronan? What could you be- *a dozen unfinished Peyronan fics fall out of the folder I’m carrying* Fuck.

Either Peyronan or Ronan’s relationship with Solène, because the Mazurier sibs always have my full heart.

Favorite headcanon

I have so, so many Ronan headcanons at this point that it’s hard for me to keep track.

This is probably going to end up in the Abomination in some form or another, but Ronan got his absolute HATRED of any kind of injustice when he was about 8, when his mother died. It became obvious fairly early on that there were issues with the birth, and his father sent him to get help while he stayed to help her, along with the other women (Solène, ~6-7 at the time, stayed outside). He ran for ages, trying to find the local matron, but she was away somewhere else, so he went to the local physician instead, who swatted him away because his family couldn’t pay. By the time Ronan went back, his mother was dead, and even though his father told him time after time again that he’d done everything he could, he always felt a deep sense of shame over it, like he hadn’t done enough, paired with anger over a system that would turn a blind eye to that kind of suffering. That would come back in FULL FORCE after his father’s death, where he internalized his own guilt over escalating the situation with Peyrol into revenge.

Also, he’s a chronic cuddler, due to growing up sharing a bed with his father and Solène, often instinctively cuddling with Lazare for warmth. Lazare’s repressed, touch starved ass will never SAY that he secretly likes it, but sometimes, when Lazare is late in coming to bed (which is often, given that he’s a workaholic) and crawls into bed with him, Ronan will find himself being pulled over to him.

Also, he’s the reason behind most of the animals they adopt. Because he can’t STAND to see animals being abused and abandoned in the street, and Lazare, as we’ve established, is thoroughly whipped, even though he CLAIMS that Ronan is going to be responsible for taking care of them. (Somehow, Lazare is the one who always ends up walking the dog in the early hours of the morning, because, well, he’s up anyway. And one day, when Artois the cat is having stomach problems, he stays up the whole time. Which Ronan relentlessly makes fun of him for.)

#long post #ronan mazurier #I love him #drawn-and-talk-of-peace

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blueeyeswhitegarden · 6 years

Note

Hunter x Hunter, Yu-Gi-Oh Vrains.

Hunter x Hunter:

don’t watch period| drop if not interested within 2-3 episodes| give it a go, could be your thing| 5 star recommendation

fav characters: Gon and Killua are pretty great and work well together. Biscuit is easily the coolest female character in the series that I’ve seen thus far and is a pretty cool mentor figure. I like Leorio, although he really suffers from being so little in the series compared to Gon and Killua.

least fav characters: I don’t like Hisoka. He’s just too creepy for my tastes, especially during his fight against Gon.

fav relationship: Gon and Killua’s friendship is great. I honestly have a hard time telling which one I like more due to how well they balance each other.

fav moment: Kurapika’s fight against Uvogin was pretty awesome. Gon’s fight against Genthru was also pretty awesome.

headcanons/theories: I’m still in the middle of the Chimera Ant arc, so I don’t have much theories or headcanons on the series.

unpopular opinion: I didn’t care for the York New arc. Part of it could have been due to the hype I heard of it before watching it and then only getting one episode a week made the pacing even slower, but I think it was a bit too dialogue heavy for a shonen arc. Not to mention everything about the auction and figuring out how to get money felt like a complete waste of time by the end of the arc. It wasn’t bad by any means. It had some good moments, great fights and it gave some much needed attention for Kurapika and to a lesser degree Leorio and binge watching it might improve the arc for me, but it just didn’t live up to the hype for me.

how’d you find it: Toonami started to air it a couple of years ago and I watched it through there. I like the series, but I don’t know if I’ll pick up the manga when I eventually finish the series.

random thoughts: I think the Greed Island arcs is one of my favorite ones thus far. It is more of a traditional shonen arc, but I thought that the setting was cool, the pacing was an improvement over the York New arc, Biscuit is great, the training was handle really well and there were some good fights. Honestly, I think one of the strength’s of Hunter x Hunter is how they handle the training sessions. They never take up an entire arc, but they show enough to where the characters’ progress is believable and feels earned.

I’ll put the rest of this post under a cut. I don’t have a lot of positive things to say about this series and I don’t want to upset any of the people that do like it:

Yu-Gi-Oh! Vr//ains:

don’t watch period| drop if not interested within 2-3 episodes| give it a go, could be your thing| 5 star recommendation

fav characters: I like Ak//ira. His backstory actually made him interesting and gave some depth to his relationship with A//oi. Ta//keru is pretty fun, even though I still don’t care for his deck. While I definitely don’t like Oni//zuka anymore, I think he is still interesting. I don’t like the writing behind his character, but his downfall and how far he is willing to go in order to win is at least something interesting and unexpected for this series.

least fav characters: I really don’t care for Yu//saku. He is just such an incredibly boring and overpowered Gary Stu. He is a prime example of why I don’t care for just the traditionally cool leads and even after getting his revenge, I honestly don’t see much of a difference in his personality during this season. I don’t like A//oi mainly due to how her development feels so forced and hallow. Plus, I have no reason to hope for her to be treated any better when she was already put in a coma twice and was slapped in the face during and after her duel with Spec//tre. Em//ma comes off as too shallow and vain for my tastes as well.

fav relationship: While they haven’t had much moments lately, I do like A//oi and A//kira’s relationship. Even though I was hoping for a more confrontational or negative relationship between them, seeing how much they care for each other does feel genuinely sweet.

fav moment: A//kira crying after A//oi woke up from her first coma. That was one of the few emotionally effective scenes in the series for me since his relief upon seeing her awake did come off as genuine.

headcanons/theories: I still maintain that every series starting with Ze//xal exist in its own universe, so that applies for this series as well. I could not see Vr//ains as part of the main timeline and I don’t know how you could fit all six series into one universe either, let alone this one.

unpopular opinion: I’m not involved with the fanbase, so I have no idea what is or isn’t an unpopular opinion for Vr//ains. If saying that I hate the series and don’t care for most of its popular characters wasn’t unpopular enough, I really don’t want A//oi to be Aq//ua’s human partner. I’m not sure if they could provide a reason that doesn’t come off as a forced attempt to make the token female lead more “important” than she has been for most of the series. I’m not even sure if having an Ig//nis would help her considering Yu//saku is the only character that matters in this series anyway. Not to mention they’ll just have A//oi lose to hype up another duelist again.

I also don’t see the appeal behind the Yu//saku and Re//volver pairing. I don’t see any chemistry between them and it just seems kind of forced.

how’d you find it: I’ve been watching every series in the franchise for years. Fortunately, I can watch it all legally right from the start. That is honestly one of the reasons why I still watch it because I want Crunchyroll to do simulcasts for any future series. I do not want to go back to relying on fansubs. There are talented translators in the community and that was the only way to watch the Japanese versions for years, but since I hated the Pot of Subs group and I loathe one popular site where people can get fansubs, I’d much rather trust people who are actually sub episodes for a living and support the official release.

random thoughts: Despite how most of this has been negative, I really wish I liked Vr//ains, or at least enjoyed it more than I actually do. At best, it can be okay and there are some nice moments here and there, but I just can’t get invested in most of the characters, especially when Yu//saku is the only one able to do anything important 99% of the time. It also doesn’t help that there is absolutely no tension in the duels. Yu//saku has multiple giant plot armors and he’s already defeated nearly every established character in the series at least once. There is just no way to make me think he’s at a tight spot at this point and his Stor//m Acc//ess takes away what little tension there could be. It just really doesn’t do much for me at all sadly.

Thank you for asking. ^_^

#Asks

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zukadiary · 6 years

Text

Company/BADDY ~ Moon Troupe 2018

Welp I'm in Japan again, for a bizarre trip considering none of my so-called faves are doing anything I'd normally clamor to see live... There are multiple reasons for that, but a big one is I let the idea of this show seduce me completely. I pegged it my most highly anticipated Grand Theater of the year pretty much as soon as the blurbs came out, anticipated it even more after I read and loved the novel, and pretty much lost my mind as soon as the first BADDY tweets surfaced back in February. So I braved Golden Week crowds in Hibiya to squeeze two viewings out of the last week of the run, and I'm quite pleased with my choices.

COMPANY

I summarized Company and its characters a bit before so I won't do it again; they stuck to the premise well enough.

I'd call Company cute and very pleasant; I thought everyone did a wonderful job and any qualms I have are with Ishida-sensei. My love of the book definitely enhanced my appreciation of the show because I went in already attached to the characters, but it also set me up for disappointment in a few places where Ishida fell flat. It's a bit of a long book though, and overall I think he cut exactly what needed to be cut to fit it into one act.

What I LOVE about the play as a whole is the modernness of it; Takarazuka almost never does shows set in present-day Japan, and its shows set in present-day elsewhere often come awkwardly tinged with an uncool dad vibe (LET'S TAKE A SELFIE FOR FACENOTE a la Vampire Succession, for example). Company felt totally natural and it was really refreshing. That said, something bugged me about the line delivery in pretty much the entire show; it was kind of stiff and hammy. I'm inclined to believe it was the direction, but I do wonder if it was just Patented Takarazuka Acting™ and it happened to stand in greater contrast against a modern play (and I also wonder if that's why they shy away from such stories).

Tamakichi was so beautiful it hurt to look at her. Her character Aoyagi's backstory was changed by absolute necessity; the book opens with his wife leaving him, but in the opening song of the show he tells us she's died from cancer two years back. Book Aoyagi is a nobody at work and pretty much a total loser in general at the beginning, and goes on a real journey of self love and improvement. I am a little sad we didn't get this angle because I think Tamakichi could have done an absolutely heartbreaking job portraying that particular transformation, but I also completely understand that including all that simply wasn't possible. Instead we have Cool Good-Looking Senpai Aoyagi, reliable leader from start to finish, whose journey is injecting some joy back into his life and beginning to heal from his wife's death. Tamakichi is so good at the wholesome everyday hero I don't think I'll ever get tired of it. My biggest takeaway from her performance, other than that she slays in a basic clean-cut suit, is that she has blossomed and is such a top star. NO SHADE to Tamakichi up till now; she's done nothing but impress me since assuming office. But while what stood out to me in Grand Hotel and All for One was the balance of the troupe and how perfectly they allowed their other wonderful players support her, SHE stood out to me in Company all on her own; her presence and confidence were incredible. They kept Chapi the exact right amount of time.

This could be Chapi's most typical top musumeyaku role since Tamakichi took over, but it's still unique in that she's the pursuer in their romance and I love that. Minami, while less confident in her ballet/work life than Stage Aoyagi seems to be in his work life, is slightly more confident in their personal interactions—always trying to joke, lighten the mood for him, drop hints—and it's a lovely dynamic. Her portrayal was probably the most faithful to the book. Chapi is bright and cheery and the smoothest actress, and every bit of real ballet we get to see her do is a blessing.

I had the greatest attachment to Haruka (MiyaRuri) and Yui (Umi-chan) going in. My absolute favorite aspect of the book was the slow burn surrounding everything Haruka: his relationship with Yui especially, but also with Aoyagi and the others. Of course I totally understand there is no room for slow burn in one act. Aside from that, Miya was exactly the Haruka I imagined and that was a joy to watch (her costume and countenance in the Dark Gay Swan Lake scene in particular is a VISION). Yui is another refreshing atypical musumeyaku character and Umi did a great job. It's a pretty good show for musumeyaku roles in general; Sara (Wakaba) and Noa (Touka Yurino) are also pretty big parts. I loved Kumichou in particular, she had some amazing one-liners.

