#these are rehearsal pics apparently

[dozydawn]

Ivan Vasilev and Jia Zhang in Le Jeune Homme et la Mort, 2011. Photographed by Ian Gavan.

[soelstress]

Hopelessly Devoted To You

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x female!reader

Summary: Bucky misunderstands when he hears you but doesn't recognise those popular lyrics...

Word count: 3.4k

A/N - Hello lovelies! Thought I'd post this piece from when I was working on ANOTHER WIP and in a craze for misunderstandings from eavesdropping. This is silly fluff with a possible smidge of angst.

A big big thank you to @mrsbuckybarnes1917 for eyeballing this and catching my hiccups. Much love, Skittle!

The pic is what I had in mind for the polaroid.... just look at him 🥰😍 Sourced from Google

Do not Steal, Copy or Plagiarize any part of my work

Whistling, you prepared two lunches to go in the kitchen of Stark Tower. After putting the food into containers you cleared up any mess. Looking up, you saw Bucky stride into the kitchen. “Hey doll”. His eyes crinkled as he smiled, leaning on the counter.

You grinned back, your face heating at his proximity. “Hiya Buck. What’s up?”

Shifting his weight, he straightened slightly. “That movie you were talking about is playing at the old theater this afternoon. Thought I’d go see it… and wondered if you’d wanna go?”

Happiness filled you at his hopeful tone, only to be immediately swamped by guilt. “Oh Buck, I’m sorry but I’ve got-“

“Petal, are those nibbles ready? We gotta dash and dine!” A male voice called down the hall. You saw Bucky’s eyes then register the two lunches in front of him. His smile wavered.

“Coming Danny!” You quickly scooped the containers into your bag. Approaching him, you placed your hand on his flesh hand which rested on the counter. “Let me know if you do go, Bucky. If you don’t, maybe we can watch it here later? Snacks, popcorn, big pillows - the usual?”

His Vibranium hand covered yours,�� whirring gently at the contact. “I’d love that doll”.

Once again you felt the heat in your cheeks as you tried not to melt at the feel of your hand caught between both of his. Catching sight of your watch, you groaned. “Crap I gotta run. See ya Buck”. Without thinking you stood on tip toe to peck his cheek and ran out. Unseen to you, Bucky touched where your lips brushed his cheek and blushed.

You met Danny at the elevator. He bounced with energy, his brown eyes glinting. As you both stepped in, he nudged you gently. “I know I said it after asking you, but I really appreciate you doing this, Flower. You’ve got enough going on with the team and saving the world”.

“Saving the world one memo at a time” you joke and he laughed. 

Exiting the elevator into the garage, you got into his car and drove to Queens where Danny was starring in a community production of Grease, performing for one week. He loved the stage, and was psyched to play Danny Zuko. So it had been a surprise for him to arrive at the Tower saying the show was in trouble and he needed you. Once calmed, he explained that the female lead had been injured in rehearsal and wouldn’t be able to perform on opening night. The director tried to contact people who had previously auditioned with no success. Danny had thought of you, knowing you loved Grease and had taken drama classes in school. Hesitantly you auditioned, knowing you weren’t the best singer but apparently your soft notes sounded better than some of the banshees called back as a desperate measure. When offered the role for opening night, you jumped at the chance. Trying to juggle rehearsals with your job was tricky but you were determined to push through, for Danny and yourself.

You arrived at the theatre and immediately started rehearsing. With opening night one day away, tensions were running high for everyone. Final notes and adjustments being made, everyone checking and rechecking every minute detail. The director watched you perform “Hopelessly Devoted To You”.

“Nice one, sweetheart” he drawled, scribbling on his script. “The pitch and volume are good, remember don’t push too much”. You acknowledged his advice. “My main thought is it needs just a bit more emotion, a bit of angst. Sandy’s fighting the urge to love this man but her love is so strong she’s determined to hold on. Might help if you think you’re singing to someone like that, rather than just an audience”. He eyed you with a frown. “Know what I mean?”

Nodding, you bit your lip. “I’ll try”. He nodded and turned to move onto his next task. Moving to the edge of the stage, you fought the image that appeared in your mind.

“Thinking about that Super Soldier of yours?” Danny obviously overheard your feedback… and seemingly read your mind. “I heard him ask you out earlier” he elaborated at your raised brow. “And what about inviting him and the team? I’m sure they’d come to see you”.

“Yeah, if no emergencies pop up” you snorted. “Come on Danny, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes showing up for a pen pusher?”

You found yourself being spun gently and saw Danny scowling. “I hate when you put yourself down, Petal. You did that even when we were together”. Shrugging, you avoided his gaze but didn’t move away. “But you’re more than that - you train with them, gather intel, help each one in their own individual way - paperwork is the least you do for them! Just because you’re not actively fighting in the field doesn’t mean you’re not part of the team. But even if you were just a ‘pen pusher’, I bet Barnes would still show”.

Sadly you shook your head. “It’s not like that between me and Bucky. Come on Dan, you know me. I’m not the type to be his girl, however much I might want to be”. Exhaling, you mumbled about rehearsing more before forcing the notion from your head.

Later that night, you walked through Stark Tower and asked FRIDAY the location of the team. The AI informed you that the team was sparring in the gym. Knowing you wouldn’t be disturbed for a while, you made your way to the open lounge. It was roughly the same size as the audience seating area at the theater. Popping your AirPods in, you asked FRIDAY to record your efforts. On your second attempt, you remembered what the director suggested. From your wallet, you took out a Polaroid you’d snapped of Bucky. Unguarded, his baby blue eyes sparkled, lips turned up in a soft smile. Your heart tugged, having fallen hard for the seemingly surly Super Soldier. Inhaling, you played the song again and allowed emotion to wash over you.

Bucky walked to the kitchen, grumbling about Tony and Sam showboating during training rather than focusing. Noticing a soft sound, he used his sensitive hearing to find the source. He paused at the entrance of the lounge to see you facing out of a window, your back to him. Carefully he took a step forward, intending to say your name when he heard you speak softly.

My head is sayin', "Fool, forget him" My heart is sayin', "Don't let go Hold on to the end", that's what I intend to do I'm hopelessly devoted to you

Frozen, he watched as you looked at a photo before pressing it to your chest, your voice hitching. He silently withdrew, not hearing you sing the chorus. Bucky entered his room and closed the door, heart thudding painfully as he replayed what just happened. He had been working up the courage to ask you on a date, but hesitated when Danny reappeared in your life. You had told Bucky that the two year relationship had ended amicably but Danny would still be your friend. Bucky had found himself wondering if the two of you had worked things out, given that you had spent so much time together the past few weeks. Still he hoped that something was possible, especially as you made every effort to make up for declining the plans Bucky offered. But now… he understood. It crushed him, but he knew he couldn’t hurt you by keeping you from the man you love. He only hoped that Danny knew how lucky he was. 

The next day rushed by in a chaotic blur, running errands for the team in the morning and dress rehearsal in the afternoon. Unfortunately due to a technical hiccup, you were unable to review your solo notes with the director. You and Danny relaxed backstage, inhaling your dinners knowing you wouldn’t be able to eat until after the show. Nerves began to show in twirling the cutlery, which he picked up on. “You know what they say about a bad dress rehearsal. Stop worrying Petal, you’ll be fine”. 

“Easy for you to say” you growled.

“Jeez, you need to chill out. Are they keeping Barnes on ice again? He could cool you off… or heat things up” Danny smirked, ducking when you reached to flick his ear. “Ok forget the team for a second - why didn’t you invite him?”

“That’s all I need Dan - nerves over inviting him and then with my luck performing badly. I’m stressed enough”. You pointed your cutlery at him for emphasis before throwing it in the bin. “Please… it’s opening night, can we just focus on that? No more talk of invites or team support”. Danny nodded and you sighed in relief. 

At the Tower Nat, Steve, Tony and Bucky were gathered in the living room for movie night. Since you usually joined them and offered options to watch, they noticed your absence. “Where’s our movie critic?” Tony asked, pouting when you don’t appear with snacks in hand. “Tin Man, did she say anything to you?”

Bucky shrugged, frowning. “She’s not been around the last few afternoons, but she didn’t say anything about tonight”.

Peter suddenly skidded into the room, clutching a piece of paper in his hand.

“Where’s the fire kid?” Steve caught Peter before he crashed into someone. 

Panting, Peter shuffled nervously. “So have you guys heard of that old movie Grease?”Tony and Nat groaned at Peter’s definition of ‘old’ while Bucky and Steve were confused. It hadn’t been mentioned to Steve, so he wondered if he should add it to his ever growing list of things to look into. Bucky tried to understand how a movie could be made about grease… unless Peter meant the country?

Nat started to suggest watching it for the current movie night when Peter interrupted her. “Wait! At school I was walking by the bulletin board, you know where you can put fliers for things. There was so much on that board - actually there’s a demonstration I think you and Bruce would love Tony - “

“KID!” Tony huffed with a smile. “What’s this got to do with Grease?”

Pausing, Peter blushed before laughing. “Oh right! Well I saw a flier advertising opening night tonight at a local theater. But that's not what caught my eye. Look at this”. 

Nat took the flier before anyone else could, her brows reaching for the heavens. “Well this explains a few things”. 

The boys gathered round. “No way” Tony exclaimed, his eyes widening behind his trademark glasses. Steve let out a noise of confusion while Bucky stared at the picture snapped of Danny in his T Bird Costume and you in a poodle skirt. Tony asked FRIDAY to check if any tickets were still available, which the AI confirmed would be set aside.

“Well we’ve got our movie night plans, though I’m definitely adding the movie to our list for these two fossils” Nat smirked as Steve let out a sarcastic laugh. “Everybody go change, I doubt our support would be as appreciated if we show up in our sweats”.

