#the fact i went to the theatre actually meant i could not watch :( but it's totally fine

[jabeur]

had a wonderful day, i went to watch les mis live in concert and it was amazing and we won the davis cup for the second year in a row anddd my favorite players brought us to victory <3 man we're bjk cup AND davis cup champions like tennis is literally italiannnn

[greeneyed-thestral]

I MET MICHAEL SHEEN. 16/03/24, National Theatre

So, if you've read my post about booking tickets to see Michael, you know all about my what-ifs. But the day was finally here.

I arrived at the National Theatre, followed all the Nye signs and here's the Olivier Theatre. I made my sister buy me the show's programme, hoping I would be able to get it signed.

I find my seat, I'm not in the centre but the stage still feels very close and you can see everything (amphitheatres are always the best).

Lights out. The audience is in religious silence. Can't believe I'm actually here, this is happening.

[skip this part in smaller font, if you want to avoid spoilers] In the words of Staged, he really loses himself in his roles. First of all, it's great to hear him speak in a Welsh accent.

But then we also see him turning back into a child, and you can totally believe he's young and innocent again. His stutter feels so real, his struggle and sadness too. The entire ensamble is great during the classroom scene, where they all help Nye against their bullying teacher (using those big canes to make him look scary really works). Hearing young Nye confessing that at times he thinks he 'shouldn't exist' because of who he is was a gut punch; Michael's delivery of that whole part is incredible, in that moment he really becomes a little boy that allows himself to feel vulnerable and says something dark to a friend. The way he jumps while saying "I can visualise and enunciate!" made me wanna jump too, he was ready to give up and then he found the solution through books, it's the joy and relief you feel when you realise that there is another way and your life is not over.

Now, I've watched musicals all my life and let me tell you that man is meant to be in one. He opened his mouth and all I could see was someone that had been waiting a long time for the occasion to show his talent, truly showstopping. He was so free and happy and confident, singing and dancing spectacularly. I couldn't stop smiling and giggling, we all clapped.

It's clear he means every word he says, and when he points and shouts his political arguments at the audience, those who feel called out must be shaking; I thought 'This is how people in Ancient Greece must have felt everytime they went to the theatre'. His Nye is inspiring, passionate, someone you'd want to follow, he stands up for what he believes in and lets nothing get in his way.

We get to watch him flirt, on all fours, waggling his 'tail'; everytime we think we've seen all he's capable of, he does something like this and surprises us.

But most of all, we see him being scared, first of having to do something, and then of not being able to do enough for all of us. At one point everyone has requests for Nye and I was expecting him to shout "Heal yourselves!" like Jesus in JCS, it totally conveyed what it must have been like to be in his role at the time, overwhelmed with daunting responsibilities.

In general, I appreciated the fact that it wasn't a linear biography, they chose life moments that have universal situations everyone can relate too, like they do in bio-musicals. I loved the staging. The colour palette is so recognisable; the curtains and the beds are used in many different ways so everything is explored at its full potential.

He is on stage basically all the time for more than two hours (sometimes twice a day, can you imagine?). Also barefoot and in his pajamas from start to finish, he looks like a teddy bear you just want to hug and protect.

He bows, looks at Nye's achievements, then leaves the stage.

Standing ovation, applause. I go back to the theatre lobby, I was supposed to wait for my sister, but she's late. Meanwhile, a fan asks me how to get to the Stage Door. I start too fear that I'm going to miss my chance if I keep waiting inside, so I decide to go on my own. After no more than 5 minutes, he's outside with us. Forget Nye, I am living my fever dream. He has just finished his second show of the day and yet he's smiling and listening to each and every one, signing and taking pictures. I know many have said this, but he really is an angel.

My sister arrives, and as soon as I'm sure she has the camera ready, I make my way to him. The two girls next to me who were speaking to him needed a pen and I lent them my sharpie, so I got my chance to look generous in front of him.

And suddently it was my turn. This is as much as my scrambled mind allows me to remember: I tell him I'm Francesca and I'm from Italy, he asks me how long I am going to stay, I confess that I had arrived that morning and just to see him, that I would be leaving already the following morning. I can't even focus while he's signing my programme, I just want to find the right words. I manage to say how I enjoyed seeing his passion, all these different sides of him and how watching him sing and dance has been the highlight of my evening. We take a picture together, I feel his hand on my shoulder and I realise my arm is around the waist of this person I love. I had to thank him again, telling him that he only deserves good things and that we are so lucky to have him. He wishes me a safe trip home, and I melt. I leave and I can't stop trembling. On my way back to the hotel I hold on tight to my signed programme and the sharpie that was in his hands just moments earlier. Only later I will realise that he's also written 'Ciao!', 'love' and 'X', without me asking for it or anything! Seeing him act live was a big gift already, but what followed outside was beyond my dreams. I can't look at the photos without blushing, the way he looks at me in the video and then also strokes my arm for a moment, I mean pinch me now.

The more I think about it, the more I can't believe it happened.

I want to thank everyone that under my first post pushed me and encouraged me to see the pros of doing this, I share this beautiful moment of my life with all of you. <3

[fuctacles]

Steve Harrington's Barbie-shaped thighs

now on Ao3 | final edit: 04.08

Robeen: Barbie tonight @ 5!!! Robeen: Dress accordingly OR ELSE Eddee: ????? Steef: 👍👍👍💅💅💅

Eddie did the best he could with his monochrome wardrobe. Which meant an impromptu thrift hunt. He found a tiny pink tank top and a vaguely 80s-shaped shirt he could throw over it. It didn't look half-bad, paired with high-waisted shorts and a couple of borrowed accessories (a pink belt and huge hoop earrings from Gareth's sister). He already owned a pink scrunchie - a gift from Steve - which he used to tie his hair into a high ponytail.

On the bus, he felt slightly self-conscious, making him realise how much he relied on his metalhead armour on a daily basis. The way kids dressed up these days and the fact that he wasn't the only one on his way to see Barbie helped him blend in. So while it felt that way, he wasn’t actually standing out.

As it turned out, definitely not as much as Steve.

While Robin decided to recreate the striped costume look to her best ability (the top and the bottom didn't really match but the reference was apparent enough), Steve decided on a pink tennis outfit, with a pleated skirt. He even shaved his legs.

His hair has grown out long enough to tie it into a tiny ponytail, which was, in Eddie's objective opinion, fucking adorable.

He approached his friends and, unable to help himself, tugged on the skirt.

"Somebody understood the assignment," he smiled teasingly, laughing when Steve swatted his hand away, straightening the pleats. “Aced it, even.” Then, both to preserve his sanity and socialize properly, he turned to Robin. “You both look great.”

"I can't hold a candle to our diva here."

Steve preened, twisting his hips so the skirt twirled around his thighs. Which again, fucking adorable. Eddie's queer heart was on fire. He wanted to tug on the hem of the skirt, play with the white collar, and tip the visor askew. Touch every part of the outfit and the person in it because Steve Harrington wore a skirt to a Barbie screening. It was like he wanted Eddie to die of a heart attack.

Thankfully, they arrived just in time for the movie to start and couldn’t ruminate on their Barbie-inspired outfits. When buying popcorn, Eddie lagged behind, hoping the view in front of him inspires him enough to maybe, finally, ask Harrington out. After the movie, perhaps. He’s heard great reviews so far, it may just give him the nudge he needs. 

They found their pre-ordered seats and Eddie watched Steve's skirt ride up sinfully high when he crossed his legs. Torture.

"You look great by the way. Colours look good on you," his friend leaned in to whisper. The theatre was running the commercials and some people still talked at full volume, so it wasn’t like he had to do that. "You're wearing the scrunchie," he observed too.

"I am. I wear it all the time," Eddie answered with a frown, almost offended at the implication that he wouldn’t. He leaned back to look at Steve. His eyes were sparkling in the dim theatre.

"Yeah?"

He shrugged, playing it cool in front of The Boy.

"Yeah, just. Not in public." 

In the comfort of his home, when he was practising guitar, doing the dishes, or cooking. Doing domestic shit alone, missing his friends. Thinking of Steve.

The commercials ended and the lights went off. Steve's fingers brushed against Eddie's arm as he pulled back to sit comfortably. Just a fleeting, accidental touch; Casual and friendly, but it left him reeling.

Eddie braced himself for almost 2 hours of sitting in the dark next to Steve's bare thighs.

Alas, no amount of bracing could prepare him for Steve's fingers against his skin, this time intentional and teasing. For how when he silently reprimanded him, knocking his knuckles against his knee half-playfully, he grasped them and pressed down, letting his hand rest on the bare skin. 

For the second half of the movie, all Eddie could think of were shades of pink and soft skin.

[carnelianwings]

Went and saw Gundam Seed Freedom in theatre last night, I have so many thoughts about it (as you'd expect for a long time fan - I've been waiting for this movie ever since they announced it), there will be spoilers behind the cut, but the spoiler free highlights:

This movie is everything I ever wanted out of a Gundam Seed movie - the characters, the mecha, the OST, the cast, everything. It is as much a continuation of Cosmic Era as it is a celebration of Cosmic Era at its best, there's so much love put into this movie I can genuinely say I enjoyed every minute of it from the beginning to the end. My one and only nitpick is that they recasted Cagalli, but Mori Nanako does a fantastic job, so much so I don't have anything negative to say about her performance. (More on this behind the cut below, as I will delve into spoilers.)

Story pacing was actually really good here, in that there's no true retread/recap of both Seed and Seed Destiny. The movie assumes you've seen both, and while you could arguably get away with a cliff's notes version of Seed Destiny (even I know how much of a Base Breaker it is from watching it as it aired in Japan), if you sat through it you're rewarded between the shout outs and extra emotional impact from some of the scenes. There's a few brief clips of flashbacks to the prior series, but to me they feel like they're providing context (as you don't get to hear the characters' inner thoughts the same way you would out of a manga or a novel of the same story).

The animation just looked so good on the big screen, even the CGI used for the Gundams (like they've been doing in the newer Gundam series) looked fantastic. So smooth, no stock footage, you can tell where they made obvious homage shots to the original, but they're clearly redone for the movie. It was a feast for the eyes, in more ways than one.

The OST is fantastic, the way Sahashi wove the various melodies from songs past and present were a delight to the ears. I particularly love how he kept using various melody lines from Shizuka na Yoru ni as a way to musically reflect Lacus's journey and arc through the movie - just a line or two of the main melody, sometimes shifted into minor key, sometimes intertwined with another character's theme (usually whoever she's interacting with at that moment). There's also some glorious reprisals from both Seed and Seed Destiny, all rearranged to give it a grander, more spectacular sound to match the on-screen spectacle. Definitely one of Sahashi's best works, and I'm really happy they brought him back for it. Also, if at all possible - don't listen to the OST before seeing the movie. It will spoil key moments for the final battle, especially if you know which themes are used where.

Now, onto spoiler territory.

First and foremost, I really feel like Seed Freedom manages to redeem Seed Destiny as a whole. My biggest complaint in Seed Destiny is and always has been that Shinn's redemption happens in 5 minutes in an epilogue that was added on in an extended cut - I loved the idea and potential of Shinn as something of a Villain Protagonist early on, and even as we watched him spiral further and further into his grief and anger throughout Seed Destiny, the fact we never got to see what redemption and atonement meant for him was something of a sore point. One of the things I love is a good redemption arc, where the character learns from mistakes they made and improves themselves as a person, as an individual, and we finally get to see that here in Seed Freedom.

Shinn finally gets to do what he really wanted to when he enrolled into the academy, and under Kira's command he shines. For a character that was so heavily defined by his grief and anger for 50 episodes, he's done a 180 here, putting in the work and effort to turn his life around - we get more scenes of him smiling and eagerly working to help Kira as part of the team in COMPASS than angrily scowling or yelling at someone. He's finally found someone he can look up to and work towards being; it's clear he looks up to Kira as something of a role model, both as a goal and commanding officer, and has been rewarded accordingly as the pilot of the Immortal Justice. He's a lot calmer now, long gone are his days fighting for glory on the battlefield, he puts a priority on COMPASS's main mission of intervention and protecting civilians (so much so he'll voluntarily use Immortal Justice's shield to protect them over keeping it to defend himself). But it's not to say his past is completely forgotten or even retconned away - he gets called the Freedom Killer multiple times here (largely as a way to get at Kira too) and while Shinn never denies having been that person, his reaction shows he treats it as Old Shame, something he did but is no longer proud of.

