#i know in my heart he is a theatre major on the side

[libidinous-weeb]

monoma is a broadway musical fan and i know it in my heart. he’s actually very good at repeating lines and acting out scenes and belting the songs out at the top of his lungs.

broadway stans come get your man he’s trying to show off to the hoes in choir class and it’s not working because he’s unfortunately the most arrogant guy in the room.

he keeps camping out at the piano before class and playing the songs from wicked and the freshmen have formed a circle around him. it’s a nightmare. please come get your man i’m trying to read ahead on the new piece we get today but i can’t focus cause he’s too fucking loud.

[phoenixcatch7]

Lmaoooo okay so MAJOR story spoilers ahead-

But I just finished the crisis at hyrule castle quest line (after thorough googling that I wasn't going into the final boss, of course) and went back to the landing where everyone gathered to discuss what to do next.

It was all very solemn and thoughtful, everyone theorising and letting it sink in how incredibly dangerous ganon was, and then purah and riju are like 'omg there was a sixth sage maybe we can find whatever they've left behind maybe it can help us' and then Link IMMEDIATELY speaks up like 'oh yeah about that I've already found her. Yeah she's fine she's going to help us. I've also got the master sword too by the way'.

Everyone was SHOOK. I got praise and amazement from all sides. Purah was like 'ALREADY???!! And you didn't think to TELL ME??' it was great.

Never felt more like canon link in my life. I've got a screenshot of everyone's :O?! face. Going to be riding that high for hours XD.

But it's very impressive that I managed to procrastinate so hard I managed to skip about three major plot lines just by squirrelling my way where I'm not supposed to be purely by accident lmao.

[solurae]

four eyes (more to love underneath the frames) : prologue

nerd!miguel o’hara is the talk of the town and i wanna put my own spin on it :D sooo expect a little bit of everything hehe :DDD - HAHA AS I WAS WRITING THIS I REALISED I GOT TOO INVESTED SETTING THE SCENE SO I MIGHT MAKE THIS A SERIES! i’ll just say this is a prologue hooray

IF YOU WOULD LIKE A SERIES PLS INTERACT!!! FEEL FREE TO ASK TOO TO SHARE YOUR MIGGY THOUGHTS AND I WILL HAPPILY INDULGE US BOTH :3

a distinct pair of black, rectangular glasses were adjusted by miguel’s middle finger before it glided across the pages of notes he wrote from the lecture for his genetics class. a class that you both happen to share, but neither of you knew that yet.

miguel o’hara - a man so deep in his books that he might as well be the dean of the dean’s list - payed no heed to anyone or anything that could hinder his focus. the furrowing of brows indicated further analysis rather than the annoyance towards second year business majors. no, he wasn’t the annoying, stuck-up person who would ask more questions than give answers. he thinks they’re wasting their time anyway. he was always the last person to leave the lecture theatre. miguel would be huddled by the professor, covering the whiteboard with punnett squares or outlining control variables for the next lab.

he was only person in your genetics class that had a real chance of passing the course, the scowls of your peers and your friends could attest to that.

you wouldn’t say you were on the same boat as everyone though, your friends were always nagging you to help them but you couldn’t even figure out how you understood some of the content. this specific course was an integral part of your degree and the best chance of impressing the school, you had to give it your all.

you would be lying if genetic sequences and chromosomes weren’t the only things you had memorised. you loved the hue of brown locks that would shine from the tall windows of the theatre, the curls which your eyes would follow forever if he happened to sit in front of you. the pout of his lips as he’d scratch his hair in response to a lab practical that didn’t make sense, only for him to make sense of it hours later.

his eyes were red. it was his most defining feature, and a key factor to why - to your advantage, if you really think about it - people steer clear of o’hara. as much as it increases your chances of befriending him, let alone being with him, your classmates and other students weren’t so quiet about their dislike for the irish-mexican spectacle.

he’s so quiet. too quiet.

he looks like a freak! look at his eyes, bro. what is he some fucking vampire or something?

no wonder he’s on the dean’s list because he isn’t on anyone else’s for sure.

god he’s just so…

weird.

miguel was extremely fit, which was what confused a lot of people when they found out he wasn’t a copy-paste jock that still thinks they’re in highschool like most men of his stature were. his build put them to shame regardless. after being bombarded by women and men of every cohort - only for miguel to ignore them or coldly decline - word spread like wildfire and soon enough people were disappointed that the former heart-throb of first and second year turned out to be a major loser. some people would go out of their way to show how much they don’t like him, and these are people miguel’s never even spoken to. they would “crash” into him walking across campus, try and trip him over and even go as far as sitting on the other side of the room if it wasn’t so clear already.

but he didn’t mind. he was always at the library, the lab or the cafeteria closest to the lab anyway. it bothered you to see him alone and quiet unless he had a question or an answer, you genuinely wanted to be friends with him.

but as the story goes, it’s always these type of men that have a part of themselves they keep under wraps. you just know that there’s more to his brooding and stoic nature, the carnelian shades of his eyes lured you closer as opposed to keeping you away.

you decided to do honours for two reasons: a better resume and the fact that miguel unsurprisingly decided to do it too. you had a thesis in your head and you had all year to test it out.

miguel o’hara was more than just some nerd and you were gonna need more than glasses to prove it.

🩷 — PART ONE!

[haddonfieldwhore]

surprise - ethan landry

🔪❗️SPOILERS FOR SCREAM 6 ❗️🔪

🔪❗️SPOILERS FOR SCREAM 6 ❗️🔪

heavily insp. @gothicknightz

warnings: blood, violence, death, language, last warning- major spoilers for the movie, although some of the plot is changed/not exact, i don’t like how this turned out so let me know what you think

blood dripped down your arm from a knife wound you’d failed to avoid as you ran from the pair of killers. the two of them wiped the blood from their knives in sync as you and sam tried to pull tara away from chad who lay bleeding out on the floor at their feet.

“go!” you yelled, pushing the sisters in front of you back towards the main room of the theatre. the three of you were in the center of the room as kirby, bleeding from her forehead stumbled into the room holding a gun. through the locked gate behind you, detective bailey entered the theatre, his gun pointed toward kirby as she returned the gesture. it was all a blur as detective bailey shot kirby, and one of the ghostfaces entered the room to stand next to him. same and tara muttered words of disbelief.

not noticing the other one sneak up behind you, arms wrapped around your waist and you felt the cold sensation of a knife being held against your throat. you screamed as you were held tight by the killer, unable to move without the blade digging into your neck. sam and tara stared at you, moving to help but stopping when faced with a gun and two knife wielding killers.

still holding you with one arm, the ghostface who had you reached up and removed their mask, and your heart dropped.

“e..ethan?” you stuttered, as you slid down to sit at the floor at his feet, the knife still held to your throat. your legs couldn’t hold you up anymore, and you realized you had a knife wound on your leg that you hadn’t noticed until now; the adrenaline having blocked out the pain. but it all came crashing down on you now as you looked up at your boyfriend in shock.

“surprise- my names not ethan landry!” ethan explained. “it really wasn’t that hard to juke the roommate lottery. and to think, all i had to do was room with a condescending alpha, literally names chad; fuck it felt good to kill him!” than yelled, smiling.

“so that means…..” sam looked at the other masked killer. “…mindy?” she asked in disbelief; by process of elimination, she was the only one of the friend group left. the killer removed their mask to reveal the identity of the final ghostface.

“quinn? but - you died,” tara said in shock, as the ginger girl shook her hair out from under the costume.

“kinda didn’t,” she shrugged. “easy way to get off the suspect list though.” quinn laughed.

detective bailey taunted sam, the older carpenter sister putting the pieces together that the three killers were richie’s family, richie having been the killer in the last ghostface killing spree back in woodsboro, as well as having pretended to be sams boyfriend to get close to her. now they wanted revenge for sam killing richie. sam began to shit talk richie to his father, calling him pathetic and a man baby, before quinn and detective bailey attacked sam and tara.

“ethan…” you groaned, feeling the effects of the few knife wounds you had. he crouched down behind you, positioning you between his knees as hi stroked your hair with the hand that held the knife; his other arm still holding you tight so you could run away.

“shhhh,” he cooed next to your ear, pressing a kiss to the side of your head. “i never wanted you to get hurt -“ he whispered, placing the knife back to your throat as he watched sam come back towards the two of you. “stay there, sam!” ethan threatened. neither you or ethan noticed tara creeping behind ethan, a brick in her hand ready to swing at his head. the hit never came though, because as sam stepped closer to grab you from ethan, your hand wrapped around ethan’s on the handle of the knife and drove it into her stomach.

“no!” tara yelled from behind you, before being tackled by quinn, who you noticed was bleeding from her mouth and missing a few teeth. sam looked up at you and ethan in shock, before you kicked her backwards, a spray of blood coming out of her stomach with the knife as she fell onto the ground. detective bailey joined the chaos in the room, looking proudly at you and ethan as your boyfriend extended a hand to help you up off the ground. his arms wrapped around you to hold you up on your injured leg, and he pressed his lips to yours in a heated kiss.

“you too?” sam asked as ethan handed you a spare knife.

“not exactly,” you started to explain, but detective bailey took over.

“think of this as an initiation; sure ethan trusted them, even told them it was him, back at your apartment.” he laughed. “i mean it was kinda obvious though- them being the only one who didn’t wind up with any major injuries and all.” detective bailey gave ethan a look as if to criticize the fact that he left you relatively unharmed. “i will say though; they’re quite a convincing actor.” he gestured to you.

“you knew- after anika? after we thought quinn..” tara yelled. “why?”

“what can i say, tara.” you laughed.

“the things we do for love.”

[walrus150915]

Goldenheart headcanons for when they have only started dating and were awkward as hell

(because I am a trans bi teenager who wants to experience mlm love yet can't because I'm afraid to date boys due to my dysphoria)

I noticed you people like when I make long posts like these and I love them too so I think I can share some hcs of mine about this stage of their relationship bc I have a lot honestly :]

- they started dating when they were around 16yo

- none of them actually had feelings for each other before puberty hit and they were like "damn my bestie is kinda fine- WHAT"

- Bal fell first. Ambrosius fell and broke the floor under him bc boyyyy did he fall HARD

- Bal navigated his feelings like "Ugh okay I guess that's what happens when you're friends with a handsome guy everyone has a crush on. That'll pass. That's part of puberty. Stay calm" meanwhile Ambrosius screamed in his pillow and freaked out and cried only to pretend nothing bothered him. It was hard to pretend when you literally study at the same academia/school/whatever and see each other every day bc you're best friends

- during the mutual pining era the PE lessons were DIFFICULT. Especially when they were put up against each other

- they look like friends who had no problem hugging/brushing each other's hair/being close physically in general yet when the feelings appeared, the things which used to be very easy turned torturous

- Ballister was the one to ask if Ambrosius saw that their friendship changed. Ambrosius couldn't hold it in anymore and mumbled through his confession so fast and awkward Ballister has only understood phrases like "I really like you" and "romantically I mean" and "you're very cool and that'd be sick if we became boyfriends"

- Bal turned his face to the side and muttered something like "yeah I think it would"

- and so they became boyfriends!!