Everyone scrambled to go change, Bucky collaring Peter as they headed down the hall. “You know anything about theater kid?”

Backstage, it was a swarm of activity as everyone counted down to showtime. Standing in the wings, you saw Danny on the other side of the stage mumbling and wringing his hands. Darting around your castmates, you engulfed him in a hug which he reciprocated. “It’s gonna be great Danny. Let’s show ‘em the ole Razzle Dazzle”.

His body drained of tension as he softly laughed. “Wrong show Petal”. 

You faux pouted. “Fine. Let’s show ‘em Grease is the word”. He laughed again, prompting a big smile on your face. “Break a leg Danny”.

“You too, Petal”.

You crossed the stage back to the wings, not hearing the whispers about the audience being a full house due to a post on social media. In the audience, a certain group of people sat three rows back, not wanting to risk distracting either you or Danny. Bucky and Steve fidgeted, not knowing what to expect but nevertheless excited to see you perform. Nat sat beside Steve, with Bucky on his other side. Peter was sandwiched between Bucky and Tony, watching on his phone as followers responded to his post about the play. Once the curtain rose, the group was hooked by the performance with Tony and Peter humming along. 

The first few scenes passed smoothly as you darted backstage for a quick costume change. Nerves fluttered in your chest as you hummed a few notes in preparation. Danny appeared like a ghost, handing you the Polaroid and giving your free hand a comforting squeeze. “Remember, deep breaths… and sing to him”. Taking one last glance at the picture, you thought of the soft blue eyes that haunt your thoughts. Hearing your cue, you moved back to the stage.

Bucky’s breath left him as he saw you walk onto the stage, softly singing. He’d never heard you sing before, and the gentle tune was soothingly beautiful. But his heart stopped as he heard the words from the night before and understanding crashed through him - Danny’s sudden return and constant presence, you not being available to hang out - you were practicing for your performance tonight. His heart restarted when he once again heard the hitch in your singing, words filled with emotion. He steeled himself, thinking he might still have a chance and would take any opportunity to try. The group applauded loudly when you finished.

It was a whirl of costume changes and songs until the final act. Slipping into the leather suit you borrowed from Nat, you cursed when the zipper refuses to budge. “Wow, you’re really channeling this whole costume thing aren’t you? Right down to the broken zip”. Danny grinned mischievously. “I’m not sewing you into that, Petal”.

“No one is touching this suit - Nat will kill me if I return it in less than perfect condition”. You cursed softly. “I’m gonna rip this thing if the damn zipper won’t move”.

“Good thing Barnes isn’t here then, I bet you’d have his attention”. You flipped Danny the bird as he cocked his head in mock thought. “I bet he’d fight Widow for a chance to rip it off you himself, not like he couldn’t afford to replace it anyway”. Thankfully the zip then moved into place and you shoved him towards the stage.

When you walked on stage in the ‘Bad Sandy’ costume, the effect was immediate. “Shit” Tony murmured. Peter's jaw dropped. Steve reflexively admonished the cursing, Nat smiling at the exchange. Meanwhile Bucky silently growled. Gone was your workday office combination, the leather suit hugged your every curve, just the right side of sexy and not too modern.

The final song concluded and you were met with thunderous applause. Each cast member took their bow, ending with cheering. When you stepped forward for your turn, you thought the noise increased slightly but since audiences usually cheered loudest for the lead roles, you thought nothing of it. You practically floated backstage, thrilled with how tonight went. As you moved to enter the dressing room, you stopped in shock.

“So our Jack of all trades is also a moonlighting performer” Tony’s glasses flashed under the bright lights. He smirked at your surprise as you gaped at the four people crammed in the room. 

“What? How - “ you were at a loss for words. 

“Underoos here found a flier. Not important” Tony stepped forward and clapped you on the shoulder. “You did good kid, great work. Though now I know how you can juggle things, maybe we should discuss your workload”.

Nat swept you into a hug. “Explains why you wanted to borrow the suit… I was hoping it would be for more indecent purposes”. She winked as you blushed. “These meatheads all had their tongues hanging out, you stunned them. Good thing it wasn’t the ‘Cell Block Tango’, you might’ve given them all strokes” she laughed.

Peter and Steve both also congratulated you on your performance, Peter enthusiastically as he was familiar with the show. Steve mentioned he would definitely be adding the movie to his list. 

You smiled at them all but before you could say anything more Danny spun you round, sweeping you up in a huge hug. “Petal, you were amazing! I cannot thank you enough for helping us”. He turned to Peter and Tony. “And thank you both for sharing the event on socials, it’s helped us sell out all the shows”.

“It’s the least we can do, given how much Sandra Dee here helps us out. Especially our resident grandpas” Tony shrugged carelessly.

Danny nodded in agreement, pulling you close to the doorway so he could murmur “Just a pen pusher huh?” Leaning back, he winked at you before letting go. “Great seeing you all, thanks for coming. Petal, Ash is here and wants to take me for a drink so-“

“So what are you still doing here?” you laughed. “Get changed and say hey from me”. He turned with a nod, almost colliding with Bucky. Danny apologised, Bucky reciprocating without taking his eyes off you. Face heating under his gaze, you opened your mouth to speak but Bucky beat you to it.

“Is that what you really think?” His Vibranium hand took one of your hands and gently tugged you closer to him, so there was barely any room to breathe. “You really think you’re just a pen pusher?” Dread filled you. His enhanced hearing… what else had he heard? Lowering your eyes, you saw his chest rise and fall before cool metal fingers cupped your chin and raised your gaze back to his. “Doll… you help all of us on the team. Yes, you ensure all our paperwork is filed correctly and on time. But you step up when we need someone to train with, make sure we’re looked after in the field and you help us all individually… Starks errands, Parker's love life, Steve and me being old guys…” You chuckled softly. “Even your guy knows how valuable you are to us, so I can’t - “

“My guy?” You blinked in confusion. “What guy?”

Bucky frowned at you. “Danny, who else? Anyway, even he knows what you mean-”

“He’s not my guy”. Now Bucky wasn’t the only one confused. “I told you all that we’re just friends… did you think we’re still a couple?” At the nods, you couldn’t help but chuckle. “I promise you, we’re just friends now”. A flash of movement caught your eye. “If you guys look you’ll see why”. The group gathered at the doorway to see Danny leaving arm in arm with a beefy looking man who was listening to Danny in adoration. Danny in turn planted a kiss on his cheek. “That’s Ash, Danny’s boyfriend” you smiled when five sets of eyes widened. Tony and Nat murmured something about needing a drink, Steve and Peter following them out the door. 

“But the picture…” Looking up, you see Bucky was still confused. “Last night I saw you in the lounge, you were looking at a picture. If it wasn’t him, then who?” For some reason he looked upset. Heart pounding, you crossed to your dressing table and picked up the Polaroid before holding it out to him. Keeping your eyes down, you heard him inhale sharply. “Doll…”

“I’m hopelessly devoted to you” you murmured. 

His flesh hand entered your vision, holding something. You gasped. It was a red rose. “Parker said flowers before a show is bad luck, and that roses are usually accepted afterwards. Do you know why one red rose?” You shook your head. “One rose is for new love… while the red is passion, desire and romance”. Your eyes darted to his blue ones, soft with love and happiness. “I’m hopelessly devoted to you too, baby girl”.

[sweetiepoison]

Famous Baby (Social Media Blurb)

It all started with posts you added to your instagram story. Your fans immediately began flooding your dms with questions about why you’re in Toronto.

You of course have friends that live in the city but since speculation has begun about you and a certain NHL player, it’s hard to believe you’re there just visiting friends.

Some news outlets started reporting that you were in Toronto with Shawn, “rekindling” your relationship. They used the fact that you went to his show months before and pictures taken of the two of you at the Drew House party.

You post two more pictures to your insta story during the leafs game which had everyone going crazy.

Fan#1: (y/n) really said let me make it clear who my man is

Fan#2: No fr, the Matthews jersey in the second pic she posted like girl….you aren’t being subtle

Fan#3: (y/n) as a wag is what 2024 needed

-> Fan#4: Can you imagine being a wag for the leafs and now (y/f/n) (y/l/n) is also one and you get to hang out with her!

->Fan#5: She would be the ultimate wag!

Fan#6: Steph Marner posted a picture of the game to her insta story and she tagged (y/n)

->Fan#7: STOP! Mitch and Auston are best friends and now we’ll get (y/n) and Steph as best friends!

Fan#8: apparently some fans went up to her during the game and she was super sweet and took pictures

->Hater#1: people were saying she wasn’t wearing his jersey like that’s so unsupportive

->Fan#9: She doesn’t need to wear his jersey to be supportive like gtfo 😤

@yourusername: Lover girl 💙🤍

Load more comments….

Fan#1: I know ya’ll also saw Auston’s post 👀

->Fan#2: They aren’t even trying to hide it

->Fan#3: fr the matching captions, the hearts being the leafs colors…might as well just tell us

Fan#4: I’m so happy that she’s happy!

Fan#5: I know that tattooed arm!!

Mitchmarner: Just move here already

->yourusername: Can I stay at your place?

