#what's richard's product of choice

[notafraidofredyellowandblue]

I need tumblr scientists to find those RZK hair products from his last pic! I know the white bottle is hair dye developer just can't remember the brand. Could we Wella. But what are those two black and gold bottles?!

this is about Richard latest pic taken in his guitar/haircare studio

as someone who has never been near a hair coloring bottle ever...i don't know 😊

but i'm sure someone else does? 🌺

[thebibliosphere]

Pennyworth: The Daring Young Man

Chapter Seven:

Richard nodded, peering at the rest of the buttons. “What’s that one?” “That’s L, for ‘Lobby,’” Bruce explained as the elevator lurched into motion. “That’ll take you down to the main entrance.” “What’s that one?” “G for Garage. Where we parked the car earlier.” Richard frowned, peering closer at something. “What about that one?” “What one?” Bruce asked. “The button underneath it.” Both Alfred and Bruce froze, their eyes rising to meet each other as they realized what Richard was pointing at: the hidden, blank button that led down to Lucious’s laboratory in the secret sub-basement. The one that could only be accessed via authorized thumbprint. Oh dear, Alfred thought. [Keep Reading on Ao3]

I think this is the longest time I’ve ever kept to a fic schedule and the funny thing is I almost died twice, literally, and I’m having to write it from my phone because I have no other choice. Why am I at my most determined to be productive when I’m actively hindered 😭

Anyway. Thank you again for showing this so much love. 💖

[a34trgv2]

Why It Worked: Inside Out

Introduction: Inside Out is an animated coming-of-age film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. Directed and co-written by Pete Docter, with the screenplay being co written by Meg LaFauve and Josh Cooley, the film stars Amy Poehler, Phyliss Smith, Lewis Black, Mindy Kaling, Bill Hader, Kaitlyn Dias, Diane Lane, Kyle MacLachlan and Richard Kind as Joy, Sadness, Anger, Disgust, Fear, Riley, her parents Bill and Jill, and Bing Bong respectively. Released on June 19, 2015, the film was a major box office success grossing $858.8 million on a budget of $175 million. It also received critical acclaim from critics and audiences alike. According to Rotten Tomatoes, out of the 384 reviews aggregated, 98% gave a positive review with an average rating of 8.9/10. It also received numerous awards, including an Oscar for Best Animated Feature, several Outstanding Achievement Awards at the Annies, a Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature, and a Critic's Choice Movie Award for Best Animated Feature. It is often seen as a culturally significant film for mental health and the importance of expressing one's emotions. I saw this film for my birthday back in 2015 and I loved it right out of the gate. After multiple rewatches over the years, I stand by my personal opinion that this is a masterpiece of animation and visual storytelling. I'm overjoyed to talk about this film now that it finally has a sequel out.

The Plot: This film has 2 stories that are interconnected to one another, taking place in the mind of an 11 year old girl. On the outside, it's a bout a kid moving to a new city and being overwhelmed by the sudden changes happening all at once. On the inside, it's about Joy and Sadness trekking through Riley's mind, while along the way understanding each other's importance. Together, they create a very unique and engaging plot about growing up and learning to express yourself. The film brilliantly cuts between Riley, Joy and Sadness' journey, and what's happening at HQ to organically show what Riley's feeling and how her actions have psychological consequences. In addition to having powerful gut punching drama, it's also a very funny film with plenty of slapstick, goofy gags, and impressive word play that always gets me to belly laugh. Michael Giacchino also provides an enchanting, dreamlike score with great use of the piano and brass sections. The true highlight of the story is, of course, Pixar's masterfully crafted and innovative animation. The film makes Riley's mind so vibrant and expansive with Dream Productions and Imagination Land being major highlights. The outside world also looks very well done with the people looking very appealing, San Francisco looking grimy yet lived in, and Riley's old home in Minnesota looking very welcoming and colorful. Speaking of color, the use of colors in this film is nothing short of excellent from the radiant colors of Riley's memories, to Riley's clothes reflecting her current state of mind throughout the film. I also love how they use black and gray to represent faded memories and lack of emotion. If there's one word to describe Inside Out's story and animation, it's colorful.

Cast and Characters: This is an outstanding cast they brought on board for this film. Shout outs to the film's casting directors Natalie Lyon and Kevin Reher for picking out some excellent actors. Amy Poehler was phenomenal as Joy, perfectly capturing her bubbly and eccentric personality while also naturally showing her vulnerability and frustrations. Phyliss Smith sound perfectly dower and soft spoken as Sadness, yet at the same time making her sound so innocent and relatable. Lewis Black was the best match for Anger, making him sound crusty, cynical, and having a short fuse. Mindy Kaling brought in the right amount of sass and pettiness as Disgust and her comradery with the other emotions was brilliant. Bill Hader did a great job making Fear funny and relatable as a character. Kaitlyn Dias also deserve major props for her vocal performance as Riley, making her sound like a soft spoken but fun kid who goes through a great character arc in the film. Lastly, Richard Kind was the absolute surprise standout of the cast as Bing Bong as not only did he do a great job making him funny, but also made him relatable, selfless, a bit of an airhead, but also really resourceful. The cast did such a great job bringing these characters to life, with all of them being iconic and memorable in their own way.

Where It Falters: Outside of maybe adding another scene or 2 with Riley's life in Minnesota, I wouldn't change a thing with this film. It's one of those films where the only nitpick I have is I wanted more. Fortunately, that's remedied with the existence of the 2024 sequel. Coming out a couple years sooner wouldn't have been so bad either, but like I always say, quality>quantity.

Conclusion: There are a select few movies I consider to be a masterpiece. Inside Out is most certainly one of those movies. With outstanding writing, iconic characters, wonderful voice acting, masterfully crafted animation, and an enchanting score, it has more than earned its cultural significance. I cannot recommend this film enough, especially for those who struggle with expressing themselves such as yours truly. I promise this film will speak to you as it has for me after all these years. Thanks so much for reading and I'll see you soon ;)

[jbaileyfansite]

Bridgerton’s Jonathan Bailey is to play Richard II in a new production of Shakespeare’s history play directed by Nicholas Hytner at the Bridge theatre in London.

It will reunite the star with Hytner, whose version of Othello at the National Theatre in 2013 featured Bailey as Cassio. Bailey also played Edgar opposite Ian McKellen’s King Lear at Chichester Festival theatre in 2017. But the part of the Plantagenet monarch will be the highest profile Shakespeare role to date for the actor, who is best known for playing Lord Anthony Bridgerton in Netflix’s blockbuster period drama. Performances will begin at the Bridge on 10 February.

The question asked by Shakespeare’s Richard II, said Hytner, is: “What do you do when a ruler is absolutely inadequate? How do you get rid of the rightful leader?” The play has an ambiguity characteristic of Shakespeare, who does not “give us his own opinion”, said Hytner. “On the one hand, the play endorses Richard’s right to rule and on the other hand it appears to endorse [his adversary] Bolingbroke’s greater capacity to rule.” The production will reveal “a feudal world on the cusp of modernity” he said.

It will be designed by Bob Crowley and staged in what Hytner described as “a cross between in-the-round and traverse”, rather than the immersive, promenade style of Hytner’s Julius Caesar and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which brought audiences up close to the actors at the Bridge. “Richard II has a delicacy and interiority that isn’t going to respond to that kind of treatment,” he said, adding that the theatre – which opened by Tower Bridge in 2017 – is a very flexible space.

Richard II will follow Guys and Dolls which has run at the venue since March 2023 and will have its last performance on 4 January. “We didn’t think it would last as long as it did,” said Hytner, who explained that the long run of the widely acclaimed musical had given the theatre “a bit of financial stability”. He wanted to stage a musical in the same spirit in which he had done Julius Caesar and A Midsummer Night’s Dream: “Guys and Dolls was the right choice for that kind of treatment, because it has a big, robust heart and there’s a direct appeal to the audience, a connection that allows you to plunge straight into it.”