- has something changed in the way they behaved around each other? Yeah but also not really. They were still besties and the physical contact became A LITTLE easier now that the sorta relationship they had was clear between them, but they just couldn't help but blush while touching each other

- their first kiss was a mess dude😭😭

- Ambrosius wanted it to go as smoothly as possible so he watched romantic movies and practiced kissing with his hand (embarrassing? Yeah I now) but when it was time to finally show off his skills he panicked and pressed his lips to Ballister's for a few seconds then his nose almost bled out bc of the nerves (not me projecting on Ambrosius but that's literally what happened to me when I had my first kiss)

- Ballister seemed calm about this whole thing but it doesn't mean he was. When they had their first ever date he brushed his teeth extra clear just to make sure he'd smell good during their first kiss. Bro was THRILLED

- basically Ambrosius was overthinking this and Ballister was... Also overthinking I'M SORRY THESE TWO ARE HORRIBLE

Now the headcanons are for the time when they've been dating for like more than a few months and have kinda got used to each other in this new ~romantic~ way

- Bal's way of flirting wasn't really obvious since he doesn't look like a guy who can come up with romantic compliments on the spot, however I think he touched Ambrosius if he wanted to express his feelings for him. Stroke his bleach-damaged hair, make their pinkies intertwine, put his head on his shoulder and nuzzle into him - this or he'd infodump new history/physics/chemistry facts he learnt

Bal: Okay, did you know that [some really complicated science stuff I cannot describe in words because I'm a literature major]

Ambrosius, heart-eyed, no clue what he's talking about: Wow that's really interesting anyways do you want me to change my surname to Boldheart-

- Ambrosius looks like a total theatre kid so I think he often flirted with Bal by quoting some love poems they had in their curriculum. Of course he quoted their analogue of Romeo's monologue under Juliet's balcony why do you think he wouldn't

- Having said that, whenever he quoted something which referred to a woman, he changed pronouns and general words bc he's attentive like that. Sometimes it got absurd tho. "Manservant of the moon" instead of "maid" like dude😭😭😭😭

- Ballister tried his best not to laugh but also not to pass out bcuz of the amount of praise his boyfriend gave him which was actually a lot. My man is as much of a mess as Ambrosius is let's not forget that

- one day Ambrosius quoted something which was not from the curriculum but instead from Bal's favorite book. I think Bal liked adventure books about knights which sometimes included romance and I imagine the dialogue going:

Ambrosius: "And even if I had to turn against the whole world to follow you-

Them together: "-I would do it with no hesitation-"

Ambrosius: "Because you are my world, Sir Redsword"

Them: *staring at each other*

Bal, all blushing: ...that's not from the books our teacher told us to read

Ambrosius, also blushing madly: Yeah but I figured I like some variety

- That's when Bal knew this guy was his forever soulmate

- Bal used to be taller than Ambrosius for a long time of their early years but then Ambrosius got late height boost or idk how it's called. Basically dude went from 5'5 to 6'1 overnight and I know Ballister was PISSED

- these two totally kissed in the janitor's closet when they needed some privacy I'm telling you (not even in a "steamy" way although I think some sort of tension existed - cmon they were late teens bro do you really think puberty is nice to teenagers???).

- why would you get a private space where you can explore this side of your relationship safely when you can have a literal closet with racks and mops and buckets, am I right

- Ambrosius tried writing poems for Ballister they SUCKED

- Ballister still saved each and one of them. One day, he'll sort through his things to move to his own place after the wall comes down and find these yellow checkered sheets of paper, full of bad rhymes and silly words. He'd bring all of them to his (and Ambrosius's) new apartment

Okay now the last hcs which I honestly have no idea how to call but umm ✨what people around them thought about their blooming romance✨

- Queen Valerin understood something was up on the spot. Like, for a straight woman, her gaydar worked flawlessly😭 it was enough for her to see them hide the fact that they held hands to go "I know what you are". She was pretty supportive although she did ask Bal on their one-to-one meeting to "use protection" like all moms do🖐

- The Director also knew something was up but her reaction was more like "Sir Ambrosius will grow out of it". As you know, he never did LMAOO

- Todd was hilariously oblivious despite teasing Ambrosius like "HAHA LOLLLL GOLDENLOIN WHY R U ALWAYS WITH THIS COMMONER GUY ARE YOU IN LOVE WITH HIM OR SOMETHING". He did it in a cishetero "haha gotta mock my homie for being gay" yet DID NOT REALIZE his homie was, indeed, gay

- some cadets could pick up on it, some didn't

- anyway I think the general public knew nothing about it bc if they did that'd be a scandal worse than Henry the 8th's when he created a new religion bc his loins were on fire thanks to Anne Boleyn

ALSO GET THIS LITTLE PIECE (which I don't really like bc of the coloring choices) OF THEM :D

I swear Ambrosius isn't yellow irl😭😭 I'm myself asian I now better than that

That's about it I guess! Lemme know what you think (if you wanna use/adopt these hcs, feel free to do whatever you want with them! Just tag me so I could see it wjsjjajaj!!!!) ;3

[sundasystems]

4. The Cabin in the Grove

Eden Springs is aptly named.

Just outside of town is a small overlook where you can pull your car off the road and get a good look at the place from above. You can even almost see the Sunda campus poking up from behind the far hill. It's beautiful. I have no problem seeing why anyone would want to live here. More mysterious, however, is why a massive multi-national conglomerate like Sunda would choose a place like this for their headquarters. Ninety minutes from any airport. No major interstate access. It's not especially inaccessible, but it's not easy either.

As I drive through down I see smiling faces and hear light laughter coming out of the various storefronts. Some preliminary research showed that, while the majority of residents here work for Sunda, there is also a thriving small-business culture in the down town. That appears to be true. I pass a movie theatre and a general store. There's even a French bistro! Le Jus... something? I make a note to go back.

I find it oddly peaceful here. I could live here. I could move here and feel like I'd never have another care in the world. I wave at someone on the sidewalk who waves at me. I return their smiles. My left hand drops into my lap and I sigh softly.

I slip out of the city limits on the other side of the main drag and I see the first sign that reminds me why I'm really here.

Sunda Systems Eden Springs Campus 1.5 miles

I put both hands back on the steering wheel and rezip the fly of my jeans.

The drive here is deceptive. As soon as you leave town it feels like you've driven back into the wilderness. For a few moments, there's only mountains and trees. Then you round the corner and its like driving into the world of tomorrow. Several tall white buildings shoot up from the ground surrounded by an army of smaller buildings. There are parking lots everywhere, but most sit empty, and I remember seeing a sign in town for the Sunda Shuttle.

I park in a spot marked for visitors and take a deep breath. I remind myself that no one here knows who I am or what I want. I'm just a tech nerd here for a tour of the facility. This is one of the only places around where a fair number of cars are parked. So I won't be the only person who doesn't "belong" here. I open my car door and begin to walk toward the visitor entrance.

I'm greeted inside by warm smiles and "Welcome to Sunda Systems!" There's a sign that says the next tour of the campus leaves in 15 minutes. I'm left to stand in a group of other people who are waiting. They look largely like you'd expect them to look: mostly men, mostly in their mid to late 20's, mostly stereotypically nerdy. Not that I'm one to judge. I've never been one to be considered a heart-throb. That was always more Emily's job.

One of them approached me and says hello. We chatted briefly about what brought us here to take the tour and what we were hoping to see. He seemed harmless enough. Eventually, a guide emerged from behind a counter and greets us all. He was a skinny, nerdy looking guy. He introduced himself as Glen before handing out a campus map and beginning the tour.

We weren't allowed up in to the offices in either building that flanked the main entry foyer. Instead, the tour guide led us out the back into the campus commons. It really was a beautiful place.

We first entered through the Laser and Optics Research building. We were shown an admittedly very cool demonstration of a high power laser cutting straight through a steel beam. I tried to keep myself from being impressed and remind myself why I was here, but it was hard not to get sucked into the presentation and the results. Cutting edge (pun intended).

Then across the courtyard we entered the Crystallography lab. The entrance hall here was lined with minerals and gemstones on display. We didn't get to see much here. The guide led us into a dark room with a single display case. Inside was the largest sapphire I've ever seen. The lights in the room seem to dance on its surface and somehow inside it's depths. And what depths it has! Deep blue and flecks of violet that seem to shimmer and move as it rotates on its turntable so slowly... and lazily...

I don't know why I didn't think to try to take a photo of it. I guess I was just very distracted.

Walking out into the sun after being in that dark room was disorienting. My head felt a little strange for a few minutes afterward, but the tour continued and I got over it. As we entered the audio labs I was feeling quite good again. Almost eager to continue. Music thrummed constantly here. The guide told us it was in an attempt to drown out the sound-based experimentations going on inside the facility. They tried their best to soundproof the rooms, but some sound still bled out into the main building. We should do our best to ignore it.

For some reason, the whole group managed to say "Yes, Glen" at the same time, which made us all chuckle for a few minutes. This was a good group.

Finally, we arrived at the section of the tour I'd been waiting for. The living quarters. Unfortunately, Glen didn't take us very close. He pointed out the Education Center and the Hall of Worship, but said they were closed to visitors. Further back was the cabins, where some staff had decided to live "on-site." Staff like John Delphine, former COO of Lotus Clinical Research.

The tour group began to head back toward the main entrance. Part of me wanted to follow. To be a part of Glen's group and be led around. But Emily was counting on me. So with great effort, I pulled myself out of the group and stepped behind a small statue as they rounded a corner. Just like that, I was free.

I knew I'd have to be quick. I didn't have an employee ID that I'd seen on people around so I may not have much time to explore away from the group. That being said, I couldn't sneak in broad daylight. So I put on my best "I belong here" face and strolled back toward the living area.

In the courtyard there was a bulletin board of notices for the residents. Three in particular caught my attention.

One:

Renew your Vows and sing Vivian's Gospel House of Worship each Sunday at sundown

Two:

Seeking resident beta-testers for the new Mirrorball Program. Must not have been exposed to any previous optical inductions. Inquire at Office LOR 4-19.

Three:

New Radio Sunda available through Re:Mx. Enter code S2R0-F885-GG78 into the code stream to gain access.

This last one had tabs at the bottom with the access code on them like old flyers you'd find in the city. I tore one off and pocketed it to test out later.

I moved deeper into the campus toward the trees and the cabins. There were many more cars in the lots back here. Presumably the vehicles of the residents that don't have to drive from town.

A man looking like a security guard was approaching from the cabins. I decided to cut and run before I could get caught. I stashed my camera as I walked back toward the research area of the campus and managed to slide back into the tour group as they came back out of radio building.

Many of them had happy - if slightly vapid - smiles on their faces as they listened to Glen speaking. It didn't seem like any of them had noticed I had snuck away. It wasn't really clear if they'd noticed anything except Glen that whole time. Though, I could hardly blame them. He was pretty cute. A flush ran through me, and I cleared my throat softly as we finished the tour.

But before I could leave, Glen approached me. I thought he was going to scold me for sneaking off, but I was very wrong. He asked if I was in town for long and if I'd like to get dinner with him that evening. I think my entire body turned red. It was an ethical violation to go on a date with the subject of an investigation. But it would be a good way to get some inside information.

