#mischief theatre appreciation post

[moondust-writes]

『Plum?』 desc; a comfort drabble originally written for a friend, posted for those who may need comfort too <3 a/n; a reminder that i am still taking requests, especially now that i am branching into other fandoms too. i also have a 'tip jar' (paypal link) in my pinned post! not required but genuinely appreciated~

“Hey there Plum- Plum?”

The Six Eared Macaque, an infamous demon who was once a friend of the Monkey King himself, had decided to pop into your humble abode from the shadows, intending on roping you into some kind of mischief, or to request backdrop work for his Shadow Theatre(with compensation of course, no matter how often it’d be refused at first)- the last thing he had expected to find himself subjected to was the soft sound of your whimpering cries and the attempt to silence those sounds that only ended with their increase, hiccups peppering their way into it as a result. Not that it would have worked anyway, should the attempt have been successful, his hearing was impeccable due to his six ears that he hid so often with a glamor.

For once, he found himself stunned into worried silence as you curled up further into a ball on your bed, stationed on your side with your back facing him as though you hoped he would just disappear if you stayed like that. Prehensile tail lowering, he swallowed back the uncomfortable feeling of not knowing what to do or say as he stepped closer, slowly raising a hand awkwardly, letting it hover over your form before he decided to place it on your shoulder. He crouched by the side of your bed, moving his thumb against your shirt in what he hoped would be a comforting manner as he sat in silence for a few more ticks of a clock.

“Plum…can you look at me?” His voice was tentative, quiet, and he felt your body quiver as your breath hitched at his request. “I know somethings wrong, and you don’t have to tell me but…please. Look at me?”

You weren’t sure what made you shrug off his hand, adjust so you were laying on your opposite side, looking into his golden eyes- maybe it was the worried fear in his voice that he tried so hard to cover with concern? He hadn’t seen you cry before, never having popped into your room in such vulnerable moments until now. But, as he placed a gentle hand on your cheek, brushing away your tears with his thumb and a soft, loving smile that just told you everything would be okay…you didn’t care.

You placed your hand over his and held it there, eyes closing tightly as your sobs worsened, causing your whole body to shake. And with a weak tug, Macaque had taken a spot beside you on your mattress, holding you close as you cried into his scarf, one hand on your back, and the other entangled in your hair as he hummed soft reassurances that everything will be okay, that you are safe with him.

It was an accident that he had stumbled upon you like this, and yet as you both laid there with the soft glow of the moon traveling in through your window, neither of you had minded.

[comradekatara]

which atla character would get along best with which amphibia character? (also hi im the mod for mailee week & cant wait to see what u post!)

ahh thank u for keeping up the tradition & spreading my gospel!! I hope my art doesn’t disappoint

anne would get along with pretty much everyone, but I think she’d especially like aang (because he reminds her of sprig), toph (because she reminds her of polly), and suki (because she is hot and cool and anne is very gay). i also think she’d have a crush on june the bounty hunter

aang and sprig would get along like fire and a thatched roof. they’d run around in the woods and make up silly little games. it would get kind of intense at some point during their contest to determine who can jump higher, but eventually they’d settle on a tie. just two kindhearted silly babie boys with boundless energy and irresistible charm <3333

polly meets toph and immediately they are both like “I have met my soulmate.” get louise bobsburgers in there too for maximum chaos wreaked by three tiny vessels

sokka and marcy would be obsessed with each other. the closest marcy ever got to finding someone who knew exactly how to communicate with her was andrias, and... well.... (okay arguably maddie too, but that’s mostly because marcy was just perfectly happy to let maddie boss her around) but sokka would be able to challenge her intellectually without condescending to her as if she is some innocent little baby. and marcy would make sokka feel appreciated in turn, and they’d just talk incessantly about all their overlapping interests that no one else understands. they’re just in their own little nerd bubble, having the time of their lives

I feel like katara would be the same way around mrs boonchuy that sprig was where she is so desperate to be adopted as her surrogate daughter that she constantly helps out at the restaurant and when mrs boonchuy insists on paying her for her labor katara is secretly disappointed because it means that mrs boonchuy doesn’t see her as family and whenever she’s like “I wish my daughter could be as hardworking and responsible as you” katara is awkwardly like “oh well.... I wish my mom could be as..... alive as you..... hahahahahahaha.......” and mrs b just falls silent. “is there anything you would like to talk about katara”

hop pop and zuko would not get along at first because zuko is wary of cranky old men and hop pop is wary of teenagers with attitudes but then they’d discover that they are both thespians at heart and bond over their love of The Theatre. hop pop is overjoyed that he has found someone who truly appreciates “The Shallow Pond.” even marcy didn’t like that, and she’s into seeds

suki immediately takes ivy under her wing like duh. she teaches her kyoshi form, and ivy teaches her how to hop on lilypads, which suki actually manages to do despite being a human and not a frog. they have a great time causing mischief together

iroh and felicia compare tea in what is ultimately an extremely long conversation. everyone else is forced to leave the room because watching them flirt makes anyone in the vicinity want to puke

mai and maddie bond over having annoying baby siblings and being mistaken for being cold and creepy despite actually being very kind and sweet just because they happen to be interested in the gothic and other cool things like that. mai shows maddie how to throw knives, and maddie shows mai how to enchant her knives so that they can be controlled telekinetically. they have fun

as for sasha, it’s hard to say whether she would get along better/worse with azula or ty lee, since she has things in common with both of them that would make their respective meetings really interesting. but I think sasha and ty lee would actually make for a richer dynamic, bc they could wage intense psychological warfare against each other and it would all be so subtle and underhanded no one else would even notice

I think I wanna see azula fight general yunan. I think that would be an insane and epic fight

this is not a fully formed thought but: appa is to momo what bessie is to microangelo is domino 2 to domino. That is all

[alumnusofheavenandhell]

Hey! I know like nothing about cats the musical or whatever but woah!!! youve really piqued my interest with that bigtop burger post and i was wondering if you maybe had more thoughts about it maybe youd like to share :0

- from a shy bigtop burgy fan who really really likes to speculate and obsess on lore for characters and basically anything at all that hints at an interesting backstory

So!

Unless something really unexpected is going on, we know for a fact that Steve played Old Deuteronomy on Broadway, since it's mentioned in "Up" and we can see it in his flashback in "Kid." He's singing The Moments of Happiness and wearing Deut's signature big fluffy suit and wig.

Side note - the other actors in that flashback might also be clowns? They have vertical lines across their eyes and round noses just like Steve. Although, this episode was before the reveal that Steve is a Real Clown while his employees are not, so maybe it's just stylization, but I choose to believe it Means Something.

