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ojandbathrobes · 3 years

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thoughts on the closer by chappelle

I’lll preface this by saying I don’t think this was a a particularly great comedic performance out of Dave- it was alright comedically. I also don’t think he should have used the term TERF, and that he conflated gender with sex, but I understand his points. And I don’t speak for any community and only for myself.

Dave knows exactly how people would react to his special- he’s not stupid. His entire job is to understand what makes people react the way we do (such as laugh). And I agree with what he said.

The issue he has and why he has hammered it home so much- is that there are different rules for different people when it comes to comedy at the moment. Fundamentally, that you cannot make jokes involving the LGBT community if you yourself aren’t a part of it. As a comedian myself I wholeheartedly disagree. Its the same for people saying you can’t make jokes involving black people if you aren’t black. That’s not true. Neil Brennan makes jokes involving black people all the time and he’s white as snow.

Thankfully, most people understand context and that you can joke about anything provided it’s funny. And it’s okay to be offended. It’s not okay to deny a comedian subject matter.

You can make jokes about everyone else- white, black, asian, jewish, midgets, fat people, religious people and Chappelle pretty much does make jokes involving all of those. But for some reason LGBTQ people are off limits.

Dave makes jokes about jewish people with little to no backlash. His critics are silent when he makes jokes using the hard r n word to raucous applause. Clifford the big black NWORD gets huge laughs- and that’s a joke about a black man getting shot by the cops. Maybe these jokes are acceptable because every other group has been in the public eye for much longer. I don’t know.

He hammers home these jokes- about how he beats up women, got molested as a kid and liked it, how he would lead the feminist movement just to get his dick sucked. No one was bothered by these jokes and characterizations. They’re considered fair game. His work is not meant to be taken at face value. No joke is supposed to be taken at face value. He hammers home the trans jokes because the community INSISTS that they are the one type of joke he isn’t allowed to make. But that isn’t how life works.

In a past special Dave said,

“To what degree must I participate in your self-image?”

That doesn’t mean he won’t respect your self image. He said re iterated many times that he’ll respect anyone’s name and their pronouns. The issue is that you cannot FORCE anyone to treat you a certain way. You cannot FORCE tolerance on somebody. The only way you can make sure someone always treats you the way you want to be treated is to exercise power over them.

You are not the complete arbiter of all that is right or wrong because of your sexual orientation. If you could get people to always respect you or react the way you want them to - well everyone would laugh at every single thing that comes out of my mouth. I’m happy to accept anybody and everybody. But stop forcing me. The woke olympics gets exhausting. Equality is not about destroying a foe that needs vanquishing. It is about everybody agreeing to be on the same page.

Dave also has an issue with the disparity between black justice in this country and the rapid strides of the LGBTQ movement. I agree with him. I sincerely believe the LGBTQ community would not have achieved the success it had the majority of the movement been non white. They have gotten most of the objectives they were fighting for, outside of eliminating widespread personal prejudice. Black people have been tormented by the dominant culture and by the government for four hundred years with little redress done to their community.

The claim has been made that this implies black LGBTQ people don’t exist- but anyone who watched the special knows that Dave mentions them several times- referencing a white gay dude calling the cops on him, and how a black gay dude would not have. He references black gay dudes hanging out with a white trans person - and how that trans person will never know what it’s like to be a double minority. He demonstrates that white gay people are a minority until they need to be white again. The criticism against him here as well as the criticism of Chappelle as a whole has mostly come from a white mode of thinking. We really do have a different way of thinking, reading, writing, and speaking for the most part.

And that is the linear, completely logical (at the cost of all else) way of thinking that picks about small details without their greater context and point being taken into consideration, and believes the words you say are always exactly what you mean. This mode of thinking places everything at face value. This thinking style does not mesh well with comedy, as comedy is about taking that mode of thinking and flipping it on its head.

He constantly used the African American rhetorical technique of “signifyin” which again is hard for the white audience to understand. Signifyin takes many forms but the basic premise is this:

It explores the difference between words and their literal meaning against what you mean to convey through context or shared knowledge. In simple terms it’s like roasting someone to show friendship, or in even simpler terms calling someone “bad” to mean good. He calls himself “transphobic comedian Dave Chappelle”- now through context we obviously know that Dave doesn’t believe he is transphobic. He uses that to poke fun at the people who inevitably called him that after the special dropped.

The concept flies over many people’s heads. It’s why white racists have sometimes enjoyed his work. He uses these tactics because ultimately he is a trickster. The trickster is not inherently good or bad. He is just searching for deeper meaning through the exploitation of language and through the feelings of the audience in search of truth about the human condition.

This is why he says things that offend when taken at face value. If you’re not offended by Clifford the big black NWORD, but you are offended by calling trans pussy “beyond pussy”, what are your feelings based in? I understand that joke being able to hurt a trans persons feelings or why his claim that he is a TERF would also hurt. But he speaks truth. Trans women have a fundamentally different experience than cis women. That doesn’t mean they can’t be women and be allied with them.

A trans woman did NOT grow up with a period. Did not experience female puberty and the sexualization by others until their transition. That’s a different experience. And that’s OKAY. But it is not the same experience. He is exposing that. He DOES NOT have a problem with them. He has a problem with people trying to control his speech. Some say that still- he’s behind the times. The majority of audiences he speaks to don’t think that. As long as the audience is there- he isn’t behind the times.

To tell the trickster that he isn’t allowed to use certain tricks is the worst decision to make. He will always do the opposite of what you tell him to. If not for the simple reason of finding out what the opposite even is.

“To take a man’s livelihood is akin to killing him.”

To take the tricksters ability to trick is to kill him.

The underlying point of the whole thing was never hatred. Or division. Rather, unity. He always builds this unity in a backhanded way. His jokes are not out of hate, but acceptance.

Dave obviously cares about the trans people he meets. he doesn’t want them to hurt. If you are hurt by words it’s because you allow them to hurt you. (see last special “Sticks and Stones”) He wants the opposite. Everyone else likes being in the jokes. They laugh. To laugh is to take the venom out of the bite of pain. He says things that sound painful at face value- in the hopes they will laugh. He is inviting this community to laugh with use- and in doing so, overcome their pain.

The greatest use of signifyin.

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stars-a-n-d-scars · 4 years

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"Always, wolf boy.” - A Wolfstar Headcanon

So... I have a whole heap of wolfstar coming out headcanons, but this is the one I’ve always vibed with the most. I do believe that wolfstar was the first gay relationship either of them had ever been in, so a big part of their relationship was discovering about their sexualities together. So here goes!

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3 months. As I snuck a glance at Remus sitting next to me at the breakfast table, I couldn’t believe that I had been lucky enough to have him love me for a day, let alone 3 whole months. Of course, keeping things a secret has been hard, but its been worth it for every moment of this blissful existence we’ve shared together.

I remember when James found out about us. We were in the dormitory snogging when he just walked in. And it felt... I don’t know how to explain it. It wasn’t like he’d walked in on us doing something wrong, it wasn’t like we’d been caught. Of course I was terrified by what he’d think (and the beating of Remus’ heart next to mine told me that he was too), but deep down I knew it’d all be okay. And what he did next banished all anxiety from my mind (which was quite an achievement).

“About time. Carry on.” Grinning, he turned on his heels and walked out, closing the door behind him. And in that moment I think we both knew. Because if the people we loved accepted us, that who gave a fuck what everyone else thought, right?

But we still stayed hidden. Remus had told me a while ago that he was ready to come out, but I stalled. I just needed more time. Or at least that’s what I told myself. It wasn’t that I was ashamed, I was just... scared. Scared of what people would think of me. Scared of what my family would do once it got back to them.

Someone tapped me on the shoulder, ripping me out of my blissful reverie.

“Um...Sirius? Hi.” Oh. It was that girl... what was her name again? Miranda? Melinda? Something like that.

“Hey”, I said dully, still dissapointed about having my daydreams so rudely interrupted.

“So, um I was wondering if maybe...” She broke off and turned to the girl next to her, giggling. “Um, maybe you’d want to go on a date with me? Next weekend is a Hogsmeade weekend and I thought maybe we could go to Madame Puddifoot’s?”

Shit. I looked over at Remus and saw him averting his eyes. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair and stared at the floor as though it was the most interesting thing he’d seen in his life. And in that moment, I made my decision. Because it didn’t matter what the world thought of me. All that mattered that Remus’ adorable smile that never failed to make my heart swoop return to his face as quickly as possible.

“Excuse me for a second.”

It all happened in a blur. The next thing I knew, I was standing on the table, breakfast foods strewn around my feet. I picked up a huge silver platter that had once contained scrambled eggs (thank god for Peter’s appetite) and a metal spoon. I bashed them together loudly until everyone in the Great Hall was looking at me.

“Attention! I have an important announcement to make. I have fallen madly in love with Remus Lupin. He is the most beautiful, kind, infuriatingly adorable specimen I have ever had the fortune to meet. Every day, I am awestruck by his strength and passion. And every time I see him smile... it lights up the world”. With lose last words, my voice grew softer as I looked down into Remus’ eyes. My heart stopped as I saw that they were filled with tears. Maybe he wasn’t ready to come out? Maybe he was having second thoughts about us? This was the first time I’d professed my love for him, perhaps he didn’t feel the same way?

But all these thoughts were banished the second his lips hit mine. He’d leapt up onto the table and taken me in both arms, our mouths moving together like they were always meant to. When we finally broke apart, we were met by a stunned silence. For a second my anxiety took over my body as I looked out over the hundreds of faces who’d just witnessed my performance.

But then the Hall broke out into a round of raucous applause, led by the one and only James Potter. Among the smiling faces and cheering voices, there were slurs and sour looks, and there always would be. But who gave a fuck, right? As long as Remus was mine and I was his, we’d be alright.

I buried my face in my boyfriend’s neck, breathing him in. “Forever?”, I heard him mumble into my hair.

“Always, wolf boy. Always.”

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I know this writing isn’t very good, I was less trying to write something and more trying to just get my ideas down. Also i didn’t read back over it, so sorry for errors. If you want to see some of the work I’m more proud of, click here or here. Also thanks to @thegodofvibe for being a part of the many discussions that developed this headcanon in my head and for some of the ideas. Okay bye for now and remember, I love you all! 💜 💜 💜 💜

- Mia

#wolfstar #marauders #maraudersera #wolfstar fanfiction #marauders era fanfiction #sirius x remus #remus x sirius #siriusblack #remuslupin #jamespotter #peterpettigrew #wolfstarcomingout

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trinitea-fics · 5 years

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Too Many Thoughts about Bare: a Pop Opera

So I saw Bare last night (last week actually, it’s taking me a while to write this. @bluejaye91 I’m sorry it’s taken so long) and I’m expectantly emotionally distraught. Anyways, I really love when people share their experiences seeing Bare, ‘cause every production is so different, I thought I’d share some things this production did.

During the last chorus of You and I Peter and Jason were waltzing together and it was adorable

THEY ADDED A LINE “PETER SIMMONDS, MERCUTIO” WHEN SISTER CHANTELLE ANNOUNCED THE CAST LIST!!! GOD BLESS

I really thought that the McConnell sibling relationship was really sweet, they hugged at the end of Plain Jane Fat Ass

Wonderland was the most CRACKHEAD ENERGY thing I’ve ever seen. They really embarrassed how absurd the ‘White Boy Drug Rap’ is. Lucas was giving it 110%, running around, rapping in everyone’s faces and he LEAP onto the table like a madman. The rest of the Wonderland Crew had this mixed look of embarrassment and amusement.

The audience went BANANAS afterwards. The Drug Rap literally got one of the biggest applause in the show that they cast missed their cue for the proceeding dialogue.

Jason had a tshirt that said “Saint Cecilia’s Crew 2020″ and I WANT IT

Nadia and Ivy have a unicorn poster in their room omg

During A Quiet Night at Home Nadia was holding a chocolate bar, was staring down it, play around with it in her hands and ended tossing it aside.

BUT THERE WAS NO CELLO IN THIS PRODUCTION AND I’M MAD

I could sing my praises about the actress who play Nadia forever, she was perfect.

