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yunarim · 1 year

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「 ₊ ❤️‍🩹 dorm leaders with natasha-like reader 」

── ⋯ where's a doctor when you need one? ✧ rus ver (original) : here! ✧ characters : dorm leaders ✧ tags : female reader (she/her pronouns), fluff, slight mentions of injuries, reader kinda works part-time at NRC as a nurse, reader wields a gun but no violence mentioned (she just uses it canonically but i left only the part that she only has it in her property) ✧ note : might edit this later since i'm not quite satisfied with my own translation from rus but that's it for now

「 Riddle Rosehearts 」 ⏤ ⊹ Probably encountering such a friendly person for the first ever time during his whole lifespan.

⏤ ⊹ Perplexed by your behavior enough to actually spend some time to try figuring out what is it that motivates you to act so selflessly. There is no way you ask him whether he feels okay everyday just out of your free will? Right?..

⏤ ⊹ It's amazing how patient you are being with Ace and Deuce, given they can be pretty much to handle.

⏤ ⊹ Realizes you are a ray of light in a dark realm. Honestly, is it even legal for you to be in the NRC among them, such ... malicious creatures?

⏤ ⊹ Once you told him that there are many people in the NRC who need your support. He did not even believe you at first, dismissively suggesting that you are deliberately shielding yourself in front of others in order to earn public recognition.

⏤ ⊹ Being the only girl and not having magical abilities in the college dedicated for gifted magicians... He wondered how you felt the moment you got here.

⏤ ⊹ His opinion changed dramatically the moment Ace and Deuce casually mentioned that after going to the mines to restore that ridiculously expensive chandelier, the one who cured their injures was none other than you.

⏤ ⊹ Actually was strictly against of you doing anything medicine-related due to the fact he doesn’t even know you have a diploma, so that making you certified specialist.

⏤ ⊹ You: I had my own clinic in my world.

⏤ ⊹ Riddle: I beg your pardon?

⏤ ⊹ Apparently, that one nurse NRC had is fired by now PLEASE–

⏤ ⊹ Riddle wants to look up to you in order to be just as collected and patient as you are.

⏤ ⊹ During all the time you spend at NRC he never ceases to be amazed at how unwaveringly confident you are when some unexpectedly difficult situations occur, but at the same time you never lose your humanity and concern for others.

⏤ ⊹ Ready to take care of you when you forget to do it yourself – you are also a living human being who needs rest and care.

⏤ ⊹ He is not very good at expressing his emotions, so you don’t expect obvious actions and words from him, but get ready for the fact that he will often drop by (apparently) your infirmary with a pinkish hue on his cheeks, saying "Good afternoon ... Y-You're not breaking any rules, are you? Fine then... I tried to make tea according to your recipe, can you check if it's okay...?"

⏤ ⊹ You are always present as a nurse during when unbirthday parties are being hold in case someone gets sunstroke or gets hurt on rose thorns.

⏤ ⊹ If suddenly you know how to use this huge gun... how do you even lift it, it looks like it weighs three times more than you yourself?!

⏤ ⊹ Is this what they call alternative medicine?..

⏤ ⊹ Overall he sees you as an extremely caring mother figure ahem ergh uh older sister.

「 Leona Kingscholar 」

⏤ ⊹ The fact that you are a woman automatically sets you apart from these uncouth students.

⏤ ⊹ Before you have time to say anything, let alone even do anything, he sees the accumulated life experience in your eyes. Those eyes can’t lie.

⏤ ⊹ Actually, no one expects it but he treats you with an enormous amount of respect from the very beginning. It took Ruggie a few days to get used to the fact that Leona doesn't behave as he pleases when he sees you.

⏤ ⊹ And when you stumbled upon him and said that deep sound sleep is good for his health he even thought that maybe you were some sort of an angel.

⏤ ⊹ Sadly, happiness didn’t last long.

⏤ ⊹ You noticed that he sleeps way too much, and that time you started lamenting that excessive sleep can harm his brain activity and blah-blah-blah...

⏤ ⊹ However, you still found yourself carrying an orthopedic pillow every time you go to the botanical garden in order to collect some herbs, so you leave the pillow near the bench Leona usually sleeps on.

⏤ ⊹ In case you stumble upon a sleeping Leona while walking through the garden, you try to adjust his sleeping position so that his neck won’t hurt when he wakes up, and during these moments he simply tries to hug you or pull you onto his lap.

⏤ ⊹ You see him as a big capricious kitten mainly but you still have a lot of work to do, so you carefully put him back and whisper something gentle with your soothing voice.

⏤ ⊹ Mentally chuckles smugly every time you make a very subtle remark about the political system in Afterglow Savannah (the only fact he trusts you enough to explain something about throne succession in his family is quite amazing itself).

⏤ ⊹ You won't notice it outwardly, but he is extremely grateful to you for the way you spend time with Cheka and tell him interesting stories about your world.

⏤ ⊹ He is sincerely proud of you. You are a wise, caring and patient woman. He doesn't even want to joke around with you as he usually does with everyone around him. You are too amazing.

⏤ ⊹ In case you use a gun... Seriously, do you have an endless facts list to surprise him with?

⏤ ⊹ Doesn't show it, but is concerned if it's hard for you to hold this colossus gun in your hands.

「 Azul Ashengrotto 」

⏤ ⊹ Truthfully speaking, he asked Jade and Floyd a couple of times if they can distract you so that you wouldn't sneak into his office and start lamenting how hard he works and how he needs to take a break.

⏤ ⊹ He was surprised that you were extremely attentive when he tried to make a shady deal with you, according to which you could potentially become a nurse in Mostro Lounge.

⏤ ⊹ Your attentiveness actually comes from the need to measure dosages extremely accurately, that he could understand, but he wasn’t prepared for the fact you would read the shady part written in a tiny font at the bottom of the document with the same meticulousness.

⏤ ⊹ After your refusal to work for him, the part about how your conversation turned into a discussion of the cost of renting the premises and how much Crowley screwed everything up remains unsolved...

⏤ ⊹ Why Azul ended up being the one fixing all the mess Crowley caused in the first place? How insanely hard it was to start running a business with instant losses, and not to mention!–

⏤ ⊹ What do you mean you made sea buckthorn tea.

⏤ ⊹ Actually Azul can’t even realize what does he feel every time he accepts your care. He believes he is unworthy of your kindness, but as a result he clings to it like a lifeline.

⏤ ⊹ He doesn't remember when was the last time in his life he felt so... valid? Has he ever been appreciated the way he is now?

⏤ ⊹ At first he assumed that your kindness extends to everyone indiscriminately, but got incredibly surprised when he realized that perhaps you pay a little more attention to him than to the others?..

⏤ ⊹ And you are definitely not stupid to waste your nerves on just, uh, anyone.

⏤ ⊹ Jade and Floyd are constantly mess with him that upon NRC graduation Azul should definitely lure you to work with them.

⏤ ⊹ In case you know how to wield that giant cannon... Uhm so care to get married after graduation?

⏤ ⊹ You're so cool, it's just unbelievable, please make him a soothing tea before his heart breaks his ribs and jumps out of his chest, alright?

「 Kalim Al-Asim 」

⏤ ⊹ Finally someone who matches his energy!

⏤ ⊹Kalim is the embodiment of sunshine, while you behave more in a patient way.

⏤ ⊹ But overall you two are NRC’s brightest sun rays.

⏤ ⊹ Kalim is constantly dropping by the infirmary to bring you something to eat (Jamil actually played crucial role in cooking all those things Kalim brought but still consider Kalim wasn’t doing nothing!! He spent sleepless nights trying to master making your favorite dish, so he could get you something to eat anytime you would want to!).

⏤ ⊹ You!! You are so tender with kids around you!! You are so amazing!!

⏤ ⊹ A couple of times he saw you outside the NRC telling different stories about your world to the kids in the park.

⏤ ⊹ Next moment you were already creating your own fairytales, completely dissolved in that natural coziness.

⏤ ⊹ He gets amazed every time he spots you sorting herbs in the infirmary. How could you remember so many different names and medicine properties?..

⏤ ⊹ Consider yourself famous in his family, given how often he tells little facts about you during phone calls. Be also prepared for the fact that if you happen to go visiting his family you’ll be accepted as an Al-Asim new family member.

⏤ ⊹ The result: you help Kalim's parents with chores in the kitchen and with cleaning, not afraid of doing extra work at all.

⏤ ⊹ Sometimes you forget that Kalim is actually not a child anymore, and Jamil reminds you that you shouldn't spoil him too much, but you can't help but running your fingers through his tousled hair during rare breaks you have a meal or just go for a walk to sort your thoughts.

⏤ ⊹ Once he saw how tired you seemed after having a long work day and ran up to you, asking if everything was okay.

⏤ ⊹ You just smiled softly, saying that you were fine, it’s just after another overblot happens the wounds are always much more serious than minor abrasions and cuts.

⏤ ⊹ Kalim gently hugged you, declaring that this hug would serve as an energy boost for today.

⏤ ⊹ From that day on, Kalim asks Jamil to wake him up much earlier than he usually does in order to run into your office and give you a reassuring hug (he returns to bed for another twenty minutes sleeping right after, but let’s omit this okay-)

⏤ ⊹ Surprisingly, you feel better indeed, but you always make sure to not leave such a nice gesture go unnoticed, giving Jamil your hand-made fruit marshmallow so he would give it to Kalim.

⏤ ⊹ Kalim: happy.

⏤ ⊹ Everyone: happy.

「 Vil Schoenheit 」

⏤ ⊹ If you work part-time at the NRC infirmary, then he’s ready to go to Crowley to figure it out so that you get an immediate salary increase.

⏤ ⊹ He knows how important medical knowledge is, and yours is on another level.

⏤ ⊹ Would you like to join his agency? Or maybe even start developing your own brand of cosmetics, given how well-read you are and how well-versed you are in herbs.

⏤ ⊹ He wasn’t insisting when you refused but surprisingly for himself got a little upset.

⏤ ⊹ However this illusory feeling quickly left him as soon as you suggested making a few adjustments to his own cosmetics, and advised a mixture of herbs that could strengthen the effect obtained from Vil's cosmetics.

⏤ ⊹ If you have joint potionology classes he always tries to cooperate with you.

⏤ ⊹Highly respects such an incredible woman like you. Please consider it requires A LOT to earn the praise from the Vil Schoenheit himself, so you’re quite privileged.

⏤ ⊹ Always ready to din common sense in your enviers’s heads. How can anyone possibly believe that you are working for some imaginary benefit?

⏤ ⊹ A woman with such caring touches and boundless attention to her patients simply can’t be a fake, aiming for ephemeral titles or unwanted recognition.

⏤ ⊹ There are no ulterior motives in the way you sincerely offer Vil a few remedies to increase stress resistance and stimulate concentration during work.

⏤ ⊹ To some extent, he doesn’t fully understand why are you being so nice and selfless, but he never argues with you. He's not an idiot to even say anything against you (why would he though? You’re stunning).

⏤ ⊹ Often comes to you for your advice since he genuinely values everything you say.

⏤ ⊹ His words won’t help or encourage your if you suddenly find yourself in a difficult situation or just get tired at the end of the working day. However, he is the person who will convince you that you just need a proper rest. Vil definitely makes you tea, helps you do all night skin routine and makes sure that you fall asleep peacefully.

⏤ ⊹ Your cannon looks absolutely intimidating, maybe it's even better that you haven't had a chance to use it anywhere except for crushing especially hard and large-sized reagents in the process of making potions.

「 Idia Shroud 」

⏤ ⊹ Girl, what anime did you isekai from?

⏤ ⊹ To be honest Idia was simply scared when he saw you.

⏤ ⊹ He has never come across such piercingly sincere and caring person alive. Idia doesn't understand why you care about him so much in the first place.

⏤ ⊹ It's not like he grew up surrounded by love and care to realize how to accept such a sudden kindness.

⏤ ⊹ How did you even manage to stumble upon him when he literally does not go beyond his room?

⏤ ⊹ Ah, that's right... As soon as he thoughtlessly tried to pat Lucius, you noticed him on your way to the infirmary.

⏤ ⊹ He thought you were taunting him when he found a pack of kitten stickers on his bag, along with a small note that said “If you have time, stop by the infirmary, I would like to give you tea leaves that I dried myself. I heard your brother makes great tea.”

⏤ ⊹ NO WAY HE WOULD EVER–

⏤ ⊹ That day Ortho accompanied Idia straight to the infirmary, where he left his brother, humming some catchy pop song, and call it a day. The tips of his hair blazed with a delicate pink, and only the mischievous sparks flying off smoldered with ardent scarlet.

⏤ ⊹ For the first time he saw someone so mesmerized by his hair. Sure thing he stood out noticeably among people with this amusing feature of his, but he observed such a childishly genuine interest without a bit of malicious intent perhaps for the first time in his life.

⏤ ⊹ After a few more ‘trips’ to your infirmary, he came to conclusion that you are incredibly enduring. People usually either ignore him or make fun of him.

⏤ ⊹ You though, you never rush him, never force reactions out of him.

⏤ ⊹ Fortunately for him, the fact that you never force him to do anything against his will helps him demonstrate his gratitude slowly, but quite effectively.

⏤ ⊹ If you have any problems with the equipment, consider that they are no more, because Idia is always ready to fix anything or improve your equipment out of his own curiosity he got while working with you.

⏤ ⊹ At first when you tried to fix his completely shattered sleep schedule he resisted capriciously as if being an annoyed child.

⏤ ⊹ But you are not a simple woman to just leave it like that.

⏤ ⊹ No kitten stickers until he sleeps at least seven hours.

⏤ ⊹ It doesn't matter at all that Idia is rich enough to buy at least a whole factory for the production of those stickers–

⏤ ⊹ Now your so-called quarrels have become a kind of a local joke between you two.

⏤ ⊹ At first he got scared when he saw your cannon, but now he just wants to upgrade it, even though you insist that you won't shoot it without a need (and believe me YOU won’t ever use it on people bc why would you even do that okay?).

「 Malleus Draconia 」

⏤ ⊹ First, the very fact that you are not afraid of him is truly amazing.

⏤ ⊹ Second, just how discerning you are, given you straight up went asking him whether his horns hurt when he sleeps?

⏤ ⊹ You are extremely interested in how his body works from a medical point of view, since its physiological characteristics are very different from your understanding of how the human body works. However, Malleus is not a human at all, so your curiosity is understandable.

⏤ ⊹ People are usually horrified by him, or prefer to dissolve in contempt radiating from them. Malleus just chuckles, but he gets puzzled when he's talking to you.

⏤ ⊹ He doesn't quite understand how to respond to such a delicate display of genuine concern, but you're not rushing him anywhere, just asking him to take care of himself a little more.

⏤ ⊹ Once you asked him what could save him if the wounds would be extremely severe.

⏤ ⊹ Maybe he was too serious for answering ‘Your voice would be the best remedy for me’.

⏤ ⊹ He had to consult with Lilia what to do when something aching unbearably right there in his chest, and yet you smile softly at his answer and say that his reply is quite reasonable due to the fact that he is not a human being.

⏤ ⊹ Excellent, now you think that ordinary medicines will not help him (which is also true, but still), because he does not belong to the human race.

⏤ ⊹ However, he is in no hurry. If you’re being patient, then he’s enormously enduring. Why hurry when you have all the time in the whole dimension?..

⏤ ⊹ Will you be happy if he helps you heal all the people in the universe?

⏤ ⊹ Yes, that's right, it's impossible... And yet you selflessly devote yourself to your work, endowing everyone with a gentle smile.

⏤ ⊹ You two often talk about the differences between your worlds while your patients are sleeping.

⏤ ⊹ He learns how you make tea just by looking at your elegant light movements. Malleus is generally very observant, so his eyes are always focused on you. If he continues glancing at you like that, maybe the other students you look after will start spreading rumors that there is something going on between you two.

