#frankenstein from the royal ballet

[franken-loser]

Been thinking about the Frankenstein ballet again recently and ouugughh the people who play victor are always so gorgeous like what the fuck

Frederico Bonelli as Victor!!! He's the original cast for him I believe, since he played him in the recorded show

Tristan Dyer as Victor OH MY GODDD hes so,,,,,just,,,heshsso,,shehs

ALEXANDER CAMPBELL AS VICTOR☝️☝️☝️❗❗❗ Alexander Campbell plays Henry in the original recorded version of the ballet and he plays Victor in another version hes SO silly🙏🙏🙏

Annnddd José Pablo Castro Cuevas as Victor!!!! He's literally so gorgeous AND Amanda Assucena as Elizabeth shes so beautiful im WAHAHHHSHAG

[polturn]

Weird thing enjoyer found another weird thing to enjoy

Various Frankenstein doodlings. Abt half were from reference half from imagination.

Most of these are related to the Royal Ballet version which I watched a video of the other day. So good and such a wild combination. The elegant medium and the grotesque subject matter.

I also had to draw that amazing puppet version that was made for the Hamburg state opera. lil cutie he is

[perplexingly]

“Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus” by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (1818) // Frankenstein from the Royal Ballet (2016) // National Theatre Live: Frankenstein (2011) // Frankenstein: The Metal Opera (2014) // Frankenstein (TV Miniseries 2004) // Creature (TV Miniseries 2023)

Grief of the Creature across various adaptations

[regicidal-defenestration]

Well @conker-shell you chose an excellent day to ask because I have so much time I'm willing to waste

Introducing to you:

The Frankenstein Adaptation Rankenstein

(Guaranteed to be highly subjective and capricious!)

Described and discussed under the cut

We start with

Tier F, for Frankenstein

This contains Mary Shelley's book, as arguably the source material itself is the most perfect adaptation

Tier A, IT'S ALIVE

Young Frankenstein the musical comes in on here, not necessarily because it adapts the book well (it's a musical adaptation of a film which parodies another film which finally adapts the book), but because I had a lot of fun going to the theatre to watch it. Deeply silly show and I say that with all the love in my heart.

The second entry is the Royal Ballet production, which I've been going insane about all morning. In some ways, it follows the source material too closely (we get through almost all Act 1 before Victor even goes to university and it's almost exactly as uninterestnig as you might predict), but Steven McRae as the Creature was phenomenal.

Finally, Frankenstein, the song by the Mechanisms, in which there is no longer a Creature but a sentient AI. It's one hell of a duet between the AI and Victoria Frankenstein and makes the tragedy the two are trapped in into something very real. How can I have a soul when you gave me no name indeed

Tier B, Walk this way

Young Frankenstein the film is here, because it's a fun film and I like how it parodies the 1931 Frankenstein film. It's still not really a book adaptation, but you can argue with textual evidence that Frankenstein is transmasc, which is never a bad thing.

Next is The Monsters We Deserve, the book by Marcus Sedgewick. Again not, technically, an adaptation, it's instead about the responsibilities of creation, whether that's creating life only to run from the Creature to built, or a book which thousands of people will interpret in thousands of ways, even after your death. I read it in one sitting it thoroughly rattled my brain. Marcus Sedgewick author that you are.

Tier C, See what's on the slab

The Rocky Horror Show, versions both film and theatrical. It's camp, it's fun, it's good to watch at the theatre especially if the Narrator can riff off the audience well. It's so low down because it's only an adaptation on a technicality, and is probably better described as an "influenced by".

Tier D, Dead and gone

Look I KNOW okay I know it's rich me (Young Frankenstein and Re-Animator fan) putting the 1931 film so low down I KNOW it was incredibly influential but in adaptation terms it's not good and in film enjoyment terms I didn't. Look what you did to the Creature's legacy, he wanted love and you made him a senseless monster :(

Tier ?, ?

Frankissstein: A Love Story, the book by Jeanette Winterson. I have read this book, thus onto the Rankenstein it goes. I don't actually remember anything about it, other than I don't think I enjoyed it much, despite some rave reviews

[twobrokenwyngs]

I saw the Frankenstein (one of my favorite books) ballet in London at the Royal Opera House a couple years ago and it was life changing I still think about it. From the curtains and location to the performance like jaw dropping.

that’s fantastic, anon!!! I actually didn’t know it played there first. but yeah, it was completely captivating and emotional and arresting. I’m always so impressed when whole stories can be communicated solely through the medium of dance. it was deeply heartbreaking and horrifying in turns, and so beautiful all the while. I’m glad you got the chance to see it and thank you for sharing your experience with me!

[izzenithal]

If you want some truly feral art refs, you should look at play/musical/ballet rehearsal shots they are something ELSE

(this one is based off a bts pic from the Royal Ballet’s 2016 Frankenstein!!)

[aralezinspace]

I was going to apologize for reblogging near every photo from your ballet tag in the coming weeks. However, I instead had to affectionately hassle you for being a Steven McRae fan. He was born for the Mad Hatter role.

OMG please don't apologize!!