And the true pay off to his arc comes in the end, when he gets reunited with the Destiny thanks to Cagalli upgrading it to the Spec II in the final stretch of the movie. He greets it like someone would greet an old friend, proudly and triumphantly launching this time to the fanfare of Seed Destiny's next episode preview bgm - it's hands down Shinn at his most heroic, and it's a moment he's earned. He's finally become the person he wanted to be at the beginning of Seed Destiny, before he let his grief and anger cloud his mind, before he was manipulated by Durandal. And in the end, his journey through the darkness that was his time under Durandal's command become his strength, granting him a spectacular flawless victory over the Black Knights achieved through his own skills - Stella protects him from the Black Knights' Mind Control, and his instinctual berserker Seed Mode keeps them from reading his mind to predict his moves. It's after all the trials and pain he went through that he comes out at his absolute best, and the Seed Freedom version of Shinn is hands down the best version of him.

Character development aside, it's genuinely heartwarming to see a character that was so narrowly defined by his grief and anger to be the one who brings a lot of the light and levity in what's otherwise a fairly heavy movie. Seeing him as a Big Eater during the ball at Foundation, his entire reunion with Lunamaria after she thought he'd been KIA'ed in the joint operation on the Blue Cosmos base, him getting hit by both Kira and Athrun during their brawl (with neither of them noticing ^^;;) - he's come so far since his Seed Destiny days he's (and I can't believe I'm actually saying this) one of the major highlights of the movie. And then there's his smile at the end when Kira finally relies on him and his cheerful response.

And of course, I can't talk about Shinn without mentioning Lunamaria - they've both come a long way from their days at the ZAFT military academy (if you go off the prequel novel Moonlight Valkyrie) and even from their time on board the Minerva. You can tell there's genuine love and affection between them, mutually supporting each other both on and off the battlefield, between them sharing a room onboard the Millennium and the energy transfer moment between the Impulse and Destiny. There's even a clear moment of redemption for Lunamaria's shooting skills when she shoots down a tactical nuke in her Gelgoog. And while she's definitely not one of the main focus characters in the movie, she still gets her moment of triumph, launching in the Impulse once more after Shinn's Destiny. Even though she's relegated to the Designated Chick Fight, it's a moment of personal triumph for her - she's grown as a person since her academy days, her time on the Minerva and with Shinn and Rey has changed her, and she's a better person for it. Even her time pursuing Athrun (even though he doesn't return her affection at all) comes back as a Meaningful Echo in how she ultimately deals with Agnes. Instead of choosing to kill Agnes in her GYAN, Lunamaria does something of a "pay it forward", disabling the GYAN and returning to pick her up from the moon after the fighting is over. Like Shinn, it's clear Lunamaria's in a better place than she was during the finale of Seed Destiny, and she also gets to join in on some of the lighter moments of the movie next to Shinn.

Onto Kira (because I'm saving my favorites for last), who is most definitely the main focus of the movie, along with Lacus and his relationship with her. Is his story arc a rehash of Seed? In many ways yes, and in so many ways, no. On a surface level, sure - we once again have Kira trying to shoulder the entire burden of the team on himself, of trying to do everything without relying on anyone else, of pushing himself to his limits, and as icing on the retread cake, we're even treated to a CV Kuwashima Houko girl (Agnes) trying to get his attention and affections. And that's about where it ends, because Agnes' motivations are vastly different from Flay's, Kira's circumstances this time around are entirely different from when he was in Seed - this is more about Kira realizing he really doesn't have to shoulder everything by himself, that even if Lacus is a non-combatant, she's there to walk next to him side by side, that Lacus's love for him is completely different from Flay's (initial) love for him. For Kira, it's The Power of Love while also echoing Seed's earlier themes of how easy it is to fall into old habits and make the same mistakes again. It's about Kira finally breaking past his remaining trauma with his relationship with Flay - he finally realizes that Lacus wants to be with him for him, that she never expected him to hand her everything she wanted on a silver platter, that she's willing and ready to work and walk with him to their final goal and destination, wherever that may take them. His relationship with Lacus was never a transactional one like it was with Flay - even if Flay genuinely grew to love Kira in the end, her true feelings for him never managed to reach him before she dies. And in the end, once he realizes what he has with Lacus, once he gets a chance to talk to her and clear the air, he's rewarded with a shiny new upgrade to the Strike Freedom, Lacus voluntarily joining him in the battlefield, and of course, that ending on the beach.

As for the whole "Is Kira Yamato a failure because he was a failed Accord or just Orphee insisting that he is superior to even Coordinators as an Accord" debate, ultimately it doesn't matter (at least in terms of Kira's arc - on a meta level, yes I absolutely want to know lol). He's got the one thing Orphee will never have (Lacus's love) and with that behind him he can overcome anything.

Honestly, if this is where we end Kira's story, where he gets to go off into the sunset with Lacus, to live quietly in the middle of nowhere (or even return to Marshall Islands to stay with Reverend Malchio) where he doesn't have to fight anymore, where he can just spend his days with Lacus until there's some world-ending reason to step back into the cockpit, I'm good with that. Kira never wanted to be a mobile suit pilot to begin with, he only ever did it to defend the people he cares about, and if this is where we part ways with him, because in learning to rely on other people, he also realizes he can hand things off to Cagalli, Athrun, and Shinn (and by extension, Lunamaria), I'm good with that. (I'll get to Cagalli and Athrun after Lacus, I want to save my favorites for last lol)

Lacus always came off as a little too perfect, a little too good with her words, and with a Seed Mode that ... didn't activate like your traditional Seed Mode (for one thing, she never gets the Seed burst animation on screen when she goes into it; she almost always monologues her way in). And I have to say it was satisfying to see that crack some more this time around, where her decisions are a bit more questionable, where she's finally having to deal with some of the consequences of her actions (and by extension Kira's as he answers to her and only her within COMPASS). But ultimately in the end, she's still the same Lacus as ever - Silk Hiding (nerves of) Steel, steadfast in her love and support for Kira, something that nothing can change, not even meeting her genetically destined partner in Orphee. And yes, while even she gets in on the action this time, quite literally delivering the Proud Defender to Strike Freedom to upgrade it into the Mighty Strike Freedom, I don't really have much to say about her.

I will say this though (because it gets very indirectly touched on by Athrun) - if Lacus hadn't fallen in love with Kira, and had continued with her engagement to Athrun as set up by their parents, would she have gone with Orphee? Would that alone have changed events enough so that Athrun might've been conveniently KIA'ed so Orphee would've been able to sweep in?

Now, onto my personal favorites (and complete show stealers this time around): Athrun and Cagalli.

Where do I even begin? Athrun being a Big Damn Hero for Kira not once, but twice? Cagalli taking over Lacus's role for being Crazy Prepared, Bearer of (Gundam) Gifts this time around?? The complete insanity that is the Z'Gok hiding the Infinite Justice Type II??? The (remote) Battle Couple fight????

Cagalli's just pure Crazy Prepared this time. She's learned from the painful lessons of the past 4 years, ensuring there's a plan in place to get her people to safety, immediately issuing evacuation orders for the civilians to avoid direct orbital laser bombardment from Requiem. She's made peace with the fact that sometimes, you really do just need to hop into a Gundam to get shit done, so she's seen to it that the Gundams for the top COMPASS pilots are available should they ever need it. She's the one who came up with COMPASS in the first place, providing some much-needed legitimacy for what Kira and Lacus want to do. She's also very clearly been training with Athrun for mobile suit training - where she once Could Not Keep Up, she's able to seamlessly pilot the Infinite Justice Mark II remotely, a less advanced unit than Shura's Shi-ve.A, without Shura ever realizing it was someone else piloting it. She's back as the Goddess of Victory, now older and wiser and all the better for it.

For all that she hardly showed up on screen, her presence was felt everywhere, most especially whenever Athrun's on screen. Really, I wouldn't even be surprised if the next time we see Orb get threatened by Orbital (Laser) Bombardment, she tells her people to get inside to safety before turning on a shield to protect the cities and then taking the field again.

And as for Athrun - it makes sense he didn't join COMPASS, even though the fact he has a custom COMPASS pilot suit and the Immortal Justice was clearly designed with him in mind. He's found his place in Orb, staying by Cagalli's side as her personal knight. He's even got his own custom suit with the Z'Gok-hiding-the-Infinite-Justice-Mark-II - he's got everything he could ask for while still being able to do his part to maintain peace. And in a double redemption moment - Athrun's the first one to throw the punch this time when Kira starts wallowing in his self doubt and lets his insecurities get the better of him, repaying the favor Kira did back in Seed Destiny when he, well, Saviour'ed the Saviour. Athrun's the one to remind Kira that as a close friend of Lacus's that her actions this time don't sound like the Lacus that he knows, and this time (unlike when he did something similar with Shinn) it works and gets Kira back on track. Poor Shinn - he thinks Athrun's about to do the same thing to Kira that Athrun did to him during his time on the Minerva, but while Shinn's not entirely wrong, he's also misreading the room a bit, not realizing this is a "They're really good friends, and sometimes they just gotta throw some punches to work shit out" moment.

Because in overcoming everything that happened in Seed Destiny, Athrun and Cagalli have finally grown into the people they both want to be. They've found their way, fighting for what they both believe in. Their time apart in Seed Destiny forced them both grow as individuals, so that when we get to see them working together again it's in perfect sync. In so many ways, Athrun and Cagalli (and not Kira and Lacus) are the ideal the Cosmic Era wants to push - two people working together side by side, regardless of genetics, as partners and equals. The dream of Coordinators and Naturals, living and working side by side in harmony - that's them. And ultimately, it is what they do that brings the heroes victory and lets everyone fly off into the (metaphorical) sunset together. They played the long gambit - creating COMPASS (giving Shinn and Lunamaria a means to atone for the things they did, giving Lacus and Kira a legitimate way to stop skirmishes), upgrading the Gundams, being there for their friends and allies when they needed it (Athrun literally knocking sense back into Kira, Cagalli coming in with the equipment upgrades) - all while keeping their priorities in order (first the civilians, then reequipping allies, and then finally going into combat together to take down Shura), and it all pays off in the end.

Really, is it any wonder, then, when Shura tries to read Athrun's mind in the final battle he's just thinking of hot (naked) Cagalli?

[babubunny]

Okay since everyone is talking about the Mean Girls Musical with the musical getting a movie adaptation I want to bestow my thoughts upon all of you.

In high school Tweek becomes a theatre kid (that boy has so much hidden talent). One year the school is doing their version of Mean Girls. Many people auditioned, even people out of the theatre club just because it was Mean Girls.

Everyone was sure that Bebe would get Regina as soon as they heard she was auditioning, Bebe herself included. Tweek just assumed he would get put in the ensemble or something.

But no. South Park High wanted to be different. Their Queen of the plastics wasn’t gonna be a Queen. Regina was going to be played and made a dude in their rendition, and there is only one dude who auditioned that could hit the vocal range they wanted. They lucked out on the fact he happened to be blond too.

Tweek was shocked he got anything other than ensemble let alone one of the most iconic character in the play. Naturally he freaked out, he wanted to turn it down, but whenever is he gonna get a chance like this again. After a quick pep talk from Wendy, and one from himself, he decided he was gonna give himself a shot.

Bebe was kinda pissed she got selected to play Karen instead of Regina but soon perked up after listening to the sexy number.

One time while Tweek was staying after school to rehearse Craig came to watch. He wasn’t supposed to be there but football practice finished early and Tweek and him were supposed to be walking home together. Craig just so happens to join when Tweek was rehearsing World Burn. Craig being a hormonal high school boy, who was crazy in love with his boyfriend, had a natural reaction to seeing said boyfriend performing said song. Luckily no one was in the back of the theatre to witness Craig squirming in his seat.

Craig started to watch more of Tweek’s rehearsals after that day. Even if it meant he was uncomfortably sitting there, still sweaty from football practice.

Bonus: Craig totally got jealous when he saw Tweek rehearsing Someone Gets Hurt for the first time. That’s actually how Tweek found out that Craig was sneaking into his rehearsals since Craig may not get super jealous often but when he does boy does it show.

Tweek made sure to give him extra kisses and remind him that he’s only acting with his scene partner. It soothes Craig but he still gets pouty whenever he has to watch that particular scene.