The Bridge is the flagship venue of London Theatre Company which was founded by Hytner and Nick Starr. Its other space is Lightroom in King’s Cross, where an immersive David Hockney exhibition has returned for another run, alongside a multimedia experience about the Apollo Moon landings. It will eventually host live performance too. “The very long term plan is that it’s a theatre, but it’s working so well and we have so many things in the pipeline in that [multimedia] form that I can’t say when,” said Hytner.

Richard II will be at the Bridge theatre, London, from 10 February to 10 May

Source

[horrificshit]

Limits.

Dom!Lou miller x Sub!Reader

Warning(s): Smut, dumbification, strap on?, daddy kink, age gap

A/N: I decided to write this in a first person point-of-view. Why? Don’t ask me.

Words: 1.8k

Ding!

The sound of my phone going off. Curiosity peaks, I pick up my phone, revealing who messaged me:

Incoming message from Lou💕:

Lou💕: “Hey baby, I’m out doing some errands, can you be dressed by the time I’m home?”

Oh? Why does she want me dressed? Maybe we’re going somewhere fancy? Surely not.. Surprisingly, going to places which require dressing up for are a rare occurrence.

I shoot a text back, giving a response to Lou’s message.

You: “Okay! Should I dress fancy?”

Lou💕: “Yes, you’ll see why once I’m home 😉”

I get up from my once cave-like spot in the king size bed, giving up the warmth of the bedsheets. The room is quite cold due to the crispness of the winter weather in late January.

Speed walking to the closet, I sift through a number of dresses; all of different colors, lengths, patterns, and materials.

a long sleeve dress was obviously the ethical choice given the weather, but a short, skintight dress seemed more ethical in my opinion. Who cares about being cold when id feel like the sexiest girl in the room?

My eyes land on a white satin dress. I don’t think I’ve ever worn this one. Where did I get it again? Maybe from high school prom.

Bleh. Prom. I always hated prom. And evidently, I only went that one time. Brian Richards, the boy I went with, he ended up being a huge duche.

Whatever.

I slip on the dress, and— oh my god. I could literally fuck myself. The dress, it hugs all my curves in all the right places. My collar bones stick out and I find that extremely sexy, and hopefully Lou will think the same.

Shoes.

Grab a pair of white heels. Not to tall, not too short.

My jewelry is dainty. a gold necklace with a small heart. So small in-fact, you can hardly see it. Large gold pearl earrings accompany the necklace.

I trot over to my vanity, gathering a few products: primer, concealer, blush, highlighter, mascara, and lipgloss. Simple, yet bold.

My hair lies in a simple half-up-half-down with, of course, a white bow in the back.

And, just as I get finished, I hear that familiar ding of my phone, notifying me that Lou must be here for me. I check my phone, and to my expectation, I see an incoming message from the older woman.

Incoming message from Lou💕:

Lou💕: “I’m here. Take your time, the reservation isn’t until 6:30.”

Smiling, I put my phone down and take a look in the mirror. Hopefully she likes it as much as I do.

I grab my small brown purse and take yet another look in the mirror, giving one last check before going out the door to greet my girlfriend.

Overall outfit:

I walk toward Lou’s sports car, the cold nipping me in the butt. Literally and figuratively. I sort of regret wearing a sleeveless dress, but whatever, I look amazing.

Lou unlocks the car door, and I enter the vehicle. She looks like she’d seen a ghost from how she was looking at me. Did I look that good?

Her eyes rake up my entire body, stopping at my lips. I smile, flattered and proud of myself that I indeed, do look that good.

“Where are we going?” I inquire, still having not been told why I had to get all dolled up. “Somewhere fancy.” Chuckles Lou, already having naughty thoughts.

She takes the initiative to reach her hand over and grasp onto my thigh. I squeak, not being prepared for her to touch me, but relax a few seconds later.

Some time goes by and I decide to take in what Lou herself is wearing:

She wears a black turtleneck top, a black leather jacket atop. Black skinny jeans, the type that hug her curves, or in reality, her ass, in the most perfect way.

In correlation with the rest of her outfit, she wears black heeled boots. And of course, in typical Lou fashion, her plethora of necklaces lay on top of her chest.

The car stops, and the older woman squeezes my thigh, silently letting me know she’s going to let go, and that we’ve arrived at the final destination.

“We’re here,” Lou says with a smirk. I look up and see a restaurant with a name I cannot even pronounce. At least without stuttering that is. The restaurant looked exclusive; like we weren’t allowed in. But, according to my girlfriend, we are.

We both get out of the car, and I immediately am reminded of how cold it is outside. Lou takes notice of my shivering, and ushers me inside of the restaurant.

The girl in the front greets Lou and I. “Hello, welcome to Novitá, do you have a reservation?”

Lou grabs her phone, pulling up a digital receipt. I didn’t even know that was a thing, but the world changes everyday, I suppose.

“Here,” Lou shows the girl the receipt, looking back at me with a smile.

“If it doesn’t work, my reservation should be under the name Lou Miller.”

She types in her name and smiles back, grabbing two menus. “This way,” we’re leaded to our table, which Lou previously reserved days before.

We both order our drinks, champagne for myself, whilst Lou opts for an ‘old fashioned’, or in other words, whiskey, sugar, and water.

She obviously has a stronger tolerance to alcohol than I do, because I could never handle the extreme burn of whiskey going down my throat. Other things maybe, but definitely not that.

The drinks arrive, and the girl from before, who, upon reading her name tag, appears to be Arabella.

She takes our orders, and apologizes for any delays, the restaurant appears to be quite busy. I look around and take note of the ‘noble looking’ people surrounding the table we’re sat at. We don’t look nearly as rich as them.

“Y/N? What do you want to order?” I’m snapped out of my trance by Lou and brought back into reality. I look at her, and back down at the menu that rests in my hands. ‘Gnocchi di Patate’. That sounds delicious. But wait, $34.99?? How is she getting all of this money?

I open my mouth after some time and tell the waitress what I want. She writes it down, and tells us it may be a while, and to enjoy our drinks.

“So,” Lou starts. She rubs her foot up my leg, making me squirm slightly at the feeling. “I thought you deserved a treat for being such a good girl.”

I look into her eyes. Completely blown out. I can’t help but the small smirk on my face, knowing all to well how this will end: with me bent over,screaming her name, her hand muffling the noise.

“Are you not gonna say anything? Daddy paid a lot of money for this, I think I deserve to at least hear your voice.” I look down, not being able to carry out the eye contact. She continues to rub my leg underneath the table. Good thing there’s a satin mat, covering the whole length of the table, down to the floor.

“I-“ words weren’t an option at this point. My mind is far too small at the moment to even comprehend anything else but the husky voice of the older woman across from me.

“What? Cats got your tongue?,” She starts, staring at me like she’s the predator and I’m her delicious little prey.

“,or are you just too dumb to use your words?” Continues Lou, sending me into a serene headspace. My mind is completely blank, besides the vision of the woman across from me.

TIME SKIP

We finish up with our food, no words being exchanged between Lou and I. Just her speaking to me. Telling me that she thinks I’m beautiful, though some ways more appropriate than others.

The check arrives and she pulls out her platinum card, swiping it. I can’t help but feel bad that she spent that much on me, between the cost of my drink, and the food.

“You ready?” She inquired.

“Mhm.”

I appear to be shy, but in reality, I’m extremely horny. She’s been teasing me all night, and I just know that there’s more in store. If not at home, she’s likely to get impatient and do her business in the car.