Also YES OH MY GOD STEVEN MCRAE He's such an incredible dancer not just as the mad hatter but also when the Royal Ballet did Frankenstein??!! holy shit. So dark and horny and technically incredible. BUT ALSO making the Mad Hatter a tapper? FUCKING GENIUS

BUT LIKE HE'S ALSO SO CUTE in Romeo and Juliet? Precious bean

Bruh I could talk about Steven McRae like all day xD

[saintflint]

SHUT UP I LITERALLY WATCHED THE ROYAL BALLET FRANKENSTEIN LAST NIGHT….. our minds 😵‍💫😵‍💫

BRO NO WAY??! FROM THE SAME LINK OR DID YOU HAVE A BETTER ONE? WASN’T IT SO FUCKING GOOD??!!!?? 😵‍💫🫠

[meatballratz]

imagine wearing this to see Frankenstein from The Royal Ballet… yeah

[dragonheadskilax]

7 Obscure Frankenstein Adaptations

I’ll be including a rating scale for the sake of enjoyment. A scale of ⚠️1-5, from PG to mature/weird. With added content warnings if needed. A 🚫1-5 scale for how bad the foredoomed vicliz is.

Frankenstein The Metal Opera (Album & Live Adaptation)

⚠️ 1/5 Just one montage of stock images of skeletons and worms. 🚫 2/5 Songs relating to marriage, which the Live version altered the lyrics of to be even longer. A single flinching kiss on the hand.

Manual Cinema’s Frankenstein (v.3)

⚠️ 2/5 Shadow puppetry depicting childbirth, death, atmosphere can be eery. Victor kills a paper bird. Musculature anatomy images 🚫 1/5 A single kiss.

Frankenstein The Royal Ballet

⚠️ 1/5 Nude cadaver visible at classroom scene. Tavern debauchery but this is a ballet so it’s just flowing upskirts and Henry being bullied for not being into the activities. The Creature is designed to look like a nude cadaver, it’s a costume of course. 🚫 4/5 The relationship of being an adopted sibling is clearly emphasized, but of course things get weird later on. There’s 3 kisses.

The Wanderer: Frankenstein’s Creature

⚠️ 1.5/5 Heavy on the theme of suffering and abandonment. Very good sound design on audio scenes of meat and drippings in one ending. 🚫 0/5 Besides some notes mentioning Liz that you can look over if ya don’t find them, nothing here at all!

Wishbone’s Frankenstein

⚠️ 0/5 Lightning flashes in beginning of the episode. 🚫 0/5 The book does include about the marriage but since it’s a kids book they don’t go into detail and in Victor’s nightmare it was a kiss on the cheek instead. Nothing in show version.

Frankenstein The Puppet Opera

⚠️ 1/5 Uncanny paper mache masks. 🚫 2/5 Sing songy on the relationship and marriage.

Frankenstein Has No Legs

⚠️ 4.5/5 Being from an 18+ puppet production, and recorded in 2011, it shows its age. Some jokes I don’t quite get or hear. 🚫 5/5 Jokey about it but gosh... Alphonse and Caroline are weird about the marriage instead of being depicted as ‘loving and nice parents’ as other depictions do, still, it adds to the higher rating.

I’ll make posts on each individual one about the production, mediums used, and where to watch/listen/play them!

[professorsparklepants]

Sorry I have to post this absolutely BREATHTAKING clip from a Royal Ballet adaptation of Frankenstein (!) with a pas de deux between Elizabeth and the Creature (!!) that is the absolute ESSENCE of gothic horror (!!!)

[melodiouswhite]

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde rewritten - Ch. 61

Chapter Sixty-One: Everyday life

.

“Ah, Dr. Faust!”, Dr. Lanyon said, “You're here for your appointment?”

“No, I want to learn how to dance ballet”, the German doctor retorted sarcastically.

Lanyon mock-gasped: “What, you can't dance ballet???”

“I don't need it in my everyday life, so why would I learn it?”

“Point taken. Do sit down. So, tell me, how have you been?”

The alchemist arched an eyebrow. “Do you want a typically English answer, or-?”

“An honest one.”

“Breathing is unusually hard lately”, Dr. Faust told him. “Must be the asthma and the permanent after-effects from smoke poisoning.”

“If you don't mind, smoke poisoning from what?”, Lanyon queried.

“The Thirty Years War. Everything was on fire back then. Then there were the witch hunts – I can't even remember how many times they tried to burn me at the stake.”

“Oh my god!”

“The 17th century was that brutal, Dr. Lanyon. Don't mind it.”

“But I do!”, Lanyon protested. “And don't act so nonchalant! If you're not traumatised after those horrible experiences of war, I seriously have to question your humanity!”

Dr. Faust sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose: “It's long in the past. And I'd rather not talk about it to you. I may be able to look into your mind and hear your thoughts, but that doesn't change the fact, that I hardly know you.”

Trust issues. That was something Lanyon was more than familiar with.

“You're right”, he gave in. “Let's talk about it no longer. Right now, the more pressing issue is the surgery.”

.

Lady Summers was filing her therapy protocols.

A tedious task, but it had to be done.

More than often it took hours to sort everything into her abundant folders, of which some were thicker than the others. The countess always sorted her folders alphabetically and the protocols and notes inside them chronologically.

The one she was working on right now was the newest folder of her friend Victor Frankenstein – it was one of the biggest ones in her archive. After all, he had been alive for almost 130 years, she had known him for over forty years and the man had a lot of issues, some of them impossible to get rid of. Victor was a complete mess (and kind of a tool) and most of it he had brought upon himself. Sometimes Lady Summers couldn't help but question, why they were still friends. Probably pity and a tad of sympathy – they had been through the same torture all those years ago.