Steve and Old Deut also share some characteristics. They're both leaders of their respective groups (Bigtop Burger and the Jellicle Cats), and are both sort of mysterious but loving fatherly figures who possess otherworldly powers. Steve has his… clown mischief (horsepiss) going on, and Old Deut has the power to make the Jellicle Choice and escort the chosen cat to the Heaviside Layer to be reborn. Steve is generally much more chaotic and active than Old Deut, who is more subdued but also has a very forceful presence.

However, if I were to cast Cesare in Cats, Old Deut would probably be my last choice for him, which is why I don't think he's the one who replaced Steve unless there was some serious trickery going on. Thematically, you could connect him to Macavity (an adversary to the Jellicles who attacks them and kidnaps Deuteronomy, also has magic powers… Macavity is said to have broken every human law, so maybe at some point he sold rocks as food? And obviously his hench-cats could be described as "friends in low places") But as I said in my previous post, you could also make a lot of connections to Grizabella.

Readmore because this got pretty long:

They both frequent derelict places:

In old Venezia I made my trade Selling marionettes in my ramshackle place

She haunted many a low resort Near the grimy road of Tottenham Court

They've both been alone:

I wasn't missed or mourned, my body never found

Grizabella is rejected and outcast by the Jellicles, and when she comes back, those that try to reach out to her are quickly pulled away. Perhaps some do miss or mourn her, but this loneliness is a big part of her role in the show.

Again, something I mentioned in my other post:

I was chosen for a second chance at life

The Jellicle leader will soon appear And make what is known as the Jellicle Choice… Announces the cat who can now be reborn And come back to a different Jellicle life

(Spoilers (honestly you can't really spoil Cats, the plot is absolutely not the focus): Grizabella is chosen to be reborn)

And a bit looser of a connection:

Oh, just another one in a long line of no ones

In Memory, Griz sings, "I can smile at the old days, I was beautiful then." We don't know very much about Grizabella's past, so she's not necessarily from a "long line of no ones." And she wasn't always a no one herself, in fact, she used to be "beautiful" and popular. But by the time the show takes place, she's so downtrodden that she's nearly unrecognizable as the star she used to be - "Who would ever suppose that that was Grizabella, the glamor cat?"

You can probably tell that I don't think this is an intentional, 1 to 1 reference (notably, Grizabella doesn't really have any strange powers or dark connections), but it's fun to think about! And I really appreciate how Worthikids has obviously seen Cats and is very thoughtful when referencing it (unlike other media which tends to be lazy with theatre references, usually boiling down to "haha isn't theatre weird?")

Also we call productions of Cats that deviate from the standard costumes, set, choreography, etc. "non-replica," and honestly I would love to see a non-replica production where all the cats also work in food trucks. Bustopher Jones is a food truck connoisseur. Skimbleshanks has an entire food train, why not.

[smallbitterman]

I posted 331 times in 2022

That's 329 more posts than 2021!

107 posts created (32%)

224 posts reblogged (68%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@rainswings

@cornleykillercanary

@personinthepalace

@starship-ranger-bug

@digtothecore

I tagged 181 of my posts in 2022

Only 45% of my posts had no tags

#mischief theatre - 102 posts

#mischief comedy - 81 posts

#mischief movie night in - 51 posts

#fan edit - 32 posts

#mmni - 30 posts

#the goes wrong show - 26 posts

#youtube - 20 posts

#cornley drama society - 17 posts

#peter pan goes wrong - 17 posts

#dave hearn - 14 posts

Longest Tag: 124 characters

#i think it makes any instance where he struggles with the cameras even funnier (idk if his vision is a factor but i digress)

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT:

TODAY (6th June) IS THEIR WEDDING DAY! LEAVE CONGRATULATIONS BELOW!

67 notes - Posted June 6, 2022

#4

Bry doing her goddamn best offscreen:

These idiots:

77 notes - Posted March 21, 2022

#3

for all of y’all who simp appreciate Henry Shields

82 notes - Posted February 28, 2022

#2

hrgrghrrghrr please i need them

99 notes - Posted May 28, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

this was funnier in my head

103 notes - Posted July 6, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[could-have-beens]

Henry Shields + making Mischief Movie Night In a ‘family friendly’ show 1/?

➜ Ipswich It Up, 07/17/2021

[personinthepalace]

Chris Leask and coffee

From Nancy Zamit’s and Chris Leask’s Instagrams

[alemonyoyo]

Please more platonic kenman hcs ❤️

THANK YOU FOR THE REQUEST YAY!

In another post about the Main 4 South Park headcanons, I mentioned how I liked the headcanon of Cartman and Kenny as bestfriends so much that I was gonna make another post about it. Here is that post!

Cartman and Kenny Bestfriend Headcanons:

- As I said in my other posts, Cartman and Kenny love musical theatre but will hide their love of it from Stan and Kyle. To add on to this, due to his uh “musical talents” Cartman writes musicals and Kenny performs them. (He did this in the Hellen Keller episode actually). Sometimes Cartman will join Kenny, both of them dressed as alters of themselves. They have a great time :)

- Kenny’s parents hate Cartman (most people do), so whenever they hang out, they hangout at Eric’s house. Kenny doesn’t mind cause Cartman has more stuff anyway. Sometimes if Eric is in a really good mood he’ll let Kenny keep something for a bit. Though he ends up forgetting about it and Kenny keeps whatever he’s been given.

- Kenny owns a copy of Faith +1′s first album. Despite being presented on Kyle’s side of the bet in that episode, he definitely got a copy.

- If on the rare occassion that Cartman is found at Kenny’s house, Karen will be over the moon. Kenny knows Karen loves Cartman because he is “like a huge teddybear” and she will hug him all the time. Cartman doesn’t love the situation- But doesn’t want to get in trouble by doing anything drastic. Kenny thinks it’s adorable-

- THEY DRESS UP TOGETHER. The prominent figures in South Park who dress up as the opposite sex are Kenny, Cartman and Butters out of the kids. But we aren’t talking about Butters so,,, Anyway, Princess Kenny and Bad Irene are bad bitches and they hang out and get ready together. Kenny is better at hair than Cartman so he’ll let Kenny do his wig for him. Cartman is better at makeup so he’ll force Kenny to let him do his-

- In class they only really pass notes to eachother. Sure, they would pass a note to Kyle, but he’d get mad at the interruption, and Stan never really cared about the notes in general. So they pass lengthy notes to eachother that are actually just long pieces of paper scrunched up. They usually entail Kenny’s many perverted thoughts, their taunts of teachers and students, and just general conversations about their common interests such as video games or TV shows.

- You know those games you used to play in class as a kid, like, you and a couple other people would take turns saying a profanity, getting louder and louder every time until someone ends up getting in trouble. Yea, tha’st times 10 for these two- Kenny and Cartman love the classic’s like the one mentioned previously (Kenny always wins because no one can tell what he is saying), but they also have their own versions. Whether it be who can get away with the most life destroying pranks or who can get away with breaking more rules in a day. They have their own little olympics of mischief!

