Hot take but Victoria being chosen for the protagonist of a Cats movie is not that bizzare or outlandish as people like to insist
Like, yeah, sure it'd have been cool to have Demeter or Jemima if necessary, but generally Victoria has been used historically during the show's run to represent the spirit of the show, and like she has a whole coming-of-age thing going on in the musical (which is the point of the solo + the pas de deux).
Generally, having a protagonist in the Cats musical kind of sabotages it, but I think if I did have to chose focus characters I'd go for a duel narrative of Jemima/Sillabub and Victoria because they both play a significant part in Grizabella's acceptance
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Things that happened in Martyn & Cleo Double Life canon:
Cleo hoping to find her soulmate and start a life with them
Cleo dumping Martyn without giving him a chance to explain his side of the story, but hearing him out when he comes to her later
Martyn watching Cleo through his spyglass and telling the audience she seems safe and happy even though he thinks it's weird she's outside at night
Martyn, after he's had time to consider how he wants to play this, spinning a story about trying to be a provider for her and Cleo explaining that she wanted him, not things
Cleo not being remotely impressed by the "I was providing" sob story, lol
Martyn calling Cleo selfish for choosing to be with Scott because she's supposed to be HIS soulmate and he wants a partner
Cleo willing to forgive Martyn if he meets them halfway
Martyn refusing to meet them halfway because he doesn't think he did anything wrong
Martyn screaming about how Cleo's building bridges with Scott but "When will she think about mending our bridges???"
Martyn explaining to Cleo that he doesn't understand why his Session 1 actions bothered them
Martyn centering his character arc and roleplay on trying to win Cleo back without actually apologizing
Cleo giving Martyn a flower and stating that if he loses it, she'll be real cross with him
Cleo chasing Martyn out of her yard because he tried to put an HOA sign on her base and she wanted to make it clear that she wasn't associated with them and their hate for his base (even though she does think his heart base is strange)
Martyn attacking Cleo after she said attacking is a form of affection to her
Cleo setting boundaries with Martyn and explaining what he can do to get her back
Cleo sighing when Scar set her up on a date with Martyn, but taking the chance to talk to him instead of walking out
Cleo genuinely wanting Martyn in her alliance
Martyn and Cleo giggling constantly when they chat
Scar asking if Martyn wanted him to play a romantic music disc for him and Cleo (and Martyn getting excited and saying yes)
Martyn offering to take Cleo's armor and weapons to the deep dark so he can enchant them and bring them back while she stays safe
Cleo gifting Martyn diamonds, expecting nothing in return but not wanting him to die from lack of a good sword
Martyn and Cleo forming a secret alliance that allows Cleo to live with Scott while being on good terms with Martyn
Martyn expressing frustration that Cleo wants to keep this alliance secret because he wants them to be public allies; Cleo softly shushes him when people approach and might overhear
Martyn telling Cleo that she's putting out a lot of mixed signals because she keeps reeling him in and then pushing him away, claiming he is very confused about where he stands with her
Martyn teasing Cleo by punching her off a cliff and accidentally killing her and feeling so bad about it that he apologizes profusely despite roleplaying as someone who refused to apologize for Session 1
Martyn and Cleo immediately threatening Bdubs together when he said hi to them while they were hanging out, sdkfj
Martyn genuinely apologizing to Pearl for dumping her after Session 1
Martyn hiding under Cleo's bed while she defends him from an enderman attack
Cleo offering to let Martyn move into her house after Etho and Joel grief his base; Martyn saying he might take her up on that
Cleo and Martyn agreeing to move out and base together at Box
Cleo trusting Martyn with the location and resources of her red life base
Martyn rushing to Cleo's aid in the deep dark and trying to turn everyone against him instead
Cleo responding to Martyn's panicked shouts for her to eat by opening her inventory to get food (and drowning because she forgot she was in water)
Cleo hanging back and letting Martyn attack Scott while she does nothing to stop him from doing so, implying as much as she likes Scott, she won't kill Martyn (and herself) for him (and/or she trusted Scott to handle himself even though he ran away while Martyn was shooting at him)
Things that did not happen:
Cleo unwilling to forgive Martyn or consider being his friend and partner
Martyn and Cleo hating each other
Thank you for coming to my TED Talk
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saviour
She picks it up, gasping. The last barrier, her child, is gone. It is time to rest, and she has been ready for so long.
Still: she hesitates.
He tackles her, and she lands hard. Her eyes are wild and she struggles to be free; he does not let her.
“Give it to me.” His voice is dry and crisp and lacks emotion. She hesitates again, then hands it over with numb fingers. Then she makes eye contact.
Vaniah looks very tired as he says, “Why?”
“You know why.”
His eyes close and his shoulders sag a little. “I left the child with Anneka,” he says quietly. “You can meet her someday, if you like.”
“Who is Anneka?” She doesn’t care, but has to say something to fill in the empty space.
The smile reaches his eyes and she likes the way it makes him look. “My wife. We’ll take care of your child—if you want us to.”
“I never want to see her again.” Her voice catches, and she cannot look him in the eyes. “I want to die, Vaniah.”
“I know.” He pushes back his sleeve and shows her scarring; it is terrible to see, but it seems like his destiny.
“I’ve wanted to for a long time. I stayed for the child. Now she doesn’t need me.”
“The world needs you. Mordecai needs you.”
She shakes her head. “I haven’t spoken to Mordecai in a long, long time.”
“He still loves you,” says Vaniah with certainty. His expression is very gentle, and she still cannot look at him. “I met him in the street recently; and he has forgiven me.”
“I have been a fool.” She is unable to speak any further.
“So have I: and God has forgiven me.”
“What do I care of God?” and she is blazing with rage. “Where was he when I went through hell?”
Vaniah is silent. At last he says, “Right beside you.”
“I thought you didn’t believe in God.” She studies his hands, wondering if she can wrench it free and complete her mission.
Vaniah sees her gaze and shifts his hands more securely. “I didn’t. I do now. But if you don’t want to talk about it we don’t have to.”
Her shoulders slump and she wants to cry. “I don’t want to live, Vaniah.”
“Neither did I. At risk of sounding cliched: it gets better. Life becomes worth the living.”
“Teach me to live.” Her voice is bitter, sarcastic. “If you’re going to stop me dying, teach me to live!” This time she does cry.
For the rest of her life she remembers how he looks at her, at the kindness and love with which he treats her. How he doesn’t pity her. How he saves her from her worst enemy, herself. How he doesn’t leave her alone until he’s found someone else who can take care of her.
How he shows her the first light she’s seen in her personal darkness for a very long time.
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