With a sigh, she finished filing the newest of her notes and protocols. She would need a new folder for Victor's case and he already had six of them.

All of her friends had several folders, even Dr. Jekyll, who had been her client for only a few months (then again, he had more problems than most of her clients).

Lady Summers closed the file, put it back into the shelf, went downstairs and prepared to go out.

It was Monday evening, when she would habitually visit the local police stations and prisons.

Not because she liked going there, but because the police liked to spare themselves the trouble of actually doing research by employing her mind-reading abilities. They tipped her handsomely for her service and that was the only reason, why she cooperated with them.

But that didn't stop Lady Summers from taking her frustration out on them for not using their own brains. Really, was it too much to ask, that they just did their job and deduced their cases without the help of a civilian?!

Her butler helped her into her jacket, cloak and shoes, Aoimoku handed her her parasol and they went on their way.

Marie would handle everything in the meantime.

When the three arrived there, Lady Summers gave a curt nod to the porter, before entering the building.

Almost everyone in the room turned to look at her and there was some mumbling from one or the other.

“Good evening, inspector Grumman”, she greeted the oldest of them.

Then she turned to the youngest man in the room: “I see, you're new. Well, good evening, officer Joyce. I hope your wife is feeling better?”

She almost laughed at how the young man stared at her for solid five seconds.

But then he recovered: “U-uhm, yes. M-my wife is feeling better, thank you. But how did you know my name and that she was sick?”

She smiled sweetly: “I'm Lady Summers. It's a pleasure to meet you. Anyway, inspector”, she turned back to Grumman. “I assume you have new-”

“Oh, good evening, Lady Summers!” Another inspector stepped forward and she withheld a groan, when she recognised D.I. Blackwood.

“How good to see you, Milady! If I may say, that's an exquisite dress! You look queenly toni-”

“Yes, yes”, she interrupted him, “words are cheap and so are your attempts at flattery. Let's get started, shall we?”

.

“Thank you so much for your time, Dr. Jekyll”, the woman sighed in relief. “You truly are one of the best physicians I have ever met.”

“Oh, stop it, Madam!”, Jekyll chuckled. “One of these days the flattery will get to my head and I can't possibly let that happen! Who knows, what that would do to my judgement! Anyway, you don't need to worry. It's just a common cold. Be sure to keep warm, drink lots of herbal infusions (peppermint, sage, lavender and ginger, mixed with honey, do a world of good against a sore throat), rest as much as you can and be sure to air the room regularly. But if it gets worse, be sure to send for me. Have a good day and get well soon!”

The woman nodded and saw herself out.

Jekyll took five minutes to air the room, before calling the next patient in.

“Good morning, Mr. Blake”, he greeted the man. “Oh dear, I see the pollen season is taking its toll on you.”

Before the man could answer, he sneezed violently into the room.

The Doctor couldn't help but frown. “Mr. Blake, how many times do I have to tell you to please sneeze into a handkerchief or into the crook of your elbow! It's common decency!”, he added pointedly, when the old man opened his mouth to nag.

This is going to be a long, long, week.

.

“Alright, Sir Carew”, Utterson spoke to his elderly client. “Is there anything more you have to discuss with me?”

“No, no”, the old politician chuckled. “This is all for now. Thank you kindly, Mr. Utterson. You're always such a big help.”

“It's always my pleasure”, the lawyer replied. “Before you go, I heard that you're going to retire from the Parliament?”

“Ah, yes”, Sir Carew confirmed. “I'm beginning to feel my age, I must admit. I'm planning to retire into the country, once I am retired and my daughter has got married. And once that day comes, I would be happy, if you could assist me in ordering my possessions.”

“I will gladly do so”, Utterson promised. “How is your daughter anyway?”

Carew smiled: “Ah, she is as darling as ever. To be fair, it worries me how many suitors she has. You can never know, if they just want your daughter for her beauty, if they truly love her.”

“Well, I have no children, so I can't really relate”, Utterson stated.

For a second he wondered how an old man like Sir Danvers Carew could have such a young daughter (she was not quite twenty), but then he remembered, that Carew had adopted her.

Maybe my own memory is getting rusty.

“By the way, how is Lady Summers?”, Carew inquired out of the blue, startling the other. “After all, she was quite ill used at the royal gala over a month ago.”

“Oh. Her Ladyship is fine”, Utterson told him. “In fact, she visited her father-in-law in Cornwall earlier this month. She returned to London a week ago, you can visit her yourself, if you wish. I'm certain she will be delighted to have tea and crumpets with you.”

“Oh, wonderful”, the older man cried in delight. “Really, that baron was such an animal towards her! She could have died from internal injuries!”

“Hm, she had the good fortune of several capable physicians being there as well”, the lawyer pointed out (wishing Carew would stop talking about that accursed gala already).

“Indeed. The Lady always had fortune on her side – then again, fortune favours the bold. And speaking of them, how are they? I seem to recall, that they are intimate friends of yours?”

“You could say that”, Utterson confirmed, albeit apprehensively. “We have known each other since our school days, so we're very close.”

“Well, give them my regards and my thanks for being such good friends to you and to the countess. And while you're at that, won't you give my thanks to that young brown-haired man, who saved my daughter from that scoundrel's clutches? What was his name again …”

“Mr. Hyde”, the lawyer supplied.