- Kenny will rant to Cartman about his current love interests and uh “desires,” characteristic of the Kenny from the actual show. Although Cartman has no interest in love affairs at all, he’ll listen to Kenny and provide mostly unbiased “feedback” (I can’t exactly call it advice) on the situation. Kenny appreciates being listened to.

- “Kinny, I’m going to be honest, your girlfriend is a whore.” “I don’t think she’s that hot.” “No- Kinny don’t go after that bitch-” See they aren’t really advice,but they are definitely something.

- “It is possible that Kenny is Cartman's only real friend and he does not understand how to react to having such a friend,” This is a quote from Eric Cartman’s Wiki (linked), this is the basis for my next headcanon: Cartman truly considers Kenny a friend, yet treats him so poorly because he doesn’t really understand why he likes Kenny or what those feelings of compassion and friendship may be. Such as in the episode where Cartman meets the people who have asses for faces and he feels genuine remorse for making Kenny pose as their missing child, yet instead of admitting that he feels bad, he instead says that he has lost his sense of humour. I think the same may apply to many emotions, such as his compassion or love for people/things. He may not understand why he likes hanging around Kenny, or considers him his best friend, which may make him defensive and act cruel as usual. 

Please send in more requests! These are really fun :) I can do headcanons for ships, friendships, x readers, general shit yanno.

[mercurysnitch]

Though You’re Many Years Away Part 1

Pairing: 70s!Roger Taylor x Reader (I pictured real Roger, but it could work with BenHardy!Roger as well)

Summary: Reader ends up getting a lot more than she bargained for when she somehow travels to 1974 and sees Queen live at the Rainbow.

Author’s note: This is the first fic I’ve ever written, so I’m a little bit nervous to post it, but what the hell. It was just a weird idea I had that I just had to write. It was planned to be a one-shot, but it’s getting so long I’ve decided to split it up into a short series. Probably 4 parts, maybe 5. Don’t think too hard about how the time travel works, it’ll make your brain hurt. The mechanics that are explained (or at least will be in the next part) are inspired by the time travel in @angrylizardjacket‘s Ben x Reader x 70s Roger stories (go check them out, they’re great :-) ) Also a bit inspired by the book ‘The Time Traveller’s Wife’, which is a bit weird, but very good. This part includes the first smut I’ve ever written, so sorry if that bit’s not great. Please comment or reblog, I would love to get feedback on this. Italics indicate reader’s thoughts, stars indicate a time skip (there’s a lot of them, sorry if it’s a bit choppy in places)

Warnings: Swearing, some drinking, little bit of smut (literally one paragraph, so just skip it if you’re not interested), mentions of pregnancy, tiny bit of vomiting

You weren’t sure how you ended up on a park bench in an unknown location. All you remembered was a feeling like you were falling down into the centre of the earth, and then waking up with a pounding head, in a strange place. Looking around, you noticed the sun seemed to be getting low, throwing a golden evening light on your surroundings. You could see a main road, and a little cluster of men in half-open shirts and flared jeans, smoking cigarettes. Wait, isn’t that illegal in public? And flares? Must be a 70s party nearby, you thought. Cautiously, you stood up from the bench, stretching experimentally. Your head spun a little, but you soon felt stable enough to start walking. You quickly decided to follow the crowd of people flooding down the main road. Most of them seemed to be heading in the same direction. Must be something on tonight, you thought. Might as well go, it might help me work out where the hell I am.

Suddenly, you found yourself outside an old-fashioned theatre. It seemed to be called the Rainbow, judging by the signs. The hoardings showing the names of upcoming acts contained a single word in big letters: Queen. No way, you thought. Queen were one of your favourite bands, and now you’d stumbled on one of their gigs? What a coincidence. You shuffled forward with the crowd, managing to slip in past the ticket sellers unnoticed. Thank god, I couldn’t pay them even if I wanted to. Suddenly you noticed something: more flares. Nearly everyone around you seemed to be wearing flares. There was a lot of long wavy hair about too, on the men as well as the women. That’s weird, you mused, is it a tribute gig or something? Your mind was humming with confusion as you moved with the crowd into the auditorium, when a sudden thought nearly stopped you in your tracks. Queen at the Rainbow. Why does that sound familiar? Queen at the Rainbow. Queen at the – Oh that’s right, there’s a live album, you remembered. Queen at the Rainbow ’74. Wait, ’74? They played the Rainbow in 1974. Realisation hit you like a freight train. I can’t be in 1974, I just can’t be. How could I be in 1974? How did I get here?

You were startled out of your shocked trance by a loud cheer. The music had started, and the band soon appeared, to another cheer, even louder than before. Once they started to play, there was no disputing it. You were watching early Queen, deep in their ‘glam rock’ phase. Freddie Mercury was utterly recognisable with his long dark hair, eyeliner and black-painted nails. Fuck, I’m at a Queen show in 1974. After a couple of songs you decided to accept whatever glitch in the universe had brought you here and just enjoy the show. It was a great show too. You had always wished you could have seen Queen play with Freddie, but knew it would never be possible. You hadn’t even been born for many years after Queen’s last concert in 1986, indeed, by the time you were born Freddie Mercury was dead. And yet, here you were watching him perform live, utterly entranced.

All too soon, the show was over. The buzzing crowd flooded out of the theatre and into a pub down the street. You went with them, wondering if the band would follow. Sure enough, all four members of Queen soon appeared in the pub, to scattered cheers and raised glasses. You headed for the bar, hoping somebody might buy you a drink. You would have bought one yourself but you had no money on you. It seemed you had travelled to 1974 with only the clothes on your back. You found a stool in a quiet corner and settled in to people watch. You had a feeling, a gut feeling you supposed, that this little trip to the 70s wasn’t going to last very long, so you decided you might as well soak it up while you could. Your stool coincidentally gave you an excellent view of the table all four members of Queen had chosen to sit at. They looked relaxed, rapidly emptying beers in hand, surrounded by a veritable flock of admiring girls. You started to scan the rest of the pub, soaking up the vibe, when you noticed movement at the band’s table. Someone was coming to the bar, heading almost directly for you. You turned towards them, and saw long golden hair and an open shirt weaving towards you.

You’d always thought early-70s Roger Taylor was the best looking member of Queen. Well, the early 70s was their best-looking era in your opinion, but the golden-haired, blue-eyed drummer was clearly the most attractive. Not that the rest of them weren’t easy on the eyes, but Roger was definitely your favourite. Now you were in a pub in 1974, and he was walking straight towards you. Well shit. This could be interesting.