During the rave Peter wore a white t shirt with a BLACK VEST ON TOP LIKE THE DWEEB HE IS

OKAY, POSSIBLY ONE OF MY FAVOURITE MOMENT(S) At the end of Rolling Peter and Jason were making out, but then Peter turned away, clearly upset. Then there was this split second where Jason reached his hand out for Peter, who stared at a second before taking it. Only then did Best Kept Secret start. THEN LATER Jason held his hand out like that for Ivy in Promise to during “Maybe I can/Learn to love me”, but then realizes what he’s doing and pulls his hand away. We love a motif!

At the beginning of Birthday, Bitch! Matt was setting up dinner-for-two for him and Ivy and was all sweet and dorky about it before the rest of the gang showed up

In Are You There? the “Who usually leads?” line was directly proceeded by Peter whispering in Matt’s ear about him and Jason. Which I see as Peter expressing his frustration at Jason “leading” and discouraging Peter from coming out. I never really thought about that line that way before.

911 Emergency! “WHAT👏HAS👏HE👏DONE👏FOR👏ME👏LATELY👏”

During the “No such thing as heroes who are queer” line in Ever After Peter and Jason were standing really close together, just staring at each other during that pause, until Jason broke away, looking absolutely heartbroken

You could hear their laboured breaths and it made me #SAD

There was a pride flag in Wedding Bells 🏳️‍��

While the chorus was singing, Peter and Jason were dancing together. Like those cute choreography wedding dances, spinning and dipping each other. Peter ran and jumped into Jason’s arms and Jason picked him up and spun him around full-on ice dance stationary lift style.

They were exchanging rings during the vows, but when Claire came in, Jason dropped the one that he was supposed to give to Peter.

During Touch my Soul when Ivy asks Jason if he’s ever “felt this way before”, Jason was leaning against Peter’s locker, he glanced at it before replying “Yeah, once”

Warning was one of the highlights of the show, by far (which I was utterly surprised by.

Claire was a vocal powerhouse. Like, wow, lady had pipes. I had an out of body experience listening to her sing

When the song finished the audience was silent for a moment, just stunned at what we just experienced. Then one guy said “WOW” really loud, then the audience went NUTS

Peter and Jason almost kissed at the end of Pilgrim's Hands before Jason spotted Ivy

“Loud, proud, and clear.” Sister Chantelle looked out into the audience The Office style.

During God Don’t Make No Trash, Sister Chantelle pointed out to the audience during the line “Every gay man” (A call out!)

Ivy went off to riff-town during the “How can I--” at the end of All Grown Up and it was magnificent

Nadia comforted Ivy at the end of the song and it was so tender

Jason and Nadia hugged at the end of Promise and it made me #SAD

The make it appear like Jason was standing in the light of the cross that was a fixed part of the set while he sang Once Upon a Time

The confessional booth was set on an angle, with Jason closer to the audience. So it felt like Father Flynn was disconnected from the audience/Jason

(I still miss the cello)

As Jason fell, Peter was just able to catch him. Peter was kneeling on the ground with Jason’s head resting on in his lap. Peter closed Jason’s eyes

A Glooming Peace was preformed with the ensemble standing in a semi-circle around Peter kneeling on the ground with Jason in his arms

The “And I forgive you, Father” in Absolution was said much slower than it is on the cast album, with Peter articulating every word. Which made me #SAD

Moral of the story? Bare made me really sad, but I had so much fun and I wish I could go and see it again. And damn I really want to direct this show now!

Also their social media for this production has been SLAYING. They made an Instagram post with a picture the guy playing the Father Flynn reading “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck” with the caption “Our resident priest is hard at work studying how to handle the raucous graduating class of St. Cecilia’s ✌” which askdjhfaksjd. Damn.

And I left a comment on their IG post about how Bare is my favourite show and how I’m grateful I am that they are producing the show and how excited I am to be emotionally devastated by it and replied with “we are so ready to emotionally devastate our sweetest audience member” which made me so soft wtf

#bare: a pop opera #bapo #bare a pop opera #bare a rock musical #bare: a rock musical #long post #who ever runs their social media literally is my favourite person #and this is NOT my Bare Magnum Opus I hope to post it this weekend

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best-ghoul · 4 years

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Obviously shipping real people is kinda gross and I try not to participate, but every time the hololive gals make one of their trademark extremely heterosexual moves, my gay ass takes the bait and I feel like a medieval peasant looking up at the convent like, “Those nuns, man, they’ve gotta be getting a little frisky, right?”. But, just ast according to my sources (on nuns) the answer is ‘yes, but not as much as advertised’, so it’s not something to get too invested in.

But then from behind me I hear the indie pagan vtubers on the moors talking about fingerblasting each other in the middle of the dolmen circle to raucous applause and I get right back to wondering.

#Eastern RB

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iamleavingthisfandom · 4 years

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karaoke bar - request

@glimmersinner said:

i have a reddie fic idea, dont know if youre taking requests, but im thinking of after the battle of it (eddie survives bc its canon) they go out for kareoke and stan can live or die its up 2 u :) but they do kareoke at this bar and like richie sings “eddie,baby” to come out w his feelings and i need that in my life thank u

I am, indeed, taking requests! And this is such a lovely one, thank you for sending it to me. Hope you like what I’ve cooked up for you! read here on ao3

Raucous laughter rolled over the table full of drinks and snacks that the Losers occupied. After all the “you’re a fucking clown” were said and all the sinister interdimensional entities were done with, everyone went to settle their own affairs, but agreed to reconvene in New York. Which was currently taking the form of getting together in a karaoke bar, an occasion full of drinking and revelry, finally not bearing the shadow of responsibility for defeating an ancient evil. The laughter erupted after Richie’s quip about Ben and Beverly’s over-the-top cheesy rendition of (I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life, all in good fun, of course. A “happy for you, but keep all the straight details to yourself” was a drunken comment of him trying to read the room, with no malice behind it. He had come out via his twitter earlier in the week, with all the Losers sending him messages of love and support afterwards, and it took no time at all for jokes about being gay to become his go-to response to many things, despite the lingering internal problems. Humor was always his coping mechanism, after all, and it helped that he was surrounded by supportive friends. The main problem he was actually struggling with was his less-than-friendly feelings for none other than Eddie Kaspbrak, currently sitting across from him and sipping a Strawberry Daiquiri through a bright green straw. His jokes were decidedly not helping with that, especially not when Eddie let go of the straw to laugh so hard Richie could hear his snorts above the general rowdiness of the bar, but that was not going to stop him from making everyone laugh.

Just as Richie looked away from Eddie, desperately willing himself not to blush (he was almost forty years old, for fuck’s sakes, he did not blush), Bill called out in a challenging tone: “Beep-beep, trashmouth, either step up and sing something or stop making fun!” Richie put his hand to his chest, as if deeply wounded. “Billiam, making fun of you all is my sacred duty.” “Sing something, Richie,” Beverly joined in. Soon, Bill and Beverly were both chanting “sing,” while Stan sat between them, looking entirely unimpressed if not for a tiny hint of a smile. Ben was mostly interested in looking at Beverly enthusiastically chanting, Mike was grinning a bit, but waited to see the situation develop, and Eddie… Well, Eddie was looking at Richie with an impish expression that the latter was having trouble reading. Finally, after a few seconds of this, he raised his hands in surrender. “Fine, fine, you vultures. Let me show you how it’s done,” he grinned as Bill and Beverly cheered, and stood up to go to the karaoke machine. He scrolled through the list of songs when one caught his attention. His jokes weren’t helping, but maybe… He didn’t let himself finish the thought before he pressed “play” and the first soft chords poured from the speakers. He lifted the mic just in time for the lyrics to start. The cameras captured all of the glances And all of the chances we’ve missed Everyone at the table cheered supportively, except Eddie, who looked like he recognised the song all too well and was slowly starting to show a very fetching blush. Though there was a small, hopeful smile— except was there? Richie didn’t want to give himself vain hope, and instead sang further, only gaining confidence and enthusiasm with every line. As always, it took little time for his flair for showmanship to show itself, and by the time the first chorus came, he had started moving his hips and his free arm, in a more dramatic than choreographic fashion, but expressive nonetheless. Oh Eddie, baby, won’t you come to my arms tonight? I beg and plead you, please succumb to my charms tonight. He spared a wink at Eddie, who looked progressively more scarlet, before grinning and making a show of holding his palm to his heart. I give my heart But you take it and you break it and you tear it apart Oh Eddie, baby, won’t you come to my arms. Not that he hadn’t heard the song before, but somehow actually singing it out loud was different than listening to the lyrics: they resonated deeper now. He didn’t let himself show that, though. A smirk here and a rakish grin there did the trick, and apart from Stan’s raised eyebrow and knowing smile it seemed like no one had thought too much of it. And I hope one day, dear friend, you will come around. The second Richie thought that maybe choosing a song that showcased his hidden feelings was, in fact, not the best idea he’d ever had, he caught the sight of Eddie biting his lip in a small smile. He reminded himself that Eddie was just embarrassed at being the center of attention (wouldn’t be the first time for that) but in on the joke, yet no matter how he framed it to himself, that little smile was all that it took for his breath to catch. The rest of the performance was likely not his best form, but it mattered little, and when he finished the last line, the Losers’ table erupted in cheers and applause. Even Stan clapped, unable to hold back his smile. Richie made an exaggerated bow and got back to his seat. “Alright,” Bill clapped his hands once more and got up, “I’ll go see if they have Tubthumping,” and with that, everything seemingly got back to normal. Well, everything except the weird, almost-calculating look Eddie was giving Richie that stopped him from joking about how cheesy Bill’s song choice was. The rest of the night was uneventful and full of that special drunken merriment that can only be found in good company. If anyone noticed the looks Richie kept throwing Eddie, no one mentioned anything, and if Eddie had anything to say about Richie’s initial choice of song, he kept it to himself. Eventually, as everything in life, the night had to end, and the Losers started parting ways until the only people left outside the bar were Richie, smoking a cigarette, and Eddie, shuffling his foot on the asphalt and looking anywhere but at his friend. “Fun night, huh?” Eddie wondered, seemingly at no one in particular. “Yeah, but my head’s going to be killing tomorrow,” Richie joked with a puff of smoke. Eddie lifted his head, biting his lip and meeting his eyes for the first time since they said their goodbyes to the rest of the group. It took a lot of Richie not to let that stop his inhale of smoke, but he kept his breathing steady. “Rich,” Eddie started and paused again, unsure. “Yeah, Spaghetti?” Richie was determined to keep it light. “I wish you’d stopped doing things like— like the song,” Eddie rushed out on a single breath, like he was running on a sudden drunken influx of bravery. “If you don’t mean anything by that, it’s just cruel,” he added, quieter and hiding his gaze again. Wait— cruel? If he didn’t mean anything? Within seconds, hope grew in Richie’s chest, one that he’d systematically squashed down, and too soon it became too big to contain. After a short awkward pause, it pushed the words out of him. “I meant it.” Eddie’s eyes shot up as he looked questioningly at Richie. “Whatever you’re thinking of now, I meant it.” “Can you say it? What you meant?” The look in Eddie’s eyes, cautious but on the verge of happy, and the tentative step he took towards Richie, gave him the strength to throw the cigarette on the ground and step on it without taking his eyes off of Eddie. “I’ve been in love with you since I knew what love was,” he knew it was always a risk to be so open with his heart, but the giggle Eddie let out and a smile that lit up his face were the best payoff Richie could ever want. “You’re so cheesy, Tozier. You’re lucky I’m in love with you, too,” Richie barely had the time to make a sound before Eddie moved in and tugged him down into a kiss with a hand in his hair. The kiss was short-lived, though, and soon Eddie was pulling away with a frown, quickly replaced with a laugh. “You reek of smoke, that’s gross.” “I’ll give up smoking for you,” Richie promised dramatically, his ability for coherent thought almost gone with the giddy high of their long-anticipated finally. Eddie chuckled and stood on the balls of his feet as Richie wound his arms around him. “I can get used to it,” he kissed Richie again. The rest of the world melted away when their lips moved against each other, and as he tasted the sugary residue of strawberry concoctions on Eddie’s lips, Richie knew he’d never felt quite as elated before in his life. No, not even when his agent booked his first large venue for his show. When they pulled apart, Eddie looked at him from under his eyelashes. “Want to come over to my place?” “Ouch, Eds, not even gonna buy me dinner first?” Eddie let out a small laugh, but he looked determined, and maybe, just maybe, Richie felt like he would do absolutely anything for him at that moment. “Well?” “I’d love to,” Richie smiled in response. Eddie stepped back to hail a cab, and suddenly there was a slight twinge of doubt in Richie’s gut. “And we don’t have to— do anything you don’t want to do, of course.” The look Eddie gave him in response was best described as amused. “Oh, we don’t have to, but I definitely want to. That is, if you…” he didn’t finish the thought, because Richie interrupted him. “You have no idea how much I want to.” With a grin, Eddie took his hand and waited for a cab to pull up, which it did in just a few seconds. Richie followed him into the car with a blinding grin and put his hand on Eddie’s thigh as he listened to him tell the driver the address. His main takeaway from the whole thing was that sometimes joking about his true feelings paid off big time. Anything else was overshadowed by Eddie’s hand sliding smoothly into his once more and his large eyes staring gently into Richie’s own, but maybe that was just as well.