“Right! Anyway, give him and Dr. Jekyll my thanks. As Lisa's father it put me quite at ease to see two gentlemen help my daughter out without ulterior motives.”

Utterson nodded. “I will let them know next time I meet them. Have a nice evening, Sir.”

Then he saw his client off.

He didn't ask, whether Carew remembered, that Hyde was the very same man, who had almost killed him the year before and if yes, how he was feeling about that.

I will just have to ask Lady Summers, he decided. I pray she will be willing to enlighten me, because something about this is making me anxious.

[simplyclockwork]

Simplyclockwork Fic Recs

Alternate Universe/Crossovers

I am breaking my massive fic rec into pieces by genres.

Performance in a Leading Role - @madlori

Explicit. 156,714 words. 21 chapters.

Sherlock Holmes is an Oscar winner in the midst of a career slump. John Watson is an Everyman actor trapped in the rom-com ghetto. When they are cast as a gay couple in a new independent drama, will they surprise each other? Will their on-screen romance make its way into the real world?

A Moment’s Surrender - anchors

Mature. 64,272 words. 10 chapters.

Sherlock tours worldwide with the English National Ballet. John dances the Lindy Hop competitively all across the globe. That they would meet, then, by the slimmest of chances in one lonely city, is pure coincidence. The whole 'dancing together' bit is a little more planned. Dancer!AU.

Love or What You Will - @miss-frankenstein

Teen and Up. 31,987 words. 11 chapters.

John is an English professor who specializes in War and Post-War Literature and Sherlock is the brilliant yet impossible Ph.D. student assigned to be his TA because no one in the Chemistry Department is willing to put up with him. And - somewhere between Waugh and Plath, e-mails and takeaway, novels and villanelles - they fall in love.

Two Two One Bravo Baker - abudantlyqueer

Explicit. 114,574 words. 27 chapters.

Captain John Watson of 40 Commando, the Royal Marines, is assigned to protect and assist Sherlock Holmes as he investigates what appears to be a simple war atrocity in Afghanistan. An intense attraction ignites between the two men as they uncover a conspiracy that threatens everything they’ve ever known, but Sherlock is as much hunted as hunter, and everyone close to him is in deadly danger. Can he solve the case in time to save himself and John?

The Jewel in the Tower - PoppyAlexander (@fuckyeahfightlock)

Explicit. 207,079 words. 39 chapters.

"Xie [...] had invented an entire pleasure-industry by combining superior visual aesthetics with impeccable personal attention. Drasha salons were by that time a feature of any even half-decent house of repose in every pleasure district in the British Isles, but once upon a time, when Xie debuted, there had been only one, and Xie had named it: the Icehouse."

* In a contemporary dystopia, Unity is peace--despite the fact unsanctioned information, illicit currency, and every sort of danger flows unchecked in the world's pleasure districts.

John Watson, a weary hired gun, is assigned by the mysterious Mentor to investigate a subversive element lurking in the Icehouse, the world's most famous House of Repose. As accustomed as he is to dealing with the unexpected, John is nevertheless woefully unprepared to meet the gem of the Ice house, Xie, the world renowned "drashaskaya," the living work of art after which all other drashas are modeled.

In sumptuous suites, amid trailing puddles of silk and fervent whispers in the night, John soon learns that nothing is as it seems in the floating world of London's pleasure district. *

Modern-day dystopian/one-world government/espionage/geisha!lock AU

The Loss of Flesh and Soul - deuxexmycroft 

Explicit. 60,000+ words. Unfinished.

Five years after John Watson puts the murderous Sherlock Holmes behind bars, a vicious copycat killer emerges. A reluctant John is pulled out of retirement to seek the expertise of the only man who can help, a man who has developed an unsettling obsession with John himself.

Crossover with Red Dragon/Silence of the Lambs

Simplyclockwork note: Not fully finished, but an alternative ending was posted. Still worth reading without a full ending.

I wake up and I wake up and you’re still dead - thisprettywren (memento/Sherlock crossover)

Mature. 24,226 words. One-shot.

Sherlock isn't the only one who's lost.

The Sinking of the Titanic: Sixty Years Later - flawedamythyst

Teen and Up. 15,340 words. One-shot.

John Watson is interviewed for a documentary being made for the sixtieth anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. The story he tells is not the one the interviewer was expecting.

The Bachelors’ Handfasting - Jberry

Explicit. 30,624 words. 20 chapters.

After her son is caught in a compromising position, Victoria Holmes must make arrangements for a quick marriage between Sherlock Holmes and John Watson.

Simplyclockwork note: Kilt!Lock and Soft Bab Sherlock (but of age)

Just to Hold You Close - @sussexbound

Explicit. 70,841 words. 18 chapters.

When a woman is murdered and the last person to see her alive is recently invalided army vet turned reluctant (and prickly) professional cuddler, John Watson, Sherlock Holmes is pulled into a world of intimacy and intrigue he never could have imagined. John is a conundrum and mystery: frank yet reserved, tender yet angry, open yet afraid. Sherlock is instantly drawn into his orbit, and begins to feel and desire things he never has before.

Summit Fever - @jbaillier

Mature. 78,867 words. 18 chapters.