He came up to the bar next to your stool. “Another round of beers thanks” he asked the bartender. Suddenly he turned to you, almost as if he could feel your eyes on you. “Hello” he said gently, “I’m Roger.” He held his hand out to you, smiling cheekily…flirtatiously? “Y/N. Hi” You shook his hand uncertainly. He continued to smile at you, his eyes crinkling, until you glanced down from his gaze, grinning nervously. “You’re cute. Can I buy you a drink?” Your head snapped up at the sound of his voice. He was definitely flirting now. “Okay. Gin and tonic please” You asked, smiling brightly. Roger added your order to his beers and turned back to you. “What brings a pretty girl like you to a pub like this?” The cheeky grin had reappeared. “I, um, I saw the band before. Good show, by the way” you stuttered, suddenly unsure what to say. His smile widened. “You’re a fan then?” Oh, if you only knew, you thought dreamily. “I guess you could say that” you responded, now smiling flirtatiously yourself. “Well then, what’s your favourite-” Roger’s question was cut off by the sudden reappearance of the bartender. You grabbed your drink while he gathered up the beers. “Want to meet the rest of the band?” He asked as he carefully stood up, laden with glasses. You jumped off your stool, careful not to spill any of your drink. “I’d love to” you beamed, perhaps a little too enthusiastic. Roger didn’t notice though, leading carefully back through the crowd to Queen’s table. Shit, you thought frantically, I’m going to meet Queen. Queen! Oh God, what do I say? I can’t mention the future, what if I break time or something? Have to be careful. Shit. Shit. 

“More drinks! Lovely! About time Roger, what were you doing over there darling?” Freddie grinned mischievously from the opposite side of his table as he spotted you shuffling along behind his bandmate. Roger rolled his eyes. “Oh shut it Fred. Everyone, this is Y/N. Y/N, this is Freddie, obviously, that’s Brian” -  the gangly, curly-haired guitarist waved cheerfully from his seat on Freddie’s left – “and that’s John. But we all call him Deaky” The bassist nodded shyly from Freddie’s other side, tucked into the corner. It took most of your determination not to gush hopelessly over the. Actual. Real-life. Queen. But you managed it. Just. “Hi” you said shyly. Roger, now carrying only a single drink in one hand, wrapped his free arm reassuringly around your waist. It felt… nice. “Um, I really enjoyed the show tonight” you nearly squeaked out, trying not to gabble. Freddie smiled. “I’m glad. What’s your favourite song then?” You tried to think quickly. Fuck, I have to make sure it’s something that actually exists in 1974. Shit. Shit. “Ahh… Liar? It rocks, I guess…” This response seemed to please Freddie. “Finally” he said dramatically, “someone who appreciates my art. Good work Roger” You could have sworn he winked on the last word. The drummer rolled his eyes, shaking his head in exasperation. He quickly drained his pint, slamming the empty glass on the table. “Shut it Fred” He glared at the dark-haired singer, who just smiled naughtily. “I need some fresh air. Come on” Roger pulled you along with him as he moved towards the door of the crowded pub. You followed enthusiastically, finishing your drink on the way and setting the glass down as you passed an empty table.

The air outside was crisp and cool enough to be refreshing without chilling you to the bone. “Sorry about that” Roger murmured, gazing intently at your face. “It’s okay” you murmured back, looking into those gorgeous blue eyes. Suddenly they glinted with mischief. “Is it okay if I kiss you?” He asked, leaning down. “Yes” you breathed. His lips were on yours in an instant. It was blissful. He was insistent, but not rough. You opened your lips for him and quickly felt his tongue gently exploring your mouth. Holy fuck, I’m kissing the Roger Taylor. In 1974. Holy fuck. Your brain quickly slipped from frantic babbling to incoherent screaming as you felt Roger’s hands curl around your waist and brush along your back. Suddenly Roger broke the kiss. You nearly whined at the loss of contact. “Wanna come home with me, continue this there?” he asked huskily. I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be in 1974, you mused. Might as well enjoy it while I’m here. “I’d love to” you replied breathily. “Great!” Roger smiled broadly, his eyes crinkling slightly at the corners. “Let’s just tell the others we’re going.”

You could barely contain your excitement as you arrived at Roger’s flat. Holy shit, your brain gabbled, Roger Taylor’s taking me back to his place. The Roger Taylor. Is taking me home. Holy fucking shit. When you arrived at his front door, he pushed you against it and snogged you senseless for the second time that night. He broke the kiss for a few seconds to open the door, holding you close all the while, then pushed you through it, his lips on yours again. You kissed frantically as you crossed his loungeroom, shedding clothes all the while. By the time you fell onto his couch together, both of you were in your underwear. You mentally thanked God you weren’t wearing anything noticeably out of place in 1974, although you thought Roger was unlikely to notice at this point. Roger lay on top of you, his face inches from yours. You could feel him against your stomach getting harder by the second. “Want me to show you a good time?” he growled, voice raspy with lust. “Why else would I be here?” you replied cheekily. “Well, if you’re going to be like that,” he grinned momentarily, then kissed a sensitive spot on your neck, smiling at the way you moaned at the sensation. He dotted kisses along your body, his fingers trailing the path of his mouth, until he arrived at your entrance, already slick with arousal. He grinned up at you, eyes now hooded with desire. “Do you want me to make you feel good?” he asked huskily, gently running his fingers along your folds. You moaned in delight at the stimulation. “I need you to use your words, love” “Yes, Roger, keep going, please” You moaned out the last word as Roger put his lips to your clit, licking at it expertly. You nearly screamed when he plunged a rough, calloused finger into you moments later. “You like that, babe?” “Yes, Roger, don’t stop-” Your words drowned in another moan as he added a second finger, dragging them gently across your dripping walls. His other hand held your hips down as his fingers roamed your walls until they found the spot that made you cry out with pleasure. He rubbed the spot in delicate circles while his tongue continued to lick at your clit, applying the perfect amount of pressure. It wasn’t long before you felt your climax begin to crash over you. Roger coaxed you through it, licking at you until you whined from overstimulation. As you came down from quite possibly the quickest orgasm you had ever experienced, you realised again that Roger Taylor had just eaten you out like a bloody expert. Looks like 1974’s gonna be fun after all, you thought happily.