#fluff #reddie #reddie fanfic #requests #glimmersinner #submission #writing tag

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ravenoftheskyes · 5 years

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Dear Evan Hansen, We’ve been way too out of touch. (Yes, this is a persona fanfic)

(AN: @yusuke-of-valla’s blog, PQ2 but they’re doing DEH.)

“Cmon, Mona! Swallow your pride for me, just nod yes! Act like a mascot for once! For Ann?” Ren says, laughing.

“And prepare, cause something’s in the air!~” quite a few voices speak up.

“I’ve found my people!” Ren screams out, seeking out the voices.

The rest of the sidequest involved Ren, Makoto, Haru, Yusuke, Ann, Goro, Futaba, Yosuke, Rise, Minato, and Minako singing a bunch of musical songs.

Everyone threw Minato and Minako a heathers preformance because Heathers wasn’t out yet in their time.

And then...

“A preformance!” Ren says, flourishing a script.

“A what?” Minako said to him.

“We’re going to preform Dear Evan Hansen!” Futaba says, with an excited look on her face.

“What’s that?” Rise asks, confusedly.

“A musical! It’s kinda dark, but it’s got some killer songs and some hilarious moments!” Ann says, quickly.

“Okay, so who do you want us to be?” Minato asks, immediately bringing everyone on board.

“Okay, I was thinking that Yosuke could be Jared, Haru could be Alana, Yusuke could be Connor, Makoto could be Heidi, and Minato could be Zoe. But there’s are three roles that I have no idea who could be them.” Ren explains.

“Well, what are the characters?”

“Evan, our protag is depressed, oblivious, and ridiculously in love with Zoe. Larry and Cynthia are Connor and Zoe’s parents. They need to be able to argue at a moment’s notice.”

Minato and Minako share a look.

“We might know some people who could fill those roles.” Minako says, a smirk playing at her lips.

And they leave the room.

Twenty minutes later, they drag in Akihiko, Mitsuru, and Yu.

“If I’m Zoe, then my husband should be Evan, shouldn’t he?”

“And you haven’t seen these two really get into an argument.”

Ren smiles.

“Looks like we have our cast!”

And rehearsals begin immediately, with scripts and listens of the songs.

Finally, Makoto and Mitsuru start off “Anybody have a map?”

“Connor finished the-” Minato starts, swinging the milk carton behind him and accidentally hitting Akihiko, who was standing behind him.

“Shit, you alright?” Minato says, basically carrying Akihiko at this point.

“Yeah, fine.” He says, clearly with a broken nose.

Mitsuru sighs and pulls out her evoker.

“Diarahan” she says, with a tight-lipped frown.

And that was only the start.

“Life without you has been rough” Yu starts

“Kin-HAHAHAHAHA” Yosuke tries to say.

He ended up laughing for a full minute.

Ren, Minako, and Hikari hold back snickers.

Requiem comes along.

“Why should I play the grieving gir-”

Minato tries to sing, and ends up yawning.

“Wow, you can’t even stop yawning during a preformance?” Yu quips.

And Minato, deadpan as always, says this.

“I want a divorce.”

Minako and Ren try so, so hard to not die of laughter.

And when they finally get to the end of act 1...

“Even when the dark comes crashing through, you will be found. When you need someone to carry you, you will be found! You will be found!”

Minato and Yu lean in for the kiss.

“Haha!” Futaba yells out, just as their lips are about to meet.

“Futaba! You killed the moment!” Ren yells back to her.

“S-Sorry! It’s just that Hikari told me something hilarious!”

Minako whispers something under her breath.

“Take two!” Hikari says.

“Say darling, hey maybe, fancy a movie night with us?” The wildcards say in sync.

“You guys really need to stop that.”

“No!”

There was somewhat smooth sailing until Good for You.

“And you say what you need to say, and you play who you need to play, and If somebody’s in your way crush them and leave them behind!”

Yu breaks down in tears.

“Cut the music!” Someone screams out.

“Yu, it’s all an act. Please calm down.” Makoto says, with her head in her hands

“Yeah, partner.” Yosuke says, touching Yu’s arm.

“I’m sorry! I’m not a theater kid! I don’t know how to do this!” Yu cry-yells

“Yu, seriously? This is why you join the drama club.” Minato chimes in.

“Oh, and I suppose you’re a part of yours?!”

“...We don’t have a drama club.”

“Technically, we do.” Mitsuru chimes in.

“We have one?!” Minako yells out.

“Well, on paper at least, SEES is the drama club.”

“We’re the WHAT NOW?!”

“...It’s not important, anyhow. The true purpose is to fight shadows, is it not?”

“Is that why Ms. Toriumi sometimes asks me to do dramatic readings in class?” Minato asked, with a degree of uncertainty.

“Most likely, yes.”

“Revelations aside, let’s try again. We need to get this perfectly!” Hikari says, cutting off the conversation.

So they stumble through the rest of the songs, and start with the dialogue.

“You went lurching from one miracle cure to the next.” Akihiko yells.

“Miracle cure? Is that really what you call it?!” Mitsuru says, with all the emotion of a grieving mother.

And then sparks and ice start surrounding them.

“Oh, no-” Minato says out, just as Mitsuru accidentally freezes Akihiko.

“Akihiko!” Mitsuru says as she snaps out of her stupor and catches her frozen best friend.

Shinjiro runs in. “WHAT’S GOING ON MY IDIOT-FRIEND-SENSES ARE TINGLING!”

After they thaw out Akihiko and try again, a similar thing happens. Akihiko shocks her.

Shinjiro has to start sitting in because otherwise his friends are going to kill each other.

Finally, dress rehearsals. Akihiko borrows Yu’s glasses, Yosuke wears his, and everyone dresses a bit more casually. Yusuke’s hair gets poofed up by Ren and Ann.

“Why am I lowkey weak for Inari?! I shouldn’t be lowkey weak for Inari!” Futaba yells out.

Everyone else, is of course, also lowkey weak.

Songs start again.

“Oh, damn!” Minato says as he watches the milk carton fly into the ceiling. “I’ll get it!”

“I’m gonna say the M word!” Futaba yells out, suddenly.

“NO!” Half the team screams.

“Macbeth!” She yells out.

“AAAAAAAA” Minato yells, as he falls off the ladder.

“...Countercurse time?”

“YEAH!”

“What happened??” Minato questions.

“Futaba said the M word!” Minako tells him.

“WHY WOULD YOU SAY THE M WORD IN A THEATER?!”

“If we shadows have offended, think but this and all is mended, that you have but slumbered here, whilst these visions did appear.” Futaba recites.

“Thank you!” Ren told her.

“What’s this superstition? Why shouldn’t you say M-” Yu questions.

“NO!” Once again, half the cast yells.

“Call it ‘The Scottish Play’ or ‘The Bard’s Play’ in a theater” Minako starts.

“Basically, there are multiple stories. Some say it’s because the first ‘Lady’ died and Shakespeare had to go on in her place. There was also the one where the prop daggers were switched for real ones and Duncan was murdered live on stage. There’s also the one that says the spells in the play are actual spells and Witches cursed it because of that.” Ren informed Yu.

“...Oh”

“Yeah. So never say the M-word in a theater.”

“Okay.”

Finally, the preformance.

...You think everything ended here? Oh no, mistakes always happen.

“Dear Evan Hansen, thanks for every note you send!”

“Dear Connor Murphy, I’m just glad to be your friend!”

“Our friendship goes beyond...”

Yu dips Yusuke.

“Your average kind of bond!”

They lean in.

“But not because we’re gay!”

Yu drops Yusuke.

“No, not because we’re gay!”

Yusuke says, as he jumps up. Everyone laughs.

“Did you plan that?! Did you?!” Ann whisper-screams to Ren.

“No! Not at all!” He whispers back.

And then the “You Will Be Found” situation.

The company starts singing. And then we get to Zoe’s part.

Yu trips Minato. Minato is literally pinning Yu to the floor. Minato keeps singing, and then leans in for the kiss when it’s time.

All the other theater kids beg for Yu not to mess up with Akihiko and Mitsuru.

The rest of the show goes without incident.

The finale comes in, and the curtain goes down.

Raucous applause follows it.

...It was hard, but they did it.

#minato arisato #minako arisato #hamuko arisato #ren amamiya #yu narukami #souji seta #akira kurusu #akihiko sanada #mitsuru kirijo #dear even hansen the musical #yosuke hanamura #makoto niijima #makoto yuki #haru okumura #ann takamaki #futaba sakura #long post

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tibbinswrites · 5 years

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Suptober Day 3 - Royalty

“Come on, Dean!” Charlie wheedled from outside the tent. “We’re going to be late!”

“Yeah, yeah.” Dean grumbled, finally pushing open the door in his handmaid’s get-up. “You know they can’t start without you, your majesty.” He bowed low and flamboyant and ridiculous.

Charlie laughed brightly, grabbing her friend by the elbow and tugging him along, “I’m so glad you could come, Dean. It’s been way too long since you visited Moondoor.”

“Who’s Dean?” Dean asked with a wink, “I’m Led Floydar, the last in my line.”

Charlie raised an eyebrow, “Led Floydar?”

Dean shrugged and grinned. Charlie just shook her head, falling back into character and picking up her pace so that Dean… Led lagged a few steps behind as a handmaiden should. She had to admit, despite the terrible name, it was nice to see Dean out of the context of world-endy dangers and real-life monsters eating people. Ever since his first dabble with LARPing, Dean had been ever so subtly dropping hints that he may be needed in Moondoor again, so Charlie, in an attempt to help Dean save face, had organised this event that she absolutely couldn’t get through without her handmaiden and had begun to pester Dean about it until he (after turning her down twice), got scared that she wouldn’t ask again and accepted.

She rolled her eyes, knowing that he couldn’t see her. As smart as he was, Dean sure was an idiot sometimes. Of course Sam would tease him about it, but it’s not as though either he or that dreamboat of an angel would actually think less of him if he admitted that he liked LARPing and wanted to go more often. It’s not as though he had much else to look forward to in his life of killing and blood and saving the world. What was so wrong with letting himself find joy in wearing some chainmail and pretending to be a queen’s handmaiden?

Stupid toxic masculinity, stupid societal pressures that tried to enforce conformity. Stupid Dean being too bullheaded to let himself do something that he liked just because he wanted to. Men were so delicate and exhausting. It was times like this that she was so glad she was gay.

They made their way through the camp towards the gathering area where there were tables set up and steaming platters of food were being brought out by those in servant’s garb. There was to be a feast in honour of the Queen of Moon’s fifth coronation day and Dean had better appreciate all the string-pulling and electronic favours she had had to do in order to make it happen. Led Floydar would be needed to serve her. To show up without her handmaiden would be a sign that her staff didn’t care for her enough to celebrate with her, which would call into question how fit she was to rule (or at least, that was how she sold it to Dean).

