#production wise obviously everything is perfect

[melloneah]

slightly disappointed in the new billie eilish album

[magics-neptunes-things]

La Comedia del Amor

Hi guys!

I miss Alexia so this is an Alexia fic. I hope you will also like it, it took me quite a while to write. Also I don't know how I feel about this one.

Have a good read!

Resume: Someone tries to interfere in your relationship, making your girlfriend believe that you are unfaithful to her. Spoiler, you are not.

TW: Mention of deception, manipulation

______________________________________________________________

Since the beginning of your relationship, you have made a habit of picking up Alexia at the airport when she returns to Barcelona. This is a precious and important moment for you, allowing you to find the woman you are in love with as quickly as possible.

At the beginning of your relationship, you waited wisely in your car, a little behind the crowd not to get caught. But since it’s now public knowledge that you are together, you don’t hesitate to go and wait in the arrivals hall. Alexia’s teammates don’t even tease her anymore, as they are used to your little routine.

With Alexia away from you for an international match, you salute Ale’s Spanish teammates playing for FC Barcelona. So like half the team. Alexia taking time to pass the security doors, you exchange with pleasure a few words with Ona and Cata until your beloved blonde finally arrives.

Smiling, you spread your arms for a hug and you are a little surprised by the strength with which she almost throws herself in them once arrived at your height. You let go of an amused little laugh and tightens her against you, smelling her hair, your previous interlocutors having left to leave you your intimacy.

"Hola mi Amor" you whisper before gently kissing her cheek.

"Hola" she responds quietly before smiling when you hand her the bouquet of flowers that you brought for her.

Mix of red roses and lemon blossoms, your mother being a florist she would risk disinheriting you if you didn’t pay attention to the flowers you choose. The lemon blossoms having the meaning of being a messenger of perfect union and eternal love, it seems to you rather well chosen. As for the roses, they are simply Alexia’s favorites.

"Is everything okay?" you ask Alexia once in your car.

Even though Alexia isn’t the most talkative person in the world, she has hardly spoken a word since you left the airport. On the other hand, you surprise her several times looking at you from the corner of her eyes. When you turn in her direction this time, she seems to be studying your face carefully.

"Yes, I’m just tired"

You give her a compassionate smile and gently place your hand on her thigh. A second later, you feel her hand on yours, squeezing it gently.

"I missed you" you tell her, looking at her again, your eyes passing from the road to Alexia’s face while driving.

"I missed you too" says the player before turning her head to look out the window. "How’s the movie going?"

"Good for now. But we just tried our clothes and made the readings for now"

Alexia hums, letting her gaze glide over the city as it passes before her eyes. You are an actress, it was at a charity event organized by FC Barcelona that you met Alexia. Being a pure Catalan product too, the club has tried several times to invite you for this event, but it never fit in your calendar. Except that that year, you got to go.

And we can’t say that you had the impression to make a good move with Alexia during this evening. Struck by the beauty of the captain, you tried for a long time to have a conversation with her. Realizing she was obviously not interested, you finally gave up and went sadly sip your drink somewhere else. Well, that was before she slipped into your DMs to apologize for her behavior the same night.

You’ll learn later that it was Jenni who forced her to write to you, having seen your interactions during the evening. And much, much, later that Alexia just panicked about the love at first sight she had about you too.

********

Gone all week for the profits of your film, it’s with great relief that you come out of Uber taking you back to the apartment you share with Alexia. Arriving early in the morning, it’s barely 8am when you push the front door. You didn’t ask Alexia to pick you up. Her hours of recovery are precious and you have a strong tendency to put her before the rest. Because of the time difference since you were in the States, you couldn’t talk to Alexia as much as you would have liked.

You knew she’d be up when you arrived, her morning routine never changing. What you certainly didn’t expect is to be welcomed by a real fury. You didn’t even have time to open your mouth as you almost got knocked out by a phone that crashes against the wall, a few inches from your face.

"What the…?"

"Did you cheat on me?" a shout goes up.

"What?"

The vision of your girlfriend is terrifying. First because she is visibly very angry, second because her green eyes you love so much are red and swollen, meaning that she must have cried for a long time before you arrived. And thirdly because she seems to be at the end of her nerves when she resumes speaking while shouting.

"You heard me. Did you cheat on me? Did you sleep with her?"

"Alexia, what are you talking about?"

You have been getting rid of your backpack and suitcase for a long time at this point, even if you didn't step further into the apartment. Leaning forward to grab Alexia’s phone that almost knocked you out, you mechanically glance at the screen. By miracle the phone only has a slight scratch, but that’s not what catches your attention. When you see the image open, you feel your stomach fall in your heels. Immediately looking back at Alexia, you hurry to talk.

"It’s not what you think"

"Don’t you have better than that?" Alexia laughed coldly.

The image certainly is disturbing. It shows you in a car with one of the actress with whom you share the movie poster. You just bend over to kiss her on the cheek and say goodbye, like two friends. Except that with the pixels left on the picture, we can wonder if it’s a kiss or a kiss that you are exchanging.

"Alexia I swear..."

"Don't touch me!"

You moved in her direction and reached out to touch her, but she retreats from you as quickly as if she had burned herself.

"First I get messages that tell me to beware of her and that you are far too close for it to be normal and then this? Don’t take me for an idiot Y/N"

"Who sent you messages?" you ask with a frown.

"It doesn’t matter! Fuck! I can’t believe you’re doing this to me!"

"But I did nothing!"

You raised your voice too, mixed between the panic that the situation inspires you and the annoyance of not being believed. You know Alexia doesn’t tolerate betrayal and lying. If she doesn’t change her mind, there are big risks to your story ending quickly.

"Stop lying!"

Alexia shout a last time at you before rushing to your bedroom and slamming the door, leaving you standing there with her phone still in your hand. Your heart break when you hear her crying behind the door. Deep and long sobs.

You wait a few seconds before knocking on the door.

"Ale?"

But no answer comes back to you, except a "fuck off" whispered a few seconds later. With a heavy heart, you will finally fall on the sofa of your living room. You impatiently wipe the tears rolling over your cheeks, wondering how you could switch to loving words exchanged on the phone before taking off at that, in just 16 hours.

Yes, well, you know. That famous picture. Your phone rings and a message from the other actress in the picture, Alicia, asks you if you arrived home, but you don’t answer her for the moment. The messages that Alexia mentioned to you come to your mind and you hesitate a split second before unlocking the screen and looking for them.

This is the first time you’ve searched in Alexia’s phone, even though you exchanged your codes a long time ago. Until now, you have always had blind trust in each other. You end up finding what you are looking for and the date of the messages tells you that they were send the night before Alexia returns from her international match.

From : Unknow Hola Alexia You have to keep an eye on Y/N Your precious girlfriend seems to get along too well with Alicia to be honest At the same time I understand it, you are constantly away She probably has physical needs, she’s Spanish after all, right? And Alicia is kind of hot ;)

Alexia never answer to this.

You’re nauseous just reading this, so you can’t imagine the state Alexia must have been in when she received these messages. Yet she didn’t tell you anything. You don’t know if it’s because she decided to trust you, if it’s because she found it unimaginable or because she was too afraid to talk to you about it. Unfortunately, the only person who can answer you is locked in your bedroom and refuses to speak to you.

After a few minutes of ruminating, you return to the door of your bedroom and knock again, more slowly this time.

"Alexia? Baby open to me please"

When the silence answers you, you sigh and let yourself go against the door until you find yourself sitting on the ground. Tired and suffering from jet lag, you lose track of time, lost in your thoughts. It's only when the door opens and you fall backwards that you come back to reality. Dressed to go out, Alexia has her gym bag in hand.

"Ale…" you start slowly, but you are quickly interrupted by your girlfriend’s cold voice.

"I have to go to the game. I don’t have time for your bullshit right now."

Within a few steps she got her phone back and got out of the apartment. After a few seconds, you grab yours and dial the number of the only person who can help you. A few bells ring before Jenni picks up.