(Clyde definitely didn’t tease him about said pout after they all went to support Tweek on opening night. It backfired though because Clyde was as red as his jacket when Bebe performed Sexy and someone going that red cannot be missed)

[jgroffdaily]

In all of the rush of getting home and back to my real life, I didn’t get a chance to write up the experiences that we, your faithful JGD-ers, had this last weekend in NYC.

On Saturday morning, we did a tour of the front of house sections of the Hudson Theatre. It’s a gorgeous building, with a fascinating history, and I would recommend the tour to anyone who is interested in Broadway - the company was Broadway Up Close.

In the afternoon, we went to the matinee of the show, the first matinee (and thus the first two-show day) of this Broadway run. We had great seats in the first row of the mezzanine / dress circle, from which we had a decent view of the actors’ facial expressions (although not as good as from the orchestra seats / the stalls on Thursday evening) and also a fab view of the actual orchestra, who sit “upstairs” in Frank’s apartment.

I loved the show again, of course. I had fully intended to turn my attention to different elements this time - to watch Frank during Franklin Shepherd, Inc; to watch Frank and Beth during Not A Day Goes By, to check out what the orchestra were doing. But in fact I was entirely dragged into the story, and the performances, once more, and my eyes snagged on the exact same things as last time.

As for Sunday, my final day in NYC: well, we had realised a few weeks ago that there seemed to be *something* due to happen on the Sunday evening - there was no show listed for that afternoon, which broke the pattern of all of the rest of the weeks from Opening onwards. So we wondered if that date might be the Opening Night (which it kind of turned out to be, amidst some confusion around “industry opening / red carpet interviews / after party” on Sunday vs press night / release of embargo on Tuesday).

So, on the off chance that we had guessed correctly, I changed my flight home to the UK, so that instead of an 8pm flight, I had an 11pm one. That meant that I could stay in Manhattan until 7pm ish, and we could investigate what was happening.

Earlier on in the day, we went to the Broadway Up Close booth to buy some Broadway themed merch, and I had to laugh when the guy manning the counter asked me “have you seen any shows?” and when I replied “Merrily”, he said “aha, I had a theory…” and pointed to the Groff sweatshirt that I was wearing! Might as well wear your heart on your sleeve (chest), I guess!!

We walked to the theatre in the afternoon, and there were some union guys / security people chatting outside, so I asked them if anything was due to happen outside that evening. They said: “oh no, no, nothing at all, it’s all going to be inside; not at all worth you coming back here”, then blew their own cover a little by adding “unless you want to watch us work, setting up!”

Setting up what, you may ask? And indeed, that is what we did ask ourselves, after we had thanked them and wandered away. If they were setting something up outside, there must be something worth seeing. And so, at around 5pm, we “accidentally” found ourselves back at the theatre, and located a spot close to the steps, where we could semi-nonchalantly linger.

While it was true that the red carpet was happening indoors (not entirely surprising, as the lobby of the theatre is, as previously noted, stunningly beautiful, and the scaffolding outside is decidedly less photogenic), the security and queuing / ticket checking system was happening outside, as was a good deal of “people in fancy clothes loitering and waiting for their friends to arrive before going in”, and thus we had a great view for an hour or so, as many people arrived and went in.

We spotted Anna Wintour (sharp haircut, giant sunglasses and all - but having to queue with the masses - quelle horreur!), Zach Quinto with a friend, Raul Castillo and Alexis Forte (newlyweds! 💍🎉) and Cynthia Erivo, who arrived with Lena Waithe.

Although we didn’t see Jonathan - the cast must have gone into the theatre much earlier, or via the stage door, or both - I am so pleased that we were there. There was a fantastic buzz of excitement amongst those arriving for the show, and it felt to me like one of those real “Covid is over [note: I know it isn’t!] and the world is back!” moments. It made me so happy and grateful to see all of those people there, to support and celebrate our favourite guy (and his friends and colleagues), and it was the perfect end to my perfect NYC trip!

[wangsejabin]

Chapter 56

As a matter of fact, the distance between the stands and the theatre building would have affected the sound amplification.

The sound amplification was not affected at all by the construction of this pavilion, but it had the effect of gathering sound. It was only after looking at it for a while that Pan'er could see it, and felt as if the green clothes were whispering in her ears. The prince seemed to see what she was thinking and pointed to the water, and Pan'er realised that the water was used to amplify the sound.

If you want to talk about theatre, Pan'er really doesn't know anything about it, she just watches it. But the Prince knows a bit, even if he doesn't know everything, he knows that the key to watching a play is the stature, singing and costume of the playwright. The costume is not only the dressing and make-up of the opera singer, but also the decoration of the stage. These are the most costly things. The lotus flowers that bloom in February, the rosewood in the water pavilion, not only the furniture, but also the fence and the flooring that the Prince saw, were all made of rosewood and were worth a lot of money.

It has to be said that watching a play in this kind of place is a pleasure, and Pan'er, who was impatient to watch this kind of babbling play, actually enjoyed watching it. She was particularly attracted by the young lady who played Du Liniang. The Prince saw her eyes glued to it. "Was it good?"

"Not bad, I've never seen much of the play before, but this time I can understand it. And Master, look at this Du Liniang's costume, it's so pretty, this body, and this face, with the autumn water in her eyes, yet she is delicate but not charming ......"

"He's a man." Eh? Well, Pan'er had only just responded. She knew that many opera singers were counter-actors, that is, men playing women, and she also knew that there were many fops who bagged opera singers, and this 'bag' was not meant literally, with the suspicion of good male style.

And then she thought about what the Prince's words meant. She raised her eyes to look at him, but he turned his face away from her, so that she could only see the side of his face. He was not angry, was he? She muttered to herself, and after some thought, she suddenly waved to the Prince, smiling brightly again, "Your Highness, Master......"

"What for?" The prince was finally willing to reward her with a proper face. "You lean over a little." The prince leaned over, but she wasn't enough and continued to beckon.

Only then did he grab her sleeve and pull him towards him, and then he came up to his ear and said, "Master, I look at him because he is good-looking, better-looking than me, and I am a bit disconcerted. In Pan'er's heart, His Highness is the most handsome man, the most attractive and dashing." The prince was amused by her, and then whirled around, slightly bashful in his old face.

"Just watch the show, sit back and watch, you have no rules."She hurriedly went to sit down again, her posture extraordinarily dignified and virtuous. When the Prince saw her like this, he smiled again. The play was soon over, and Pan'er was still a bit impatient after watching it. The old man was lean and dressed like a scribe, the young one was just ordinary looking, but also dressed like a scholar.

The younger one was no more than an ordinary-looking man, but also dressed as a scholar. To be here, and dressed in this way, one would naturally think of nothing else but Jiangcheng father and son. The father and son walked up to the prince, saluted respectfully, and then bowed to Pan'er. Pan'er didn't dodge and accepted it all. Only then did Jiang Cheng say, "Your Highness, your servant has set up a banquet at Cuiyunzhu, would you like to go and taste it?"

The Prince looked at Pan'er sideways, and Jiang Cheng said, "I have also prepared a banquet for Her Ladyship Feng Yi, and the view from Cui Yunzhu is beautiful, so it is perfect for enjoying the moon. The Prince raised an eyebrow, meaning to ask. But Pan'er shook her head and said to him, "I'd rather not go, I'm a bit tired after a long afternoon's stroll."

The prince nodded and said, "Then you should go back first. Dr. Wang should be here too, so have someone ask him to take your pulse." When this was mentioned, Pan'er remembered this matter and nodded her head in response, and told the prince not to drink, and then hurried away with Xiang Pu Qing Dai. When she left, she even forgot to curtsy.

Jiang Fu secretly smacked his lips, and could not help but sigh that his father was still old-fashioned. If he had really been unwise enough to serve two beautiful girls, not to mention whether the newcomer would be favoured, this Su Feng Yi would probably have had to give him a hard time, just by looking at the way she was getting along with the Crown Prince, it would have been too easy to say that she was quite favoured.After that, the group went to the Cui Yun Building. When Pan'er returned to her quarters, Aunt Qing came to report that Dr. Wang had been waiting for a while. She called him up.

In the palace, there are rules for the doctor to ask for a pulse, but there are not so many rules when you are away from home, so Pan'er did not ask anyone to draw a curtain or anything, she just put a silk handkerchief on her wrist and let the doctor come forward to ask for a pulse.He stood with a respectful half-bend, his face stoic, but from the way his eyes moved from time to time under his half-lidded eyelids, it was clear that he was making a careful diagnosis.

Not long afterwards, he took a step back and arched his hand in congratulations, "Congratulations to Feng Yi, congratulations to Feng Yi, this is a slippery pulse." If a woman had never given birth, she would naturally not understand what this slippery pulse was, but Pan'er had given birth in her previous life, so she naturally knew that this slippery pulse was a happy pulse.

"Can you tell how long it has been going on?" She asked with a happy expression on her face. "In reply to Feng Yi's words, a month or so, less than two months, but the pulse is already obvious and ......" "How?" "Although I am good at generous pulses, my family's medical skills are in gynecology, so I also have a few unique skills. Feng Yi's pulse is solid and strong, slippery...

This means that the mother's body is healthy and the foetus is stable. But when I feel it, it doesn't look like one pulse, there is another pulse that is not as obvious and strong as this one, but it is also faintly visible, so I suspect that Feng Yi's birth is probably a double birth.

"The woman's elbow suddenly slipped off the table, thanks to her quick reaction, but she also gave a lot of fright to Aunt Qing and Xiang Pu. "Master, did you hit yourself?" Pan'er stroked her elbow unconsciously and shook her head, "Nothing, nothing ......" All could see that she looked a little dazed, but if she said she was happy, it was a little forced.

Aunt Qing couldn't help but feel a little worried, but with Dowager Doctor Wang still around, she couldn't say anything. After a while, Pan'er regained her composure: "Are you sure?" The doctor hesitated a little, but after looking at Pan'er, he hung his head and said, "Feng Yi knows that when the doctors work in the palace, they dare not say too much, for fear of inviting trouble. But Feng Yi's pulse is more than 80% positive, but the days are still early, so we can't be sure yet, we'll see in another month or so."

"That's fine, I'll invite you to come back for a pulse after a while, don't tell anyone about this beforehand, it's better to wait until it's confirmed, lest we have an empty joy."

"Yes." In fact, she knew all these things, but she always felt that she was a half-wit, so it was safest to ask the doctor. The two silly girls laughed so hard that they couldn't keep their mouths shut for half a day, not noticing that Pan'er's face was not very happy. In fact, this was not something Pan'er had expected, but when it came to it, she was still a bit dazed. In her previous life, not many people knew that when she was pregnant with the third prince, Pan'er was not carrying one but two babies.

Even she didn't know that she was carrying two babies, but only when she was in labour and couldn't come out did she realise that she was carrying two babies. But by that time it was too late, she had taken too long to give birth to the first one because her belly was too big, and only after the first one was born did she realise that there was another one in her belly, and that the one after her had come out of her mother's womb and died without even crying.

The midwife told her that the baby had been in her belly for too long and that she had taken too many supplements during her pregnancy. The most important thing is not to supplement your body indiscriminately when you are pregnant with a twin baby, because if you are not careful, the baby will be too big and you will easily get into trouble.

She remembered that when she was first pregnant, she was afraid that the Crown Princess would know to hide it carefully and did not dare to eat her own food, so she ate Baijiao and the girls'. The first thing that happened to her was that she was not able to hide it anymore and the Crown Princess found out about it.

She thought that the Crown Princess would be unhappy, after all, the second prince had not been well since he was born and her pregnancy at this time was undoubtedly a blow to her heart, but fortunately it did not take long for Hu Liang Di's side of the family to find out that she was pregnant, so she was relieved.

The Prince visited her once during that time, and unknown to her, he told the Prince Consort that her meals had changed dramatically since then.According to Fuqiu, she was given whatever the Crown Princess ate during her pregnancy, so that some people wouldn't blame the Crown Princess for treating her badly if they didn't grow their own flesh. She ate with fear and trepidation, but she thought that the Crown Princess would not do anything else, and there were advantages and disadvantages to her being in the Crown Princess's palace. So it was until she went into labour, during which time nothing happened to her.

It was only later that she realised that it was too easy to take the life of a powerless woman in the palace, just like the food, and no one could say that the Crown Princess had done anything wrong by singling her out and treating her with sincerity.