⏤ ⊹ Malleus is actually absolutely mesmerized by your voice and during those rare days when you have the opportunity to have your time alone with him somewhere outside the infirmary, he asks you to sing anything you would like to.

⏤ ⊹ A lullaby from your world is perhaps the best thing he has ever heard in his entire lifespan.

⏤ ⊹ What an incredible woman you are.

⏤ ⊹ You even know how to wield a cannon. In fact, he wouldn't want to test your abilities and is even glad that you don't use it at all.

#twst #twisted wonderland #twst x reader #riddle x reader #leona x reader #azul x reader #kalim x reader #vil x reader #idia x reader #malleus x reader #honkai star rail

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qiutls · 1 year

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TNGDH 019

Blink. Blink.

Only the blue system window shined in the empty black space. I finally came to my senses and reached for the system window with a sigh.

[ (*Д>゜<)o ]

Hey, hey. Don't cry. You've already seen me die once, this is just whatever.

To be honest, I thought since I died once, this would be child's play, but it's not easy to die twice. When I felt the pressure of the falling chandelier, I thought I'd rather bite my tongue and faint. In the end it seems like I really fainted.

I opened my mouth to ask the system, slowly touching the blue window.

"I'm still unconscious right?"

[ Shall I turn off "Summon"? ≧ ﹏ ≦ ]

"No, don't release the skill now, just restore my consciousness for a bit."

If you lift it now and we're still at the banquet, or if there's people around me, it's gonna be a problem.

Above all, Kyle already thinks I'm suspicious, if I disappear in front of him again, who knows what will happen. It's going to be hard to make excuses.

[ Restoring consciousness! ]

[ 10... ]

[ 9... ]

[ ... ]

Why are you counting down?

I stared blankly at the system window slowly filling up with numbers.

'H-hey, don't tell me?'

[ 1... ]

The system window and black space disappeared in an instant and I was filled with pain once again. I gasped as if I had just been pulled out of water. I bit my lip, in order to swallow the scream that was rising out from my throat.

"Ugh!"

This is crazy. How is someone supposed to survive this. It hurts so much. I frantically curled my trembling body. My vision was blurry, and my back felt hot after being scraped by the chandelier.

I tightened my grip on my collar and looked around. First of all, it seems like I was all alone, and the location seemed to be the study! Maybe Kyle brought me here, anyways it's a relief...

"Hey! System! Release now! Release the skill! Please."

I cried out in a desperate voice. When I first died, it was so sudden and quick and I didn't feel any pain, but this time was no joke. There was a reason the system was counting down; it was time to get ready for the pain.

White flashed around my body once more, like the chandelier's light earlier, and then when I opened my eyes, I was back in the hamster house.

― Squeak! [ Ack! ]

My body started slipping and rolled down the slide.

System, can you please position me properly next time?

[ (；′⌒`) ]

That's right, you must be anxious too.

I sighed deeply and lay on the sawdust. My body and mind kept tingling. Well, the incident was prevented somehow. It all worked out in the end. But did my small body really block that big chandelier? That's ridiculous.

I only survived because that was a body I "Summoned." Maybe I made that decision because I knew I wasn't sacrificing my real body. Though it's true that my body moved before I could think.

'Kyle must've been very surprised.'

I turned and lay on my back. I got off the slide and tried to touch my back that was hit, but my arm couldn't reach it. I tried to touch it with my other hand but to no avail, I could only touch a void space before I put it down.

I piled the sawdust thickly in front of the house and sat on it, watching the event unfold.

Several doctors flooded into the study, only to find a patient missing, with just the bloody clothes left behind. All of them were quite shocked at the scene.

'That's understandable.'

The grand duke himself urgently ordered for them to check up on patient but he disappeared.

"W-where did he go?" "Search everywhere!"

The doctors talked amongst themselves, and started to search the study, but they couldn't find a soul.

No but why are you searching under the sofa and under the desk? You're trying to find a patient, not an assassin, do you think a patient would be able to crawl under the desk?

Soon, heavy footsteps started banging and the door of the study burst open. The man whose strides were quick and hasty stopped in front of the sofa. He seemed to clench his fist and called out to the attendant outside with an angry voice.

"Search the castle, he couldn't have gone far."

Excuse me, grand duke, you sound so much like a villain right now, what's with that voice.

The attendant quickly ordered the guards to move and search for the young man, while Kyle held his forehead and sat down.

That image burned through my eyes. If he's gone, then he's gone, why do you care so much. I'll return when I need to save you anyways. It's all for the miracle value.

'So, don't be too affectionate. Whether I'm a hamster or a human.'

I embraced the macadamia like a cushion, watching Kyle pick up the clothes I left behind. The white tailcoat turned dark red that you couldn't have guessed its original color. The back was completely torn and bloody, it seems like it won't come off easily even when washed. Too bad, that outfit seemed expensive.

"I wish you never accepted this flower."

Kyled murmured holding my clothes. The flower in the front pocket, was originally a flower with red petals, but due to the accident even the leaves turned red, and the petals were torn.

"Then we, no you, wouldn't have to dance."

His voice was full of guilt.

Don't say that it was going to happen whether you gave it to me or not. I couldn't stop Belial from going to the banquet, so I had to intervene myself. It's purely my choice and purely my fault, so don't.

'Well, I can't do anything about it now.'

I'm sorry, your hamster has a big liver...

*liver = courage, just in case you forgot*

The noisy grand banquet still ended quite successfully. I'm not quite sure how Kyle managed it, but once he left me in the study and came back to the banquet, it seems that he was able to calm the protests and solved the situation well.

Some royal nobles were stirring up trouble that the prince was heavily injured, however it seems Kyle was able to handle the situation but sharing the fact that the chandelier in question was given by the imperial castle. Adding to that fact, the budget the North receives is less than half of what the imperial family gets, so there was no way that the North would've been able to buy such an intricate chandelier.

Not to mention, though a big deal almost happened to Belial, I, a Northerner, saved his life and prevented things from becoming too ugly. In any case, this incident was solved.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

Sen glanced at me with a worried look and checked carefully from head to toe.

"I'm fine~"

I said while waving to distract Sen from the issue. She's already asked three times this morning.

Of course, this body is not fine, but it seems like the system used some stuff to mend it, so it no longer felt that much painful. Though, if anyone were to hit my back, I think I'd jump to the ceiling from surprise and pain.

I chewed on the maple pecan pie Sen brought me. The sweet and savory taste managed to comfort the hidden wound a lot.

"...Yesterday, I went to Prince Belial's quarters."

I almost spat out the pie at her declaration. I looked at her with my eyes wide open.

"Huh? Why?"

"You probably didn't see it, but His Highness protected me at that moment and was cut by glass debris. And well, you know everyone was out of their minds yesterday, and His Highness Kyle even mobilized the guards to look for you. There was no one to attend to his wounds so I..."

She said, and then looked at me suspiciously once more.

Don't look at me like that, I had a reason, okay?

"Anyways, he wasn't seriously injured... But he wouldn't have been hurt if he did not protect me."

I looked at her who strangely became depressed, so I said casually while finishing up the pie,

"He's a man who will be king of this country someday, it would be bad if he's someone who abandons his people."

"What's that word they use again, pride?"

I scratched my nose awkwardly, I needed to be careful of using the correct terms.

"But, you know..."

Sen said gloomily, I waited for her in silence to finish ehr sentence. But I feel like I could read her mind, Sen's goal was revenge, now that she's closer to Belial, it's much easier to find an opportunity to carry out her wishes.

In order to achieve her goal, it seems like she needs to go to Imperial City. In the original novel < The heart of Winter > was set in the Imperial City where Sen was a maid in the Imperial Palace.

However, right now Sen is living in the North, so it's not easy to go to the Imperial City.

She needs power, whether it's to arrive at her destination, or to exact her revenge.

"What's wrong, tell me."

"...His Highness asked me to be a maid at the Imperial Palace."

Well, that's Belial's decision. You're a maid who knows a lot about the North, and is the one Kyle showed interest in, I'm not quite sure if Belial asked you to go with him because of affection or because he wants victory over Kyle.

There's no way a man like him, doesn't at least think like that. But it doesn't matter what his intentions are, since to Sen, it is much more important to get to Imperial City and to be able to have the prince as his backer.

"I think that's great!"

"...I know"

Sen agreed but she didn't look happy. It seems her situation is much more complicated than I thought. Was it that difficult to leave even though this is one step closer to her goal? Maybe she's grown attached to the North?

"I just think sometimes..."

Sen whispered.

"It may not be that bad to live with my past covered up."

Revenge is like a quicksand, even if you have gotten your retribution, it won't be easy to let go of the grudge. The only thing that is constant is the feeling of emptiness. The moment you step in, it will sink slowly and endlessly.

Well, what do I know. Whenever something unfair happened to me, I was sick of it and wanted to take revenge. The world is not a good place for a child who lost his family to live all alone.

At least, I know this part of Sen's thoughts. I have no choice but to know.

"And yet..."

I was going to say something, but I closed my mouth at Sen's words.

I know, you yourself chose this kind of goal. As for me, I didn't want to put up with it, so I emptied my heart and avoided my feelings, but you wouldn't.

You're strong. You probably won't miss this chance, no matter how you feel about leaving the North.

I thought about it. Sen's fate as Serena, is something certain, whether someone transmigrated into her or not, it was something that wouldn't change.

"Make a choice you won't regret."

That was all I could say.

Then, Sen smiled at me, though she looked like she was about to cry.

t/n: so sorry for not updating for 4 days! i've been so busy with life, i'm hoping i could get back into translating more chapters soon since i also want to read the novel quickly QAQ

#tngdh

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lewovo-poto · 2 months

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1988 Phantom of the Opera (Partial) Viewing Experience at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Theatre on Film and Tape Archive. July, 2024

---

After learning that it’s possible to make appointments at the NY Library Archive and that they allow viewing of all closed Broadway official recordings for research purposes, I happily booked an appointment. But because I was rushing after watching Cat the Jellicle Ball in the afternoon (great show btw!) and got lost and took the wrong subway, I arrived after 5 PM, and the archive closes at 6 PM. This meant I couldn’t finish watching, so I knew I'd have to come back next time. The archive staff checked my bag and allowed me to bring in paper, a pen, and my phone.

I realized I didn’t have much time, so I thought I’d focus on the key parts. But then, disaster struck again—the computer was about as old as I am, and even my elementary school computer was more advanced. The interface was really difficult to use, and I didn’t really know how to fast-forward or rewind properly, so after wasting 10 minutes, I gave up and decided to just watch it as it was. 😂

(Sorry for any grammar mistakes, English is not my first language)

---

**1988 Phantom Review**

The opening captured the surrounding audience, since this was a performance with a live audience. The video quality was average, but if AI restoration becomes possible someday, that would be great. It wasn’t bad, just the typical quality you'd expect from the 1980s.

The Overture was particularly intriguing. I had read in other reviews that there was a female voice, so I was curious, and it turned out there really was a soprano singing along with the Overture, with an “ah—” as the chandelier slowly rose. It sounded quite Gothic. (I wonder when this was introduced and when it was discontinued, as I’ve never heard this version before. It must have been used for a very short period.)

Sarah danced throughout, but there was a moment where she seemed a bit confused, though she quickly resumed dancing normally. After the first part of Hannibal, Carlotta practiced her voice while the old manager introduced everything with a cheerful and enthusiastic tone, rather than the usual tired one (I couldn’t tell if this was because someone else was taking over this mess of a theater or if it was just his naturally cheerful demeanor lol). The conductor squatted down with the sheet music, communicating with the orchestra while waving his arms. I have to say, the immersive experience of the Bucket Show was quite something.

During the iconic “He’s there, the Phantom of the Opera!” line, a male voice also shouted, “There’s a ghost!” Huh?? I hadn’t noticed that before. It seems that the original cast of the Broadway production used British accents (even though most of them, except MC and Sarah, should have been American).

Carlotta looked so small compared to the manager, haha. After getting angry, she said “Ubaldo, Andiamo” in a very deep voice, which I think was the first time I heard that line delivered in a lower register.

Madame Giry asked, “Will the Viscount be at tonight’s performance?” and the manager replied, “Of course, he’ll be in our box.” I don’t think these lines are in the current production anymore; at least, they weren’t in the 25th-anniversary performance.

TOM:

Sarah was so skinny! She really was the wide-eyed ingénue type, with her large eyes. Her dress seemed more teal than green. She wasn’t the lively, bouncy type, but rather, every movement was slow and gentle, and her voice is with lots of vibrato.

Steve Barton’s loud “BRAVO” during the recollection scene was followed by soft, broken out sentences full of laughter, making it seem like he was lost in a beautiful memory.

After TOM, Sarah kept talking and nodding with the conductor, probably reviewing the performance. When MC’s “Bravi” came out, Sarah fell into deep thought until Meg came over and startled her. Meg was super cute, and Sarah’s Christine maintained a frozen, pensive expression while talking to Meg, not really happy until she sang “Angel of Music, guide and guardian, grant to me your glory!” and finally smiled. When Madame Giry said, “Come and practice,” it sounded like there was a male voice saying “Asshole” (though I didn’t see this in anyone else’s report, so it might have been me lacking sleep and hallucinated, or perhaps a spectator’s accidental comment was recorded).

Steve Barton is truly the best Raoul, bars none! He exudes both gentleness and elegance, while his voice carries the excitement and joy of someone who has just fallen in love. When he sees Christine, his face lights up with a smile, and when he says "SOAKED to the skin" to her, he really emphasizes the word "SOAKED" with a pause. Similarly, when he says "Little Lottie," he pronounces it pointedly, like "Li—ttle Lo—ttie," as if savoring the name with each syllable. Sarah’s Christine is also very happy to see Raoul, but when she mentions the Angel, her expression turns pensive and melancholy again. Christine initially declines the dinner invitation, but when Raoul says, "No no, you must change, 2 mins, MY little Lottie" (“MY"!), Sarah’s Christine ends up smiling and looking amused. Because of this, it doesn’t seem like Raoul is being overbearing; it feels like, for a brief moment, the two of them have mutually agreed to go to dinner. It’s only after Raoul turns away that Christine realizes, "Oh no, I can’t go—everything has changed." (Could be me reading too much into it)

When Sarah's Christine first heard MC’s Phantom, she wasn’t scared—it was just… a normal expression when Sarah's Christine thought of the Phantom, the pensive kind, until the “enter at last, master” line when she smiled. MC’s Phantom in the mirror was really… creepy, especially with the makeup and lighting.

(At this point, my notes became too messy to decipher… I was probably too excited at the time.)

Title Song:

During the boat scene, Christine looked very happy, while the Phantom leaned slightly as if about to touch Christine’s face (probably during the “Where night is blind” line).

MOTN:

MC’s Phantom had noticeable… eye bags, lol. MC’s rendition of MOTN felt like a lullaby, but with a Gothic allure. The body language was similar to Sarah’s TOM, with every movement slow and deliberate, very graceful (maybe due to the original stage direction by Gillian Lynne). Sarah's Christine looked somewhat hypnotized. During “Turn your thoughts away from cold unfeeling light,” MC’s Phantom’s fingers almost touched Sarah’s face, coming close to a kiss before pulling away. MC’s “Soar” & “Be” was super long and well-sung. Another part I liked was when, possibly due to the height difference, MC’s Phantom slightly hunched over during “Floating, falling,” making him look extra creepy. It also felt like, after maintaining such an elegant demeanor for so long, MC’s Phantom was finally losing some composure as he got closer to Christine. During “The music that I write,” MC’s voice was particularly seductive, and his lower register was impressive.

Since this was the Broadway version, when Christine was Christine ightened and fainted, the Phantom didn’t carry her. MC’s Phantom looked more like he was in a composed shock—surprised but not panicked, and he gently covered Christine with the cloak. The monkey music box didn’t work well in this performance, lol, as it didn’t play any music (even in the official recording, lol).