After graduating from medical school, John Watson followed his heart to the Himalayas. Ten years later, he's a haunted cynic working for his ex-lover's trekking and mountaineering company. Will leading an expedition to Annapurna I — the most lethal of all the world's highest mountains — shake John out of his reverie, and who is the mystery client added to the group at the last minute?

The Last Companion - standbygo (@blogstandbygo)

Explicit. 34,101 words. 14 chapters.

Thirty years after the Miranda Wars, there is peace, both on the Rim and the Core planets. There are a number of old social mores still in place, such as the Order of Companions, but there is a sense that even such respected practices are coming to an end…

Sherlock is a Companion - the best Companion on Persephone. With a bit of detective work on the side, of course. Then he meets a man named John Watson, encounters a series of bizarre cases, and finds his world is getting turned upside down.

Simplyclockwork note: Sherlock/Firefly AU!

Out There - @discordantwords

Teen and up. 131,695 words. 10 chapters.

FBI Special Agent John Watson, medical doctor and army veteran, is assigned to assist eccentric genius Sherlock Holmes with paranormal investigations on the X-Files project.

This is a fusion with The X-Files, written for the Fall TV Season Challenge.

Say You’ll Stay With Me - justacookieofacumberbatch (buffyholic)

Explicit. 63,349 words. 21 chapters.

It was just supposed to be an ordinary business trip, but when John's car stalls out on Hollywood Boulevard, he meets someone who just might change his life.

Simplyclockwork note: Pretty Woman/Sherlock AU.

Gimme Shelter - @sincewhendoyoucallme-john

Explicit. 159,368 words. 21 chapters.

All John Watson wants is the feeling of a freshly waxed surfboard under his feet and the hot California sun baking down onto his back. To finally go pro in the newly formed world of professional surfing and leave the dark memories of his past behind him as he rips across the face of a towering blue barrel. To lounge beside the beach bonfire every evening with an ice cold beer tucked into the cool sand beside him and listen to Pink Floyd and the Doors while the saltwater dries in his sun bleached hair.

That's all he wants, that is, until the hot young phenom taking Oahu and the Hawaiian shores by storm steps up next to him in the sand in the second round of the 1976 International Surf Competition.

Apokalypsis - songlin

Mature. 12,125 words. 4 chapters.

There were things I never told you because I thought we had time. There is no time left in the world anymore.

Sensory Science - @sussexbound

Explicit. 80,017 words. 24 chapters.

John Watson has been invalided home from Afghanistan and is struggling with anxiety, depression, PTSD and insomnia, when an old friend from med school recommends something that might help: An ASMR YouTube Channel run by a friend.

One session in and John is hooked, not only by the way the ASMR seems to calm him after nightmares, and help him sleep, but also by the mysterious man who runs it.

Comparative Literature is for Idiots - lookupkate

Explicit. 8,173 words. 4 chapters.

Sherlock thinks he's very bohemian, smoking cigarettes and wearing patchouli oil and writing poetry in the attic. In truth he's just your average seventeen year old, not showering enough and being hit particularly hard by his continued path through puberty.

John is getting his masters in literature. He's the TA for comparative literature and yearns for romance. Romance has other plans, plans that require him to go without for at least ten more years. Plans that put in front of him the exact man he'll finally fall in love with, but in boy form.

When Sherlock happens to see John reading poetry at a coffee shop he is immediately smitten. John holds him at arm's length because he's a bloody child.

How will ten years and miles apart change that view, and will John be able to understand how he's fallen in love with someone he doesn't ever get to see?

Stay tuned for puberty hi jinx and the passing of time to find out. And yes, there will be love.

An Everlasting Inferno - thatawkwardfriend

Explicit. 108,389 words. 15 chapters.

Sherlock and John are both men who operate outside the law. John works for Mary and her hitmen in order to keep a roof over his head. Sherlock does anything his drug dealer asks of him in exchange for free drugs and housing.

They meet one night in a darkened garage to negotiate a deal. But they soon find out that neither of their bosses are being entirely honest with them about their goals or motives. With a little poking around, they stumble upon something much bigger than themselves and discover that perhaps, it might be in their best interests to work together.

(Loosely inspired by StartUp and Little Favour)

Only To Be With You - @sincewhendoyoucallme-john

Mature. 40,768 words. 4 chapters.

I tell myself that next time I’ll come near this same place again. Wait around for the mysterious stranger in his coat to dash past me, hot on the heels of a new criminal in black.

I think this all the way back to my Exit, planning where I’ll wait and what I’ll say when I see him. Scheming on how to get his name. It’s only once I reach the Exit Point door that I realize two hours and forty-five minutes have passed, and I realize that this won’t be the last time I Visit. It won’t be the last time at all.

You Give Me Fever - michi_thekiller

Explicit. 16,122 words. One-shot.

Thou givest fever when we kisseth, fever with thy flaming youth Fever I'm afire; fever, yea, I burn forsooth "He's the kind of boy you want to take apart."

Gratuitous Greaserlock. It's essentially 16k of mostly-porn. Warnings for underage sex between teens.

If you’re one of the authors listed here and have a Tumblr, and would like me to link it (if I haven’t already), please let me know! 

[insanityclause]

In what could be a small silver lining in the dark cloud of prolonged live theater shutdowns on both sides of the Atlantic due to the coronavirus pandemic, Britain's National Theatre for the first time is showing signs that it might consider making its superb library of NT Live productions available for streaming.