In reality, it was going to be a big party with lots of mead, speeches and food, and with a battle with the shadow orcs scheduled for the next day, there were going to be a lot of people pairing off with their best ‘last night on earth’ lines.

A hush fell over the crowd as Charlie approached, her crown balanced expertly on her head and her faux-fur trimmed velvet cloak just shy of brushing along the ground. She kept her chin high and her back straight and the smile that crept onto her face was genuine. She loved this, she really loved this. It wasn’t even being treated like royalty, though that part certainly had perks, it was the thrill of being so lost in a game that the reality outside just didn’t really matter. All of her boring worries about laundry or her next electricity bill or that firewall her boss had been hounding her about, none of it would make any sense in Moondoor, and so, it didn’t bother her. She stepped slowly towards the throne at the head of the table where those in the livery of knights and diplomats from other realms and guests of honour and stood in front of the seat, catching Led out of the corner of her eye. He fell into his proper place just behind her throne, his hand near the hilt of his sword, just in case there was trouble, but they were expecting none tonight.

“My loyal and valued subjects,” she began, scanning over the tables. Many were people she knew from her daily life, others were familiar only in Moondoor, others still were people that she had only spoken to online. She might not know all of them, and she certainly didn’t rule over them, but they were her people nonetheless. “Welcome to the celebration of the beginning of my fifth year as your chosen Queen of Moons.” She paused for applause here, and those more raucous, those playing hedge knights and drunkards and jesters, obliged her with a lot more noise than strictly necessary but the quietened after a moment, helped along by Led’s glower. “I am honoured that you once again deem me a fit ruler, as one who will serve your needs with as much dedication as you serve mine. Moondoor is a great kingdom, the greatest kingdom, and it is home to the greatest of people. These past five years have not been without their challenges, but my failings have been met with nothing but kindness and support and I- I just want you to know how much I truly appreciate that.”

Damn it, she was actually tearing up. She took a breath and saw her emotion reflecting back at her in dozens of other faces. They all understood. Moondoor was special to them too. She smiled and sniffed, swallowing any more tears. Led stepped forward and placed a polished silver goblet on the table in front of her before filling it from a nearby jug of wine and falling back into place, a quiet, proud smile on his lips.

“So eat, drink and celebrate, my friends! To another year of prosperity!” Charlie finished, raising the goblet before her, waiting until everyone else followed suit and echoed her before taking a long drink. The wine was sweet and fruity and flowed over her tongue like the promise of summer. She then sat on the padded seat of her throne and motioned for Led to fill up a plate for her before sitting at her side so they could enjoy the feast together.

“Nice speech, your highness.” Dean muttered quietly, in between mouthfuls of roast pork and parsnips.

Charlie grinned and swallowed. “It helps to be honest,” she said. “We all find Moondoor for our own reasons but one we’re here we’re family. You get it, you’re one of us now too.”

Dean snorted and looked out with amused scepticism over the tables of laughing people who dressed up and played pretend for fun, who used each other and this world they’d built as an escape from whatever awaited them back home. His expression softened then, turning fond eyes back to her.

“Yeah,” he said. “I think I do.”

Charlie smiled at him, and then ordered Led to refill her plate so she didn’t have to get up. Sighing happily with her full goblet she leaned back into the cushions. It was good to be queen.

@winchester-reload

If you liked this, please consider buying me a coffee.

#suptober #suptoberart2019 #spn fanfic #day 3 #royalty #charlie #larping #dean winchester #prompt #writing #TibbinsWrites

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baece · 5 years

Text

handful of things in the cats movie:

we all gay

i said “im so randy for this film” and someone in the back heard me and called out SAME

cheers at the sonic trailer

someone yelling WHAT is happening and everyone agreeing

screams when one cat almost sucked on toes

people chanting “kiss” every time the cats necked

raucous applause at the end

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blackcoffee85 · 6 years

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The Interview

Pairing: Liam × Savi (MC)

Word Count: 1570

Rating: G (Pure Fluffiness)

Description: This interview will serve as part one of the head canon for Liam and Savi.

Author's Note/Disclaimer: Life imitates art... there are nuggets about me throughout this interview. Can you identify which ones they are?

All characters (with the exception of Savi and Sienna) are from The Royal Romance Choices series and belong to Pixelberry.

Tags: @ladynonsense @zaffrenotes @sleepwalkingelite @bobasheebaby @hopefulmoonobject @nikkisha16 @poc-and-gay-choices

“Thank you, citizens of Cordonia, for joining us for a special live taping of Trend Magazine. This special taping is sponsored by Lord Maxwell Beaumont and his new book, The Royal Life. Today, we will be taking an intimate look at our King and Queen, one that gives us some further insight into who they are without the crown,” Ana de Luca smiles at the audience. “Without further ado, I would like to welcome our beloved King Liam and Queen Savi Rhys to the stage!”

From backstage Liam and Savi can hear the raucous applause from the live audience. “Are you ready, my love?” Liam holds out his hand. “With you, always,” Savi smiles at Liam, putting her hand in his as he leads them out to the stage, using their unoccupied hands to wave to the audience as they approach their seats. Liam seats Savi first and then himself.

“Thank you, Your Majesties, for agreeing to this special.” “There are no thanks needed, Ana. We were honored and delighted to be asked to do this,” Liam looks out into and grins at the audience. “I will jump right into the questions. King Liam, I’ll start by asking you the first question. The citizens of Cordonia are aware that you met Queen Savi in New York and that she came from the United States to compete for your hand during the social season, but we want to hear the details. How did you meet Queen Savi?”

“Prior to the social season, Lord Beaumont thought that I needed a break to get away - a “pre-Bachelors Bachelors party,” Liam emphasized with air quotes. “As Lord Beaumont has always been a fan of New York, he rallied Drake Walker, my best friend, and at the time one of my oldest friends, Lord Tariq, and I to go to New York. Little did I know that one of our outings would lead to the bar where I would meet the love of my life and the future Queen of Cordonia.”

Savi adds, “Prior to meeting King Liam, I had been having a rough time over those last couple of months. I had recently graduated from Fordham University with dual Bachelor's degrees in Social Work and Sociology but was having a hard time finding work in my field that paid enough to afford me the opportunity to work only one job. That meant that I was waitressing on the weekends, on top of my full-time career as a housing case manager to cover my living expenses. Before coming into the bar to begin my weekend shift, I had been at my full-time position where my supervisor had released one of my favorite clients from housing due to a drug relapse. I was devastated. When I got to the bar, we were short-staffed, my co-worker Daniel was trying to leave early for his date, the manager was being difficult and I had just spilled some trash I had just taken out on myself. It was a rough night. That is, until in walked the most handsome man I had ever seen in my life. Like, I mean, FINE!” Savi looks into the audience, head cocked to the side. The audience laugh and Liam blushes. Savi continues, “Kind cocoa eyes, beautiful accent, and that smile.” Savi places her hand over her chest, swooning and looks at Liam. “I melted. I just knew there was something different about him and the next morning, I thought, “what do I have to lose?” and I was on a plane with Drake and Lords Beaumont and Tariq on my way to Cordonia to compete in the social season.”

“Oh, my goodness!’ Ana exclaimed, “would you say that it was love at first sight?” Taking each other's hands, and locking eyes at the same time, Savi and Liam blurt “YES!” to “ohhhhs” and “ahhhhhhs” from the audience.

“Next question, and Queen Savi, we will start with you this time. What do you love most about King Liam?” Savi smiles. “His kindness.” Still holding Liam's hand, she gives it a quick squeeze. “Building up to the coronation and immediately following his start as King, Liam had been put through and seen a lot. However, he never let the things he had been through change who he was at his core or how we treated others,” Savi squeezes Liam's now trembling hand while he fights to maintain his stoic demeanor. “The night we met, I ended up serving as the guys’ unofficial tour guide. Liam was more concerned about their experience and whether or not they were having a good time then he was about his own.” Liam smirks recalling the memory of the five of them at Savi’s private spot on the beach. “His kindness, his heart, is what made me fall deeply in love with him and also affirmed what kind of king I knew he would be and is for Cordonia. Plus, you see him, right?” Savi gestures up and down next to Liam’s chair with her hand. “My husband, who is a king, is Fine. He is fione! Liam blushes a deeper shade of crimson, chuckling while shaking his head at his wife before switching back to a more serious tone.

“What I love about Queen Savi is her honesty and directness. As evidenced by the way she just described my looks.” Liam smirks at Savi while the audience laughs. Liam continues, “One of the things that Queen Savi has taught me, as her partner and as a man is the need to be effective in my communication. What I also learned is that while I think it is easy for Queen Savi to be honest with me, sometimes it comes at a cost to her.” Liam pauses, looking at Savi who is nodding her head in approval before he continues.

“It is very clear that Queen Savi is a Black American woman and was not born in Cordonia. When the scandal with Tariq occurred, the Cordonia people made no qualms about some of their racist and specifically anti-Black views. In America, Black women advocating for what they need is seen as something negative. I cannot imagine the toll it takes on her to be authentically herself as a Black woman while also serving as a queen with that level of scrutiny.”

Savi interjects, “I am still working through the stigma of how I was perceived in America and how some Cordonians may still think of me despite the scandal with Tariq being over six years ago. I don't expect people to relate directly to my experience as a Black woman, but I do expect people to be aware of their biases and unlearn them, just as I have had to be mindful of and work to overcome my insecurities.”

“Ana, I'd like to add more one. I'm also in love with Savi's strength. I don't know any Queen who would this honest about who she is. As part of our vows, we made it a point as King and Queen to leave a very different legacy than those before us, even different from my father, Constantine. I could have never imagined that Cordonia could flourish in the way it has over the past couple of years and I am thankful for each day that I get to experience this life with Queen Savi and Princess Sienna.”

“We truly could not have asked for more kind, benevolent and thoughtful rulers, Your Majesties. Thank you for giving the Cordonia citizens this peek into your life behind the castle walls. Our time is almost up, but, Queen Savi, I believe you have a surprise for King Liam before we end this special edition of Trend Magazine.” “That I do!” To the left of the stage, Regina comes out holding the hand of their spirited five-year-old daughter, Sienna. Sienna sees Liam and breaks out in a sprint, Liam standing to catch and wrap his little chocolate drop in his arms. Kissing her cheeks, Liam sits and adjusts Sienna in his lap to face the audience. In Sienna’s ear, Liam whispers “wave to the audience little chocolate drop.” Sienna excitedly waves to the audience and the audience waves back in kind. Ana leans into Savi, “she’s a natural.” “She gets it from her father,” Savi laughs.

“Sienna, we have a secret for daddy, don’t we?” Sienna excitedly bounces up and down, “can I tell him now?” “Sure, baby.” “Daddy,” Sienna turns to face her father. “Yes, Sienna?” Liam beams down on the little girl that shares his eyes and smile. “Can you help me take my sweater off, I'm hoooootttttttttt,” she whines. Liam chuckles, “sure, sweetie.” Liam stands Sienna up facing him to remove her sweater. Upon seeing the wording on her shirt, his eyes grow wide. “Daddy, do you think I'm going to be a good big sister?” Eyes shining, he hugs Sienna tightly and says, “you'll be the best big sister because you are fierce, honest, and protective, just like momma.” Still holding Sienna, Liam stands and pulls his two girls into the biggest bear hug he can. “Daddddddyyyy you’re squishing me.” Liam and Savi laugh, wiping tears from their eyes before Liam puts Sienna down. “Sienna, show the audience your shirt.” Sienna proudly stands facing the audience.

On her shirt reads, The only present I want to open on Christmas is William Jackson George Rhys. Delivery scheduled for 12/2019.