When Sarah's Christine woke up, she wasn’t the playful, cute, and mischievous type (like Sierra in 25th Anniversary, and many others). Sarah's Christine looked curious but also more anxious, as if she was unease waking up in a strange environment, which is honestly a very logical reaction after woke up at a strange place, and quite Leroux. When she sang “who’s the face in the mask,” her face showed more fear (though, speaking of which, while its believable for Sarah’s Christine to act anxious when woke up, it’s a bit unbelievable that Sarah's Christine, who seemed so uneasy and scared, would dare to remove the Phantom’s mask. I think I prefer a more playful Christine but that’s more of a personal preference).

After revealing the mask, Sarah's Christine cried and wailed a lot (she seemed very scared, poor girl). MC’s Phantom… my notes got messy again here (probably because I was too excited), but the dialogue used “vixen” instead of “viper.” MC’s Phantom also cried and groaned in pain, crawling toward Christine. I remember he turned his face toward Christine without covering it (though it was hard to see the disfigurement makeup in the dark), reaching out his arm, pleading, and letting out a super sad, sobbing “Oh Christine…” After getting the mask back, MC’s Phantom reached out as if to caress Christine’s face but switched to using his wrist at the last second.

In the Magical Lasso scene, there was a brief glimpse of the Phantom and C. The original Broadway Madame Giry really had a strong witch-like aura, haha.

Then I fast-forwarded because the library was about to close. I remember Sarah’s Christine as the Page Boy was *super* cute. Honestly, that was probably the cutest and most lively I saw Sarah's Christine. Then I fast-forwarded to the rooftop scene, where Sarah’s Christine had her usual fearful attitude toward the Phantom. When singing “So distorted, deformed,” her face seemed to show… a look of disgust (oh nooooo!). But when she sang “in that night, there was music in my mind,” she smiled again. She’s truly a Christine who’s more in love with the Voice... Then the staff had finished clearing the other tables, so I also got up to leave. Through fast-forwarding, it seems like Christine and Raoul had lots of hugs and such. I really hope I can go to NY on a business trip again soon and have time to visit the library to watch the official recording! Next time, I hope I can take my time and enjoy it slowly from start to finish.

---

**Personal Reflections**:

Steve Barton needs no further discussion—eternally the best! I've always thought of him as the steady, noble, and gentle Prince Charming type of Raoul. After watching (a portion of) the official recording, I realized that Barton’s Raoul also has a very lively and passionate side, full of the excitement of a young man in love. His voice is full of teasing warmth, especially when he first encounters Christine. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see much of the rooftop scene, but he seems to exude gentleness. In summary, he's a perfect Raoul!

As for Sarah's Christine... uh, well, I have mixed feelings. I've heard others praise Sarah, saying she has a very classical Gothic 19th-century vibe, so my expectations were quite high. I was imagining a mysterious woman with her head in the clouds. Of course, there are also criticisms of her acting, saying it's somewhat lacking (I shall never forgot that one critic was like “She can’t act scared in NY subway at 3am” or something, which is quite mean). After watching this segment of the official recording, I feel... there were some elements in both? She is indeed a graceful, intellectual Christine, with many secrets buried deep in her heart. Her facial expressions seem fine to me, mostly seem pensive and wistful, definitely able to act scared and unsettled. Maybe it's because her Christine always seems deeply burdened, so her expressions often appear serious. But when it comes to her interactions with the Phantom... it feels like her Christine doesn't really love him. Christine only seems truly happy when the Phantom is acting as her Angel of Music or when he has her completely under his spell, but once the Angel leaves or when she's not controlled by the music, Christine immediately returns to reality, filled with unease. Also, during the rooftop scene when describing the Phantom's face, Sarah's Christine actually shows disgust, which really shocked me because I usually see this moment as one of fright (at the Phantom's actions and ferocity) rather than revulsion at his face. So, it's hard to judge—paired with Barton's flawless Raoul, it feels like Sarah’s Christine would be very willing to leave the Phantom. She does give off Leroux Christine’s melancholy and pensive energy——a woman with many secrets, and I really like that about her.

MC’s Phantom—it's a pity I couldn't see the later scenes where the Phantom truly lets loose and explodes. However, from the parts I did see, MC's Phantom is a very classic Gothic "monster." His movements are slow and graceful, yet strangely seductive, and at the same time, quite creepy, especially with the makeup and lighting. His voice is very controlled—except when he's too close to Christine or when his mask is removed, he generally seems like a Phantom who is mostly in strict control of himself. He's very restrained, always keeping his movements and interactions with Christine just on the edge of touching, almost kissing, but then pulls back at the last second (which aligns with the original choreography and the director's intent to express suppressed desire). His anger, perhaps due to the nature of his voice, isn't one of raging madness but more of sadness followed by painful wails, full of pleading. His control over his voice and how he used that to convey emotions is just so captivating and heartbreaking. Oh, how I wish I could see MC's final lair scene, as MC's Phantom is really one who is very composed and elegant most of the time (honestly, it’s more like the Phantom in Kay's novel—one can understand how the old-school Phantoms influenced Susan Kay's inspiration). And I really want to see MC's Phantom with other Christines, like Dale Kristien. I know she’s one of the most supportive of the Erik/Christine relationship and is a fan of MC. I'm very curious how MC and she would perform together.

#poto #phantom of the opera #christine daae #raoul de chagny #erik the phantom #the phantom of the opera #sarah brightman #michael crawford #steve barton #tbh now that I saw 1990 LA bootleg of MC I gotta say his final lair doesn’t disappoint #so much wailing and crying he’s breaking down #the way his voice was void of emotion after being kissed then gradually can’t hold back anymore #amazing #now I really want to see how he acts against Sarah and Steve in final lair

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middleearthpixie · 4 months

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Something in the Night ~ Chapter Twenty-Seven

Summary: Following the Battle of the Five Armies, a seriously wounded Thorin Oakenshield returns to Erebor to recuperate and eventually ascend the throne as king. With the deaths of Azog the Defiler and his son, Bolg, Thorin no longer has to worry about the bounty the Defiler placed on his head and can instead concentrate on restoring Erebor to its former glory.

Nina Carren of Esgaroth has one goal—to make Thorin Oakenshield pay for unleashing Smaug the dragon unto her home—where he destroyed the town and killed her family. The Defiler might be gone, but his bounty remains very much in place, and she fully intends to collect on it.

Finally, the opportunity shows itself for her to do just that, only to have it go horribly awry. Wounded and now at his mercy, neither Nina nor Thorin stopped to think what might happen, should things not go quite according to plan…

Pairings: Thorin Oakenshield x ofc Nina Carren

Warnings: None

Rating: T

Word Count: 2.7k

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Previous chapters can be found here.

Perhaps she shouldn’t have been surprised to see how quickly Dís was able to arrange the celebration of the King Under the Mountain’s betrothal. After all, she knew dwarves loved a good party and Dís certainly struck her as a woman who, when she set her mind to a task, let nothing deter her from her goal.

But, that didn't stop Nina from being almost slack-jawed as Thorin escorted her into the Great Hall after sunset that evening, as Dís had gone far and above anything Nina could have even imagined.

The tables had been rearranged to encircle the center of the hall, and at one end, a separate table had been set up for two. Candelabras of gold and silver stood upon each table, each holding six elegant white tapers, whose dance flames bathed the room in gold and sparkled merrily off the cut crystal of the wine decanters and goblets at each place setting.

Fairy lights had been strung around the ceiling’s perimeter, matching the soft golden glow of the candles and she couldn't help but smile at the sounds of musicians warming up.

“Dís has outdone herself,” Thorin murmured as they stepped into the transformed room. “And it has been a lifetime since this hall last saw a celebration of this size.”

“I’ve never been to a celebration of this size,” she said without thinking, gazing up at the iron and glass chandeliers also ablaze with candles. “Only the Master had the funds for such things and my family was not on his guest list.”

He turned to her, catching both her hands in his. “I’ve been to one of his parties and although the drink was quite good, his taste in food left much to be desired, and he believed his company all the entertainment one needed. Which made us all thankful for the ale that flowed so freely.”

“You meant to tell me he had no music that night?”

“Not a single note.”

“Really?”

He nodded. “Really. If it wasn't for the ale and wine…”

“Surely he had pretty women there for you to admire. He was always fond of pretty women around him, no matter how repulsed they were by him.”

Thorin pursed his lips for a moment. “There was one pretty woman, but she was left out in the snow that night.”

A wink accompanied his words and she rolled her eyes even as she smiled. “Spare me, please.”

His laughter rang out, booming across the room with enough force that the musicians went silent and Dís emerged from a back room with a smile as well. “I wasn't expecting either of you just yet,” she said as she strode toward them. “Dwalin was supposed to stall you a bit longer.”

“Dwalin?” Thorin shook his head. “I haven’t even seen him all day.”

Dís offered up a mischievous grin. “That would be because you and Miss Carren snuck off somewhere to be alone.”

Nina’s cheeks grew warm, but Thorin only laughed again. “And how do you know this?”

“I bumped into Elisin as she was readying to leave,” Dís replied, her smile fading. “She was not at all happy.”

“She’s trouble,” Nina said without thinking, “and I cannot say I’m sorry she’s leaving soon.”

Thorin’s fingers tightened about hers. “Nor can I, which is a shame, since she wasn’t always trouble.”

“Well, in her defense,” Dís replied, “she did think she’d be queen.”

Thorin glared at his sister. “Neither here nor there and really not the time nor place, Dís.”

To her credit, Dís blushed. “Oh, I beg your pardon, Miss Carren, that was terribly rude of me. I—I don't know why I thought I should say that at all.”

“Because ye speak without thinkin’ at times,” Dwalin growled from behind them.

Nina bit the inside of her mouth as Dís scowled at him. “No one asked you, I’ll have you know.”

“I know. I dinna care, but I know.”

He said this with a grin, then to Nina’s surprise, bent to brush Dís’ cheek with a kiss. Peering up at Thorin, Nina expected to see surprise on his face as well, but instead, he smiled. “It’s about time the two of you made up.”

“Wait…” Nina looked from him to Dwalin and Dís and back, “they are a couple?”

“When they aren’t ready to throttle one another, yes,” Thorin told her.

“But he’s so grouchy all the time.”

Now it was Dwalin’s turn to grin. “Not with everyone, lassie.”

Nina’s face grew hot once again and Thorin chuckled, giving her hand a squeeze. “Worry not, mesmel. You won’t be the only one surprised. Now, why don't we go and make ourselves comfortable?”

It truly was a wonderful evening and Nina couldn't help but wonder if this was how it would have been at the Master’s house that night, had she been one of the ones to welcomed to join the celebration. Dwarves absolutely knew how to host a party and how to have a fantastic time, for the music was lively and the food delicious.

However, when Thorin came up and murmured, “Walk with me?” she was perfectly willing to step away from the party and the noise.

The buzz of conversation died away, along with the music and clatter of silver against china and crystal as she tucked her arm through Thorin’s and allowed him to guide her away from the Great Hall.

He led her along a narrow corridor that wound up and away from the festivities. She glanced over at Thorin. “Where are we going?”

He smiled. “Up to the rampart. When I was a boy, it was one of my favorite places to go, as I wasn't often allowed beyond Erebor’s gates. Up here, no one would bother me. It was me and the ravens and I was perfectly happy.”

“Ravens? As in the birds?”

“As in the birds. They understand me, you know.”

She offered him a long look. They understood him? What could he mean by that? “Of course they do.”

He chuckled. “You’ll see.”

“I suppose I will.”

It was a beautiful evening, clear and cool, stars sparkling overhead and a gentle breeze whispering through the trees. The rampart was wider than she’d imagined—wide enough for two columns of dwarves to pass one another with room to spare—and as she moved to the edge, the view stole the breath from her lungs for a moment.

The plains between Erebor and Dale were dark and quiet, but in the distance, Dale itself sparkled with light. Each day, more people and more businesses arrived in the town and so at night, more lights shone than the previous day, or so it seemed. That made her smile, for she’d seen enough desolation and destruction to last her a life time and watching Dale’s rebirth was cathartic.

Beyond that, Esgaroth remained dark. Reconstruction was coming along slowly, but that didn't trouble her. Even if she wasn't about to become the Queen of Erebor, she would not be able to live in Esgaroth again. Too many memories. Too much pain. She did not care if she ever set foot on one of Esgaroth’s docks again.

She drew away from Thorin to cross to the stone parapet, where she leaned against it to gaze over at the Long Lake, whose surface sparkled so she could almost hear the water lapping at the pilings. For a moment, she was back in the small bedroom she shared with Lenna.

“Mooning, are you?”

A shadow fell over her and she looked up to see her older sister, Lenna, propping an elbow on the railing and offering up a knowing smile.

“No,” Nina shook her head as she managed to tear her eyes from the building, “I am doing no such thing.”

“He didn’t know you were alive, little sister. All he cared about was getting the Master to release him.”

“Which he did. And he smiled at me.”

“Or he was smiling at Shalia, as every red-blooded man does.”

“But he is not a Man, and you know it. He is a dwarf. And not just any dwarf, but the King Under the Mountain.”

Lenna let out a low laugh. “I am not calling you Queen.”

“You will when I win his hand.”

Lenna would have loved every moment of this, and would have ribbed her endlessly about Thorin, all the while being the happiest soul alive for her.

Nina’s eyes stung. She missed her sister so very much. Her death left a hole that would never completely heal.

“Where are you?” Thorin asked softly, leaning on his elbows against the stone alongside her.

“She teased me about you, you know.” Nina looked over at him. “My sister, Lenna. She knew I was mooning over seeing you at the Master’s house that night and teased me mercilessly about it. But, it was playful, not malicious. She would’ve loved this. And I would absolutely make her address me as Your Majesty once you and I were married.”

He smiled. “Sounds like the relationship I had with my brother.”

“You had a brother?”

“I did, indeed. Younger by five years. He died in battle at Azanulbizar when we were young.”

“Thorin, I—” she shook her head slowly—“I had no idea. Were you close?”

“We were, yes. Very much so. I like to think, that had he not died, he would be to be me what Dwalin has become. I trusted him more than anyone else in my circle and I hope he felt the same.”

Sorrow wove through his words, crept into his voice, and she covered his hand with hers. “I’m sure he did. I know Lenna loved me to the moon and back, even when she teased me until I cried. She would be so thrilled to see this unfolding as it has. I hope your brother would be for you.”

“He would, no doubt. And Frerin would be amused at the notion of how we came to be together as well.”

“Oh, I don't know about that.”

“I do.” Thorin leaned over to brush her lips with his. “And he’d never let me forget it.”

“Is that good or bad?”

“Both. But, you would win him over. I’ve no doubt about that at all.”

Her cheeks grew warm as he kissed her once more, this time a bit more slowly, and a bit more deeply. She melted into him, her hands curving against his bristly cheeks. And when he drew back, he whispered, “Maralmizi, Nina.”

“Maralmizu, Thorin.”

He wrapped his arms about her, pressing a kiss into the top of her head. Nina sighed softly, resting her head against his chest, just listening to the soft thump of his heart beating. This was the most perfect moment in her life, and she let her eyes close as she savored it, savored him holding her as if to protect her from anything and everything around them. A lifetime had passed since that night in the snow, when she and Lenna stood in the crowd, watching the Master welcome Thorin and his company to Esgaroth, inviting them to celebrate in his house,

“The morning after Smaug attacked,” she murmured, lifting her head to gaze up at him, “when I washed up on the shore on this side of the lake, I thought I’d lost everything that could ever make me smile again. I was convinced I’d never be happy again. And I knew—I just knew—I wouldn’t sleep peacefully until you’d paid for what that fool dragon did to us.”

A hint of pain flashed through his eyes. “If I could, I would take—”

She shook her head. “Let me finish,” she admonished gently.

He pressed his lips together, which made her smile as she went on, “but… the more I came to know you, the more I saw that you were not responsible for what that beast did. You wanted to reclaim your home and defeat him. It was never your intention to set him upon us. That was entirely on Smaug. I blamed you because I could get to you. He was dead. I could get no satisfaction from his death, as I was not the one to end him. But I could end you. At least, I could until I met you.”