And he was very, very attractive.

[winterchimez]

Redemption of Love - Chapter 4

SUMMARY: Choi Chanhee—better known as the Phantom of the Opera, has dominated the Paris Opera House with his lifelong partner, Christine Daae, for years. Until one fateful day, an incident forces them to be separated and never to be reunited again.

Decades later, you have begun your journey here at the famous opera house with the help of your fiancé, Lee Sangyeon. After several performances, it was then that you would come face-to-face with the renowned phantom himself, and he is determined to never let you go again, convinced that you were his long-lost partner whom he has not seen in many years.

It is now your choice to make. To give your heart to the once-forgotten phantom? Or to stand firm and marry the love of your life.

PAIRING: phantom of the opera Chanhee x singer f!reader x fiancé Sangyeon

GENRE & WARNINGS: phantom of the opera au, angst, supernatural, thriller, crime, fluff, time travel, reincarnation, major & minor character deaths, otome, pg-13

WORD COUNT: 2,635

A/N: and we're back with the series! im so sorry that it took me forever to update this, but im slowly getting back into it so pls bear with me as updates will be slow 😭 but i promise you she is not forgotten!! 💗

“Say, what makes you so attached to this Opera House?”

The male looked down upon the female lying peacefully in his outstretched arms. As the girl turned to focus all her attention on him, he couldn’t help but smile at the love of his life.

“Well for one, I built this place and have been residing here ever since. My dream and goal was to spread my love for music and performing after all,” he responded before planting a light kiss on the female’s forehead. 

“Was it your dream to ever make it this far? I mean, it has become one of the most famous theatres in Europe at this point.” 

“No, I have not. I am beyond grateful for everything that has happened up till now, and it is also thanks to you that made all of this possible.” 

The female immediately blushed before hiding herself in the crook of the male’s neck. “Stop, you know that’s not true.” 

“But it is,” he chuckled before gently pulling the female away as he locked his eyes with hers again. 

“I love you. Please stay by my side forever.” 

“Likewise. I love you too, Chanhee.” 

Chanhee? Who exactly was that—

“Y/N!!!”

You were returned to reality the moment you arrived in your dressing room. It must have been a long time running through the countless mazes to find your way back to the surface. Just when you thought it would be impossible to find your way back, that vision you just had suddenly flashed across your mind, something you couldn’t explain in words even if you wanted to.

Who exactly were the two people lying down on the field of grass in your vision?

More specifically, who was the man named Chanhee?

Before you could process your thoughts, you were greeted by the sight of your fiancé, who stood with his eyes wide open and jaw ajar, shocked to see you were back just like that. 

Sangyeon immediately pulled you in for an embrace, hugging you tight and making sure not to let you go anytime soon. 

“Where have you been, Y/N? We have been looking for you for two days straight!” 

Two days? You were gone for that long? 

Sure, you were glad to be back with your fiancé, but this time, you must ensure your message got across to Sangyeon. Pushing him away slightly, you grabbed both of his shoulders before staring right into his eyes.

“Sangyeon. Please. You have to believe me this time.” 

It has been several days since you returned to the Opera House, and things have been pretty quiet. Unfortunately, you weren’t able to convince Sangyeon once again even though you managed to recite all of your experiences from the beginning till the end—how a mysterious man emerged from the mirror and took you down into the depths of the underground Opera House, and how there was a maze full of passageways, up to the man’s lair down below. 

You tried your best to voice your concerns to the rest of the cast members of the Opera House, including Avaleigh, but to no avail. Nobody was going to believe your little stories—thinking that you were beyond exhausted to have come up with such hallucinations. 

Because of that, you decided there was no point in trying to prove everything, and you quietly resumed your performance for a couple of weeks. 

Until Madame Indivus finally made her grand return today. 

As all of you were rehearsing for the next show, the doors to the theatre burst open, revealing a rather upset Madame Indivus stomping her feet as she made her way up onto the stage. 

Immediately, she walked right up to you before pointing at you furiously, screaming at the top of her lungs. “What exactly is this mere country girl doing here? This is my show, my role!” 

Flustered, you couldn’t say a word until Mr Arnaud and Mr Arquette had to step in to talk things out with Madame. It was pretty obvious that the whole conversation wasn’t looking that great—it was a rather heated one, to be exact. Mentally, you were already preparing for the worst to happen, and sure enough, it was right for you to do so. 

After that uneventful discussion, both Mr Arnaud and Mr Arquette had no choice but to put you on backstage duty as Madame insisted that she was to have the lead role for the rest of the season and that you were in no way to take a step close to her at all. 

Upset would have been an understatement for you, especially when you have worked so hard to land the lead role yourself for the past few weeks. It was stripped off you almost immediately after you had not been under the spotlight for long. 

Depressed, you acted as if everything was alright as you continued your job backstage, giving the cast as much support as needed. 

At least I am still given a place here at the Opera House.

Little did you know that someone lurking behind the shadows was absolutely furious with the sudden change of plans. He was going to make sure that you got back up on stage, even if he had to choose violence himself. 

The hall was once again filled with way more spectators this time, especially when the infamous Madame Indivus was now back as the lead star of the Opera House. There was no doubt that both Mr Arnaud and Mr Arquette were glad to have her back despite her manipulating the two owners most of the time.

You could only sigh as you arranged the props from backstage, thinking that your little glamorous era had abruptly ended just like that, and you’d never get to be back on stage anymore while Madame Indivius was here.

To make matters worse, Madame Indivus most likely seemed to be about getting her revenge on you since you “stole” her spotlight. Every time she returned backstage, you had to quickly fetch her a glass of water and polish her newly designed shoes for the performance. 

As much as you could defy her, you weren’t ready or wanted her to make a ruckus, which would affect all the crew members. Instead, you brushed it off while the anger within you slowly started to bottle up. 

Avaleigh tried her best to help cheer you up—encouraging you that you’ll just have to wait for the storm to pass, and it’ll be fine. You could only return a weak smile as you knew that she had to look out for you while focusing on her role as a dancer. 

In a blink of an eye, the show had already reached its climax, and Madame Indivus was about to head back out to stand at the centre of the stage to sing her final piece for the night. However, she would only receive countless murmurs instead of a standing ovation with her final performance for the night. 

A horrible and loud croak came out of her mouth instead of her singing the song, ruining the entire piece simultaneously. It was clear that Madame herself was confused with what was happening, but she decided that the show must go on.

In reality, the croaking sound only got worse and louder, and eventually, one of the curtains from the side of the stages came crumbling down and made a loud thump as it fell directly on the stage. 

The murmurs were now slowly turning into screams, and the audience was rightfully starting to panic and ready to leave the hall immediately. 

Madame tried to call them back, but only the croaking sound would emerge from her throat. It was as if her vocal cords had completely betrayed her. Terrified, Madame too ran backstage and straight down the hallway to her dressing room, leaving behind a whole ruckus and chaos to unfold within the Opera House. 

There was no way this could go on, for the Opera House’s reputation could be ruined forever. Just as you were taking in everything unfolding in front of your eyes, you were suddenly tugged on the shoulder by someone before you were dragged out to the stage.

“Child, you listen to me very closely right now. Go out there and give your best performance and stop the chaos,” you said. Turning back, you saw that the voice belonged to Madame Matilda, the one in charge of the dancers. 

“B-But, it’s all a mess right now! I don’t think singing would do-”

“Just listen to me and do it!” Madame Matilda silently screamed before she pushed you right onto the stage, gesturing you to start immediately without wasting another second. 

You weren’t too sure about what to do in the situation you were in—singing when the audience was leaving the hall in a panic state? You have got to be insane for doing that. 

But it seemed as if Madame Matilda was persistent, and she wouldn’t take no for an answer. She continued to wave her hands to cue you to start singing out loud at this moment. 

Taking a deep breath, you mustered up all of your courage and began to sing out loud, hoping that this could calm the audience and all the crew members down. 

Think of me, think of me fondly, when we've said goodbye. Remember me once in a while - please promise me you'll try. When you find that, once again, you long to take your heart back and be free - if you ever find a moment, spare a thought for me

Sure enough, a few audience members turned their heads back towards the stage to see the former star of the Opera House singing with all her heart and soul without having a look of fear in their eyes. 

As you saw that you have captured their attention, you instantly regain the confidence you once had and continue to proceed. More of the audience began to turn their backs and eventually started filling the hall seats again, wanting to witness the sweet, young singer doing their very best to keep the show going. 

You weren’t too sure what was going on. Still, you definitely felt that your voice was getting louder each second and that your angelic voice was becoming a lot more prominent as you went on—turning the frightened look on all of the audience members into a smile. 

Soon enough, you finished the performance without fail and received a standing ovation from the now-filled hall. The audience was clapping harder than they had done in your previous shows and for Madame Indivus’s, making you bow profusely and repeatedly to show your appreciation. 

With that, Mr Arnaud and Mr Arquette immediately went to the front stage to address the complications throughout the show and compensate the audience. Meanwhile, it was your cue to finally step down and head backstage, slowly making your way to your dressing room. 

As you opened the door to your room, your eyes widened at the scene before you. 

The long mirror was being pushed open again, leaving a clear view of the dark alleyway you had once been down there recently. A good amount of smoke came out from the mirror—making the atmosphere feel much more eerie than it already was.

And of course, the man with the mask was back—leaning against your chair with his arms crossed as his eyes fell straight onto you.

“Well, it seemed that Madame Matilda had done the right thing,” the man replied as he finally got up to walk straight towards you, making you retreat quickly and move to the side before he could touch you. 

Instead, he walked behind you and closed the dressing room door, leaving you trapped within the room you had always found to be your safe space. Adrenaline instantly rushed over you, and you quickly took a few steps back until your back hit the wall at the room's corners.

“W-Why are you here…?” You merely let out a squeak instead of asking a proper question. The memories instantly came flooding back when you were essentially captured by this guy and brought down to his lair. 

There was just something about him that made your skin crawl. Was it because of his aura or his demeanour? Or was it because he could enter your dressing room easily from the mirror just like that whenever he wanted to? 

Or rather, because you have once taken off the mask and saw the true horrors behind that shield of his? 

As much as you wanted to scream for help this time and especially call out for your fiancé, you just can’t open your mouth and say the simple word. It was as if this masked man had you under control, and you felt helpless in your situation. 

Slowly, the man was beginning to take a few steps forward, and this time, he was certainly walking straight towards you. It was too late for you to move now since you had been potentially cornered by the time he was merely inches away from you. 

This is the end of me.

You could only keep your eyes shut tightly as you kept muttering those words quietly, thinking that there was no escape and that this was where you would meet your demise. 

Or at least that was what you thought. 

“Christine, please come with me. Let me explain everything that has happened. I do not wish to hurt you,” the man pleaded. 

That came as a shock to you as you opened your eyes to see that he wasn’t the scary, creepy stranger that he was when you first opened the door. Now, there seemed to be sorrow in his eyes, and he slumped down as if he were in defeat. 

You weren’t too sure what to make of the situation, but as long as he wasn’t hurting you nor putting you in grave danger, that was all that mattered right now.