But the end was that the child was too big and died, and although she was lucky to give birth to one, it hurt her body and she never met with joy again. After more than twenty years of recuperation, she did not want to have a baby, but at the age of forty, she gave birth to a sixteenth son.

This is not even known to the Crown Prince, remember what Fuqiu told her at the time? "The Crown Princess has just lost her second son and has been in a bad mood. You know that the Crown Prince is having difficulty with his heir, and now the Empress is ill and has just been grieved by the death of her second son. The East Palace is now at the top of the tide ......"

She knew that this was the Crown Princess' intention, and in order to preserve her son, she was foolish enough to agree. The poor daughter has no name and no family, not even the incense can be worshipped, except for her to burn some paper money privately on the anniversary of her death.

In her previous life, she had always avoided this matter, and few people around her knew about it, and when Bai Jue was released from the palace, no one knew about it. She only occasionally recalls it when she tosses and turns in her dreams. If there is any question as to when Pan'er began to hate the Crown Princess in her previous life, it was from this time.

She was born lowly, shallow-eyed, and simple and cowardly, which is the common problem of lowly people, that they are too easily satisfied with the status quo, always getting by, too tolerant, and easily able to live on their own. She did not hate the way she was treated by the Crown Princess, because she felt she was a tool, and occasionally she felt resentful when she was favoured, but she felt she had to accept her fate.

She was not resentful either, for it was the Crown Princess who brought her to the Forbidden City, and she could steal the limelight from anyone but the Crown Princess. But from this time on, she began to hate, to resent, to resent, to rebel ......

Later, when she was finally able to move to another part of the palace, she told herself countless times that she should have known.

Had she known ……

There is no such thing as early knowledge in this world, and no amount of money could buy regret.Now the early knowledge has come.

Lost in thought, Pan'er hadn't realized the prince, who had been drinking at the Cuiyunzhu, had returned. It was only when the Crown Prince walked up to her that she reacted."Master ......" The crown prince hmmed and tried to touch her head, but found that she was wearing her hair in a bun, his hand fell on her shoulder again, finding that a pat was not appropriate, and finally fell on the back of her hand. "Nurture your body well, and give me a ...... healthy child."

[heloflor]

Finally saw the Mario movie last Thursday (I like to wait a week so that the theatre is emptier) and here are my 2 cents on it (very long post + spoilers ahead) :

- First of all note that I’ve seen many spoilers before going in because I didn’t know what to expect so I wanted to know what people thought of it, but it’s one of those movies where knowing things in advance doesn’t ruin the enjoyment for me. Hell I intended to go with no expectations whatsoever and reading spoilers actually got me a bit more excited about it.

- Overall, it was fun. Like many people here already said, the movie really could’ve used more time in order to be more character-focused, and I’ll admit I got a bit bored by the time the third act rolled in. But if you just want to have a good time, it’s a good movie for that. Nothing groundbreaking, but fun enough.

- As an adaptation as in “bringing the world into the big screen regardless of the story”, I do think that it does a fantastic job at it ! Absolutely everything feels like it comes straight out of the games. And while some references are a bit in your face, most of them flow very naturally with the world they created. It’s especially impressive how they managed to make a small Toad Town work while mixing it with platforming elements.

- The story is simple like you’d expect but sometimes simple is effective, and I do think this is one of those times. Only issue is that simple stories are meant to be carried by the characters, and there was a heavy lack of character-focused moments. On top of this you have the weird pacing, in particular the promise of a great adventure only to have a 15 seconds montage and boom, Kong Kingdom.

- The action was honestly very good all around ! They knew how to idolize both the power-ups and the environments, and it looked really cool !

- At first I thought people were exaggerating when saying there was too much slow-mo but after the 6th time or so…yeah, there was too much of it.

- Loved when the music used were remixes from the games or songs like the Mario Cartoon theme/DK rap ! Not so much when it was random pop music…

- Usually when I see people gush over characters I tend to view it as exaggeration but OH MY GOD I CANNOT OVERSTATE HOW MUCH I LOVE BOWSER IN THIS !!! As someone who grew up with Super Paper Mario I can assure you he is 100% in character and he is literally the best thing about the movie ! They managed to bounce off of both his menacing and goofy sides in an amazing way and I cannot get enough of him ! Kinda wish we saw his kids tho : /

- As someone who doesn’t ship it, I wasn’t expecting to enjoy the sexual tension scene between Bowser and Luigi as much as I did but damn that scene is gay ! Love it !

- The humor was something I was really afraid going in and I was honestly surprised by how medium-good it was actually ! Can’t say I laughed every time but the bros shenanigans definitely was fun.

- On that note I could’ve watched an hour long movie of just the two bros doing Brooklyn stuff. This whole sequence was adorable.

- Speaking of Brooklyn, the ending was…weird on that front. First of all I’m surprised Mario didn’t expect the Bullet Bill to arrive in Brooklyn and literally kill everyone (like dude, do you realize how dangerous that thing is ???) and second of all those people are surprisingly calm to see the invasion of a whole other species. Seriously, why are these people so chill about it ?

- I guess I could also mention the fact that there’s no dialogue related to Mario and Luigi deciding to settle into the Mushroom Kingdom but considering the lack of development in everything else, I’m not surprised they went so fast on that.

- I’d also add that the ending of the Rainbow Road scene felt a bit jarring in how dramatic it was, though I don’t know how to explain it other than saying it felt like the movie didn’t “deserve” to have such a dramatic moment ? Really not sure how to explain it better… And on that note, the whole “fake death/everyone think they’re dead” moment with Mario and DK felt very unnecessary, but at least they didn’t drag it out.

- Last negative comment on the story itself because it is so true : I saw the review of a French youtuber (Mayo-Lek) and he pointed out how the whole story is about Mario and Peach going to the Kong Kingdom for help, only for the Kongs to get kidnapped a few minutes later. So…what was the point in asking for their help if they ultimately don’t do anything ?

- Going back to the characters, Luigi was great ! And like everyone else here, I do wish he would’ve had more screen time. But other than that, love his character for what we saw of him.

- The Luma that is apparently divisive amongst people was very funny in my opinion. Also at some point they literally get out of their cell for a second there ! Tells you all you need to know about their character (low-key surprised they didn’t jump into the lava by themselves but then again it’s a kids movie).

- That blue-shelled koopa dude clearly loves his job. Good for him. Weirdly enough, his enthusiasm in trying to kill Mario makes him very fun and a pretty compelling character for the small screen time he had.

- Toad was…there. At least he was entertaining instead of annoying. So that’s a plus.

- Btw the fact that they didn’t have Toadsworth was already a bit sad but THEY HAD ANOTHER TOAD WHO HAD THE EXACT SAME ROLE AS HE DID WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL NINTENDO ??!!! WHY DO YOU HATE ORIGINAL DESIGNS SO MUCH ???

- Kinda random but I don’t know the reference for that Kong who drove Mario and co to Cranky Kong, so my only thought was “it should’ve been Funky Kong”. I mean he had the glasses ! And yes I know Funky is in the movie in the background.

- I cannot fucking stand Donkey Kong. Not exactly sure what kind of personality I expected them to give him since he doesn’t really have one in the games, but I absolutely hate what they did with him. “Boastful douchebag with nothing in their brain who tries to be the center of attention constantly and annoy the hell of everyone around him” is a type of character, and on that note a type of person, that I can’t fucking stand. That being said giving him a power up for a minute was really cool and made for a great action scene ! Same for his fight with Mario in the arena, but again the action in general was really good.

- Peach. Oh Peach. Peaches. Peachounette as he calls her in French. Look how they massacred my girl !

- More seriously, my biggest issue by far with Peach is just how much she was willing to throw hands all the goddam time. I’m sorry but to me that’s just not Peach ! While she can absolutely spring into action, her constantly wishing to fight as a first solution is just not something she does. Hell why do you think her people are so weak and pacifist in the games ! Peach is a diplomat who only fights herself if there’s no other option.

- On that note, I have no issues with her knowing how to parkour, how to use power-ups or how to drive. It makes sense she would given she was raised in this world. Her being athletic isn’t an issue, she’s always been athletic (just look at any sports game). Plus in the games where she’s playable she’s capable of keeping up with the others.

- My second biggest issue with her is her body language. Again, most of it didn’t feel like Peach. She had none of the delicateness and elegance of the games. Literally the only moment her body language felt like her was during the fight between Mario and Dk, and even then it was only when the movie wasn’t focusing on her (aka when she wasn’t talking to Mario but just reacting). Her face was also unsettling to look at sometimes, I think it has to do with her eyes. Idk, sometimes some of her facial expressions made her look old and I can’t explain why. 🤷‍♂️

- (Also it’s incredibly funny how some youtube thumbnails have edits of Peach moments but as Daisy and that body language fits Daisy perfectly. That being said, I wouldn’t call Movie Peach a clone of Daisy, as Daisy is a very spunky tomboyish character who gives a “I don’t care all that much about ruling my kingdom” vibe. So while movie Peach has a body language that fits Daisy, their personalities are still completely different.)

- A good example of my issues with her behavior and body language has to be the way she addresses Cranky and the rest of the Kongs. Peach in the games would have a completely different behavior when asking for their help, regardless of how dire the situation is.

- And on that, the only scene where she felt in character personality-wise was when she confronted Bowser and he threatened to hurt her people if she doesn’t marry him. This scene was absolutely *chief kiss* for both of them (then again every scene with Bowser is amazing; I can’t get enough of this guy !). But then she started becoming a martial-artist and suddenly we were back to her being OOC (you can have her use the power-up and manage to stall the cages + trap Bowser without having her look like a professional fighter, Smash Bros apparently already does it).

- I guess I could also mention how overly sassy she is, which again doesn’t feel like Peach as, while she does have some sassiness in the games, it’s not to this extent. The fact that the Toads made her their princess doesn’t make much sense either, like why electing some random person who comes from another world ? What about the government before her ? (note that I’m a big fan of the “she’s a toad wearing a super crown, in this case her blue gem” headcanon so I might be biased) But yeah those two issues are kinda minor for me compared to her behavior and body language.

- All this to say if they wanted Peach to have a more action-oriented role, they should’ve taken inspiration from Super Paper Mario in which she’s incredibly sweet to pretty much everyone but can still easily get angry and has no issues throwing hands when needed (thinking of her confrontation with Mimi in 8-2, and even then, like I’ve seen people point out, the first thing she does after the fight is trying to save/befriend Mimi).

- I guess there’s also that one comic people keep bringing up but the fun thing about Peach in it is that she’s all bark and no bite. She keeps getting angry like she can actually do anything but then gets captured very easily, spends most of the fight scenes running around, only gets away from Wendy’s tower by sheer luck (finding the cape) and does nothing when Wendy calls her bluff with the bombs. The most she does in this comic to defend herself, outside of when she outsmarts the Koopalings (which I’ll admit was pretty badass) is throw furniture around. In a way, it’s pretty reminiscent of the 1986 anime/movie in which she gets angry on several occasions, defends herself by throwing shit around and manages to outsmart Bowser at some point, but ultimately doesn’t stand a chance against him.

- (Btw if you haven’t read this comic you need to ! Everyone is an absolute dumbass in it but in a funny way and it’s great ! Can’t say I know much about them but reading it low-key feels like watching an absurd play. Nothing and nobody take itself seriously in this comic and I love it !)

- On an unrelated note since I mentioned the wedding, I really liked the pink tones on her wedding dress ! The ice dress did look a bit weird tho in the sense that it makes me think too much of Frozen, though I’m not sure what they could have done about it since ice = blue and white colors so I can’t blame the movie for this one 🤔 (also fireflower Peach didn’t have her ponytail, 0/10 /j)

- And since I’m talking about clothes, not much to say for the most part as it’s all stuff the characters wear in the games but still I really liked the look of DK using the fire flower, plus the Koopas wearing helmets was a nice touch.

- Last thing about Peach and then we move on to the others, apparently Miyamoto said this version of Peach is what he’s always imagined the character to be and honestly, I’m having a hard time believing him. Like, I can definitely see it when it comes to the old comic and the 86 anime, since in both Peach is very temperamental (the comic especially). Paper Peach is also not one to sit idly and tends to have a lot more agency, at least in the first trilogy. But if you look at more modern depictions of her…Luigi Mansion 3 ? Mario Odyssey ? The online ads and shit ? Mario and Luigi ? The second Paper Mario trilogy ? The Rabbids games ? Hell in the first Rabbids game she had a gun but in the second they went back to her parasol.