He gave her a gentle squeeze. “I’m rather glad you changed your mind, Nina.”

“As am I, Thorin.”

“I have but one question.”

“And that is?”

“When did you decide you preferred me alive?”

She smiled up at him. “Our first night in Mirkwood. When you asked me why I hadn’t told you I was from Esgaroth and what ever became of Lenna. You were just… you listened and when you apologized, I knew it was sincere. And for a moment, I thought you were going to kiss me.”

“I was. And I would have, had Dwalin not interrupted.” A hint of mischief crept into his eyes, into his grin. “And who knows what might have happened if I had?”

“Who knows, indeed.” She gave him a gentle squeeze. “We should probably get back to the party. Someone is bound to notice that we’ve gone missing.”

“Yes, you probably should head back down. People definitely noticed you two had snuck off.”

Nina rolled her eyes as she peered over her shoulder at Elisin, who stood at the far end of the parapet, arms folded, a look of smug satisfaction on her face. She knew without having to ask that Elisin had overheard them. The question was, how much had she overheard?

Thorin sighed. “Why are you up here?”

“I told you, people were wondering what happened to you. They’ll be very relieved to know she hasn’t harmed you, Your Majesty.” Elisin’s eyes narrowed as her gaze slid from Thorin to Nina, and Nina swallowed hard, her belly churning as Elisin added, “Although, why do I think they don't know she thought about harming you to begin with?”

“Elisin, you know nothing of it,” Thorin growled, taking a step toward her.

“I know this… this ragamuffin… had thought—and thought seriously from the sounds of it—to bring harm to the King Under the Mountain. I wonder, Nina, how receptive they would all be to having you as their queen should they learn of that little tidbit?”

“You wouldn’t dare,” Thorin growled.

Elisin turned her wide-eyed stare to him. “Wouldn’t dare? Thorin, I think you owe it to your people to tell them truth, don’t you? I mean, this is something very serious and they should know. Your life could be in imminent danger, after all.”

“If you do, you will be sorry,” Nina gritted.

“Is that so? Well, I think I’ll take my chances.” Elisin spun on her heel and strode back toward the stone steps.

Nina started after her. “Now, you wait just one minute!”

“Nina!” Thorin lunged to try and grab her arm, but missed as she veered to the side and out of his reach.

She moved faster as Elisin practically ran the rest of the way down the staircase. She didn't look over her shoulder, didn't seem at all concerned with Nina catching her, and no matter how fast she tried to push herself, Nina couldn't seem to catch her. Her belly churned like mad as she realized Elisin was absolutely going to announce to the hall full of people that Thorin was planning to marry the woman who’d thought to assassinate him.

“Stop!” Nina flung herself at Elisin, wrapping her arms about the dwarrowdam’s thick waist. However, instead of halting her, Nina instead pushed her forward and into the Great Hall, where everyone seemed to fall silent at once and Nina almost heard the whoosh of heads swiveling in their direction.

“What goes on here?” Dís demanded as the musicians went quiet and she hurried toward them.

“It is very fitting you should ask me that,” Elisin replied with a sweet smile that made Nina’s stomach hurt even more as she reluctantly eased her hold on Elision’s waist.

“Elisin,” Thorin came into the Great Hall, his voice reverberating all around them, “do not dare.”

“Dare what?” Dís looked from Elisin to Nina to Thorin, her eyes narrowed. “What is going on here?”

“What is going on here is simple, really. Your future queen is a would-be assassin,” Elisin announced, her smile growing more smug with each word. She nodded, looking about the room as she added, “Yes, you heard me. She is here because her plan was to kill your king.”

#Richard Armitage #AU #The Hobbit #Thorin Fic #Thorin Oakenshield #Is it hot in here?#Hobbit Fic #Romance #Hobbit Fanfic #Thorin x OC #Fan fiction #The Hobbit fan fiction

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oomfvia · 10 months

Text

⛧i'll fight for your life chapter 3: to feel the sun from both sides

pairing: astarion/gender-neutral half-elf paladin tav/reader (second person)

spoilers until patch 5 epilogue

sfw, friends to lovers :)

2,296 words (3 chapters, 6,097 total words)

you can also read this work on ao3

likes/comments/reblogs always appreciated!

❥ chapter 1 ❥ chapter 2

The journey was an unexpectedly short one, and it’s a relief, because no matter what Astarion said, you weren’t about to let his legs give out. Your feet land squarely on the floor when he sets you down gently, feeling slightly less woozy than you previously were.

Your eyes drift over to the large house laid out in front of you, and you immediately recognise its surroundings. The estate, in spite of how nice it looked, was rather modest compared to the other more luxurious residences that surrounded it. How long has it been since the last time you found yourself in the Upper City?

“Is this your home?” You ask, not bothering to hide your curiosity.

Astarion shrugs, fishing out a key from his pocket and inserting it through the gate’s lock. “I barely come back to it, but I suppose so.”

Funnily enough, Astarion had done the same thing you did, just in a nicer place. The Upper City, while still affected by the Absolutist crisis, was markedly more efficient in its restoration efforts. The road on the way was already paved again, and the street lamps were standing tall.

“Won’t the previous owner have anything to say about this?”

Noticing how the man wipes his shoes off on the velvety doormat, you take a few seconds to do so as well. It feels like an awful waste, especially considering your previous house in the Outer City lacked a doormat at all. He smiles at your perfectly logical question amusedly, as if it was a silly one to ask.

“Don’t worry, darling. They’re too dead to worry about real estate. Besides, this was my home in the first place.”

Your expression turns into a mixture of realisation and bewilderment. “...So you actually were a magistrate?”

“Aren’t I the very picture of one?”

You hold back a snicker, as well as the retort that immediately comes to mind. A corrupt one, maybe.

“You can use this room,” Astarion says, pushing open a wooden door. The room behind it is expansive, and already fitted with a desk, standing lamp, and wardrobe. Your eyes then linger on the large, plush bed in the middle. It takes all of the restraint in you to not dive into it face-first the moment you lay eyes on it.

“Am I imposing?” You ask, not daring to take a step into the room just yet.

Astarion dismisses your worry with a wave of his hand. “It’s one out of many. Using it would be a favour, my dear.”

That night, you have the most restful sleep you can remember. So restful, in fact, that you dream for the first time in months. A true, proper dream, with no strange visitors. You snore lightly into the cloudlike pillow, revisiting the recent memory of walking through the streets of the Upper City. Your head rests against Astarion’s shoulder, as the both of you share a moment of comfortable quiet. If you weren’t living with the man himself, you would find it a pity to have to wake up.

There’s a part of you that misses living in Rivington, where you could watch the city rebuild from the ground up, but you fall into the routine of living in the Upper City much faster than you had expected to. Your morning starts like any other, with all of the heavy curtains closed tightly. The grand chandelier above the dining table isn’t to your tastes, but it’s the only source of light you dare to allow in. The dining table itself is exceedingly big for just the two of you, but the food that you’ve prepared helps to make the place feel more familiar.

“Are you sure you don’t have to go off on any adventures?” You ask absentmindedly, cutting into a steamed carrot.

“I’d be a terrible host to leave you all alone,” Astarion answers. You glance upwards to peek at the issue of the Baldur’s Mouth gazette in his hands, noticing a picture of Gale posing with a student. It brings a smile to your face.

“Looks like the good wizard is doing well.”

In response, Astarion smiles with a shrug. “Speaking of, you haven’t opened that letter from Waterdeep.”

You wonder if Gale would be upset at you for not confessing your feelings yet. Probably. Subsequently, you imagine him gently chiding you for not taking advantage of the opportune situation, in a way that only a professor would.

After breakfast, you pace back to your room, picking up the envelope addressed to you. The letter is only one of many, yet Gale’s handwriting is as neat as ever. What’s more impressive than his penmanship, however, is the contents of the letter.

I need to prepare to leave. Now.

The two of you had roast chicken for dinner, accompanied with unoaked wine.

“What did he have to say?” Astarion asks, slicing into the dish in front of him with a sense of natural etiquette.

“Just another recipe he thought we’d like,” you lie through your teeth. “Do you happen to like stew?”

Astarion nods, refusing to talk with his mouth full. His eyes don’t leave the plate.

“Then…When I return from my short trip, that’ll be the first thing I make.“

You keep your hands still as you watch the vampire almost choke on a stalk of asparagus. His face contorts as he finally looks up at you, completely befuddled.

“Sorry to alarm you. It’s nothing special, really. I just need to return to the Outer City for a short while to pick up some things I left behind.”

Your explanation seems to convince Astarion, and he doesn’t press the matter any further. A twinge of guilt pulls at your heart for lying to him, but it’s coupled with a sense of anticipation for what is to come. That same night, you stuff potions, tools, and a set of battle-weathered armour into your pack. If you leave for the Underdark tonight, you’ll be able to return before sundown the next day.

The last two sentences of Gale’s letter from Waterdeep resound in your head as you leave through the now-familiar iron gates of your Upper City home: ‘It’s a wonderful feeling, to care for someone this deeply. Treasure it.’ Those words fill you with a resolve you never thought you’d ever gain.

It’s a dark, rainy night in the Upper City when you finally return.

You knock the door exactly seven times in quick succession — a sign that it’s you, and no one else. Almost immediately after, Astarion swings the door open, a towel in his other hand. Then, his smile quickly fades as his eyes land on you, your clothes clinging to your shoulders and the ends of your hair dripping wet. His sympathetic expression is more fitting for someone opening the door for an abandoned kitten, rather than a paladin.

“T-Thank the gods. I lost the key for the door on the way.”

Your cold body shivers under the unrelenting rain, recoiling slightly as you let out a sneeze. That blood-stained chestplate you were so fond of would most certainly rust. And yet, you beam at Astarion in a way that’s unmistakably joyous.

“I’m home.”

The corners of Astarion’s eyebrows raise, and he shakes his head as he takes a step backwards to let you in. The moment you step into the house, you leave the doormat drenched.

“...Welcome home.”

Astarion’s hands are gentle as he soaks up the rainwater from your hair, the towel getting increasingly heavier with each squeeze. The sound of the rain pattering against the windows, along with the warmth of the fireplace, calms your heart. You’re grateful that Astarion has to stand behind your place on the couch to dry you off. With how quickly your anxious heart was beating, you don’t want to imagine what your face might look like.

“Care to explain your tardiness, darling?” Astarion asks in that familiar tone. The one that subtly shows that he was worried.

“I — Achoo! Found something interesting along the way.”

You hear the sound of a tongue clicking from behind you. He already expects it to be one of those trinkets you were so fond of bringing back home. Good, he hasn't caught on.

“Pray tell, what could be so interesting that you come home in this state?”

You pull open the flap of the pack sitting beside you, holding a tied piece of cloth in your hands. Astarion releases your hair from the towel with an unimpressed hum of acknowledgment. You lift it up above your head, encouraging him to unwrap it. An enthusiastic grin stretches across your face as you turn your head to face him.

“A ring? Darling, are you insinuating something?” Astarion asks with a flirtatious smile. You snort out a laugh, partly in reaction to his words but also because you feel smug about your little scheme.

Astarion picks up the item, holding it against the light of the ceiling lamp. It’s plain as accessories go, its silver band only adorned with a single blood-red ruby. He looks at you quizzically, waiting for you to explain yourself. You simply smile, resting your jaw atop of your folded arms.

“Wear it tomorrow morning, and I’ll tell you all about it.”

Thankfully, all Astarion does is sigh with a roll of his eyes, walking off to his room. You retire to your own, your exhausted body collapsing onto the bed. Compared to the Underdark, the mattress feels like the celestial planes.

Dawn approaches, and you wake up to the distant sounds of birds chirping and the awakening city. Stretching your limbs, you resist the urge to return to sleep, prying yourself off of the bed.

You find Astarion leaning against the wall along the hallway, noting the Ring of the Sun-Walker's silver band firmly wrapped around the ring finger of his left hand. Without saying a word, you wrap your hand around his, leading him to the front door.

Astarion’s expression can only be described as appalled when you tell him to just waltz right out of the door, exposing himself to the sunlight. It’s the only thing that has stopped him from accompanying you on your journeys to the stores for ingredients, and you were now telling him to take an unbelievable plunge.

“You’re not inspiring much faith, holding that bottle in your hand.”

You laugh, holding firmly onto the Potion of Superior Healing. “It’s just a safety precaution.”

Astarion sighs in resignation, letting his hand rest against the brass handle. He pulls the door open hesitantly with a sceptical look, the sounds of the city streaming in. He shuts his eyes, bracing himself. Unconsciously, you are too, your breath hitching in your throat as you watch him step forward.

And…nothing. No burning skin, and no excruciating pain. You release a soft sigh of relief, a satisfied smile forming on your face. Slowly, Astarion lifts his eyelids, too rattled to fully understand what was occurring to him. He turns backwards to face you, as if you’re a miracle worker sent from the gods.

“I told you to trust me, didn’t I?” You say, a hint of pride in your voice.

“Darling, I…I don’t know how I could ever repay you.”

You understand how much bravery it would take for Astarion to walk under the sunlight based on nothing but your word. It was time for you to exercise some courage in return.

“You already have, for letting me stay with you.”

Astarion rolls his eyes, stepping back indoors. “You didn’t have to do all this, just because I’m your landlord, for gods’—”

You bring yourself forward, pulling Astarion into a hug. One that’s slow and gentle, with enough allowance for him to break away if he wishes to. Instead, with shaky hands, he rests his hands on your back. Taking in a deep inhale, you wrap your arms loosely around Astarion’s neck.

“I’m doing this because I love you. I always have.”

In the moment, all the lines you had planned the night before were lost on you. It’s nerve-wracking, and you’re kicking yourself internally for speaking so clumsily. But at the same time, you’re overwhelmed with a feeling of exhilaration. How freeing it is to let your love manifest itself into words, unabashedly and honestly.

When you gather the courage to raise your head, your eyes meet Astarion’s. His usual expression of ease was faltering, his eyes widening as if your feelings were some sort of grand revelation. For a moment, the pessimist in you takes over and you assume the worst. You imagine Astarion spitting at the ground, turning his heel — leaving you and your bleeding heart out to dry. Immediately afterwards, you imagine that you would still love him ardently if he does.

Slowly, however, the corners of Astarion’s lips lift up into a bewildered smile. Astarion’s hold around you strengthens. You smile giddily, burying your head in the space between his neck and shoulder. At this exact moment, you feel your affection for him multiply with each second that passes. It feels almost dreamlike, to share a home with the person you love. To have him accept your love wholeheartedly.

“I love you too,” Astarion responds softly, an apparent fondness to his tone.

You allow yourself to envision a future with him. One of freedom, adventure, and more than you had ever dared to imagine before. The both of you step outside of the manor hand-in-hand, your skin brushing against the gentle touch of daylight.

You watch fondly as Astarion basks under the morning light. Reflected in his eyes is the same sun you’ve known ever since you were born. At the same time, it feels as though you are seeing it for the first time all over again.

“To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides.” ― David Viscott

#baldur's gate 3 #baldur's gate iii #bg3 #baldur's gate 3 fanfiction #bg3 fanfiction #astarion fanfic #astarion #astarion ancunin #astarion bg3 #astarion x tav #astarion x reader #astarion x you #oomfvia.txt #oomfvia:\bedtimestories

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cestlefantome · 1 year

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POTO Italy review

Ok, that’s gonna be a very long post. My synthesis capacity is clearly lacking but I really wanted to put down to paper all the details possible from the Italian production before my memories faded. If you don’t want spoilers, better stop reading this now.