“P-Pardon? I really sorry, but I have no idea what you’re talking about-” 

“No no, Christine. You don’t understand…” This time, the man grabs both of your hands into his as he begins rubbing them slowly, intertwining his fingers with yours before tilting his head back up to look at you again. 

“Please…come with me…I need to tell you the truth…” It was evident that tears were beginning to well up in his eyes—as if he was going to crumble down anytime soon. 

“P-Promise me that you w-won’t hurt me?” You asked.

“Never Christine…you’re my one and only love…I’ll never hurt you nor cause you any pain…” the man continued and kept addressing you with that unfamiliar name. 

Given that the man had definitely calmed down, you figured that listening to what he had to say wouldn’t hurt, and you gave him a little nod.

Instantly, the man’s eyes lit up, and he made a little jump in the air, making you baffled by the sight that unfolded in front of your eyes. Enthusiastically, he grabbed your wrist and dragged you down back into the dark alleyway, assuring you that you wouldn’t be gone for too long and he was going to bring you back up again once he had cleared the air between you two. 

In return, you silently pulled a few strands of your hair and dropped them into the passageway—just in case anything happened, and that could be a potential clue to your whereabouts, especially for Sangyeon. 

As you both strolled down the passageway and ended up on the boat just like you had before, the masked man gently placed one of his hands on your cheeks and began rubbing them back and forth before he muttered something under his breath. 

“I’ll make you the happiest girl alive again, my love.” 

series masterlist

masterlist

taglist: @deoboyznet @kflixnet @k-films @flwoie @zzoguri @kyusqult @atinycafe @hanniluvi @tinkerbell460 @sulkygyu @jaerisdiction @sanaxo-o @lngwayup @ilovechanhee @piripurora @daisyvisions @stealanity @djidfk (join my permanent taglist here!)

[purple-dragon-queen]

You said when you were watching the Descendants rise of red teaser trailer you didn't get to pause and look for details since it was a quick watch but assuming you've watched it fully now, can I get your thoughts and opinions?

⚠️ KINDA LONG POST⚠️

I will be sharing MY thoughts and opinions on The new teaser trailer for rise of red, so if that bothers you it's time to ski dazzle off of My post 💋

Feel free to Reblog with your ideas aswell. Would love to see em

Okay so the first thing I thought of when kylie(red) pulled out all the spray paint and start doing her thing, was Mal. Like Disney bae it's giving Mal dupe.

Second and this one got me cracking was The Merlin Academy. Like My brain totally disregarded it as in I FORGOT ABOUT IT, so imagine to my horror when red is spray painting I see them BLAM! Plastered on the wall in all their Evil Glory.

Okay so I found this picture on Instagram where someone got a close up and other than Ulyanna, Maleficent, Hades and Hook, I don't know who the others are ( sorry not sorry) Now underneath the picture we can see on a plaque the words "vk students" now this made me realize why the title vk was so accepting when the core four came to aruadon, Because it wasnt the first time the title had been given/used.

Now look at this close up of teen Maleficent all I have to say is Wtf is that.

If those things at the side of her head are supposed to be horns, respectfully she needs to chop them tf off?? And is she wearing a ponytail??? Now I haven't seen Maleficent in a long time but isn't she supposed to have brown hair? Now idc if they give her a different hair color but the outfit and those HORNS especially are not giving!!!.

Like I saw someone do a redesign of this descendantofthesparrow I think and it was jaw dropping absolutely gorgeous, like mam what's your major? Anyways yeah I've seen this person done a ton of redesign and rewrites that when I watch descendants I'm like "oh yeah, this is Canon and the good stuff is fanfic"

Now this whole time travel thing doesn't make sense to Me because am I really supposed to believe that Hades who's older Than all of them by thousands of years went to school with them? Like what.

I'm going to assume Ulyanna is the Leader of the gang because she's in the middle and everyone else is in the back and from what we've seen the Leader is always in the middle.

Now I have a feeling rise of red will be pushing to make Hades and Maleficent a thing so we can see how Mal became a thing, just an assumption. Respectfully If they try to make hook and ulyanna a thing I will jump tf off. There was something else I wanted to say about Hades and Maleficent but I forgot and will most likely reblog this post when I remember.

now this is the Queen of Hearts and once again Descendants isn't following Canon because I'm pretty sure Carlos mentioned at one point that he used to drive his mom to the queen of hearts castle.

Now if I didn't know already that this is the queen of hearts and u shoved this pic in my fave and was like "girly who do you think this is?" I WOULD NOT SAY THE QUEEN OF HEARTS, I MEAN JUST LOOK AT HER SHE'S RED! Where are the other colors??? There's no white, no black just RED. Now as a theatre kid we've done better, with less money!!!. Disney I hope you are ashamed because you should be.

Now descendants brandy Cinderella has blue hair which doesn't make any damn sense so I'm guessing that's why Chole has blur hair. I really wish there outfits were better because with the og 4 we could tell what their main colors were without it being to much but now It's Def too much. I've got a few more things to add because I feel like I haven't said everything I wanted to so maybe I'll reblog with more later. Who knows

[inawearyworld]

little things in the wonka score/soundtrack that get me every time: a post made by a music major with severe brainrot (seriously it’s getting bad)

• even though i’m not sure how to feel abt what they did orchestrally to pure imagination when it was sung in full, i loved the way it was interwoven until then-the opening credits, the clock tower chiming its intro, etc

• when the intro to hatful of dreams ends and the instrumental HITS. that was the moment i was sitting in the theater like “…oh i’m going to be so charmed by this movie huh”

• something abt the way timmy sings “i’ve put everything i’ve got into my choc’late”. see above bullet point

• welcome to scrubbit’s has no right to be that much of a banger

• the low brass in scrub scrub HELLOOOOO?!?!? the chromatic slides. the muted trumpets. abacus’ bass moments (go off king). the song is literally about laundry and yet IT GOES SO HARD

• walk into the club on a friday night like FIRST YOU PICK UP THE APPAREL AND YOU

• the instrumental of ynhclt that plays while everyone’s flying is so cheesy and so golden-age-of-hollywood-children’s-musical and i cannot help but smile

• the cuh-lassic “one instrument at a time” opening of sweet tooth

• mathew baynton’s voice. that’s it that’s the bullet point.

• #GiveTheCartelMoreTight3PartHarmonies2k24

• well we’ve got lots and lots and lots and loTS AND LOTS AND LOWHY AM I SINGINGGGGGGG

• somethin about how the “noodle noodle” countermelody is a sort of arpeggiated outline of each chord, like a vocal warmup, like he’s letting her take the melody bc he knows she will in time. i’m gonna sob they’re literally family

• the orchestration of for a moment, esp while they’re dancing on the rooftop, just SOARS. idk if anyone here has seen mr magorium’s wonder emporium but that movie shaped my childhood, it’s probably my favorite film score ever, and this instrumental bit is SOOOO reminiscent of it

• clock tower. a fifty-second masterpiece

• CHOCOPOCALYPSE. (for those of us who were on the theatre kid side of the internet in 2018, i think chocopocalypse should be the new calculust. hear me out)

• mat’s voice gets a second bullet point bc what the hell man. literally the sonic embodiment of dark mint chocolate. h e l p m e

• …#fickelgruberisathinmint2k24

• noodle’s portion of ynhclt, while she’s teaching willy to read, has a few instrumental nods to mozart’s famous sonata in c, a typical piece for piano beginners-kids-to learn. in the 1971 film mrs teavee incorrectly identifies mozart as rachmaninoff. this MOVIE

• i wish there could have been more, and more involved/complex, ensemble vocal moments

• charlotte ritchie <3 (okay i’m biased sue me)

• the new orchestration for the oompa loompa song is straight fire

• the LEITMOTIFS the fucking LEITMOTIFS!!!!!!!! the opening fanfare that became the basis of hatful of dreams popping up here and there. the melody to a world of your own playing whenever he thinks of his mom. every time we think willy’s safe from the cartel, ope there’s that descending major sixth again.

• (now that i think about it. sweet tooth is in g major of all keys, rather atypical of a villain song. most of the intervals are major too. it’s the trembling strings that give it that “evil” sound. and it fits so well-like, “we’re not completely immoral! time for a fun little tango! there’s colorful lights! killthisguyplsOH LOOK CONFETTI!” they’re so sinister i love it)

• the way that the intro to a world of your own echoes the intro to pure imagination

• THE ORCHESTRATION DURING “chocolate bushes, chocolate trees” etc AND THE WAY IT BUILDS OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOD. MY HEART JUST BURSTS. EVERY TIME. I AM NOT IMMUNE TO CHEESY MUSICALS.

• the!! chromatic!! basslines!! in!! that!! song!!!!!!!!

• the fact that the bridge comes before the second verse-name any other songs where that happens i dare you. just another example of willy changing the narrative in every way

• the fact that sorry noodle is AN ENTIRE *OTHER* COUNTERMELODY that then falls back into the for a moment melody at the end what the FUUUUUUUUUUUCK

• the monks chanting “giraffe. a massive giraffe”. so fucking funny

• stripping down pure imagination to its essence while willy sings it to noodle was a thousand percent the right decision. and the lyric changes for the situation are sooooooo clever

• as someone who grew up with the 71 movie and has been utterly enamored with its music her whole life, i’m not the world’s hugest fan of this version’s pure imagination orchestration; i get they felt they had to do something different, it just feels slightly too modern/disneyesque, but it had the vibe that they intended for the end of the movie

• anyway god i love this score

[shmowder]

Imagine Rubins reaction to being chosen by the reader over the other healers/love interests. Like this poor man thinks so little of himself, so to be someone's first pick? He needs all the love in the world

Ilyyyy i love this idea!! was supposed to have a Haruspex and Andrey parts but... yeah. I decided to post it like this rather than leave it to rot in my drafts

Rubin with a reader who chose him over everyone

[fluff, hurt/comfort, romance, slight crack, petty conflict, jealousy]

[Stanislav Rubin x reader | One-sides Bachelor/Reader] [Gender-neutral Reader]

Choosing him over the Bachelor

Rubin never saw himself as anyone's first choice.

Not even their second or third either.

He usually imagined himself as the last resort anyone would ever go to.

Both as a doctor and as a person.

The Bachelor's arrival into town more than confirmed this–not that Rubin had any doubt to begin with–people would prefer to consult Dankovsky for medical aid despite him being a literal stranger to the town and its ways.

So why did it sting when Rubin watched as the same families who once entrusted him to treat their children, not spare him a single glance anymore ever since what they described as a "real" doctor arrived into town.

It's okay, he'd tell himself, it's what he's used to. People would seek Isidor before and never offer Rubin any gratitude despite him doing the majority of the work.

He should just be grateful that the Bachelor allowed him to act as his aid. He knows his own medical knowledge is lacking and outdated.

But heavens above, he wasn't dealt a better hand in life.

He is doing the best he can with the choices he was offered.

You were one of the few lights remaining in his life.

The way you'd wait for him outside the theatre-turned-hospital to finish his shift each day and walk him home despite the dangers.

The way you'd scold him for neglecting his health again, insisting he must rest and eat something or else.

It felt strange for him to be shown love.