- What I’m trying to say is that if Miyamoto had always wanted Peach to be written this way, why didn’t he write her this way ? Isn’t he one of the most higher-ups at Nintendo, at least when it comes to Mario games ? How come her older depictions are closer to her movie self in terms of temper than her modern depictions, to the point where people need to dig up some old comic to “prove” that Peach had always been this way instead of using modern material ?

- And for those who might say it’s because the goal of the games is almost always to save her, it’s not like she can’t both get angry easily and be the damsel in distress. In the first two Paper Mario games and the comic/86 anime, she was the one in need of saving but still had some agency. The two aren’t mutually exclusive (and like I said the humor with her in the comic is the difference between how much she wants to throw hands and how weak she actually is). Hell, on the opposite end Super Paper Mario had her as an active hero but portrayed her as sweet and kind + a diplomat. So yeah, I’m having trouble believing that this whole “this is how I always imagined her” is anything other than a publicity stunt.

- And on the other end of the body language, Mario was absolutely fantastic as a character, especially when it comes to his reactions to things ! Best example I can give because it amused me a lot was when Luigi mic-dropped his phone and Mario hid his face behind his hat in embarrassment, made even cuter due to him jumping to Luigi’s defense a second later. But yeah, overall, I really liked Mario’s character, not just his body language but his personality as a whole.

- They kinda tried to give a few hints that Peach and Mario like each other but honestly I found it to be very clumsy. Basically you could tell they were planting the seeds for a possible romance but were using moments that you’re used to see in a movie where the characters end up together. And since they never truly commit to them ending up together, while it does make perfect sense as they just met, it still makes the whole thing feel weird. Also the scene with DK teasing Mario about it and Toad jumping in was cringe af.

- Not really any opinions about Mario’s family. They were there. It’s nice to acknowledge them being Italian-americans and how they feel about the bros’ new job in regard to their upbringing, but other than that, I don’t really have anything to say about them.

- I watched the movie in French and the voices were pretty good ! Different from the game voices, but fitting enough for the characters. Only issues were Peach sounding too deep but then again that’s not my biggest issue with her character, and the second issue is the song “Peaches” where the French voice just…doesn’t sound all that good in some parts ? Though I think it might have been on purpose to accentuate the comedy of that scene ? Idk, I need to listen to the English version. Maybe the fact that people kept hyping up this song led me to believe it sounded genuinely good instead of people liking it for the comedy and how out of left field it was (on that note, I was surprised by how short this scene was due to how much people talked about it; this song is actually the one thing I regret being spoiled about).

- (also you have no idea how much I hope someone will make an edit/animation of Bowser playing the piano but with “You’re the Greatest” from Wander Over Yonder)

- And since we’re talking about voice actors, obviously Charles Martinet was 100% robbed and the only valid reason that I can accept is “Martinet himself said he didn’t think he had it in him to voice Mario and possibly Luigi as well for over an hour, given he’s getting rather old; especially if he does it in several languages”. If that’s not why he wasn’t casted, then he was robbed ! He’s literally the main reason why Mario and Luigi have the personalities that they have in modern games ! (at least I think that’s the case ?)

- Overall, favorite character has to be Bowser, with Mario and Luigi not too far away. Least favorite character is DK. It could’ve been Peach but my issues with her stem from how different she is from her games counterpart. If you take her movie character as a brand-new character rather than a game adaptation, she’s actually pretty great as a guide and strong mentor. But DK, regardless of whether or not he’s faithful to his game counterpart, is just a character I can’t stand.

- Favorite scene is either the beginning at Brooklyn with the bros being bros because it’s adorable (granted the whole dog thing wasn’t very funny. I have no issue with them doing slapsticks but the fact that they used some random dog just doesn’t do it for me), or the scene where Bowser proposes to/blackmails Peach because finally Peach is in character and that whole interaction is really great ! Least favorite scene is by far the insides of the eel with Mario and DK. I just don’t give enough of a shit about DK to feel invested in an emotional moment focused on him.

- And lastly because I realized I forgot : the movie was really pretty, with the decors and animation being absolutely fantastic. Only issue is that it’s not the type of stuff that sways me into liking a movie. I’m the type of person who finds retro games to look great so yeah… Same for the references btw. Like if you ask me about a detail in the movie I liked, instead of mentioning a reference, I will mention something like that confrontation/confession between Bowser and Peach and how, when Peach threatens Bowser with her weapon, the koopas around her immediately raise their spears, ready to protect their king. Like I said, this has literally nothing to do with references, it’s just a random detail I really like. I still really enjoyed all the references but it’s just not the type of stuff that makes me like a movie. I’m here for the story, the characters and the emotions first and foremost.

Final verdict : either 5.5/10 or 6.5/10 The simple plot makes it seem like a character driven story but outside of the bros’ adorable relationship and Bowser being Bowser, there wasn’t much character here. Also Peach and DK were pretty bad, the former due to being OOC most of the time and the latter because he’s just annoying as all hell.

I’d also add that, in my opinion, the biggest mistake Nintendo made with this movie was trusting Illumination with it. While I’m very much aware that Nintendo likely had a very strong grip on the team working on it and that Nintendo also isn’t known for liking deep Mario stories (*cough* modern Paper Mario *cough*), I still think that the lack of character development and interesting dialogue interactions (+ pacing issues) are due to Illuminations, given their track record.

Weirdly enough since I’ve only seen a few of their movies, I feel like Dreamworks would have been the best at handling this property. Like we’re all quick to jump on the Disney/Pixar bandwagon (and tbf Disney does know how to write female characters that are considered princesses) but in that case I can’t help but think that Dreamworks would have been the better choice. Maybe it’s due to Disney and Pixar being not so great recently. 🤷‍♂️

In any case, I do think that making it an animated movie was 100% the right call. Mario is a bright and colorful world filled with imaginary creatures, something animation excels at. Also Nintendo already tried Live-action once and failed miserably so maybe that’s why they took the animation direction.

[parfumieren]

New York (Parfums de Nicolaï)

While going to art school in Manhattan, I lived in a claustrophobic railroad apartment on 43rd and 8th -- the heart of good old seedy pre-Disney Times Square. The apartment (an illegal rebuild in a building zoned strictly for business) belonged to an artist and her filmmaker husband. In exchange for room and board, I nannied their delightful two-year-old and stretched endless painters' canvases in the upstairs studio, where I could actually see the sky.

Only the width of 43rd Street separated my tiny bedroom from that monument of sleaze, the Times Square Hotel. The room right across from mine housed a young drag queen who often sat in front of her dressing room mirror, smoking Virginia Slims and examining her exquisite face for flaws. In this cold and ugly city, we were two loners connected only by the view from our windows. Yet in the hours I spent watching her watching herself, I felt a sense of wordless connection to this lovely, remote stranger. She was my New York.

That winter, every plywood wall around every construction scaffold in the city seemed to be plastered with posters advertising Rattle and Hum, the documentary film chronicling U2's Joshua Tree tour. As a longtime fan needful of distraction from the grey city streets, I went to see it in the theatres two or three times. Its iconography - deserts, highways, endless stretches of open sky -- proved a potent consolation for a small soul stranded on a hostile urban planet.

The first time I sampled Parfums de Nicolaï's New York, I was sharply startled by the inconsistency between its name and its aim. What, if anything at all, does this painted-desert fantasy have to do with the city? There's no sagebrush, no sweetgrass there. No space.

Then I remembered that when I lived in Manhattan, hemmed in all sides by concrete and stone, I longed for nothing more than to be airlifted to Joshua Tree or some similar wide-open landscape in the American Southwest. In fact, I doubt I could have understood this perfume if I hadn't lived there and been desperate to get out. New York the fragrance is not meant to provide a portrait of New York the city, but rather an olfactory mirage of the sort all city-dwellers dream about-- sky and land that stretch all the way to eternity, and no damn buildings in the way.

The best way to describe this unisex fragrance is "L’Heure Bleue Pour Homme”. It encompasses many of the same notes (citrus, carnation, vanilla) and special effects (that ineffably soft focus! those melancholy shadows!). But just as Guerlain arrived at Mitsouko by marrying a fresh peach accord to a pre-existing chypre, his descendant Patricia de Nicolaï took the supremely feminine L'Heure Bleue and Americanized it with a dash each of tumbleweed and testosterone. The results shimmer with desert heat-- but a desert of the sort ruled by Priscilla the Queen, elegant, tough, tolerant, embracing all genders, generous to a fault with her great, big, wide-open heart.

When I wear New York, I think of my New York-- a boy teetering on the cusp of womanhood, hiding her tender young heart beneath the brittle exterior of a grand courtesan. I wonder where she is, what window she looks out of now, what she sees in her mirror. If I could, I would go back in time, take her out of that dark little hotel room in the city, and give her all the skies in the world to play beneath. I'd tell her: Forget the mirror. You're perfect, you are.

Scent elements: Lemon, petitgrain, bergamot, lavender, artemesia, pimiento, pepper, patchouli, cedar, vanilla, leather, amber

[sixthemusicalextras]

Chloe Hart Q&A

@/chloesjhart on Instagram, 10 December 2022

Some of the questions asked (Chloe confirms that “a few”, implying at least three, are sick as of the moment):

Q: Fav music genre? A: Apart from musical theatre, of course, it would be Country music. Specifically, the band Rascal Flats — they're, like, my favourite band ever. Um, but in terms of like, modern music [chuckle] sometimes somebody would play something at warm-up and I'll be like, [excited tut] what musical is this from? As like, a joke — um, 'cause I just- I don't really listen to contemporary music.

Q: Favourite Christmas film? A: You can't just pick one! So - I have a few. Um, obviously Home Alone 2 is one of them. Um, After(?) Christmas is one. Um... and one of my new favourite ones is The Christmas Chronicles, which is a Netflix film, um, which is good — and I love Jingle Jangle and, um, I love Miracle On 34th Street — like, the one with Mara Wilson. Um, yeah! And I also really like The Princess Switch [chuckle] with Vanessa Hudgens! So silly!

Q: What's your favourite thing about touring? A: I think it's probably that we essentially have a sleepover every night with my friends, 'cause we share digs most of the time. Um, its basically like having constant sleepovers, like we're all - all of the queens are sharing with one other queen over Christmas, so I'm sharing with Leesa (Tulley), Jen(nifer Caldwell) is sharing with Nat(alie Pilkington), Casey (Al-Shaqsy)'s sharing with Harriet (Caplan-Dean), Jess(ica Niles) is sharing with Grace (Melville), and Becca (Wickes)'s sharing with Alana (Robinson), and so we're all sharing with another person. It just feels like constant sleepovers!

Q: Do you have an updated Aragon costume? A: My costume is being altered, not updated! I have the most up-to-date Aragon costume, um, and it's just being slightly altered size-wise, um, because my body has changed slightly due to lots of gym and stuff, so!

Q: Worst show you've ever had? A: [chuckling] On Six? Um, I don't know if it's the worst show, but when I was in Coventry, um - I haven't been ill very much actually on the show— this is only the second time I've been off ill. Um, but when I was in Coventry, it was the first time, and, um, I had a sickness bug on the Tuesday. And I went back to work on the Wednesday, and... I don't remember the show! I honestly — I came off stage and I was like, "I don't remember doing any of that, it just happened," and I was completely out of it. And then I was off again the next day because I was just — I just came back too soon. So I think that was probably the worst because I don't know what I did! [chuckles] Everyone said I did alright but I- [sighs] God know what happened.

Q: Where do you see yourself in 10 years time? A: Hopefully with a child or two and working as a casting director!

Q: How did you and Ellie (Haffenden, the dep stage manager of Six West End) meet? A: We initially met on the first day on rehearsals, and then, um, we met again after that — we didn't talk that day — and then we met again a few weeks later when I went to the Vaudeville to watch the show. Um, and, then she slid into my DMs! [laughing] She's gonna hate me for saying that!

Q: Did you always want to be in Six? A: Well, there is a fun fact actually that um, I was actually... meant to go to an audition for the original-original cast (presumably referring to the Original Arts Theatre/Albumcast), or like the original... yeah, the original cast. And, um, I didn't go because I went on a holiday to New York instead! [laughter] I also read the breakdown and thought it was totally not something I could do. Um, which is crazy thinking back on, you know... well, thinking back, that some of the girls that were here were still in like, secondary school when that happened.