My biggest disappointment was in Ishida's handling of Nayuta (Reiko). Reiko did just fine, but I felt that Ishida sucked all the life out of the character. Book Nayuta is a hot-headed asshole who underneath all the strutting and crude commentary cares a lot about his performing. A lot of that comes from him being a trainee idol and trying to prove that he has a place among his equally hot-headed senpai whereas Stage Nayuta is the star of the group, but it's NOT AT ALL HARD TO IMAGINE that a star idol might be kind of a hot-headed asshole. Stage Nayuta was just kind of pretty and there, and as a result the drama surrounding him joining Dark Gay Swan Lake in the Prince role felt flat to me. This is one change I really think could have been made in the given timeframe. (Trivia bit: in the understandably zuka-fied Final Drama where Nayuta injures Sara on stage with a lift gone wrong, Nayuta locks himself in the bathroom at intermission and won't stop crying from guilt. In the book, he feels his finger slip between her ribs during the lift, and dwelling on the sensation makes him so ill he can't stop throwing up).

Toshi is a VERY cool idol group leader; Ari is, as I predicted, herself; and Ruu, Shimon, and Mayupon are a pretty funny group (boss and salarymen), with Mayupon in particular also absolutely WEARING the normal suit look. Everyone else was pretty light on the stage time.

BADDY

BADDY is a triumph. If you still have the opportunity to watch it sans spoilers, I recommend it, I'm jealous, and I would love to know what that's like. However I can also say that I read almost everything about it before seeing it and I felt no less impact from its brilliance.

It's completely ridiculous, but the balance it strikes in its ridiculousness is absolutely sublime. Simplicity combined with absurdist randomness; both using and upending traditional Takarazuka elements JUST enough; it strikes the perfect note.

There's so much to unpack.

For one thing, it's SO META. We open in Takarazuka City on the Peaceful Planet that has seen no disturbance in 103 years, and down comes the Baddies' spaceship with a thunk. Following the thunk, Tamakichi declares "Looks like you've been waiting quite a while for this," RIGHT BEFORE going into the standard opening announcement—"written and directed by Ueda Kumiko," etc—and I am sure that's her sticking in her own jab about Takarazuka waiting 103 years before letting one of their female directors do a revue. Really, I wouldn't be surprised if the ENTIRE THING was a reference to this; I mean we're in TAKARAZUKA CITY where COOL BADDIES infiltrate a BORING LAME SOCIETY THAT HASN'T CHANGED IN 103 YEARS and then they BLOW EVERYTHING UP and EVERYONE GOES TO HEAVEN. That's bold, UeKumi.

There are smaller amusing references too... Reiko commenting that Amashi Juri's character looks new (she just switched to musumeyaku), Tamakichi kidnapping Reiko and giving her to Miya saying "here you're in charge of improving this person's general everything" which I'm pretty sure is Miya and Reiko's IRL relationship.

(Amashi Juri is so cute I can't stand it, help).

Another thing, it flows so beautifully for a revue with a plot (not a theme, a plot... the only other example of which I can recall at the moment is Nova Bossa Nova, which does not flow like this). Despite the scenes connecting perfectly into one cohesive story, they are still individual scenes that feel like standard revue scenes, with variety and costume changes and great music and really fun choreography.

Chapi is given the queenly treatment she deserves; she's as much the star of the revue as anyone else. The rockette with her in the center might be my personal highlight, and it's the perfect example of what I mean by both using and upending Takarazuka traditions. We've got typical rockette-style costumes, synchronized kicking, the works—but we've traded the high-pitched KYAA for YELLING ABOUT HOW ANGRY THEY ARE in unison with some really badass choreo. It's the perfect balance of respect and rebellion; it works because the rockette is such a standard part of our fan lexicon, and the small differences make us open our eyes wide. Crushed velvet kuroenbi. Ray Bans during the parade...

The duet dance also—passionate and angry and LITERALLY fiery, as Tama and Chapi dance and eventually descend through the floor with one long hard kiss surrounded the entire time by swirling flames. I mention that in case the flame effect (like the starlight during Maa's Chopin in HOT EYES) does not show up on the DVD, which would be tragic.

As beautifully and wholesomely as Tamakichi carried herself in Company she pulled out all the stops and slayed in BADDY. Dynamic (and dangerous) radiantly glowing top star. Miya is downright erotic.

Mayupon is just an alien, in the background, through costume changes, the entire time.

There was a fun amount of gender fluidity presented in sort of a nonchalant? way?? Like not the gratuitous otokoyaku-in-drag situation we usually get; paired with the free-flowing top 4 love quadrangle, it felt, dare I say, progressive.

I had an extra fun experience at my first viewing... TSUKI MATSURI! Tsukigumi has a tradition where one day per run (though I imagine not every single run) they all wear afro wigs in one scene and adlib it to hell and back. Since it was my first time and this did not seem at all out of place against the backdrop of BADDY I didn't even realize until after, but what lucky timing.

I can't wait for UeKumi's next show, and I went into QR and came out only with Tsukigumi bromides, I don’t know myself.

#takarazuka #reviews #company #baddy #might as well just tell people i live here

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animaniacal · 7 years

Photo

Guys, I like, still haven’t fully processed? That I saw Chigi and Miyu for their last Takarazuka Grand Theater show? It was so much. It didn’t help that it was fricking sweltering all the way up in the last row of the theater, so I was loopy on top of cryin’ ^^

Rambling thoughts/spoilers under the cut:

Irimachi

We didn’t get to see it, but someone in the fan club showed me video of Chigi coming in - she came in on top of a car with a “Akabeko” pig in front XDDDD

The Play

I loved the play. I actually really liked the original movie, too, but it is a bit dated (as you’d expect from a 50s film). Specifically, it had a very loose story structure, mostly a series of vignettes that didn’t always link together in a natural way. So I was very impressed with how Zuka took it and modified some of the clunkier parts! One critique is that it wasn’t as searingly obvious how absolutely awful it was to be a prostitute, how tiring and how much work it actually was, but you know, it was still obvious. And this IS a comedic musical, so it worked. As chem said, no one could watch the play and think that Miyu’s character was anything but miserable to be there.

I also LOVED the songs! They jazzed it up hardcore and used some classic riffs, like “shave and a haircut,” which fit with the idea of the Bakumatsu/coming Westernization very well I think! And Miyu, like, literally murdered me with her torch song. I. Was. Dead. GAHHH WHAT WILL I DO WITHOUT YOU MIYU. NO ONE SINGS LIKE YOUUUUU.

The Choshuu bros were perfect and I loved them. Shou was amazing as The Sole Adult. Um, for Daimon, um, let’s just say she wore that yukata AMAZINGLY. (Sigh too bad they’re all dead in 2-5 years after that…)

Anyway, as for special bits in the senshuuraku… Gaori plays a Choshuu elder, and is in love with Anri’s courtesan. He sneaks in to see her (doesn’t want the Choshuu bros to know he’s spending money on a prostitute), and when he reachers her, he picked her up and carried her up the stairs ^^ It was ADORABLE. And at the very end, when Chigi and Miyu walked off toward America (XDD) the actress playing the old man waved to them and shouted goodbye ^^ Chem told me that reports said he also told them “be happy from now on.” I CANNOT.

Revue

The revue was INTENSE. They were Going Full Out the whole time. The outfits were all perfect and it was everything and I have nothing really coherent to say about it XD.

The most impressive part was actually the babies (103 class)??? It’s too much, they are too talented, it’s unfair.

Toward the end of the revue, Chigi has a solo song, that then everyone comes on stage in a huge arch, joins in the song while Chigi walks around singing to each one (the song is about love and friendship of course).

In the senshuuraku, it sort of sounded like Chigi was getting a bit cracky from emotion as she sang her solo, and seemed to baaarely make it to the point when everyone else joins in. I didn’t see tears, but I also was far away…. and she has the luxury of turning to everyone so we wouldn’t seeee.

Sayonara

Oof, it was great. I was pretty much Out Of It by then, from heat, tears, as well as not being able to move my leg so my knee was hurting something AWFUL (this is a Constant in my theater life, from being Too Tall). Chigi sang the Title Lupin song then My Dear Queen’s Diamond first, and was clearly super into both of them. She sang a few other songs I’m forgetting, and then did “Non-killing Oath” and “Sharing Smiles” from Rurouni Kenshin to wrap it up ^^. Miyu did her song from Counts Daughter where she’s wandering Paris - I have come to forgive her for her love of that part, it DOES seem like a lot of fun to act, as it comes with a lot of emoting and is very over the top. Isn’t her fault that Chigi’s character was an asshat with a mullet…

Then together, Chigi and Miyu did the Greatest Hits pair dance! With the great lift! And that amazing hug :). Chigi was very deliberate in setting her down at the end of the lift, which given the amount of time they’d been acting/dancing by that point, seemed like a good idea XD

Speeches

Oh my god guys. Constant sniffles going on in the theater. It was so much.

Random thoughts: Anri has the longest speech. Rika called Momohana “Momo-chan” and I loved it. Gaori said something about the theater feeling like her birthplace.

Dai got the most cries, was the closest to breaking. Seriously the sniffles raised DRAMATICALLY for her, and she also got the most laughs. I think her speech was about how wonderful it was that she was able to do this, with a lot of depreciation but like, super genuine about it (ughhh Daiii). They all thanked their fans and fellow actresses, but definitely, Dai was the most emotional at that part, and I think that’s why everyone cried hardest for her.

Miyu said something that made everyone laugh - I think it was something to do about the future - she appeared legitimately surprised by the laughs.

Chigi’s call down the stairs was hilarious. For everyone else, it was just Rika who called for them, but for Chigi, everyone called out for “Chigi-chan.” And she let out a super loud and long “haiiiiii” in response, which got alllll the laughs! Weirdly, I wasn’t really teary for Chigi’s speech? Either I was teared out, or actually, she just looked and seemed so happy about it? The saddest I felt was at the end of the play, from character/actress story overlap.

Chigi was very funny throughout her speech and then the following like 10 curtain calls XD. During her and Miyu’s first curtain call, she called everyone back on stage, saying it was “lonely” up there with just her and Miyu. And then she did it again, for her solo curtain call XD. The babies took awhile running out so it might have been a surprise? During one of these calls, Chigi said something that made the troupe mom Rika like double over with laughter (Also can we talk about Rika’s arms??? She has the most toned arms she is who I want to be when I grow up).

Chigi gave everyone another chance to say something after the like 3rd curtain call. And Gaori at her turn said “I think I said all I wanted to the first time.” And then Dai had to follow that, but still made everyone laugh.

The very last call was Chigi and Miyu again, walking in front of the closed curtain. Miyu said Chigi was her beloved person, and Chigi responded “thanks” in a low voice. Clearly Chigi couldn’t fully handle it (though it did seem a little performative - they will miss working together, but I think Chigi will also like not having to pretend they are in a relationship…)

Demachi

Sadly we couldn’t stay for the whole bit, as we needed to catch a Shinkansen to Tokyo out of Osaka. I made @captured-moon stay for Dai, because I love Dai. Honestly it wasn’t so bad to leave, as once the sun set, there were hella gnats out all of the sudden. So when Dai came out she was swatting at them very hilariously XD.