To have someone care so much that they actually seem upset when he skips meals or only goes to bed when at the verge of collapsing.

Someone who is happy to see him each day, someone who doesn't constantly remind him of his flaws or what he lacks.

But life is too cruel, and his hope was short-lived.

One day, he was finishing his work and clocking out. Walking outside to the grey filled skies, soft droplets making small ripples in the wet streets as they fell down.

Rubin's gaze immediately went to the usual spot where you'd wait for him each time.

Only to not see you there.

Well, not alone; someone else is keeping you company.

The bachelor's coat hanged heavy on your shoulders as Daniil held the umbrella above both of your heads.

Ever the gentleman, he must have offered his coat to you when he saw you outside alone in the rain.

The umbrella was not big enough to cover a large distance, making the two of you stand intimately close.

Bodies almost pressing against one another.

Despair sinking like poison into the pits of Rubin's stomach, refusing to resurface as his limbs felt ten times heavier to move, weighting down his body.

The end of the day exhaustion wasn't helping either, courtesy of always stubbornly taking the longest possible shift in the hospital.

Rubin watched as Daniil's lips moved. He was saying something to you... whispering it like a snake against your ear. Coiling his scaley tail against Rubin's heart and squeezing it painfully tight.

The hand not holding the umbrella went up to hover above your waist, silently asking permission to place it there...

To hold you.

Rubin's legs moved so fast as he made his way across the street to you. The sound of his footsteps splashing against the wet concrete finally made the two of you take notice of his presence.

Maybe the look of desperation on his face gave him away, or maybe it was you mistaking the raindrops going down his face for something else, the growing wetness in his eyes didn't help either.

But the mere sight of him hurrying towards you made you immediately take the bachelor's coat off and hand it back to Daniil.

Leaving the dry safety of the umbrella below and meeting Rubin halfway through the street.

Hugging him amidst the pouring rain, your arms holding him reassuringly tight.

Burying your face into his chest.

His heart skips a beat as he feels your lips curl into a smile against the thin fabric separating you from his bare skin.

Telling him how you were waiting for him, how much you missed him, and wanted to go back to his own place already.

After the moment of confusion on Daniil's face passed, he seemed to understand the implications here as he cleared his throat in embarrassment and walked up to the two of you.

To Rubin's surprise, the Bachelor seemed to take it in stride as he explained how it was him who insisted on you taking his coat to stay warm.

Daniil ended the conversation with a short apology and offered his umbrella for the two of you to borrow as a way to make amends.

Moments ago, this seemed like the end of Rubin's world. The adrenaline from the emotional rush burned hot in his blood.

Yet it... was resolved so easily. You didn't even hesitate before walking to him, Daniil showed him grace and respect rather than disdain.

This kindness, he was not used to.

As if you'd slip away from his fingers one day, as if life will snatch you away the second he turns his back like everything else he has ever loved.

It was a hard pill to swallow, the fact you willingly chose him.

Chose to be with him, not as a last resort nor our of obligation or pity.

Not once or twice, but time and time again you'd choose him.

And each time it would stun him, as if all of the past loyalty and devotion you've shown was a mere fluke, a mistake on your part.

That this time it's the end, this time you'll definitely walk away. This time you'll reciprocate Andrey flirting or accept Eva's invite to spend the night.

This time... definitely this time you will shatter his heart.

Because that's what life taught him.

One day you must wake up and realise his true worth. See him as the lowly creature he stares at in the mirror.

The broken pathetic man he must be in your eyes.

And yet, you'd frown each time he spoke about himself in that town. Act offended on his behalf as if it was you he was insulting.

Ask him directly if he thinks you're that stupid? Why else would he assume you'd ever wake up when you weren't under any spell to begin with.

The truth is, you've always loved him since the start.

Since the moment you met him even.

What started as a puppy crush quickly flourished into deep admiration as you learned more and more about him

In your eyes, Stakh was strong. The kind of strength truly worth of respect.

You've never met anyone as strong as him, and you'll gladly remind him of that each and every single day.

That there is nothing to endure, you'll be with him through thick and thin.

That he isn't missing something, he isn't lesser than anyone in here.

He's whole as he is, worthy of love and kindness.

And day by day, your words echo in his mind.

So much that for a brief second, he can stand staring at the mirror without a pile rising in the back of his throat.

Remembering the praises you'd sing about his lovely brown eyes, akin to pools of honey under the sunlight.

The frown that seemed permanently etched into his features reminded you of the graceful sadness of a willow tree.

The reflection of a crescent moon on a lake's still surface without a single ripple in sight.

Maybe one day, the shackles of the past will have mercy and loosen themselves from around his mind.

But until then, you'll gladly love him enough for both of you. Until then you'll stay by his side, choose him over and over again until he understands you're here to stay.

[rhiannon-taken-by-the-sky]

Id love to know more about sir hop a lot and crumb’s storyline just cus i havent seen them talked about much! Especially the fight scene which i’m so excited for.

Thank you for taking your time in writing all of these replies🙏🏼💗

Sir Hop-A-Lot and Crumb? You mean, the two best boys to exist ever? Absolutely

Sir Hop-A-Lot (I’m going to call him Hal from now on bc typing) is Crumb’s mentor. He’s best described as loyal, dashing, and traditional. He swears his undying loyalty to Ella early on in the show and stays true to his word throughout. He’s definitely an older, but very distinguished, gentleman and the best laughs he gets from the audience are when he leans into more of his contradicting or unexpected characteristics, like when he gets complimented and acts very giggly and falsely humble. He has a deep, traditional Kingsman English accent and a goatee. “Pish-posh” is probably in his daily vocabulary. He takes everything very seriously and we love him for that. If you watch My Hero Academia, think of him as an Iida-type character!

Crumb is an angel sweetheart with a vaguely Irish (?) accent. He fits the stereotypical young, bumbling student with a heart of gold archetype and I’d commit a felony for him. He deserves ALL of the cheese. He looks up to Hal a lot and is very determined to prove himself but also needs to gain more confidence in himself. He’s very eager to help Ella and learn as much as he can from Hal so he can become a dashing knight of his own someday. He’s a sweetie with moxie.

Their fight scene is glorious. Hal kicks MAJOR butt for a frog (he fights off THREE human guards!) and Crumb quite literally saves the day and Ella’s life. The fighting is mostly sword fighting with basic techniques and not very fast paced but super effective in showing how talented Hal is. Crumb fights more with his wits and tackling than his sword but that’s also very effective. His tactic is “if I just throw myself on them and start biting, I’ll win”

Part of the reason they haven’t been discussed much (I think) is because they don’t show up until the end of Act I and don’t sing until Act II. Truthfully, they don’t get a lot of stage time compared to the other characters but they’re always the scene stealers. The Hal puppet is attached to John’s legs and one of his arms to allow the puppet more mobility (ie. sword fighting and more realistic walking) and stops right it the middle of John’s chest (similarly to the Bug puppet from Starship), so Hal is a Big Boi™️. Crumb’s puppet is the size of a large plush and controlled mostly by Joey’s hand, so he’s a Smol Boi™️. He also doesn’t have movable legs, so he kinda just…skitters from one place to another which is very fitting for his caharcter and amusing to watch Joey do (bc he is Quite Tall)

I would have loved to see them more but I do think that they served their respective purposes well and any more stage time would have taken away from the plot, but I do think there’s potential for a side story with them (maybe an origin story? 👀)

You’ll love them! I sure did 🫡

Also, I love talking Starkid and theatre in general so I love answering these questions! Please ask more if you have any! I’ll try not to give tooooo much away but still answer as best as I can!

[greentrickster]

One of the things I find interesting about Maxwell as a character, especially as we find out more about him, is, as someone with a decent background in theatre, how real he seems to me. Not as some great, grand villain, but as a performer who wanted and who got in over his head as a result.

A little explanation: when I say, “I have a background in theatre,” I don’t mean anything big or grand - I’ve only been paid for I think three of the jobs I’ve done, the majority of it was lessons and volunteer work for more niche stuff. Which is important, because that’s the level of stage William seems to have been at originally. I’ve actually met a lot of Williams in the course of my acting experiences - you’d be surprised how many of them there are. And, I cannot stress this enough, they are not bad people.

You’ll hear people say that the performance industry is cut-throat, and it is, but that means it’s also shockingly rough on the performers in it. There’s a lot of performing in school gyms, having to provide pieces of your own costume even if it’s not a school activity or a lesson, hours like you wouldn’t believe in regards to both practice and performance, and pay such that there’s a reason it’s a trope for actors to have side jobs. And that’s once you’re already in, and getting there is hard enough. Moving up is even more work, and often requires you to be skilled in multiple areas. Injuries happen, and you don’t work? You don’t get paid. Heck, I’ve stopped acting, just because I came to the conclusion that I didn’t want it enough to put up with the conditions getting to do it put me through.

Thing is? There are people out there who do want it that much, who’ll go through a performance with a taped-up leg or a head cold that’s making it hard to think. People who heard the phrase ‘the show must go on’ and took it to heart. People who are constantly looking for some new edge, some way to stand out from the crowd of other skilled, talented people they’re in because they want to be the one on the stage, in the spotlight, getting those applause from the crowd. And, as often as not, it’s easy to get an ego on you once you get there, and also to become incredibly jealous of your place in the spotlight, wary of anyone else taking what you’ve worked so hard to gain.

And all of that feels like it applies so well to William Carter. The man who left his home and family to try and make it as a stage magician in another country. Who was working hard to make it in a tough industry but couldn’t quite find that spark he needed to make it. Who finally found the edge that gave him the leg-up he needed to finally step into the spotlight he’d been seeking for so long. Who guarded the edge he’d gotten jealously, for the same reasons all magicians and many performers guard the secrets of their trade so carefully. Who presumably realized a little too late that he’d gotten in over his head, and didn’t know how to stop.

Now, replace the Codex Umbra with drugs, alcohol, medications, or any number of other things, and William’s isn’t a new story at all - it’s one we’ve seen play out over and over in the performance industry, and I’m sure we can all name at least one star we’ve seen rise and fall in our own lifetimes. It’s not new, strange, surprising, or even unusual. It’s just a case of bad luck that the edge William found cost him in such a strange, horrific manner.

And that’s why Maxwell, once William, is so interesting to me. Because he’s turning out not to have been some great, grand figure, a powerful schemer or clever conman. Heck, as Wes’s story showed us, he’s not even that great at getting back at his enemies. He was just a guy, a really average, normal guy, who really wanted to be a performer. Because, no matter what he became as the King, he doesn’t seem to have started out bad, and the worst he seems to have become in the regular world was something of an egomaniac. Which, again, extremely normal in performers. That’s where the thrill comes from. He was a regular, unassuming guy who got handed the key to his dreams... and didn’t realize the true cost until much too late.

Because I’ve seen how much many performers are willing to pay and put up with for that moment in the spotlight, how much more they’re willing to pay and put up with to make that moment last... and I can’t help but wonder how many of them, if offered the same chance, would make the same choices as William, and also not realize it until much too late.

[raziraphale]

I've learned not to trust my memory, so I wanted to make a note for myself of some things I enjoyed from the Neptune production of RAGAD before it all leaks out my ears. It's mostly for me but thought I'd post it here in case it's interesting to anyone else.