First of all, let me tell you that I absolutely love the Brilliant Original and that I’ve never seen a non-replica production before (except for the 25th anniversary, which I consider a non-replica as it is missing key elements from the original). I was very skeptical of the Italian production after seeing the bootlegs and photos posted on TikTok and also listening to the audio of the first show sent by a friend of mine who was there for the first show. I spent the first week of the run moaning about all the changes and how cheap the production looked, so my expectations were very low. I really thought I was going to hate it. Even Ramin didn’t impress me in the bootleg audio, and if you know me, you will know how much I love his Phantom. That was the state of mind I was in before seeing the first show on July 11.

I am an experienced traveler but arriving in Trieste was a strenuous adventure even for me. It took me 3 flights (the longest one was 11 hours long) and a train, a 30-hour journey in total (and 32 hours to get back home). I stayed with a friend from London in an Airbnb on the same street as the theatre, a three-minute walk. We were really lucky in that regard. The whole city was celebrating Phantom, it was a great happening to them, with many store windows with Phantom-inspired decorations.

The Il Rossetti (Teatro Stabile del Friuli Venezia Giulia) was built in 1878 and heavily restored 3 times, the last one in 1999. It sits 1,531 people and it is stunning with a beautiful ceiling mimicking the sky that can light up as stars. It has an opera house atmosphere which I think is very appropriate for staging Phantom. The original theatre chandelier looks tiny though. We were surprised to find out that there were no rows 1 and 2, so we were closer to the stage than we thought. That was indeed a very pleasant surprise. I saw the show 8 times, from July 11 (the first show of the second week) to 16 (the last show), including both matinees. I sat twice in the first row (in reality numbered as row 3), one of them on the right side and one on the left side of the stalls. Sat 4 times at the second row (numbered as row 4), all of them on the left side of stalls, and twice on the third row (numbered as row 5), one of them on the right side of stalls. The stalls are divided into left and right with a central corridor. I will say that for this specific production, and because of the revolving stage, the seats on the left can have a restricted view in at least two crucial scenes, depending on where you are seated (most specifically as you get the farthest from the center, but not so bad if you are seated near the central corridor).

As you enter the auditorium, the whole stage is blocked by a huge mirror wall written "Phantom".

At the beginning, they had a recording of Ramin saying “Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to MY theatre. Consider this your first and only warning. Recording or taking pictures during MY show is strictly prohibited. Should these commands be ignored, a disaster beyond your imagination will OCCUR (a low sinister laughter). Enjoy the show.”

When the auditorium goes dark for the show, there’s a flash and a very loud sound of shattering glass, as the mirror wall is lifted to reveal the auction scene. The auction is set at the Opéra Populaire dilapidated and abandoned auditorium. There’s a very cool backdrop of the destroyed boxes and only a partial ceiling, revealing the sky and the Eiffel Tower in the background, with birds singing. The covered chandelier is in the back, near the auctioneer who is standing on the ground and not higher as in the original production. The chairs are arranged just like in the real auditorium, with two rows of chairs on each side with a central corridor. The people attending the auction have their backs to the audience, so in a way, we feel as if we are part of them as well. Old Raoul doesn’t have a wheelchair, he is seated in a normal chair like everyone else. He still has a nurse by his side. I’m pretty sure old Raoul wasn’t played by Bradley Jaden, but by the same actor who played Monsieur Lefevre (Jeremy Rose), wearing a beard. I think that was a nice touch because it looked way more realistic to have an older actor instead of a younger one with not very good makeup.

Fun fact, in lot 664, the wooden pistol and three human skulls from the 1831 production of “Robert Le Diable” by Meyerbeer was replaced by only one human skull. The Monkey music box is very similar to the one from the 2004 movie, wearing a green vest, a red waistband, and a red Fez hat. When Lot 666 is to be revealed, the auctioneer walks to the side and turns an old electricity knife switch that is part of the “backstage” wall of the revolving stage (lateral side of one of the boxes). The chandelier is revealed and the whole theatre goes dark as it is then illuminated in tiers, according to the overture playing (I love this part, it always makes me cry). In the few seconds in darkness, the chairs are removed from the stage to prepare for the next scene, in the past. As the chandelier rises, we can see actors and ballerinas coming into and going from the stage in slow motion. It was a very clever way to represent the restoration of the Opera Populaire to its full glory. During this scene, the revolving stage rotates, and we have a first glimpse of Joseph Buquet (Matt Bond) going up a side spiral staircase with a noose in his hand. Madame Giry crosses the stage looking at him. On the side, Christine and Meg appear talking, also in slow motion.

In this production, the revolving stage acts as a stage within the real stage. From one side it shows as the front of the stage, with the footlights and a prompter box. The back of it is the backstage view, with old black brick wall, a spiral staircase on one side, a hidden door, and the knife switch on the other end. On each of the sides there are three tier theatre boxes and behind each of these boxes there is part of a wall with a window and a curtain for the Manager’s office and on the opposite side, it is Christine’s dressing room set. This revolving set also has a beautiful, decorated ceiling where the chandelier hangs. A very clever set in my opinion.

The stage then stops facing the audience, the Hannibal backdrops falls in place as Meg and Christine leave and Carlotta enters the stage to sing. Carlotta was played by Italian Opera soprano Anna Corvino, and she is fantastic and a very extra and funny La Carlotta. I loved her voice (even though she was trying to sound bad) and how dramatic she was. She was also very nice at stage door.

The stage during Hannibal looks very crowded, because everything happens within the revolving stage limits (because they have to be behind the footlights). The backdrops, costumes, and choreography are all different from the original, but it didn’t bother me, and they didn’t look cheap at all, just different from Maria Björnson’s. There’s no elephant, instead, they have an open sedan chair carried by two people. There are 6 slave girls (counting with Christine) plus the slave master, Christine is on stage dancing from the beginning of the scene, and at one time, she loses her balance and falls on stage after which Madame Giry calls her out “Christine Daae, concentrate girl”. I had the distinct impression that, except for the slave master, none of the girls had ballet training, especially not the actress playing Meg (Zoe Nochi). She had a horrible posture, certainly not one for a trained classical dancer. If it was an acting choice, it was a weird one.

Monsieur Lefevre comes with Messieurs Firmin (Ian Mowat) and Andre (Earl Carpenter). Monsieur Reyer is hidden in the prompter box, we never get to see him. Piangi was played by Italian tenor Gian Luca Pasolini and he has an incredible voice but was a bit stiff on stage. Maybe he was supposed to be like that, I don’t know. It’s not a bad thing, but he doesn’t stand out much, except when he is singing. When he steps inside the sedan chair, the two guys carrying it have a really hard time suspending it until its floor breaks due to Piangi’s weight. It was funny and made up for the missing elephant at the end of Hannibal. Monsieur Lefevre seems overly joyful when he announces he is retiring.

The part in which La Carlotta sings “Think of Me” to Monsieur Andre is also very funny. She’s over dramatic and as he approaches her, she actually spits on his face when singing “Spare a THOUGHT for me” and Andre has to clean it with his hand. Earl’s face at that moment was hilarious, he was born to play Andre. Then the backdrops fall, and Meg comes forward to sing “He’s there, the Phantom of the Opera” and when Firmin replies “Good heavens! Will you show a little courtesy? Mademoiselle, please!”, she actually challenges him with a sarcastic smile on her face, until Madame Giry pulls her back. I will say I didn’t like Meg in this production. Her voice was very harsh and annoying, and I didn’t like her attitude in general, with the exception of one scene.

When Andre asks if there is an understudy for La Carlotta and Monsieur Reyer replies “There is no understudy Monsieur, the production is new”, Meg literally pushes Christine to the front saying “Christine Daae could sing it, sir”. Christine almost loses her balance again. That was a choice because it happened in every single show. Christine then starts singing very shyly and when she tries to leave the stage, Meg comes forward, holds both her hands, and encourages her to keep singing until she is confident enough to sing with her full voice. I really liked that added moment between the two friends. A curiosity, there was no scarf for Elissa, so indeed Christine was a bit more restricted in her (lack of) choreography and sang more or less standing, facing the audience, not much different from the 2004 movie. While Raoul sings his part, the stage rotates 360° so everyone can see him in the box with Andre and Firmin (no Madame Firmin) as well as a view of Christine as seen from “backstage” and that is when Christine moves the most on stage, she does a quick choreography similar to the one she does at the back of the stage in the original production at this very moment.

I have to say that before seeing the show, I told many of my (poor) friends (who had to deal with my moaning for over a week) that Amelia was, in my opinion, the weakest link in the cast, as she had no previous experience and I didn’t like any of the videos of her singing posted previously (not the ones with Ramin in NY and not the ones on her own YT channel). Well, I learned that we should keep our harsh opinions to ourselves after we see the show in person. We can’t judge someone’s talent by a video filmed in a living room, a crappy bootleg, and even worse, by other’s opinions. I personally loved Amelia Milo’s Christine. She has a beautiful, strong voice, is very sweet and both her face and voice convey a lot of emotion. Her voice also blends beautifully with both Ramin’s and Bradley’s. Both men have very powerful voices, and none held back but she just kept up with both, her voice was never drowned by theirs. Bradley Jaden is a very attractive Raoul (he has long hair and wore it in a low ponytail, except for the final Lair) and also has a big, strong voice. He was an overall enjoyable Raoul, at least in my opinion (I’m still team Erik all the way), although at times he seemed very annoyed but in the end, I think it worked and I’ll explain later why.

The whole scene with the ballerinas surrounding Christine, and she holding the big flower bouquets and bowing with her back to the real audience while the curtain closes doesn’t happen in this production. Monsieur Reyer doesn’t appear talking to her either while the ballerinas rehearse in the background. When the Phantom sings “Bravi, Bravi, Bravissimi”, she is already in her dressing room changing to the dressing gown, which looks similar to the one from the original production, except for the sleeves. Ramin’s “Christine” sounded a bit harsh for me. In the 25th anniversary, he sings her name pianissimo, like a caress, so that was something that I didn’t quite understand, because he was supposed to be happy after her successful debut, but it sounded (to me) like he angry.

As I said before, Christine’s dressing room is located behind the boxes on one side of the revolving stage. It consists of a dressing table, a chair, and a huge, tall mirror that sits above her dressing table. When she sits down to change her ballet shoes, there is already a single red rose on her dressing table, from the Phantom. Christine stands up when Meg comes in and she gently makes Meg sit while she sings “Angel of Music”. For most of the song, Meg keeps touching everything on her dressing table and not paying much attention and is sitting in a very unladylike way, not like I would expect a ballerina to sit. Madame Giry comes in, tells Meg to leave, and gives Raoul’s note to Christine.

The scene where Raoul walks to Christine’s dressing room in the company of Messieurs Andre and Firmin (and his wife) was cut, but depending on where you were seated, you could see Andre, Firmin, and Raoul talking in the very back during “Angel of Music”. Raoul then comes to her dressing room (no rose or champagne bottle) and when she recognizes her childhood sweetheart and hugs him, the two sconces positioned on each side of the mirror flicker. Both Christine and Raoul notice it, Raoul looks particularly intrigued, although he doesn’t miss a beat on his part. That was another small change that I enjoyed. We know the Phantom is not happy. The dressing room scene is one of the two scenes I mentioned that have a partially restricted view for those sitting on the left side of the audience. When the revolving stage rotates after “Think of Me”, it stops at an angle, facing the right side of the audience. For the most part, the view is ok. But as Raoul leaves and the Phantom appears in the mirror, his image can’t be seen by at least half of the theater audience. That was a very unfortunate choice by the production, I can’t believe no one sat in different parts of the auditorium to make sure everyone could see this crucial scene. We can only see Erik when he steps out of the mirror and extends his hand to help Christine climb the chair and the dressing table and enter the mirror with him.

I was lucky to be able to see the full scene at least half of the time but was still annoyed by the times I couldn’t see him. Ramin looks amazing inside the mirror. By the way, when he appears in the mirror, Christine knees down and extends her arms as in prayer for her Angel. I absolutely loved this scene, which made it even worse that I couldn’t properly see it every night, even though I had excellent seats very close to the stage. The title song staging is very cool. After entering the mirror, the revolving stage rotates again and stops with the backstage facing the audience. They appear crossing the dark stage from right to left and then a hidden door at the backstage wall opens and they come out from it. The Phantom then comes forward to the edge of the orchestra pit to get a lamp. He reduces the intensity of the lamp light; turns back to get Christine and they go down a stair in the pit. They then appear at the top of the spiral staircase on the right side of the stage (the same we saw Buquet earlier) and descend until they reach the boat (a gondola) and cross the stage, reaching his lair.

The boat stays on the left side of the stage, while a massive organ comes up from the floor in front of the conductor and then slides a little to the middle of the stage. At the same time, a 4-poster bed and the monkey music box appear on the right side. A backdrop of the cellars appears in the back. There are no candelabra or candles in the Phantom’s lair, except for some in the organ. While they are in the boat, there is some dry ice effect and a bluish light, to mimic the lake. The background reminded me of an artwork from Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Carceri d’invenzione) that is mentioned in one of my Palais Garnier books. It is not as spectacular as the original production, but it is still magical, and impressive. Ramin’s Phantom is particularly shy in this production. Except for holding hands (which many times you can notice his shaking), he hardly touches Christine. For “Music of the Night”, Christine is standing on the left side of the stage, near the gondola, where she sings her high E. Erik then plays his organ dramatically (“I have brought you to the seat of sweet music's throne (…)”. He is standing and looks at her. A bench then slides on the stage, and he sits down, facing the audience and with his back to her. He has music sheets on his hand. He sings part of Music of the Night while seated and hardly acknowledges her, but you can see he is very nervous. He stands up only when he sings “turn your thoughts away from cold, unfeeling light and listen to the music of the night”. He slowly approaches her from behind, but when he sings “darkness of the music of the night”, she runs to the opposite side, but then she stops near the bed when he sings “Let your mind start a journey through a strange new world!”

When he approaches her again, he takes a candle from the organ and immediately after he sings “Only then, can you belong to me”, he blows the candle in her direction. You can see some kind of powder and then she is in some kind of a trance. He comes behind her, but he doesn’t really touch her, she is the one to rest again him while he sings “Floating, falling, sweet intoxication! Touch me, trust me savor each sensation!” and she touches his hand and his face very gently and he slightly leans into her hand until he sings “Let the dream begin, let your darker side give in to the power of the music that I write the power of the music of the …”. She faints, he holds her, closes his eyes for a second, looks at her and sings “night”. He then gently places her on the bed and covers her with his cloak and walks around the bed while singing “You alone can make my song take flight, help me make the music of the night”.

I know some people have been pretty vocal about the candle part and him “drugging” Christine and taking away her “consent”. I respect those who felt uncomfortable with this scene, but honestly, I much prefer this to that creepy mirror bride with the likeness of Christine, which implies that maybe Erik does “things” with the mannequin. Even though he did put her in some kind of trance, the way I see it is that they were both overwhelmed and he was bidding his time, without not really knowing what to do and maybe trying to postpone the hard conversation ahead of them, having to explain why he lied about being an Angel. He never touches her inappropriately (before or after the candle), he never approaches her while she is sleeping, and the scene between the candle blow and her fainting takes about 40 seconds (yes, I tracked the time). I’m not saying it is right, but then we will have to discuss if it is right to bring her to his home in the first place, unchaperoned. Is it really much worse than drugging her with chloroform like in the book or hypnotizing her with his voice? Those were different times and men tended to think and treat women as their property. Right or wrong, at least the Phantom was a gentleman.