"I’m not sure I want to hear from you, Y/N."

Alexia told her about the situation, you were almost sure of it. But she’s the only one who can make Alexia at least listening to you.

"I can imagine, but I swear this is all wrong, Jenni. I beg you, you have to help me…"

A silence answers you and you don’t know if Jenni is touched by your despair or if she can’t imagine you cheating on Alexia. Anyway, she finally sighs before answering you.

"Okay, I’ll be right there."

********

Jenni being injured and unable to train with her team, she is in Barcelona to see her relatives. It’s therefore only about twenty minutes later that she rings at the door of your apartment. You open the door and don’t even wait until she gets in to get back on your couch. Jennifer almost takes her feet in your bag that still hangs in the entrance, but you don’t react otherwise than by bringing your legs against your chest.

Sitting in front of you, Jenni looks at you for long seconds before speaking.

"Alexia is one of the most important people to me. I'll help you, but i need you to tell me only the truth."

With your throat knotted, you just nod your head, looking at your feet.

"Do you know who sent those messages?" Jenni asks.

"No" you whisper

"Did you cheat on Alexia?"

"No!" you answer louder.

"Are you interested in this Alicia in a way you shouldn’t?"

"Of course not!" you answer, frankly annoyed this time." You know I’m crazy about Alexia, why would I risk losing her that way? When we started dating, I promised you I would never hurt her and I really meant it. I love her. There’s only her."

Jenni looks at you thoughtfully for a few seconds, her face framed by her long black hair. Then she nods before resuming speech.

"Okay, sorry I had to ask. Now we’re gonna have to find out who’s behind this, or it’s not gonna stop and even get worse."

********

Alexia didn’t come home tonight after her game. You waited a long time for her after Jenni left, who assured she knew someone who could find the sender of the messages. You don’t know who she went to, probably Mapi. She's one of her closest friends.

You sent Alexia several unanswered messages, despite the notifications that she read them. You took the opportunity to repeat to her that you had nothing to reproach you, that you love her and ask her to come back home. Even if she didn’t answer it, you’re hoping that repeating those words will make her believe you.

It's by receiving a new message from Alicia that you realize that you haven't replied to her since earlier. So you simply answer her that you have arrived well and that you will see her again soon. You leave her message unanswered again when she offers you to go for a breakfast tomorrow morning. It's out of the question to leave the apartment and take the risk of missing Alexia’s return.

Despite your fatigue, you have been struggling all night not to fall asleep, going for a cool shower when you feel that your body can no longer fight against sleep. The day goes by without news of your girlfriend, despite the messages you continue to send her regularly. Alexia continues to read them, without answering you.

It’s only on Monday that you finally left your apartment, accepting a new proposal from Alicia to go for a coffee. You agree, as long as it’s close to your apartment. You really don’t want to mingle with the cheerful crowd of the people of Barcelona today, all you want is to keep the entrance of your building within sight.

You don’t know if Alicia heard about the photo or the article, if so she doesn’t mention it and you’re grateful for it. You really don’t want to talk about it. As you sit down at the table, your phone starts ringing, making you hope it’s Alexia. You can’t hide your disappointed face by seeing that it’s only Jenni’s name that appears. You pick up, however, hoping you can get some news from her. Apologizing to Alicia, you get up from the table to answer outside the café.

"Jenni?" you just say by leaning against the wall at the entrance of the establishment.

"Hola Chica. Where are you?"

The noise of traffic next to you isn't very discreet, you are not surprised by the question.

"At the coffee shop downstairs the apartment with Alicia."

"Okay. Get out of there quick."

"What? Why?"

"Don’t be as stubborn as Alexia and obey me for once, for God’s sake you’re unbearable, both of you!"

You are surprised by the striker’s outburst, but your surprise is quickly erased by another voice you hear grumbling behind her. You’re sure it’s Alexia’s. Your heart is racing and you’re peeling off the wall you were leaning on.

"Is that Alexia? Is she with you?"

"Madre mia. Yes. Now obey, go away from there, without turning back."

"Ok fine, I’m going home" you sigh softly.

Without hanging up, you do what she tells you. Maybe she’s half-crazy, but she has the advantage of being with Alexia. If she asked you to walk in on your hands, you would do it as long as you could talk to your girlfriend. However, as you enter the elevator of your building, Jenni surprises you once again.

"Ok, I’ll hang up now"

"What? No Jenni wait!"

Despite your attempts to call her back, she doesn't answer and it's by dropping a "Joder" that you finally open the door, after giving a punch in it.

"What a language for a young lady like you"

You jump when you realize that someone is in your apartment, relaxing when you realize that it's Jenni with an amused smile. Then your gaze quickly travels in search of a head with blond hair, only to fall on the head of thirty man with hair as dark as Jenni's.

"He's not Alexia" you mumble by crossing your arms on your chest.

Jenni rolls her eyes but cannot hide her amused smile, seeing the many feelings passing on your face.

"No, this is my cousin Mario."

"I want to see Ale" you whisper, your voice breaking on the last syllable.

Your despair is more than visible and you even hesitate to get on your knees to beg her. The disappointment is equal of the hope that you had to see her again, even if it lasted only two seconds.

"Not now" Jenni replies in a soft voice, as if hoping it hurts you less.

You sigh and close your eyes, trying to swallow your tears. You’ve been crying enough these past few days not to burst into tears in front of your girlfriend’s best friend. You don’t see the hesitant look that she exchange with Mario, nor the look of the brunette who flickers towards your bedroom, where Alexia has entrenched herself for the moment.

You didn’t wonder how Jenni got into the apartment because you’re so lost, but she’s the one who let them in. Sitting against the door of your room, Alexia listens carefully to your conversation. She too has gone through a thousand emotions in recent days and she is not sure she can face you until everything is settled in this story. Still, the urge to come and hug you is not what it lacks.

However, the four of you are surprised in your respective thoughts when your phone starts ringing.

"Who is it?" Jenni asks

"I don’t care" you pout like a teenager.

Sighing softly, Jenni grabs your phone and displays a satisfied look when seeing who is trying to reach you.

"Alicia. Perfect."

If you arch an eyebrow, Alexia tightens her jaw by hearing the name that she hates with all her soul now. And the fact that Mario has the same smile as his cousin loses you even more.

"I need you to answer the phone, tell her you had to rush back to your apartment but she can come to you. I’ll explain to you later."

You understand less and less what is happening, but you obey quickly, not wishing to attract the wrath of the brunette once again. The call only lasts a few seconds but you see Mario working on his computer at the same time.

"She’s coming" you mumble, widening your eyes when Jenni takes your face in her hands.

"Perfect. Now listen to me carefully. Mario managed to trace the personne who send the messages to Alexia and connect to his phone. This is the same person who contacted the journalists to take a picture of you in the car and it's still her who contacted journalists to come and take a picture of you right now."

"I don’t understand. Take a picture of what?"

"You and Alicia"

"But there is nothing to take pictures of!" You start panicking again "We would have just had coffee and I would have come back here right after… without her!" you suddenly add by realizing how can be taken your sentence. "I didn’t… I never…"

"Y/N focus please" says Jenni, spanning her finger behind your eyes.

You close your eyes and take a deep breath, trying to relax the ball that is your current nerve.

"I never cheated on Alexia" you repeat for what you feel is the hundredth time, desperately.

"I know chica. That’s why I need you to talk about the pictures with her, about Alexia seeing them and breaking up with you because of it. Which is not the case!"

Your panicked look didn’t escape her. Nothing seems to escape her these past few days, not even your innocence. She should have been an investigator.

"How’s that gonna prove to Alexia that I didn’t do anything?" you ask while arching an eyebrow.

But the doorbell rings and Jenni gives you a menacing look before running away to your room dragging Mario with her, almost crushing Alexia against the wall. You take the time to take a deep breath before opening the front door. You don’t need to put on a fake tortured face, your stress can be the case in the circumstances described by Jenni. You’re an actress after all, and you can act to save your relationship.