Sooooo that was my thoughts. I’m missing so much. It was so much. I don’t know what I will do without Chigi Miyu going forward, guys. Also Dai. Also Gaori. Also Anri/Momohana. Siiiighhh time to learn about other actresses I GUESS XD.

#takarazuka #sun in the last days of the shogunate #yukigumi #AAAHHH GUYS AHHHHH IT WAS EVERYTHING #AHHHHHHH #seriously how the hell did i get a ticket #how. the. hell.#used up all my luck for life

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pellicano-sanguino · 5 years

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I got Dark Brown Eyes/Viva! Festa! recently. Dark Brown Eyes was pretty awesome show (the Tsukigumi version will always be my favourite but this was a really well made version too). Viva! Festa! has had some changes to its previous run, though.

I was sad that they took out the running of the bulls, which was my favourite scene in the original (Riku was really cool as the leading bull). They’ve replaced it with a whole other scene and... frankly speaking, I can’t recognize the festival it’s depicting. Unfortunately I have it on blu-ray so I can’t take a screenshot (still don’t have a way to connect blu-rays to my laptop). It seems to have something to do with demons or something similar, I don’t know. If anyone can explain to me what is going on in this scene, I would be very curious to know.

I was delighted at the changes they made in the scene about the feuding tribes (the Reds and the Golds, the names I gave them for lack of better knowledge if this is based on a real story). In the original it had a kinda sorta Romeo&Juliet/West Side Story kind of feel where an innocent person is killed and instead of revenging his murder they all make peace through grieving together and dancing beautifully. I was expecting the scene to repeat like that, but was surprised to see that Makaze was still the knife-wielding, hotheaded not-Tybalt of the Reds. I was expecting her to inherit Asaka Manato’s role as the man who dies to bring an end to the violence. My next thought was that it’s still going to follow the original script and she’ll just murder someone else.

But no. She does not. The Reds still attack the Golds and Makaze fights Aizuki Hikaru, but before she gets to strike her with a fatal stab, Madoka comes between them and this makes her hesitate for a brief moment. Not-Tybalt hardens her heart swiftly and slashes at Madoka to get her out of the way. But even after being hurt once, Madoka still steps up to be Aizuki Hikaru’s human shield. And Makaze can’t bring herself to attack her again.

No one has been murdered, even though blood has been spilled, and the Golds begin their “We refuse to fight you, please let’s make peace”-dancing, inviting the Reds to join. They all eventually do so, much to not-Tybalt’s annoyance. She even threatens one of her fellow Reds with her knife, but they refuse to be intimidated by her. They will not give in to fear and continue to dance gracefully with the Golds.

Not-Tybalt is all alone in her hatred and quickly becomes anxious. Violence is the only language she understands and now that there’s no one left who speaks her language she is powerless and obsolete. Her blood thirsty way of life offers only one door out of this misery. But when she is about to commit suicide, Aizuki Hikaru - the one she tried to murder earlier - steps in and prevents her from doing it. Because all life is precious, even that of not-Tybalt’s. Aizuki Hikaru’s intervention touches Makaze and she begins to heal, joining the dance of friendship.

So yeah, that happened. What used to be a story of enemies becoming friends after a sacrifice of an innocent life became a story where no one has to die to reach peace and instead the warmonger’s toxic masculinity gets healed through showing compassion and dancing beautifully. I loved this.

Last random thought: Is it just me or did they not change the choreography of the pairdance? I need to watch it again to properly compare it to the original, but at first viewing it seemed to me like they had some really familiar moves. I admit, I wish they would have let Misaki Rion keep the pairdance of her last show as unique to her. But oh well, it’s a very pretty dance anyway.

#takarazuka #soragumi #dark brown eyes #viva festa #random thoughts while watching zuka

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pellicano-sanguino · 6 years

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Random thoughts while watching zuka, part 7:

Watching Romeo&Juliette with my mother, and got to the end where their bodies are discovered by their grief-struck families, and the ladies Capulet and Montague say something along the line of “they will rest in each others’ arms in Heaven.”

Mother: They don’t say that just to make themselves feel better. This is a really old story and back in medieval times people really believed firmly that there is life after death. It wasn’t a question of faith, but an accepted fact.

Me: I don’t know. If Dante’s Inferno is to be believed, they both went to Hell. There’s a particularly depressing place there reserved solely to people who committed suicide.

Mother: Stop! Don’t ruin this for me!

Me: ...

I was about to add “Even more depressingly, they probably wouldn’t even end up together, since Romeo also committed murder which would land him in a different circle, I think. They go to Hell and don’t even get to be together.”

The musical goes on, and Reon and Nene happily prance together among the fog while Love and Death form the pretty pose on their grave.

Me: At least in the magic world of zuka they reunite in afterlife.

#takarazuka #hoshigumi #romeo&juliette #random thoughts while watching zuka

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pellicano-sanguino · 7 years

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Random thoughts while watching zuka, part 5.

Besides sparkles and bright colours, feathers are common in zuka aesthetics. Many new fans remember the moment they saw parade feathers for the first time, being surprised just how ridiculously big and fancy these feathery decorations are, surrounding the top stars like fluffy saint halos.

When I saw parade feathers for the first time, I thought it looked like the top star had suddenly grown herself a peacock tail. It made me think, if this would be what kinnaras would look like if they dressed in modern clothing (a bit sparklier modern clothing.)

You know how centaurs are horses with a human torso placed where the animal’s head should be. Well, kinnaras are like that, except instead of a horse, it’s a giant bird that gets its head replaced with a human torso. According to wikipedia, the birdhalf of the kinnara is supposed to be that of “a swan.” I think it looks as much a swan as the bird in my icon looks like a pelican. The most recognizable part of these creatures is the tail; both males and females sport beautiful, colourful tailfeathers that resemble those of roosters or peacocks.

Kinnara dance is also a thing in cultures where stories of these creatures are told. I’m not culturally educated enough to really speak about these dances (have just watched some in Youtube and that’s it), but I couldn’t help but notice that there exists a variation, where the dancers wear huge peacock-like birdtails made from beautifully decorated fabric. Seeing these dancers immediately reminded me of a topstar carrying her parade feathers. Though the tails of kinnara dancers are actually threedimentional (while zuka birdtails are kinda flat) and could be folded and spead open (much like a real bird).

Here are a couple links to videos showing kinnara dance:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEaYPceNzag

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5NEv_xnq6I

This is my kinnara couple. They guard my zuka shelf, like liondogs guarding a shrine. According to some versions of the myth, kinnaras are said to be super talented singers and dancers, so they fit right in.

So, if a kinnara would attempt to live secretly among humans, ditching their traditional dress&jewelry and replacing it with more modern clothing, I guess they would look a bit like a top star in parade feathers, with their enormous birdtails being the only part they couldn’t really hide.

Assuming of course that they managed to cram their big, clawed chickenfeet into tiny human shoes.

#takarazuka #kinnara #random thoughts while watching zuka

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pellicano-sanguino · 7 years

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Random thoughts while watching zuka, part 4; a collection of random thoughts about zuka vampires.

Sometimes, when people post about stuff they like in Tumblr, they make these weird posts where they just state a small trivial thing that makes their heart go all aflutter and explain no further. Like, a post that just reads “Women in suits with the cravat undone.” and then they wait for likes and reblogs to see who is into the same small details as they are, I guess. *shrug* It’s a kinda weird post trend.

I admit I was tempted to make a post that just reads: “Zuka vampires doing the hand thing after blood drinking.” and leave it at that. But since when can I write about vampires and be that brief? So I will explain. But I was tempted to do that kind of post.

The hand thing is this, when they bring their hand to their mouth as if to wipe away blood stains. I can’t explain why I love it. I just do.

I was pretty convinced the gesture was “wipe away the blood,” but then I saw Vampire Succession, and there Alucard does the hand thing before attempting to drink someone.

What is he doing? Wiping away drool? Testing the sharpness of his fangs? I have no idea. There is no blood that needs cleaning. My only guess is, that since (*Spoilers*) he doesn’t actually get to drink anyone and thus doesn’t get to do the hand thing when it’s appropriate, he does the gesture before attempting blood drinking. Also, performing this gesture lets the audience know what he is about to do (well, assuming there’s at least one another besides me who associates this gesture to post-feeding blood stain wiping).

When I heard the first short plot description of Vampire Succession, I was a bit disappointed to learn that Alucard is the type of vampire who doesn’t drink blood (except he totally tries to. Several times, I might add). But then the promo photos started to surface, and I had to roll my eyes. Yeah, sure, he doesn’t drink blood. He just happens to do the hand thing in promo photos and cast his eyes at the camera like he’s judging the edibility of your neck.

A variation of the hand thing, that appeared in Seal of Roses: When Lydia has performed the turning ritual to Francis, she doesn’t wipe her mouth, but Francis does reach his fingers up to touch her lips, as if a little disturbed at seeing his own blood on the lips of the woman he loves. (You asked for it, so endure it like a man, Francis.)

Of course, not all zuka vampires do the hand thing. But one other thing they sometimes do, that I like as much as the hand thing, is when they make a face like this after blood drinking.

You are correct, random vampire lord from Apassionado. Blood is magical.

One thing that zuka hasn’t done often, and which I would like them to do, is have more active donors. Sure, not all blood drinking is dub-con in zuka, but the willing donors often just passively let the vampire have his/her meal, often going limp like a ragdoll. Why not more communication and/or cuddling between the donor and his/her vampire?

An example: The donor could just gently place his/her hand at the back of the vampire’s head, petting his/her hair and with a little pressure letting the blood drinker know that it doesn’t hurt, that they are ok and actually want to do this. This kind of touch-based communicating would especially be needed when the vampire’s going for the neck-chest area (instead of arm) and he/she loses eyecontact with his/her donor during the feeding.

Look, the vampires can do the hand at the back of the head thing. And yes, it is cute. But if it was the donor doing it, then it would be heartmeltingly adorable.

One thing that I find very weird in zuka vampire stories, is that they rarely go the easy route when it comes to defining vampire lore. When you make a vampire story, you have to set the rules; how does one become a vampire, what strengths and weaknesses the vampires have, how can you kill one. There are some very common, easy choises to answer those questions (it spreads by biting, strengths include immortality, regeneration and hypnosis, and you’ll kill them by sunlight or stabbystab through heart), yet Takarazuka often insists on going the “Our vampires are different” route.

The vampire lore in zuka can be very confusing, inconsistent and poorly explained. I think the worst case is Seal of Roses (don’t think I’m dissing the show, it’s still my favourite vampire musical). When Francis talks to the monks of Valley of Roses, they just crypticly explain that vampires are “an undying race.” So, were the vampires in Valley of Roses born to vampirism? Were they humans that were somehow infected and corrupted by the “evil vampire souls” the Seal of Roses eventually bound and sealed away? Nobody knows!

We see two full turning processes; Mikhail and Francis. Mikhail is turned by becoming possessed by the evil vampire souls he freed. So, is vampirism like a demonic possession in this universe? No... maybe? Francis is turned by the traditional infecting bite to the neck. So, in his case the vampirism is a curse that spreads through blood drinking. Only, no, it can’t be, because later a whole bunch of mortals get their necks nommed by Francis, Mikhail or Mikhail’s minions (more about those later) without full turning into vampirism. Before the turning process, Francis asks Lydia to “give him a soul.” But... what? You only get one soul, you can’t split it and share with your boyfriend to make him like yourself! Souls don’t work that way (ok, maybe they do in Japan, maybe this soul is more like “spirit energy” or something that you can share without losing who and what you are).