Buckling into the car seat, she revs up the engine. I look up at her, smiling innocently with my signature doe eyes. Unlike my own, her eyes are completely blown out. She’s more that ready to pounce when given the chance. Pounce being her having her way with me; not that I’d have a problem with that.

Lou’s hand once again finds its spot on my thigh, where it remains for the duration of the car ride, occasionally feeling a squeeze every now and then.

“I really don’t like how quiet you’re being,” Lou confronts, the once silent car ride no longer.

“What’s wrong?”

Silence.

I just can’t get any words out. Even if I were to try, the only thing that’ll come out is a string of whimpers and sounds. Words just aren’t an option at this moment.

Then, the whirring of the car’s engine stops, Her key taken out of the fob. Lou turns to me, hands still on my body.

“Baby. Did I do something? Daddy would feel terrible if she hurt her baby.” Her hands wander up my legs, stopping at the end of my dress.

Soft hands caress my calf, smiling as she knows what she’s doing.

“Lou.. not in the car…” I say in an extremely small voice, the headspace Lou has created for me completely taking over my mind.

“Fine,” she opens the car door, walking to my side, opening the door for me. “Inside. I want you on the bed, stripped.” The older woman said in her husky voice.

Once we made it up to her apartment, she unlocked the door, and I made a b-line to the bedroom.

Taking one last look in the mirror, I slip off my dress and take off my shoes, revealing a matching white lingerie set:

Climbing on top of Lou’s bed, I wait patiently for her return.

“I guess you are a good girl then,” Lou says, the door slowly creeping open. “, and I see you’re wearing my present.”

Lou bought me this set a while back to celebrate her and Debbie’s successful heist. I’ve never been a huge fan of her job, but she enjoys it, so I can’t see a problem with that.

Slow steps, excruciatingly slow, inch their way toward me. “Nothing to say, huh?” Now crawling on top of me, I can’t help but let out a small whine.

Lou chuckles at my pathetic sound, enjoying the power she has against me and my body.

“You know,” The older woman starts, huskily. “I wish I could get you to tell me what’s up.”I want to speak; say something, anything, but I know the only thing that would come out is my silent pleas, and a string of cries.

She scoffs at my silence. My eyes are burning from the tears that threaten to fall, my mind and body so sexually frustrated. “I suppose we’re going to have to do this the hard way.”

[magnoliasandarson]

all roads

Damian Wayne was a product of many things, chiefly amongst them (at least in his mind), was duty. 

Born to be great, one way or another. 

Born to serve a calling, no matter what that may be. 

Born to not have a choice in the matter, either way.

Damian could not be more suited, he was trained to follow orders. Raised without a gentle touch within reach, his hands instead found blades and books. Lessons on disembowelment were followed with studies of languages and histories long forgotten. All instruction aimed to better his ability to fulfill his role, as vague as it may be. 

In Gotham, the path forked, but his duty to his role remained the same. Damian was familiar with codes and sacrifices because what else was there? He had to prove himself- had to earn approval.  No matter what Father or Richard said, Damian would always have to prove himself to them. All their fanciful notions of love and acceptance faded every time he was too violent. It did not matter to him whether they loved him or not, so long as his duties were met.

Because love was for children, and he never had the luxury of being a child.

(It mattered little, in the end, which duty he honored. Both required the noblest sacrifice, and Damian sought approval over all else, so he laid his head on the block like a good lamb.)

[emailsfromanactor]

Do you like Hamlet? John Gielgud? Richard Burton? Theatre and film history? The process of putting on a show? Snarky, insightful, really entertaining commentary on all of the above? Then you're in the right place! Emails from an Actor is a (mostly) real-time readalong of John Gielgud Directs Richard Burton in Hamlet: A Journal of Rehearsals and Letters from an Actor, two books written about the 1964 Broadway production of Hamlet. Both have been out of print for decades, but I acquired PDFs, extracted the text, edited it, and now they exist in accessible form, woohoo! (Edit: Letters from an Actor is coming into print again on March 5! I'm still going ahead with the emails, but buy it when it's out!)

John Gielgud Directs Richard Burton in Hamlet: A Journal of Rehearsals by Richard L. Sterne, is, well, what it says on the tin! Sterne, who played the Gentleman and understudied Laertes, secretly tape recorded rehearsals, going so far as to hide under a platform for a private rehearsal with just Gielgud and Burton. The book summarizes and quotes heavily from those recordings. It also includes a prompt-script for the production with descriptions of the blocking and acting choices - I haven't edited that part yet, but I plan to.

Letters from an Actor by William Redfield, who played Guildenstern, is less objective but way more fun. I love it so much that when I first got it in 2006, I just about killed my hands typing up quotes to share on Livejournal. Redfield had an extensive career in theatre, film, and TV. He's best known for playing Dale Harding in the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, but if you happen to be a musical nerd, you might know him as Mercury in Cole Porter's Out of This World. (Also relevant to musical nerds: Alfred Drake as Claudius, John Cullum as Laertes, and George Rose as the Gravedigger!) The book is structured as letters to a friend, Robert Mills, who wanted to know about life in the theatre. Redfield took Mills from his audition through opening night on Broadway, relating thoughts and anecdotes about his profession along the way. As in Hamlet, Richard Burton plays a major role, with stories of his own and a glimpse into his life with Elizabeth Taylor in the days surrounding their (first) wedding. The rehearsal process was frustrating for Redfield, and with all the time he and his Rosencrantz spend feeling lost, the book kind of comes across as a Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead AU.

I'll be sending out the journal entries and letters on the days they were written and/or are about, with just a little bit of jumping around in time. Subscribe here! I made it private for copyright reasons, but don't worry, I'll approve everyone. The emails will start with some introductory material on January 24 and continue through an epilogue in mid-April. Follow this blog for some extras! And reblogs, if people end up talking about this! Tag me or use the tag "emails from an actor" if you want me to see something.

I'm so excited to share these books with people! But mostly Letters from an Actor. Seriously, it's so good.

[celticcrossanon]

Laughing at royal reporter Richard Eden's latest tweet (a.k.a. x) in response to the announcement that Harry and Meghan are going to Columbia in November. RE: "To be fair, Prince Harry took a close interest in Columbian products since his teenage years." Mic drop, Celta! LOL!

Hi Nonny,

That is funny. :) I've seen someone else suggest that he is trying to get the products wholesale. All joking aside, it is such an odd choice for a trip. I'd love to know what is behind it.

[aemiron-main]

The Most Evil Man In Hawkins: Don Melvald and Brenner Sr (Ft Richard Brenner and Brenner Sr's Punk Era/Axel Delivering Brenner Subtext and Ketamine)

So, Mark Hammersley posted this picture of himself as Brenner Sr:

And then, right after that Brenner Sr picture, he posted this picture of himself as Don Melvald:

And look at the caption- "secretly the most evil man in Hawkins"- that's an interesting caption for a guy that's supposedly a random store owner- it's almost the sort of caption that woudl fit better with Brenner Sr. It's almost like Brenner Sr and Don Melvald are being connected here, especially with how often Brenner gets referred to as "man"/"the man" in-show versus Don getting called "the most evil man" in this caption.