After Music of the Night, the stage went dark for a few seconds. Erik took off his jacket and moved the bench closer to the organ (no Mandarin coat and hat). I didn’t mention it before, but he has pretty much the same outfit as in the original, except that his waistcoat is white silk with a chain clock (he also wears a red lining black cloak with a shoulder cape with no embellishments and no fedora hat). When the lights go back on, he is sitting on his pipe organ playing, his back to the audience. The music box then starts to play. Erik looks at the Monkey and does the same movement with his hands as if he was playing the cymbals too. A small detail but one that I loved it. He then is back to composing. Christine wakes up and begins singing, he looks at her and is back to composing for a few seconds, but when she sings “Whose is the face in the mask?”, he watches as she gets up from the bed and he stops composing. He then turns on the bench, facing the audience, but he sits at the very end of the bench and starts fiddling with his hands, with his head down, very shy, without really knowing what to do. She approaches him and sits on the bench very close to him, his hands are shaking, he closes his eyes, and she touches his face, and he leans into her hand, so trusty and vulnerable and that’s when she tears the mask from his face. He immediately screams and turns his back to the audience, leaning against the organ while cursing. She tries to escape to the boat, but he goes after her and yanks her from it, and she falls to the floor. When he sings “Curse you”, he sits on the bench, still covering his face with his hand and he actually chuckles and starts singing back again a bit more menacing while he approaches her again, she crawls to the opposite side and then he collapses on his knees and sings “this loathsome gargoyle, who burns in hell, but secretly yearns for heaven, secretly. secretly.”.

In this last part, he sings almost sobbing. The part “But, Christine. Fear can turn to love you'll learn to see, to find the man behind the monster, this repulsive carcass, who seems a beast, but secretly dreams of beauty, secretly. secretly” He sings with so much despair, except for the words monster, repulsive carcass, and beast, which he sings with anger. It’s heartbreaking. The whole time after the unmasking, Christine hardly breaks eye contact with him. Bonus points for her, as most Christine cowers in fear. After her initial shock during his cursing, she looks more regretful than afraid. He covers his head with both hands, bends down, and rocks like a small child while sobbing. She approaches him slowly and tries to touch him and he flinches and sobs a “No”, his voice bears so much fear at this moment, that it seems as if someone is trying to beat him. He then moves his body away from her, still rocking. This whole scene was devasting and the best I’ve ever seen so far. She then extends her arm to him, holding the mask, he looks at her still afraid but takes the mask and puts it on his face, breaths, recovers himself, stands up, and says “Come we must return those two fools who run my theatre will be missing you”, He seems resigned, not angry anymore. Thank God there was no creepy crawling, which is something about this scene in the original that I dislike.

The scene then shifts to the backstage of the opera, while the revolving stage rotates to show Buquet on the top of the spiral staircase with the noose in his hands, singing his part about the O.G. to the frightened ballerinas. Madame Giry arrives and sends the ballerinas away while singing her part “Those who speak of what they know find, too late, that prudent silence is wise. Joseph Buquet, hold your tongue he will burn you with the heat of his eyes.”. At the same time, Buquet comes down the stairs. He comes really close to her, his face is inches away from hers and he actually threatens her with the lasso. She doesn’t even flinch. He starts laughing like a maniac as he leaves the stage.

The stage rotates again to show the manager’s office. That part is about the same, except that the Managers seem to be a bit annoyed with Raoul, and Raoul looks particularly annoyed with La Carlotta, and he is even rude to her. While the conversation between the managers, Raoul, Carlotta, and Piangi is happening, those sitting in the right side can see that Meg is seated on the stage floor in the background, playing with Buquet’s lasso. I have no idea how she got it, but she even has it around her own neck until Madame Giry sees her and takes the lasso away. Meg then follows Madame Giry to the manager’s office where Madame informs everyone that Christine is back and shows them the new Phantom’s note. There are a few amusing moments involving the managers and La Carlotta. The trio is responsible for most of the funny scenes. They start singing Prima Donna in their office but then everyone moves to the stage (as the stage rotates again) to sing the last part “Light up the stage with that age-old rapport! Sing, Prima Donna, once more!”. We then listen to the Phantom threatening them “So, it is to be war between us! If these demands are not met, a disaster beyond your imagination will occur!”, while they sing “Once more!”.

For Il Muto, there is no bed, in fact, there’s no furniture at all on the stage. They have a backdrop very similar to the 2004 movie, with a fake balcony in the middle. Raoul is in Box 5 and Firmin and Andre are in the opposite box, drinking. They both seem to be a bit drunk. Meg is not on the stage. Besides the Countess and the Maid/Serafimo, there’s only the hairdresser, the Jeweler, and the Confidante. Don Attilio is much younger and is not a bass. He is also not so funny. When Don Attilio and the Countess both sing “Addio!” they both hold the note for ages. Don Attilio then leaves and hides in the fake balcony. Christine rips off the maid's skirt to reveal herself as Serafimo. Everything is alright until we hear the Phantom’s voice say, “Did I not instruct that Box Five was to be kept empty?”. Meg then invades the stage out of nowhere, in her Degas-like ballerina outfit to sing: “He's here, the Phantom of the Opera”. Everyone looks terrified. Madame Giry pulls Meg from the stage.

Everything happens as in the original production. The Phantom says “A toad, madame? Perhaps it is you who are the toad” and Carlotta panics. She calls for her dresser that brings that throat spray, just like in the movie. On her way back, she takes away the maid’s skirt, so when they play the scene again, Serafimo has no skirt, like in the original. When Carlotta starts to croak and seems to be losing her voice, chaos breaks loose, Raoul jumps onto the stage, Carlotta leaves crying, Christine runs to Raoul and Firmin announces that the role will be played by Christine. At this, she looks at Raoul in panic and both leave the stage, while Andre goes to announce the ballet. He has a bottle of champagne and a flute glass on his hands and this scene is particularly funny. Earl Carpenter is indeed the perfect Andre. The ballerinas come to the stage, no Sylvan glade costumes, they are all wearing the regular Degas ballerina costumes. The scene happens more or less the same way, but it’s a different choreography, and twice the Phantom swings across the stage in a rope, laughing. The third time, the rope swings with Buquet hanging. The Phantom swinging across the stage wasn’t necessary but I enjoyed the way Buquet hangs, it was way more realistic than the dummy they have in the original production; I believe it is indeed the actor playing Buquet in that scene.

The scene then changes for the rooftop. They have a raised rooftop for the scene and Christine is already there in her dressing robe when Raoul finally climbs the stairs singing “Why have you brought us here?”

The whole scene reminds one of the domes in the Palais Garnier, below it, you can see a structure that reminds the arched structure that supports the main dome above the auditorium and that houses the chandelier counterweights. There’s a backdrop of Paris, partially showing one of the Angel statues and you can also see Notre Dame in the background. The rooftop scene is very different from any version that I’ve seen so far. Raoul is terrified from the height and also because Christine is dangerously close to the edge. Christine is frantic, walking from one side to the other. The only time she seems a bit calmer is when she sings “But his voice filled my spirit with a strange, sweet sound. In that night there was music in my mind. And through music, my soul began to soar! And I heard as I'd never heard before. Yet in his eyes all the sadness of the world. Those pleading eyes, that both threaten and adore.” But then she hears his eerie “Christine” and is immediately frightened again. Raoul tries to pull her from the edge many times and she refuses his touch every single time. In fact, she hardly looks at him, It’s like she is going mad, and she looks suicidal. At one point, Raoul just sits on the edge of the rooftop with his legs out and very slowly moves closer and ends up calming her. It’s one of Raoul’s cutest moments in this production. Christine doesn’t look much at Raoul, she sings most of All I Ask of You looking at the horizon like she is singing to (or thinking of) someone else. Only at the very end, she looks at him and they kiss.

When they leave the rooftop by the same stairs, the spotlight illuminates where the Phantom is seated hidden in the shadows, just below where Raoul and Christine are (no big hat with black feathers). He looks devasted and furious at the same time. He comes to the edge of the Orchestra pit to sing “You will curse the day you did not do all that the Phantom asked of you!”. The chandelier then lights up behind him in the dome structure. He goes to the chandelier and lights it on fire, climbs on top of it, he has some kind of knife on his hand, and he seems to be cutting some of the cables that hold the chandelier. The chandelier then is pushed to the back and when he screams “Go”, it swings to the front of the stage with Ramin on it, while real fire lights up at the very edge of the stage near the Orchestra pit and the lights go down. This was one of my favorite scenes in the musical. Even though I love the chandelier falling over the audience, this scene was spectacular and very impressive as well.

The second act begins with two people fully covered and hooded in Venetian carnival cloaks (a nice touch considering it’s an Italian production). They are standing in front of the mirror screen (the same that was covering the stage at the beginning of Act 1)) and light spots illuminate each of them briefly while they move closer to each other until they meet and show themselves as Firmin and Andre. Andre is wearing his usual tailcoat under the cloak (no skeleton costume), but Firmin reveals a pink bow gown. They leave the stage laughing and happy, the mirror screen opens and reveals the empty auditorium with the chandelier lowered and Meg seated on the floor below it, wearing a monkey music box costume and pretending to be playing the cymbals. Although cool, I didn’t understand why she would be wearing this specific costume. As for the lower chandelier, it is obvious that the Masquerade ball is the inauguration of the new chandelier, as it is raised during the celebrations. There is no great staircase in this production, but in the book, the Masquerade happens in the Grand Foyer and in real life, it usually happened in the auditorium (they would remove all the seats and have wood planks covering the floor to protect the carpets). The ensemble enters the stage one by one, all of them wearing Venetian cloaks and masks in different colors. They are all dancing with mannequins dressed similarly and as they dance, they look like real people, because they move their heads to face the audience, just like the actors. The ones not wearing Venetian cloaks for Masquerade are Andre who took his down at the beginning), Firmin, who is in the pink ball gown, Madame Giry in her usual black costume and a mask, Meg in her Monkey outfit, Raoul in a tailcoat and a silver mask (which he takes off almost immediately) and Christine, who is wearing a beautiful off the shoulder cream satin gown, that reminds me a lot of Chirstine’s wedding dress in the 2004 movie.

At some point, part of the actors on the stage leave and stand in different parts of the auditorium with the audience, Firmin and Andre stand near the first row almost in the middle, there are others that stand near the exits of the auditorium and some in the boxes around the theatre. Christine and Raoul stand just in the middle of the stage and gold and silver confetti falls from the ceiling over the stage and the first few rows of the theatre while they sing Masquerade. It’s a visually very beautiful scene. Then comes Red Death. And I’ll say I was prepared to hate this scene because Maria Björnson’s extravagant, over-the-top Red Death is one of my favorite costumes in the show. In this version, the Phantom wears just a red velvet cape with a hood covering his face. On his hands, the Don Juan score. He looks very much like the figure of a reaper, like the original artwork of Edgar Allan Poe’s Red Death. Raoul and Christine immediately leave the stage. As the Phantom sings “Here I bring the finished score, Don Juan Triumphant!”, Andre approaches him to get the score, but Raoul comes running and prevents him from getting closer. People surround Red Death, he has his back to the audience at this moment and they rip off his cloak but there’s no one underneath it, the Phantom is gone.

Then, a spotlight illuminates Christine and someone all covered in black standing in the auditorium near the first row, inches from the audience and the Phantom takes off his hood and sings “Your chains are still mine; you belong to me!”. I was lucky to be seated front row once, just in front of where they stood. In fact, I noticed that as they both approach their positions, Raoul looks at them and tells them to stop and wait. It gave me the impression that Raoul left Christine in the care of this person, without knowing it was the Phantom, and he is as surprised as everyone else when he sees it’s in fact the Phantom. I already knew it would happen, because it was my last show, but it was incredible to see Ramin as the Phantom standing so close that I could actually touch him if I tried. Since Ramin wasn’t on the stage during this scene, his part was pre-recorded, with the exception of the very last line he sings to Christine.

Immediately after this scene, the auditorium is empty, except for Raoul sitting on the floor, looking bewildered. When he sees Madame Giry and calls her, she says “Monsieur, don't ask me. I know no more than anyone else”, he asks very calmly “That’s not true. You've seen something, haven't you?”. She then replies “I don't know what I've seen. Please don't ask me, Monsieur”. That’s when he stands up and shouts at her face “Madame, for all our sakes”. She then explains what she knows about the man locked in the cage of so many years ago. At this point, they have a background illuminated as the silhouette of a traveling fair, which reminds me of Love Never Dies Phantasma. I like these small details connecting both stories.

The second manager’s scene shows that at this point everyone is on edge, Firmin and Andre are annoyed with the whole O.G. thing, as well as Carlotta’s antics and also at Raoul's permanent presence at the Opera house barking orders. Christine is behind Raoul with the Don Juan score in her hands. She has an aqua dress with small roses embroidered. It was my least favorite of her costumes, to be honest. It wasn’t ugly and I believe it was period-appropriate, it just didn’t stand out to me. Carlotta kept challenging Christine the whole time (while Raoul just stood there like an idiot) and at some point, Christine couldn’t stand anymore and came face to face with Carlotta while singing “How dare you! You evil woman! How dare you!”. After the Phantom’s new note brought by Madame Giry, Christine seems very distressed, especially after Raoul suggests having her as bait to catch the Phantom minutes after assuring her that the managers couldn’t force her to sing. He even has the audacity to put both his hands on her shoulder while he sings “but remember we hold the ace”. This disturbed me way more than the candle thing with the Phantom during MOTN.

While all of them are speaking at the same time, Christine stands up and is even more distressed with the whole situation, and finally collapses on her knees while pleading “Raoul, I'm frightened, don't make me do this. Raoul, it scares me, don't put me through this ordeal by fire. he'll take me, I know. we'll be parted forever. he won't let me go”. While she sings this, everyone in the room is looking at her, except for Raoul, he has his back to her, his hands resting on the manager’s table and he looks really annoyed and frustrated. Only when she starts singing “What I once used to dream I now dread. If he finds me, it won't ever end” he finally faces her but just stares like everyone else. When she cries “and he'll always be there, singing songs in my head. he'll always be there, singing songs in my head.” Carlotta looks at Raoul and says “She is mad”. Only then does he finally kneels down near her and sings “You said yourself he was nothing but a man. Yet if he lives, he will haunt us till we're dead”. She then stands up and moves away from Raoul, and she sounds angry while singing Twisted every Way. Raoul comes closer to her, puts his hands on her shoulders to have her face him (again), and sings gently but very forcibly at the same time “Christine, Christine, don't think that I don't care, but every hope and every prayer rests on you now.”. He then holds her by the waist and leads her against her will to the auditorium (while the stage rotates again) and has her seated with the score. She just looks at him resigned. She clearly doesn’t want to do it. Raoul just stands there, looking at her to make sure she won’t run away, and then shouts to no one in particular “So, it is to be war between us! But this time, clever friend, the disaster will be yours” and leaves the stage as Don Juan rehearsal starts.

The Don Juan rehearsal happens more or less the same way as the original, but instead of the piano just playing alone, it also spins on the stage. Monsieur Reyer was supposedly coordinating the rehearsal from behind the piano and at one moment, we see his arm raised, but when the piano spins, there’s nobody there. Chaos breaks loose as everyone starts to fight. The rehearsal scene is the other scene which is a bit restricted to people seated on the left side because the stage stops at an angle facing the right side of the audience too.

As the violins start playing, Christine stands up and goes to the back while the stage rotates again. As she emerges on the front of the stage (that finally stops rotating), she has her cloak and is holding a single red rose. She walks towards the edge of the stage and in the background, we see the silhouette of the people fighting in slow motion during rehearsal, throwing chairs and things like that, a total mess. Then the graveyard backdrop falls, and Christine is alone on the stage as snow starts to fall and we hear the bells. There is no Daae mausoleum, which never really made sense to me, as they weren´t rich. She sings a good part of the song kneeling down in front of the conductor, as if in front of a simple grave or headstone. She even has the rose resting on the ground as she sings. When she finishes (her Wishing is fantastic) and is ready to leave, the Phantom with raven wings appears illuminated by a single spot behind the backdrop while singing Wandering Child. Christine seems totally mesmerized by the vision of him as an Angel, she sings back to him on her knees with her arms raised, as in prayer, and starts moving towards him when he sings “yet your soul obeys”. As he starts singing “I am your Angel of Music”, he rises from the ground.