So, my current theory about how vampirism works in Seal of Roses is this: The vampirism takes shape in the form of a Second Soul (capital letters, because I’m feeling dramatic today). You have your original human soul, but when you are given a Second Soul by another vampire, whether via blood drinking or demonic possession “invading your body because you messed with a roseseal”- style, you will turn. But what makes this transformation confusing is, that the Second Soul can be taken back. By more blood drinking.

I have noticed that a lot of people think the Sun King story is the best part of Seal of Roses. Yes, that chapter has lots of amazing dances, but I used to dislike this part, because it confused the hell out of me until I finally saw the musical with subtitles (and even then it didn’t make much sense). Just... just what an earth was going on with Mikhail’s clever plan to fill Versailles with vampires (or half-vampires, or whatever his minions should be called). Well, ok, I guess I can get Mikhail’s deal (attempt to get into a position of power by having all the nobles become his loyal servants, since these newly made vampires/half-vampires seemed to obey their turner blindly). But what was Philippe’s plan? Get rid of the king by having a suspicious alchemist put a spell on a dancer with hopes that she will attack the king during ballet? What the hell, Philippe, what happened to just hiring assassins or buying poison from La Voisin? This is a ridiculously complicated plot to simply murder someone.

So yeah, Mikhail transforms the dancer girl (I don’t remember her name), by blood drinking, and I assume he does it by passing on his Second Soul. Initially I thought that he turned her fully (after all, Francis was turned by blood drinking too), but this girl is different. Unlike Francis, she seems to lose her free will after turning, instantly obeying Mikhail’s command to go forth and multiply (make more vampires). This is why I wonder if instead of a genuine, full vampire she is some sort of half-vampire or other diet coke version of real vampires. Or maybe she is a full vampire, but since she received the Second Soul from Mikhail, who is possessed by evil vampire souls, the evil Second Soul will dominate her own soul, taking full control and obeying Mikhail not because she’s under hypnosis or similar, but because the evil souls have a hive mind and when taking possession of a body, they will immediately co-work together to reach common goal. Maybe Mikhail too has his own soul completely overtaken by his Second Soul, and is actually as helpless and pitiable, a prisoner in his own body, unable to control it.

Vampire or half-vampire, the turned dancer girl is immediately capable of infecting other mortals with vampirism (by more blood drinking. Yay!), and the newly turned are just as capable of passing on the Second Soul. But then Francis crashes the party and puts an end to it. He turns the dancer girl back to human, apparently by taking back the Second Soul. By blood drinking. (This should be called Blood Drinking - the Musical). This confused me greatly. I have very rarely seen vampire stories where turning isn’t permanent. Sure, there are some where the process is slow and if you interfere before the transformation is complete, the victim can be saved (like Mina in Dracula). But these bats were pretty ready to fly. They were going around, drinking blood and infecting others, to me that’s too far gone to turn back. And it confused me how everything was done by the same method. Making vampires - blood drinking. Making half-vampires - blood drinking. Turning vampires/half-vampires back to human - blood drinking. Bottom line: blood drinking can do whatever. It’s multi-purpose magic. Turning or anti-turning, it’s all blood drinking, so it’s all good.

Then, in the Berlin chapter we are actually introduced to the concept of half-vampires. Francis claims that Mikhail’s female minion is one. So, a diet coke version of vampirism does exist in this universe. But how does it work? How does it differ from real vampires? Nobody knows! Argh! Takarazuka! You can’t just make stuff up as you go, when you introduce a new story element, you have to explain it! And you don’t have to have such a complicated and unusual vampire lore. You don’t need any soul-sharing turning&anti-turning and half-vampire nonsense. Why not have more straightforward, easy-to-understand vampires, when you only have 2,5 hours to build your universe?

Oh well. All the confusing vampire lore aside, I do love Seal of Roses. It doesn’t always make sense, but I like Mikhail, who is a rarity among zuka vampires, being a genuinely evil one. And I adore Francis. He is a great dancer. And always does the hand thing after drinking.

(and yes, Mikhail does the hand thing too.)

#takarazuka #vampire #seal of roses #vampire succession #random thoughts while watching zuka

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pellicano-sanguino · 7 years

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Random thoughts while watching zuka with mother, part 1

You know the rule about laughing fits; that the dumber the thing that makes you laugh, the more hysterical your laughter will be. And then if someone sees you and asks what are you laughing at, and you tell them, then you immediately stop laughing because you feel embarrassed because the thing you were laughing at was so incredibly dumb.

Well, my mother and I have an unofficial drinking game when watching Takarazuka shows. Take a sip every time they sing “aishiteru.” It’s not a real proper drinking game, since we’re not using alcohol, but I’ve made it a habit of mine to take a sip of coke every time the aishiteru happens. Few days ago, we were watching Valencian Passion (the newest version, that comes with Hot Eyes). And well...

The aishiteru is severe.

I joke sometimes that zuka love songs just repeat aishiteru over and over again, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard a song where it’s literally just that. I swear I haven’t heard this much aishiteruing since... since... umm, since Rome at Dawn, I guess. After the song number is over, my mother and I were like “Well, those sure were silly lyrics for a show that’s not a comedy.” We figured that it was just an unfortunate case of unintentionally comedic lyrics for a serious song, and moved on with the show.

And then they repeat the song later, with just as ridiculous lyrics. And again! By the time they sing it for the fourth time I just lost it and started giggling like an idiot, unable to stop because this was insane, I just... I can’t... It’s the ending and we’re supposed to feel sad (come on, Asaka Manato is crying real tears on stage, try to take this seriously, Pellicano!), but there’s only so much aishiteru I can take. I’m sorry. It’s not a bad show. But that one song will always turn it into an unintentional comedy for me.

edit: I have been informed that it should be written aishite*i*ru, with an i. I just picked the word by ear and misspelled it. Whoops.

#takarazuka #soragumi #valencian passion #random thoughts while watching zuka

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pellicano-sanguino · 6 years

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Random thoughts while watching... OSK Revue?

I finally saw my first OSK Revue show (Dracula, 2017), so thought I'd write about it. This is not a proper review, just a bunch of random thoughts. I will be making a lot of comparisons to Takarazuka in this, and please understand that I do not mean to imply that OSK is just a zuka copycat, I simply wanted to compare the two and see what they have in common and what not (also, all opinions are about this production and these actresses only, I'd need to see more shows to form a proper, better educated opinion on OSK's style as a whole.).

First impression was a surprise at how small the production is. I knew OSK isn't as big as zuka, but still, the theater's stage was very small and there were only about ten actresses, many of them pulling several roles, I think. I felt like I was watching a Bow Hall show cut in half both by stage length and actress numbers. Having a small number of actresses causes there to be some slower, quieter scenes, where a character monologues for a while so that everyone else has time to do the costume change.

Even so, it still felt very similar to zuka. Despite the small stage, they do dance, including a post-show minirevue that includes the main otokoyakus dancing in pretty, sparkly tailcoats and a duet dance with the main leads. The makeup is similar but there's some small differences that I'm not expert enough to point out (don't know anything about makeup). There are some stylistic differences in zuka makeup too, so it felt like I was watching a sixth zuka troupe and this was their troupe's personal style.

Minirevue dancing (and look, some parade feathers. Small feathers but feathers none the less.)

Otokoyaku still sing like otokoyaku and musumeyakus sound just like zuka musumes. I liked the leading otokoyaku's voice, it was pleasant to listen. Though she has to do a lot of angry angsting throughtout the musical, which is occasionally bad for her voice, making it sound like she has a bit of a sore throat. The songs were ok, nothing particularly memorable or catchy. A lot of the music is rather simple, like piano music and such.

I admit, when I was putting the disk in the DVD player, I was chanting in my head ”Please follow the book at least barely, please don't be weird and rewrite the story wildly.” Well, no such luck, this isn't a book faithful adaptation. Which unfortunately leads to me not having a clue what the hell is going on most of Act 1. But I am happy that it's not a comedy or a super weird adaptation.

I have to say that seeing a completely serious take on a vampire musical is a breath of fresh air and something I wish zuka could do. Don't get me wrong, I love the lighthearted vampire shows like Seal of Roses (which maybe didn't aim for lighthearted but kinda accidentally became one). Zuka always makes the vampire stories, well... kinda weird (I've already ranted about the randomness, plot holes and inconsistent vampire lore in my Random Thoughts While Watching Zuka #4). I appreciate them thinking outside the box and surprising me instead of recycling the most generic vampire story plots and tropes, but as a vampire lover I would die for vampire show that actually takes itself seriously. I suppose the Poe Family show is a serious take on the subject (no comedic parts or weird story elements), but that is probably thanks to the source material. Zuka can do cool&dark, they've done Elisabeth, so if they wanted they could make truly awesome vampire shows.

While I said that this is a serious take on a vampire story, there's still a short comedic song number in the beginning of Act 1, where a bunch of reporters try to interview Dracula after his arrival at London, only to have him scream NO COMMENTS at them.

This show uses sound and screen effects a lot. Most of the time they make sense (like hearing the sound of a train in the station) but there are moments where I hear a random noise or see strange images projected on the screens and go ”What the hell was that?”

There are only three big roles in this show: Dracula, Mina and Jonathan Harker. There's also this one lady in black who I suspect to be the spirit of Dracula's dead wife, who he grieves and longs for all the time. So yeah, the beginning of Act 2 reveals to us that this show has taken inspiration from Coppola's Dracula and lifts the vampire's origin from the movie. He was a warlord in medieval times (which means he's dressed in armor and has a sword YES me likey) and somehow a false letter was brought to his wife claiming that he had fallen in battle, which led to her committing suicide. When human Drac got home to discover his wife dead, he was devastated and broken, that is, until he hears that the church refuses to bury his wife because suiciders are sinners who go to hell. There's a literal DUN DUN DUUUUN sound effect as the count builds up rage, then curses God and allows the forces of evil to corrupt his body in order to revenge. He then proceeds to kill all of the priests/monks/whatever the church folks were supposed to be.

This slaughter of innocent unarmed humans would be brutal and super dramatic, but the fight choreography leaves... much to improve. Yeah, zuka battle choreos can look like they're from the 60's Batman too, with punches that miss by a mile, but here... the stabs are so lazy it looks like the poor victims are literally walking into his sword.

If Heaven won't accept

my suicided wife

I'll follow her to Hell!

(...and lick her knife.)

Not gonna lie, this is something I haven't seen zuka do. Sure, they've implied licking things, but it's always done quite swiftly and * elegantly * and not, well, like this. Tongue out and all, literally licking the knife prop.

I was curious to see if the kisses are still fake or not, since OSK is free to have their own traditions and don't have to follow rules set by Hankyu. Also, I keep hearing rumors that OSK is supposedly more daring than zuka when it comes to love scenes. Not in this show, at least. The romantic scenes are very chaste and more cute than sexy (also, the blood drinking scene, while definitely romanticized and very nice&dramatic, not any hotter than the blood drinking scenes in zuka). And the kisses are very much fake. Oh well, the actresses are spared of messing up their lipstick.