"Is everything okay?" Alicia asks, worried, the door barely open.

You nod and make her come in, absolutely unaware that Mario has installed a camera allowing them to follow the action from the bed of your room, where he's installed with Jenni and Alexia. She gradually becomes aware that the betrayal she thought she was suffering is not real, but if she needs video proof Jenni and Mario will give her.

"Not really" you mumble quietly before waving her to settle on the couch.

"What is happening?"

Alicia puts her hand on your knee with a sympathetic look, but the gesture fully make Alexia’s body tense. You don’t really realize the move yourself.

"Alexia saw pictures of both of us that can be confusing. She didn’t take it very well. She just left me"

"Oh... I'm so sorry"

The voice you use to speak doesn't have to be changed, despite you the memories of this fight remain deep in you. You still don’t know that your girlfriend now believes in your innocence.

"I’m going to slit her throat alive" Alexia mumbles between her teeth as Alicia discreetly approaches you on the couch, her knee against yours.

"Not now" Jenni mutters in return, putting a hand on Alexia’s mouth to silence her, without leaving the screen with her eyes.

The place you chose on the couch to sit doesn't allow them to have the best angle of view, but at least they can perfectly hear what you say and have a complete view of Alicia’s face. Yours is sometimes half masked.

"The worst is that I have nothing to blame myself about. I don't understand how she can imagine that I want to be with someone else"

"Well maybe she doesn’t deserve you, if she doesn’t trust you"

Surprise, you look up at Alicia. She and Alexia never really met, the times when Alexia is accompanying you for the first visits with the producers for example, Alicia was never around.

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing more. Trust is the cement of a couple, if they don’t trust how you want it to work? Maybe you should find someone who can offer you more than that"

You blink several times while looking at her before frowning. Your vulnerability almost made you forget the role Jenni asked you to play. If Alexia doubted, it was only because of the machinations of the person wishing to separate you and her.

It’s only when you feel her putting a strand of your hair back behind your ear before leaning towards you for the obvious purpose of kissing you that the pieces of the puzzle come together.

"It was you" you whisper, breathless because of the surprise.

"What?"

A little unhappy, she backs away as you jump off the couch, hands trembling.

"The messages to Alexia, the fake photos, it was you! How could I be stupid enough not to realize it before?"

Alicia also got up to get closer to you again, grabbing your arm in the process.

"Of course it was me! I knew we needed a little help to get together. I’ve been crazy about you since day one Y/N. I knew Alexia would stop us from being together, all I had to do was get her away from you. And it worked pretty well."

You’re so stunned that you waste three seconds wondering if you were the victim of a hidden camera or something. Unfortunately, Alicia takes advantage of these three seconds to get dangerously close to you, once again hopping to kiss you.

"Let go of my girlfriend!"

Alexia’s voice resounds with as much force as the sound of the slap she addresses to Alicia a few moments later. It’s definitely too much information for your brain these last few seconds and you have the impression that it makes a reset while watching Alicia leave your home under the insults of Alexia.

You see from the corner of the eye Mario who seems to have a lot of fun and Jenni with a satisfied smile displayed on the face. But you focus instead on Alexia, who you didn’t know was there, who suddenly turns to you.

"And you!"

She points her finger at you and keeps talking loudly, making you back up to the wall behind you. But Alexia follows you, stopping only a few inches from you, her finger now leaning against your chest.

"Never again dare to make me live a period like this."

Her voice is just a whisper and you can finally look into her for the first time in an eternity. Her eyes are bright with fatigue, the dark circles below testify to the lack of sleep she suffered. You sigh of relief when she lets her forehead go against yours and passes your arms around her waist to finally feel her against you.

"Never again" you promise

She nods several times before letting out a small sob and burying her face in the hollow of your neck.

"We’re leaving" Jenni speaks and you turn your attention on her. "Mario turned off the camera so if you want to practice your makeup sex on the couch, you can. But please, have a conversation before."

Alexia has a wet little laugh in the hollow of your neck and once the door of your apartment closes, you gently take her chin in your hand so you can look at her. You have a lot to discuss and you will be much more comfortable on the sofa than against a wall.

********

A few hours later, you are in bed and not on the couch as Jenni had suggested. You got all of Alexia’s explanations about how things have been going these past few days. She did sleep a few nights at Mapi and Ingrid’s place, although Jenni has indeed often been in the equation. You then gave her your vision of the facts, even if you don’t have much to tell her. You just waited to hear from Jenni while harassing Alexia with messages.

You took a long time to celebrate your reunion and now you are simply lying, enjoying each other. You have your head resting on Alexia’s chest, listening to her heartbeat. Finding back her scent makes you feel good too, you always found that she smelled like the sun and flowers. One of her hands is playing with your fingers and the other is simply placed in the hollow of your back.

"I have one more question"

"Mmmh?"

Alexia’s voice, although very sweet, breaks the silence between you. You start drawing shapes on her belly with your other hand, smiling when you feel her muscles contracting under your fingers.

"Why didn’t you ask me to pick you up at the airport when you came back from Nevada?"

"So that you can rest as much as possible and be ready for your game. And I thought that maybe we could have lunch together before I came to see you at the stadium."

"Oh."

Alexia’s response makes you face up in her direction. She has slightly furrowed eyebrows and bites her lip and you are suddenly curious to know what makes her ask you this question.

"Why?"

Alexia looks embarrassed and carefully avoids your look when she answers you.

"I told myself that it was simply to gain a few more minutes with her"

When she turns her eyes towards the window, you realize that they are wet with tears and you feel your heart break.

"Oh Mi Amor…" you whisper as you climb up to have your face in front of her. "I just wanted you to get as much rest as possible. I know the game days are tiring."

"I wasn’t lying to you when I told you it was the worst time of my life, nothing to do with my ACL last year. It was like…"

"As if your heart was constantly being crushed? I know"

You are not the only one to have cried and suffered these last days, you realize it. And even more so when Alexia nods, relieved to know that you can understand her without her having to formulate her sentences entirely.

"It's over now. I'm here and yours. Only yours, as long as you want me."

You put several kisses on her lips, savoring each of them.

Until Alexia grabs your neck to prolong the next one and imprisons your lips in a long and sensual kiss, announcing the second round of the night. After all, you’ll have plenty of time to talk a little later.

[cherrishnoodles]

i will never not see tyler and the narrator as the most religious-coded relationship ever.

the narrator's total devotion to this "single-serve friend" he met on a plane is so similar to media portraying religious ideas of a God to his followers.

Tyler is always above everyone without question. Everything Tyler does is, to our narrator, facts. It's always "do you know Tyler Durden?" and rumors being started about him that may or may not be true (the audience knows its not), and the narrator is always chasing Tyler's approval. While this obviously ties with the narrator's self image and how it reflects on his view of Tyler, i don't think it wise to fully reject the inherent homoeroticism of the narrator's total adoration of Tyler.

The only time this is stopped is when narrator is left to his own device around Project Mayhem, where he idolizes Tyler less, but goes back to it almost immediately when going to look for him.But there is also something to be said about the Space Monkeys, or the Fight Club "devotees" living at Paper Street, working for Tyler. They leave everything behind, even staying on a porch for three days without eating and drinking, just to be able to experience Tyler's wisdom. They devote their entire life to one man, similarly to how priests and other religious bodies will devote their lives to Christ or other Gods.

As an audience, we also never learn about Tyler's past beyond what small snipets of conversation we get from him and the narrator. We don't know what he was on that plane for, where he came from, why he know lives specifically at Paper Street, only that he is now interlocked in the narrator's life until the final moments of the movie. Looking at this literally, it's obvious that's because Tyler is a product of the narrator's insomnia and hallucinations, but from a metaphorical standpoint, it stands as a similarity to how Gods simply *exist*, and then create the world.

Tyler existed, and then he created Fight Club.