->Mitchmarner: yeah you can sleep between Steph and I

->stephmarner: she’s actually taking your spot in our bed 🤷‍♀️

-> yourusername: say less…bags are packed

Fan#6: NOOO!!! It should be you and Harry!! If you ever loved him you would get back together

->Fan#7: Can people move on and accept reality like it’s so weird

->Fan#8: I loved her and Harry, but obviously it wasn’t meant to be and we can’t bash her for moving on with her life

Yourbff#1: It’s giving soft launch

Youbff#2: It’s giving my man my man my man

->yourusername: You two will always be my #1’s no matter what 💖

@AustonMatthews: Lover boy 😮‍💨

Load more comments…

Fan#1: Alexa play that should be me

->Fan#2: Idk who I want to be more Auston or (y/n)

->Fan#3: No bc you are so real for that

Fan#4: It has to be (y/n), she’s worn those sweats before during tour rehearsals

Fan#6: oh he’s down bad for her

->Morganrielly: horrendously bad

Mitchmarner: World’s biggest simp

->Fan#7: the confirmation we’re getting from all their friends in the comments is crazy 🤯

->Fan#8: no literally there was probably a pr meeting they were supposed to attend and obviously no one showed up 💀😭

Hater#1: this is gonna be terrible for his game, she’s just gonna be a distraction

->Fan#9: she literally has a whole life and career outside of him. Like she doesn’t even have the time to be a distraction

->Fan#10: she’s the best distraction to have

->Fan#11: tell me your a hater and desperate without telling me your a hater

Fan#12: Kinda random, but I love that their styles compliment each other

->Fan#13: I was thinking the same thing! I love the lowkey matching

Fan#14: I love that (y/n) was trying to be subtle and Auston was like “no I’m showing off my girl”

Fan#15: hand her back to @harrystyles

Multi-Grammy winning pop star, (y/f/n) (y/l/n) and NHL superstar, Auston Matthews have fans speculating (and fangirling) about a possible romance between the two. While we haven’t seen a picture of the two together, back and forth posts across social media platforms have fans suspecting there might be something more than friendship there.

It’s believed the two met through mutual friend, Justin Bieber. And while we don’t know exactly when it’s clear they started becoming closer at the beginning of this year, starting with the NHL all star games. (Y/n) attended the weekend in Toronto with friends to support Bieber who was a celebrity captain alongside Matthews.

The 7 Rings singer who has been on her world tour since the summer took a break before going overseas and seems to have spent a majority of that break in Toronto.

(Y/n) posted on her instagram story at a Toronto Maple Leafs game this past weekend as they took on the Edmonton Oilers at Scotiabank arena. One post in particular caught fans eyes. At first glance it’s simple enough, a glass of wine at the game, but fans focused on the fact that also featured in the picture was a fan in front of her with a Matthews jersey on, possible a tribute to her new relationship.

When asked about (y/l/n)’s attendance following his 2 point game, Mathew’s gave up very little info. “Yeah she decided to come to a game, but so did a few thousand other people.” Auston continued, “She’s an extremely popular celebrity who is insanely talented so I’m not surprised she received a lot of attention.”

He shut down further conversation about the pair’s relationship status by saying, “I’m not going to talk about my personal life. I know what you want me to say, but it’s not my place to speak for or about her without her permission.” When asked by another reporter if (y/l/n) reached out to him about his goals or the teams win he responded, “And that’s gonna wrap it up here” ending the press conference altogether.

Later in the week the two posted to Instagram within hours of each other and fans pointed out that many of the pictures are similar. (Y/n)’s post included a boat ride featuring the Toronto skyline. Auston was a little bit more bold as his post also included a boat ride with the Toronto skyline and kissing girl but her face can’t be seen. They also had similar captions with (y/n)’s being “lover girl” and Auston’s being “lover boy”.

While they are giving away very little, we along with the rest of the world are excited about this possibly new couple.

[nalyra-dreaming]

Comments on 2x08!!! Well… spoilers, obviously:)

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Being buried like that is my absolute worst fear holy shit

Armand painting himself as the poor little victim makes me livid lol

Louis thinking about what he could havw changed and always arriving at kissing Lestat?!!! 😭😭😭😭

Armand reviving Louis but letting him tonrise by himself *insert middle finger emoji*

Louis going a bit mad - holy shit. sooooooo creepy I love it. And him preparing and getting their asses!!! Sublime!

Thank god Louis takes her diaries and dress 😭

Calling “Francis“ LMAO and with Come To Me toooooo 🙌😈😈

That sliver of light separating Louis and Armand… and Armand just continues to lie….

Sorry not believing the dungeon scene. Lestat just… sitting there? Contemplating and citing Magnus??? Mhhhh. Louis… threatening him and then… passionate kiss and leaving with Armand? That’s…. another Armand fanfic. Sorry, but … lol. No. No way. OR it’s edited and Louis bargained for Lestat‘s life there. As for Claudia’s back then. For example Louis could have burned Lestat there and that is why he was so apprehensive and fearful in SF. But this??? Nahhhhhhh - but: We‘ll see. In s3 apparently ^^ I could also see Louis burning him there or in the theater in a rage, but we’ll see. Anyways: this??? Nope. :)

Also, that blood of Akasha nod is very weird

Ah yes - the disassembly has started 😈

Get him Daniel!!!!!

There goes the broadcasting theory 🤓

And the soldiers!!!!! Yesssss

Not believing the rehearsing btw

LESTAT SAVED LOUISSSSSSSSSS Yesssss baby 🙌 I KNEW IT

Look at them bleeding ears 🥹 (also Armand (supposedly) would have let Louis die. Right. We‘re alllll clear on that, right.)

77 YEARS BASED ON A SEISMIC LIE (ooof!!!!)

Oof Louis is maddddd

Yes get his ass. Also him threatening Armand 👀

Hurricane Odetta! 2021!!!! The crime tour was funny. And then… Moss house. Implied fledgling but… no way

Yeah. Rip my heart out while you’re at it. JAM just have the energy for them. And god… Lestat breaking on remembering Claudia burn 😭 and the embrace on him calling himself her father.

Lestat looks like healing from burns still 👀 (also him using Siri?!!!)

Louis apologizing for making Lestat miserable

Because he didn’t know it was a gift 😭😭😭😭

That embrace. The looks. It’s just raw 😭😭😭

And to leave us like that the BASTARDS!!!!

Daniel!!!! Sweety!!!! Love the sass!!!Look at your eyes!!!! But yeah no, Armand did not turn you out of spite lol

But - calling it: contested NOLA meeting (OR Lestat is in Dubai either Louis)

Louis (supposedly) returning to Dubai alone… I get it. Louis needs to find himself. And honestly?? After Claudia asking him who he is outside of Claudia and Lestat? To say: “I own the night“????? ROCKS. 🙌🙌🙌

Also: Louis challenging the other vampires to come and get him - well - with the s3 announcement??? - HERE COMES THE VAMPIRE LESTAT!!!

I‘m not crying and grinning happily, you are…

*sniffs*

Episode Insider:

Jacob texting that pic - LMAO

Assad: All lf the facade […] has been shown to be a complete lie

Jacob: Lestat would have saved Claudia if he‘d had the energy 😭

Jacob: There’s things said at the end that nobody will ever know other than me and Sam. RIP ME 💀

OKAY. I‘m … good. Happy. Satisfied. Season 3 - here we fucking come!!!!

[gabessquishytum]

Dream doesn't know how he let his sibling(s) talk him into participating in a bachelor auction. There are so many bitties who are going to be bidding on him for their daughters (or themselves). Dream knows he'll probably be won by one of those handsy ones.

🤵🏻🩷🤵🏽‍♂️❤️🤵🏻

Somehow a bidding war breaks out - it's gratifying that he's going for a high amount (take that Desire), but Dream is not looking forward to any of these ladies winning.

Then from the back a voice calls out double the current bid - an outlandish amount! And then into the spotlight walk Robert Gadling. He was Hob to Dream before he left to strike out on his own.

(Hob's family was old money like Dream's, but Hob had plans to make something of himself without family help. He promised Dream he would be back, but it had been so long.)

He looked so good Dream could do little but stare - Hob had filled out and there was a (sexy) dangerous look in his eyes that did nothing to cool Dream's regard. --- I'm thinking those current rehearsal pics with the short hair and the beard, and the distracting, healing, cut over his left eye. 😍😳

OOO just imagine Dream standing up on the stage, sweating and blushing as Hob just stares at him. The other bidders have been firmly silenced by Hob’s ludicrous amount, and eventually the gavel goes down. Dream is shuffled off the stage, and he immediately makes a beeline for the man who just "bought" him. Hob is smirking and Dream wants to punch him in the face so bad (apparently someone got there before him). The audacity of Hob to come in here and buy a date with him after almost a decade with no contact! Dream doesn't care, he is not playing this game, he's not some object--

Hob places a finger to Dream’s lips. Then takes his hand and leads him off somewhere more private. Dream’s jaw drops, and he goes. Willingly. Nobody sees them for at least an hour.

Out in the carpark Dream finds himself spread out in the back seat of Hob’s very fancy car (he didnt notice the make, but it's big, roomy, almost like Hob planned in advance to have Dream at his mercy on the leather). Hob is cradling his leg, lifting his thigh to press a torturous series of kisses all the way from his knee to his hip. Dream thinks he might cry. He still hasn't found out where the hell Hob has been.

Well. He did promise that he'd come back. He's certainly making good on that promise now. Dream didn't think he'd be ending his evening like a cheap whore, even though he was "selling" himself... but since they're here, he intends to give Hob his money's worth. And make sure that he NEVER leaves again.