#the interview #Choices TRR #liam x mc #liam x savi

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wirtless · 7 years

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things from deh 11/19

the lights hadnt even gone up on ben yet on the bed and people were already applauding like it was the end of the world. the applause just..kept going. and ben had this choked up look on his face and he was trying not to cry

the same for rachel bay jones just. raucous applause.

and also? when the murphy family breakfast rolls on people lost it and they had to wait like 85 minutes before going back into the song

ben forgetting his lines in the middle of sincerely, me and just kind of standing there with a little grin on his face as will was just staring at him like omg

during ywbf ben walked toward the front of the stage as usual, you know, but he was looking UP at the screens and all around like he’d never seen it before in his life and he wanted to memorize it all. he had his head entirely craned back just looking UP

after smthng jared says about the Gay Emails ben sat there and did his normal little head shake but ppl laughed so much, and he did it again and people laughed, and he just kept doing it an incredible amount of time just. shaking his head and everyone loved it

he wiped his hand ENTIRELY down to his foot when he meets zoe for the first time. like not just a dramatic little shirt wipe. he lifted up his leg and wiped it the ENTIRE length to his off-brand shoes

after zoe was like “im not breaking up w you” ben was facing out toward the audience and did this little hand moment like Oh but again. we all laughed. and he kept doing it for like 5 hours

also his FREAK OUT when he thinks zoe is breaking up w him was SO DRAMATIC he did lunges and shit i have never seen a human body move in that way before

mike really pummeled him in sincerely, me during their little Buddy Buddy part. and BEN !!!!!!!!!!!! FUCKIN RAN HIS HAND THROUGH MIKES HAIR INSTEAD OF DOING HIS NORMAL TINY POKES

sincerely, me was basically a rock concert ppl next to be started to clap along it was wild

bens hug with jlt after for forever didnt end they just did not let go of each other

mike was especially kind today as the computer lab connor he was very very kind. gentle. until you know, hes not

ben hugged michael park after to break in a glove

this is not specific to today but whenever rbj struts up the center of the stage during good for you i lose my mind

there was a half standing ovation after words fail. a good portion of the mezzanine stood and i couldnt see the orchestra. man, you could see him concentrating all his energy just NAILING every single not and i think he was legitimately sobbing when he told the murphys the truth. he had to take some breaths. i mean, sobbing more than usual. i was worried for a second

so big, so small was impossible to watch bc it was the most truthful beautiful quiet thing ive ever seen. the looks they gave to each other. the words they said without speaking abt how much they love each other. i cannot express the power of the beat that evan and heidi spent looking into each others eyes doing nothing but being together. they took their time on this song and it hurt so bad

the finale was ridiculous it was just everyone weeping weeping weeping. laura dreyfuss was WEEPING her face was red with tears but she somehow held it together to talk to ben and say “i wanted you to see this” but even from the MEZZANINE i could see the sparkle of tears in her eyes and i was like laura please if you start crying, im really gonna lose my composure and fuckin shriek or something

when everyone came out to sing for forever at the finale and theyre all looking at him ben just looked at them for a good long minute and theyre all smiling at him, and the look on rachel bay jones’ face is ethereal, and hes in the spotlight, and he steps forward to sing his final lines and he closes his eyes and just feels it

and then its done

laura gives him a huge bouquet of flowers and he keeps motioning for the rest of the cast to come on and bow with him again and again bc the theatre just wont shut up and he has to keep coming back and bowing

and then its really done

#dear evan hansen #deh #ben platt #less.txt #long post//

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archivistsrock · 6 years

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The Boys in the Band, pt. 2: The Performance

Someone asked for a spoilery review, so I’m going to go into detail here. Maybe a mix of review, plot, and specific cute/hot things that happen during the show. I don’t really consider anything in the show to be “spoilery”, but if you’re planning on seeing this and just love surprises and not knowing anything about what’s to come...don’t read this, I guess. ;) [eta: Okay, so it seems like it’s mostly plot overview with random other observations sprinkled in. I’m not good at this! Also, I go into much more detail about the first half...it’s funnier, has more Matt, and I just peetered out]

Also, read on if you want deets on just how much Matt we see during the shower scene… :P

The general plot of the play is that Michael (Jim Parsons) is holding a birthday party for his friend Harold (Zachary Quinto). The entire play takes place in Michael’s apartment. There is an upstairs (bedroom and bathroom) and a downstairs (living room, mostly). If your seats are really close to the front of the stage, there will be some parts of the upstairs that will be blocked from your view. But they’ve cleverly placed mirrors on the ceiling, so what you can’t see straight-on, you can see in reflections. It’s not a problem at all. I was in the second row and was really worried I’d be too close and have obstructed sightlines, but I LOVED IT. You’re so close to the actors; it’s pretty amazing. I wouldn’t change my seats if given the chance. I think if I was able to see it again, I’d like to have a mezzanine seat. But I wouldn’t give up my up-close seat for the world. It was awesome. For...reasons...if you’re near the front, I think being left of center is better than to the right. Just as a tip, if you haven’t bought tickets yet.

Donald (Matt Bomer) is Michael’s best friend from college. He moved out of the city because he couldn’t handle all the people and stresses of city life. Donald is depressed. Loves to read. Likes to chill on the sidelines and just watch other people. He’s very caring. I totally dig Donald. He’s...a janitor? and works hard, but also has issues with failure that he attributes to his parents. He equates failure with receiving love. He’s known he was gay since forever. He drives into the city each weekend to see his therapist and visit Michael. He knows the other men that are invited to the party, but he isn’t in their friend group. He knows them bc he knows Michael, iykwim. He and Harold don’t seem to particularly like each other. Maybe bc they’re both best friends of Michael so there’s some competition/protectiveness?? idk. Haven’t thought about it enough.

Michael lives beyond his means. He’s also pretty depressed and has issues with being gay. I mean, that’s a huge theme of the play. How these guys deal with living in a time and place where society clearly doesn’t support or approve of homosexuality. As many of the actors have said in interviews, it’s interesting to see the play and notice how much things have changed, but also how many things in the play still resonate today. Oh, I guess it’s important to point out that it takes place in 1968.

The play starts with Michael in his apartment getting ready for the party. His doorbell rings and Donald enters. ::raucous applause:: The next 15 minutes (I’m really bad with time, so don’t take too much stock in that) is Michael and Donald talking with one another about their parents, lives, etc. General banter of friends. Donald notices that Michael is not drinking alcohol and hasn’t been for the last few weeks. He can tell because Michael gets mean when he’s drunk (keep this in mind). Michael says his therapist encouraged him to lay off drinking bc it’s obviously becoming a problem for him.

It’s been a long day and Donald needs a shower. ::extremely raucous applause:: So Matt strips down to his undies and walks around a bit. Lays on a bed. Adjusts himself. Lots of this is only seen through the mirrors on the ceiling. Not sure about people in the mezzanine? They might be able to just see him laying there, idk. Then he wanders to the shower and strips...ALL THE WAY DOWN to shower. So yes. Not only do we see Matt’s ass, but we see his dick, too. Where I was sitting, I only saw it in reflections, but still. HEY THERE, MATT’S DICK! :P Whether or not other people in different seats see more or less of him, I’m not sure. This is why I say that the left is better than the right. The shower is on the right side of the stage, and there’s a sink/pedestal in front of the shower. So I think some people’s view of Matt in the shower is blocked by the sink? I was at enough of an angle where it wasn’t a problem. People were literally gasping. LOLOL. The theater was definitely a-twitter. Lol. [random aside that I saw Angels in America during this trip, and in that play Lee Pace gets naked and just walks around the stage in the buff, so I guess it was my week for seeing ass and penis on stage? Lol]

Then he gets out and puts on a towel and walks around in that for a while, which is nice. Then he goes into the bedroom and changes and you can see him in his undies briefly (lol pun) again. So anyway, THAT HAPPENS. Lol

While Matt is showering and getting ready, Michael’s phone rings. It’s his old college roommate, Alan (Brian Hutchison) who’s having a breakdown of some sort and wants to come over and talk to Michael. The problem? Alan is straight (or is he??) and “square” and doesn’t know that Michael is gay. Which is a problem bc a bunch of gay men are about to descend on Michael��s apt. Michael tells him to quickly come over with the hope that he will arrive and leave before too many people show up (lol right). But honestly, who’s listening to Michael at this point bc OMG MATT IS NAKED. Seriously, I think I just stared at Matt for 95% of the show regardless of who was talking. Lol. It helped that I read the play beforehand and watched the movie so I knew what was going on. ;)

So Michael tells Donald that Alan is coming over and warns him that Alan doesn’t know he’s gay so don’t act gay. Donald is mildly offended and has a funny line about sitting with his legs spread and talking in a deep register. Lol. But anyway, Jim and Matt are great together and you can really see their friendship (well, Michael and Donald’s friendship). They’re very funny together. The doorbell rings and we all think it’s going to be Alan, but it’s the first of the party guests – Larry (Andrew Rannells), Hank (Tuc Watkins), and Emory (Robin de Jesus). Hank and Larry are a couple (with issues). Emory is unapologetically flamboyant. He is hilarious. So Hank was married (he’s in the process of getting divorced) and has 2 kids. He’s the most stereotypically masculine of the group. He’s bi, “with a definite lean in one direction” (hint: not chicks). He’s a math teacher. The oldest of the group. He’s dating Larry, who’s a bit of a man-whore (and a commercial artist). Larry doesn’t believe in monogamy, and this makes Hank sad. So this is a running issue between the two throughout the night. Andrew is hilarious in the play. He has GREAT facial expressions and reactions.

So Michael introduces everyone and it’s a bit awkward between Larry and Donald. Clearly, they have some sort of history (spoiler alert that’s pretty obvious: They “know” each other because they fucked in the baths once, but never spoke to one another. Yes, they enjoyed their fuck). Throughout the night, Larry is continuously coming on to Donald. Leaning into his space, stroking his arm, etc. It’s pretty great.

Doorbell rings again. Michael warns everyone about Alan and to PLEASE ACT STRAIGHT. Cue lots of hilarity with Emory who is just not into pretending to be butch. So he opens the door...and it’s not Alan. It’s Bernard (Michael B. Washington). Bernard is black (relevant to later parts of the play). He works at the library (a bookstore? Can’t recall which now). Anyway, he knows Donald bc he’s always supplying Donald with books. Lots of comments on how Donald reads a shit-ton. Bernard is besties with Emory.

More hilarity and banter ensues. There is a song and dance number (Donald does not participate, but Matt looks cute standing there and he does cute mini hand/arm motions). While they’re all dancing and being silly, the doorbell rings, but no one hears it but Hank, who goes to open the door and...it’s Alan. So he walks in on all the guys doing a choreographed dance. AWKWARD. Michael is all...”Uh...we’re just being silly!” haha. Yeah. More introductions. Emory is Emory and is pissing Michael off with his refusal to stop being camp. Alan takes to Hank because he’s the most traditionally masculine. Hank and Alan talk about their kids and Larry is getting increasingly pissed bc Hank is hiding the fact that he’s gay and with Larry (although they’re all—poorly-- hiding the fact that they’re gay). Michael goes upstairs to speak with Alan and what his breakdown/problem is.

So the action shifts to upstairs, but we can still see everyone downstairs. So they’re all acting like they’re at the party and are fake talking, etc. This is when Larry really gets into Donald’s space. He’s pissed at Hank because Hank are Alan were being all chummy. So he’s taking it out on Hank by being extra flirty with Donald. Donald isn’t really..opposed?...to it, but he’s maybe a little confused and awkward about it bc...hello?!? Hank is here? What even...? lol.

So upstairs, Alan decides he doesn’t want to talk about his issue and instead talks about how attractive Hank is. Lol. He also likes Donald. Alan’s been downing drinks (Donald is kind of the unofficial drink maker) and he’s drunk. Then he gets all homophobic and says shitty things about Emory. Michael gets a little pissed and goes downstairs while Alan stays upstairs in the bathroom.

Downstairs, the doorbell rings. Michael answers it, expecting it to be Harold (the birthday boy who is clearly very late). It’s a young studly guy dressed as a cowboy (Charlie Carver) who sings Happy Birthday to Michael and kisses him. Oops! Wrong guy! Cowboy is Emory’s gift to Harold. Harold was supposed to answer the door. But cowboy is early (you’re supposed to show up at midnight bc you’re a midnight cowboy!) and Harold is late, so...yeah. Didn’t work out. Then Alan comes downstairs and thinks Cowboy is Harold. Emory says, “No, he’s FOR Harold.” Alan is increasingly hostile and Emory is done with the fucking charades. Emory makes a comment about Alan’s wife, and Alan goes fucking berserk and starts punching Emory while calling him a bunch of gay slurs. Alan is pulled off Emory who is bleeding. Chaos is breaking out. The doorbell rings. Donald answers it and in walks Harold (Zach).