***                                         

You awoke the next morning feeling strange. You were disoriented at first, until you remembered where you were. And when. I slept with Roger Taylor last night. I’m in Roger Taylor’s bed. In 1974. Holy shit, I just fucked the drummer from Queen. Wow. You stifled a satisfied giggle, not wanting to disturb the snoring man beside you. Even when he’s asleep he’s fucking gorgeous, you realised. You eased yourself out of bed very gently so as not to wake Roger. But as soon as you stepped away from the bed you felt weird. Very weird. Sort of… insubstantial, like you weren’t entirely there. Suddenly you just knew you were about to be pulled back to your time. Shit. My clothes are in the other room. You bolted out into the loungeroom and gathered your clothes in a flash. Oh no, I won’t get to say goodbye. He’ll hate me. Oh shit, what do I do? At that moment your eye fell on a notebook and pen sitting on the coffee table. You darted over, clinging carefully to your clothing, and scribbled out a note as quickly as you could. I stayed as long as I could. It’s complicated. I’m sorry. Y/N xx You barely finished the last x before you felt yourself lurching forward, feeling like you were falling again. You dropped the pen as you fell into darkness.

You opened your eyes to a familiar sight. Your own white-painted bedroom, in your own flat. You were home. The light streaming through the gap in the blinds indicated it was morning. Suddenly you remembered something. You’d had plans last night, before you went to 1974. You were supposed to go out for drinks with some friends. Wait what day is it? Where’s my phone? Retrieving it from your bedside table, you saw a stream of messages and multiple missed calls waiting for you. Shit, how long was I gone? You checked the date. The day you disappeared was only yesterday. You breathed a sigh of relief. Aside from the friends you were supposed to meet last night, no-one would have noticed your absence. You immediately sent a message to the group chat apologising for missing last night, claiming you were sick yesterday, and had gone to sleep for so long you’d missed all their messages and calls until now. You thought it was a pretty weak excuse, but your friends seemed to believe it. Besides, it was very unusual for you to even cancel plans ahead of time, let alone ghost on them completely, so you were fairly sure you’d get away with it this time.

Lying in your own bed, in your own flat, in your own time, you weren’t entirely sure your whole 1974 experience hadn’t been some weird intense dream. Maybe you really were sick yesterday, and it was just an unusually vivid fever dream. I don’t remember feeling sick yesterday though. You got out of bed gingerly, feeling sore as you turned around and stood up. If it was just a dream, why am I sore? Glancing down as you started to move, you noticed a mark on your hip. You rushed to your mirror. The shape was unmistakable. It was definitely a hickey. You could see one high up on your inner thigh too. And you remembered exactly how you got them. So it wasn’t a dream then. It really happened. It all really happened.

***                                             

You never told anyone about your little trip to the past. No one would have believed you if you did. As time went on, you sometimes didn’t believe it yourself. It just seemed to incredible to be true. Even if it was true, the question remained: how did it happen? And why did you go to that particular day in 1974, when Queen just happened to be playing? Was it just a coincidence? Or was something more going on? If there was, you had no idea what it could be. In any case, after many days of contemplation you decided you were better off chalking the whole adventure up to experience and moving on with your life. Little did you know, that would be far more difficult than you ever could have expected…

***

You slipped back into your routine easily once you decided to get on with life. Work, eat, sleep, repeat. Your friends, thankfully, didn’t make a big deal out of your non-appearance that one night. You weren’t entirely convinced they believed your excuse, but they seemed happy enough to let it slide anyway. They even invited you out again a few weeks later. Clearly you were forgiven. You had fun that night, even if you spent a lot of it feeling decidedly odd. Not drunk – you restricted yourself to one glass of wine, you weren’t in the mood to get messy – just… not quite right. The feeling was still present when you woke up the next morning, but a glance at your calendar indicated your period was due about now. That explains it then. Just good old PMS. You hoped you’d start to feel more normal once your monthly visitor showed up.

A week later, though, and it hadn’t arrived yet. Maybe the time travel’s thrown me off? It must have affected my body somehow… But then a week late all too quickly turned into two, with no signs of change yet. The overlong cycle didn’t bother you much – cycles could be weird sometimes after all – until the day you went to eat some yoghurt for breakfast only to be wracked by a huge wave of nausea the second the smell of it hit you. You dropped your breakfast instantly and sprinted for the bathroom. Small and old-fashioned though it was, you always found the discoloured white tiles rather soothing. As you cleaned yourself up a few minutes later, enjoying the cool tiles against your feet, something suddenly clicked in your head. Oh shit, you thought with alarm, I’m two weeks late and the smell of yoghurt just made me throw up. I can’t be pregnant though, surely? I haven’t been with anyone in months. Except… prompted a voice in your head. Roger Taylor. In 1974. But that can’t have… seriously? I fucking time travel to the past for one night, one fucking night, and end up pregnant by a bloody rockstar? Seriously universe? Wait… Didn’t we use protection though? Now you came to think of it, you definitely remembered condoms being used at some point that night, but your memory was a bit fuzzy from about round three onwards. Round three… you smirked. Shit, that was a good night. Not now! snapped an angry voice in your head. Suddenly you crashed back to earth, feeling sick again. As you bent down to empty your stomach into the toilet once again, a single thought ran through your mind. Holy fuck, this can’t be happening.

Part 2 is coming soon! Please comment or reblog and tell me what you think!

[maryxglz]

Tom Hiddleston at the stage door of Harold Pinter Theatre after performing ‘Betrayal’ on March 23, 2019.

maiky_36: “A princess, a villain & a superher”

junamy_: "So I met Tom and died"

bellachenxu

nirosta: "With the exceptionally talented and gracious @twhiddleston #TomHiddleston #Betrayal"

lalaleelau: "HELLO MY DEAR GOD OF MISCHIEF!!!! SEE YOU IN ENDGAME!!! 😘😘"

@franzwho: “I just met tom hiddleston and I may have died”

@franzwho: "we cute af and tom hiddleston is just bloody brilliant"

ukiddingmeright: "After all these years, I finally got my pic with him! Also that height"

busmyy: "Thank you for the photo, and again; the play was amazing and sorry for being mega exhausted and not alert at all 😅"

@helloshaunni: “So I met Tom Hiddleston today... Casual”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Maiky (@maiky_36) on Mar 24, 2019 at 1:38am PDT

maiky_36: Me telling Tom how inspirational and positive human being he is and how much I appreciate his work.

[nicole-goddessofloki]

Tom‘s Spirit Week

Just one more day waiting! But first: #FavoriteTomFriday! For today I made again 3 collages. The first collage‘s theme is my favorite Tom Hiddleston moments from his 37th birthday – today. Here they come:

1. *Since I saw Early Man after the man‘s 37th birthday, I made an exception for this. In Early Man Tom does the voice of bad guy Lord Nooth. We know Tom is the king of accents! Here you can hear Tom do a French accent. There is a bath scene in which Lord Nooth gets an massage, you just got to see the Behind The Scenes footage of that! I really loved all the extra footage on the DVD.

2. The promotion he did for Avengers Infinity War even though his character only was seen in the first 5 minutes. Also for knowing Loki‘s ‘fate’ in this movie for more than 2 years..