But going back to Tyler and the narrator's relationship specifically, there are multiple references to the narrator almost wanting to 'repent' to Tyler, asking him to help him "not be perfect" among other things. In the narrator's eyes, Tyler is his savior, his way out of the consumerist lifestyle that has gnawed its way into every corner of his existence, like the Devil selling the apple to Eve. Without Tyler, there would be no salvation for our narrator.

A more explicit reference to religion is of course Tyler's refusal of God. "We are God's unwanted children? So be it." With this line, he takes on the part of God, he becomes the very concept of God. He has freed the narrator, making him hit rock bottom so that he may finally know salvation: "it's only after we've lost everything, that we're free to do anything." In that scene, and throughout the movie, Tyler gives facts, or in a religious metaphor way, verses, of "useful information". Though in that chemical burn kiss scene he rejects God, he ended up becoming exactly that; similar to his father, he became a "model for God" to the narrator and the Space Monkeys.

anyway tyler is god and narrator is his good little follower <3 soapshipping canon

[jelliclekay]

Kay Sees Regional Cats

I saw my first regional Cats production the other day! It was so exciting to go see a local theater production of Cats. I'll be honest, I don't really pay much mind to the regional production bootlegs of Cats that exist on YouTube. But when I learned a theater only an hour from me was putting on Cats, I knew I had to go, especially since the US tour ended and there's been no news in site of any official production picking up anytime soon.

My expectations were fairly low- I knew going in it was just a small community theater doing the show, and it obviously wasn't going to be anywhere near the official production. That said, the performance was incredible and blew my small expectations totally out of the water. This is going to be a long write-up of all my thoughts on the vocals, dancing, and character interpretations, so thank you for anyone who decides to read my ramblings!

Here's a photo of the set and the cast list.

One thing you may notice is, well, how many cats there are. From my understanding, the performing arts center who put this on combined their theater department and their dancing department. The majority of the cats were played by young dancers who only appeared on stage during the heavy dance numbers. Yes, there were many kids in this show.

In fact, all the vocals were done by and really only by Munkustrap, Tugger, Demeter, Bombalurina, Jemima, Old Deut, Jelly, Jenny, Skimble, Griz, Bustopher and Gus.

Costume wise, the unitards and warmers were the weakest part. Very faded looking unitards with normal winter-wear warmers rather than the standard Cats warmers. The wigs and makeup were all London replica, and a lot of the wigs were so nice. I assume most of them just looked up their characters and did whatever makeup first popped up on Google.

The Munkustrap was incredible, by far the best Munk vocally that I've ever seen. I could not rave enough about him. He did everything perfectly, and I would love to see his performer go on to play him in an actual official production.

Jenny was so fun, and she actually stayed in her Gumbie coat the entire show. She would frequently just nap during numbers.

Demeter slept during Tugger's number and looked annoyed and hissed at him when he tried to interact with her during it. Queen shit, honestly.

Bustopher and Gus were played by two separate performers, which meant Bustopher got to hang on stage the entire time! Also, he had his giant spoon.

Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer did not sing their song. They were both played by dancers, while Bomb and Munk sang the song in the background. It was an interesting choice, but like I said, I love Munk's vocals, so I was happy to hear more of him.

The Jellicle Ball itself was cut down significantly. There was no pas de deux, and they didn't do the part where Griz shows up halfway through. This was probably my biggest disappointment for the entire show, but I also wasn't all that surprised.

A change that I really loved and would love to see implemented was Old Deut AND Jemima staying to listen to the Memory prelude.

During Moments of Happiness, Old Deut himself reached out and led Jemima up to sing her lines. The Jemima had a BEAUTIFUL voice as well.

Jelly and Gus were SO good. Her voice was perfect for the character, and it was so nice getting to see a performer who wasn't John Anker Bow as Gus. This production did Gus Pekes. Demeter and Tantomile were the lead Peke and Pollicle, which I thought was cute. Also, they added a fun bit where Gus got a hairball when he came out as the Rumpus Cat.

A small detail was that Griz was in the back basically the entire time singing along. Seeing her hiding away, but still singing along with everyone made her character feel even more tragic.

Macavity didn't kidnap Old Deut persay as much as he just led him away with a giant cat toy. It was so silly (in the most positive way possible)

The Macavity number was interesting, and not in a bad way. Demeter and Bomb took turns singing into a microphone and would physically push one another out of the way. As someone who wishes the professional productions would have Demeter and Bomb be Meaner to one another, this really scratched my itch for them to be more catty to one another.

During the Macavity fight, Tanto and Cori were the ones who led Demeter to safety. Ships were the farthest thing from my mind when watching this production, but Demeter and Tantomile were so close in this production. and I just really loved that, and it makes me wanna make them close in my hcs now.

Tugger helped Munk fight Mac!! And it was bad ass!! I loved it. More Tugger fighting please and thank you

I don't really have much to say about Misto. He was played by a younger dancer, and the solo was about what you would expect from a regional production. It was still fun to see, and just sparked so much joy just hearing the song in general.

Griz sang directly to Demeter for a lot of Memory. Her voice was great, no complaints there. I honestly thought they were going to have Demeter be the first to touch her, but that honor was given to Old Deut and Munk instead.

The Ad-Dressing really got me. I already get emotional whenever I hear the song normally, but hearing it live even at just a regional production after so long almost made me break down. The cats all came into the aisles too!!

And that was my experience at regional Cats! All in all, it was so much better than I expected, and I had such a fun time. If there's ever a local theater doing Cats near you, definitely go and check it out. Supporting local theater is important, and who knows, you might be completely blown away by some of the performers you see. I know I was!

[kawaiiwitchy]

I've been watching a variety of Elvis-related movies, with the eventual goal of watching all of his movies. I've started cataloging them and wanted to share along my progress and insights!

Movies

Elvis (2022)

Amazing. Amazing casting, production, storyline. Everything about this movie was amazing. Baz Lurhmann does not miss and was the perfect director for a big, bold, and glittering Elvis flic, just like Elvis himself! Also, Austin Butler.

King Creole (1958)

My favorite of his films by far! The songs, the acting, the setting, the darker and more gritty story line as compared to some of his other movies.

G.I. Blues (1960)

One of my favorites, I really enjoyed the co-stars in this one as well.

Blue Hawaii (1961)

Again, one of my favorites. The music is iconic of course, and the co-stars were great.

Girls! Girls! Girls! (1962)

This one was very fun and he looked absolutely stunning!

Fun in Acapulco (1963)

Again, really fun, he looked amazing, and the songs were great!

Viva Las Vegas (1964)

Iconic movie and theme song!

Roustabout (1964)

This one was alright, not really a favorite of mine. He looked and sang great, but most of it fell flat for me.

Clambake (1967)

Definitely not my favorite. It was supposed to be a fun beach movie, but being that this was post-concussion and the quality of the movies they were doing was going downhill, it just felt off in a variety of ways. (Also he truly worked CONSTANTLY. It's insane how many movies, shows, and songs he cranked out every year!)

Priscilla (2023)

I'm a huge Sofia Coppola fan so this was a must watch for me personally. It was beautiful aesthetic wise, but Jacob's Elvis was very cold and distant, and there's of course controversy about the events included in it and how negatively Elvis is overall portrayed.

TV / Documentaries / Docuseries

Reinventing Elvis: The '68 Comeback (2023)

Amazing visually and I really appreciated the commentators and their personal experiences!

Elvis: That's the Way it is (1970)

Just Elvis and the gang goofing around a lot! It brought me so much joy to just see him having fun!

Elvis Presley: The Searcher (2018)

Again, amazing visuals and aesthetic, and wonderful commentary. This doc also focused on his spiritual side, which is often not highlighted as significantly as his talent and charm.

Elvis on Tour (1972)

This one truly made me appreciate how much work he put into each and every concert and tour, and seeing him perform is also obviously the main draw to watch this one.

Let me know your thoughts and I'll keep you all updated with my progress!