Note for people that aren't me: this is the only production of RAGAD I've seen live. I've seen the movie and the 2017 NTL recording as of writing this, for reference. So, forgive me if I gush about elements/choices that are common to RAGAD productions and not unique to this one lol. Also I was an English major but not a theatre guy outside some Shakespeare, so also bear with me if I'm lacking some specific terms.

Performances:

I feel like this almost goes without saying but Boyd and Monaghan are excellent as Guildenstern and Rosencrantz. Their chemistry is great. There was an excellent rhythm to their dialogue together that was really fast-paced without feeling artificial (imo there is a certain point where performers talk so fast it can only feel fake. They were all believable enthusiam).

I particularly liked Monaghan's Rosencrantz! like there was just something so earnest about him. He had this character tic of chewing on his finger most of the time out of anxiety or inattention and that stuck out for me for some reason. It was endearing. Also the line "I wanted to make you happy" made the whole theatre let out a wounded animal noise.

Also Boyd's Guildenstern really did a good job of projecting an aura of "person trying really hard to appear in control but may also snap any moment". Control freak recognizing control freak o7

The Player (Michael Blake) was amazing. He had such huge stage presence that you really believed the character was a seasoned performer. I fully believe this man could successfully sell me snake oil with the power of his presence alone.

Personal note but I was jazzed to see Drew Douris-O'Hara as Alfred. I'm not a regular Neptune patron so I don't know how often he appears in their productions, but I have seen many a Shakespeare By The Sea show in my time so he's a very familiar face. Always a really fun presence.

I also feel like I have to mention Ophelia (Helen Belay) even though she obviously doesn't get much to do here. The actress really sold every small appearance though like my heart broke a little every time I saw her in anticipation for her off-stage fate. Less important but have you ever seen a woman so beautiful you started crying?

Costumes:

I really liked Ros and Guil's tattered suits. They looked like they were dragged behind a horse. These are the clothes of two guys that have been trapped in a play for like 50 years, truly.

They also had an inverted colour scheme (Ros had a blue suit with a green waistcoat, Guil had a green suit with blue waistcoat) that really emphasized the two-sides-of-the-same-coin/ yin & yang vibe. Also the colours weren't really shared by the rest of the cast much (they tended to be a bit more muted) so it made them stand out as separate from the rest of what was happening.

Also personal note but I was enchanted by Monaghan's slightly stupid-looking grown-out fauxhawk. He basically had a lesbian mullet haircut. That combined with his single dangly earring was a Look.

The Player's coat was gorgeous. It felt grand but also appropriately dated/worn. It wasn't fully a feather jacket, but it had a smattering of large feathers that got more dense as it went down. It kind of reminded me of a vulture, honestly, which I think is fitting, with him being an opportunist that loves some corpses.

Script:

Misc. Stage Stuff:

Unless I'm really mistaken, I think they cut/modified the few lines with some outdated racial terms (I have two specifically in mind, referring to Chinese and Inuit people). So unless I just somehow missed hearing those, that's nice.

Just a note to say that the line about who the English King is will depend on when they get to England got a huge laugh. Thank you to King Charles' cancer for making everything funnier

The lighting !!! It really did a lot to separate the scenes from Hamlet from the rest of it. The stage was dark for most of it, with cool lighting (like a blue darkness). For the Hamlet portions, though, the lights were suddenly bright and warm yellow. That combined with the differences in the performances gave a strong impression that the curtain had just suddenly risen on a more traditional production of Hamlet right in the middle of Ros and Guil just doing whatever.

I really liked how they used the two risers on wheels they had (not sure if that's the right word -- they were those three-tiered platforms I remember from doing choir in school. Kind of like bleachers). They looked like they belonged on an empty stage and also gave the actors something interesting to climb on. They were able to reposition them pretty easily with the wheels, which really worked for the portions on the boat tbh. They just pushed them together so that the lower tiers touched to create a half-pipe-shaped skeletal "boat". They could climb "above deck", or even go below while still being fully visible from whatever angle. The whole thing was spun around a lot during the pirate attack, which was fun.

The risers also separated the stage really well in the first two acts. For most of it, there was one on the left side facing the audience, for characters to sit on, and one on the right facing backwards and partially obscured by the curtain they had covering that side of the stage. The curtain was backlit, so you could see the silhouettes of anything behind it. At some points, you could actually see shadows of events in Hamlet happening in the background while Ros and Guil were doing their thing in the foreground. Unfortunately I didn't get the best look at them, bc I was sitting at far right of my row, so the far right of the stage was partially out of my sight line. Still a really cool effect!

They did turn the risers fully around to face the back during the players' performance of The Murder of Gonzago, with the curtain pulled across. You saw the shadow of the king standing up and storming out.

For the final scene, they did the expected thing, where Ros and Guil are alone in the dark, illuminated by a single narrow spotlight each. The spotlight goes out when each of them die and they disappear from view. The detail that made me insane though is that each time a spotlight went out, they played the sound of a flipped coin hitting the stage and the audience was so quiet it felt like a gunshot both times.

After all the deaths they had Rosencrantz and Guildenstern start from the opening scene again tossing coins for a bit before the final curtain. They did not escape the narrative 😔

Will add more if anything else comes to mind?

[creativepawsworld]

Everything But You - Part 9

Pairing = Cillian Murphy x OC

Summary = Things are moving forward for Brie and Cillian. Both have some hard decisions to make. 

Warnings = Language, Grammar, 90s Cillian, Insults, 

Word Count = 3503

Note = We are nearly done...this took a lot longer than I intended but thank you all for sticking with me. I love you all so much. 

Tonight, Cillian was going to tell the boys in the band he was leaving. He had decided that after getting the part of ‘Pig’ in the stage show Disco Pigs, he would focus the majority of his spare time rehearsing.

Instead of touring with the band in hopes of achieving a record label. 

He had been nervous most of the day. Going over exactly what he wanted to say. After forming lasting friendships with some of the boys, his nerves were justified. He was worried their friendship would simply end. 

The year was flying by incredibly fast, we had our first-year, final exams last month. I was apprehensive about receiving the results. I was terrified I had failed them. After not hearing back from Riverdance, I considered that another rejection and my last. I wouldn’t put myself through it again, they simply didn’t want me. 

But If I had failed my exams as well, I wouldn’t know what to do with myself. I would be lost. My whole life I had been fighting for both and the thought of receiving nothing, scared me. 

The only thing I could see going right in my life at this moment was my relationship with Cillian. This was something I never saw coming, he appeared out of the blue, capturing my heart. He was something outside of myself that had my heart beating again. 

Cillian was completely unbothered about whether or not he passed the final exam. It was clear law wasn’t for him. I called it the first day we had a class together, he was more interested in getting my attention than he was listening to the lecturer.  

The last few weeks he had spent rehearsing his lines and trying to figure out the best way to approach the complex character that was Darren, aka Pig. I had never seen Cillian so engrossed in something before, not even when he was writing songs or performing on stage. This was different, this was his true passion. 

The first show was in Dublin Theatre in 8 weeks. Cillian had two weeks to get his affairs in order before having to travel from Cork to Dublin for rehearsals. He had six weeks of on stage rehearsals before finally going public for the first. 

He had the option of staying with the other cast members in a house-share type accommodation but decided not to. He liked coming home every night even for 30 minutes just to see me. 

“He’s gonna burn a hole in that floor, tell em to sit down.” Paidi, Cillian’s younger brother commented. 

Looking towards him he was sprawled out on the small sofa provided for the band’s set to play at the local bars during the week. Tonight was The Son’s of Mr Green Genes' last performance, a fact known to the three of us in this room. The other band members had yet to arrive for their sound check. 

I attended Cillian’s house last weekend for Sunday lunch at his mother’s request. After having dinner with my father, his parents felt it was only fair they got to meet the girl, their son had chosen to yield his wild ways. 

The lunch went well, meeting his family was much less awkward than it was meeting Andrew's parents. Cillian’s family were welcoming, whereas I always felt judged and not good enough for Andrew's parents. 

“Cill, maybe sit down for a bit. You are gonna exhausted yourself before your due on stage.” I agreed standing in front of him, stopping him in his tracks. “They are going to be okay. They will either find someone to replace you both, or everyone will go their separate ways.” 

“I just, I feel like I am letting them down.” 

“I would rather you let down everyone in this room and outside it before letting yourself down Cillian.” I smiled placing my hands on either side of his upper arms and rubbing them. 

“Beautiful and smart.” Cillian grinned down at me, leaning down to capture my lips in a short, sweet kiss. Only pulling away at the sounds of his brother’s gag reflex. 

“CILLIAN YOU'RE NEVER GONNA BELIEVE IT.” Casey’s voice suddenly took over the room. 

Stepping away from him I allowed the blonde man to step in, replacing my hands on Cillian’s upper arms. He had one of the biggest smiles I had ever seen. I was used to him constantly scowling, especially when I was around. 

“Acid Kazz is outside and wants to speak to you, man. They are willing to offer a five-album contract record deal if we hit all the right notes tonight.” Casey continued. 

My jaw fell open much like Cillian’s, the two of us staring at his friend. I wasn’t sure if this was some kind of joke or if life was playing a cruel prank on Cillian. Forcing him to make what I considered an impossible decision. 

“Go, go talk to them, man. I swear it’s real. We fucking did it. Finally.” Casey beamed, and with a large smile, he started placing open-hand slaps against Cillian’s chest and back, forcing him out the door and towards whoever was on the other side waiting to talk to him. 

“Congratulations, that’s great news for the band. You must be dancing on air right now.” I smiled shoving my hands into the front pockets of my jeans. I was unsure of what else to do with them. 

“Yeah, it's amazing. Sucks for you though. Cill will be too busy with the band now to spend any time with you.” Casey shrugged off, turning his back to me and taking his bass out of its case. 

Glancing over towards Paidi he shook his head at the bassist before rolling his eyes playfully at me. Being the youngest in the band, no one took him seriously. They just considered him Cillian’s younger brother, easily replaceable if need be. 

“Right...” I trailed off not bothering to respond to the blonde. “Great news for you too, but what are you going to do about school?” I asked Paidi who sighed with a slight shake of his head. 

“Ma will never let me skip out until I finish so I don’t know. Probably have to leave it all behind.” 

“I’m sure you will be missed.” I smiled softly. Much like Cillian, Paidi loved music, he came alive on stage. You could see it in the way his fingers moved along the neck of the guitar or the smile he sent to the crowd every so often. 

“Yeah, but we can find someone to replace you man don’t worry. I met this guy at the bar the other night, he is pretty good.” Casey replied bluntly. 

“Gee thanks, man.” Paidi scoffed. Bringing one hand up to his other, he rubbed along his bicep, hurt evident behind his eyes. 

“I am sure Paidi can at least record one album with you. He was a member when the record label found you after all.” I explained, trying my best not to glare at the older of the two boys. “He will be available after school and most of the summer.” 

“No offence Brianna, but that’s not how bands work. I don’t need a part-time guitarist. It’s been holding us back. The only reason he is in the band is because of Cillian.” 