Harold is quite the character. He used to be a professional ice skater. He describes himself as an “ugly, pockmarked Jew fairy”. He’s high. He’s very sardonic. He looks around and it’s like...WTF is happening? Lol. Alan is passed out on the floor. Emory has blood all over his face. Cowboy sings happy birthday to Harold, kisses him, then Harold reads the card tied to him and starts laughing hysterically. (this technically ends the first act in the play, but there’s no intermission or anything so the action keeps going)

[Note Larry leaning into Donald’s space in the background]

Bernard and Emory go upstairs to clean up. Up until this point, the play has been really really funny. The general tone is pretty light and humorous. At this point, the tone starts to change dramatically. At some point, I don’t remember exactly when, this change is made blatantly clear by the lights going dim, and all the action on stage freezes, aside from Michael. He heads to the bar and pours and downs a drink. Remember what Donald said about Michael when he’s drunk? MEAN. So this marks the turning point. Light go back up, action resumes. [I’m not sure what I think about them doing it this way, but it hammers the point home that Michael is now drinking and things are about to get dark, so eh. Whatever. ] Michael gets increasingly asshole-ish. You really start to hate Michael.

Alan declares he’s going to puke, so Hank leads him upstairs to the bathroom. Michael and Harold exchange barbs. You really start to wonder why they’re friends. Every time Michael takes a drink, Harold proclaims, “Turning!” Like Donald, he knows alcohol turns Michael into an asshole. Michael is getting drunker and meaner and Harold is not one to just put up with things. If something gets dished out, he’ll deal it right back ten-fold. But while brutally honest, he’s not being as downright cruel as Michael, who even starts throwing racist remarks at Bernard and cruel comments to Emory (which really horrifies Donald).

Alan comes downstairs and proclaims his intention to leave, and bizarrely announces that Hank should leave with him. This leads to the announcement that Hank and Larry and lovers, and basically the charade is up and hey! We’re all gay; and btw, we think you are too, Alan. Michael won’t let anyone leave and invents a “party game” for them all to play. Basically, you have to call someone that you’ve truly loved. You get different amounts of points for various things – if someone answers, you say who you are, you get the person on the line that you want to speak with, you tell them you love them. A total of 10 possible points. Donald and Harold are immediately like, YEAH NO. Not playing. So Bernard and Emory both call people. Does not turn out particularly well. I literally cried for Bernard. Michael B. Washington does a phenomenal job.

Hank and Larry have it out again, but they end up calling each other, saying they love each other, and going upstairs to have sex in Michael’s bedroom.

Michael starts harassing Alan and telling him he should call their other college roommate, Justin, that Michael is convinced Alan was in love with. He’s in total asshole mode. Alan dials a number and ends up telling the person he loves them. Michael grabs the phone assuming it’s Justin..it’s not. It’s his wife.

Alan leaves. The mood of the party has degenerated into a total morose atmosphere. Harold just goes off on Michael with a huge truth bomb about how self-loathing Michael is and how badly he doesn’t want to be gay, but guess what? You’re gay and you’ll always be gay. He then takes off with Cowboy. Emory and Bernard (who is super drunk by this point) then leave, and Michael has a breakdown. He basically starts hyperventilating and is comforted by Donald. He pulls himself together and leaves to go to a midnight mass. Donald stays behind to read a bit, after assuring Michael that he’ll be back next weekend. The play ends with Donald reading and the silhouette of Hank and Larry making love upstairs in bed.

So yeah, I was much more brief when it came to the second half, in part bc it’s not as much “fun.” It’s much more dramatic. Very good, but not as fun to retell, and as far as Matt goes, aside from the end scene, he kind of disappears in the second half. I mean, he’s physically present and had lines, but there is definitely more focus on the other characters. He kinda just hangs in the periphery watching everything go down. And silently flirting with Larry lol.

All the characters do a stellar job. Charlie Carver/The Cowboy has the smallest role. He’s basically a big dummy, and provides some comic relief with his idiocy and innocence. Tuc (Hank) does a great job, but his role isn’t as humorous or flashy as the others. Michael B. Washington is great as Bernard, and I was really feeling for him at the end. He has a great monologue that delves into race and slurs. He and Emory have a touching moment. Robin de Jesus is hilarious as Emory. Jim does a good job as insecure Michael. Apparently, he wears special shoes during the show because of his broken foot. I would not have known anything was wrong with his foot. He’s pretty spry walking around that stage. He does a good job playing a mean asshole. Lol. Andrew has hilarious reactions and facial expressions. Zach is hilarious as Harold. Very sarcastic and kind of deadpan? He has a very interesting way of speaking. Harold is super weird, and Zach does a super job. He comes in late in the play, but has an integral part once he arrives. And I love Donald. His role is definitely not as flashy as some of the others, but I feel you really get to know and like Donald.

You laugh A LOT during the first half of the show. You still have funny moments in the second half, but it is also more shocking and dramatic. Pretty thought provoking. And thinking about the time period that this play takes place in (1968) and how tough it was to be out (or not out) at that time, and looking on stage at the all gay cast...it’s a pretty special feeling. They look like they probably have a blast on stage every night.

I happened to be there on Zach’s actual birthday, which was funny because it’s his character’s birthday in the play. When Matt opens the door and it’s Zach standing there, the first line Donald says is, “HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Harold.” He said it VERY pointedly and I was like !!!!!!!! So that was special. Oh! A Matt insta post:

If you aren’t going to be able to see it, you can watch the original movie. Obviously, it’s not as cool as seeing your faves in the role, but the original play, movie, and the revival are all very faithful to each other. Same dialogue and everything. The movie does add a few scenes at the beginning outside of Michael’s apartment, and some of the movie takes place outside on a balcony instead of all inside, but those are very minor details. I think they cut out a few lines of dialogue in the revival so they could cut down on the time, but offhand I don’t recall what they cut out. I’ll have to read the play again. So you’ll hear all the stuff that happens and all the funny lines and stuff that they say in the play. Then you can envision Matt in the role of Donald. I like Matt’s portrayal of Donald better than the original actor’s, but OBVIOUSLY I am biased. lol

#so that's my long-ass 'review'#if you want any ther specific info about any of the actors and their parts (hehe) just ask #the boys in the band #theater

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droughtofapathy · 7 years

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Great Come Experience Part One

My Experience at Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812:

Disclaimer: I’ve sat in banquette seating four times. I’ve been able to see most of the theater, but I’m going to be a little heavy on the Marya D. and Hélène stuff because I’m super gay, and like… Grace McLean and Amber Gray, amirite?

Pre-Prologue:

· So it started with this jaunty music, and the whole cast comes out with the pierogi baskets, and you get dumplings if you wave your arms enough. Also each cast member has a section and converses with the audience for like almost five minutes. It’s great, because you can just talk to the people, and I was in Pearl Rhein’s section twice (fell in love both times, holy shit her eyebrows and wow is she tall). She said she loved my shoes and hair and I felt my soul ascend.

· Oh forgot to mention that while you wait for it to start there’s this upbeat Russian music going on, and it’s great.

· Also during the introductory no cell phones thing, this guy announces it in a heavy Russian accent, and after each thing, the cast goes “нет” and the ones like Pearl Rhein, and Sumayya Ali point to people with their bow strings and you don’t even think of disobeying because if not you’ll be given to KGB and sent off to Siberia.

Prologue:

· It starts once the air siren goes off

· Natasha cries out “No!” when Andrey leaves for war, and there’s this whole necklace exchange, that’ll be significant later.

· And Pierre is just up on the top level in front of the doors.

· He begins to sing, and usually before that there’s raucous applause.

· Pierre sings his verse, and then the whole cast joins in, and it’s a magical moment.

· Then the lights go up, and everyone has shot glasses.

· So each time someone is introduced via their lines, they get a spotlight and take a shot.

· So, during Sonya’s she and Natasha cross arms and take a shot that way, and it’s so cute.

· Whenever Marya takes a shot, she makes a face like “yes, that’s the stuff” and it’s such a beautiful facial expression. Also her hair is what I live for. The updo is so precise, and perfect. I want to do that. Also she’s got these streaks of lighter/greying hairs which I always go crazy for.

· During this, the actor who plays Andrey, is off changing into his Bolkonsky costume (for me it was Nicholas Belton twice, and Blaine Alden Krauss twice when Nick left for personal days three shows before it closed).

· He comes back on in that costume, with his instrument. And it’s really quite funny.

Pierre:

· Immediately they meld into Pierre just after Prologue, and it’s great.

· During this, they’ve all got their shot glasses still.

· When the line “il est charmant, il ne pas de sexe. He is charming he has no sex” the women all twirl around him. And Hélène is front and center spotlighted on the middle “balcony” and she’s just got so much attitude

· Also Marya’s expressions are amazing and I will continue to mention them. Even when she’s just sitting in the background, she’s got such a presence.

· When the line “how many men before good Russian men…” comes up, and Pierre speculates about who leaves tootless and bald, Anatole gets a spotlight and he just scoffs and saunters around stage as if to say “yeah right, not me bitch”

· During that last note, where everyone is going ‘ahhhhh’ it’s so much more intense than the cast recording and they hold it forever honestly. Everyone is gathered on the two “banister” levels of the main stage, and they’re all just intently staring at Pierre, and some are practically hanging over the railings. Hélène is especially like “ugh, this guy”.

Moscow:

· After a pause for applause, we go into Moscow. The ensemble mostly exits, or at least gets somewhere on the outskirts of the stage.

· Marya hands off her shotglass to someone. And as the music starts, she is wandering around inspecting things with a critical eye.

· When Natasha sings her name, she looks just so excited and thrilled. But reins it in to sing her name back.

· When Sonya does her thing, she like starts the “sofia” part like she’s almost forgotten her name. And it’s clear Marya does not like Sonya. There’s a whole backstory on why from the books so go read them.

· When she does the “Welcome, welcome to Moscow” she just goes for it, and both Natasha and Sonya visibly jump. The whole audience does honestly.

· She points to various audience members during “faded and fading princesses” “gossips and crybabies”. And it’s great.

· When she does her whole “bring in their things” the ensemble rushes around to grab the extra props and stuff, and they’re so terrified of and respect Marya.

· She goes off down the middle orchestra stage, and Natasha and Sonya do their impression of Marya’s growling voice. It’s so cute.

· When Natasha says “but I can’t bear this waiting” Sonya looks so sad and exasperated. She follows Marya’s path and they meet up in the rear of the theater. They reaapproach Natasha and Marya is leading Sonya by her shoulders, and she’s like over half a head taller than Sonya (Grace McLean is sorta tall, but she’s in heels to further emphasize her stature. And I want those shoes they’re fabulous).

· Oh both Sonya and Natasha are mostly in flats so we see them as delicate and innocent I suppose. It helps with the height comparison.

· When Marya and Sonya get to the top of the stairs that leads to the main stage, Marya sort of pushes Sonya away, and she braces herself against the banister while Marya goes to dote on Natasha.

· They drink tea (laced with rum).

· Oh and something you don’t notice are the Bolkonsky’s. During all of this, Bolkonsky is fiddling with a knife, and visibly trembling (probably some sort of dementia) and Mary is nervously watching, and trying to help but he keeps shaking her off so she reads her bible.

· She also crosses over when Marya mentions her in the song.

The Private and Intimate Life of a House:

· We start with Bolkonsky’s part of the song. He takes a really long pause before “people enjoy me” to stare to his left at the audience and waves creepily/awkwardly. It always gets a laugh.

· When he sings powdered wig, he pats his and a puff of powder erupts from it.

· During “such a majestic and agreeable spectacle” Mary stands from the stair she is on leading up to the mezzanine.

· Then she launches into her haunting part about there being 22 more hours in the day.