Responding to countless inquiries about the subject on social media this week, TeamNT wrote: "At this stage, we're very actively looking at what we can offer to audiences while the National Theatre is closed. We hope to have more news on that very soon."

The Hollywood Reporter has reached out for further information in what could be a welcome development for theater-starved audiences worldwide, particularly as the closing of live theaters and movie houses stretches on, and home confinement becomes more oppressive.

Theaters in various parts of the U.S. affected by the government-mandated closing of live performance venues have scrambled to find ways to stream filmed productions for ticket holders, while one of the more established streaming services, BroadwayHD, which has a vast library containing hundreds of live performance-captured productions, is offering a 7-day free trial for its widely available service. The Metropolitan Opera in New York, which yesterday confirmed the cancellation of the remainder of its 2019-2020 season, has been offering "Nightly Met Opera Streams," a free series of Live in HD presentations of its past productions, during the coronavirus closure.

In London, performing arts streaming service Marquee TV has announced a collaboration with the Royal Opera House and Royal Shakespeare Company to bring filmed productions direct to home viewers, with upcoming premieres also including work from the Royal Ballet and English National Ballet.

However, while live-performance streaming has been a growth sector now for a number of years, NT Live has remained strictly limited to short-run theatrical showings of filmed productions, including shows hailing from its London South Bank mothership, from the West End and beyond.

The organization was among the first to take significant steps into the filmed-theater digital market in 2009 when then-artistic director Nicholas Hytner sought to replicate the success of the Met Opera venture.

NT Live debuted that year with Helen Mirren and Dominic Cooper in Phèdre, which was seen by more than 50,000 people. Other productions that followed included Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart in No Man's Land, James Franco and Chris O'Dowd in Of Mice and Men, Andrew Garfield and Nathan Lane in Angels in America, Mark Strong in A View From the Bridge, Tom Hiddleston in Coriolanus, Simon Russell Beale in Macbeth, Ruth Wilson in Hedda Gabler and Gillian Anderson and Lily James in All About Eve, to name just a few.

The film of Benedict Cumberbatch's sold-out 2015 run in Hamlet at the Barbican hit a new high for NT Live of 690,000 ticket buyers. Danny Boyle's 2011 production for the National of Frankenstein was broadcast in two different versions, allowing audiences to see alternating leads Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller as both the scientist and his reanimated creation.

Current productions whose theatrical availability is mostly on hold during the coronavirus blackout include Phoebe Waller-Bridge in her original Fleabag solo show, James Corden in One Man, Two Guvnors, Andrew Scott in Present Laughter, Sally Field and Bill Pullman in All My Sons, McKellen in King Lear, James McAvoy in Cyrano de Bergerac, Mirren in The Audience and Game of Thrones favorite Gwendoline Christie in A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Also available is a film of the original Royal Court run of Martin McDonagh's Hangmen, which was in previews in its Broadway transfer when New York theaters were shutdown last week and today announced that it would not be reopening once operations resume.

Given that some NT Live presentations are expected to have an ongoing commercial life once theaters reopen, any streaming pact would likely not cover the entire library. Sam Mendes' acclaimed staging of The Lehman Trilogy, which was already in limited distribution, had just begun previews in a Broadway transfer when the shutdown occurred, putting its planned March 26 official opening and the remainder of its limited-engagement run in limbo.

Tom Stoppard's semi-autobiographical family portrait of Austrian Jews in early 20th century Vienna, Leopoldstadt, which opened in the West End to strong reviews in February and had been tipped for a Broadway move next season, is scheduled to make its NT Live debut in movie theaters June 25.

Broadway theaters ceased operations March 12 in response to a New York state mandate to close all venues with seating capacity greater than 500 as part of coronavirus precautions, with smaller off-Broadway and regional theaters swiftly following. Theaters in London and across the U.K. went dark Monday in accordance with prime minister Boris Johnson's recommendation to limit large gatherings.

[incandescent-eden]

STORY MASTERLIST

A (not so) comprehensive list of all the things I write about, all of which are subject to change at any given time because I do a lot of refactoring!

LOOOOONG POST INCOMING I write... a LOT, and I have... MANY projects :) Feel free to ask me about any of them! :)

With love <3 Continue reading below the cutoff if you want to know the basic rundown of my worlds and works!

ANGELVERSE:

This universe encompasses all of the angels and demons I like to focus on. Works in the angelverse will likely be about Faraday (formerly known as Efrem), a demon lieutenant, Ezekiel, a young angel, the archangel Uriel, or angel Raguel / angel Sophia (their stories are intertwined).

The main concept I have on Angelverse surrounds Faraday, who has grown into himself as a demon and made something of himself. He finds it impossible to shake who he was before. The question comes up during an important meeting between Heaven and Hell of whether he is truly Faraday or Efrem, his own self that he has shakily become, or the self he inherited from being his father’s son. There’s also brotherly angst between Faraday and Ezekiel, who refuses to let go of the past. (If you look at my old works tagged ‘ezekiel,’ you’ll see Ezekiel used to be a part of Faraday/his ‘ideal’ self, which is why new Ezekiel, separate from Faraday, reads so differently.)