3. Tom Hiddleston as Mary Poppins, or do I need to say: Mary Ploppins? Tom starred in the short video ‘Leading Lady Parts’ from which in the end you saw posters of Tom being the lead female role in films such as Mary Poppins & Wonder Woman. Leading Lady Parts sarcastically shows how hard the movie industry for women can be. Leading Lady Parts (produced by Rebel Park Productions) is an initiative of the Hear Her campaign in the United Kingdom, in which women who are normally not heard are given the opportunity to give their opinion on all kinds of subjects. In this short movie actresses audition do a serious role, but get the craziest requests. This becomes painfully clear when the casting agent, played by Catherine Tate, proclaims: 'It's not rocket science darling. We're just asking you to be thin and curvy, sexy and innocent. Thin, sexy, hooker, virgin with boobs and hips. " In the end because of the casting Agent pickiness, Tom Hiddleston is given the female roles instead. I appreciate it a lot that Tom is part of projects about women‘s rights. We all deserve to be treated fairly and not to be judged because of the way we look.

Tom said about this:

“I had so much admiration for everyone who's come forward and spoken up, and the movement of Time's Up and Me Too. I wanted to find a way to help but I was very conscious of it not being necessarily my story. First thing I felt that it was important to do very actively was to listen, to read, to hear so that women could tell their stories and begin to talk about how we might change the environment.” Time's Up

4. Suddenly out of the blue, there was this picture of Tom Hiddleston & Josh Wilson posted by Wilson Worldwide Productions Something about a secret project. I‘m still very curious, because we still don‘t know what it is! I think it‘s something very spectacular! We got something to look forward to! He also posted a second photo (that‘s the one in the collage) in which he tagged me & a few other Tom Hiddleston/Loki fan accounts in. That totally made my day, so thank you Josh!

5. This stands for all the Comic Cons he did. He healed a lot of fan‘s hearts (Which were still broken because of Infinity War). And even those who weren‘t there (including me) this angel reached with his wings. There were plenty of lovely pictures, lovely footage of the Panel‘s. I personally loved his face expression when a little boy asked him if Loki was truly dead. There also was this moment Tom said the words: “Know you are not alone!”, which meant a lot to me. We all have obstacles to face and unfortunately most of us had to deal with bullies (in the past). But where I‘m mostly grateful for is the fact that for every con there were fans collecting fans letters from all over the world, bonded in fan-books. Therefore I know a few of my letters, cards (Christmas card, Birthday card) are given to him! I think we can be blessed to be in such a wonderful fandom! ACE Comic Con.

6. On the 30th October Tom and Josie Rourke talked at the Alan Howard / JW3 Speaker Series. It was a lovely and inspiring interview, I was able to watch later on Youtube. He talked about how he stepped out of his comfort zone, which has inspired me to do the same. When I hear this man talk about acting; whether it‘s in film, series or theatre; it‘s so so visible I‘m listening to a man who found his passion and as I said it before: He truly has put his heart and soul it. Perhaps I do not know how to properly bring this into words, but I hope you understand what I mean. I think many people can see him as an example, given the fact for example how he has grown in +/- 20 years. From liking to do voices as a kid to this passion and talent which goes much deeper than just the word ‘acting’. He does inspire people to go take their passion to the next level as well.

7. Tom Hiddleston‘s first social media post in (what was it?) 2 years: Loki. More stories to tell. More mischief to make. More to come. That literally broke the internet! What Ralph Breaks the Internet? No, Tom Hiddleston breaks the internet! The #LokiSeries (#Disney+) confirmed by the man himself! I‘m so excited for this whole thing. Patient, patient.. But I‘m freaking out inside! Can‘t wait!

8. Tom also did a lot for charity this year. The picture that I chose is Tom visit to the Great Ormond Street Hospital and Children's Charity. He gave the children something they‘ll never forget! Online you were able to write a Christmas wish for the children, which got printed on a Christmas Stocking. On the photo he holds (I assume) his message for the Children. In general he did a lot for Children this year. Tom also donated for the Justice and Equality Fund which was all about the issues of sexual harassment and gender inequality. I remember people said Tom was late during the Avengers Infinity War screening/premiere in London, he met with children in co-operation from the Starlight Children's Foundation before. I cannot think of a better reason to be late for an official event ;).

9. This photo is taken by BBC Radio 2 during the Zoe Ball Breakfast Show. It‘s truly one of my favorite pictures yet! There he spoke about ‘#Betrayal’ which will be hitting the theatre in London next month. He also spoke a little about the Loki Series & about the #Nightmanager season 2, but he wasn‘t alowed to say much about it yet. What better to start your Friday morning (it was a Friday) with then listening to Tom‘s voice on the radio! They also had some real good music in-between the talks. I heard ABBA, Journey (Don‘t stop Believing) & a live performance of a song of No Doubt. Also they spoke about the film 'Mary Queen of Scots' which premiered that week. I found it very impressive!

(The Jamie Lloyd Company Official London Theatre)

The second collage shows some random pictures of Tom I really like + my favorite roles he portrayed other than Loki! Those are Thomas Sharpe in ‘Crimson Peak’, Hank Williams in ‘I Saw The Light’ (the image shows my fave scene: the Baby scene!), Prince Hal in ‘The Hollow Crown’ (I am planning to do a Hollow Crown marathon tomorrow on his birthday!) and I just found out F. Scott Fitzgerald from ‘Midnight in Paris’ is missing. I‘ve watched that film on his birthday last year. In Midnight in Paris a writer (Owen Wilson) literally finds his inspiration in the 20s. And one of my favorite moments of Tom still is when a baby easily got him distracted during an #Avengers Interview. He turns to the baby and says: “Hello baby..”, so adorable!

Last collage is dedicated to Loki! (How else, this blog isn‘t called Goddess of Loki for nothing!) I chose some nice photo‘s I hadn‘t used for We Share What We Want Wednesday yet + a few of my fave LokiTom moments.

I wish Tom a lovely 38th birthday tomorrow! (Of course I wish you all a lovely #TomHiddleston Birthday tomorrow!)

[westendin]

10 GREAT REASONS TO TAKE AN ACTING CLASS

Maybe you've always dreamed of being an actor, but never yet had the chance to try it, and don't want to put it off any more? You might have done a few plays at school, or a beginner's course once upon a time, and would love to get back into it. You might work in another aspect of theatre, or teach drama, and would love to communicate better with actors or students. All of these are great reasons to sign up for an acting course this Spring.

However, having taught and directed adults from all walks of life for nearly twenty years, I’ve seen acting offer benefits that go far deeper than "mere" professional training. Here are ten ways in which taking an acting class can enhance your day-to-day existence.