Hell, Kali even refers to Brenner as "a man you knew was evil":

And of course, I take everything that's said/posted by actors with a HUGE grain of salt, and on its own, Mark’s caption isn't particularly strong evidence of some sort of subtext/connection related to Brenner Sr and Don Melvald- but there's three key things that piqued my interest here and led me to believe that there IS some sort of Melvald-Brenner connection:

1.) Mark Hammersley himself has posted before about how he has to be super careful about what he posts on social media re: TFS & how people from Netflix/people in charge check/approve TFS social media posts (and other cast members have talked about how they have ‘ironclad NDAs’)- which makes it suspicious that the Brenner Sr post was deleted and is no longer on Mark's page:

2.) Even when Brenner Sr and Don Melvald aren't played by Mark Hammersley, they ARE always played by the same actor (at least every time I saw the play & every BTS pic etc I've seen supports this & even if it's hard to tell from my screenshots, that is 1000000% the same actor playing both of them in TFS). So, even setting Mark himself entirely aside, there IS an intentional production choice/casting choice that connects Brenner Sr and Don Melvald:

3.) The in-show, NON TFS Don Melvald has an EERY resemblance to Brenner. Look at the hair- not only does he have the same "pushed back grey with white streaks" style as Brenner, but his hair is also parted on the RICHARD side/towards screen left, which ties into something I'm going to talk about in a second. And there''s also Don's white grid shirt versus the white HNL grid tiles and Owens' white grid shirt- and Don also wears a grid shirt and cardigan combo like Owens does, with the blue coat over top and everything (and Don's cardigan seems to be dark green, much like in-show Young Henward's dark green cardigan):

And what's extra suspicious about all of this is Melvald's being advertised as a drug store versus Richard Brenner being the head of the Narcotics Enforcement division, and all of the drug dealer Reefer Rick vs Richard Brenner stuff (it’s also very funny to me that the guy that’s talking about “when did Rick get out of jail?” has the same sort of white and grey beard as TFS Don Melvald and Brenner Sr):

And on that note, going back to what I said in the beginning about Kali's line re: "a man you knew was evil," IMO, this is another piece that connects all of this specifically to Richard because Richard is likley the man that Kali is referring to/the man that Ray worked with, as Richard seems to be the guy that we see in the flashbacks with Ray during Terry's electrocution:

Anyway, it's also an interesting choice for Don Melvald to have brown eyes as opposied to both Brenner Sr and Brenner Jr's brown eyes versus Flayed Will's brown eyes... what's going on??? And also regarding Brenner Sr and Don Melvald being played by the same actor in TFS/being identical, this "sex, drugs, and Elvis" line about Melvald's from TFS stuck out to me:

It stuck out to me because: A.) It connects Melvalds to drugs again, which therefore connects Melvald's to Richard Brenner again. And B.) It references Elvis, which, as we know, and as I'm sure Stav's talked about, that connects to the "Elvis Cloned By Aliens" newspaper article.

So, connecting Melvald's to Elvis therefore connects Melvald's to cloning- which is supsicious considering that TFS Don Melvald is identical to Brenner Sr/played by the same actor. Quick, Don, you wouldn't happen to be some sort of copy/clone of Brenner Sr, would you? Even in the sense of TFS involving some of Brenner Jr's memories in a weird simulation way/the way that the bloody hands memory invades NINA for El, and so, Brenner Jr's memories of Brenner Sr might be invading TFS in a similar way???

And also, the Elvis Cloned By Aliens paper has that article titled “Sailor Cheats Death In Ordeal At Sea," which further connects the cloning stuff to Brenner Sr because Brenner Sr cheated death at sea and returned (albeit briefly) from Project Rainbow/the USS Eldridge, whereas the rest of his crew did not. Brenner Sr, do you have clones running around?? Also, it's interesting that TFS Don Melvald a.) looks so different from in-show Don Melvald, with TFS Don having a beard vs in-show Don being clean-shaven, which reminds me of Brenner Sr's beard in TFS vs in-show Brenner being clean-shaven and b.) Don Melvald is already greying/older looking when Joyce is in highschool in TFS- and yet, many years later, the in-show Don Melvald looks younger than the TFS Don/it doesnt seem to make sense for in-show Don to be TFS Don age-wise- which makes me think about how TFS Brenner Jr doesn't age, and also the whole Brenner Sr vs Brenner Jr thing- is the TFS version of Don actually Don Melvald Sr vs the in-show don being Don Melvald Jr? Anyway!

And also, when we look at more of Don's in-show scenes, he has a line about bringing Jeffrey in to cover for Joyce. Which is interesting considering all of the weirdness with cover actors in TFS and the fact that it almost seems like Brenner Sr's actor is "covering" for Don Melvald's actor or vice versa, even though that doesn't seem to actually be the case/Don's been intentionally casted since the start to be played by whicever actor is playing Brenner Sr. It's also extra interesting that Don is having a guy named Jeffrey/Jeff cover for Joyce here, versus Jeff from the Hellfire Club being present at the table in S4 when Dustin and Mike are told to go and find somebody to cover for Lucas. And Jeff's also the guy that pointed out that Eddie's been saying that he's going to run out of Hawkins High for two years, which then connects to what I've talked about before re: Eddie being stuck in highschool for an extra two years versus Edward Creel moving to Hawkins two years before Henry did- and Jeff also wears a Black Sabbath shirt later on vs what I talked about in this post and this post re: Eddie Munson vs Edward Creel and Black Sabbath/Ozzy Osbourne And Jeff is ALSO the one that yells at Jason to "let him go" when Jason grabs Gareth, which then connects to El talking about how Brenner couldn't let Henry go:

Anyway, we also have this shot of the Halloween masks at Melvald's General Store- and that mummy mask looks a LOT like Brenner Sr's Invisible Man-esque bandaged face after he returned from Project Rainbow- and that mask from Melvald’s is also the same mask that Axel wears:

And speaking of Axel, Axel has something in common with TFS Virginia- they’re both terrified of spiders, TFS Henry shows Virginia a vision of spiders crawling towards her/onto her, just like Kali does with Axel, and Virginia freak out just like Axel does:

(And TFS Virginia was locked in a closet full of spiders as a child, which, considering the connection to Brenner Sr via Axel here, makes me wonder a.) if Brenner Sr ever locked any of his kids/Brenner Jr in a closet/trunk, esp considering the Will-Brenner parallels & Jonathan checking Lonnie’s trunk for Will, as well as all of the locker imagery in TFS & the Davy Jones’ Locker association re: Brenner Sr being a sailor and b.) if TFS Virginia might be one of Brenner Sr’s kids, but anyway)

And hilariously, that whole Virginia-Henry scene about the spiders not only happens RIGHT after the scene of Henry at Melvald's/he's JUST come home from Melvald's to find Virginia waiting up for him, but also, the whole reason the conflict started/the whole reason that line about Virginia and the spiders was even said is because Virginia was upset about Henry going to Melvald's with Patty. Alll roads really do lead to Melvald's at this point.

And regarding that Brenner Sr-Virginia connection, isn't it then funny that the mask in question that Axel wears & that resembles Brenner Sr’a bandages is a mummy mask vs Brenner Sr being connected to Henry's mom via Axel delivering Brenner Sr subtext & having the same sort of spider fear as TFS Virginia?