The Raguel and Sophia stories are also closely linked to characters Andromeda and possibly Zachariah. Andromeda’s father runs a cult and has captured an angel in his attic. When Andromeda finds the angel (Sophia), her otherwise “normal” life is thrown into disarray as she starts unraveling threads about her father’s actions as a cult leader. If Zachariah is to be a part of it, he would be living with Andromeda’s family, having run away from his past.

Prominent characters in Angelverse include: Faraday, Uriel, Ezekiel, Stena, Michael, Ramiel, Raguel, Sophia, Zachariah, Ambriel, Ruhiel, Gabriel, Raphael, Luci, Bee, Sasha, Saoirse, and Heather. With the exception of Sophia, all names ending with “el” are angels, while the rest are demons. Also, I say prominent, but like half of these characters are from a bygone era (2018 when I first created them).

TW/CW for heavy religious (Christian) imagery, emotional abuse, violence, transphobia mentions and cult talk. Additional content warning because I tend to write angels as LGBT, but I recognize that some people are not comfortable with this affiliation with Christianity.

LUXTRURA (NOTE: LUXTRURA IS ON PERMANENT HIATUS):

Luxtrura is the name of a fictional country in ye olde European fantasy style, and I haven’t thought of a title for the WIP yet, so I mainly tag it ‘luxtrura’ or ‘luxtruran trio.’ This WIP is a fantasy / dystopian / political intrigue about an uprising in the kingdom of Luxtrura run by an inexperienced king and corrupt nobles all vying for the crown.

Luxtrura (at the current moment) follows the life of His Majesty Devron Fharren, the Eighth Fharren King, who inherited the crown by kingdom decrees at the age of 21. Unlike most kings, Devron has only had seven years of proper royal tutelage on statecraft, having only been named heir to the throne when he was 14. He soon finds he has inherited a kingdom that has been deeply wounded, that his people hate him, and that he has few allies among his own country’s nobles, his friends, and neighboring royalty. Revolution is brewing, and he has a choice to make: to claim his birthright or to help his people.

Prominent characters include: Devron Fharren, Eden Barison, Mili Starr, Plumeria Rwalke, Lilia Tao, Rassaya Tao, Andrea (a mysterious stranger who gives only her first name), Jakob Fiyre, Cordelia Fiyre, Liseline Fiyre, Sonja, and Orange and Rouse (the dragons).

TW/CW for violence, sexual assault mentions, transphobia mentions, political talk, blatant classism, and death.

GLOWING EYES:

A “what-if” scenario where Victor Frankenstein and Dorian Gray had met and become friends and also Frankenstein wasn’t a man and was named Viola and was not a pleb weakling like Victor. Also Dorian Gray is fat because I said so.

This story reimagines the Frankenstein and Dorian Gray cast as students in their final year of the prestigious University of Ingolstadt, with Frankenstein having returned from a year off during which she was suspended for [redacted] reasons. The vibe we’re going for is dark academia, but I don’t think they ever actually do any learning?

Prominent characters include: Viola Frankenstein, Dorian Gray, Elizabeth Lavenza, Henry Clerval, Basil Hallward, Deukalion, and special shoutout to Justine Moritz and Sibyl Vane because I didn’t want to put them in, but they definitely deserved better in the source material.

TW/CW for death, violence, toxic/obsessive relationships, grave-robbing, body part mentions (eyes, limbs, etc), and mentions of the Devil. Basically, if it was a concerning part of either the Frankenstein or Dorian Gray stories, it will still be concerning.

Fun fact, there is a Glowing Eyes playlist that I am NOT too ashamed to share with the public! :D

HELEN OF LEGEND:

A retelling of the Helen of Sparta story that explores Helen’s thoughts and motivations. Who was the woman behind the face that launched a thousand ships? And did she ever even want those ships to be launched? (Spoiler alert: the answer is no.)

Helen of Legend gets pretty heavy handed because I get really mad about people lauding the Greeks as the end all be all of culture, and I’m still really mad about how people dress Millie Bobby Brown up like she’s 25-40, so make of that what you will.

On the bright side, Helen of Legend is a sapphic retelling!

Prominent characters include: Helen, Leda, Menelaus, Clytemnestra, Penelope, Theseus, Aphrodite, Paris, Cassandra, Hector, and Hecuba.

TW/CW for misogyny, implied past sexual assault, sexual assault mentions, mentions of spousal and emotional abuse, people being generally creepy about bodies, people being creepy toward children (Theseus), cities burning, subtle classism, and death.

OF DANCERS AND DREAMERS:

A musical about Anne-Marie, a non-binary Vietnamese lesbian born into a wealthy family, and Jules, a Tunisian baker’s daughter who is working her way into the Paris ballet. Anne-Marie wants to be a designer, but their mother, Mme Trinh, has other plans. The year is 1884, and it was hard for the Trinh family, as immigrants, to establish their foothold in society, and Mme Trinh will not have her child throw away the family’s hard work. One day, while at the ballet, Anne-Marie becomes smitten with Jules, a ballerina with the most dazzling smile. They find solace in sharing their passions with one another and become friends, each eventually realizing they have fallen for the other in a time that is unfriendly to both of them.

Prominent characters include: Anne-Marie, Jules, Victor, Mme Trinh, and Amandine.

TW/CW for subtle homophobia, classism, mental illness, and parental guilt tripping/emotional toxicity.