Q: How do you cope with comments people make about your size during the show? A: Okay, this is gonna be my last question, but thank you so much for keeping me company! [...] So, firstly I just wanna say that um, thank you so much to those who send, sort of, messages of support and love when I've mentioned this happening in the past. And I think it's important to say as well this isn't something that happens every day, not that I know of — it could happen every day, but I only really see it when it's in the first three or four rows and it really isn't nice when I see it. Um, I cope with it differently every time. Sometimes I'm feeling really good and I don't really care and I just, like, let it wash off my back and I just don't say anything. Some days I get a bit upset, some days I get a bit angry. And some days I just get sorry for those people that have that and I'm reminded sort of — um, I also think it's really sad that those people have obviously missed the entire point of the show, which is about building up people and empowering them, and celebrating, and not judging. Um, and... these people obviously don't really compute that because they sit there commenting and judging upon my body and literally going "oh my gosh, she's in a leotard and she's wearing a tights and a leotard and she's big!" like it's a crazy, crazy notion, but um, you know, I guess- I guess that's their opinion and that's fine, it's just- it's a shame that they can make me feel really vulnerable and self-conscious, um, on-stage, which it does sometimes. Um... but, I'm just glad that I'm old enough for that to not really affect me outside of it; it worries me other people who might be more impressionable. Um... but yeah.

[notebookmusical]

Hi! Sorry I meant to reply this morning and ran out of time. I have dressed up my dog before and sometimes he's wearing a shirt anyway but that's so cute and always look cute in their little costumes. Apparently my mom said there were quite a few kids out and she gave them candy..I was not home at the time. It's funny cuz she had a Wonka hat and costume on and kept singing Candyman. I told her I could use it to see the Wonka movie as a joke lol. Aw is everything okay? I hope you get enough rest! I'm also a klutz most of the time too so don't feel bad. I hope you had fun otherwise. 🩷

That's what I figured..even if I could not remember it in the movie lol. I would definitely go to Speak Now or Red but would've picked Rep if I didn't get to go. I actually almost went to 1989 but my mom bought me 1D tickets instead. I told her I would've preferred Taylor but looking back, I guess I'm glad I got to go since they broke up the next year. However I did not get to see Zayn on tour which I was bummed about. He was my favorite.

I've actually never seen any of those horror adaptations. I remember at one point I wanted to watch Carrie and American Psycho bootlegs but never did! I'll have to check them out if you recommend them. I remember seeing the clips from it though. I've seen Jekyll and Hyde and Bloody Andrew Jackson. I also love Rocky Horror and Little Shop, which are more campy. I know what you mean and agree completely. .2015 and 2016 were so good! I remember it well cuz that was the first year I watched. Even Fun Home which won was an adaptation but at least the staging was interesting and so were the songs. Something Rotten was also great. I remember watching Jeremy in Finding Neverland and liking that as well.

For Sweeney, I think they will do good in the roles but I am also used to original cast and also the movie. I knew he is 40 but he always seems younger, but I also associate him with Next to Normal, and thought he was good in Company too. So maybe that is part of it. Sutton was in Music Man and this is a lot different lol but I'm excited to see! Maybe I'll see part of a bootleg someday hopefully.

Sorry I will send a part 2 later and you can just reply to the next one if you want!!! 🩷

hi hi friend! 🤍

what kind of dog do you have? what's their name? i would love to hear more about your dog! (and if you want to send a photo 👀 ) and i'm okay! i just have ... a very large bruise on my knee (and my knee just doesn't feel super great); hoping it'll heal up before i go to boston but i don't think it will!

i actually sold my 1d tickets back in the day! i didn't really care for them/never really got into 1d, but a lot of my friends did — i think that was around the time i was really getting into musical theatre, and so i mostly only listened to taylor and showtunes haha.

i've never seen j&h or bloody bloody andrew jackson (i don't think i've listened to it either), nor have i seen rocky horror or little shop live!! something rotten! was such a fun show, i wish i'd gotten to see it live — if i remember correctly, it was supposed to do an out of town tryout here in seattle but then went straight to broadway instead! finding neverland was also a fun show! did you ever listen to/watch a boot of gentleman's guide to love and murder? it's one of my favorites from that season! fun fact: american psycho is apparently my most listened to album of this week, according to airbuds!

i loveeee company. it's my second favorite sondheim (only second to sunday in the park with george). i'm really excited that it's coming to seattle on tour next year; i'm going to try to see it! and i liked aaron in that too! will reply to part 2 of your ask momentarily 🤍 xxx

[desultory-novice]

Long, serious post incoming!

One of the things that makes Magolor so appealing as a character is the way in which he "defrosts" over the course of the game.

He presents as a good, harmless, and quirky stranger that is easy to like. But of course, this is a mask. What we find out about the "true" Magolor on first glance, is that he's actually a greedy, manipulative villain who doesn't give a damn about people who helped him!

An awful story! If only it ended there... (You see what I did?)

But Magolor's manipulative traits are as much of a mask as his fun-loving good guy buddy side! He's neither completely altruistically giving of himself nor a complete arsehole. He's selfish and self-interested in his goals, yes, but he's able to recognize kindness.

It's just that his flaws mean he has trouble being honest with others (quite likely because he feels much less powerful, successful, and confident than he'd like to be) so he reacts defensively first. In his case, his method is to fake a smile (remember that the design team purposefully hid his mouth so we could only see half of his expression at any given time) and sprinkle in lies and false enthusiasm to protect his fragile ego by seeming "nice."

Magolor's melodramatic defensiveness is an exaggeration of some very real and very potent human flaws. Flaws we had never seen before in Kirby. King Dedede and Meta Knight, in their antagonist days, were more like Saturday morning cartoon villains. With big, silly flaws that you could either laugh along with or laugh at.

Magolor is more funny "...uh oh.." than funny "haha!" Especially because his flaws get him into so much trouble. (One of the beautiful things about the fact that he has a permanent smile once the Crown gets ahold of him is it emphasizes that what you see on the surface isn't always Magolor true feelings. He wouldn't REALLY be smiling in such a situation. So we're asked to consider what other things he said with his smiling eyes that he was secretly frowning about....)

Just like how his flaws are exaggerated, his punishment for his lying dishonesty is also exaggerated to the Nth degree. And yet, it's cathartic to see this play out. In certain theatre traditions, the makeup the actors wear is actually rather ugly from up close. Because it's not meant to be seen up-close. From a distance though, this dramatic makeup allows you to make out the evocative expressions of the actors you wouldn't see otherwise.

From the safe distance of fiction, we can watch Magolor get his ugly and immediate "comeuppance" for what happens when you're a hu~ge jerk to people just trying to help you. Such that, while none of us would (hopefully) ever go through what he went through, the message we receive from across the screen is more subtle.

"If you'd only stopped and turned around before you did that bad thing..." "You should have just asked for help instead of hurting them..." "They would have been your friends, you know..."

And thankfully, his story doesn't just end with, "and then the bad man exploded and everyone was happy again!" (Well, the end movie almost gives you that impression! XD ) But again, there's subtlety there. Magolor isn't just the bad example to show you what not to do.

Because his suffering is portrayed as so cruel and unusual, he is made shockingly empathetic. Such that we are not just shown the steps to take if we don't want to end up like him, we're shown that the people who've done us wrong might have just been horribly clumsy at human interaction like him.

They might also be feeling immense amounts of regret and are unable to say it. Or don't feel like they deserve an apology or would ever have theirs accepted. Their own personal "crown" (their thoughts) muffling their ability to say "I'm sorry" or "I need help."

Eventually, through a powerful combination of getting help from others AND helping himself, Magolor able to rise above and remake himself, winding up on a far happier path. And the best part is? Even then, he's STILL not "perfect!"

Manager Magolor likes his surprises and his slightly off-putting jokes. Because...it's not possible to rid oneself of all their flaws. To be flawed is to be human. Pursuing perfect isn't a feasible goal. (Perfection on a human level is not even definable...) We can't even pursue "perfect" happiness. But we can pursue contentment – with who we are now compared to who we were in the past.

As a character, he is the lesson, the solution, and the ideal all in one.

That is one of the many reasons I love him so much.

...

...

...Also, he is just SOOOO cute?! His little egg-like body! The way he talks in those little chirpy noises? How animated he is?! His flair for the dramatic?! Even his color scheme! Those are all great too!

Honest question for Magolor Fans, why do you like him so much? I wanna hear your opinions.

[house-of-slayterr]

I’m back on my…

✨Twilight Vampire Bullshit✨

Cw: Morbius Spoilers

Emmet starred at the human before him, narrowing his eyes and raising a brow. This went on for several minutes before any of the other vampires decided to speak up. It was a simple spring morning in the Cullen house, school was out for spring break so most of the other people were out of town. But the Cullens stayed home, enjoying the company of the only human Rosalie tolerated.

“Babe, what are you doing?” Rosalie asked, crossing the room to join Emmet and sit at his side.

Before Emmet could speak however, Edward cut him off.

“He’s trying to read their mind. Let me tell you brother, that’s not something you actually want to do.” Edward smirked, assumant present in his tone.

“But that’s the thing, they’re always thinking! How do you have so many thoughts? What are you planning? Tell me mortal!” Emmet bellowed.

You finally became aware of the fact that all eye in the room where now on you. You were a lone human in a house full of vampires, and they were all starring at you. But you couldn’t tell them what you were thinking, it was stupid, you’re thoughts were never truly important. Not when you felt relaxed and safe anyways.

“What have we told you about that nickname Emmet?” Esme warned her son.

“But they like it. Tell her.”

You shrugged.

“I’m actually quite curious too. You’ve actually managed to make Edward feel something other than his seemingly endless teen angst. And don’t even get me started on the emotions you’re feeling right now.” Jasper smirked.

You let out a deep sigh.

“I don’t think I will actually, I value what you guys think of me and I don’t wanna ruin that.”

“My dear, we could never think any less of you.” Esme cooed.

“Yes, and my children are stubborn, they won’t stop bothering you until you tell them. Not sure where they got that quality from” Carlisle sent a playful glare to his coven.

“Morbius” you muttered under your breath.

You knew they had heard it, but it was evident they didn’t understand. But you couldn’t contain your excitement anymore.

“After 5 years of waiting I finally got to see a Morbius in theatre last night! And let me tell you this man is the finest vampire I’ve ever seen-“

You slapped a hand over your mouth after realising what you just said.

“You went to see a vampire movie…” Emmet started. “Without me?!?”

“I’m sorry Em, you were busy. Besides I’m pretty sure you and Rose were having quite a bit of your own fun last night anyways. Let me have this.”

“You watch vampire movies with them?” Edward asked, bewildered.

“Why are you so surprised, you’ve know him for how long? Does anything Emmet does really shock you all that much anymore? Besides it’s no weirder than me watching movies about other humans.”

“The inaccuracy makes it more fun.” Emmet shrugged, smiling at you. “Now tell me about this Morbius you traitor!”

“Alright so he’s like this doctors who’s dying of an incurable disease right? And he splices his DNA with that of a vampire bat!”

“That’s not factually accurate.” Carlisle interrupted.

“It’s a super hero movie? Are you expecting accuracy? They have to embellish things to fit their own personal narrative ok.”

“Ok so I’m assuming he’s succeful?” Rosalie asks, now curious.

It still surprised the others when she was soft with you, or engaged in conversations she’s typically find grating or useless. But she loved to listen to you talk, didn’t really matter what it was about.

“Yes, it didn’t go as expected. He was hoping to just activate the anticoagulants from the bat DNa to help cure and possibly even reverse his blood condition. But because his experiment was kind of unethical-“

“And most likely illegall” Carlisle chimed in once more.

You didn’t mind when he did this, I meant he was listening.

“You hang out with Bella’s Dad far too much…”

Carlisle finally glanced up from his book to look at you. He rolled his eyes when you smirked at him.

“Let her finish her story My Love” Esme pleaded with her mate.

He simply glanced back down at his book, prompting you to continue.

“So he had to perform the experiment on himself obviously, because you can’t be double illegal and perform human experiments on another human. like what if they died, that would make you a killer.”

“Didn’t you say he becomes a vampire because of this though?” Jasper piped in.