PLUS, we have Kali putting Axel's Brenner Sr-esque mask onto El- El, who's a girl, which further connects to the weird “Brenner Sr vs Virginia/mother/woman” stuff going on here (and is also interesting considering El being mistaken for a boy in S1):

And also, Kali says that Axel is a “terrible dancer,” after she makes the spiders appear and Axel “dances” around about it, versus TFS Henry talking about how he “doesn’t dance/isnt a good dancer” and then the scene of TFS Henry dancing at Melvald’s right before the spider scene with Virginia:

And ALSO, we get a shot of Axel holding Chinese food, versus S1 Karen saying “am I speaking Chinese in this house?” versus Don Melvald being RIGHT behind Karen at Will’s funeral & the context of the “am I speaking Chinese” scene being about Will’s disappearance/“death”, therefore connecting the “speaking Chinese” scene to that funeral scene & therefore connecting the “speaking Chinese” scene to Don Melvald, which then connects back to Axel (who wears the mask that’s sold at Melvald’s) holding Chinese food, and THEN there’s ALSO Nancy talking about “house arrest” right after Karen says that “speaking Chinese” line versus Reefer Rick delivering subtext about Richard Brenner & the guys on the boat talking about Reefer Rick getting arrested and the “China doll” lyric playing RIGHT after that line, PLUS the newspaper article about Richard Brenner talking about how the documents involving him were “heavily coded,” versus TFS Henry’s DIY code, and Robin cracking the S3 code versus a key part of the S3 code being Chinese food (which Axel was holding), and the S3 code line being “a trip to China sounds nice,” versus the idea of tripping on drugs and what I’m going to talk about later re: Axel, Richard, Reefer Rick and Ketamine and Richard Brenner being the head of narcotics:

And Axel also has this shot where he cocks a pistol, which makes me think of the scene in TFS where Brenner Sr/Don Melvald’s actor does the same sort of thing/raises a pistol towards the audience kind of randomly/there’s no clear reason as to why he did it:

And we also have the shots of Axel walking with his black coat flowing out dramatically behind him, JUST like S1 Brenner walking with his black coat flowing out dramatically behind him (and also, there’s something about the anarchy symbol on Axel’s shirt vs TFS Henry’s weird x and circle scar on his hand):

And just briefly, this part is a tiny bit more of a stretch admittedly, but it IS a little funny to me that Axel tries to steal cigarettes from the convenience store/is very prominently framed by cigarette ads- cigarettes, also known as fags- versus TFS Henry’s vanishing in the cave in Nevada/Henry’s in-show HNL kidnapping re: the Creel Murders and Will’s vanishing and both Henry and Will being gay/being “fags”.

Like, isn’t it just a little suspicious that Axel, the character with constant Brenner Sr & Richard Brenner references, is stealing fags? Versus Brenner’s long-running habit of stealing another type of fag?

Especially considering the connection that Kali’s gang has to London versus fag being British slang for cigarette??

And especially considering that the only time the word “fag” is used in ST is regarding Will (and hilariously, Joyce even raises her cigarette right into frame when she says it)- versus the connection between Richard Brenner and Will, with how the article about Richard is right under the article about Will’s vanishing:

And on a more obvious note re: Brenner St, Richard Brenner and Axel, there’s also the shot of Dottie holding up two bottles of prescription drugs/narcotics in front of Axel’s face- versus Richard Brenner being the head of the Narcotic Enforcement Division, and Axel’s visual connection to Brenner Sr via his mask and said mask being from Melvald’s, which was advertised as a drug store- point is, the connection between Brenner Sr, Don Melvald, Richard Brenner, and Axel continues:

And we also get this shot of Axel going into the kids’ room at Ray Carroll’s house- a kids’ room with rainbows on the wall (versus Brenner and the HNL rainbow room), and a closet very prominently featured in the shot (versus what I talked about earlier re: Virginia and Axel’s fear of spiders and Virginia having been locked in a closet full of spiders as a child), as well as the operator telling the girls to “stay calm” in this scene vs Henward telling El to “stay calm” during NINA in the rainbow room (which it’s also interesting to me that the operator that Henward gets paralleled to is a girl versus a.) the whole “henry creel isn’t a chick” thing in TFS and b.) what ive talked about with how during this very chess scene, Henward is visually paralleled to 007, who is a girl):

^And as a tangential note, it’s interesting to me that NINA Henward is paralleled to a phone operator here vs the NINA phonebooth scene vs the operator in The Matrix, and how operators are typically humans born outside of The Matrix versus Henward being the only lab kid that was born outside of the lab:

And in the bedroom, Axel finds two girls who seem like they might be twins- and not only do they seem like they might be twins, but they also a.) have dark brown hair that’s very similar to 15 year old Brenner’s hair colour & texture as well as 7 year old Henry’s hair colour and texture (and speaking of 15 year old Brenner’s hair, El’s slicked back dark punk hair also reminds me a lot of 15 yr old Brenner’s hair) and b.) they’re paralleled to Alice Creel with the night gowns & their father literally sharing a last name with the author of Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll:

Not to mention that one of the girls is wearing a nightgown with a print that’s eerily similar to the HNL lab gown print- and also reminds me of Suzie’s nightgown, which is interesting considering how similar the rainbows on the Carroll girls’ wall is to the rainbow on Suzie’s Muppet Movie/Rainbow Connection poster and how Suzie’s dark hair is so similar to the Carroll girls & the NINA rainbow room vs the Carroll girls’ rainbow wallpaper & Suzie’s connections to NINA & Suzie even having a phone in her room RIGHT under that rainbow connection poster that’s the same colour as the Carroll girls’ phone- and the nightgown ALSO reminds me of TFS Virginia’s nightgown (vs what I just said about the Carroll girls’ closet connection to Virginia), as well as the random bloody nightgown that appears on the laundry line during Max’s Vecna vision:

And the pose of the Carroll girls reminds me of the pose that in-show Young Henward has in this picture- especially since Young Henward has his murder night outfit on in that picture and we still don’t know who called the police on the night of the Creel murders versus the Carroll girls talking on the phone to the 911 operator about the police arriving (also, the use of the word “honey” from the operator here makes me wonder if we’ll get a parallel dialogue line of Henry calling the police the night of the Creel murders where that says “the police are on their way, Henry. Okay?”):

And also, this is something I’ve had a draft about for like a year now & haven’t finished so I’ll put a bit of it in this post, but it’s interesting to me that Axel calls Kali “K,” versus “K,” being used as a short form way of referring to “Ketamine,” versus Eddie Munson talking to Chrissy about Ketamine & Chrissy calling it “Special K” and all of the Richard Brenner vs Reefer Rick drug stuff/Eddie Munson getting his drugs (the Ketamine) from Reefer Rick, versus Axel, who’s constantly connected to Richard Brenner and Brenner Sr, referring to Kali as “K”:

Which also makes me think of the connection between Will and Richard Brenner and the S1 line about how Will’s vanishing left a “hole” in the community” versus the Ketamine experience called a “K Hole,” that causes intense dissociation and “out of body experiences” (which has me staring at my draft about the CIA in 1983s and the Gateway Technique/astral projection) and can also cause distortion of time and space, hallucinations, memory loss, psychosis, and more. Which makes me think about a.) Henward’s apparent memory loss after the Creel murders/El’s memory loss after the massacre & that scene being a parallel to Henward fainting after the Creel murders, as well as Will weirdly not mentioning (or possibly not remembering) his time in the upside down, and b.) all of the hallucination and psychosis stuff associated with Henward, especially with TFS Henry.

There’s a lot more I have to say about Ketamine/K Hole symptoms, dissociation, MKULTRA (because one of the key goals of MKULTRA experiments was inducing dissociation), Henry vs Edward, etc etc, especially since k hole experiences are often associated with visions of aliens/alien experiences vs TFS Henry’s alien stuff re: Rachel, Nevada and all of the Brenner alien stuff, but I’ll put that all in the actual ketamine post/I’ll go and finish that post.

And they also show us a scene of Troy specifically repeating the line about a “hole” versus bladder problems being a symptom of repeated k hole experiences and El making Troy wet himself:

Anyway! Lots to think about, I’d love to know what the hell is going on with Don Melvald vs Brenner Sr and all of the connections to China and codes etc etc!!!