[its-a-kasshu-thing]

This is just a random observation that I noticed about Gundam Wing:

After like 10 years, I decided to rewatch the series and then I reread Heero’s Episode Zero chapter. According to EZ, Heero and Odin were only together by “contract”. That, to me, implied that Odin is not Heero’s biological father and that he’s only taking care of him out of some sort of obligation.

Now I haven’t read Frozen Teardrop and I don’t really plan to because, (I mean come on, have you seen that plot lol) I could pick apart what I do know about it but, it just seems a little odd. Heero’s chapter seems to lead the reader to the conclusion of Odin obviously feeling guilty about killing Heero Yuy and then he just randomly has this little boy with him. It’s as if that boy was Heero’s son and since Odin killed his father, he felt compelled to take the boy on as his own.

I understand FT says that Odin is in fact the boy’s biological father with Aoi Clark (who doesn’t even have an official character design btw) **Neither does Solo from Duo’s official backstory but I digress** being his mother but I just find it strange that the kid doesn’t have a name if he was Odin’s after all. Maybe it was mentioned that his name really is Odin Lowe II but why would that name not be alluded to at all in the series? The series alluded to his mantra that Heero repeats throughout the series which is basically to listen to the heart. Obviously Odin cared enough about Heero to take care of him. It just doesn’t make sense why this kid wouldn’t know his name/have a name. Also, I just find it random that Heero is related to Trant Clark, some random Oz soldier, that was curious about the zero system, with nothing really substantial mentioned about him like idk a great revelation that he’s like Heero’s uncle or something. Heero didn’t even end up fighting him lol.

I personally think it would have worked out better plot wise if Heero was Heero’s son rather than Odin’s because it would have only emphasized further that Heero really is the “perfect soldier”. He fights for the “revenge” of the colonies while beneath the surface he actually fights to avenge his own father without even knowing it. That’s the thing that makes Heero so pure intentioned though. He fights solely for peace within, not only the colonies but, the Earth as well (as seen at the end of the series). Revenge was never really the goal of any of the pilots or else they would have fully taken part in Operation Meteor, wreaking havoc everywhere for everyone both oz and civilians on Earth alike.

Also, I love how Odin’s character design in EZ was retconed for the more Heero looking one in FT/Glory of Losers and, at the same time, Heero Yuy’s design also has a striking resemblance to the main pilot. It’s like they couldn’t decide who Heero’s father should be.

Also, the Sanc Kingdom sought peace from Earth while Heero Yuy preached peace in the colonies and then you have the heir of the Sanc Kingdom end up with the son of the colonies’ prominent pacifist.

My headcanon is Heero is still the product of a love affair just not with Odin as the main man but Heero Yuy. Like his wife probably ordered for her husband to be killed for cheating with some younger woman, making Heero his illegitimate son, adding to the chaos of it all, resulting in his birth to be the actual catalyst that sparks war between the colonies and Earth. Somehow, I think that would have made more sense and really tie everything together so neatly and dramatically.

[tea-with-evan-and-me]

after i was diagnosed with diverticulitis i slowly started to change my diet. now, eating primarily whole foods isn’t always exciting but boy do you feel the difference and i lost 20 pounds in two months 🤦🏻‍♀️

Holy moly admin, I’m sorry 😥 I had to read up on that, it sounds painful. I’m glad you were able to turn your diet around and found a way to stick to it, getting older and the harsh effects that come with it is no joke. The way my metabolism changed between my 20s and 30s is such a kick in my ass. If I don’t do something active every day and even think about a chocolate shake or chicken strips and fries my ass automatically jiggles for like 2 weeks 😭

What are some main staples in your whole food diet? Like do you avoid carbs altogether or just certain ones at certain times? I find that if I don’t eat carbs (flour products, bread, potatoes, rice, pasta and corn), added sugars, processed food, dairy, grains, legumes, alcohol or oils (cooking and all fat oils and butter) 3 consecutive days each week, my cravings for the bad stuff becomes less, my inflammation goes away and I can drop at least 2 pounds a week and that’s without any working out, plus I quit caffeine period. *I’m not a nutritionist or diet expert* It is easy to maintain and each week gets easier if you stick to it, but obviously I’m human so this is not something I do all the time for weeks at a time. I’m a foodie at heart and if I want loaded nachos with a steak and bang bang shrimp on the side, I’m a do it 🤣 especially around that time of the month….but that’s when I’ll up the weight and reps in my workouts too.

you're right, i swear i turned 25 and all of a sudden shit got real 😂 i know exactly what you mean though.. nowadays i have been trying to do at least 10k steps every day (walking or jogging) and weight lift 3/week. 2022-2023 was challenging health wise for a variety of reasons and i felt like a big change was needed. ended up having surgery for my endometriosis/an ovarian mass and promptly put on a medication that basically was like a taste of menopause.. hot flashes, joint pain, insomnia, nauseous all the time.. i'm just now coming off of it and i tell you that shit made it so hard to lose weight lmao i'm hoping things will be stable off of it.

everything you said makes perfect sense to me! the longer i go without eating ultra-processed/hyperpalatable foods in general, the easier it gets and the less i crave them. this year i actually ended up buying and participating in a medical weight loss plan because i NEEDED for someone to.. basically just tell me what to eat. i wasn't technically overweight - i know how to eat low calorie and i know how to lose weight if i need to, but not in a healthy way at all. that really was what changed for me, taking their little nutritional class and receiving a meal plan with tons of details about the different groups and how much to eat each day. i realized i was eating so much MORE food - my meal plan was more than i could even manage most days, and yet i lost weight, like now i look like a different person.. it's crazy. i realize i'm sensitive to sodium and i was really inflamed, even in my face, looking back it was so pronounced. on my meal plan, i couldn't add any salt to my food, only salt free seasonings. so that was a big thing lol to answer your question about staples, it's a little tricky.. i haven't banned carbs at all, but i have reduced them a bit. for instance, i'll still have rice, but i will do 1/4 of a cup or 1/2 cup and load up on veggies. nowadays i just eat the live carb smart bread and buns. potatoes are my FAVORITE, so i just try and eat a bit less of them, corn as well. the tricky part about trying to eat as many whole food meals as possible, is that i don't want to cook a meal every single night. i'm big on meal prepping, but i don't really like to eat microwaved food. i feel like it makes food taste weird, ESPECIALLY chicken, which happens to be my general protein of choice. so i've been eating a lot of beef, eggs and cottage cheese for protein. i love vegetables so there's countless options to add in my rotation. i'm very much still learning what works for me, and like you, i'm a foodie who loves to eat. i'm never going to be someone made miserable trying to stick to a very strict diet. i want to enjoy those delicious nachos every once in a while too LMFAO

[liyazaki]

I just found out about book nooks because of you and I am fascinated. If you dont mind, can you share tips for beginners? Also, are you using wood? Thats amazing! How do you cut and paint the wood? Thank you!!!

happy to share! I've been making miniature art for years but just recently got into book nooks. so far, I've used kits you can get on Amazon as the base with my own additions & modifications. the great part about these kits is that everything is included (except any custom additions you want to make, obviously). if I ever get my 3D printer set up (& learn how to use it 🙃), I'll try making my own from scratch.

both kits use 100% pre-printed wood (i.e. no painting required) that's partially laser-cut ahead of time. you have to carefully remove the parts from the boards, do some sanding, a lot of assembly and basic wiring for the lights (also included). I'm pretty much always watching a show when I'm working on them, so the process is super meditative/therapeutic, even for my ADHD-riddled brain.

this is the kit I'm using for the KinnPorsche alley book nook (with a lot of modifications):

I scored a bunch of awesome miniatures at a specialty shop while I was traveling in December- a guitar for Kim, a yellow bottle for the bar, a tiny cage, a hedgehog, koi fish- but I'm bummed because they turned out to be too big scale wise (they still fit; they just look a little ridiculous).

look at that tiny lil guitar! how could I say no?

I spent way too much on them, though, so everyone better pretend they look perfect when I post the final product, capiche? great.