Speaking of messing up lipstick, I know that stain is supposed to be blood but it looks like a group of amorous ladies gave the count several sloppy kisses.

So, my guess for the plot is that Dracula comes to London in search for the woman who is the reincarnation of his wife. To lure women for him to see, he puts up... a fashion show or something? Dresses are on display, including dead wife's wedding dress. Which Mina gets to wear, and Dracula is immediately convinced she's the incarnation and for the rest of the musical never calls Mina by her real name, just by the wife's name. Which is... Elisabeth. I don't remember what the wife's name was in Coppola's movie, but still, the dramatic way Dracula pronounces this name does make it sound like it was lifted from another musical.

In Act 2 Jonathan, on his way to rescue his girlfriend from the vampire's castle, meets an annoying little kid. And yeah, just like in zuka, there are no child actors in OSK, children are played by adult women using cutesy kiddie voice and being super genki. But then the kid finds the knife that Elisabeth used to suicide herself and turns to face the audience while holding it, and I was like ”Great. The annoying kid has turned into a creepy kid.” If the child had turned out to be a vampire and in team Drac all along, that would have been an awesome plot twist. But instead he's actually an angel or something like that, providing Jonathan with the weapon that can kill the vampire.

Dracula has a bunch of vampiric minions at his castle, not just the three brides. I have to ask, what is it with vampire shows having one main vampire who behaves normally and then having a bunch of background vampires/minions who speak/sing like they're high as a kite and lumber around dancing artsy inteeeerpretive dances? It's... weird. Why are some vampires normal and some complete fruitbats?

This Dracula must be the angstiest version of the character I've ever seen. There's occasionally great moments where he's charismatic, seductive or in rage mode, but the majority of time he is either silently depressed or actively whining (even many of his angry scenes come out as more whiny than aggressive). It's a very dialogue heavy show and because of the language barrier and free adapting of the story, I have no idea what his angsty dialogues are about. But whatever he says, he actually manages to win Mina's sympathy and they dance together. Even if they kiss, I still think Mina's feelings are more pity and less sincere romantic interest. Also, I should point out that I have nothing against depressed, angsty, reluctant vampires in general, it's just that I don't usually associate that kind of behavior with Dracula (depression and angst is more sir Francis Varney's thing.). Dracula is cold, ruthless, cunning and irredeemably evil, not some emotional lovelorn wreck.

I have said this before and will say again: Dracula does not aishiteiru.

Jonathan makes an attempt to save Mina but doesn't get to kill the count. Which is good because while the Jonathan of the book would definitely want and be able to fight the count, this musical portrayed the character as a cute and awkward softie nerd (I approve, not all male heroes need to be tough guys) and avoiding getting his hands wet with blood was a good move. Poor guy would be traumatized for life, even if it would be to save his girlfriend, he's just not a killer. Instead, Dracula decides to let the lovers go free and suicides himself, like he usually does in adaptations where they make him have a romance with Mina.

You know how in zuka there's the tradition that in the end the dead characters make an appearance dressed in white, to sing and prance around in an afterlife epilogue. Well, not in this show, but there is something kinda similar. In the ending scene the spirit of Elisabeth appears behind the dying count and poses dramatically with him, spreading her cape like white bat wings, taking him with her to afterlife. I think it looks cool.

To end this, let's talk about the blood drinking scene. In all vampire stories, these are the most important scenes, in my opinion. Blood drinking is what vampires do, it's their trademark thing, and if you chicken out of showing it or handle it lazily, then why the hell are you making a vampire story in the first place. You don't make Phantom of the Opera adaptation and fail to have the unmasking scene be the most dramatic and memorable scene, and similarly, you don't make a vampire story and fail to deliver the blood drinking scenes properly. Yes, I have weirdly strong opinions about this, deal with it.

Very early in Act 1 we see Dracula suffer from malnutrition, his hair turning gray and his knees failing, making him slump to the ground, very visibly suffering. For emergency he empties a small vial of blood that doesn't seem to make him get any better. And it is this moment when Jonathan decides to visit him for the first time for work-related reasons (no idea what his profession is in this story. In the fashion industry?). So, we have a thirsty vampire and a nice, cute bloodbag in the same room all alone.

Me: Drink him!

Dracula: Nope. I'd rather suffer. :)

What the hell? In the book he totally noms Jonathan. Is this because he's a male? This Dracula afraid to drink from someone who has icky boy blood? Oh well, he gets better later anyway, so I assume he gets some blood off-stage. But still, it was very confusing to see a starving vampire not take advantage of an opportunity of some easy blood.

Well, later Dracula is introduced to Mina and immediately decides ”This is the One.” And I cheer him on.

Me: Drink her!

Dracula: No. Now is not a good time. :)

Me: Damnit! DRINK SOMEBODY!!!

We have to wait all the way to the end of Act 1, but finally, we get a genuine on-screen blood drinking scene. Just as important as the moment of blood drinking itself is what leads up to it. In this musical it's Jonathan piecing together all the clues and finally getting Dracula's real identity (in a rather nerdy monologue of stuff like ”...Dracul means Dragon, and the A at the end makes it Son of the Dragon... wasn't there a warlord named like that in Romania hundreds of years ago...”).

Nerdsplaining time!

Terrified with his discovery he tries to save Mina, who Dracula has just kidnapped, spilling the beans for her as well. The revelation of Dracula's vampiric nature scares the two humans and there's plenty of dialogue that goes over my horizon, but I do get that the thing that makes Dracula snap is when Mina confesses to loving Jonathan.

The jealous vampire then starts to torture Jonathan by... some kind of Darth Vader mind-choking magic. Well, I suppose it's choking, because Jonathan holds his hands around his throat as if struggling against invisible fingers, but the sound effect doesn't suggest choking at all. It actually sounds much more gruesome and painful, a nasty ripping sound, as if the count is telekineticly tearing the poor man limb from limb and simultaneously flaying him alive. Eww, it's a gross sound effect.

Mina obviously can't idly just watch as her boyfriend is painfully tortured to death while she has the power to put an end to it. To save Jonathan, she loudly exclaims that she doesn't love him. And the count, being a little bit of an idiot here, buys it. Strangely, Jonathan seems to buy it too, crying Mina's name in disbelief. The torture ends (thank goodness), and to make sure no harm comes to Jonathan, Mina tells Dracula that if you're really a vampire and if it's blood you want, you can have mine!

Just let me gather this bothersome veil...

...and Behold! Vampire bait.

She dramaticly pulls the veil of the wedding dress on one shoulder and reveals her neck. I love this. And so does Dracula. This is the one moment where his eyes actually light up with passion and while he attempts to stay cool, you can see his chest rise as his breathing gets faster with excitement. Darn right, count. Blood offered by free will is the best stuff there is. And it was about time you finally drank someone.

It's always interesting when humans offer their blood to the vampire out of free will, because there's usually good and complex reasons behind it, and this is no exception. Mina doesn't offer her blood out of sympathy or under the influence of vampiric hypnosis or even being seduced by the pretty blood drinker. It's offered by free will but it's very much not concensual. The offer of blood is the only way she can distract the vampire long enough to let Jonathan escape and get help. By playing along with the count's delusions about Mina being the reincarnation of his wife, she is cleverly buying time, manipulating him. Only, unfortunate for these two, there is no van Helsing or any other member of the book's league of merry vampirehunting men in this show for Jonathan to run to, so all he can do is to follow them to the castle and attempt a lone rescue mission (which fails).

Frankly, the one who eventually defeats Dracula (kinda) is Mina, who manages to win the count's sympathy (making him learn the good old ”if you really love someone, you'll want what's best for them and let them go instead of selfishly trying to force them to stay with you”). And this blood drinking scene is the first time we see that she is aware of the power she has over the vampire. Maybe in the end she didn't exactly intend to make him commit suicide, just trying to make him let them go, but old Drac was living a horribly depressed and angsty unlife anyway, so it doesn't surprise me that he decided to end it. That's why the (kinda). Mina has great influence over Dracula but I do think his decision to die a final death seems to be not a result of manipulation but a genuine decision. Though he still technically makes her do it, by forcibly placing the knife in her hands and then grabbing her wrists, stabbing himself, making her involuntarily deal the killing blow. Kinda dick move (Mina is quite horrified of this, understandably), but at least I'm happy Mina doesn't kill herself too in this one (yes, I'm still angry at that ending in 2011 Wao Youka's Dracula. The count kills himself so Mina can go back to being human and back to Jonathan. And then the dumb woman makes the count's sacrifice completely pointless by throwing away the life he attempted to save.) Dracula ends his unlife but Mina and Jonathan return to the world of the living, where they belong.

Final random thought: Knightly warlord Dracula looks a bit like Lancelot’s long lost, dangerously unhinged brother. (it’s the wig and the silver armor with blue details. The actresses are very different.)

#osk revue #dracula #random thoughts while watching osk

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margridarnauds · 6 years

Note

1789, ronan/laz, and laz | terra nova, wash/mira, mira

I bet you were wondering if this was ever getting done. Here, have some of my slightly sleep-deprived thoughts.

1789

Favorite character: Lazare de motherfucking Peyrol, for all of his (4) scenes.

Least Favorite character: You’re probably expecting Artois or Ramard. True, Ramard is absolutely noxious in the French version and…there in the Takarazuka version, but he has his moments, and he’s pretty adorable when he tries to rescue Olympe from Artois. Artois, while being….Artois, is pretty magnetic as a villain due to being played by Miya Rurika and managing to steal the show right out from under everybody’s feet everytime he’s on stage. No. The real threat is someone far more unassuming, someone that floods every moment he’s on the screen with dread. Someone who refuses to take no for an answer. Someone who DEFINITELY DID NOT HAVE AN AFFAIR WITH THE QUEEN OF FRANCE. MOTHERFUCKING FERSEN. The actress who plays him has such a phenomenal voice in the Takarazuka version and does so well with it that it’s hard, but Axel von Fersen is a dweeb and deserves at least one Peyrol Certified Bitchslap™. (Also, in real life, HE WAS A PLAYER. AND A BIT OF AN ASSHOLE IMO IF YOU READ HIS LETTERS, BUT THAT WAS PRETTY NORMAL SO I CAN EXCUSE IT. BUT HE WAS A PLAYER.) Now, I know this is 1789 and history is dead (poor, poor historical!Artois), but Fersen just…doesn’t really add anything with his presence. He’s there, he’s bland, he ups the already unfortunate heterosexual quotient of the show, and then I try to move on. And, also, while I am a member of the Slap Ronan Mazurier Club, I also think that GOING AFTER A HUNGOVER PEASANT. ARMED WITH A STICK. WHEN YOU HAVE A RAPIER. ISN’T GOOD FORM. Oh? He insulted your girlfriend? SO’S EVERYBODY ELSE, DUMBFUCK.

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): Laz/Ronan, Solene/Olympe, Olympe/Ronan/Lazare, Necker/Artois, Marie Antoinette/Olympe (in the sense of an unrequited thing that helped her to grow; not so much as an actual relationship)

Character I find most attractive: Solene. Like, was that a question? Thank you, final, ongoing proof of my bisexuality.