[benoits-neckerchieves]

Apparently Daniel Craig is trying to get funding to make a movie of that version of Othello he did on stage in 2016 and it just made me think about those cute rehearsal pics where i always think he looks like he’s at school idk why (probably the little notepads and sitting on benches listening to someone talk)

Photos: Vanity Fair / Charlie Gray

[walkininawincestwonderland]

so A Thing just happened to me that I never thought would happen because oh my god I got recognized in Real Life (bestie if ur reading this shoutout to you you know who you are!)

okay so I do community theatre and I and another cast member were chilling on the sidelines bc it wasn’t our call yet. We’re both artists and we were sharing photos of our art y’know as bored artists do. I had a bunch of various fandoms’ worth of fanart in that folder, but only non-Wincesty fanart for the spn stuff. This friend had confirmed to me that they were not a destiel shipper vehemently enough to make me go 🧐🧐🧐 but I was still playing it safe because I didn’t want to start beef with a genuinely cool person over shipping.

anyhoo. At the next rehearsal we were talking, I drop in that I like Ethel Cain (drew art of her at one point) and this person looks me dead in the eyes and says “I know what you are.” And I’m like ‼️‼️‼️

But they seem amused so I pull up one of the more innocuous Wincest Ballet AU Pics and am like “yes. You know? You get it??” And they’re like YESSS

cue the angelic chorus of relief

so then of course i have to dig out the ship art bc GAGHHFGH and I pull up one I’ve posted on here and they’re like “yeah I’ve seen that one”

“This wasn’t in the folder?? How did you see it?”

AND THEY SAID TUMBLR

AND IM LIKE OH MY GOD YOU KNOW MY TUMBLR WHAT THE FUCK

yeah apparently they recognized my FREAKING ART STYLE and they had suspicions but they weren’t confirmed until the Wincest art. Because they saw it. In the wild. Sometimes I forget real people look at my stuff and I can just happen upon them randomly

anyyyyway now we’re mutuals and I’m rethinking every thirsty thing I’ve posted here because oh god

😂😂😂😂

[matan4il]

Mile stayed in Singapore after the Guerlain event yesterday, and today did a photoshoot with Harper's Bazaar (he flew back tonight):

They also enjoyed meals with Guerlain's people:

One of the cuter things to happen during this trip is that during the pre-event live yesterday, Mile was asked about the tofu pudding Apo liked so much when he was in Singapore last year, on Nov 11. Mile said it must have been delicious, because there was none left for him.

Apo was actually seen back then at the airport carrying two servings of tofu pudding, he was told he couldn't bring them on the plane, so he ate them there, but not before taking a pic of them. I guess Mile just confirmed the two servings (or at least one of them) were originally meant for him? Well, as you can see from the pic he posted to his personal IG last night, he finally got to try it!

Today, a fan asked him at the airport whether he liked it, and he said yes. Always matching husbands! ^u^

Mile also mentioned, during another live last night, that back when Apo was rehearsing Why Don't You Stay for the KP World Tour, he used to sing it all the time. This is his face listening to Mos' cover:

BOC posted a Mileapo vid that they filmed on Oct 16. It's a viral dance. Cute thing? Towards the end of his bit, you can see Apo's gaze shifting towards Mile. Even cuter thing? Apparently this viral trend is mostly done by dating couples.

And lastly, Apo posted this pic on IG. It was taken Nov 2, same day we got several pics of Mileapo, Bas and Tong rehearsing for the Man Suang tour. So, whoever Apo was at this diner with before or after, it could have been Mile (might have even been the one taking this pic):

Actually, one more thing! Bento posted two promo pics for an event they'll do with Mileapo on Nov 13. In one pic, it seems Mile's left hand is encircling Apo's arm:

And the other is just REALLY doing it for me. NGL, I can't wait to see them in these Chinese outfits and dream up a gazillion AU fics that I will never write...

(for more of my daily Mileapo/Kinnporsche, click here)

[punnifullife]

Are we talking about 80/90s heart throbs cause I might be biased but jfk jr was so unbelievably beautiful. But him as Thomas Wayne just hear me out go on Pinterest you’ll see what I mean mans was something else entirely from what I’ve seen and heard he was apparently very nice and down to earth which makes it even sadder

And apparently he got married in secret like he flew to some random island off the coast of Florida or something and didn’t tell his family or friends what was happening just flew them out and they didn’t find out was happening till they arrived the night prior to the wedding rehearsal dinner like not even the people organizing knew till they arrived there wasn’t much people either there’s a vid on YouTube called the lost wedding tapes that came out a few years ago and some pics that wasn’t released to the public till like 2019 from what I recall of it

it’s tragic what happened to him he was so young he was just 38 and he died along with his wife and his wife’s sister and in a plane crash of all things

i remember reading up on him years ago in school! But honestly?? yeah he's got the perfect look as Thomas Wayne.

[throw-awaybabe]

Hi,

Welcome to my blog. No one is gonna read this, which is totally fine by me, but I felt I should make a welcome post.

I’m a female, late 30’s, who is looking to blog her thoughts, feelings, life. Recently had a thing happen in my life and I don’t feel like I have a proper way to work through it so here I am.

What recently happened you ask? Well my husband kinda sorta maybe cheated on me. You are asking how is there a kinda sorta…it’s like black and white right? No, I have a kink and it’s been a thing for 10 years. We have discussed it and fantasied about it. I’ve encouraged it, given him permission even to hook up with others.

Well, almost 2 wks ago he went to his cousin’s wedding without me. He claims he didn’t purposely make it where I can’t go, but now I’m not so sure. So he leaves super early for the wedding. Kinda felt off but ok he’s super close to his family. While he’s there this time our communication is at a minimum. I wasn’t texting or calling bc I didn’t know what he was doing for example at rehearsals, golfing, dinner etc.

He only called once when he first got in. Texts are a minimum, but he’s always on his snap. Probably snapping friends and his cousins who aren’t there but still can’t call me. So unlike him.

Lo and behold we have a blow up the night of the wedding after the wedding. He was hammered drunk and I finally let him have it. We sorta work through the issue and that’s when he asks how does it work with the other thing since I was mad at him? At first, I was confused and then I quickly realize what he’s asking. So I say “are you asking permission? Go for it.”

I mean I’m confused bc hello we have been fighting, but a part of me thought he was just trying to turn me on. I was wrong. That’s when he dropped he already made out and sucked on some chick’s tit at the wedding. Sooooo you already did it but wanted me to ok it for you. When I say I was shocked I mean flabbergasted, floored, confused. He then continued to tell me and go back and forth for hours about it. Apparently he had 2 chicks all over him, making out, sucking their tits, grabbing his cock, ripping his shirt.

I know I told him that he has a hall pass in the past & that night I begrudgingly told him do what he wants bc he clearly already did. He claims they only made out waist up but that isn’t entirely true if they’re grabbing his dick and it’s came out he made out a total of 3x. He also was alone with them 1.5 hrs after he told me they’re waiting for him and he thinks he’s gonna do it but unsure. He claims to me nothing happened and he shut it down from going further. I just don’t believe it. He is saying that the further he gets from that day it’s becoming unclear and fuzzy. What? Is that even possible?

My issue is simple. You already hooked up with someone without my consent. You did it sneakily behind my back. You bought condoms Thursday with the intention of using them and threw the box away on your way home bc of whatever reason you gave me. You spent the evening flirting so hard with this chick she followed you and cornered you to where you made out with her at the wedding and got so amped up you pulled her tits out and sucked them there. All the while I was upset you weren’t texting me and posting cute pics on snap in hopes you would tell me I was pretty. You then drop the bombshell on me after we get into it and then you decided you are gonna make out again with her and now another chick who you won’t even talk about. You also brag about how your cousins are trying to hook you up with chicks bc they want you to come back. The whole night just feels so weird to me.

It feels like I got played and cheated on. Just feels like you purposefully made it where I couldn’t come so you could play. You may have made an offhand comment about it but we never really discussed it besides me saying it would be hot for you to dance with someone and get hard.

Also you told me you weren’t into it and then this. When I said that you and said that I think you wanted to go up and do this the whole time you literally sent the 🤷‍♂️ emoji and said “I did”

Now if I say anything you use it against me and say you don’t think you want to do it again bc of all the issues it has caused. The issues are from how you did it. And now I feel like I can’t talk about it bc if I do you will shut it down. That’s not fair. That’s not ok.

[prestonmonterey]

tlt update bc i didnt yesterday bc i thought id have more to say today but i dont

[@vincentaureliuslin @tatsumisheep3 and if anyone else wants to get tagged in updates lmk]

we worked on the sign for the lotus hotel yesterday!!!

heres the concept thingy i think idk why its outlined in hot glue??? i have no idea whats goin on in sets

we cut out the main piece i dont have a pic of it but it looks. like a piece of wood. in. that squigly shape. so use your imagination idk /lh

we drew and started cutting the lotuses!!

heres a drawn one

and the other one fully cut out :3

and a collaborative varigo doodle

and a picture of my friend taking a picture of hugo (this is what happens when we're left to our own devices i swear we got a little bit done)

i cant go to sets like at all next week TwT big sad

i mean i guess maybe i can go on friday if the costume parade finishes quickly enough idk but also then i should probably be in costuming to do important stuff

and its dark tomorrow big sad :( but apparently our tech coach wont kill us if we just sneak in and work on the wings so i might do that tomorrow we're still figurin it out

im def going next monday to work on the wing shoes bc we NEED to finish them and i love my friends so much and i do trust them but not with time management so im skippin rehearsal for it (also that was so scary i had to email a stage manager about the conflict and im terrified of sending emails)

oh also the signs gonna light up so thats cool :333 (not technically in lighting so its not my problem :\ /j i didnt do anything when i WAS in lighting anyway)

oh also i do need to finish my shirt bc it just has a silly lookin sun on it rn

ok have a good day/night/timezone

[lookedlikethebins]

Could you tell us about all the wips you have planned cus I can't keep track anymore 👀

omg i'm so so sorry i really do talk about a bunch don't i? i've always got a bunch of fics going at once so no matter what i feel like writing i have something i can jump into... which must make keeping track a nightmare. so yes! let me recap for you:

in no particular order we have:

shirt-sharing fic: this one keeps changing (and taking longer to write than i wanted lol) but essentially the bare bones idea is matty borrows a shirt from george before a interview with the whole band and it Doesn't Go Unnoticed.