· When he starts ordering her around, she looks just so frightened, and does this trembling bow, and Gelsey Bell is an actual goddess.

· When she does her whole “and I have no friends no never go anywhere” she runs across and around the stage wringing and waving her hands tragically. Mary needs a hug. Someone please hug this poor woman.

· The whole “I can hurt you” is said by Mary with such fierceness that she quickly turns to reassurance to the audience that she never ever ever would. And she loves her father so much, but he’s such an abusive asshole. Like fucks sake I’m angry about this.

· So the difference between Nicholas and Blaine seems so much more intense when he sings certain parts like “worthless and dumb”. He really does the shouty, angry old man act well.

· So Mary makes an audience member stand and she pretends he’s her suitor. Then Bolkonsky turns to another audience member and kisses and nuzzles her and it’s hilarious for everyone involved.

· Then the servent (Paul Pinto) who walked hunched almost completely over, brings that table shot glasses.

· The whole “where are my glasses” bit is so so much more frightening live. The first time I heard it (and didn’t know the show at all) I was actually terrified for Mary. And she looks just so horrified, and upset by the entire thing.

· Also during this, the music is haunting, and Marya D. stands from where she’s been sitting and observing (with such a haughty and regal expression) to ominously play the cowbell. It’s such an interesting addition that I didn’t notice the first time.

Natasha & Bolkonsky’s:

· So the servant announces Natasha’s presence, and Mary is just so awkward the entire time.

· They do the chair thing in complete silence. Mary goes over to get her chair (that Hélène has been lounging on this entire time and Hélène moves to drape herself on the staircase. That’s another thing. Hélène even when off focus, just languidly and sensually drapes herself onto surfaces).

· They do their chair thing in the middle of the main table section of the audience. And it’s so tense.

· They both stand when singing their “I don’t like her” verse. Then two ensemble members bring them tea (one is Lulu Fall, and I think the other may have been Shoba Narayan. Pretty sure in fact.

· Then they move to another spot and fake laugh at each other.

· Then Bolkonsky comes out in his underthings and scares the shit out of Natasha.

· Then Natasha tearfully tries to leave and Mary realizes that they fucked up and tries to put it right, but Natasha intensely yells at Mary who jumps back and holds out her hands in defense, so you know this girl has been seriously verbally abused at the very least.

No One Else:

· The lighting changes to this beautiful blue (made even more beautiful by the fact that Dave Malloy is supposedly color blind and can see blue well, but not red so you just sob thinking about that)

· And Natasha looks so much like a princess in this moment. Everything is wonderful and heartbreaking.

· Andrey comes onstage and has a bundle of her letters. It snows over him, and Natasha reaches for him but they don’t touch, and he leaves again. She just looks so longing.

· When I first saw it the last lines about him maybe being in the drawing room and her just forgetting he was there was so emotional and heartbreaking, I just teared up.

The Opera:

· Cue dramatic music change. Marya does her whole “the opera the opera” part and she seems so excited to be sharing this with Natasha and even Sonya. Also the growl though!

· The Servent (Paul Pinto again) is in this emcee costume type thing and it’s so sparkly and extra with a top hat and everything.

· When everyone else comes out you are just so amazed by the costumes. Like wow. In an interview, the designer Paloma Young talked about how they’re meant to look opulent and splendid from a distance, but up close you see they’re cheaply made to represent the false splendor of 19th century Russia and I am so angry they didn’t win best costume design.

· So all of the women have their own unique costume and color scheme. Even the swings get their own unique outfit. It’s fantastic and fits each person so well. So like Lulu Fall is in red, obviously. And Shoba has this orange and looks so beautiful. And Cathryn Wake has a bright blue number, and don’t even get me started on Celia Mei Rubin’s costume. I love her so much and am so happy I got to see her swing on twice.

· Even the two opera dancers have like fancy clothing which they quickly exit to change into their actual opera outfits.

· Both Natasha and Sonya are so enchanted. And Marya gives Natasha that flower for her hair. And she adjusts Sonya’s headfeather thing.

· She’s also so judgmental about Anna Mikhaylovna’s headdress.

· Then Hélène sees Natasha and is instantly drawn in. (Side note: every woman in this show is so gay for Natasha except for Marya D. who is too busy being gay for Hélène sorry I don’t make the rules it’s a thing).

· When the servant does his announcement of the people, Dolokhov saunters around stage, and kisses a woman’s hand and then makes her kiss his. It’s great.

· And Hélène just flounces around twirling and displaying her body and outfit. She’s got two main dresses, and this one is like her main one sorta. So it’s black, with green underskirts, and fringes and it’s so pretty I want one now.

· Side note: Marya actually is wearing something not entirely red. Like it’s got red accents, but is mostly dark with gold patterns that sorta look tinged greenish. Nod to her romantic entanglements to Hélène? Coincidence? I think not!

· And Natasha is so taken with Hélène, it’s so gay!

· When Hélène starts talking to Natasha, Marya and Sonya are over to the side, and when Marya sees what’s going on, she quickly (nearly runs) over to intervene. She places herself between Natasha and Hélène, and looks so huffy when Natasha keeps interrupting. And her whole “woman you should stay far away from” is said without taking her eyes off of Hélène. Like, girl, you make out with her next act. I see your thirst don’t deny it.

· Then the actual opera starts and holy shit is it weird to see live. The two dancers prance about. And both Gelsey Bell and Paul Pinto are the opera singers. Their voices (Gelsey’s especially) are just so haunting, and the noises Gelsey makes are fucking weird, but wow are you just so impressed by it.

· Also, during on point the opera dancer (Mary Page Nance though the first time I saw it Celia Mei Rubin was swinging for Ani Taj) jerks her arms towards herself and pants comedically. It’s really quite funny.

· Holy shit I’ve got a lot to say just noticed. And we’re not done yet.

· Okay, so the opera pauses and we interlude onto Sonya and Natasha who look so bored and confused. And Natasha gets up and waltzes about the stage while Sonya narrates.

· So Anatole makes his entrance and the big doors open and this blinding light surrounds him. The entire cast turns to marvel at this wonder, and audience included they all shield their eyes. Yes it’s that bright. Anatole does this weird head thing to the beat of the music like he’s reveling in the attention.

· He walks down the stairs and starts kissing and nuzzling an audience member then pats the closest male member to her as if to say “good on you mate”

· He goes right to Hélène and taps his cheek for her to kiss him but moves his head to she kisses him on the lips instead. That’s her delighted laugh you can hear on the soundtrack. In the book the relationship is heavily implied to be incestuous. Suck on that George RR Martin. Tolstoy’s already done siblings being weirdly attracted to each other.

· The opera resumes and most of the ensemble has joined in on the show. There’s people on the stairs to the mezzanine wearing these creepy hooded costumes with long fingers. And others dresses as soldiers. And the Andrey actor comes out bloodied while the two dancers tear off his coat and pull long flowy sheets from him to resemble blood. He holds out a crumpled red ribbon towards Natasha who shrinks away terrified.

· During this stuff Dolokhov, Hélène, and Anatole are on the middle level banister part and applaud in slow motion. Marya is seated on the top level and does so as well. She just really loves the opera.

Natasha & Anatole:

· Okay so during this, it’s the two of them in the box together.

· So I’ve been thinking about this for a long time. But, when Natasha sings the part about there being “nothing formidable…not a barrier of modesty I’ve always felt with men” for some reason this makes her attraction to him so much more believable. Because see, she’s a young woman in 19th century Russia where men and women don’t converse this casually. So for her, this is probably the first time a man outside her family has spoken to her like a real person instead of just some woman they must be cordial to. And I hate their relationship so much, but it’s so understandable that this impressionable young woman be taken with someone who actually treats her like someone worth talking to. Like, Andrey has this distant smile and is probably really formal with her, but here this dude is being all approachable and shit.

· Like jesus Christ stop hating on Natasha. You fan girls will jump through hoops to defend Anatole; og fuckboi of the century just because he’s pretty, even though he’s literally at fault so much more in this situation. Like c’mon he’s a grown ass man. Fucks sake…

· So a few more things. He grabs her flower at one point.

· Also, the last line about there being nothing between them has a double meaning. So yes, there’s nothing between them in terms of like space, or something in the way of their mutual attraction, but like also they just met. This relationship is not build on anything substantial so there is like literally nothing really between them.

The Duel:

· Okay so visually I love this song so much. It’s such a fantastic thing, but I kept listening to the soundtrack and that’s what really got me.

· Before it starts Anatole is just upstage and mimes a head explosion motion. It’s great. Like, I hate this character, but Lucas Steele is just such a good actor for the part.

· Okay so Anatole comes back to the Bezukhov household all like ‘c’mon we going to drink tonight’ and Dolokhov comes in with a tray and spins it while pouring what I’ll assume is vodka, but who knows.

· The music gets intense and the seizure lights start. A rave scene in 19th century Russia. Sign me the fuck up. The first time I had to shut my eyes, but the next three times I actually kept them open to watch everything, and it honestly wasn’t bad at all.

· Side note: I love the whole drink with me my love part. It is just a great line.

· So just a few things I’ve seen. One of the ensemble members (I think it’s Josh Canfield) is wearing a leather crotch harness, and green speedo. (Side note: I’m probably going to mess up on who each male ensemble member is because I’m way better versed in the women. I think it’s a side effect of being a huge lesbian…) Mary is wearing these huge aviator/mad scientist goggles (and yes I’m choosing to believe Mary has finally gotten out of the house let me have this). During the chaos so much is happening. So Marya D. is dressed up in this latex catsuit, and a riding crop complete with like a mesh covered boob window thing because Marya is always in something highnecked even as a secret deviant in a druggy club. (So different cast sources claim Grace McLean is actually playing someone called Catya, but costume designer says that “secret deviant… Marya is part of the aesthetic so I choose to believe it really is Marya but she’s disguised with these huge sunglasses. Also she spanks multiple people with that riding crop so like… wow if I didn’t know I was gay before…

· To continue, during this Balaga is going down on Sonya (though technically it’s the actor Paul Pinto who plays a lot of roles, so it could be anyone at this point), someone does a line of “cocaine” (it’s sugar), Josh Canfield just slides across one part of the stage and almost into the table section. And everything is so sexual, and it’s the best. Like Grace McLean goes from humping Josh Canfield, to drinking with Dolokhov. During the climax (ha!) of the scene there’s that whole bit about “the health of married women and their lovers” and I just love this line so much. Hélène is so mocking of Pierre. Some ensemble members mime throwing up into the audience from drinking too much, and Mary is just hugging a banister pole and slumped on the ground. Girl doesn’t get out much.

· Just before the big duel, Marya pulls Anatole aside to give him an impromptu blowjob. Like they exchange the riding crop and hit each other with it, and she gets down on her knees while he unzips his pants but then everything stops and Pierre is like “bitch, don’t touch my wife” to Dolokhov, and everyone immediately turns their attention to that (Grace, Brittain Ashford (Sonya), and a few others slip out to presumably change costume. The ensemble take seats to see the fun, and I was sat right next to Blaine and Heath Saunders while they talked about the duel (everyone is always talking when off-mic too) and he nudged me when the announcer was like “as the adversary’s…” and Blaine said to me “no they have not” and I was just like “not at all” back to him. Wow.

· There’s that whole duel thing, and beforehand, Hélène is like “he will kill you” to Pierre and her voice just breaks. This part of the play is when you can really see just how much more complex their relationship is. Because Hélène’s actions show that on some level she really does care for Pierre’s wellbeing because when Dolokhov is shot she just gasps and you can’t even really hear it, but when Dolokhov shoots, she just gives out this bloodcurdling scream of horror and distress. And for the rest of the scene she’s just in shock, and exits by slowly walking up the stairs. I saw her expression up close, and she was just in shock, and devastated, and it was a turmoil of emotions.

· TL;DR Hélène is not the monster people love to make her out to be. And I love her and will defend her with my life. Fight me.

· While Anatole leaves he mimes finger guns at Pierre, who is so not in the mood.