[puckpocketed]

inspired by yesterday’s ovechkin-posting and the stick story, because. i had as much fun as anyone with the idea that riding a camel over all-star break is what jostled the goal-scoring back out of him, but at the same time... i am frothing at the fucking mouth about ovi × The League × national hockey media. where is his respect? where is his hype? where are his roses???? please !!!! understand !!!! that i find sidney endearing as a guy and he is undeniably incredible as a player and he deserves the love that he gets. but from day one, ovi has only existed to them in relation to sid and that makes me lose my fucking mind. 

and general hockey fans through the years loved ovi, and then they hated him, and then they said he was an overhyped washed-up old man who doesn't care anymore (starting in like 2013 lmfao). like, I'M sorry, back in the late '00s and early '10s he was being hounded for days about his cellies, and being booed every time he came out on the ice—and you're mad? that he looks like he's lost his love and enthusiasm for the game???? (i cannot for the LIFE of me find the podcast ep where i heard this, so. grain of salt. but a former teammate talked about how startling and upsetting ovi found the booing, bc it was such a sudden change, and meanwhile, ovi was just the same guy he’d always been 😭).

and then, idk, we went through hate again, and then indifference, and now in the 2020s we're back to "oh, his production has dropped so therefore he's overhyped, can’t wait ‘til he’s gone"?? the season ovi was 36 he had more points per game than sid did last year at 36 (90 in 77 vs 94 in 82). or how about. please remind me how many goals gretz scored the season he was 36 (25 goals compared to ovi's 50). or what about when gretz was 38 (9 goals compared to ovi's 31)? i am NOT trying to say that ovi is "better" than either of them—this is just me saying that people are completely irrational about him. like back when he was drafted and people were saying "oh, he's not actually as good as he looks, because he's lying about his age" bc he looked 25 instead of 18. like. okay lmao. and then what? his NINE rocket richards count less bc he started later? he's actually older now and scoring more per game than gordie howe was the first time he retired? like what are we doing here??? i'm not an empty-netters-pod guy, but they talked about it in the first few minutes of this ep; like... yeah, why was everyone so fucking excited to dance on his grave at the start of last season? and then again in the playoffs? he’s NOT DONE YET, and even if he were, i would hope to see a modicum of respect for the player he’s been and the career he’s had! 

the point is. ovi has scored 30+ goals per season every single year since his debut except the pandemic-shortened season. his teammates, current and former, love him and say what an awesome, generous, team-focused guy he is. he has literally dozens of nhl records already, some of them previously belonging to gretzky. and yet! general hockey fans and the league and national hockey media all refuse to take him seriously. and caps fans (mostly) and dc hockey media (mostly) (barry svrlugas i do not forgive you... dan holmi i would just like to have a fucking word with you....) are all just standing here like hello? alexander ovechkin is RIGHT HERE and he is very good at hockey. hello he is GOOD at HOCKEY, can you hear me????? is anyone seeing this, HELLO???? 

i don’t get it. i simply and entirely don’t get it. there are so many excellent players on teams that i hate! there are players i dislike and i can still point to many impressive things about their game!!! WHAT is the mental block that happens for everyone when it comes to ovi, and how tf has it been going strong for nineteen fucking years? 

thank you for listening!! i swear to you that the vast majority of the time i am simply having a fun time with whatever my terrible children decide to do, admiring ovi’s fashion choices, cheering on my number one babygirl dylan strome, and enjoying whatever horny, incomprehensible nonsense they get up to. it’s just that sometimes i gotta go guard dog mode about alex ovechkin 😅

Hello!!! First of all, thanks for going to all the trouble of typing all that out and including links. I have loved sifting through your citations, and felt very much like a floor dwelling sea creature eating nutrients from the silt <3

I believe you all when you say Ovechkin's not done yet. Shaking my entire clenched fin at everyone calling him a washed up old man!! Fascinated by the Caps' attempt to pivot into being competitive long enough for him to break the record, because what of the After? The Rebuild of Damocles beckons!! Except, having paid some attention to prospects I see they've got a pretty interesting crop of talent coming through. And there are those big contracts they just acquired (hello Dubie and Roy). I just feel like have to be on this train so I can say I was there to see how it all shakes out. History Witnessing type beat <3

and I'm SO endeared to Caps rituals. What little I've seen of them is so fun, so silly. Exactly my vibe. MUST a team "Play Hockey Well"?? can't they just be obsessed with each other . can't they torture and embarrass each other . being stressed about strange concepts such as ""Winning"" is so., passé .

Thank you again for dropping by and for the essay! and I'm sorry it took so long to get back to you, it was such a meal I was digesting it for days :>

extended thoughts/discussion under the cut.

From the outside looking in, I think can speak to how compelling it is to pit Crosby and Ovechkin against each other. As your ESPN article puts it: "Crosby was careful, corporate. Ovechkin was unpredictable, borderline dangerous. The key word was passion, and even though Crosby had it inside, Ovechkin oozed it. He was the anti-Sid, possibly the better player, and soon a cult hero." (x, y) I know you're frustrated by this, but they do sort of exist in relation to each other. Maybe I've fallen for the propaganda, but it's very literary <3 You could write their story down and present it to a novel studies class, and the easiest thread to pull on would be all the ways in which they're each other's narrative foils.

IF you held a gun to my head and made me guess at the 'why' of it, I'd probably agree with Eric Adelson! It really does feel like Crosby's image is who hockey wants to be seen as. A Good Canadian Boy; humble, no conspicuous expressions of his wealth, no partying, and of course no on-ice flash! I think I can understand the backlash somewhat; in such a team-oriented game, one with all these arcane honour codes and the emphasis on humility and respect and not rocking the boat, I could see why the spectacle of Ovechkin's personality would've grated. Crosby's an easier pill to swallow for the conservatism of hockey culture. (And I specified 'image' because there's the reality of what it is to be famous, deified, and torn apart each time you don't quite measure up. I hate to be the guy who says there's another side to this but, like, I'm sure plenty of people who are more familiar with Crosby's story could come out and tell me about the unique challenges that come with being considered The Next One.)

And obviously, your specific frustration is coming from the fact that Ovechkin is, somehow, seen as the inferior superstar, and that his achievements - which either equal or surpass Crosby's - go uncelebrated by mainstream media. and ough. man. I'm not as invested in this as you given I just got here, but your emotion is palpable!! I have... complicated feelings about his whole deal wrt geopolitics I won't lie, but I am serious about the whole "Is it the Russian thing?" I wouldn't, like, submit this as a legal document or anything, and I doubt I'd be the first to point it out, but there has to be a level of Othering that comes from his nationality, right?

So there's my thesis: he's not like them, he's not from there, and his image is not who they want for a star. Being so undeniably good for so long probably bought him some time in their good books, but the moment he looked a little bit mortal any grace they had to give was dispensed with. It sucks for you as a fan of course </3 I don't mean to sound so morbidly curious about it all,,, like i get that a real wrong was done to Ovechkin by the establishment that refused to recognise him!! But . well. I'm looking at this through a nonfiction writer's lens. I do hope someone who was there for the whole thing writes a book or two about this, because it would make for a really interesting story. I get the feeling people will look back on this stretch of time and think the world went a bit crazy for believing Alex Ovechkin was done.

[loosesodamarble]

Welcome to the Black Bird Part 7: A Butchery by Richard

Summary: Introducing Jack as Richard, the esteemed head chef of the Black Bird cafe. Genre: general Word count: ~800 A/N: Jack's art was commissioned from @crazycookiemaniac

..........

Feathers. Hide. Bone. Cartilage. Guts. Blood. Flesh.

Working at a joint slaughterhouse and butcher shop business, he was tasked with processing meat from carcass to sellable product. He prided himself in taking apart eerie, lifeless corpses. In a way, his job was destruction with a purpose. And it brought a smile to his face.

It used to at least.

Jack’s boss took notice of the young man’s dulled vigor. He didn’t scold Jack or tell him to “just get over it.” But instead, he asked Jack to help make a delivery to one of their buyers.

That’s how Jack found himself at the Black Bird for the first time.

After moving everything from their truck to the cafe’s walk-in freezer, the cafe’s matron had Jack and the boss sit at the breakroom’s table. Then, a burly young man sauntered in with a plate of steak strips laid over a bed of minced vegetables and rice.