new parents fic: a brief glimpse/collection of glimpses into the life & times of new parents george and matty!

the "if i believe you" fic: based on a line in a poem: "God did a very good job with you." it's in the country recording studio/abiior-era and matty just has a lot of thoughts about how God makes good things-- of course He does-- but he, himself, is not one of those things. but george is. george is divine, matty just is. (very prose/internal monologue heavy and i'm loving writing it tbh.)

non-famous!matty fic: george, ross, and adam are still (a version of) the 1975. waughy has this really nice officemate at the uni he's teaching at that's a TA/PhD candidate for the lit dept. george has to pick waughy up for rehearsal one day and the rest is history... we just get to see matty being The Biggest Fan of the 1975 and also, entirely by coincidence, being bespectacled and having hot takes on books (that i'm reading...)

the gatty ft. raughy fic: matty is apparently the last person to know that two of his closest friends/bandmates are dating and he's confused that 1. he missed it completely 2. everyone else (including his own husband) seemed to know but him and 3. they let him just Be That Oblivious for years. he starts paying closer attention and enjoys seeing his friends happy (with the correct context now)

camera roll collection: basically i found a bunch of candids (taken by the band/jordan) of matty and/or george and said, context be damned, i'm using this as a photo prompt like i'm in middle school and this is a timed essay. first picture is this 2019 pic of matty at the airport.

the hours of the left behind part ii: this fic was originally intended to be a standalone of the hours right after george drops matty off to fly to barbados. but now part ii is when george picks him up and tries to help matty readjust to being home. but also matty begins to sees how george was while he was away (having put on a brave smile every time matty called).

(be my) god and country ch 3/epilogue: not sure how i want to expand this universe bc i really love the foundations that fic has for timelines/ideas on certain aspects of their relationship that i want to keep returning to and building on (and not rewriting again and again lol) BUT i have ideas for a honeymoon maybe, a wintering-type fic where they go home for christmas, they talk about having kids... it's a whole world of possibilities!! open to suggestions...

[hikarry]

You used to be an actor? Why did you give up? Do you have a favorite part you've played?

Yeah! I was an actor for 5 years

I was forced to stop because of college. With classes I just wouldn't have time for rehearsals so I had to let it go. But I really want to go back when I'm finished with my studies. You have no fucking idea how much I miss the stage and performing

My favorite role?

That's hard to choose

In most plays I participated I was casted as the lead so that was always exciting

But if I had to choose one, I would choose my first play

At first I was casted as the male lead (we didn't have enough guys on cast and, well, I wanted that role tbh), but then some guys joined the company and they gave the male lead to another guy and they pushed me to be the female lead

I was playing a teenage girl that was in love with the male lead and was discovering her own sexuality and herself in general. Long story short, she gets rapped in a barn by the male lead (yes, I had to lay on the floor with my legs open while a man was on top of me, grinding on me while he was moaning and I was screaming of supposed pain and for help). After that scene I think I had the longest monologue of my career. It was a page and a half of the script and I had to say it while crying

Bla bla bla my character ended up getting pregnant and her mother (who's actress would become my first girlfriend an year later) forced her to have a home birth. My character dies giving birth and I spent the rest of the play on the floor without moving a muscle (around 15 minutes). Being still for that long is very difficult, let me tell you

But, boy, do I have very found memories of the rehearsals and the cast of that play in general. If I could go back in time, I would go back there just to live it all again. I am so so happy on stage

After that I participated in 6 more plays. 5 of them I was the lead. 3 of them I played a guy (a teacher, a refugee and Romeo), the other two I played a woman (a matches seller and a detective). I had lots of fun with all of those (especially the male ones. Trying to conceal my chest and my long hair was an absolute nightmare every single time), but my first play really marked me

Fun fact, I had a massive crush on the guy that played my romantic interest at the time (ironically enough he came out as gay 2 years after I did), but the girl that played my mother was always trying to keep us apart. Eventually I started falling for her and, my man, you can't imagine the religious crisis I went through

I had been teached homosexuality was a sin and disgusting ever since I was like 6 and now I was tits over in love with one of the female cast members?

It was fun while it lasted. We would sneak into the dressing room to make out constantly or if we arrived before anyone else we would just straight up fuck there. She was so jealous of the main lead, it was actually cute

Too bad that bitch cheated on me and gave me numerous traumas but, looking back, her dick game was strong. That does not forgive all the shit she did to me but eh. It's an upside, is it not?

I went to my Instagram to look for some pics of the performances or the backstage, but apparently my mother was the one with all the performances pics and all my backstage pics have my friends faces and I don't really want to put them on here without consent, ya know. Best I can do is this picture of a rehearsal back in 2018 with their faces censured by my bitmoji 👏🏻

I am also there, but which one am I? Who knows.

In my last play I ended up playing 4 characters because we were short staffed and apparently I was the one that could switch roles faster. Changing costumes in that play was a nightmare. Sometimes I only had a scene's worth of time to change from full on military outfit to a dress. I had to learn a lot of tricks to make all that work. I literally spent most of the play with a dress under a set of leggings and another set of jeans, a black t-shirt, a white button up shirt and a jeans jacket. Coming up with a strategy to switch clothes fast was...honestly? Extremely fun. Stressful as fuck, but fun nonetheless

Also, this was our mascot. She was the baby I had in my first play and she kinda just stuck around through the rest of the years. Pretty sure they still have her

Anyway, I'm sorry for the rant. I spoke more than you requested but I get excited when people ask about my acting career and...well, I got carried away. Sorry about that

Here, have a David

[ryqoshay]

How to Handle a Nico: All My Sanity's Gone

Primary Pairing: NicoMaki Words: ~4.1k Rating: T? Time Frame: Late in Maki’s college career and early in Nico’s idol producer career Story Arc: Stand Alone Set: Love Me When I Don't HtHaN: All My Sanity's Gone HL: Put You Through Hell

---------

Author's Note: Finally got around to finishing this one, after having started it over two years ago...

Summary: Nico is ready to celebrate Egao Jōshō getting a central office, but things don't go as planned.

---------

Nico stood up and stretched before rubbing her back. She’d spent most of the last hour assembling the office chair she would be sitting in for the foreseeable future. She spun the seat and smiled, satisfied with the result. Finally, she pulled out her phone and snapped a selfie in front of her new desk setup.

“Hey, Tsubasa, Hanayo!” Nico called as she exited her office. “You guys need any help finishing up?”

“I think your timing is perfect.” Tsubasa replied, stepping out of her own office.

“Almost done.” Hanayo’s voice came from one of several cubicles. Before the other two women could make it over, her head popped up over the partition. “Done.” She announced with a smile.

Tsubasa yawned. “Shall we head out then?”

“One more pic.” Nico said. “Let’s get one with all three of us.”

“Maybe outside?” Hanayo suggested. “By our temporary sign?”

“Great idea.” Nico agreed before leading the way toward the front door.

“Give the phone to Hanayo.” Tsubasa suggested as the three gathered by their sign. “She has longer arms.”

Nico grumbled a cruse while ignoring the smug glance it earned before holding out her phone. “There.” She said, snapping the shot. “I think that’s perfect.”

“Alright,” Tsubasa said, leading the way to her car “let’s get you two home. We have an early morning tomorrow.”

The other two women agreed and got in the vehicle. As Tsubasa started driving, Nico pulled up the company’s social account and started typing.

We finally did it!

She typed.

Egao Jōshō officially has a central office!

1/?

No more renting rehearsal space in one place and needing to take a train to get to the rented recording area. Our idols can stay in one place now.

2/?

No more working from the kitchen table or living room couch for me. Maki-chan has been very patient in putting up with my mess.

3/?

And I hear Rin and Honoka have put up well enough with Hanayo and Tsubasa. But no more! We have offices! And room to hire more staff!

4/?

Thank you everyone for your support over these last few months! We look forward to seeing everyone at the ribbon cutting ceremony tomorrow!

5/5

Nico uploaded several pictures she had taken over the course of the day, attached them to the messages and posted everything. She smiled as Likes began to register and the first few comments appeared.

“You took some good pictures today, Nico-chan.” Hanayo said from the back seat, apparently having received notification of the posts. “Looks like everyone is excited for tomor… oh…”

Nico checked her phone and grimaced. Apparently, even after all these months, she still had adamant detractors. “Trolls gonna troll, I guess.” She said with a sigh.

“Don’t feed the trolls.” Tsubasa said, not taking her eyes off the road.

“Yeah…” Nico agreed as a few memories popped up in her mind of her own time trolling the comments sections of the fledging group known as µ’s.

The rest of the drive passed quietly. Hanayo was dropped off first as she lived closer. Nico thanked Tsubasa for the ride when they reached her house. Finally, she headed inside to see what Maki had ordered for them since she hadn’t been able to get home in time to cook.

----------

Maki smiled as she listened to her girlfriend prattle on about the plans she had for her company’s new location. After watching Nico overwork herself these last few weeks, it was nice seeing her excited and smiling again. As she stopped at a red light, she allowed herself a moment to turn her gaze to the passenger seat and soak in a bit of the energy Nico was giving off.

On green, she returned her attention to the road, but her thoughts continued to focus on Nico. Her stubborn girlfriend needed to learn to delegate if she was going to survive managing a business. Maki knew all too well how much Nico insisted on doing herself, one of many examples being her constant rebuffs of Maki’s offer to hire cleaners for the apartment.