Character I would marry: Olympe or Solene

Character I would be best friends with: Olympe, though I’m not sure how she’d deal with my sense of humor. I would say “Charlotte” but I’m not sure re: the age gap there, though she seems to be fine trailing along behind Danton.

a random thought: I’ve been going over Solene’s scenes a lot for my WIP, trying to scoop out what characterization I can, and one thing that was really striking listening to the Takarazuka version is this mixture between power and insecurity. Like, she’s obviously deeply hurt by Ronan hurting her and, even though I don’t LIKE a lot of what the Zuka version did to Solene for various reasons, I do like that they have it as being DIRECTLY addressed to Ronan as a call-out. So you have her staring at him and saying she’s been abandoned and she didn’t have a choice while also talking about how Ronan’s entered her realm and how the men “submit themselves” to her. Like, I would never want to gloss over the harsh realities of a prostitute’s life at this time because it was REALLY dangerous, especially for a woman like Solene who seems to be working independently, without the (somewhat dubious) protection of a Madame or pimp, but she does seem to find a way to take some power in it that she would never have found as a farmer’s wife. I’m really glad that, despite the fact that this production really sanitized Solene (which, it’s to be expected; it’s Takarazuka), they still were able to bring in some of that grit.

An unpopular opinion: The thing with 1789 is that opinions that are unpopular with one section of the fandom are popular with another and vice versa, as small as this fandom is. Ronan Mazurier is an idiot, but I don’t ABSOLUTELY hate him and I can actually like him, especially when I’m writing him and ESPECIALLY when I’m writing him outside of canon. “Je Veux le Monde” is interesting not just because Solene is being badass (she is!), but also because of the way the show utilizes violence even while the lyrics of the song condemn the bloodlust of revolutionaries like Ronan. Even though I can like both versions, the Takarazuka production saved the show. Peyrol’s troops on pillars during “Nous ne Sommes”>Dancing Table Robespierre. I will never understand the appeal of Salieri/Lazare as a ship. As much as I utilize Kinky!Lazare, I’m not really fond of Sadist!Lazare, since it robs him of a lot of whatever nuance the French production gave him (It’s not much, but I’ll take it). I think pretty much every production we’ve seen thus far did a cop out by not showing what really happened on July 12 instead of just “Bad Royalists attack poor protesters” (I’ll give a hint: It involved rocks. Thrown at the cavalry.) As much as I like Solene and Lucille Desmoulins as friends (WOMEN. BEING FRIENDS. IT’S A MIRACLE), it makes literally no sense why a middle class girl like Lucille, enamored with Rousseau, would casually befriend someone of such a lower class, especially when, at this point, she’s Danton’s mistress and a former (?) prostitute. Okay, I think I’ve said something to piss off every section of the fandom, Mission Accomplished.

My Canon OTP: This comes with a CANON? Oh God, the French version more or less nixed this but Marie Antoinette/Louis were adorable historically and I will do literally everything in my power to bring that into fics. It seems like, despite being in an arranged marriage, they were deeply, passionately in love with each other and those last few years really brought them together. Also, on the other side, Lucille/Camille Desmoulins are…heartbreaking, historically. They loved each other so much and, when he died, she basically lost the will to live. Some of her last reported words before they took her to the scaffold were, “They have assassinated the best of men. If I did not hate them for that, I should bless them for the service they have done me this day.” They left behind a son, Horace, just a year old.

My Non-canon OTP: Laz/Ronan is the Ultimate OTP for this one.

Most Badass Character: French!Solene fucking shit up is my sexual orientation. In productions where she isn’t there, then Lazare, by sheer virtue of the fact that we see him most in combat situations, he seems to be the only officer in Paris who ACTUALLY DOES HIS JOB instead of dicking around in Versailles, and he climbs out of The Pit to shame revolutionaries.

Most Epic Villain: I firmly believe that one of 1789′s biggest sins in that they’ve never quite latched onto a firm villain. You’ve got Peyrol, you’ve got Ramard, and you’ve got Artois, but as far as serious, developed threats? It’s hard. But look, we all know I hate fucking Artois. I truly do loathe the little bastard. BUT. He’s also pretty damn iconic and Miya Rurika is obviously having the time of her LIFE in the role. Every single moment of “Je Suis un Dieu” is iconic because she’s finally been released into the wild. Like, the Extra Unmasking scene with a cloak, nailing that goth aesthetic? The fact that he declares himself a God IN THE CHURCH OF SAINT DENIS, the church of Paris’ PATRON SAINT? Casually using Ramard as a footstool? Putting on an ENTIRE SONG as a way of telling Ronan to shut up? The way he strides along the stage like he owns the place? Highkey flirting with Fersen? Iconic. He’s thoroughly despicable in every single way which makes the scene where Olympe points a pistol in his face so damn satisfying. And, the thing with Artois? HE WINS. The Royal Family will be killed, all of the young, idealistic revolutionaries we see here are going to turn on each other and die young, and Artois will take the throne, though he’s eventually yeeted off of it after six years during the July Revolution, with his successor, Louis Philippe, inspiring Les Miserables and Charles dying in exile. Still, for all intents and purposes, he gets exactly what he wanted, though you have to wonder if, eventually, so much loss and death of everyone around him, including his favorite mistress Louise de Polastron, won’t tear him apart. (I know, I know, Takarazuka Charles is an actual demon, but let me hope.) I’m really, really curious to see what the Toho cast is going to bring to the table, since it looks like we’re getting a VERY aggressive Laz, a slimier Artois, and a borderline heroic Ramard.

Pairing I am not a fan of: Ronan/Olympe in its pure, canon form; Danton/Solene (I have many, many issues with that one and Solene’s position in general, since we all know Danton’s a fuckboi who will eventually abandon her, hence why for once I prefer the French version where their relationship is seemingly a one-time thing); Charles/Lazare is interesting to play with as a part of Laz’s backstory but not something I’d want going forward because there’s no way that one can end well for Laz. He’s going to be stuck in the same patterns time after time again and he’ll remain loyal to a system that will eventually screw him over out of love for someone who lacks the ability to love him and who will use and manipulate him until the end. You could argue that he 100% deserves it but, tbh, my main interest in him is seeing if he can do better.

Character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): I feel like every single character in 1789 (with maybe the exception of the Printing Press Bros, who work best as side characters) was screwed over. Olympe in the Forbidden Ending of the French version, shot down for Ronan’s angst (But, hey, final proof she’s a lesbian), Marie Antoinette in the French version, Louis XVI in the French version for the Throne Room Scene alone, Solene in any production not getting a really solid arc or characterization (and, in both Japanese productions, being watered down), and, tbh, I also feel like Laz really got the short end of the stick. I talk about the man a lot, but that’s mainly me filling in the blanks. It’s pretty damn obvious when you look at him as a character that he was added in at the last moment because the producers were shitting their pants over Matthieu Carnot’s contract after they wanted to stunt cast Louis Delort from the Voice.

Favorite Friendship: The Printing Press Bros, as per history. Such a pity that one of them is going to turn on the other two... On a less tragic note, I like French!Olympe’s relationship with Charlotte and wished that it got more screentime.

Character I most identify with: The very, very specific version of Lazare de Peyrol I’ve projected on in my mind. A lot of my character building for him comes from me more or less writing out what could have been for me and taking it up several notches. A lot of his little quirks (pacing around, for example), I take more or less directly from me (though you will notice that in the French Maniaque, even in the toned down one where he’s at the back of the stage, he’s always in motion, so I didn’t take it out of nowhere.) He and I both (according to my headcanons + the general age for a lot of officers, with could be preteen-14) were put into this position at a young age where we had to be adults, so the experience of childhood was really stunted in a way (note: This is also a BIG part of why I identify so much with Bres mac Elatha). As someone who was raised in such a conservative town and who parroted a lot of those views for years until I broke out of it, I also really get why he thinks the way he thinks and have a pretty vested interest in getting him out of it. I also really do identify quite a lot with Solene, specifically the French version where she and Ronan don’t have that reconciliation. It’s painful, but, in my experience, that’s a little more true to life in the sense that there are these family members who you never quite understand or get along with and who you think you’ll get one of these days, but that doesn’t happen and you’re left really trying to come to terms with that. That feeling of being abandoned, focusing more on the practicality of the Revolution, etc. I can definitely understand, as well as not really being able to trust anyone afterwards.

Character I wish I could be: I mean, the problem with 1789 is that almost everyone you love is going to be dead in five years. I would normally say Solene; I do want a tenth of the badassery of “Je Veux Le Monde,” but I definitely don’t want the sheer amount of dark shit that she goes through. Olympe probably has the best chance of escaping, I like that sparkle cloak, she’s also very loyal, and and gets to slap Ronan (literally the best part of the French version), so maybe her?

Lazare/Ronan

(Note: All of the following has been done under the [correct] assumption that these two are in a full romantic relationship throughout the musical)

When I started shipping them: About a year ago, watching the Takarazuka version with subtitles

My thoughts: The OTP. They come from completely opposite experiences and completely change each other’s lives and ways of viewing the world, for the better and the worse.

What makes me happy about them: Peyrol loves his boyfriend so much, he remembers his name after NEARLY A YEAR, he is basically completely infatuated within EIGHT DAYS of them being reunited (the length of time, roughly, between Maniaque and the comment about “The Comte de Peyrol’s affection”), he buys him coats, gets him a place to live, and lets him get away with things that no other human being could conceivably get away under his watch. Hell, in the French version, EVEN OLYMPE KNOWS, as shown by her dream and Ramard saying, “Monsieur de Peyrol, he’s yours. Do whatever you wish with him.” I think that if they’d ever had more time to be a couple, they would have really grown with each other a lot and learned to work past their quarrels, getting this really strong foundation with one another, finding a peace with each other that they would never have found in the outside world.

What makes me sad about them: Everything with this pairing is pain if you go with their canon ending. LIKE, Peyrol loves Ronan to a truly ridiculous degree, lets himself feel probably his first human emotion in possibly DECADES, and then Ronan dies. And, worse, in the Takarazuka version, he dies at Lazare’s hand. And over something that was purely because of Laz’s own pettiness and rigidity. (There was literally no reason for him to order his troops to fire on Papa du Puget, except for that he saw he was losing and decided to take one last shot at someone he deemed a traitor.) In all likelihood, since Laz is…Laz, he probably never told Ronan he loved him, thinking that everything he’d done was good enough when NO it wasn’t while simultaneously thinking that Ronan probably loves Camille and the others more than him, so Ronan probably spends his last moments thinking his boyfriend had just used and discarded him. And, the worst thing for me is that, while the French version seems to have a bit of a reconciliation in the afterlife, with the two of them embracing, in the Takarazuka version you can see Lazare looking at Ronan and then, when Ronan gets up there with him, turning his back. Which is probably just as much because the stage is actually rotating but, with a shipping lens….it’s depressing, since I tend to headcanon it as Laz being so guiltstricken by what he’s done that he can’t even look or speak with Ronan.

Things done in fanfic that annoys me: As I talk about in more detail below, Creepy Crawly Lazare is a no. I think a lot of fics really take the power imbalance between them at face value and just go off of that, WHICH IS FAIR, given there are severe power imbalances, but such a big part of the relationship for me is also that, if we assume that Laz is willing to have an affair with a revolutionary, we have to assume that he’s completely, utterly smitten as well, and that, while Ronan’s too much of an oblivious walnut to realize it, Laz is completely emotionally compromised by him. He might have the social and economic power over Ronan, but Ronan also has him wrapped around his finger to a truly magnificent degree. (Which, if you look at Nous Ne Sommes with that lens, it becomes a matter of Laz really trying to convince himself that he’s still Old Lazare, still devoted to the Crown, that no, he’s not in love with him, and he ends up with a bodycount while still utterly failing.) And, also, I feel like Ronan post-Bastille VS Pre would take the relationship very differently. Like, in many ways, I think that if they kickstarted their relationship a year or so after the musical, you’d be looking at two very different people in a very different situation, with the scales tipped in Ronan’s favor.