1. IT'S A GREAT WAY TO MEET PEOPLE

Perhaps the new term has brought you to a new town to study or work? Or your life circumstances have changed in some way? Maybe all your friends are married with babies, or you're sick of the pub, perhaps you've recently retired or gotten divorced, or you feel stuck in your social circle and would like to make new friends? By its very nature, a drama class breaks down barriers between people through group and partner work, building trust and, most importantly, shared laughter. As students focus on creating work together, interaction happens without thinking about it too much, friendships spark, post-class social occasions start to spring up, and you suddenly find yourself with a whole new social circle which has the added zing of creative collaboration.

2. IT'LL BOOST YOUR CHARISMA

One of the silliest myths around acting is the idea that "Presence" is some magical thing that "special" people like Cillian Murphy or Saoirse Ronan have, while the rest of us are unremarkable mortals. Of course, some people may have cultivated their presence to a greater degree, but it's accessible to everyone with a body and breath. Stage Presence is simply the ability to be fully present in your body and in the moment, so that you can access the power needed to radiate your being out into the audience and respond truthfully to your fellow players. Nearly every style of acting training seeks, through different techniques, to bring students into this experience, which makes it easier and easier to be present in our outer lives as well as on stage. You'll notice over time how much more grounded and magnetic you feel!

3. IT'LL SPARK YOUR IMAGINATION

And one of the most ridiculous myths about becoming an adult is that you lose your imagination. Or you might have always felt that some people are just born more imaginative. That's not necessarily true, it just looks like that because, for any number of reasons, some people just find imagination easier to access - a little like presence. You just have to trust that it's there. Indeed, imagination begins with presence, being still and observing, and then taking what you observe and asking questions about it and that way transforming it. A good drama class will allow the space for people to try out ideas in their raw form, and then learn how to shape them. A good facilitator will keep an eye out to make sure that everyone in the group has space to explore and that people listen to one another. It can often take time to trust yourself to follow your creative impulses, but over six to twelve weeks, if you go with what comes up, you will definitely surprise yourself.

4. YOU WILL LEARN TO EXPRESS YOURSELF MORE CLEARLY

For students whose first language is not English, an acting class is an ideal place to utilise their existing linguistic knowledge in all kinds of dramatic situations, to learn new words and phrases as they are encountered in scripts and improvisations, and master the subtleties of how words and syllables are stressed. Clearer expression is also a by-product for native speakers, as we explore breath support, resonance and diction for the voice. As we commit to our characters, we learn how to commit to the words we speak and what we are trying to achieve with our words. We become aware of how we use our body to express ourselves, and notice the things we might be doing which unconsciously counteract the message we want to get across. We learn how to ground ourselves and connect with the space and audience before speaking, which is invaluable for those with a horror of public speaking, but whose work demands it of them from time to time

5. YOUR CONCENTRATION AND MEMORY WILL IMPROVE

The best acting exercises will have multiple benefits. For instance, many exercises around developing physical presence have a knock-on effect on your concentration with their demands upon you to be ready and responsive in the moment. Getting on top of your cues in performance trains your mind not to drift, while learning lines and memorising (and most importantly, making sense of) of the actions that have to happen do wonders for your sense of recall, which can help stave off memory loss later in life.

6. YOUR INNER CHILD WILL THANK YOU

My absolute favourite thing as a teacher of adult drama is registering the difference at the end of class between the shy, guarded individuals who come in after a long day of conforming to the demands of work and/or home life - of responsibility and productivity, of fitting in to the space they have carved in the world - and their sparkly-eyed dopplegangers who bounce out of the room full of energy, mischief and a kind of breathless incredulity because they have just played for two or three hours, with nothing too serious at stake, and nothing too heavy to take home with them. This is because drama at its heart is gorgeously ephemeral, and yet powerfully transformative.

7. IT'S A SAFE SPACE TO MAKE FRIENDS WITH YOUR SHADOW

And my absolute favourite thing about being an actor is playing a villain, because, let's face it, behaving badly is ridiculously fun sometimes. You get to do and say things that you'd never be allowed to (and probably wouldn't really want to) in the outside world. This is me, for instance, playing an evil nun called Lucifer - and having a ball! Everyone needs that safety valve where they can own and release the darker aspects of their nature, take them out into the light in such a way that they are not acted out on anyone in reality, but also to find the power in parts of themselves they might have repressed. Shadow selves are not always bad - in fact it has been said they contain the real gold in your personality - they might just be modes of being you might have been afraid of, or might not have permitted yourself to explore. An experienced facilitator will create a safe space for all of this to happen by keeping a strong boundary between acting and reality, and, especially for beginners, always keeping it at the level where it is fun. An acting class should never be therapy, but at the same time, you never know the gold you might find!

8. IT WILL BUILD YOUR CONFIDENCE

One of the most common questions I get asked when people phone me up to enquire about courses is “I’m really shy, can I still do the course?” and my answer is always “If you are shy, and want to get out of yourself, this course is the best thing you can do!” The first thing I ask them to do is to be aware of what their personal line is in terms of what they are comfortable doing - it varies from person to person and situation to situation - and then go the equivalent of one or two steps over that line week by week, thereby incrementally pushing that line forward. Most traumatic memories around performing in public from childhood come from where the personal boundaries of a child are not respected and they are pushed too far into the deep end of a situation before they are ready. Confidence begins with minding your own boundaries and learning how to challenge them in a safe way. A good teacher should be able to sense those boundaries and know how to respect them, but also how to safely coax you that one or two steps over the line. However, the best teacher will make sure you are having so much fun, that you won’t even notice that this has happened!

9. YOU'LL ENJOY WATCHING MOVIES, TV PROGRAMMES AND THEATRE SHOWS MORE

As you learn different filters through which to observe the world in order to interpret and create characters and the relationships between them, you will gain a deeper appreciation for how the media you watch are put together. You’ll see differences in approach, for instance, actors who work from outside-in as opposed to inside-out. (I will write a more detailed blog post on this in future, but if you’re curious now, come along to a class!) Having worked hard at mastering a particular technique in class, you cannot fail to be wowed when more experienced artists make it look effortless. The experience of mere entertainment gives way to the more satisfactory experience of craft and you’ll probably start enjoying long spirited discussions after evenings at the cinema or theatre!

10. YOU CAN'T BEAT FUN, FREE, LIVE ENTERTAINMENT FROM YOUR PEERS ON A WEEKLY BASIS!

It’s great being entertained by professional actors, whether live or on the golden or silver screens, but I have to say nothing entertains or satisfies me quite as much as being in a room with my peers, creating work from our own experiences and for our own enjoyment. And nothing makes me laugh quite so much either. When you think about it, this is the way people used to entertain themselves - telling stories to one another, enacting them with whatever was to hand, singing songs, doing our party-pieces. This is how society used to come together and it sometimes makes me sad that this, along with so much else, is outsourced to people who have been airbrushed beyond all recognisable resemblance.