“Yes, I’m getting to that. But being a vampire murder and a human murderer are two different things. Different species, different rules. So anyways he preforms this experiment on a cargo ship in the middle of the ocean right, and he’s not expecting to gain the blood thirsty aspect of the bats from this universe. So he blacks out and kills all the mercenaries on this ship and then jumps off.”

“Why would he jump off the boat?” Alive finally spoke up.

“Because my sweet Alice, he didn’t want to kill the last person on the boat. The girl that helped him transform. He’s had a crush on her since like college.”

“Awww that’s so sweet of him.”

“I know right. Anyways fast forward a bit, he gets arrest as the “vampire murderer” lame, I know. And his best friend who’s like a billionaire gets into the prison and gives him blood so he’s strong enough to get out. Said best friend also took the serum and is now a vampire and has been framing Morbius for murders like the whole week right.”

“So the best friend had the same blood condition?” Jasper asked.

“Precisely! But basically to wrap it up, Morbius makes something that can kill the both of them, cause he knows he can’t live off synthetic blood forever, and he manges to kill his best friend right? But bam it’s the end of the movie and he somehow turned his lady friend, but he has no idea she’s alive and he just runs off so he won’t get arrested again. Can’t prove he didn’t commit the murders since the person who did became a vampire because of him.”

“Interesting, you’re leaving out all the details you’re excited about.” Edward jeered.

“Stay out of my head lover boy! And your parents are here, not gonna say that in front of them.”

Carlisle cleared his throat and Esme giggled, leaning into him.

“So what makes this vamp so hot?”

You pulled out a picture of him, passing it around.

The reactions varied throughout the room. And you sighed in content when the phone got back to you.

“Why does he look like that?” Edward asked

“We’ll he’s a vampire because of Bat DNA genius, so he had other bat like features and abilities. God look at those teeth.” You complimented.

“He looks like a piranha” Emmet declared.

“We’ll this piranha can eat me any day.”

You looked around the room, realising you said it out loud. Emmet was howling and Alice and Rose were snickering under their breaths. Edward looked horrified and you could see the disappointment on Carlisle’s face.

“What, his bite alone isn’t confirmed to turn anyone, so like he could just bite me and I could move on with my life. I’d be into it.”

“You’re hopeless” Jasper said, patting you on the back.

“No I think the word you’re looking for is horny”

An: this is so bad. But I genuinely really liked Morbius. Wasn’t much of a storyline but I would love to see more of him! I love a good vampire movie 🥰

[4ng3l-0n-34rth]

Intimidated: Part 2 // a Steve Harrington x Dustin's sibling! reader

a/n: Heyyyyy once again this is a part in a series, and the other parts will be linked below so please read those beforehand! Apologies for this part taking so long i wanted to make sure the way i was taking this story was perfect for all of you lovely readers!

warnings: mild swearing, minors using substances (CONTAINS SEASON 4 CHARACTERS BUT NO SPOILERS)

summary: continuation of the previous parts! Steve just dropped you off and he figures out a way to keep you around for just a little longer.

and as always,

enjoy!!

2,124 words

previous part / next part

As Dustin stayed back in the car, you couldn't help but try and figure out what was going on. With Lucas by your side the both of you discreetly watched the conversation go down through a window facing your drive way. "What do you think they're talking about? Dustin looks so.... serious, and with Steve of all people I don't think I've ever seen him wear a straight face in the vicinity of him." You ask Lucas, but never peel your gaze from the window.

"Wait, wait, wait. He's smiling now! Did something change?" You prodded at Lucas again, and with no response you look to the boy, a little confused. When you notice an expression of fear on his face you follow where he's looking and realize your mom had pulled in front of the house, since the driveway was full with you and Steves car's parked there. "SHIT!" you blurt out, leaping from the window and running to the door.

As your mother got out of the car, she immediately walked up to Steve's car and knocked on the passenger side window, where Dustin was still seated. He jumped at the sound of the knock, and Steve just stared at the woman. Your mothers attention was immediately diverted to you when she heard you slam the front door. "Dustin! I told you to not hold him up and come inside!" You shouted to your brother, trying to play off the fact they were both still in the car in your driveway.

Although you all knew no harm was done during your little outing, your mother was constantly worried sick about your wellbeing, so knowing you went out without telling her where you were going, put you and Dustin both on the chopping block. "Oh hi Mom! So glad you're home, I'm just trying to get the kids ready to go to the Wheeler's when Steve stopped by, and you know Dustin, he loves the guy!" You laughed, hoping she wouldn't see through this 'mere coincidence.' Steve and Dustin both got out of the car, and Dustin hugged your mom before running inside.

"Oh , Steve! How have you been my boy!" The woman cheered, waltzing over to Steve to give him a tight hug. "What brings you over so late?" She asked. At this point Steve panicked a bit, unsure of what to say, until it finally hit him. This was his chance to take you out, and there was no way you could pass him up, because if not it meant she may not believe your little fib. "You were actually just the woman I was hoping to speak with!" He smiled. "You see, I would love to take your daughter to a movie tonight, theres a night showing of The Breakfast Club at this new theatre. It's a grand opening type thing since the old one burned down with the mall." He spoke smoothly, as if he had used this lie time and time again.

You looked at him confused, but let him continue. "What a gentleman," Your mother smiled and pinched his cheeks. "Oh Y/N dear, what do you say? It sounds like the two of you would have fun!" She grinned from ear to ear, getting excited by the thought her 'baby' may finally get themself a boyfriend. "If you'd let me, I'd love too, but someone still needs to take the boys to Mike's" you smile nervously, still baffled by what Steve had just convinced your mother. "Don't worry about them dear, I have them covered, you two just have fun!" She cheered, and went into the house to get Dustin and Lucas.

"You'd love to take me out? Really, thats your master plan Harrington?" you giggled, and moved closer to him. "Well I don't see your mother questioning anything," he shrugged, and headed back to his car. "Well, are you coming or not?" He glances over to you, and pats the top of his car. "You, Steve Harrington, are going to take me to a late showing of The Breakfast Club?" you asked. "Well I actually have no idea what's showing tonight, but I do know theres a party tonight." He smirked, but it morphed into a frown, when he was met with your deadpan stare. "Yeah, sorry Steve, but I don't think your little parties are really my kind of scene." You admit, and although you weren't opposed to hanging out with him, going to a party full of all the people you went to school with, all the people that talked behind your back, didn't necessarily sound ideal. "Oh, c'mon Henderson! It'll be fun, I'm sure you'll find a crowd somewhere!" He pleaded, and with a quite audible sigh, you nodded your head and got in the car.

The drive there was particularly fast, since you lived in a pretty central area, and nothing in Hawkins was ever very far from one place to another. As Steve parked around the block, since just about every park-able space was already taken, you could already hear the music blaring. Looking out the side mirror you could see the house in the background, people littered all over the front lawn, almost flooding out of the big house the party was being held in. Just seeing the crowd made you nervous, and you were prepared to just go home. "Hey, trust me the minute you get in there you're going to be so worried about the music draining out your thoughts, you wont even acknowledge half the people that are there." You could tell he was trying his best to be comforting, due to his tone, and it actually did make you feel a little better. You got this Y/N just tune everyone out and focus on the shitty music.

As you got out of the car you took a deep breath, and without another word walked over to the party house, and Steve just followed close behind you. The closer you got the more the bubblegum pop music rang though your ears, and you could feel yourself settle a little. Walking inside you realized no one was was really paying attention to who was where, and they were just trying their best to enjoy the night, however they saw themselves doing so. You eyed the kitchen and immediately swapped your route to make a straight shot for the countertop stacked with liquor and booze these students most likely stole from their parents cabinets. You grabbed a plastic cup and poured in whichever cheaply labeled clear liquor was closest to you into it. Then before taking a sip you mixed it with whatever punch was in the bowl beside the glass bottles.

"Woah there partner, you just got here don't go crazy on me." Steve laughed, getting himself a glass of punch as well. To your dismay, you figured out the punch was already heavily spiked, and didn't realize that til you already filled a cup full of it. "Don't worry about me Harrington, I can handle myself in a crowd just fine, and this is to loosen me up partner," you giggled waving your cup up when you referenced your drink, then took another, somewhat large, sip.

"What's going on in the backyard?" you asked, looking out the windows. "Well when it gets all noisy, people are probably doing keg stands or jumping into the pool from the roof..." he tried to say as nonchalantly as possible, "but since theres no crazy screaming, I can only assume it's mostly the stoners." He finished and took a sip of his drink. Something in that statement peaked your interest, so you immediately darted for the backyard, Steve tailing you, so you didn't get lost in the crowd. "Ahhh, now this is more like it," you sigh and survey the surroundings. It was way more calm then it was inside. People just hanging out in respective corners of the yard, smoking who knows what, and one group with their own boombox peaked your interest, since the music they were playing was much better than whatever was on inside.

You decide to walk up to them, if you were at a party, you may as well befriend some of the guests, and these guests specifically seemed like they'd be your kind of people. You sat down on the grass mid conversation, not speaking since they were. Soon enough they stopped speaking though since Steve was standing behind you, almost looming over you and the rest of the group. "Hey we don't want any trouble man." One of them said, and Steve just laughed. "Not here to cause any man, just looking after this one." He pointed to you and you waved, smiling big. "Hi! I'm Y/N and I like your music!" you were quite giddy, which was an expression Steve would liked to get used too. You went to take a sip of your drink, and the next thing you knew it was empty and you looked up to the man standing over you holding your cup out. "You don't think you could top me off, could you Harrington? I can handle myself with these kind gentlemen." You smiled, and didn't move your hand until Steve took the cup from you. Not without an eye roll and a scoff though.

"So boy's what's goin on over here?" you ask, trying to join in whatever the topic of discussion was. "Hey, you're Y/N right?" one asked you. After looking at him for a moment it hit you. You knew him as well. "OMG! You're.. Gareth? You're in my study hall!" You reach your hand forward to shake his, but instead he fist bumps you. "Yeah that's me!" He then introduces you to the rest of his group, but of course one man needed no introduction. You knew him because he's been a Senior since you were a Sophomore, 'something Munson' you thought. "Didn't really see this as your kinda scene," you admit, looking around the group. "Well Henderson, I didn't expect to see you here either," The Munson kid, or I suppose adult, snapped right back.

"Your beverage M'lady," Steve said handing you your drink back, now full of the same punch you had earlier, although after taking a sip it was minus the extra whatever you had added in. "Thank you Stevie, now take a seat I like these guys." You pat a spot on the grass next to you and he complies. "Hey Munson, you don't happen to have weed on ya by any chance, do you?" you asked, honestly a little surprised by your own words. Sure drinking and smoking wasn't new to you, but it definitely was to do it in front of so many people. You were a senior, so obviously you came by these things from time to time, but it was always something you did by yourself, kept to yourself. "Who would I be if I didn't," was al he said, before pulling out a little container, filled with pre-roll's. Steve was beyond shocked by your behavior, especially knowing your family this was a reach for you, or at least he thought it was. You aren't really the readable type so even if this was your casual Saturday night, he would've had no idea.

You smiled widely and reached over to take one, but looking up to the curly haired man for the okay before actually taking it. As you pressed it between your lips, you asked a question while fishing through your pockets for a lighter. "Hey, Munson. Don't think I caught a first name." You stated, still fishing for a lighter. "Well it's Eddie, and don't worry doll, I gotcha." He took a lighter out of his jacket pocket and lit the tip of the joint in your mouth. Steve was baffled, awestruck, not once in his life did he think he would be sitting here with you. Looking at his expression made you laugh, and with the laugh came some coughing from the smoke you were yet to exhale. You immediately chugged the rest of your drink to ease the burn. "Hey chill out big guy, you think it's weird that i know how to relax outside of babysitting my brother?" He nodded blankly. "Y-yeah a little.." you lifted up the joint to him, "Just let yourself calm down Steve," you plead. "Oh no I'm alright with one drink, I'm driving you home." you pout and lean a little closer. "We could always walk! I live not too far, just crash at my place so you don't need to go all the way home, it'll be fun!"

"Fun huh?" Steve asked. "I guess I could have a little fun."

previous part / next part

[beels-burger-babe]

With You Always

***So I really really really love this idea, but I'm going to tweak it just a little bit so rather than only seeing them in mirrors, MC can just always see them when the brothers aren't around. This one is going to take place after they return to the human realm. I'm also going to be using he/him pronouns for the crush that'll be mentioned. I figured since all the dateables in the game identify as male, it'd be a safe bet. Thank you so so much for this creative request @gender-less-lemon (also I freaking love your profile picture. Monster Camp/Prom is hilarious)***

Summary: An average day of high school with MC...and the seven pact manifestations that haunt their vision.