Things I look for in fanfic: LITERALLY ANYTHING INVOLVING THEM I WILL READ.

My wishlist: Interactions? More interactions? Them to reinstate the original Maniaque? The ending to be revised so that it includes the first gay, interclass wedding while Artois throws a temper tantrum in the Church before being taken away by the Swiss Guards? Alright, in all honesty, if I can’t completely tear the original to shreds to give me the 100% gay version of 1789 I deserve, then I would like more scenes between the two of them, not even necessarily as more than rivals, but showing them as being linked to each other, like how the French version has him in the back during La Rue nous Appartient or how the Takarazuka version has him there during the Act 1 finale (which took La Rue’s place). I like the idea of Peyrol always kind of being there in Ronan’s mind as this looming threat. I would love to see Peyrol getting something more than just a couple of songs, because the fact that he’s not there for Ronan’s escape is just...odd to me. Like, is he asleep? On vacation? At Versailles? I would like to see him actually *react* to Ronan’s escape more, since that also makes him look bad. I’d like to see more of Peyrol’s concerns, seeing the mob growing, seeing Ronan getting involved in it, and having an “Oh God, What Have I Done?” moment, even if it doesn’t stick. I’d like a moment between the two of them when they realize how much they’re becoming like each other, as the Revolution takes bits out of both of them. On a noncanon level, I wish that there were more opportunities for them to work together as a pair.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: Despite my general headcanon that Laz is GAY GAY GAY, I do lowkey ship L/O after the finale, mainly courtesy of The Bernese Affair. I also lowkey, lowkey ship him with the random peasant that appears on his arm during “Pour la Peine,” played by Alan Grall, who was understudy!Ronan. Generally, however, I don’t think Lazare could be with anyone after Ronan. For once, he tried to put his heart in with his duty, and it failed miserably. Tbh, in any continuity where Ronan dies, I don’t really see Laz as surviving for much longer. He could throw himself into the Princes’ Army, fighting against the Revolutionary Forces, he could face the mob and die on the lantern, or any other combination of factors (as you saw in the Solene WIP), but I really don’t see Laz lasting long after this one. I think the version we’d see of him post-finale would be broken in a way that we’ve never really seen him broken and, the worst thing is, he wouldn’t have anyone to confide in. In a world where Laz had died instead of Ronan, in theory, if Ronan would TALK to her (unrealistic), he has Solene, maybe Charlotte, Camille, and Olympe. Hell, Danton probably wouldn’t even care and would at least try to get Ronan laid, get him out of the house, etc. even if Ronan would be absolutely miserable company. Laz doesn’t have that. He has his men, and they more likely than not follow him out of a mixture of respect and fear. As a result, I see him trying to bottle his life with Ronan, trying to keep it to himself, and eventually destroying himself over it. Ronan…I have a hard time seeing with anyone else. Definitely not Olympe. Camille, maybe. Robespierre, maybe, though either one has….problems, historically. And, tbh, I think they’d be too tame for Ronan. Look at the two people he’s paired with: A Royal Officer and the Queen’s Governess. He literally can’t seem to go for a relationship where they’re on the same team. (Yet another reason to kinkshame him). I’d honestly rather have him realize the Revolution is going to shit and travel back to the country where he, idk, rolls around in dirt for a little while to forget his troubles. (Note: In the Takarazuka version, you have Ronan committing himself to a life alone without Olympe and, even if this is a moment of Ronan being Extra…I think there’s a bit of truth to it. Ronan feels things in extremes: Love, hatred, grief, and I suspect that he would be inconsolable. Like, his initial reaction to his father’s death was to IMMEDIATELY get out of the area and swear vengeance, which I have my own headcanons about BUT, the point is, he’ll want a new start, outside of Paris, and I think he would throw himself into it with the same fervor he threw himself into the Revolution. Which actually parallels nicely with Artois swearing himself to celibacy after Louis de Polastron’s death.)

My happily ever after for them: The two of them manage to convince each other to run away from the Revolution together, going to England, Italy, or literally anywhere else bordering France. They both grow as human beings, with both of them moving increasingly towards the center. Laz leaves the Army and begins the process of healing himself and getting his individuality back, with Ronan occasionally napping on his shoulder while he’s practicing on the harpsichord. They don’t have children, but do have several animals (that Laz claims are Ronan’s), including at least one black kitten that SOMEONE (Read: Ronan) names Artois for its imperious manner. Olympe and Solene occasionally stay with them, with Solene and Lazare calling a truce for Ronan’s sake. The Mazurier siblings reconcile. They all deal with the trauma of the French Revolution together, as a family. Sometime after the heat of the Revolution dies down, probably around 1804, they go back to France, where Ronan helps Laz deal with his past and the trauma associated with it. By this point, society’s more or less accepted that they’re married and, with the decriminalization of homosexuality in 1791, there’s not all that much they can do except for, like, not inviting the socially awkward aristocrat to their salons. Oh, the shame. Peyrol will have to console himself by banging his boyfriend in every room of his chateau. They all outlive Artois.

Lazare de Peyrol

How I feel about this character: He is my aristocratic gay disaster son who needs to CHILL and commit 99% fewer homicides.

Any/all the people I ship romantically with this character: Ronan, Olympe, Charles (as part of his Tragic Backstory, unrequited), Happiness, the Whip, the Coat, Marat’s Printing Press, Louis XVI (as an unrequited thing pre-Ronan, instead of Charles). I could also be persuaded to ship Robespierre/Lazare, though I don’t think it’d ever really be a major thing since, tbh, they don’t have the same kind of history/attachment that R/L do.

My favorite non-romantic relationship for this character: The sad thing with Laz is that we really don’t get any real relationships with him, besides his men and their attempts to get him to hook up with Ronan (which I read as mainly them thinking “HEY! If he gets laid, maybe he won’t have us flogged for every minor infraction!”) Charlotte as a sort of ward for Laz is a disaster waiting to happen, but it’s something that I think has a lot of potential in the sense that he’s never really HAD anyone to protect before and then there’s this street urchin who is more or less feral BUT she has her uses and eventually Laz is basically the equivalent of “I’ve only known Charlotte a day and a half but if anything happened to her I’d kill everyone in this room and then myself.” Which, Peyrol picking up ANOTHER stray. The good news is that Charlotte’s out of the danger stage as far as when i think Peyrol would have the most trouble dealing with kids, since she’s old enough that she still has a sense of independence, though I think they’d clash a lot as far as Laz wanting her to be A Proper Young Woman while Charlotte is…Charlotte. Also, on the reverse side, I like the idea of Papa du Puget (in a verse where Laz DOESN’T TRY TO KILL HIM) forming a sort of father/son bond with him.

My unpopular opinion about this character: Creepy Crawly Laz is a hard “no” for me. It’s not just that he’s more often than not portrayed as creeping on the wrong person, but it’s just…not anything in keeping with what we’ve seen of Laz thus far. I can’t see Laz as being the one who’s really forward in his relationship with Ronan, or really with anyone. I tend to headcanon him as more or less gray ace, with a strong focus on his work before he meets Ronan, which is part of why he reacts so STRONGLY to him. Like, he was minding his own business, doing his job, and then this PEASANT comes in and upsets everything and makes him feel tingly feelings that he’s really not used to. TBH I have a hard time imagining he’s even kissed someone pre-musical. (Okay, Takarazuka Laz I have an easier time with, but still.) And so he tries to put him in his proper place but…that doesn’t work well and then suddenly the peasant wants to kiss him and ABORTABORTABORT but it also feels…somewhat nice and, oh, that’s what the tingly feelings are. Consider that his opening lines to Ronan in Maniaque basically consist of, “Your father is dead and you’re an idiot. Also, do you want to betray your friends and become my trophy twink because I can arrange that?” That is not someone who’s experienced in any way. Like, he probably cries during their first time together and Ronan’s just there like “…Peyrol, Peyrol, are you alright? Did I do something wrong?” And meanwhile with Ronan we (unfortunately) know he’s very *physical* when it comes to people so, the second he realizes he’s got the hots for his father’s killer, he’s going to just…go for it. And then probably angst later.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: I wish we’d gotten more development with Laz in general, given that I think he has a lot of potential. Obviously, my ideal version of 1789 would be a romantic drama with Peyrol/Ronan and Solene/Olympe as our two cross-class relationships, with Ronan and Lazare potentially being the comic relief in the background. I would really like to see him go through an actual arc in the musical, with him reacting to the events of the Revolution, with Nous Ne Sommes being him having a sort of breakdown (which is how I’ve always personally interpreted the “Let it Go Lazare” video), which leads up to the Bastille. I like the idea of him gradually losing control over everything, with at least some of his men deserting, so that the position between him and Ronan gradually flips. (Personally, I’ve always liked the idea of “Nous ne Sommes” being about not just the revolutionaries, but about his own troops as they feel torn about firing on their own people and are increasingly resentful of their commander.) I would like to see some closure to Ronan’s revenge plot against him, even if it’s Laz being cornered by the mob as the Bastille falls. It’s kind of why I truly enjoy having R/L in mind for the Takarazuka version, because even though Ronan is shot down by Peyrol in the end, you know he’s probably managed to do exactly what he’d set out to do: Destroy him completely. And he did it without even really trying. There’s a sort of dark, dark irony to that one.

My favorite friendship for this character: If I’m not going fully on poly with Ronan/Lazare/Olympe, I tend to still like Olympe and Lazare to be friends, as he probably has more in common with her than anyone else in the cast, seeing as they’re both devoted to the Royal Family, come from military backgrounds, have ties to the Bastille, and distrust the mob. I think it’s really important for Laz to keep up that relationship and to have someone like that to commiserate with.

My crossover ship: Not a full-on ship, but I really like Wash and Laz’s friendship in the TN crossover. I like that you have these two military figures, both dedicated to their leaders, finding some common ground, I like that Laz finally has a superior who actually gives a damn about him and is supportive and encourages him to be a human being, I like how they both support each other in their disaster relationships. For the first time in his life, really, Laz has someone who is in his corner, so he doesn’t have to deal with this on his own, someone who acts as a mentor to him and really pushes him to be a better human being and a better officer (and who is willing to use the spray bottle on him when he contemplates homicide). Like, they both keep each other in check insanely well? Also, I miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight lowkey ship Lazare/Chauvelin from the Scarlet Pimpernel, mainly because he was played by Ronan’s actress at one point and CROSSOVERS + It’s another revolutionary and Lazare has a Type. And I also lowkey support Saint Just/Lazare in the sense that I think they would have an absolutely HILARIOUS dynamic given that SJ was fantastic when it came to military stuff and had a noted love of music and Laz is….similar, but on a different side. Like, you’d have SJ complaining about the officers not doing anything and Laz would be like, “See? See? This is what I’ve been say-What do you mean ‘abolition of privileges?” And then they’d bond over, like, balloons or telegraph wires before remembering they hate each other and SJ is highkey in love with Robespierre. Also, I strongly feel like at some Laz tried to propose to Oscar de Jarjayes as a way of showing how very heterosexual he was and. She knocked him on his ass. It was probably the closest he’s ever come to being sexually attracted to a woman (Not counting the Polyamory AU where he’s bi, but still).