The whole time, the Phantom is very aware of Raoul’s presence and becomes more agitated and angrier by the minute. When Raoul manages to shake Christine out of her trance, it culminates with the Phantom fully rising to the sky, maybe 10 meters or more from the ground, and instead of the pitiable fireballs from the original production, he commands lighting and very loud thunder effects. At the very end, he shouts “So be it! Now let it be war upon you both!” and flies down as to attack Christine and Raoul while a thunder sound explodes loudly, and the stage goes dark. That was another favorite scene of mine. Say what you want about it, I’ve always had this canon of the Phantom as a black-winged Angel, so to see my idea turned into reality on the stage by my favorite Phantom was truly incredible.

We are then back to the stage of the Opera house, Raoul, Andre, Firmin and the chief of the Gendarmerie are on the stage and the Gendarme with the gun is in a box, with the audience, instead of the orchestra pit. The Chief of the Gendarmerie shouts, “Are the doors secure?” and someone replies back “secure” only once, there’s no sound of slamming doors from all around the auditorium, which makes way more sense, because soon after, the Phantom sings “Let the audience in”, which would be impossible with all the doors closed.

As they leave the stage, the revolving stage shows the silhouette of the actors in Don Juan from the backstage until it fully rotates and stops facing the audience. The backdrop falls and it is very similar to the one in the original production. Piangi’s Don Juan outfit is somewhat similar too. Passarino’s outfit is different from the stage musical though. The first time I saw an image of this scene, I absolutely hated it, I’m so used to the black hooded cloak that I couldn’t understand the yellowish-brown cloak and big hat. But it makes sense with Passarino’s outfit, that it’s about the same color. So, when Don Juan changes his red cloak and hat with Passarino, it makes sense to have the Phantom dressed as so. The more I watched the show, the less it bothered me. There is really no right or wrong, this scene doesn’t even exist in the book, only in ALW’s version. At least it makes more sense than the outfit he wears in the 2004 movie when he doesn’t even try to disguise himself.

Christine’s outfit reminds me of Emmy’s outfit in the movie, and she even has the basket. When the Phantom comes out singing, it is the voice of Piangi that we hear. It is supposed to sound like the Phantom mimicking Piangi’s voice to perfection. This had me very confused when I first listened to the audio from the first show my friend sent me. I knew it didn’t sound a bit like Ramin, but at the same time, it was supposed to be him singing and my brain was so confused. Only when he starts singing “Past the point of no return -no backward glances (…)” it shifts to Ramin’s voice. I believe that’s the exact moment when Christine realizes it’s him and not Piangi. She even looks at Raoul at this point.

This scene is very interesting because Erik acts as if very much in control while he is singing, but as soon as Christine is singing, he looks very nervous and even terrified. He sits awkwardly and doesn´t know what to do with his hands, they are shaking, and Christine acts very provocatively and touches him a lot. By the time she sings “In my mind, I've already imagined our bodies entwining defenseless and silent”, she has her leg almost on top of him, and after “And now I am here with you: no second thoughts, I've decided, decided”, she is already seated across the bench facing him, while he seems even more nervous, seated facing the audience. By the “Past the point of no return -no going back now (…)” she forces him to look at her by holding both his hands, and when she sings “When will the flames, at last, consume us?” they both stand up, she leans her back on him, they are both still holding hands. He slowly sits down again, bringing her to sit on his leg while they both sing “Past the point of no return the final threshold, the bridge is crossed, so stand and watch it burn. We've passed the point of no return”.

The whole scene is very sexy. At this point, she actually tries to kiss him, but he pushes her away and moves to the very end of the bench, opposite her. He then takes off the hat revealing himself on stage. Everyone gasps, including Christine, but I believe she is shocked because she wasn’t expecting him to show himself like that. The stage is invaded by the police, the managers, Madame Giry, and Meg. Raoul immediately jumps from box 5 to the stage and tries to reach the Phantom, but Christine prevents everyone from getting near him. He starts singing All I Ask of You reprise, very softly, looking at the floor and fiddling with his hands. At that moment, I think he believed it was his last chance to win her willingly, he is very vulnerable, and there are lots of people pointing guns at him, but he keeps seated, the way he sings is truly heartbreaking, it is a pleading, his last chance to be happy. He then stands up and puts the ring on her finger and she betrays him, pulling his mask and wig. His scream is painful, and he just catches her and flees the stage with her under his cloak. Piangi is not dead (which I appreciate because his death is pointless). We see Piangi in the background, on his feet, being helped by two men while Carlotta cries out his name.

Firmin is hysterical shouting “We are ruined Andre, ruined”. He is holding a lantern. Andre faces him and holds the lantern too. He shakes his head in an affirmative way, silently telling Firmin that there is only one thing they can do. They both release the lantern, initiating a fire that ultimately destroys the theatre. I believe they did it seeking for some kind of insurance. I prefer this to the idea of the Phantom being responsible for all the destruction.

Madame Giry calls Raoul and leads him to the same staircase near the orchestra pit from where we see Erik and Christine descending in the journey to the lair during the title song. She doesn’t go with him. Meg is not with them either.

The scene changes to the Phantom and Christine in the gondola, on their way to his lair, and he is totally unhinged at this point. His humor shifts from totally devasted (and almost crying) to very angry and violent. Christine is still wearing Aminta’s outfit. Erik hands her a veil and a wedding dress, but she never gets to change. He doesn’t sing “That fate, which condemns me to wallow in blood has also denied me the joys of the flesh. This face, the infection which poisons our love” angrily as in the 25th anniversary, he sings very softy, almost as if he is about to cry. The same happens when he sings “This face, which earned a mother's fear and loathing. A mask, my first unfeeling scrap of clothing”, it is all very shy and sad until the “scrap of clothing” part, when he touches his face in disgust and sings these last few worlds more harshly.

Christine sings “This haunted face holds no horror for me now” and he looks at her almost hopeful, but then she says “It's in your soul that the true distortion lies.” And he shakes his head in disbelief. But then he senses Raoul’s presence, puts his hand over Christine’s mouth, and says “Wait! I think, my dear, we have a guest!”.

Raoul is crawling from the lake and the Phantom pulls him inside by his hair, throws him on the ground, towers over him with his feet on each side, and slowly bends over Raoul while singing “And now my wish comes true, you have truly made my night!”. Raoul seems as terrified as Christine and manages to crawl away from him, hiding near the bed. The Phantom then grabs Christine (sometimes the Phantom would grab her by the neck, but not always. Not my favorite part) and Raoul starts to plead for him to free her until Erik says “be my guest” and releases her. He always looks at his hand, as if he regrets his action. Christine runs to Raoul and they both embrace each other until Erik comes and puts the lasso around his head. He then climbs on the bench and pulls Raoul about 1 meter from the ground. This scene is very impressive, and I believe that’s the reason why Raoul is shirtless because we can’t see any harness and still, he is literally hanging by his neck. Of course, there’s a trick here and if you are close enough, depending on where you are sitting, you can understand how they are able to do this scene, but it is still way more impressive than the original and makes the whole situation much more dramatic, as we see Raoul struggling to breath for a good time.

On the last Sunday matinee, the mechanism to raise Raoul didn’t work, so his feet were on the ground the whole scene. It actually took a bit for Ramin to realize it wouldn’t work (he tried more than once). To compensate, he was way more aggressive and gave Raoul a really hard time. I have to say that from the moment Erik and Christine arrived at the lair, he looked already defeated. He knew he lost his last chance during Don Juan. We could see on Ramin’s face and body language that he knew he ruined everything. It was very clear, especially at one point while he sat on the side of the gondola and looked at Christine trying to free Raoul, but even before that. He had nothing else to lose at this point, he was literally fighting for any paltry crumbs. That’s his state of mind when he sings “You've passed the point of no return”

Christine furiously replies “Angel of Music, you deceived me. I gave my mind blindly.” At that, he approaches her like a predator, lifts her chin with one finger, and says very slowly and menacingly “You try my patience. Make your choice!”. Christine is shaking and crying while this happens. He then moves away from her. She looks at him, and then at Raoul struggling and kisses the Phantom after singing her lines. During the second kiss, she touches his deformity. He doesn’t touch her during the first kiss, during the second one, he puts his hand over hers. In some of the shows, he was the one to break the kiss. In others, it was she who ended it, but it was always him that moved away from her, totally overwhelmed, and crying, touching his lips. At this moment, he looks at Raoul, hanging limp and Christine follows his gaze. When she realizes that Raoul looks lifeless, she tries to swallow a sob. They both look at each other. She doesn’t move, she just keeps still staring at the Phantom with tears in her eyes. He looks from her to Raoul, shakes his head, he is still touching his lips as he approaches Raoul, looks at her again, pulls him down, and yanks the lasso from his neck while singing “Take her, forget me, forget all of this. Leave me alone, forget all you've seen”. Raoul has hardly any strength left to move. The Phantom brings the gondola to near where they are, and Christine practically drags Raoul into it and he collapses in the boat.

As they leave, the Phantom is the one who collapses on his knees, crying with the veil on his hands. The Monkey starts to play. Erik takes the music box from the bench at the foot of the bed and puts it on the ground next to him and starts singing Masquerade. In some of the shows, Ramin’s voice broke (on purpose) when he sang “Hide your face so the world will never find you”. He then senses Christine, but he never looks back at her, I think he knows it is pointless, but he sings “Christine, I love you” anyway. She is crying too, so she leaves the ring on the bench near the bed (where the monkey was) and leaves. He looks at the monkey very sadly and only then, looks back and reaches for the ring. He puts the ring on his finger, holds the veil again, and rocks like a child, crying, while she and Raoul sing on their way out. He then stands up and sings “You alone can make my song take flight. It's over now, the music of the night”.

That’s when he hears the mob coming. He sits on the bed and half covers himself while crying and rocking. Madame Giry arrives at his lair and sees him. They both look at each other and his face is incredibly sad. They both reach for each other with their hands from afar. The mob comes closer. She silently tells him to hide. He lies down and covers himself with the bed sheet. The mob arrives and Madame Giry points in the opposite direction, to give him time. When they finally notice something moving under the sheets, an armed Gendarme points the gun to the bed and pulls the sheet, but they find only his mask. The Phantom is gone. Meg takes the mask and gives it to Madame Giry and the spotlight illuminates it on her hand instead of Meg’s. I really enjoyed this change, because it clearly shows that they were indeed friends, and it makes more sense if you think that in Love Never Dies she admits she helped him escape.

And that was it. I love this production very much, all the changes were very clever, and even the ones some people found tacky, I enjoyed seeing them live. The show as a whole works very well and it is still visually beautiful. I have to say I never had a clear view of the Phantom’s deformity, despite having sat in the first row twice. Even the one white eye, I only noticed after checking my curtain call photos. Ramin said he was practically blind from that eye due to the contact lens. Considering that most people didn’t notice it, I wish they would just disregard this detail.

#phantom of the opera #the phantom of the opera #ramin karimloo #erik x christine

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via-the-cryptid · 11 months

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snow queen would have a family reunion at some point, how chaotic would it be cuz I feel like some one would start a fight at some point

oh YES.

this sat in my drafts for a looong time because I had to try and figure out the logistics, as well as just how many people are being invited to this family reunion, so LET’S GO!

as a disclaimer — the family reunion would take place post-series, so Fionna and Cake canon is also fringe being considered.

firstly, we have the list of invitations. Magic Simon takes care of this, as he has a functioning memory (something that Snow Betty is mildly lacking in — she’s been worse, but it’s still a little bit closer to a sieve than a bowl). the invitees are:

- The Main Children: Marceline, Jake, Finn, Fionna, Cake, Gunther, Fern

- The Citizen Children: candy orphans, Little Dude, various penguinfolk, Snow Betty’s myriad of sentient ice constructs, The Grandpups

- The Family Adjacents Such As Spouses And Close Good Friends: Bonnibel, Lady Rainicorn, Phoebe, Prismo, BMO, Susan Strong, Marshall Lee, Gary Gumball

- Random People Who Are Somehow Also Invited: Huntress Wizard, various other princesses, Abracadaniel and Abracadebra, Peppermint Butler, Death, the Living Island, Minerva in the form of a bot, Lemongrab (for some godforsaken reason), King Man (formerly known as Magic Man), Glob Gob Grob Grod (who doesn’t show up but that’s probably for the best)

I’ve probably forgotten someone, but these are the people I remember so that’s who’s on the list. Patience St Pim is not invited and is actively uninvited, in the sense that they sent her a note saying ‘don’t you dare show up to this or we’re putting you in Magic Time Out again’. they have no idea if it reached her or not.

as for the reunion itself… well, it starts out okay? everyone seems to be getting along, Fern and Huntress Wizard hit it off, Little Dude is chilling on top of BMO while they both walk around and join in on people’s conversations, the penguins have started some sort of fish poker game and those delinquent candy orphans have joined them. all in all, everything seems to be going fine until someone (Peppermint Butler) makes a comment about someone else (Lemongrab) and it all goes to hell in a handbasket. Marceline is forced to restore order by flying up to hang from the chandelier and screech at everyone to sit down and behave themselves or there won’t be any dessert. Snow Betty does in fact freeze Lemongrab to his seat so he’ll behave himself. It’s not very effective. seating Death and King Man next to Peppermint Butler so he’ll be too distracted to be rude, however, is very effective.

Bonnibel gets to meet Gary and Marshall, who are just as weirded out by her as she is by them. their world is fantastical, sure, but it’s also based around a city, not a bunch of kingdoms. plus, it’s just kinda weird to meet your literal doppelgänger. Marceline took it a lot better, mostly because she was already used to Magic Simon and Snow Betty’s weirdness and was therefore prepared for the multiverse bullshittery.

Prismo, interestingly enough, does actually show up! he’s also the one who lets Fionna, Cake, Marshall, and Gary come over for the reunion. he brings Cosmic Owl as his plus-one, which is… interesting, but he also shows up as a 3D being, which is even weirded. he’s still completely pink though.

later in the evening, Huntress Wizard gets in a fistfight with a penguin and almost loses, but manages to win because Fern starts cheering her on. there’s probably more weird stuff that happens at the family reunion but this is already gettin way too long, so. ask me again maybe later

#adventure time #snow queen au #simon petrikov #betty grof #petrigrof role swap #petrigrof #answered asks #fionna and cake #I’m not tagging all these people y’all can figure it out

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synnthamonsugar · 9 months

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Love you getting pelted with asks in the spirit of saturnalia. Here's my challenge- give Crow an interesting dynamic with *literally anyone*

Have some Crow & Selene :)

“You know, it was kind of cool,” says Crow.

“What was?” Selene asks.

“You were, when you . . . y’know,” he gestures a slashing motion across his neck, “To Uldren.”

“Oh my Light,” she shrinks behind her glass of Queensfoil. “Why do you have to bring that up?”

“I’m just thinking. All the time that I spent wondering what he did. What I did—? I don’t know,” Crow swishes his glass in low circles above the agate countertop. Within, the black-purple liquid swirls, scintillating in the light of the crystal chandeliers. “Whoever it was, all that time I wasted worrying about how it happened. It was shocking to see you and Petra, but once the initial disbelief went away, and I could look at those memories objectively . . .

“Well. It was badass.”

Selene is gone now, tail of her cloak clenched in her hands across her face, mortified.

“Don’t tell me you feel bad about it.”

“Sky no, Crow,” she emerges, blue in the cheeks, “Uldren was a shithead. I would do it a hundred times more if I had to.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“It’s a weird thing to be told. I don’t expect anyone I kill to review me on it,” she takes a gulp of the drink. “Except maybe Taniks, or Riven. And I’m not sure either counts.”

The genuineness of Crow’s laugh is enough to settle some of her nerves.

Selene leans close like they’re at a crowded bar and not one of the perpetually-abandoned pavilions throughout the Dreaming City. Asks quietly, “Was I really that cool?”

He nods. “You and Petra were both —”

“If you ever tell her that, she’ll shoot you a second time,” Selene mumbles —

“— very grand, very heroic. All of my restored memories feel …unreal, I guess. Like a dream, or a recollected story. That one feels like it was out of an action movie. You know?” He laughs, a note of apprehension in it. “I feel weird saying it.”