For more information, visit our website, or call 0330 088 4194 in order to enquire or book.

[musicalmatrix]

TYSM for fighting the good fight (for lack of a better term--you're clearly not starting mischief or what-have-you) post-Tonys wrt DEH and GC and Bette and Falsettos and the lot. I think lots of people tend to get swept up in defending the stuff they hold dear without stepping back and considering artistry and how the theatre world is/is going to be shaped by this stuff, so I appreciate your POV as someone that tries to look past fandoms and allegiances!

Hey thank you. I know I’m not perfect and definitely am biased from time to time, but honestly, I just want people to (like you said) consider how all of this is affecting where we go from here. DEH is a good show, but if we ignore its flaws and praise it more than something groundbreaking like The Great Comet, we’re going to get more of the same stuff we’ve been getting for the entirety of theater. I mean, Next to Normal got shafted, and then it took ten years for another musical that discussed mental illnesses to hit Broadway, and it did so half-heartedly.

There’s a lot of work to be done in the present. But thank you again for the kind encouraging words.

[houstonphotojourney]

Today I had the pleasure of entering the Russian General store in Houston, Texas and having the chance to sit down and speak with Mr. Alexander Kogan while his business partner, Ms. Anna Levitin tended to the business, they have shared for over 20 years! Ms. Levitin is a bit shy and didn’t wish to be photographed, although you’ll have to trust me that she is quite the attractive lady!  Smart as a whip too according to Mr. Kogan! I think he feels a bit badly that she’s been taking on so much more than her fair share of the work load since he became ill as he mentioned his gratitude more than once toward Ms. Anna Levitin.  Very touching to see these two friends in business together still after so many years.  What a team!

Mr. Alexander Kogan – Partner/Owner of The Russian General Store

Mr. Kogan was born in Bukhara, Uzbekistan back when it was part of the Soviet Union – it is now an independent state.  However, he spent the majority of his years growing up in Leningrad, (now St. Petersburg).  Although he has travelled quite a bit in his lifetime!

Mr. Kogan was kind enough to send me this photo of him from his travels in Central Asia (back row with beard)

Mr. Kogan (left) in Central Asia

When I asked Mr. Kogan why he came to America? He replied, “Curiosity!”.  What a bold move!!! He had to give up his Russian citizenship in order to come to America. Back home in the Soviet Union, Mr. Kogan was a degreed Biologist and Zoologist. He was helped upon his arrival and supported by an International rescue committee. Initially, he took a job in a commercial printing company.  Kogan had been a photographer in the Soviet Union and soon realized by his estimate, that the Soviet Union was lagging behind by about 30 years where photography was concerned so he quickly caught up.  Nowadays, there is not a lag however in technology at all in Russia.  Eventually he became the Head of a Research Photography Unit at Baylor College of Medicine. One thing led to another and he ended up here with Ms. Levitin and this marvelous Russian General Store!  Although Mr. Kogan has never returned to his homeland, he does still Skype with his remaining family back home.  

  Adorable, hand-painted Russian gifts are throughout the store and are gorgeous! I loved the card selection too!

I could have sat and listened to Mr. Kogan and asked him questions for hours!!! He has that gleam in his eye of mischief and a great sense of humor to match his fun personality!! Ms. Anna Levitin on the other hand, was steadily busy running the store while we were chatting it up.  According to Mr. Kogan,  his partner, Ms. Levitin has been doing the majority of the work running the store since he became ill.  You can tell just how appreciative he is that he has a strong woman like Ms. Levitin as the primary care-taker of The Russian General Store!

  There are tons of books, trinkets, and food! I was thinking how nice it would be for a Russian child to have a book from “home” when living/visiting here long-term. Nice to know where their parents can shop to bring some comforts of home to their new home here!

When I asked him what his favorite thing in America was, he stated, “In Russia you belong to the government, here to yourself”.  He had me laughing about how when he first arrived he just ate nothing but meat practically his first 15 years here as in Russia it was so expensive that you were unable to get the same meat, etc. back then.  It is impossible for us here in America to truly be able to understand all the differences in culture, lifestyle, etc. and times have also changed since, for both countries. Although, he did feel Russian’s in general might be happier or at least have fewer worries such as medical care as everyone has health coverage there. Education is also at no cost provided you pass the required tests. Of course one must be sure to realize that this was 37 years ago that Mr. Kogan recalls these memories and is quick to point out that Russia is no longer this way.

  The Russian General Store at 9629 Hillcroft Avenue, Houston, TX 77096 has a fantastic collection of Russian and other hard to find beer and wine from all over the world!

  Even Kosher Wine! But I liked seeing all the different foods the most!

Mr. Kogan has a son here in Houston, Mikhail.  Mikhail turns out is an artist!  So, you know me…I HAD to see his work!!!  I am fortunate enough that Mr. Kogan sent me a few images of his work – thanks!

  I love the use of the bold colors of Mikhail’s works and although they are a bit “dark” in nature, I think a lot of children are terrified of Santa and it sorta cracked me up! You can see more of Mikhail’s works on Facebook.

Mikhail Kogan’s artistic concentration is mainly rooted in surrealism, post-modern expressionism and abstract art. Through the use of colored pencils, water colors, acrylic paint, and charcoal, Mikhail creates original works of art with meaning and personal expression. Mikhail creates unique originals and commissioned art that is open to individual interpretation and understanding. 

I also learned of Mr. Kogan and his partner. Ms. Anna Levitin’s sponsorship of “Around The Corner”, which is a Folk Dancing Center and Children’s Theatre. What generous people! Hear Anna puts a lot of work into this as well!! Seems Ms. Levitin is always on the go and working hard!

“Za Uglom” (“Around the corner”): their dancing group “Uzori” and rehearsal of children theater for their performance of “The wizard of Oz”

Nice that the dance troop and children’s theatre is so close to their hearts!

What a great collection of interesting items!! I HAD to get 2 chocolate eggs with prizes inside!

Hope you enjoyed!  Next time you want to treat yourself to a fun adventure, check out The Russian General Store! 

As always, I thank each of you for your support and value you all! Thanks for visiting!

Elizabeth and Max

Russian General Store in Houston, Texas Today I had the pleasure of entering the Russian General store in Houston, Texas and having the chance to sit down and speak with Mr.

[could-have-beens]

Henry Shields + making Mischief Movie Night In a ‘family friendly’ show 2/?

➜ Lasers and Quasars, 12/27/2020

bonus:

[personinthepalace]

Bryony Corrigan, 15 February 2021

From Bryony Corrigan’s instagram

[could-have-beens]

endless list of mischief moments that make me laugh 2/?

➜ A Trial to Watch, S01E03 of The Goes Wrong Show