Of course, this wasn’t to say that Maki herself was any better. She knew she would have to hone her own delegation skills if she was to take over the Nishikino hospital at some point.

“Oh…”

The sound of Nico’s choked gasp snapped Maki back to reality and she glanced in the general direction of the building they were now approaching. Oh…

Maki pulled to the curb and barely had the vehicle in Park before Nico was out the door.

“Nico-chan!” Maki called, striding after her girlfriend before reaching out to grab her shoulder. “Wait!”

Nico stopped.

“Nico-chan?”

Maki noticed the raven-haired woman’s legs were shaking.

“Woah… hey…” Maki reached out to awkwardly catch Nico before she collapsed. “Nico-chan… uhm…”

Her mind scrambled for something. Anything. Eventually, she settled on shifting her hold and guiding Nico back to the car and had her lean against it. She kept her arm around Nico’s waist to help keep her steady. For a moment she wondered if it would be better to have Nico sit back down in the passenger seat, but at this point, that would mean moving her aside to open the door. This was good enough for now, Maki thought to herself, pulling Nico closer. Maybe… Hopefully…

With that issue addressed, Maki finally turned her attention to the scene before them.

The storefront of the new Egao Jōshō central office was destroyed.

Broken glass was everywhere, scattered across the sidewalk outside as well as the floors inside. Graffiti had been sprayed across the non-glass surfaces, spelling out various vulgar insults and derogatory terms. The chairs in the reception area were strewn about and the desk showed signs of damage. Maki couldn’t see a computer monitor and assumed if it wasn’t lying smashed on the floor somewhere, it had been stolen. The rest of the office couldn’t be seen from the street, but the damage was likely similar within.

Maki started reaching for her phone to call the authorities when…

“It’s my fault…” The words fell from Nico’s lips like icicles from a winter rooftop.

“What?” Maki paused with her phone halfway up.

“This is all my fault…”

“Nico-chan, what are you talking about?”

“Don’t you see?” Nico looked up with tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

“No. I don’t. How is any of this…”

“I fed the trolls.”

“You… what?” Maki tried to remember the last time someone had mentioned the term.

“I knew better. Tsubasa even reminded us not to and yet…” Nico’s voice seemed to die in her throat as the first tear finally slid down her cheek.

Maki turned and pulled Nico into a tight embrace. “It’s not your fault.” She said quietly.

“But…”

“It’s not your fault.” Maki repeated, a bit firmer than she intended. “Nothing you could say online could possibly warrant this.”

Nico’s response was buried in Maki’s shoulder before her whole body convulsed in a sizable sob.

The sound of a vehicle pulling to a stop behind Maki’s car caught her attention. She turned her head to see Tsubasa stepping out of the driver’s side, her jaw clenched and her eyes as hard as emeralds. Hanayo was slower in exiting the passenger side with a hand over her mouth and tears already falling.

“I’m calling the police now.” Maki said, hitting Send on her phone before finally putting it to her ear.

Tsubasa nodded solemnly before standing and staring silently at the scene, obviously still processing the situation.

“Officers are on their way.” Maki announced after a couple minutes before scrolling through her contacts.

“Who are you calling now?” Tsubasa asked.

“Hikoya-san.” Maki responded.

The other woman nodded again as she recognized the name of the lawyer whose firm had helped in writing the contracts for Egao’s investors, as well as getting the company properly incorporated and in good legal standing.

“I’ll have him send an associate over to speak to the authorities on our behalf.” Maki explained. “They can then start dealing with insurance; I’ll email them the receipts of everything purchased for proof of inventory.”

“Sounds like a good plan.” Tsubasa nodded again. “Thank you, Maki-chan.” She turned to Hanayo. “Shall we start cleaning up?”

“Wait!” Maki spoke up. “Hello, yes, it’s me, Maki. I’m terribly sorry, but one moment.” She slid a thumb over the mic. “We can’t do anything until the authorities have written up their report and we have sent all the necessary information to insurance.” She returned her attention to the call.

Tsubasa and Hanayo stood in an uncomfortable quiet as Maki explained the situation to the firm’s employee on the other end of the line.

“Sorry about that.” Maki said, hanging up again.

“No, it’s fine.” Tsubasa shook her head. “You’re right. We shouldn’t do anything to jeopardize our insurance claim.”

“So, what do we do?” Nico suddenly asked, pushing away a little, but not completely out of Maki’s embrace before looking up at her.

“Right now? Not much.” Maki admitted. “You three could probably just go home…”

“What?” Nico’s brow furrowed.

“Although I suppose someone should probably get online soon to inform everyone that we will have to cancel the…”

“Like hell.”

“Uweh?”

“We’re not cancelling the opening.” Nico’s voice hardened.

“Yes, sorry, not cancelling, just postponing…”

“We’ll get this mess cleaned up and we’ll do the ceremony after.”

“Nico-chan…”

“You don’t think we can?” Heat began to rise in Nico’s voice as she detached herself fully from Maki.

“We don’t even know the extent of the damage yet.”

“Of course not. That’s why we go in and start cleaning.”

“But we can’t do that yet.” Maki was starting to get frustrated as well. “That’s why I said you should go home for now.”

“And what about you?”

“I’ll stay so someone is here when the police arrive.”

“Alone? What if the jackasses who did this come back?”

“They won’t.”

“How do you know?”

“This is a coward’s attack. They couldn’t bring themselves to confront you in person, so they went after your stuff under the cover of darkness. But now it’s morning. It’s light out and there’s more traffic.” Maki motioned to the general area around them. “Other shops are starting to open up. There are more people around. I’ll be fine.”

“I’m staying here.” Nico stomped her foot a little to emphasize her point.

“That’s fine, I guess.” Maki conceded. “I just thought that since you three were so emotionally invested that you might want…”

“Damn right I’m emotionally invested!” Nico exploded. Unable to step back from Maki due to her position leaning against the car, she pushed her girlfriend away instead. “I’ve poured blood, sweat and tears into this place for months. Literally and figuratively.”

“Yes, exactly.”

“Exactly what?” Nico demanded.

“You’re too emotionally invested.”

“That’s what I just said!” Nico waved an arm to accent her statement.

“Fine.” Maki crossed her arms. “Do whatever you want. Stay or go. I don’t care.”

Although she regretted her words as soon as they left her lips, Maki could tell by Nico’s expression that it was too late.

“Fine.” Nico spat. “You don’t want me here. I’m leaving.”

Nico stomped around the still running car and dropped into the driver seat. She slammed the door, backed away from the curb, and sped off.

“We’ll go after her.” Hanayo said solemnly.

“I’m sorry.” Maki said, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“Don’t apologize to us.” Tsubasa replied, placing a hand on the younger woman’s shoulder. “Call us when the police and insurance company have everything they need. We’ll come back and start cleaning up this mess.”

“Alright.” Maki nodded. “Say, uhm… I don’t know if Nico-chan is actually going home. But I know of a couple places she might go instead if you don’t find here there.”

“I know some places as well.” Hanayo agreed.

“As do I.” Tsubasa added as she opened the driver’s side door of her car. “We’ll see you in a little bit.”

Maki waved at her two friends before unlocking her phone. There were still several calls she needed to make and messages to send.

----------

“Uhm… Nishikino-san?”

A voice caught Maki’s attention as she watched the officers move through the building taking pictures, followed closely by the associate sent by Hikoya’s firm. She turned to find a small group of young men gathering near her. It was hard to miss the buttons and other memorabilia they were wearing, designating them as fans of Nico and A-RISE.

“I’m sorry.” Maki resisted sighing. She figured some people wouldn’t get the notifications in time. “But today’s event has been cancelled. We’ll send out an announcement when we’re able to reschedule.”

“We know.” One of the men nodded. “We came to see if there was anything we could do to help.”

Oh. Maki had to admit she hadn’t considered that possibility. Still, “I’m not sure…”

“I know how to remove graffiti.” One of the other men offered. “I did a lot of paint removal at my old job.”

“Say, isn’t there a hardware store a few blocks down that rents out equipment?” Another offered.

“There is.” Still another confirmed, already typing away at his phone.

“I’m sure you’re probably having professionals coming later” the first one spoke again “but perhaps we can get a head start?”

“I actually haven’t been able to find anyone yet.” Maki admitted with a rueful smile. “Everyone I’ve called so far is booked.”

“Alright then.” The young man nodded. “We’ll be back in little bit.”

“Wait.” Maki said as the group started to move off. She hadn’t actually agreed yet. But as they turned back toward her, something about their determined expressions convinced her. “Be sure to keep your receipts.”

“Of course.”

----------

One of the phones on the table started vibrating.

“Oh, that’s Anju.” Tsubasa said, reaching for the device. “Hello? … … No. Absolutely not. … Look, I appreciate the offer, Anju, but no. We’ll be fine, you don’t need to come back. … No, don’t cancel. The show must go on. Our loyal fans paid for tickets and they deserve to see the performance.

“Plus,” Her expression hardened. “I don’t want the bastards who did this to know they can disrupt our business. Sure, they managed to delay the opening of our office. But we’ve worked from home and used rented space just fine up until now, and we’ll be fine continuing to do so for a little while longer. We’ll keep scheduling events like we always have. We’ll show them that this will not deter us.”

Tsubasa’s face softened again. “Right. … … Yes. Definitely. Have fun tonight. We’ll see you two when you get back. Goodbye.” She hung up and turned her attention to the other two women at the table. “You feeling up to heading back, Nico-chan?”

“I suppose.” Nico leaned back in the booth and sighed. “May as well see what my idiot girlfriend has been up to.”

“I’m actually surprised Mak-chan hasn’t contacted us yet.” Hanayo said before waving down the server for the bill. “Surely the police are done by now, right?”