I used two kits for the Princess Mononoke book nook:

I had to use tweezers to assemble the Spirit of the Forest because, I mean- *waves*. I plan on filling in the seam in the river, painting it & adding water gel for realism.

if you have other questions or just want to geek out over minis, come yell at me!

[alphinias]

I have such a problem with people girlbossifying (that's not a word) Penelope as if she's this perfect badass woman paving her own way instead of a very flawed character who has done a lot of damage to a lot of people. And it's not just the fans it's the narrative in the show where I'm sure in s3 they will not contend with the hurt she has brought others but instead paint her as a feminist girlboss who was right in everything, they wanted drama too much and ended up with an unlikable heroine.

I’ve said before that I think the fandom has a very weird view of Penelope on both sides, but I don’t know. I hope the show will bring some nuance to it. She really seems to be falling apart at the seams and overall pretty different in the last sneak peek. Colin hurting her and forcing her to take him off his pedestal was of course part of it, but I can’t imagine she’s not greatly suffering the consequences of (temporarily) losing Eloise because of what she’s done. It appears she is to me.

I don’t think the show itself necessarily girlbosses/“she can do no wrong’s” her as much as it’s just that the promotion is obviously obsessed with Nicola and that’s what ends up sticking out to people. It’s also clear production loves Penelope, but I think the show itself has had nuance. The fandom meanwhile is almost never nuanced.

I understand that Penelope is very polarizing and why people hate her, but I really don’t personally. Female character wise I generally prefer Eloise and Kate as my favorites, but I think a big point of tension in this season is obviously going to be the Whistledown stuff catching up with Penelope more and exploring how she’ll have to deal with it going forward. It makes sense to me that they’d save it for her season.

[plastic-summer]

my thoughts on taylor's grammy nominations

i still think midnights is criminally underrated in the fandom, so it would be amazing to see her getting the awards she deserves! absolutely taylor's most cohesive album to date and you can just see how proud she is of it. the lyrics, the production, the visuals, the narratives, everything, just pure pop perfection. i'd expect nothing less from the legend that is miss taylor swift.

1. record of the year - anti hero.

anti hero is a fantastic song, i will never understand why people hate it all the time. it showcases something i think taylor is super good at and that stands her out from other artists - pumping endorphins into the most heart wrenching lyrics. this award is mostly for sound and production however - i'll come back to lyrics later. i think anti hero separates itself production-wise from the rest of midnights (which has a dreamier vibe to it) which i love because it's more raw and personal and honest than the other songs, which are more narrative or experience based. i wouldn't suggest it's the best song on the album, but it's absolutely a deserving single and winner of this award.

it has some super tough competition for this award - it's been an amazing year for music - especially sza's "kill bill" and victoria monét's "on my mama" (both of which i'd be equally happy with as winners). i would say myself that anti hero shines far more in its lyrics than its production, which might hurt it in competition, so if she loses out on any awards, it may well be this one.

2. album of the year - midnights.

in my eyes, midnights won album of the year as soon as it was released. it's just stunning in every possible way. again, there's lots of tough competition from all different genres, but midnights is in a league of its own. the production is gorgeous and (unpopular opinion probably) very different from what she's released in the past, with this amazing dreamy and nostalgic quality to it that brings to life the album concept without it being ostentatious. it follows a clear but not garish or derivative narrative path, again subtly and tastefully presenting its concept. the lyrics are consistently reflective but present differing emotions, which again is indispensable in this particular concept. it's absolutely a 10/10 album in my books, and clearly one of her best, if not her best overall.

3. song of the year - anti hero.

okay, this one is for songwriting, which we know is what taylor swift came to do, and what she will always dominate in. i said about the record of the year nomination that anti hero will be known for its gut wrenching honesty and not necessarily for its sound, and i stand by that here. for me, taylor's selling point is her ability to write music that is obviously deeply personal to her, but also general enough that any of us can relate to it and feel heard and seen. anti hero is a masterclass in this - every word is perfectly crafted in such a way that you can see yourself and your own struggles in it, even if they're nothing to do with hers, without a scrap of taylor's personal feelings being lost in it. it combines beautiful poetic lyrics with a punchy hook that somehow remains perfectly tasteful and never cheap or lazy, and every second of it is dripping with genuine emotion. this is one of the songs of hers that will outlast us, and deserves to be recognised as such.

4. best pop duo/group performance - karma (ft. ice spice)

i will be one to say this song is WAY overhated. it's a grower for sure, but i love it. ice spice is just so excellent with wordplay and rhyming, it's great to see them on a track together. karma is a brilliant song anyway, it's so tongue in cheek it regularly crosses into comedic in an artful way. i don't expect it will win, if i'm honest, not because it's not a good song, which it is, but because it has too much competition for it to live up to standards. most likely it will go (deservedly) to "candy necklace" or "ghost in the machine".

( her other nominations are for best pop solo performance for anti hero and best pop vocal album for midnights - not much more i can say there )

[otometrashqueen]

I stumbled upon the Doctor Strange animated movie from 2007! I had no idea it existed! I ate it up like I was starving 🤤

I enjoyed it because it was a Dr. Strange movie and I love seeing my boi get portrayed in different media.

But I have thoughts about this movie 👀

I know it’s pretty much made for kids, but let me have this

It is a very 2007 production, I feel that I’m so spoiled with animation in general now, the animation felt slow and there wasn’t much in the way magic, 😔

I also didn’t like that there were no interesting women characters, they had a few women sorcerers, but they were killed off pretty quickly

Seriously this dude that didn’t wear a shirt lasted longer than the hot goth sorcerer lady, I was super pissed.

But I felt better because shirtless chad got dead by the end of the movie so I felt better about it 😌

Anyway, the female doctor that was once Steange’s love interest is also uninteresting, it’s not her fault tho and even strange’s interactions at her at the end felt forced because we spent no time with her and really didn’t know anything about their relationship other than it was over because Stephen was a prick.

Also I rolled my eyes that she paid for his trip Tibet! Of course she did and she gets no thanks for it really! Wtf Stephen 🤨

I know the Ancient One is supposed to be a man, but I just love that change for the MCU, let me have my strong female characters and she’s more relatable because she wasn’t this perfect master, she’ll always be my Ancient One 🥺

Now onto the stuff I loved!!!

Naked!Stephen enjoying a hot bath 💦

He looks lonely in that tub 😉

His Fit!

LOOK AT HIM SERVING LOOKS 🥺😩

And the best part is this outfit comes so suddenly, like I didn’t realize he was “done” with his training 😆 and the next scene he looks like a snack, it was so sudden I laughed out loud but I also loved it. I love his hair 😍 the swept back gray bang really does it for me 😩

That his sister died after he performed her surgery! 😭

Now I didn’t like it obviously, but I think a really interesting plot point and is very much in line with young Stephen thinking he can fix everything, poor dumb dumb.

I actually like it more than the story we got about Donna in MOM, this seems more in line with his character.

Stephen protecting and saving the kids in their minds since he said he didn’t treat children and wouldn’t help in the beginning 🥺😩

Wong scouting new sorcerers to train, including mentioning a woman named Clea as the top candidate!!!! I watched the scene a second time to make sure he said Clea 😩😩😩 ✨

It would be an interesting change if Clea was human and got recruited to be Stephen’s disciple and eventual lover 😉

Also Cloakie! The best boi. The moment. The OG real one

Again I know Stephen’s supposed to be Sorcerer Supreme blah blah, but I do prefer that Wong is Sorcerer Supreme in the MCU. MCU Wong would never put up with comic Stephen 😆

I love their dynamic this way! Plus I think Stephen not officially being Sorcerer Supreme frees him up to do other things story wise like travel to the dark dimension with Clea 😘

[themattress]

Battle of the Seasons

Once Upon a Time! I’ve gone over my opinion on this dozens of times by now, but given the subject matter I felt like it deserved its own “Battle of the Seasons” post, so here it is. It’s Season 1 (The Dark Curse Saga) vs. Season 2 (The Price of Magic Saga) vs. Season 3 (The Neverland and Wicked Witch’s Revenge Sagas) vs. Season 4 (The Frozen Storybrooke and Operation Mongoose Sagas) vs. Season 5 (The Dark Swan and Underworld Sagas) vs. Season 6 (The Savior’s Fate Saga) vs., regrettably, Season 7 (The Hyperion Heights Saga).