Dust and Ashes:

· Transition to the big song. Okay, so I love this song so much. For one it’s a beautiful song full of emotion and some great lines (I love “bury me in burgundy”) but also because I have a lower voice (with terrible range I might add) so I can sorta sing along to this one without sounding horrible.

· So, for a bit it’s just Pierre silently in his office area. Then he starts hesitantly playing the chords on the piano. And while I’d agree that Josh Groben’s voice is more pleasing to hear, Dave Malloy sings it with such emotion, and I’d agree his voice is suited to play Pierre’s character better. But both men are fantastic and I loved them both.

· At one point he holds out a book and shakes it at the audience in desperation. It’s so beautiful and during the climax, the entire company is both standing side by side in the mezzanine, and down the two aisles in the orchestra. They sing the “ahhhs” and it’s the most beautiful and haunting thing. Like, if I could just have a picture even of that moment, I’d die happy. You’re so focused on Pierre that you might miss this, but it’s the most beautiful thing ever.

· The song ends with this blue light on Pierre (think back to the color blind thing and you’ll feel things).

Sunday Morning:

· Sonya and Natasha enter. It’s the next morning just after the duel so everything that just happened from Private and Intimate… to now was in like a twenty-four hour period. Maybe even Moscow, but I’m choosing to believe there was some time before Natasha went to visit the Bolkonsky’s.

· They do the candle in the mirror thing, and holy shit. So when Natasha is looking in the mirror, and she sees the man, Pierre returns to his office area, and crosses right behind Natasha so she can see him in the mirror and that is such a brilliant stage direction and I am so shook.

· Her future is Pierre! It’s right there!

· The scene changes so rapidly from Natasha’s distress at seeing someone lying down in the mirror to Marya’s “SUNDAY MORNING TIME FOR CHURCH” and thank you growl voice.

· Then after the brief church bit, Marya goes off to scold Bolkonsky for his behavior and I wish I could have seen Marya tear him a new one because it’s so funny in the books. Grace exits the big doors with such a flourish. She just like turns sidways, holds out her skirts and like floats out the door.

Charming:

· So for this scene Natasha is mostly in her corset and underthings and Hélène just waltzes in. This song is so gay, and Dave Malloy has said it was meant to be, so fuck yeah gay.

· Hélène has on her second dress. This one’s main color is green, with black underskirts. And the coat she has on is so extra. I want one.

· Hélène is so sensual and flounces around, twirling her skirts during this entire song. Amber Gray fuck me up. Her voice is so jazzy, and she’s got the growl down too. Jesus Christ I’m so gay. She just takes over the whole theater, and there is no one else.

· During this, Lulu and Shoba are maids in the household and have a beautiful dress for Natasha to try on. They hold it open and she just ducks into it. I need to be able to dress this easily.

· So, a few things about my favorite parts. “Now a woman with a dress is a frightening and powerful thing” is probably one of my favorite lines. Like fuck yeah woman power. Also, the fact that she effortlessly pronounces “Alliez dans le monde. Plutôt que de dépérir d’ennui!” which according to my French education means something like go into the word rather than perish of boredom, but she completely botches the entire title of the song. Charmante is not pronounced Charmanté. Even if it does sound so much better.

· So Natasha has on her dress, and Hélène just casually rips the necklace Andrey gave her off, and tosses it aside (Pierre catches it, symbolism anyone?) and replaces it with her own necklace. Then they go off to the ball together.

· Also the coat is passed to Natasha at one point and she just loves that coat as much as I do.

The Ball:

· Lemme tell you about the ball. This musical is so disregarding of gender norms like I love it. Like an ensemble member Katrina Yaukey has full armpit hair dyed hot pink it’s awesome. But, right ball. So everyone is in costume. The women all have different tops to their dresses, but the skirts are mostly the same. The inner skirt on most (dunno if its all) comes to mid thigh, and the outerskirts open up and are long and swishy. They’ve all got little lace coverings over their eyes, and mostly different headdresses. So, from what I saw there are a few cat ears, some antlers (Pearl Rhein has such cool antlers). A few are unique and I think the main characters have those. So Mary has this cute weird thing that I’m not sure what it is, but I like it. And Marya has this golden crownlike thing that also looks like it could be wings or something dunno. But it’s unique, and her dress is backless and wow. (Gay much?)

· So, there are no gender norms here. Here there are men dancing with men (They’ve all got mostly the same outfit. A green fancy war uniformlike jacket and bear mask (I think but I’m not sure might have just been the lighting, that Andrey’s is silver while everyone else has gold.) and women dancing with women. And different gender couples too, but sometimes the women are leading, and it’s so fucking amazing and normalized. The first time I saw that I may have teared up just thinking about how casually it’s shown. And in a play about 19th century Russia no less.

· Okay, so it has to be said, but Mary is wearing something so beautiful, and she looks like she’s having the time of her life dancing with Katrina. And I choose to believe it’s actually Mary (not some other role) who is finally getting the adoration and attention she deserves. Katrina spins her around, and dotes on her, and it’s just beautiful. Like she literally lifts her up at one point and spins her. During this scene, not all the women and men lift their partners but Katrina does, and Mary looks so damn happy.

· And Marya is dancing with either a female ensemble member who is Courtney Bassett I think. The veil hides her face, and they were farther away. But wow. Is Marya a good leader. She just sensually circles her partner, and like trails her lips over her shoulders and chest, and wow.

· Also it is a costume tournament and Hélène’s got on these dark angel wings like someone put her in the victoria’s secret show right now.

· But back to the actual plot. So, Natasha and Anatole are dancing and whatever. It’s all very sweet and whatnot, but back to the ensemble.

· So at the climax of the song, the dance couples life each other’s veils and masks and all grab wine glasses with different water levels to change frequency. They dip their fingers in the water, and literally trace the rim of the glass to use them as instruments like what the fuck why did this not win best score and orchestra?!??!?!?! It’s the haunting and soothing sound (yeah I know I’ve used these adjectives a lot, but it’s true). This goes on, and they all stop at the same time except for Hélène who keeps going with a spotlight on her for a bit longer before cutting off with a flourish.

· Oh and another thing, Sonya is not at the ball. Everyone else is in costume, but Sonya is still wearing her white dress, but she comes out to do the wine glass thing.

Natasha and Anatole pledge their love for each other, and scene. 6�1��

#natasha pierre and the great comet of 1812 #great comet #natasha rostova #sonya rostova #marya dmitrievna #marya dmitryevna akhrosimova #helene kuragina #anatole kuragin #fedya dolokhov #mary bolkonskaya #andrey bolkonsky #prince bolkonsky #balaga #dave malloy #i love this show more than anything #more than life more than jewels

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graceless-dahlia-blog · 8 years

Text

Don’t you know your Queen? || Marluxia & Axel

@flames-of-passion

Marluxia had always been a glutton for the spotlight. He craved attention at all times and did everything in his power to be the topic of conversation, good, bad, or otherwise, but never like this.

In the days following his parent’s announcement that they would be getting a divorce, the pinkette recalled just how quickly rumors could spread, even more so when a family as prolific as the Gardenias were at the heart of scandal.

As it turned out, Marluxia’s soft-spoken father, prior to demanding a divorce, kept a string of mistresses. A fact which he later admitted to his son in a phone call they had not too long ago. While the theater major was far from faithful and the furthest from chaste, the revelation had blind-sided him, but he had suddenly found himself wanting to side with his mother again, until he learned she was already starting to move on. Something he had the pleasure of hearing from the mouth of a nosy reporter trying to chase him down the campus sidewalks.

In the course of these two long months, Marluxia felt as though he was being swept away by the tide and left without a chance to resurface for a breath of air. Phone calls from his mother stopped coming in. She was busy eating up the attentions of others and playing the victim. He hadn’t heard from his father in a while either. He, as the head of the prolific family and a businessman with ties to several companies and organizations, was suffering the consequences of his infidelity, having to give personal statements to rooms filled with reporters and journalists.

Suddenly, the entire country wanted a closer look at the Gardenia family. Everyone wanted to analyze every detail of the shattered fairytale they had spun for so many years and find the exact moment where everything went wrong. People were fascinated by the drama surrounding them and Marluxia really couldn’t say he hadn’t seen it coming. All sorts of dirt and skeletons were coming up as people dug deeper and deeper into his life. Somewhere along the way, the pinkette’s own reckless and carefree lifestyle, his secrets and his habits had been pulled out of what seemed like thin air. Where he once dreamed of appearing on magazines and newspapers praising his talents and looks, he began seeing his name and pictures on cheap, convenience store tabloids with headlines that painted him as a lascivious, drug-addicted deviant who had quickly fallen from grace now that his once virtuous family name could no longer protect him.

It made him want to throw the rack to the ground.

He was ruined-- life was falling apart at breakneck speed. He stopped going to classes as a last ditch effort to avoid the paparazzi, the whispers and curious stares and even considered dropping out of the musical theater department’s latest production, but his performances were so lack-luster as of late, that it was only a matter of time before the director ordered his understudy to permanently take on the role. It was as if his passion and the joys of pursuing it had been stripped from him.

Even so, he found solace in drag. The makeup, corsets, glitter and heels helped him feel powerful and fierce even when he thought it had all been sapped from his being. At the gay club, no one cared if you were rich, poor, a whore, or a crack-head. They were all there for a good time-- these “deviants” and creatures of the underworld.

It was Marluxia’s first time back in a while, but as Gracie Dahlia took the stage in all her glittering glory, she was welcomed with raucous applause.

Tonight, the performance would not be the same coquettish, theatrical display everyone was so familiar with.

The lights dimmed, with the exception of a blue-tinted spotlight and Gracie took center stage.

‘Feeling broken Barely holding on But there's just something so strong Somewhere inside me And I am down but I'll get up again Don't count me out just yet’

Although the vocals were not Gracie’s own, the emotion she put into her gestures and the meaning behind the lyrics were enough to captivate the audience as they sat in silent awe.

As the track played on, the queen’s interactions with the crowd remained minimal to non-existent, compared to her typical performances, but there was something much more raw and impassioned in her lip-syncing tonight than any other night as she came down from the stage on her own and walked along the edge of the crowd.

‘I've been brought down to my knees And I've been pushed way past the point of breaking But I can take it I'll be back, back on my feet This is far from over, I am far from over You haven't seen the last of me No, no, I'm not going nowhere I'm staying right here Oh, no, you won't see me begging I'm not taking my bow, can't stop me It's not the end, you haven't seen the last of me Oh, no, you haven't seen the last of me You haven't seen the last of me.’

Before she knew it, the track had ended and the lights had faded out. There was no choreography, but the performance had come straight from the heart nonetheless. Gracie Dahlia stood in the center of the dance floor, head bowed as her audience displayed their appreciation for the heart-rending performance.

Standing right there, it was so easy to forget how shitty everything in life had become. Here, Marluxia was felt empowered through the persona of Gracie Dahlia. He’d chosen the song for the profound imagery of someone who chose to stand again and although Gracie Dahlia sold the empowering ballad, Marluxia still had a ways to go before he could get back on his own feet.

As the applause began to slow, Gracie took her leave, climbing back up the few steps to the stage and exiting towards her dressing room.

Once the door shut, Gracie Dahlia melted away, leaving Marluxia standing in her heels. He turned to the vanity. His mascara was running, leaving tracks down his cheeks, but even as he sniffled at the mess displayed in his reflection, he couldn’t remember when he’d started crying.

His immediate move was to sit in front of the vanity and wipe his tears with trembling hands. He clicked his tongue in annoyance. He’d have to reapply his makeup now, but just thinking about the seemingly simple task brought frustrated tears back in his bloodshot eyes.

The sound of his doorknob turning had the pinkette quickly moving to mask the fact that he was on the verge of an emotional breakdown as he sniffled and shuffled around at the vanity, wiping his eyes before he picked up his red lipgloss.

When the door opened, he caught the intruder’s reflection in the mirror.

“Axel...”

The man technically wasn’t supposed to be back here, but when had he ever let little rules like that stop him?

#don't you know your queen #Flames of Passion #i hope this is okay!#let me know if i need to change anything!#i'm also sorry this is so stupidly long ;A;

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