TW: Bullying You were awoken not by an alarm, or your guardian, or even some random noise from outside, but rather a phantom gnawing on your arm. With a groan, you blinked open your eyes and saw just your regular old room, with one minor difference; a spectral red bear was happily teething on your elbow. You chuckled and pet the manifestation, noting the brightly glowing symbol of gluttony resting in its stomach. "Okay, Beel," you mumbled to yourself as you dragged yourself out of bed, pushing the purple translucent calf sleeping on your stomach, in the process. "I hear you." Ever since you had returned to the human realm, you had been followed around by spectral manifestations of the seven pacts that you owned. By the looks of things, no one else could see them, and they only appeared when the connected sin was active or needed, but it helped you feel less alone. You missed the brothers more than you had anticipated. It was more than a little bit of a culture shock to go from being loved and spoiled every day to being the misfit in your high school. Speaking of which, you needed to get going if you weren't going to be late. As you rushed around our room frantically grabbing the things you needed to get ready, the calf-like manifestation of sloth sat on your bed mooing in complaint. You sent a glare over to it as you finished collecting your belongings. "Trust me, I rather stay home and sleep too, buddy. But I have to go." Grabbing some fruit on your way out the door, you just managed to make it to school on time. Now it was simply a matter of surviving the day.

In all honesty, you preferred RAD to high school. In RAD, the subjects were interesting and grasped your attention without any problems at all. You had friends, even outside of the brothers. Sure there were always demons that would talk down about the kid human that clung to the demon lords, but you had the brothers to protect you. It was nice.

Now that you were back in the human world, you had none of that. In fact, you were even more of a misfit than when you were before. The teenager that vanished for a year and came back weirder than before; that was you. At first, you couldn't get people to leave you alone, but once they realized you weren't going to give them answers they backed off. You would occasionally laugh or whisper to the manifestations, which would earn you some more than weird looks, but you didn't care. These weird little ghost-like creatures were one of the only things you had connecting you to the Devildom. They meant more to you than anything else. As you entered your classroom, you had to bite back a laugh at the sight of one of your classmates looking around in confusion as, unknown to them, a golden yellow crow flapped around their head and pecked at the shiny earrings they were wearing. You took your seat in the back of the classroom and watch in amusement as the crow continued pecking at the various belongings of students, causing subtle chaos and confusion. Leave it to Mammon to make your day even when he wasn't actually there. Your teacher walked in and sat down in his chair. "Alright, class. Today we're going to continue with our history presentations. Remember these were subjects of your choice, so I do hope that you can at least pretend to be interested," he sighed and pulled out a clipboard. "Looks like the next person presenting is...MC." You winced and looked down at your notes. The topic was definitely one you were confident in, but to present it in front of your class. What if no one liked it? What if people laughed? What if- You felt a nudge on your arm. You glanced over to see a dazzling blue peacock, straightening its long neck out high as it puffed out its chest. The pride manifestation gestured forward with its head and almost seemed to smile at you. You smiled gently as you felt warmth grow from his pact mark on your inner wrist and stood up beside the peacock. It cawed and began to strut forward, leading the way to the front of the class. The mental image of Lucifer doing the same almost caused you to burst out laughing. You finally turned to the class and held your head up proudly as you began to speak. "My presentation today will be on biblical demonology and the way it has evolved throughout the eons of its existence." It was the best presentation you had ever given in your life. Riding off of the high from history class, the day seemed to fly by. Before you knew it was time for lunch. The bear was back, this time just softly moaning it continued butting your back with its head in an attempt to get you to go to the cafeteria faster. With one particularly heard shove, you were sent stumbling forward, directly into the chest of someone. "I'm so sorry! I'm a total clutz. I just tripped, I hadn't meant to-" you cut yourself off as you looked up and noticed you were looking at your crush. Your jaw snapped shut as you felt your face suddenly become uncomfortably hot. He smiled and waved off the apology. "It's alright. Just an accident right?" Your face became even hotter as you noticed a bright pink rabbit jumping up and down happily behind him. "I- Uh...Ehm...Y-Yeah! Yeah, t-totally an accident. I'm seat so I should go find my hungry. I-I mean!" He chuckled and nodded. "No worries, I get what you're trying to say. Enjoy your seat, MC," he gave you a wink, causing you to squeak as he walked off. You glared down at the rabbit running happy circles around your feet and the red bear that was sulking guiltily in a corner. "I blame you two for this." With an embarrassed huff, you entered the cafeteria and found yourself instantly wanting to walk back out. Everyone was laughing and talking with one another in their friend groups at their tables. Some gossiped eagerly over a magazine. Others sat silently with one another while they gamed or read books. There was even a table where a group of theatre kids were drumming out a soundtrack beat on the table while singing their favourite

songs. You ducked your head down and grabbed a tray of food before moving to the lonely table in the back, doing your best to ignore the giant orange snake that slithered between the tables, occasionally hissing and tripping students. You tried not to think of how you could be just like those groups of laughing friends, if only you were still at RAD. Your heart ached as you thought about the brothers. Maybe you could call them tonight. You let out a heavy sigh as you stood up and went to leave. You had almost made it to the door when a familiar face stopped you. Standing just a couple inches taller than you, surrounded by their groupies, was your tormentor, Taylor. You weren't entirely sure why they hated you so much. You just knew that they did, and that it got even worse when you came back from the Devildom. Taylor smirked with their arms crossed over their chest. "Where do you think your going? You haven't come to say hello yet." You scoffed and tried to walk past them. "Leave me alone, Taylor. I'm not in the mood for this today," before you could get very far, you were harshly onto the floor, stealing the breath from your lungs. You gasped and glared up at them. "What the fuck?!" The bully just sneered down at you. "You may not be in the mood for this, but I am. You know I heard about your weirdo presentation. Demons? Really? What are you, a satanist?" Their word choice was really ironic, for at that moment you noticed the large, white unicorn with flaming green hair and eyes appear behind them. The beast stomped its hooves and whinnied dangerously. You gulped nervously and looked up at Taylor. "Even if I was, it's not your business. I just find the topic interesting is all." You went to stand up, and therefore force the angry horse with a horn away from Taylor, but were stopped as they placed their foot on top of your chest. "I bet that's why you have all those weird tattoos, huh? What did you run away and join a cult for a year? Freak!" You could feel Satan's pact mark on the back of your neck grow hotter and hotter to the point that you were concerned the manifestation may be trying to summon him. Your eyes widen as you noticed it back up a few steps and point its horn at Taylor. You knew that the creatures normally could do small interactions with others, such as tripping or pushing, but you had never seen them attempt anything so violent. You couldn't just let it kill someone. "STOP!" The cafeteria fell quiet, but you weren't looking at them or even Taylor, you were looking at the unicorn. The manifestation neighed in frustration and jumped around, but obeyed your command. You slumped in relief. Looking back over to Taylor, you found them glaring down at you like you were nothing but a bug. They opened their mouth to degrade you even further when a teacher finally stepped forward. "What is happening here?" You walked over to the unicorn while Taylor fed the teacher a handful of lies. You leaned over to the manifestation and whispered under your breath. "Thank you for trying to protect me, but you can't hurt people. Just leave it be." The creature snorted and nuzzled your shoulder. In comparison to the hectic lunch hour, the rest of the day passed by with ease. In no time at all, you were back home in your room. You had just plopped onto your bed, when you heard a familiar ringtone. You smiled brightly and quickly grabbed your D.D.D. before immediately answering the phone. "Hello?" "Oh, you answered that quite quickly," you grinned at the surprise in Satan's tone. "I was just calling to-" "IS THAT MC?! GIMME!!!" You laughed as the sounds of Satan yelling and running from Mammon came through the other end. There was a yelp, a bang, and a victorious whoop before you could hear the device get picked up by someone. "'Hey MC! How was your day? I hope you didn't miss the great Mammon too badly. N-Not that I've missed you or anything just wanted to know how you're doin' is all." Belphie's purple calf climbed its way into your lap once more as you gently patted its head.

"I miss you too, Mammon. And today wasn't bad. I'd say it was pretty average overall." You could hear Satan growl in the background before there was a loud thud followed by a scream from Mammon. Satan took the phone back. "Just average you say? Nothing special?" You frowned and narrowed your eyebrows in confusion. "No, why?" To your right, the unicorn neighed softly and plopped down beside your bed. "Well, I could've sworn I felt our pact become triggered at some point today and...Well in all honesty I was concerned. We worry about you getting hurt without us there with you, MC." You couldn't help but smile softly as one by one each of the manifestations of your pacts made their way to your bed and laid down. "I know," you replied affectionately. "Though I'm never completely alone. So long as I have my pacts, you guys will always be with me." ***This was such an interesting concept to toy around with. I hope this wasn't too confusing and actually makes sense 😅😅 Thanks again for the amazing request @gender-less-lemon!***

Taglist @thegrimgrinningghost

@henry-and-the-seven-lords

@satans-beloved-riv

@cosmixbun

@sufzku

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

Guys. Guys. You’re not going to believe this. And I am honestly, so sorry. Anyone who found it strange and annoying that I filled up this website with a sudden focus on some shit that happened to a very specific group of comedians in the early 2000s and something about a cow, but then I found the answer to my question about what the name “Chocolate Milk Gang” meant so they were hoping I’d move on, and then just last night I finished going through the last of all the Daniel Kitson material I could possibly find online, so after that surely I would have to stop. I thought this had run its course and I could get back to other things. But you’re going to believe this. There’s another video.

Actually there are several other videos. A YouTube channel that is clearly just run by someone who went to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and filmed bits of the Late ‘n Live show and put them up online, and hasn’t posted a video in the last ten years, and don’t worry about how I found this. I was pretty deep in the rabbit hole, where I’d been for long enough so I thought I’d already found it all, but then I came across these YouTube videos.

Okay, so. To start with, here’s one from 2005. Early on it gave me cause to Google when Stephen K. Amos officially came out, which was apparently 2006, so the year after this. But... I guess was a bit of a glass closet situation for some time before that? Or just a coincidence. It was 2005, and everyone did spend that entire year calling each other gay at every single opportunity. They were bound to be right at some point.

The title made me think this would be a rap battle like Daniel Kitson did with David O’Doherty in that other video, and like I have reason to believe may have happened multiple times. But it turned out to be not that, and the “v” for “versus” in the title means something more literal. So... click on this one if you want to see Daniel Kitson summarize The Karate Kid and then literally beat up Stephen K. Amos, predicting the events of 21 Jump Street eight years before that movie came out. That was not the direction I thought that was going. It’s really funny to watch this fewer than 24 hours after watching his 2005 theatre show for the first time, which is in fact about a boy who is lonely and how there’s optimism in that loneliness. He’s completely correct about that. Correct about the subtext of The Karate Kid, too.

Also, the disembodied voice of Russell Howard comes in unexpectedly at 7:24, and it’s so close to the camera that for a split second I thought Russell must be the one recording it. Obviously he wasn’t, I guess he was just in the crowd and happened to be standing near the person with the camera? I’m not really clear on where he was. His laugh just comes through like a ghost in the walls. Tim Minchin, meanwhile, is visible the entire time as he provides music, off in the corner of the stage in the way that it feels like he always is in YouTube videos, even when he’s the main star of the video.

This isn’t at all important and it’s definitely not a sentence I thought I’d ever type, but that was genuinely good technique at the end there when Stephen K. Amos picked up Daniel Kitson and threw him on the ground. He knew how to do it properly. Good job dude.

I’m going to be honest, I haven’t even watched the other videos yet. Aside from the video before this, which is a guy I think I’ve sort of heard of singing a song in which he makes fun of Oasis while using a term that I would not use for Inuit people but 2005, right? I watched this far and then had to stop and write this post. There are a few more so this will probably get updated. Anyone who was looking forward to me calming down about what some chocolate milk people may have been doing in the 00s will have to wait slightly longer to have that stop being all over this website.

Edit: I just thought of something, ran it back, and confirmed that that was Mark Olver running out at 1:16. I would like to apologize for not noticing that right away; I’m normally quite good at the game “spot Mark Olver”, as I play it every time I watch The Last Leg.