While judging on quality is certainly doable and how I’ve usually presented my ranking, for this post I’d rather focus on how well each season holds together when taken as a whole.

Season 1 obviously reigns supreme here. It manages to tell a complete, coherent and emotionally satisfying story in of itself, with every piece of the puzzle presented in both flashbacks and the present day narrative ultimately clicking together; nothing is wasted. Compare this opening scene with this ending scene, it’s such a great case of book ends, as is what starts with a dark cloud sweeping over everything to create a town where the clock is frozen at 8:15 ending with a different dark cloud sweeping over said town precisely as the now moving clock strikes 8:15, signaling a new beginning. The Dark Curse Saga spent the most time being fine-tuned before production, and it shows. It’s not perfect...but it’s close. 

Every other season is nowhere near as stable, being either seasons where two story arcs are told in each half of the season rather than a single story arc (3, 4 and 5) or a single arc is told and botched due to showrunner Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis’ complete inability to stay on track with what they have without throwing new shit in that clutters things up (2, 6 and 7).

Out of the first kind, Season 3 is the best, which seems odd at first since the Neverland Saga and Wicked Saga don’t particularly have much connecting them story-wise, as the former is closure for all plot threads the show had been pursuing since Season 1 while the latter is something of a fresh start. In addition, the former is significantly stronger than the latter. But what ends up making the season work is the character arcs and themes, which do manage to span both story arcs in a very organic way. Themes of facing your past in order to shape your future, of learning from your mistakes and the mistakes of others, of making your own home, of family and love and redemption: they make the story arcs click together, as do the personal stories of Emma, Snow, Charming, Hook, Regina, Rumple, Belle and Neal (but not Henry!)

Season 5 comes painfully close to this same standard, with its two story arcs being even more interconnected than any other in this format. Unfortunately, it’s plagued by three glaring problems: several missteps in the first half come back to haunt the season in its second half, a number of character arcs presented in the first half don’t connect with those in the second half, and the two-part season finale is almost completely disconnected from everything that preceded it, being more of a lead-in to Season 6 than a satisfying conclusion to Season 5. Season 4, meanwhile, has its core problem summed up in one word: Frozen. Quality-wise, the Frozen stuff is the best part of the season, but when taken as a whole it’s got almost jack shit to do with the rest of the season’s narrative and even the entire series’ narrative, and the stuff that does matter narratively usually feels alien to the Frozen stuff whenever they end up sharing screentime together. The Author, the Queens of Darkness, Regina and Robin Hood’s star-crossed romance, Emma and her dark counterpart Lily, the Sorcerer and the Apprentice, the magic hat, Rumple’s backslide into villainy and how it affects his relationship with Belle, Snow and Charming’s dark past, Hook’s dark past, and Henry’s gradual coming of age...all of this is present in the Frozen Storybrooke Saga, but if you removed all the Frozen stuff that makes up the bulk of that arc from them, nothing much would be missing. It all just feels so shoehorned in...much like the Will Scarlet character from OUATIW does the whole season!

In some ways, Season 2′s structure is weaker than Seasons 6 and 7, since it ended up creating something of a double story arc situation by accident, with the first arc only being its first 9 episodes rather than the actual first half of 11 episodes, whereas Seasons 6 and 7 have a more deliberately distinct first half and second half for their story arcs. However, Season 2 still ends up getting the edge of Seasons 6 and 7 because everything that transpired in those first 9 episodes still end up mattering and continuing to develop through the next 13 episodes. Cora is still the Big Bad who seeks to influence Regina who is still fixated on Henry, Hook is still seeking revenge on Rumple who is still seeking to make things work with Belle and reunite with his son who ends up being Emma’s ex and Henry’s father, with Emma having to deal with that while still learning to bring out the magic in her and to accept Snow and Charming as her parents. Because of A&E’s incompetence, precious little of what happens in the first half of Season 6 and 7 end up mattering to the second half, and even much of what goes down in the second half isn’t important by the time of their finales.

And between Seasons 6 and 7, obviously Season 6 is the superior of the two, since it still connects to the show as it was - Emma as the ostensible lead who fought for screentime and relevance against Regina, Storybrooke as the primary setting, and a certain set of characters and plot points always sticking around for better or worse, while Season 7 is a failed attempt at a reboot that ended up instead being the final season, creating a huge whiplash effect and making everyone wonder why the Hell the show didn’t just end at Season 6, which at least seemed built like an ending. Not an especially satisfying ending, but an ending all the same.

So it’s Season 1 > Season 3 > Season 2 > Season 5 > Season 4 > Season 6 > Season 7.

[whiteswaninsaturn]

credit : thanks to canva for inspiring me create the header

I'm a leo girl and it's always said that mostly leo people are people pleaser. Well it means we're not as scary as a Lion we have compassion and we can give to anyone too much.

Look among those zodicas Leo is one of biggest people pleaser. Do you think i believe the zodiac theory that what make me people pleaser it's because i'm a Leo gurl with fire-sign . Well, it's absolutely untrue. I'm a professional people pleaser because my father want me to be that kind of person. My father was passed away 7 years ago. He had been through the horrific time in his life since cancer undermine his body. It was made a powerful man into powerless old man with no hope. I never feel Daddy's compassion or love in my life and so does my younger sister. We grew up fatherless and when he died we doesn't even surprise to our new situation of being raise with single parent. It was already like that since i was born which means 24 years ago and 19 years ago for my little sister. Mom is everything for both of us, as 2 daughters that used to live with vicious father it feels like victory for us or perhaps only for me. Papa was always wanted everything's perfect so in his mind 'Life must be Perfect' from that mindset we know he wasn't a wise man. He's a workaholic with wonderful fundamental which is something i adore and i apply it now as a mediocre office staff. My papa expected his first born was a boy however it was dissapointed news for him to know that it was a girl and it is me. Maybe i already dissapointed him since I was in his wife womb before the new series of dissapoinment he would face.

I was a girl with unattractive appearance . I'm not saying i'm attractive now but at least i made progress and i look better. I look cleaner and finally make up can completely applied on my face. Back then i used make up and it was jut melted, cracked, like the products were refuse to be applied on my bumpy face.

credit : dashmagazine.com via pinterest (i don't know who's the artist whoever you are, You are amazing) That was me 12 years ago. I had my acne when i was 12 - 22 years old (THAT'S FUCKIN SUCK). My father told me in a restaurant which mean we were in public spaces he said I look like a monster because i have severe acne. Well my reaction was only about to cry but i held it until we got home. He enrolled me to music courses i was excited at that time, I was thinking i would learn guitar but ended up i learned keyboad. My mom said she registered me to had guitar class but my father changed it on my first day lesson to join keyboard class. Both my mom and I couldn't do anything not made any argument. Luckily my little sister felt the same thing, at least my father was playing fair here. The reason he altered the plan was just because he thinks it's not that classy for a girl play guitar, guitar it's not something grande, everyone can be guitarist just being autodidact. Guitar is an instrument everyone can reach it doesn't need a big-fancy room to place it. That was a very deep thinking papa, well as 13 yo teenager at that time i was only grumpy but now as i grow up i just realized my father unconsiously make his children brainstorming of his mindset. He sent me to kindergarten 1 when i was 3 yo just because he didn't enjoy anymore to walk with me in the morning before he left to work. He forced me to be in science class in high-school although it was out of my capability but i tried so hard to get smart score so i could fit the requirement lucky me I passed it i was part of those cool-smart students, Unfortunately, through 3 years in school my rank was 36/40 students. It was obviously said ' you are not belong here'. I can't tell the details of being raises with absent father. I will make a new post sharing about that topic. Well, I think i'm deserve to grab an Oscar I claim myself confidently i have oscar acting skills due to I used to acting in front my father. Not being my true-self. If i made mistake , sick , misbehave as a normal human being do, not an extraordinary, not having a good look He would scolded me, if i choose something he doesn't keen on or eat something he doesn't like. He also mad at me. Like why would I do thing he doesn't like?. So the way i acted and spoke just only to please him. At the other side to protect myself from his temper. I could say I nailed it sometimes and failed it most of time. I always unexpectedly awful in my father eyes. He said i'm lesser than anyone i'm not good enough and worthless. He always make me unworthy.