“Excuse you?” I gasped wide-eyed at the complete audacity this man was showing. I heard of people getting too big for their boots when the prospect of success was in the future but this was ridiculous. 

“Well he is a good guitar player, not bad on the piano either but he is just a kid. We are going to the big leagues now.” 

“You haven’t even got the contract and already you think you're going to go places?” I laughed not quite believing the man standing in front of me.  

“Like I said you haven’t a clue about music. Someone offering you a five-album contract is a pretty big deal. Not like you’ll be around long enough to see that.” Casey snapped, moving forward so he was now standing in front of me. “Cillian will have plenty of women throwing themselves at his feet. You will be nothing more than a distant memory.” 

“Now hang on...” Paidi stood up next to me, immediately jumping to my defence. 

“I don’t see what he sees in you. Average at best.” Casey continued ignoring the younger of the Murphy brothers. “He should have just left you alone after the first night he slept with you. Sluts like you always land on your feet don’t ya”

“What the fuck is your problem?” Paidi growled shoving the blonde back with a hard push of his hand. 

“I’m just telling it how it is. She fucking spread her legs the first chance she got, once a slut always a slut.” 

Pulling Paidi away from the man, I fought against the tears threatening to fall. Shaking my head at him I pushed Paidi towards the corner of the room, quietly asking him not to mention any of this to Cillian until later. 

“Why? Casey is way out of line Brie, he is a fucking cunt.” Paidi glared over my shoulder. 

“He’s not worth it,” I whispered, wiping the few tears that escaped on the sleeve of my jacket. “Look I want Cillian to have a clear perspective going into tonight. If he wants to pursue music great, if not even better but it’s his decision to make. I don’t want anything influencing it”  

“He already decided. He is going to the stage show.” 

“Right but that was before the offer of a record deal Paidi. Let’s just see what happens. Let’s just forget everything for now.” 

*****

Twirling the small red straw in my drink, my mind was miles away. My friends joined me in the main part of the bar. Over the last few months of attending numerous concerts, they found themselves enjoying the music Cillian’s band performed.

“We dreaming of Mr Blue Eyes again.” Billy winked nudging into my side, bringing me back into reality. “He haunts my dreams girl. Those goddamn eyes.”

“They are hypnotic,” Marion commented with a slight nod. She had known Cillian the least but much like the rest of us, felt entranced by his eyes. “Everything okay with you two? You don’t seem yourself?”

“Things with Cillian are great,” I nodded, a small smile pulling at the corner of my lips at the mere mention of his name. “His bandmate on the other hand, not so much.”

“Which one? Who upset our girl?” Billy demanded, slamming his glass onto the bar table. The music from the band drowned out the sharp snap of glass. “I swear if you don’t tell me, I’ll march up on that stage and interrogate each one of them.”

“It’s Casey, the bass player. He’s been against me since Cillian and I got together. He said a few things earlier that just have been playing in my head.”

“Like what?” Aoife asked joining the conversation for the first time. She had disappeared into the bathroom as soon as she sat down, sickness has been plaguing her all week. But being afraid to miss anything, she insisted on coming out tonight.

“The band’s been offered a record deal. Five albums.” I nodded, my eyes not once lifting from the red straw in my glass. “He said Cillian will have women falling at his feet and he would forget all about a slut like me.”

“HE WHAT?” Aoife screeched, gaining only the attention of those standing next to us, or at the near tables. “He actually called you a slut?”

“His words were, sluts like me always land on their feet,” I repeated the words, plaguing my mind for the last hour.

“I’ll fucking kill him”

“Woah wait, wait. What did ole blue eyes say about this?” Billy interrupted holding his hand high into the air, stopping anyone else from speaking until he had finished.

“He doesn’t know.”

“What do you mean he doesn’t know?” Aoife barked back, the anger she was feeling evident on her face.

“I didn’t want him to know. Not until after the performance.”

“Why the fuck would that matter? He can’t talk about you like that? Cillian better not let him off with that” She growled, reaching forward to gulp back a large mouthful of water.

“Because he has enough on his plate at the minute.” I sighed, leaning on the table with my forearms. “The record deal isn’t the only offer Cill’s got. He has been cast as one of the leads in a stage play called Disco Pigs. Guys, he is amazing, honestly. The emotions he can pull from you...he is just brilliant.”

“Someone’s in love.” Billy grinned, placing a gentle hand across my shoulders.

***** 

Clapping and screaming, cheers of praise with Billy. Cillian looked over in our direction shooting a wink in our direction which Billy claimed was for him and him alone. The band took one finally bow before heading off stage, Cillian gestured for me to meet him backstage but I declined. Confusing him. 

“You gonna tell him?” Billy asked, fanning the sweat from his face. Between the amount of bodies in the bar and the unusual heatwave we were experiencing, it felt like we were standing in an oven. 

“Not tonight, I want it to be his night.” 

“Why are you so good?” Billy grinned, “Blue eyes better realise how god damn lucky he is having you by his side.” 

“I’ll be sure to bring it up a few times.” I laughed. The two of us weaved our way through the crowd, back towards the table. Aoife was holding her head while Marion rubbed at her back. “Ef you okay?” 

“Yeah, just need to go home Brie. Sorry.” She groaned, shakily standing to her feet with the help of Marion. 

“I’m just gonna run her home. I’ll be back for you Mr don’t be getting into any trouble.” She pointed at Billy with a smirk. “Are you spending the night with Cill?” 

“Maybe, I’ll see.” I nodded unsure of what his final decision was going to be. He may have decided to stay with the band, let his acting whim go and if that was the case. I didn’t want to be around Casey, especially not tonight.

Saying our goodbyes to the girls. Billy dragged me around the back alley, claiming he was gagging for a smoke. Just as we rounded the corner we came to an immediate stop, raised voices catching our attention instantly. 

“Oh Blue eyes don’t look happy” Billy spoke in a hushed tone. “Looks like someone told him. Who else was in the room with you?” 

“Paidi, Cillian’s little brother.” I whispered cautiously stepping forward. Billy gripped onto my arm, almost as if he was hiding behind me, yet pushing me forward at the same time.

“Fuck you! Who do you think are talking to my girl like that?” Cillian raged. I had never seen such an anger in a man before as he squared up to his taller friend. 

“She won’t always be around for you Cill. Open your fucking eyes.” 

“She supports me much more than you fucking bastards do.” 

“How? By setting you up for failure.” 

“Not failure success. Because of her I am actually doing something that has made me feel alive.” 

“And what’s that? She gives you a good blow job every once in a while and suddenly your the king of the bloody castle.” Casey boosted. Having enough, Cillian’s arm withdrew before coming forward hitting the taller man straight on the jaw, knocking him back on his feet. 

“In case you didn’t get the message. I’m done with the band, so fuck you, fuck the record deal and fuck the band.” Cillian spat, holding his two hands up he flipped off Casey who was now leaning against the bar wall holding his jaw. 

“All this for some slut? Are you having a fucking laugh?” 

“Fucking talk about her like that again and I swear to god I will not be responsible for my actions.” 

“That righ...” Casey provoked. 

Pulling away from Billy I ran towards Cillian placing my hands firmly against his solid chest. I could feel the anger radiating through him, it felt like he was vibrating beneath my hands. 

“He isn’t worth it, hey look at me” I pleaded moving my hands up towards his face, holding him in place. He cast his eyes down to me briefly, his pupils were blown wide with anger. “Look at me, he isn’t worth it.” 

“He can’t call you...” 

“I’ve been called worse. Leave it.” I smiled softly, gently pushing him back towards Billy who helped me turn his solid body around and away from what I would assume was a former friend now. 

“That’s right, go. Throw you career away. Idiot Murphy. You're a fucking idiot.” 

“Throwing away nothing mate” Cillian smirked throwing himself around to face the blonde once more. “You record label means jack shit if I don’t sign it. It’s my songs after all. You got fuck all.” 

Looking up at Cillian, a smugness was slowly replacing his anger. Glancing over at Casey the realisation of Cillian’s words sunk in. The once cocky blonde, now turned pale white, sickly white. 

“Is that true?” I asked looking up at Cillian softly. 

“Take that bitch.” Billy yelled with a large smirk. Shaking my head at him I looked up at Cillian, he just held me close. Wrapping his arm around my shoulders we decided to leave the bar, having enough excitement for the night. 

*****

A few days after the excitement in the bar I was sitting with Cillian inside his bedroom. He was leaving for his Dublin tomorrow to start the stage rehearsals for his play. 

“Are you nervous?” I asked playing with the aglet on my lace of my converse shoe. 

“A little” Cillian nodded smiling softly at me. His hand came over cupping the side of my face, his thumb stroking my cheekbone softly. “But I’m making the right decision I can feel it.” 

“That’s all that matters then.” I whispered leaning into his touch. “I’m gonna miss you.” 

“I’ll miss you too.” Cillian smiled sadly before a mischievous look appeared on his face. “You know the next semester doesn’t start until what late September? You could come with me to Dublin.” 

“Your not serious Cillian what am I suppose to do in Dublin?” I laughed softly but Cillian stepped away from me, really thinking, almost like he was trying to put together all the jigsaw pieces in his head.

“Why not? Its only up the road then we can tour together. It’s only in Dublin for a few weeks then I’m back in Cork before moving to Edinburgh. It’ll be a summer you wont forget.” 

“Cillian...” I trailed off shaking my head softly this was an insane idea. 

“Brie... I love you. I love you alright and I don’t want to be apart from you unless I absolutely have to. You gave me the courage to pursue this dream, come live it with me. It will be you and me.” 

My mouth dropped as he mentioned those three words. Three words I’d never expected him to say. Cillian came over to me grabbing my hands in his, holding them up to his chest so I could feel his heart beating wildly in his chest. 

“I love you Brianna.” 

“I love you to Cillian” I chuckled softly not quite believing what was happening. I wiped the tears away from cheeks, they were happy tears. “I love you so much.” 

I took his head into my hands kissing him passionately. I didn’t care if his brother Paidi walked through the door or not, I didn’t care if his mother walked through the door I was happy. 

“I’ll come on tour with you but I’m not going home after Edinburgh.” I nodded not knowing how I was going to survive. My savings were okay but not enough to last, I would just have to talk to my dad.

“Are you sure this is what you want?” Cillian asked, fighting off an even bigger smile that threatened to spill onto his face. 

“Yeah, it’s not like I am going to Riverdance anytime soon and I always wanted to take a gap year so why the bloody hell not.” I giggled, placing my hands firmly on his chest, ignoring the ringing phone in my pocket. 

“Are you really sure?” He asked, eyes squinting down to see if he could detect any sign of lying. Nodding my head, I pulled away from him briefly to check the caller id on my phone. - unknown. 

“Nothing will stop me going on tour with you Mr Murphy.” I grinned placing my phone back into my pocket before throwing my arms around his shoulders. Pressing our foreheads tightly together, we stared into each other’s eyes. “I’m letting go of Everything but You”

Taglist  

@stars-of-scorpio @lovemissyhoneybee @peakyscillian​ @cillmequick​ @forgottenpeakywriter​ @lyarr24  @brummiereader​

[michiruze]

Thoughts on Slow Damage

A six-year long wait turned into a desire, and before we know it, today is the euphoric moment of the desire, realized.