“Maybe they were delayed in arriving or something.” Nico shrugged. “Who knows. We’ll find out when we get there.”

----------

Nico braced herself to face the scene again as she turned the corner. She looked down the street and…

What the heck?

She pulled up to the curb like Maki had done a few hours ago and got out of the car.

“Yazawa-san.” A young woman acknowledged with a smile and a nod as she moved past toward a dumpster to unload an armful of stuff.

For the second time that day, Nico stood in awe of the scene before her. However, this time, for very different reasons.

There were people everywhere. A couple were scrubbing away at the graffiti on the exterior wall and she could see others inside painting the walls to cover the vandalism there. Others, like the girl who had just passed her, were hauling damaged items from farther within the office. Then, she spotted red hair.

Nico moved across the sidewalk and stepped through the front door. Or rather, the entryway, as the door itself was gone. From there, she approached her girlfriend.

Maki was sitting on a folding chair at a small plastic table. She was talking to someone on her wireless headset while tapping away at a pair of tablets in front of her.

“Make sure your contact info is on the back.” Maki said to a young man on the other side of the table.

The man nodded and stabbed a slip of paper on a receipt spike and picked up several boxes at his feet. His face lit up with recognition as he turned toward Nico. He then bowed as much as he could while holding the stack before moving past her.

“Yes… … Yes…” Maki had returned to her call. “No, that’s fine.” She tapped at one of the screens. “We’ll be sure to have someone here then. … Thank you. Goodbye.” She hung up and turned to Nico. “Yes, what is… N-Nico-chan?!” She stood up quickly enough knock her chair over backward.

Nico couldn’t help chuckling at the scene as she stepped around the table.

“I-I’m sorry! I, uhm… I forgot to call.” Maki stammered out.

“It’s alright.” Nico replied, pulling her girlfriend into a hug. “It looks like you’ve been busy.”

“Mm…”

“So, want to fill us in?” Tsubasa requested, approaching the couple with Hanayo in tow.

“Well, what can I say, but your fans are amazing.” Maki said, jutting her chin in the general direction of everyone working around them.

“Our fans?” Hanayo asked, marveling as the idea processed in her mind.

“I tried to send the first group away because I thought they hadn’t gotten the message about the ribbon cutting ceremony being canceled.” Maki explained. “But they insisted that they were here to help. And then more kept showing up. And I started getting messages from those unable to make it in person offering donations and connections.

Maki chuckled. “The connections.” She repeated. “Every place I tried to call initially was booked, but people started sending me links and numbers that they knew. Someone’s cousin works at a glass shop, so they’ll be here soon to install windows and a door. Someone else got me in touch with a carpet company that will be coming tomorrow after we get a second coat of paint on the walls and let it dry, although someone said it was quick dry paint, or something, so apparently it doesn’t even need overnight.” She shrugged. “Oh, and Honoka should be here any minute with treats for everyone who came in person.”

“Honoka-chan?” Tsubasa asked, checking her phone. “Strange, she hasn’t called or messaged me.”

“She probably just jumped right into getting things ready.” Maki proposed. “She didn’t respond to my message in group chat when I told everyone there, and she sounded out of breath when she called me a few minutes ago as she was heading out the door.”

“Yeah, that does sound like her.” Tsubasa laughed. “I’ll be sure to thank her personally when she gets here.”

“And speaking of food,” Maki continued “Eli and Nozomi closed for the day and are apparently rushing a catering order for everyone later. Umi and Kotori are out with a group picking up new furniture and Rin is with another group is getting electronics. Both groups should be back soon.”

“That’s what Rin-chan meant…” Hanayo checked something on her phone.

“The gentleman who was just here picked up some security equipment that was recommended to me by the company that my parents contract with at the hospital. They’ll be here later this week to formally install everything, hide the cables and whatnot, but until then we’ll at least have functional cameras and door alarms and such to deter a repeat incident.”

Nico felt a smile tug at her lips. “Well, if Maki-chan had any doubts about being able to run the hospital when her parents officially hand things over, I think she’s proven herself capable of managing a crisis here.”

“Oh, well I, uhm…” Maki began to blush at the compliment.

Encouraged by the reaction, Nico continued. “Nico may have to take some lessons from Maki-chan if she wants to become half the manager she is. Of course, Nico will definitely surpass Maki-chan and become the No. 1 Manager in the Universe.”

“… Idiot…” Maki muttered, still working through her embarrassment, but still willing to play one of their favorite games.

“You love it.”

“Yeah… I do…”

Nico’s smile grew. By the gods she loved how the game had changed over the years. Maki did still use her old maybe response often, but she seemed to have a knack for knowing when Nico needed to hear this version.

“Alright,” Tsubasa said, stepping toward the couple, “that’s enough sappy stuff for now. You can continue that when you get home. Anyway, thank you, Maki-chan.” She placed a hand on the redhead’s shoulder. “What you’ve done here today is incredible.”

“I, uhm…” Maki fumbled for a moment. “I was just doing what I had to to protect my investment…”

Tsubasa laughed. “Somehow I knew you’d say something like that. But you’ve done more than that, and you know it.”

Nico was about to chime in again with more praise when she was interrupted by someone calling for Maki somewhere inside the office. Maki’s demeanor changed back to professionalism and she responded that she would be there in a moment.

“So,” Nico said before her girlfriend could move away, “once you’ve checked on that situation, come back and tell us what we can do to help. It’s our company. We should really be doing something. But this is clearly your show.”

“Alright.” Maki nodded.

As she watched her girlfriend continue to direct the disaster recovery efforts, Nico realized she hadn’t yet apologized for blowing up on Maki earlier. But as much as she wanted to do so as soon as possible, she figured she had probably just embarrassed Maki enough with public thanks and affection. Perhaps it would be better to wait until they were home and behind closed doors.

In the meantime, Nico took a moment to fully appreciate the scene before her and used it to psyche herself up for pitching in.

---------

“Eh?” Nico uttered as Maki buried her face in her chest.

The couple had finally turned in for the night, after having stayed far longer than intended at the party. The official grand opening, ribbon cutting ceremony for Egao Jōshō had been rescheduled, but Nico and Tsubasa still wanted to do something to thank all those that had gathered to help clean up. And their closest friends already had the framework prepared, at Maki’s behest.

But after a long and emotional day, both were exhausted. And Nico’s head had barely touched her pillow when her girlfriend had wrapped her arms around her and pulled her close.

“I’m sorry.” Maki said softly, her voice muffled by Nico’s sleep shirt.

“Maki-chan, I…”

“I pushed you away when you needed my support.”

“I actually thought I was the one who ran away.” Nico admitted. “And that was only after yelling at you, so I’m sorry for that.”

Maki puffed out a sigh.

“This morning I really felt like all my sanity was gone.” Nico continued. “Seeing all my hard work ruined was bad enough, but thinking it had been my fault was the last straw. And I took my frustrations out on you. And you didn’t deserve that, so I’m sorry for that too.”

Maki tightened her embrace.

“But you still had my back. You stopped me from making things worse, even though it turned my anger toward you instead. And you stepped up and took care of things when I couldn’t. You’ve always been there for me, Maki-chan, in one way or another, finding new ways to love me even when I’m struggling to do so myself.”

“I do love you, Nico-chan.”

“I know.” Nico pressed her lips against the top of Maki’s head. “I love you too, Maki-chan. Thank you for everything you did for me today.”

“Nico-chan is always helping me so…” Maki cut off as Nico gently swatted where she had kissed a moment ago.

“And you can thank me when I do. But today Maki-chan was the star of the show.”

“Mmph…” Maki huffed.

Nico was about to laugh when Maki suddenly turned her head and pushed herself up to press her lips against Nico’s. Nico responded by sliding a hand through Maki’s hair and pulling her in to deepen their kiss. Maki’s hand moved up to Nico’s shoulder and gently pushed her onto her back.

“Speaking of new ways to love you…” Maki breathed as she positioned herself over Nico.

Now, Nico laughed. “I think this is a pretty old way to love me, Maki-chan.”

Maki pouted.

Nico laughed again. “But it’s fine. Love me like you do, Maki-chan.”

And Maki did exactly that.

---------

Author's Note Continued: This is the first of what was originally planned as a set of three chapters, one for each of my main, canon-compliant’ish fics, but now that I’ve added a fourth flagship to my fleet with ShikiMei, I may need to figure out a fourth chapter for the set. Not complaining, mind.

Anyway, the theme of the set is one of my favorite songs by Pentatonix, Love Me When I Don’t. The first time I heard it, I immediately knew I needed to write something based on it. Unfortunately, although ideas spun fast and I collected a ton of notes, things just never materialized; real life circumstances certainly did not help.

But Pentatonix released a new original song recently, which got me on a kick for them and I’ve been listing to a ton of their songs ever since; excluding their boat load of Christmas songs as it is bit to early in the season for that and my years in retail make me adverse to such things being too out of season… I say having written fic chapters with a different take on the issue… But I found myself focusing more on the group’s original songs than their covers, and every time I replayed Love Me When I Don’t, I remembered the WIPs that were gathering digital dust. So, I finally busted out the first one and finished it.

That said, having finally finished this one, I can say with certainty that I strongly dislike writing fights. Well, fights between characters who are supposed to love each other. Anyone who has read some of my AUs will know I’m fine writing battle scenes, even if I can feel like I’m repeating myself too much with describing various actions. And I can’t say I had much trouble writing the confrontation between Nico and Etsuko, the latter of whom I really need to write more of at some point. But an argument between Nico and Maki? Not so much. I hated writing The Incident, and writing the fight here felt little better. And I really can’t say I’m all that happy with the result of either. And I still need to finish a different fight for PoH…

Obviously, this isn’t to say I dislike bickering. On the contrary, I love writing that. Teasing and harmless banter is fun, even if one or both sides steps a bit out of line from time to time. That’s just NicoMaki to me. But more serious fights, like the one in this chapter, I’m just not a fan. Props to my fellow authors who can write such things with more confidence.