Terra Nova

Favorite character: Wash

Least Favorite character: Lucas Motherfucking Taylor

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): Wash/Mira, Jim/Malcolm, Maddy/Skye, Mark/Josh, Lucas Taylor/A T-Rex’s Jaw...you know, the standards

Character I find most attractive: WASH.

Character I would marry: Elizabeth, because we know her family’s rich and she’s insanely smart and caring. (Actual Josh Shannon quote: “Rachel, please don’t fuck my mom”).

Character I would be best friends with: Maddy Shannon

a random thought: This is the kind of thing we’ve talked about, but It’s such a pity we got a conglomeration of four different scripts rather than one solid script. I can understand not going full on grimdark, but there are still so many traces of it throughout the script (the casual usage of torture, INCLUDING BY JIM), that it’s a pity they didn’t have the guts to do it. Even if they didn’t go through with the Cursed original script, they’d have done well to just stick to one coherent script with a solid idea of where they were going. Taylor: Antihero, villain, or Santa Steroids? Jim: Relatable everyman or hero? (ALSO: THEY SHOULD HAVE KEPT THE ORIGINAL REASON FOR HIM BEING ARRESTED.) It’s like everybody on the writing team had a different idea about the characters + Colony and what they were going for, with traces of that darkness edging in but never being addressed. The over-the-top dystopia of the original is, tbh, more than a little corny, but so is the “Taylor is always right! The government does surveillance on you because it loves you! You have nothing to fear if you have nothing to hide! Love Big Brother! Look, Taylor interacting with children! Have you ever heard of a dictator who hangs out with children?” thing that the final product had, especially given that this is so very clearly a post-9/11 world where questions about state authority are STILL going around and things like the Patriot Act are still deeply controversial. Obviously, character development is a thing and I would LOVE to see a gradual slide, but looking at where they went with what they had planned, I don’t see how they were going to pull it off, especially given that all they’ve really mentioned about S2 was that Taylor was going to go insane, which doesn’t seem to take into account his pre-existing authoritarian tendencies. (Also, the fact they just brush it aside as him being “crazy” feels deeply eh to me, since it seems like such a narrative cheap shot and more than a little unfortunate from a mental health standpoint.) There was so much they should have been building up to and bringing in from episode one, and they dropped it. I think, in the end, there were a lot of things that really damned the show in the end, potentially not fatal on their own, but I think that was the original sin of it, in a sense. If I’d been an executive looking the show over and deciding whether to renew or not, I’d not have hesitated over cancelling the hot mess, as enjoyable as it is.

An unpopular opinion: None of the canon relationships were well done and it’s better to pretend that literally everyone realized they were gay post-finale. Also, GIVE ME MY DARK VERSION OF PARADISE LOST WITH DINOS DAMMIT.

My Canon OTP: ........................................

My Non-canon OTP: Wash/Mira, even though it’s canon in my heart.

Most Badass Character: Uh? WASH? Now that she’s gone, the Colony is fucked, which is obv. the real reason the show was cancelled. Also, Mira, surviving in the wild for as long as she has and putting Taylor in his place when he’s like, “I WAS HERE A WHOLE MONTH WITHOUT MY X-BOX.” And Mira’s like, “Bitch, where do you think we’ve been the last few years? At the Ritz?”

Most Epic Villain: I’m not giving Lucas Taylor the benefit of this. Mira, but I don’t really see her as a villain. If they’d ever had the guts in a later season to call out Taylor’s bullshit, I think he had the potential to be FASCINATING, as Jim comes to terms with what he is, turning against someone he considered a boyfriend, and breaking free of following orders (or, you know, just assigning his role to Wash. That would work too.) Lead the audience in with talk of Utopia, “the ends justify the means,” then steadily deconstruct it with Taylor becoming more and more paranoid after the season finale, losing faith in his dreams, committing more and more atrocities and continuing to justify them.

Pairing I am not a fan of: Anything? In? Canon? Lucas/Skye in particular.

Character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): All of them? But also, LET ! WASH ! GET ! CHARACTER ! DEVELOPMENT ! And Skye deserved a hell of a lot more than a half-baked spy arc and romance arc with Josh, especially given her connection to Taylor (which, I’ve said this before and I’ll say this again, if anyone’s taking down Taylor and we’re forced to admit Wash is dead, IT NEEDS TO BE SKYE WHO TAKES HIM DOWN. NOT JIM. SOMEONE WHO’S KNOWN AND LOVED HIM FOR YEARS.) We needed more of her relationships with people in the colony, especially Wash since Wash doesn’t really have *connections* and, if you’re going to toss away a character like that, you need to emphasize how much is MATTERS. And calling her “Alycia” every chance you get isn’t the same. Showing Skye mourning would have been a good step. And, tbh, I will always feel like they did Mark a disservice by cutting out his role as a Sixer spy and just making him Maddy’s Bland Straight Love Interest. The actor did a pretty good job selling it, and yet, in the end, all that made it the screen was oatmeal. You could have had an opportunity for a genuinely riveting Sixer Spy plotline, tying him and Skye together as friends and (reluctant) conspirators, while also giving some solid conflict to the characters, but they tossed it away. And killing Mark off in the finale would have made a lot more of an impact than Wash because the audience has SEEN him forge that (bland) relationship with Maddy, sees him joking with her little sister, and then fridges him. Like, you want to show you’re not playing around? DO THAT. RAISE THE FUCKING STAKES.

Favourite Friendship: Wash/Taylor. I def. tend to view them as long-time comrades who have a lot of deep respect for one another and who trust each other unconditionally. That’s why, no matter what happens, that friendship breaking is going to be so painful. They’re really one of the only solid ties that they have to the past on Ter Noa, and, eventually, the past has gotta die.

Character I most identify with: Maddy Shannon.

Character I wish I could be: WASH.

Mira/Wash

When I started shipping them: During our TN streams, thank you very much.

My thoughts: Definitely not a ship I came in with, especially since the writers seem to have a phobia over female characters talking for more than a minute at a time when absolutely necessary, but definitely one of the most interesting pairings insofar as chemistry and potential is concerned.

What makes me happy about them: These two work so well together on every level; they really match each other well even as they have that kind of conflict that makes a ship investing. You have these two complete badasses in love, angsty, but still staying true to themselves.

What makes me sad about them: They have so few interactions on screen; we never really get anything with them aside from the one (beautiful) interaction. Also, despite what they both might want, their loyalties for the foreseeable future are so bound up that, even if they meet up occasionally, they can’t pursue a solid relationship (WHICH. OH. IN THE CROSSOVER. RONAN FEELING BAD THAT IN A WORLD WHERE SEEMINGLY EVERYTHING’S POSSIBLE, SOME COUPLES STILL CAN’T BE TOGETHER.)

Things done in fanfic that annoys me: WHAT FANFIC? Making Wash and Mira straight is obviously a no go.

Things I look for in fanfic: To exist someplace besides my computer hardrive.

My wishlist: TALKING?

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: I don’t have any ships for Mira outside of Wash, tbh. If she’s with someone, it’d have to be someone who could match her and would be willing to deal with her rough edges as well as uncovering that little chink in her armor. Elizabeth Shannon would be an interesting choice there, I suppose. Wash...Reilly could work, as someone who’s military as well, though I’m not sure Wash would date someone under her command. Elizabeth Shannon’s still an option there, in the sense that I think she could get Wash to SLOW DOWN and also still has less of a tolerance for Taylor’s shit (the second he comes for her kids, it’s over.)

My happily ever after for them: Wash eventually realizes that Taylor’s doing Some Dystopian Shit and falls to Mira’s Sixer Wiles, the two of them work together to take him down and then, using some leftover Lucas Bullshit, they re-establish contact on Earth, snatch Sienna, and then go back to Terra Nova where they reunite the Sixers and the Colony as one united group. The Sixers get a full pardon for what they’ve done, or at the very least a highly commuted sentence. They also raise Leah and Sam as their own, with Sienna thrilled to get two new siblings (they also make regular trips to Earth to see Leah and Sam’s grandparents, who are THRILLED to see them but are also mildly intimidated by Mira sharpening her knives in the dining room.)

Mira

How I feel about this character: Very problematic but I also love her and am totally on her side VS Taylor.

Any/all the people I ship romantically with this character: Wash, Alycia Washington, Lt. Washington

My favorite non-romantic relationship for this character: Sienna. It has to have been a pretty strong mother/daughter bond to get Mira to basically bend Heaven and Hell for her, and it’s a pity we never really got to see it in person considering it would have really helped to humanize Mira further.

My unpopular opinion about this character: THAT FUCKING SCENE WHERE THE WRITERS IN THE COMMENTARY CALLED HER “ALMOST SYMPATHETIC.” NO, BITCH. SHE IS SYMPATHETIC. I’m really along the same lines as you where I have a really hard time viewing her as a villain. Anti-villain, maybe, but, given what goes on in the Colony (torture, martial law, etc.) I have a hard time not rooting for her.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: That the episode with her and Taylor was replaced with her and Wash. That relationship has so much potential to be fascinating, not just as far as shipping but just in general. Like, even if I didn’t headcanon them as Sad Exes, that “Still doing Taylor’s dirty work?” Shows that they go way back, that there’s this connection there, and Mira offers Wash an alternative to what she’s got on the colony, even if it’s one she can’t take. They work well as rivals and foils for one another as two people who are both military, both very driven, but happened to wind up on different sides. I also really wish that we’d gotten to see more of Mira and what’s going on with her at a given point. I really would have liked to see if she has any mementos of Sienna or something like that. Flashbacks to her on Earth, maybe, or an episode from the perspective of the Sixers. Just something solid as far as establishing her and who she is outside of just “mean Sixer Lady”.

Favorite friendship for this character: Sixers? Have? Friends? In all honesty, Mira strikes me as the type who avoids attachments, because they’re not here to make friends, they’re here for the money and then to get the Hell out. She’s pragmatic like that. I think she wants her people to respect her, but, ultimately, she’s there for the mission. (Oh, like another military idiot I have a soft spot for.)

My crossover ship: Not a full out ship, but I’m really intrigued by how her and Olympe will get along in the crossover as the Revolution has to team up with the Sixers. Because with Olympe, she’s very easy to underestimate (which is why I think Lucas Taylor is going to fail miserably). Unlike Mira, who I think projects herself as more of a hardass than she actually is as a way of keeping control, Olympe makes herself deliberately softer and more demure than I think she really is as a way of keeping control because that is how you do things in the 18th century. She keeps her head down, keeps her wits about her, smiles, and then darts away from the trouble (namely, Artois). In terms of personality, she’s very nurturing and kid-focused, whereas Mira’s more like Laz in the sense that she has a goal that she wants to achieve and she kind of goes for the throat. Her actions towards Leah show that, while she loves Sienna, when it comes to kids, she’s not above being harsh to a child if she feels it’s necessary. Again, it’s all about the mission to her, getting the money, and then going. So you have these two people with very different approaches to life from very different time periods having to get along for the greater good.

#janetcarter

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