All it took was for Jack to take one bite.

In a word, it was delicious. A kick that hit the back of his throat. The hearty flavor of vegetables to ground his palette against the heat. The tender meat was juicy, savory, and faintly charred in flavor. And maybe it was Jack but he swore he tasted a bit of iron too.

And there was a high likelihood that the beef he was served was prepared by his own two hands. The flesh he tore into, the carcass he destroyed, didn’t end with being a cut of meat. It was still on its way to being a delicious creation.

Jack put down his fork, looked at his boss, and said “I’m putting in my two weeks now.”

…..

The sound of rapid chopping.

Steam rose from bubbling pots.

Oil sizzled ferociously.

Shouts of “order up” and “how many minutes” and “pick up for table—” during the lunch rush.

Heated and frantic, that’s what the atmosphere was. That’s how Jack liked it.

With one final strike from his knife, Jack finished mincing a carrot. The bits of orange were tossed in a bowl of other minced produce and stirred around. Then, Jack procured a fresh chicken breast from the fridge. He brought it to his work station and set it on the cutting board.

Jack’s knife gleamed as he raised it, as if it, too, were eager to get to cutting once more.

“Oi, Richard!” Jack turned to the voice and saw “Alexander” standing at the service area. As he picked up a table’s order, the burly man called, “A customer wants you to know that your cooking fucks!”

“Keh keh! Damn right it does!” Jack shouted back.

It was obvious to Jack that the customer likely only said “give my compliments to the chef” but Alexander tended to phrase things more entertainingly than other servers did.

With a cackle, Jack turned back to his work.

…..

Flowered Filet. A customer’s choice of meat filet cut to look like a blooming flower. Meant to highlight the chef’s cutting skills.

Every detail of the dish made sense for Jack. He’d handled meat for so long so of course his signature dish would involve protein. And since he wasn’t a professionally trained chef prior, he cut away any bells and whistles and focused on what he knew he could do: he could take a knife and cut, slice, and slash.

At first, he overlapped slices of meat to create an image. But he realized that the idea was more about plating than knifework. Then he tested ways of cutting a whole filet into a shape, like a wing or star. He eventually figured that he could cut numerous, tightly packed curves into a filet so that the meat could be pulled back and take on the shape of a flower in bloom.

When Secre saw an early version of the dish, she beamed at Jack and said, “Now that’s gorgeous. Who knew a butcher could be so artistic?”

Jack certainly hadn’t known.

Growing up, he had been entertained by destruction. Tearing pages out of his notebook and tossing the scraps to the wind. Picking at tree bark until his nail beds were stained brown and red. The dissection labs in middle school science class.

He became a butcher to continue destroying, in a new way. Until he got bored with that as well. And then he discovered cooking, where chopping and mashing and broiling didn’t destroy something but transformed it.

Destruction and creation.

Jack never thought he’d be capable of such a thing. Yet there he was.

The process of turning ingredients into a dish. Maybe it could’ve been called re-creation.

Jack certainly felt like that word suited his work. Like it suited him.

[shakespearenews]

Playing Richard III for the Royal Shakespeare Company last year, Arthur Hughes found himself hyperventilating from the “headrush” of his death scene, surrounded by the ghosts of men he has murdered. “The end is a real acceleration,” Hughes says. “I was barefoot, covered in armour, ranting, raving, running, fighting. It ratchets up and up until he’s dead – and then it just stops.”

Later, the play’s abrupt ending would catch up with him. “Some nights we’d go to the Dirty Duck, the pub over the road, and I’d be like, ‘God, I really need a pint after that.’ But I soon found out that wasn’t the thing to do.” His head was too noisy. “I’d never played a character where I needed to ‘de-role’ before, but I had to create a ritual to take it all off.” He would sit on a cushion repeating gentle mantras to himself, shedding the angst that builds to Richard’s death. “I just needed some stillness. I found that if I didn’t do that, I wouldn’t sleep well.”

...

For Josette Simon, getting into the role of Cleopatra at the RSC in 2017 was a far longer and more involved process than getting out of it: she found her mindset would change daily at around 3pm. Cleopatra takes her own life with a poisonous asp. “She’s right in the middle of the line,” Simon says. “So I thought she should die with her eyes open.”

Doing so upright in her throne, directly facing the audience, was not the easiest dramatic choice. “I made a rod for my own back,” she admits, “because I then had to spend the whole of Charmian’s speech with my eyes open, not blinking.” In rehearsal, her eyes would start streaming in seconds. “But I trained the muscles around my eyes. Every day, I would sit incrementally longer with my eyes like that. Occasionally in production I would feel a tear coming and I’d think, ‘Come on Charmian, get on with the speech!’” Today, Simon says with a sly smile, she believes she could still win any staring contest. “I’ve got it down to a fine art.”

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

The first question about January 6 was asked at minute 41.

Donald Trump replied with a barrage of crazy lies, ending by seeming to blame Nancy Pelosi’s documentarian daughter.

Then, just to be fair, CNN moderator Jake Tapper followed up with a question to President Joe Biden. Did he really mean to imply that Trump’s voters were a danger to democracy? Biden fumbled the answer, as he fumbled so many other answers. The octogenarian president delivered a fiasco of a performance on the Atlanta debate stage. But the fiasco was not his alone.

Everything about the event was designed to blur the choice before Americans. Both candidates—the serving president and the convicted felon—were addressed as “President.” The questions treated an attempted coup d’état as one issue out of many. The candidates were left to police or fail to police the truth of each other’s statements; it was nobody else’s business.

It may be no coincidence that the modern television presidential debate was born at a time of national political consensus. In 1960, John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon presented a choice very familiar to viewers in the days of three big channels and a limited number of mass-market products: You could choose Crest or Colgate, two very similar products to meet a similar need. One might be a little mintier, the other a little spicier, but both did the job. Now we live in a very different world, a world in which the choice is much more existential—and yet we retain the Crest-versus-Colgate format.

How could it be otherwise? We live in a political culture in which some of us think the supreme issue of our time was an attempted violent overthrow of the Constitution, while other Americans think it was Hunter Biden’s laptop. There are means and institutions to arbitrate those differences. That’s what elections do. But television debates cannot do it, because television debates don’t happen unless they get buy-in from both sides. Therefore, television debates are designed necessarily to ratify the concept of “both sides.”

Ferocious controversy will probably now erupt over Biden’s leadership of the Democratic Party. We’ll hear all kinds of plans to swap him out somehow. Maybe those plans will be workable, but probably not. Through the uproar, it will be important to keep in mind that this election is not about Biden. It’s about you and your commitments and your values. Biden is just the instrument. Like any instrument, he’s imperfect. But better an imperfect instrument than a would-be autocrat who demands a cult of personality.

A century ago, the socialist leader (and presidential candidate) Eugene V. Debs rebuked followers who idolized him: “I would not lead you into the promised land if I could, because if I led you in, someone else would lead you out. You must use your heads as well as your hands, and get yourself out of your present condition.”

Against the threat of Trump, Americans must save themselves. The job of doing so cannot be delegated to some charismatic savior—and anyway, that charismatic savior has yet to present himself or herself. Television always wants to reduce active human beings to passive viewers. The presidential-debate format has especially served this purpose: “Do I prefer the candidate in the red tie or the blue one?”

This most recent debate has taught the danger of spectatorship. The job of saving democracy from Trump will be done not by an old man on a gaudy stage, but by those who care that their democracy be saved. Biden’s evident frailties have aggravated that job and made it more difficult, but they have also clarified whose job it is. Not his. Yours.

David Frum is a staff writer at The Atlantic.