He finishes his drink, setting the glass down against the counter with a sharp clink. “Better you two than anyone else. I can’t imagine my last mortal memory being gobbled up by that abomination. Or hunted down by some Praxic dorks droning about sacred fire. To be there with friends, past and future—“

Selene flinched a bit.

“It was a better death than he— I — deserved.”

“Better or worse didn’t factor into it. We did what we needed to. Anyone who wanted to protect the Reef would have.”

“But not everyone does. You knew the stakes.”

“I hope we still do.”

#destiny #crow #the guardian #synnth fic #saturnalia 2023

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hometoursandotherstuff · 17 days

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She is a beauty. 1886 Victorian located in the small village (Pop. 2,322) of Fort Plain, NY. 5bds, 3ba, $769,990. If she was anywhere else, she'd be over $1M. It's not too far from Schenectady, (my cousins grew up there - it was about 3hrs. away from NYC, but it was lovely), also it's about an hr. from the state capital of Albany. And, OMG, it comes FULLY FURNISHED!

As soon as you enter the main hall, you can see that it's absolutely perfectly preserved/restored. And, the exceptional millwork! Look at the delicate carving on the newel post.

The sitting room is fabulous. The home is absolutely elegant.

The home office is next. I can't believe that it comes w/the furnishings. This is stunning.

The library/music room. Is this gorgeous, or what?

The dining room. Look at that candle stand (I can't help but look at the furnishings, as well as the house!). The wainscoting and chandelier. The velvet draperies. The wallpapers.

The remodeled kitchen. Perfection. Seriously, all this for less than $800K? A professional had to do this. How cozy, sitting in front of the fireplace for meals.

Beautiful cabinetry w/all the conveniences, mixing the vintage look w/modern.

Look at this closet!

What a pretty bathroom. All new, and modern/vintage.

Dreamy 2nd fl.

The bedrooms are lovely.

Sitting room on the 2nd fl.

The wallpaper in all of the rooms are so elegant. Love the sink in here.

Impeccable hallways leading to the bedrooms.

Love this bed.

Look at the beautiful 2nd fl. terrace.

There's a picturesque carriage house/garage.

.34 acre lot. The village looks lovely.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1-Waddell-Ave-Fort-Plain-NY-13339/31057935_zpid/

#victorian homes #furnished homes #old house dreams #houses #house tours #home tour

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instantn00ds · 5 months

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Heyo! I’ve been posting kinda frequently? lol We’ll see how long that lasts. For my Felinette POTO people! Here’s a little preview of what I’ve been cooking up. I’m thinking I’ll post on ao3 when I’m done with all of it, but tbh we’ll see what I’m feeling. Hope you guys enjoy!

“Lot 665, ladies and gentlemen: a set of silver studs, in the shape of simple, delicate circles. This item, discovered in the vaults of the theater, is still in pristine condition. May I start at twenty francs?”

There was no movement in the crowd gathered at the dilapidated opera house; the jewelry looked plain– of no value to those hoping to resell or show off. But Adrien was entranced by the way they glimmered, hypnotized by the memory of her.

“Fifteen, then?” the auctioneer questioned, “Fifteen I am bid.”

This seemed to motivate the spectators, as slowly, but surely, they began to liven. As the bidding continued, Adrien snapped out of his trance long enough to buy the studs.

“Sold, for thirty francs to the Vicomte de Agreste! Thank you, sir.”

The earrings, placed in a small velvet box, were handed across to the old man. Now, he could study them– focus with a closer view. They felt foreign in his aged hands, heavy almost. As if they carried a weight far beyond that which they should. If these were the earrings– her earrings– Adrien supposed it would make sense. Afterall, Marinette often carried the weight of the world on her shoulders.

Quietly, half to himself, half to the box, Adrien smiled, “A collector’s piece indeed– every detail exactly as she said.” He began thinking of his dear, old friend as a smile broke upon his lips. She often spoke of them, her earrings, their hypnotizing gem and shiny, polished metal. What became of them when she’d been gone?

Adrien’s attention returned to the auctioneer, as he resumed with the next item, “Lot 666, then: A chandelier in pieces. Some of you may recall the strange affair of Chat Noir: a mystery never fully explained. We are told ladies and gentlemen, that this is the very chandelier which figures in the famous disaster.”

“Our workshops have restored it and fitted up parts of it with wiring for the new electric light, so that we may get a hint of what it may look like when re-assembled. Perhaps we may frighten away the ghost of so many years ago with a little illumination. Gentleman?”

The auctioneer switched on the chandelier. There was an enormous flash as the bulbs came to life, shining and blinding those who looked directly at them. Adrien remembered a time, not long ago, when those bulbs were instead candles– each requiring its own attention to light. He recalled what it looked like when the wax would drip down, milky and hot, as smoke would rise from the small flames. He remembered the stage hands and how they would complain each night the chandelier was to be lit– how hot it made the room, especially when the crowds packed in, a sea of people. It was like he could see the opera house restore itself before his very eyes.

#miraculous ladybug #phantom of the opera au #felinette #felix x marinette #agreste twins #more like agreste brothers lol #I haven’t decided yet #miraculous pv

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twoidiotwriters1 · 2 years

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Copycat: Cryptomnesia —(Marvel Fem!Oc)

A/N: I tried to make it emotional and I feel like I failed am I incapable of being nice to my characters now?? -Danny

Words: 2,019

Phase Five Masterlist

Previous Chapter // Next Chapter

Listen to: ‘We Might As Well Be Strangers’ -by Keane

xxxiv: The Scarlet Witch

Cat had been walking for an hour when the mist dispersed: a stone castle rose into existence.

It looked old, and it fitted the scenery perfectly. That alone was enough confirmation to know Wanda was alive, Kate had never mentioned a castle being there.

"Wanda!" She called.

The massive front door opened and Cat walked in, even if this was frightening, it wasn't as scary as the things she'd left behind. She looked around, the chamber had a high roof and there was a lit chandelier in the middle, but no one was there.

"Oh God, I'm in a horror movie..."

"Good news is you can be the monster or the final girl," said a voice ahead.

Wanda was standing at the end of the hall across the room, tense, but she didn't sound passive-aggressive, so the mutant didn't know how to react. "I think I'd rather be girl number three at the coffee shop."

Before Cat could apologize for everything she'd done, Wanda rushed up to her and enveloped her in a hug. She would've warmed her about the inhibitor, but there was a strange air all over the redhead that she couldn't quite place, and it distracted her.

"Hi," she said clumsily.

"I've been wondering when you'd show up," Wanda cupped her face, she was all serious.

"You— what?"

The collar went off and Cat cried out, falling out of Wanda's grip... and through Wanda. Confused and in pain, she rolled over and stared at the projection.

"Am I dead?" She gasped.

Wanda looked down at her with a guilty smile. "Sorry. I'm astral projecting, that's why I didn't get electrocuted. Why are you wearing that?"

"It's not a fashion statement," Cat sat up with difficulty. "I'm in trouble."

The girl looked at her with interest. "Come with me, I'm in the library."

The real Wanda was floating in the middle of the room, Cat stared at her in awe.

"You've been practicing!"

"Oh, you have no idea," Wanda said, then floated down and opened her eyes, landing back on the ground gently. "I made mistakes in the process— I'm not proud of it."

"I get it," Cat smiled at her awkwardly. "My list is as big as your castle— the latest was killing Spider-man."

"Oh, you guys broke up on bad terms?"

Cat's eyes lit up. "What do you remember about me and Spidey?"

"I remember Pietro telling me you were dating," Wanda frowned. "He was the only thing you'd talk about back when we lived at the compound."

"Yeah... well, I've had a rough couple of years. Wanna catch up?"

"How much time do you have?" Wanda looked down at the collar.

"About a day and a half."

"I'll make us drinks."

"I don't understand why I froze. I might've been faster than Kraven but... I couldn't do it. I thought 'not again' but I don't even know what I meant by that! I need to get my memory restored so Edith works, it's the only thing that'll help."

"Okay," Wanda replied, finishing her drink.

Cat looked up at her. "You'll do it?"

"Well, I've had a lot of time to think about our past, and then some more to grieve what happened after..."

"Really?"

"I see one difference between you and me, C. The moment you prioritized your happiness, you sealed your fate. You've felt alone, but you've never been, you realize that now?"

"My killing list wouldn't be this long otherwise, right?"

"Then there's me," Wanda was absently making her glass twirl in the air. "Prioritizing my powers..."

"You can't compare yourself to me, we've been walking this road parallelly for ages. In any case, no hero's ever lived an unproblematic life, so it's not like we could've skipped over our bad moments."

Wanda looked at her smiling. "How old are you, Copy?"

"Twenty-five... I think. My birthday was at some point last month, but I was busy trying not to die, so I'm not sure when it happened."

"I still can't believe you're older than me now," she chuckled. "But you sure sound like it."

Cat sighed. "Nothing good came from growing up. I longed for a life in the real world... and this is what I got."

"No use to carry all that bitterness to your death..." Wanda finally forgot about her glass and looked at her. "Are you sure you want to carry on with your plan?"

Cat supported her chin in one hand and gazed a the witch. "It's the only way my friends will have fewer worries. I've had enough life, anyway."

"But what if you die and nothing changes?"

She shrugged. "I won't be here to see it."

Wanda got up and she did the same, the redhead guided her to the next room, a wide sitting area with wide windows looking out at the snowy scenery.

"You might see bad things... things that were better off in oblivion."

"I already remember plenty of ugly things. I can handle it."

Wanda pointed at the larger couch. "Lay down." The girl sat in front of her. "Close your eyes and think of when Strange erased your memory—"

"According to Webs, it was right at the end of December— no, November. But it was snowing already..." Cat continued to speak but heard less and less, and instead saw what she was describing.

The statue of liberty, the broken scaffolding... time started going backward. Spider-man said they'd met before... she looked at all the familiar faces until one person stood out: A boy, nose buried in a chemistry book, she could barely see his mop of brown curls and the upper brim of his thick glasses.

There was a time-skip, and Cat was standing in front of a boy much taller and bigger than her, and behind them, there was a boy, so small and scrawny, he had his back turned... his books were scattered all over the pavement... Cat approached him, she knelt in from of him...

"What's your name?" She was reaching out to help him stand.

"Peter..." The image glitched, but Cat held onto his hand tighter until it stopped."Parker."

Cat started to see him with new eyes, he was taller, she found him sweet-looking... Peter was everywhere. He was more than just a friend, she'd built her life around him.

Then another face showed up, but it was still him... Parker. She remember their weekend together, and the beeper she'd given him...

Cat's eyes snapped open, five minutes had passed, but she'd witnessed a whole decade through her mind's eyes, and she felt like she'd just gone back from months of being away. Wanda carefully sat beside her, pushing a few locks of hair away from her face.

"That was easy."

Cat blinked rapidly. "My god... am I crying?" She cleaned her face in disgust. "That's embarrassing."

Wanda laughed. "Same old C.C."

Cat hugged her, but it was brief, she was once again aware of her collar. "I owe you so much... if this works—"

"You'll die," Wanda concluded. "You shouldn't thank me. Your friends will hate me for this."

"You're saving more lives than you think... they'll understand."

"Not really... but I'm glad to see you're still you."

"You think so?" Cat looked at her hands. "I've lost so much heart along the way..."

"It got lost, yes," Wanda held one of her hands. "But I saw your mind, your goodness carried you forward, and you can get your heart back if you make things right."

"Just like May said," Cat smiled, beyond happy when she felt her memories coming to her with ease.

"Now..." Wanda grazed the inhibitor with her fingertips. "I could get rid of this if you want."

"Can you do it without turning off the GPS?"

"I'm not sure."

"I'll stick to my original plan, then. Save Kurt, and then... whatever happens after that, I don't care."

"Which reminds me!" Wanda stepped away. "You need a head, right?"

Cat's eyes brightened. "You can make me one?"

"Better yet!" Wanda did a couple of graceful hand movements and a head materialized before Cat. One moment it was rotten, the other it looked fresh and just like Kate.

"Holy shit!"

"Not pretty, but these hikers are everywhere, they were already dead when I got here, by the way, don't worry."

"This is amazing— thank you so much!" Cat grabbed her satchel and stuffed the head inside. She remembered what she'd brought with her and stopped.

Wanda looked at her with amusement, even if she was two years younger than the mutant she still felt like Cat was the kid sometimes. "I feel like I should go with you..."

"No. They could try to hurt you or catch you. Sergei is a good tracker, I fear."

"He's never tried to catch the Scarlet witch."

"Maybe not... but I still think it's better if you stay."

Wanda sighed. "If you survive please do visit me from time to time, I'm not as popular as you are, and most people prefer to stay away from me."

"If I survive you'll have me here every weekend," Cat then remembered Kate had asked her to move out with her and stopped smiling. "Hey, before I leave... I brought this for you... it's worn out and old, but I thought you might like to have it..."

Cat pulled Pietro's old jacket from the satchel and offered it to Wanda.

"I always felt like he was watching over me whenever I wore it, so that's why I didn't throw it out... you should have it. I'm sorry it's nothing useful, I don't have money to spare, and I didn't have time to grab some pictures before leaving."

Wanda held the jacket tenderly, she was looking at her brother through the piece of clothing, and in the blink of an eye, she restored it. Good as new. She put it on. "Thank you, Copy. I think we're even."

Cat got to her feet. "I should go, Kate and..." she stopped, feeling weird now that she remembered Spider-man's name. "Kate and Webs are waiting for me, they're probably freezing to death."

"More hikers for me," Wanda joked, then she got up and looked at Cat in a motherly manner. "Think this through... I know you feel like this is the only solution... but there are many paths sprouting out with every step you take, and they're all as likely as the next."

"I've taken them all except death," Cat said with a smile. "I'm starting to get real curious about it."

This time she was able to teleport back to her friends. Kate and Peter (wearing the mask) rushed toward her, and she moved out of their way before they could hug her.

"Kate, can you wait inside the car for a moment?" Cat requested politely.

The girl looked at her with curiosity. "Wanda did it?"

"I'm about to find out," she looked at Spider-man. "But you definitely got taller."

Peter tried to stop himself from sounding too happy. "Yeah well, I'm no longer a teenager."

Kate left them alone, she also put the scarf over her eyes for good measure. Peter drew out from his pocket the little plastic square he'd brought along, the one he claimed had "their life" and that she now remembered clear as day. It was the present he'd given her on their first Valentine's day.

She saw their moments together: the first birthday and the last, the one where she'd gotten her face smeared with icing from a cupcake Ned, MJ and Peter had bought for her. There were also pictures from Pietro's graduation party, and from their visits to Stark Expo, the first time Peter drove them to school...

"My God... you were right— we were so happy," she said tearfully. "I can't believe I forgot... my happiest time..."

"I'm so sorry, C..." he was looking at her.

"You had to do it, to save everyone," she beamed at him. "Can I look at you now?"

His hand moved up to the edge of his mask: First, she saw his mouth, then the nose, then they locked eyes. He was exactly as she remembered him, and yet something entirely different.

A twenty-year-old Peter Parker smiled at her, eyes teary, shaking lightly thanks to the cold, but so happy she felt her own smile growing at the sight.

"You listened to me," she approached and cupped his face. "Told you you'd grow into your looks, Pete."

The young man laughed, he was crying. "It's so good to see you, C.C."

Their foreheads touched, and without caring about the collar, Cat wrapped her arms around him and hugged him as tightly as she could.

Next Chapter—>

Taglist.

@mikaelsonwhxrebae @ieatpanicattacksforlunch @jesuswasnotawhiteman @siriuslysirius1107 @greengarsstuff @itsyagirl01 @23victoria @espressopatronum454 @jkthinkstoomuch

#twoidiots writing #marvel #marvel fic #marvel fanfic #marvel fanfiction #copycat fic

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