THE LYRE EFFECT:

A play about life after death, and what it means to live and love. This play follows Patroclus upon his death, desperate to return to Achilles. He meets the reluctant Eurydice, embittered by decades alone in limbo halfway between life and death. Together, they almost throw someone off a boat (is it really murder if they’re already dead?) and have a chance to tell their stories, stepping out from the shadows of their more famous lovers.

I took a lot of liberties with this, so Orpheus is a woman (wlw OrphEurydice), and I would like for both Achilles and Patroclus to be played by trans men, and for all of the characters to be played by non-white actors.

Prominent characters include: Patroclus, Eurydice, Achilles, Orpheus, Apollo, Hades, Charon

TW/CW for talk about death

SPEED ROUND (OR: THINGS I WRITE ABOUT THAT AREN’T AS AMBITIOUS JUST YET/AT THE CURRENT MOMENT):

Here Lies Forever - a story focusing around two young people, Medb Flaherty and Virgil Sutherland, growing up at an orphanage amid war, abandonment, and sickness. Medb is a blind writer who dreams of traveling the world with Virgil, her best friend since their teen years, but when the war strikes too close to home, Virgil leaves Medb and their peaceful student life behind to join the army. Unwilling to let go, and recognizing the pain Virgil is in, Medb takes it upon herself to save Virgil, the both of them haunted by the ghosts of their pasts.

On the Corner of Maple Street - short stories about the lives of Sarah and Evangeline together, two lesbian women who met when Sarah was 28 and Evangeline was 31. Sarah was a toy maker and Evangeline was an actress. They have a son named Oliver, who’s now in his forties, and they’re grandmas to all the neighborhood children. They live on the corner of Maple Street :)

Partager Un Reve - short stories, often romantic, about two circus performers, Alyona Ledbedeva (who does aerial silks) and Li Mey Ri (an acrobat). They’re cute together, there’s not really much to say here.

Claire  - there’s a really old novelette floating around on my account and you can find it if you search Claire, but like it’s OLD. An 18th century French lady who contracted TB and died but was brought back by a necromancer named Cecil (Cecil is the character of my friend @sinnabon-cosplay !) and is now immortal. Fun times with Claire and Anthony usually involve lamenting the fact that they’re stuck as teenagers.

Miscellaneous - miscellaneous demon and monster characters like Alexander, Felicity (both vampires), Sparrow (succubus/Heather’s youngest sister), Zephyr (fae, husband of Spar), Lycan (she’s... a werewolf), and so on. Not really connected to a plot

Performing Possumhood - uh this was a play I wrote with my friend @holdingonmyheartlikeahandgrenade for a 24 hour play festival, it’s about a guy named Thomas who becomes herald for a kingdom and then on his first day of work, the king dies, and his son becomes king, except the new king??? is a possum???? and like no one does anything about it, so Thomas just feels like he’s going insane, poor guy (also everyone else is named Thomas except the king, whose name is His Majesty King Parthur Pencildragon of Alpacalot)

Nordic questing team - I’ve literally written nothing for these fools, but I’m tempted to make it into a dnd campaign! The characters I have are Val (short for Valnotte) (she’s a nokke), Hanne (human poison seller who wears an eyepatch just because), Fur (short for Bjorgolfur, he’s a werewolf who left his pack because he was too good at being alpha wolf but he didn’t want to be alpha, he wanted to press flowers and have a cute little cottage by a cliffside with a pretty garden damn it), and Bo (full name: Boscobel Blue, he’s a cow boy. Literally. He has cow ears and a big septum piercing and a tail. Also he’s a shepherd. His sheep are carnivorous :))) Make of that what you will)

Alice x Secret Garden - another play but where Alice Liddell and Mary Lennox are 18 years old and find themselves in Wonderland, after Mary is jaded from the end of WW1 and is frustrated at her friend Dickon’s marriage proposal, and Alice runs away, trying to retain her childhood as best she can

Retellings - I do myth and fairy tale and folk retellings! :) You can search ‘Tithonia’ for my sleeping beauty retelling, and I wrote Orpheus and Eurydice a while back. Still working my way through Icarus :’) Also ‘Mermaids Can’t See’ is a retelling of the classic mermaid story but written as a ??? field guide? journal entry? notes about mermaids?

If there’s a work you want specifically about a character, I always tag characters, and I also will tag character introductions and pictures/references of them as “beanpuff char[]”!

[iwontdancenetwork]

Frankenstein – Act III pas de deux (Sarah Lamb, Ryoichi Hirano; The Royal Ballet) 

A dark duet from The Royal Ballet's Frankenstein starring Ryoichi Hirano (The Creature), Sarah Lamb (Elizabeth) and Tristan Dyer (Victor).

Liam Scarlett's Frankenstein, his first full-length ballet for the Royal Opera House main stage, is an adaptation of Mary Shelley's classic Gothic novel. The score, composed for the ballet by Lowell Liebermann, sweeps the dramatic action towards its devastating end, while the detailed and chilling designs by John Macfarlane bring the Creature and the anatomy lab to terrifying life. 

Scarlett's choreography is highly expressive and dramatic as it explores the grief and desperation felt by Victor and the Creature's childlike need for acceptance. The ballet's momentum is sustained by the whole Company, with fellow students pushing Victor further into isolation and obsession, couples swirling around the stage in a dark waltz at his wedding, and the inevitable, tragic end.