[badsalmonella]

I love the “Camelot” film - mainly because it’s the only film that will probably exist of “TOAFK” (including “Sword in the Stone”) and I think Richard Harris gives the best performance of his career as King Arthur but that said I think it’s flawed (not bad) and that’s because it’s either too long or too badly paced - I can’t decide which.. “My Fair Lady” has similar running time but nobody ever complains about the length. So it’s probably badly paced than actually too long

I actually hard agree! Even though my feelings are mostly positive on the movie I find when the credits start rolling I'm a bit exhausted from the movie. Like I can FEEEELLL I've been sitting for a long time. I've always wondered if they did another round of edits of the film to trim some minor stuff it'd probably fix the pacing. (An example of what I mean is like before Arthur gives his monologue I think they include almost a minute of him walking through the castle and it doesn't have to be that long to visually get the idea across that's he's left the party to be alone and idk it may seem small but when the movie keeps making choices like that I think that's what makes the viewer feel the length of the movie by the end of it. It stacks up).

Actually while we're comparing and contrasting stuff I've always wanted to say I actually felt that's one of the positives of the modern rewrite was the fast pace of the writing alleviates some of the pacing issues that plagues the show, BUT THEY RUN INTO THE PROBLEM where they don't know how to slow down on those really important parts. When I watch the revival I find myself yearning for the patience of the movie's Lancelot resurrection scene siiigh~~ 😔 one can be too slow, one can be too fast but perhaps the perfect in between will come to us one day. A girl can dream!

Also gonna throw in your other ask just to cut down on my postings

ANOTHER HAAAARDDD AGREEE!!!

I saw the 80's stage production first so I was like "I don't think I like him :/ he's clearly a good actor just not a fan of his interpretation" but then I saw the MOVIEEEE AND it was like 😁RICHARD HARRIS! I HAVE NEVER SAID ANYTHING BAD ABOUT YOUR KING ARTHUR EVER!! 🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼 Seriously he's can be fun, he can be warm, he can turn on that !!KING!! presence when he needs to it's awesome. I think with the stage production it's probably just a case of him aging out of the role a bit, but Richard Harris clearly likes playing King Arthur so nobody was gonna tell him that.

[olderthannetfic]

You're right; we need for diversity in higher ups who can tell what good writing is. By far, I think the most annoying thing about the Disney live-action remakes is that it's clear they're being made by people who fundamentally don't understand the original stories and devalue animation as an artform. Yeah, all the lost boys have to be boys because Peter Pan is about Wendy choosing to grow up and confront adulthood (as a girl) even though it's scary, which is why it starts with her being moved from the nursery with her brothers. Yeah, Eric has to save Ariel at the end of TLM because it's a coming of age story about Ariel and her father. Eric has to save her and all the mermaids at the end, to prove to her father that all humans aren't bad, and Ariel has grown up and can make her own choices (And he's the only one with any experience steering a ship at all, let alone in a storm). The Lion King worked because it was animated, so there's suspension of disbelief. If we think of them as actual wild animals, the story stops making sense. It's just Shakespeare: Hamlet/ (a little) Richard III. It's not impressive or progressive to cast POC in these productions just to improve a company's ESG score when it shows they're just too lazy to do anything new and want to refresh the IP. Now they're talking about Tiana from the Princess and the Frog as this #girlboss for working hard and not needing a man, as though the Strong Black Woman isn't a racist controlling image that we as Black women have to deal with every single day (Not to mention how they're animals for most of the movie and it demonizes an African-based religion, Louisiana Voodoo, with its racist imagery. if they wanted to actually challenge norms, they would've shown the Black woman being a damsel who needs help like everyone else). It's like diversity made by people who don't even understand what it actually means. When will it end?!

--

When will it end? In the biggest budget things made in a country with a powerful ethnic group hogging all the power, never.

[lookclike]

when you're not yet done with the summer

task: the last interaction when: august 2nd, last performance of romeo & juliet

getting undressed in her small room backstage felt different that night. that was the last time she was going to wear that white dress, the last time she would feel the weirdly sweet fake blood sticking to skin as she rubbed it off. getting in and out of costumes was easy when you could return to them at any time, but goodbyes... eliza didn't particularly love those.

the pink peonies (her favourites) resting on the table were a good reminder to not get caught up in emotions now, to get in and out of the backstage area as soon as possible so she could actually see richard. he had been there in the audience, the expression so similar to those many times when he took them to the theatre as kids, a sight that didn't exactly make eliza nervous (she could quote the entire play on her sleep by now) but still felt weird. some of the others had come to see her, of course, but seeing richard in new york always felt a bit uncanny, two words that were separate parts of eliza. new york was chaotic and cruel and dizzying, and woodrow… woodrow was home.

“richard!” she said happily as soon as she saw him waiting outside the theatre, throwing herself at his arms mostly out of habit. richard’s hug was just as warm as she remembered, the same steady arms that used to pick her up as a child. 

“lizzie! you were quite wonderful up there, dear.”

she let herself bask into the compliment for a couple of seconds. eliza had never been one to crave richard’s approval desperately, perhaps because she knew it would always come. still, a part of her still wondered if this — the shakespeare, the theatre, the false sense of independence and accomplishment — hadn’t been born out of what she thought richard would like to see. eliza was good at playing whatever role she needed to, after all.

“don’t you think the blood bath was a bit too much?” she finally let go of the hug, looking up to him with a little humorous smile.

richard simply laughed. “quite a brave directing choice.”

“brave doesn’t always mean good.”

“but it’s almost always better than the opposite.”

lizzie didn’t let her smile falter, though the comment stirred something inside her mind she didn’t quite appreciate. onstead, she opted to grab richard’s arm and to lead him in the general direction of sardi’s. part of her wanted to take him to a mcdonald’s just to see his reaction, but that would have to wait for another night. “c’mon old man, dinner is my treat.”

“i really ought to be heading back…”

“there will still be plenty of time after we eat. please?” and that’s why eliza never really had to battle for richard’s attention like so many of the others. she could pinpoint the moment when his eyes softened and he nodded. it would be easy to just let herself get lost in the joy of the moment, dinner with her pseudo-father, but even then a little voice piped up from inside her head: it’s not you he wants to see and share a meal with. he is saying yes because of a girl who isn’t you. the cool night breeze wasn’t always enough to get eliza out of her head, but they made their way to the bustling restaurant mostly unscathed.

“are you sure you wouldn’t rather be celebrating with your castmates?”

“trust me, there was enough celebrating to be had every other week. besides, i’ve got some good news.” that got richard to smile with a questioning expression. “not telling until i’ve had a preposterous amount of fries.”

eliza did get her french fries, munching happily as the adrenaline of being on stage started to leave her body completely, making her almost melt into the seat. The dinner was filled with conversations that took her straight back to woodrow, literature and theatre and everything in between.

“so, the news?” richard finally said as they started eating dessert (they both had a sweet tooth, after all).

“well… there is a big julius caesar production happening on broadway this november, and i got cast as portia!” she couldn’t quite hide her excitement, but richard’s eyes seemed equally content.

“that used to be your favourite as a kid. you would beg me to read antony’s speech again and again-”

“-because i loved the way it sounded. i remember.” memories had never been an issue to eliza, at least not when it came to woodrow. it felt like a consolation prize in a way. she had no real past, no real family, but the time spent at the house, with richard and with the other wards, would be forever etched into the crevices of her brain. a gift and a curse, something the greeks would love.

when they said goodbye for the night, eliza hugged richard tightly, and he didn’t hesitate in matching the force.

“bye lizzie. call me anytime, okay?”

that night, eliza went home to an empty apartment decorated with books and half empty bottles. she put the peonies in a beautiful crystal jar and then cried herself to sleep like she had done so many times as a little girl. she wished she still had a night light to guide her out of her own head. she wished she could just stop ruminating over things. mostly, she wished she could be the daughter richard actually wanted.