I started Slow Damage expecting your usual dark and occasionally trashy but awesome Nitro+Chiral game. Like watching a grindhouse film in an arthouse theatre reserved for people who are into the genre and the subculture around it.

What I got instead is dark, unrelenting, heartbreaking, and cathartic work on the darkness of people, breaking free from chains, desires, and the captive nature of guilt. 

Slow Damage is a painting where colors lights up the dark canvas.

It’s a memorable game that hopefully will go down in VN history, it’s impeccable and mesmerizing, altough still, not for everyone and not for the faint of the heart. But if you do have the heart, please give this game a go. It’s worth your time and money.....and desires. It is very wonderfully made and presented.

My main thought upon finishing Slow Damage is that this is what getting a therapy after suffering for so long in silence feels like. Confronting the hard-to-face, the uncomfortable truth, the source of your pain, speaking up about it....then work for the better. Heading towards light at the end of the tunnel.

Slow Damage is a story of suffering, but there’s always hope to end it.

And for that, it’s hard for me to call Slow Damage as the ‘usual N+C sufferfest’ because SD has a lot to say. And boy, it did.

All the darkness has a reason (Shinkoumi is NOT a wonderful place, and all the suffering is clear), and I find it hard to look away from parts I personally find normally upsetting. This game makes me keep looking at it in a mesmerizing, direct way. I can’t look away, it almost feels like I am having a euphoric session with Towa himself, trying to look into us audiences.

A common theme in this game that I consistently see is how pain and suffering affects our lives. Everyone in the game is tied to their painful pasts and the scars it did. Even whey they live normally, there’s still pain inside of their hearts. It is either remaining pain or worse, repressed pain.

All the smiles and joy are real, it’s a way to keep yourself intact in the painful world of Shinkoumi where everyone gets pain inflicted upon them. However, the sense I am feeling in Rei and Taku’s routes is that while Towa might seem to have 'moved on' from his past through his time today, he’s not actually moving on from his pain. This applies to Taku and Rei. Taku and Rei still have their pain and guilt, and Towa is running away from it.

Towa continues to live on since his life after the pain with Taku and Rei are comfortable. It’s a comfortable new world.....without resolving the pain and problems. Just forgetting it and pretend most of it didn’t happen.

[MAJOR SPOILERS ONWARDS]

Madarame’s route felt like him returning Towa to the plentiful, pleasurable, and ‘better’ past, by making Towa almost recalling his past and pain, but Madarame uses that chance to push him back into 'the good times right after your worst trauma’. Because for Madarame, Towa was at his best and most composed during those days. Why not return to those days? And throw all our opponents and obstacles into the trash?

But this still does not make Towa ‘move on’ from his pain. He just runs away to a different direction.

Even if Towa rejected Maya, he’s still unconsciously doing what Maya does....to Madarame, especially when he decided to try Euphoria session on him. It makes sense after reading Fujieda route.

Which brings us to Fujieda route, and why it’s great. Not only that they both face the darkness in order to find light, the reasons why it’s a great and highly cathartic route is:

1) Towa actually has someone in his side, and friends to help him address his past. And by that, he actually helped them to address their pasts too. Taku and Rei also faces their darkness in the process. We find light together

2)  Towa acknowledges his problems, and while he initially has extreme guilt (he cant separate his art from his PARENT), he thankfully isn't consumed by it. The usage of paint thinner as fuel for fire is also apropos, as paint thinners function as erasers. Towa wished he could be erased to blankness again, but he realizes that he could just make himself better. Like deciding to paint something better on a messy work.

3) Fujieda and Towa work together to find the truth. While it hurts (VERY painful), all they can do is to respect Mei's life by living and becoming better people and supporting eachother, living the life they deserve to have

4)  Both acknowledged pain and their scars. And doesn't think it never existed. Instead, they don’t see it as their sins, and unconditionally embrace eachother in their pain-riddled bodies. It just happens, and there’s nothing they can do to completely erase it. Again, all they can do is support eachother to be better.

5)  Most importantly: not running away from the past and all the pain. And reclaiming those. 

And all of that will bring us into the light.

There’s more to Slow Damage than that, however. The themes of acceptance, guilt over denouncing your parents, and embracing yourself are present, along with the harrowing longtime effects of trauma, written in elegant ways. Fuchii Kabura and Nitro+Chiral took their sweet time improving their craft, and it’s especially present here.

I’m glad I waited so long for Slow Damage, it felt like a tender embrace from the painful world, best described by this BGM track.

That’s all I can say about the game proper. On the artistic front, Yamada Uiro’s art is really great. This game really showed off her sheer skills and talents that she previously only shown in light novels and promo arts for Nitroplus and Nitro+Chiral games.

The character designs are still memorable even though the game has a more realistic setting. The memorable elements comes from the different features each character has and their toned bodies too. There’s something for everyone in this game.

The overall feel of the game in terms of the aesthetics is that while it is dark in the level of Togainu no Chi, it’s actually one of the more colorful games that N+C ever made. Closest comparison I can make is the works of film director Gaspar Noé, specifically his later works. The darker-toned CGs with colorful lighting evoked the same feel of Noé’s cinematographer Benoit Debie with the striking colors dimly lighting the dark.

The 3D backgrounds has improved a lot from DMMD, and overall....the production value is BIG, and you can see it right from the title screen!

As usual, the music is delight to the ears. Personally I adore Madarame’s ending themes. Very much bangers, altough I have soft spots for Rei (GOATBED!!!!! SHUUJI IS BACK!!! PROVING THE ‘GOAT’ IN GOATBED!!!!) and Taku’s themes too.

That’s all I can say about this game, really. It’s a difficult game to write about, and really needed to be experienced.

Overall, I am grateful to have stepped into the dark tunnel of Slow Damage and walking into the light with new perspectives. Slow Damage will make you see impossible colors, and how even the darkest of places can, and will be guided towards the light.

Also, this is an Inada stan account. We stan an unbothered king minding his own business!

[prodigal-explorer]

🌠 welcome to my intro! 🌠

a few people might know me from my other blog, @golden-songbird, but this is my new sanders sides/omori/your turn to die main blog! i write a lot of stories, make a lot of headcanons, and think a lot of thoughts, so if you're someone who likes analyzing sanders sides/omori/your turn to die or just sanders sides/omori/your turn to die content in general, this might be the blog for you!

also, i'm just gonna put my masterlist here! this has all of my stories, fanfics, and writing guides!

now for some more about me!

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🌟 annie is my name!

🌟 19 - 01.30 (aquarius)

🌟 he/she/star pronouns

🌟 enfj

🌟 i speak english, but i am learning french (i consider myself to be at an intermediate level), and i want to learn tagolog!

🌟 i don't know my gender, but i identify as lesbian!

🌟 i am filipino-american, and i am mixed! i am very proud of my heritage and i talk about it a lot!

🌟 i have ehlers-danlos syndrome, pots, adhd/autism, and anxiety.

🌟 i am an ambivert who loves people but also loves my space! i am very honest and open about my boundaries. i'm not a passive-aggressive type, and i like to communicate.

🌟 i don't really consider myself a proshipper or an anti. i kinda just stay out of all that because i don't believe that censorship is okay or good, but i also don't promote harmful ideas. not to say that either of those types of people always do those things, but it's just a weird slippery slope that i honestly touch grass too much to care about.

🌟 i'm a rising sophomore in college and i am currently majoring in theatre performance, but i am transitioning to get my bfa in acting!

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✩ likes:

writing, reading, classical literature, fanfiction, journaling, musical theatre, theatre, singing, dancing, acting, video games, sunny weather, mornings, dogs, pigs, asian history, african history, pacific history, women's history, learning new things, tea, sweet foods, candy, makeup, skincare, self-care, perfume, and most of all, my twin sister!

✩ shows i watch:

i don't watch a lot of tv, but when i do, i default to the same shows. sanders sides, anne with an e, modern family, little house on the prairie, dance moms, south park, alexa and katie, no good nick, high school musical the musical the series, curious george, and fraiser are my favorites!

✩ video games i play:

i love video games but i'm not great at them. my favorite games of all time are omori, your turn to die, animal crossing new horizons, legend of zelda: breath of the wild (i haven't played totk yet, please no spoilers!!), spiritfarer, hades, good pizza great pizza, undertale, deltarune, pokémon emerald rogue, and story of seasons: pioneers of olive town. i'm looking forward to playing all the story of seasons games in the future!

✩ my favorite plays and musicals:

my favorite plays are little women (adapted by kate hamil), dance nation, fences, the glass menagerie, equus, eurydice, a raisin in the sun, and especially the miracle worker.

my favorite musicals are hadestown, ragtime, alice by heart, matilda, gypsy, west side story, ragtime, in the heights, great comet of 1812, pippin, come from away, the color purple, amelie, the mad ones, and fun home.

✩ celebrities i enjoy:

i don't really talk about celebrities much, but when i do, it's about these guys: maddie ziegler, chloe lukasiak, nia sioux fraizer, jojo siwa (i don't really know all the drama surrounding her, i just like her message), paige hyland, sofia vergara, lea salonga, eva noblezada, lin manuel miranda (i just think he's goof), beth malone, phillipa soo, karen olivo, dolly parton, amber gray, lauren zakrin.

✩ dislikes:

bossy people, authority in general, staying up late, coffee, bitter foods, dear evan hansen, be more chill, most cartoons, roller coasters, twitter, dream smp, milk, traveling, writer's block, lifting heavy things, being teased, passive-aggressive people, patton sanders, basil, keiji shinogi.

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here's the stuff about me pertaining to sanders sides!

★ my favorite side is roman, i actually kin him and relate to him a lot!

★ my least favorite side is patton. i don't think he's evil or anything, but i am very critical of him and i make him the antagonist in a lot of my aus.

★ my opinion on the sides from favorite to least favorite are as follows: roman, logan, remus, virgil, janus, patton.

★ i am an avid remy enjoyer and i think emile picani is cool.

★ i do a lot of canon-deviant headcanons such as race headcanons, pronoun headcanons, and disability headcanons. i am very respectful of these things and do lots of research, mainly because such headcanons are usually projections of myself and my own experiences.

★ i write a lot of sanders sides fanfiction and roleplay ideas, as well as aus. feel free to use anything you'd like for inspiration as long as you give me credit! i've had my work stolen before and it doesn't feel good.

★ my favorite ships (in no particular order) are roceit, prinxiety, logince, literally all poly combos of roman/logan/janus/virgil, intrulogical, analogical, dukeceit, remy/roman, remy/remus, remile, roman/emile, and loceit!

★ my least favorite ships are pretty much all patton ships and remrom. i'm not a remrom destroyer who will burn down your house if you ship remrom (as long as they're like- not explicitly brothers) but i'm an identical twin so the idea of them being in love is super weird to me lmao. i can't take it seriously.

★ i love talking about sanders sides please talk to me about sanders sides! especially if it looks like we have a lot in common!

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here are my other socials!

✯ ao3: ultraluminary

✯ quotev: tinyrevolt

✯ discord: waterfalldancer

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thanks for reading all that! i hope we become great friends!