Next up, another topic I’m not particularly fond of writing, fan backlash to news that their precious pure idols may have lives off stage. Egao Jōshō exists primarily to rebuke that idea and makes no effort to hide the fact that it will not prevent the idols in its employ from dating. And while in-universe, many dedicated fans go along with Egao’s ideals – no, I don’t care how unrealistic it may be – many others do not. And having read some real-world scandals, I figured something like this may be plausible. That said, one may notice I didn’t actually write any of the backlash, just the results of it. And I probably will keep it that way if I continue to address the topic in future chapters.

And finally, I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted anything for HtHaN, so here are a few quick reminders in case anyone is left wondering. Honoka is running her family bakery, although I’m not sure if she has officially inherited it yet. Eli and Nozomi run a restaurant together, an idea I shamelessly stole from some old NicoMaki doujin years ago. Anju and Erena have formed a subgroup, that I’ve yet to name, so they can continue to perform while Tsubasa takes some time off from being an idol to both get Egao up and running and spend more time with Honoka. Hanayo is Egao’s first, and probably by this point the only, employee of Egao. I’m not sure if Hanayo has graduated college yet, if not she is in a paid internship position. And I made up Hikoya for this chapter, and I’ve no idea if he’ll ever be mentioned again; maybe in TA with what I have planned for Setsuna…

[putschki1969]

2023/06/30 Blog post by Wakana 6月最後の日☆〜大阪とサインとリハーサル〜

❗This is Fan Club EXCLUSIVE content❗ ❗PERSONAL USE ONLY❗ Do ❗NOT SHARE❗ on other sites ❗Join her FAN CLUB! Check out my detailed TUTORIAL ❗

Last Day of June☆〜Osaka, Signature and Rehearsal〜

On June 16th, I was at Tower Records Umeda NU Chayamachi in Osaka!! ️👏(Together with Saku-chan who is a fan-favourite!) The in-store event for my 3rd album "Sono Saki e" was held at Tower Records in Osaka. Here is a picture of Saku-chan and me performing in front of everyone. And another picture of me talking to the crowd. I also had a great at the clear-file handing-over part of the event, everyone was very kind, I was really happy to hear your impressions about the album and the live performance😭✨✨Thank you 😭✨✨And as expected in Osaka, there was some very vocal support from local fans. Thank you very much for your enthusiastic cheers ☺️ During the event, and even after the clear-file handover was done, I heard people say in a loud voice, "I'll be going to next month's live!"💕That made me very happy! The in-store events went by in a blink of an eye but they were a perfect prelude for the upcoming lives. It was also a great way to once again get a real sense of my album finally being released. All in all, it was a lot of fun~😍I'm looking forward to the day when I can do another intimate event like this❣ (PS: I also left my signature on the wall! If you have a chance, please look for it!) Last but not least, here's a full-body shot of my outfit!

After the in-store events, I quickly transitioned into preparation mode for my live performances!! ️＼＼\\٩( 'ω' )و //// By now rehearsals have also started. I don't know what happened in this pic but apparently it made me laugh.

The first live is already next week! We are starting on July 6th at Billboard Live Yokohama🌟Looking forward to seeing you all🥰 Until next time~☆( *'▽'*)/

＊＊＊Wakana＊＊＊

[miasiegert]

re: @lie-in-a-bureau-drawer (I hope I'm doing this correctly with the tags--figured try and test out with copying/pasting what's there first?)

There will be more pics and there will be video! Definitely the best blooper video when I figure out the exact right spot to cut. If it's too short, it misses the humor. A minute's far too long though. I'm happy to post up some rehearsal videos though many are the cats without make up which can be jarring for some.

It's been an eye-opening experience doing this production and I'm so glad I was brought in. I know dinner theatres have very mixed reputations but gotta say, the combo of Chaz's directing/choreography and probably the hardest show many of these actors have done to date* (**many are very young and this is their first professional season out of college!), it was nice.

On opening night, one of the producers pointed the three of us out and people were shocked because apparently usually the director/choreographer and costume designers aren't there, so before the show started, at intermission, and afterwards, we had some wonderful conversations with regular patrons who said it was the best show they'd seen at the theatre and they really hoped we'd come back. On Saturday night, I saw some of those same people again! House was full.

Food review-wise:

-Salad: Phenomenal. This seems like something really silly to say but ever since I got h.pylori, I have difficulty eating raw vegetables. To me, it was absolutely divine and the dressing was enough of a kick but not overbearing. There was something a little sweet in it but (not sure if because of medication, almost no sense of smell, or something else) I couldn't put my finger on what it was.

-Buffet: Unfortunately I wasn't able to try many of the dishes as I was recovering from horrible food poisoning! What I did try was quite good but I didn't get to taste the seafood (bummer!) or some of the southern dishes. The green bean dish was my highlight and the mashed potatoes saved my stomach.

-Booze:

Now, is drinking advised when one's recovering from food poisoning? Absolutely not.

Did I drink anyway? Yes.

No (some) regrets.

My favorite drink was The Jellicle (a really sweet margarita--normally I don't like margaritas to be too sweet but this one worked). I also tried the Rum Tum Tugger which was nice and very strong--normally I'd avoid rum because of the Great Rum Bucket Incident of 2016, but I really, REALLY wanted that glass (I hope it survived the trip home!). I was mixed on the Gumbie Cat but to be fair, I'm not a brandy person, it was at the cast party, and I went, "Uh, I'll have what they're having!" Friends got the Memory (Mudslide) and there seems to be a nice mocktail called The Kitten that honestly I'd have been happy to have... but also when drinks are on the house... yes, I'm that shameless. I'm not really about bourbon so I don't know how Old Deuteronomy's Catnip was. But yes, definitely my favorite by FAR was The Jellicle but The Rum Tum Tugger was fun for the glass/novelty (I didn't get cat ears but got them for friends*).

Desserts: We accidentally missed the dessert call on show two (er three). Oops. So I only had the Tres Leche Cake. I want to stress for me personally it was too sweet BUT!!! But please keep in mind there's a Mexican restaurant near us that makes an incredibly good one and that was absolutely a mistake on my end to order when I'd subconsciously compare, and Anthony also had the tres leches and liked it much more than me. One of my medications also drastically altered my taste so I have difficulty when things are very, very, very sweet or rich so absolutely that's not a fair assessment. David liked the Triple Chocolate Indulgence and Chaz seemed to enjoy the apple pie. I probably should have gone with cheesecake or a simple ice cream sundae. The Limoncello Mascarpone Cake would have been a no brainer... except mascarpone is the one flavor I really can't stand! Woe!

If one likes rich and sweet food, this definitely is the right place for that! I like more sour in general.

House Cats: Went over really well. Everyone was told not to touch the cats. Drunk woman decided to ignore that on opening night then screamed when she got hissed and growled at. They take the protection of the actors very seriously, which is important to me.

I'm not sure if the servers were speaking as cats or themselves when serving. All of the cats broke character with us (except when rehearsing House Cats, and yes, I have video I need to upload, "EXCUSE ME, I DIDN'T GET MY DESSERT YET!" "HISSSSSSSSS".)

*

For the friend part, the show was very special yesterday/Saturday as it was the first time ever that friends went to see it (my parents haven't since it's always been out of state and I get so shy/embarrassed about my work because of perfectionism). As well, we always have to run the show so actually watching it was fun.

My dear friend Vaidah is an absolute joy who I love to bits and moved to Tampa. David used his two comps for her and her father, and I used one of my two comps for her sister. I got all three cat headbands. It was such a joy to finally meet her family but also seeing her after so long, and I was so nervous too because I felt the pressure was up. All three loved the show and the costumes, and my very sneaky cast member friends were doing secret intel when they saw me talking, introducing themselves as humans so they'd know where to interact.

My last comp was for Ban-chan/Kate, who narrated the SOMEBODY TOLD ME book trailer, was one of my bridesmaids and did an incredible speech, and partly responsible for the Great Rum Bucket Incident of 2016. It's been years. I missed her so much I told her I'd smoosh and eat her face. I succeeded at one. She's never seen CATS before and while she's not a fan yet, she said she's very willing to watch it again/learn about more of the lore and was very clear she didn't dislike it. Someone close to me thought that was a backhanded compliment but they don't know her--that's not backhanded but one of the biggest compliments she could give since she literally hates anything cat-related (though mine warmed her up a bit).

So to go from never seeing the show from the house myself to seeing it with my husband and two dear friends (and one's family!) see it all in a day, I'm overwhelmed and humbled and incredibly grateful, and teary-eyed as well. I'm used to being heavily criticized and there's been some bullying off-and-on in certain areas of the CATS fandom. I never felt like I belonged and I would hide so many parts of myself.

I'm also pretty sure I'll be getting messages from friends in the show throughout the run (some have old tumblr accounts so maybe they'll make appearances!). All I request is some kindness since social media sometimes can be brutal, and please keep in mind that the stage is very small to accommodate the dining tables and again there are many very, very young performers. For example, there are no double-cartwheels because there literally is not room for them--maybe 2--so instead, they did a really cool swing lift with Rumple going behind Mungo's back and upside down that Chaz would probably cringe over my description but it looks pretty cool. As well, please keep in mind that there are tons of split tracks. This is not summer stock. I don't know how the casting process works for dinner theatre, so I can't really give insight there.

Is there a way to hide spoilers? Because there's one really big surprise that caught me off-guard!