via: Pinterest Nevertheless, i learn that if you are a people pleaser you are likeable, you have more friends and people mistake you as a very nice person in fact you are just a people pleaser. You feel deeply guilty when you can't complete or help someone else mission. I used to be a person my father wants me to be = I can be a person society expect me to be. I never knew i'm a people pleaser if my friends don't tell me, i was just ignore what they said because i didn't understand. As long as i still get along with my friends i am okay. There's nothing wrong with me. I feel easy for building my friendship just being like this. I never get myself in trouble moreover enemy.

[haikyustanaccount]

Charli XCX

shittt, this is tough. Charli XCX really does feel like a million different artists wrapped up into one so its really hard to compare all her albums. This is also difficult since I have enjoyed all of her albums in completely different stages of my life so this listing could flip entirely depending on my mood. She really does just have that large of a variety of music. Oh also im including most of her mixtapes just for fun. 8. Crash: 7/10 Now I do kinda feel bad about this one. This album really does get too much hate, but this is just what happens when Charli spoils us too much with too many switches up in music. After so many genre-switching pop albums it feels weird to have such a “normal“ pop album. Now don’t get me wrong, Charli’s mainstream sellout is better than most pop artists career high, but it does feel kinda disappointing since it is so “of the time.” Especially with all the 80s influences. Still amazing and Lighting is definitely my favorite an all time banger. 7. True Romance: 8/10 Soooo shockingly amazing. I remember this one took me forever to listen to cause I assumed it would be rough and kinda boring. ABSOLUTELY NOT. This shit is fire, like the songs here can go toe to toe with her career best. “You-ha ha ha,” “Take My Hand,” and “Set Me Free” are all amazing bangers and feel so ahead of their time. This specific brand of edgy synth-pop is just amazing to hear and her brand and persona appear so fully formed especially for a debut. Absolutely check this one out. 6. Pop 2: 9/10 Okay so I may get a bit of hate for this. I love this album don’t get me wrong like look at that 9, but it definitely isn’t her best. This project and the next on the list are basically tied since they are very similar. This one specifically is great, Unlock It obviously became a tiktok hit and Femmebot is another banger I come back to pretty often. Overall it’s an amazing hyperpop mixtape, but there’s just some better stuff ahead of us.

5. Number 1 Angel: 9/10 Like I said these two are very similar to me and not in a bad way. They have their strong differences especially production-wise, but the overall vibes of the projects are similar. I just slightly prefer this one cause a couple of the songs. 3AM is amazing, Roll with Me is great, and the crown jewel Lipgloss is such a favorite of mine. Cupcakke and Charli just mesh soooo perfectly. 4. Sucker: 9/10 Okay im getting hate for this one, but its genuinely amazing!! Like the different genres are definitely making this tough, but this one dives into pop-rock and does it so amazingly. Just from the opener you have to love it. Especially since its a huge fuck you to Dr. Luke. Which we absolutely love and as always FUCK DR. LUKE. Aside from the title track, some of my faves are famous and Red Baloon. Just all time bangers and if you think this is her commercial album you’re in for an amazing surprise. 3. Vroom Vroom: 10/10 yes a 4 track EP is in third place what of it? I don’t need to list favorites its four songs and they’re all perfect. Now I may be a bit biased since I looooove Sophie and her production on this ep is incredibly as usual. Vroom Vroom is also probably my favorite Charli song, its just kinda perfect in every way.

2. Charli: 10/10 Her full hyperpop zenith. It feels like this is what Vroom Vroom, Number 1 Angel, and Pop 2 had been leading up to and it delivers in every single way. Incorporating everything she mastered and is a full display of everything she is capable. This is one of THE hyperpop albums because it fully demonstrates the history of pop and leading into hyperpop and how they meld together. It feels like a fully completed thesis project. Her features are also incredible and perfectly placed onto all the tracks. My faves are probably White Mercedes, Blame It On Your Love, and Shake It. They’re just kinda all perfect.  1. how im feeling now: 10/10 so where do we go from a perfect hyperpop album. how did she make something better? I honestly don’t know. this album honestly functions far more as a follow up to True Romance rather than Charli. It’s definitely hyperpop but it feels much darker and more emotional. Charli was a statement about pop music. how im feeling now is a statement about charli. Because of the focused nature of the recording and the intimate writing you get her most cohesive and emotionally powerful album yet. There are bangers, but I would feel weird recommending any individual song rather than the full album. It was the perfect quarantine album and it still captures something so authentic and beautiful that I couldn’t put it anywhere else than #1.

[kpop-er]

BTS LINE DISTRIBUTIONS

With the air smelling like comeback time, I feel like this should be adressed again because I just know that there's gonna be some kind of issue when the new title track drops. Of course, it's about line distributions.

First of all, I want to remind everyone that the boys have said several times that they give out lines depending on whose voice suits the part the best.

Demanding that they split the song evenly in seven parts would not only reduce the quality but also limit their artistic approach. There's a reason why a certain member sings a certain line and the other does not. Bts is a team and every single one of them has a specific role in that team.

They obviously discuss everything together when making those decisions and talk a lot to their producers. What they present to us in the end is the finished product they liked best.

I'm so glad they haven't shown us the behind the scenes process of making their songs, because a lot of you wouldn't be able to handle it. Especially, if we were to hear constructive criticism or how one member's approach got chosen over the other members approach. I already hear the "omg look how x is being mistreated, they never pick his ideas or melodies" comments and tweets.

A hip hop track is going to feature the rap line more, whereas a pop track is going to feature the vocal line more. You can't expect yoongi to pull a jungkook when singing dynamite lmao. They each have their thing and that's what makes the group so special compared to other groups where the worst singer is chosen to be the rapper even though he knows nothing about rapping. Likewise, you can't expect tae to rap like hobi in mic drop.

Looking more closely at the vocal line, it is clear that jungkook gets the most lines. Again, there are reasons for that. He is the main vocalist for a reason. He is the most stable while singing live and compared to jimin or tae for example he has a more neutral tone, which compliments both jimins and jins high voices and taes deep voice. He is like the perfect middle ground. Jimins voice for example is great for highlighting certain parts of a song because he always gives them this unique feel and out of all of them I feel like he has the most distinct or unique tone. Same goes for tae and jin in their respective parts, they both add something to their lines. It's all about balance and the end result is always great.

As for the rap line, I have noticed that namjoon often gets a stand alone part whereas yoongi and hobi often rap back to back. That again has its reasons. Hobis and yoongis voices are similar in tone even though their rap styles are different, that's why they compliment each other so well.

What I'm trying to say is, no one is getting "mistreated" because they have less lines than another member. They are grown men who have always been hands on in their music production, they know how to speak up. I mean, jin always calls the company publicly out when he doesn't like something what makes you thing that he keeps quiet behind closed doors??

The boys always praise their company, their staff and their producers. Believe me, they are perfectly fine other wise they wouldn't have renewed their contract.

In conclusion, they don't need you to "save" them and start petitions and boycotts in their name. Just enjoy the songs they give to us and if you don't like them, don't listen to them. No one is holding you on a leash and forcing you to stay lmao

What are your thoughts on this topic? Feel free to leave a comment!

[young-dumb-and-vaccinated]

The Sommelier (Hannibal x Female!Reader) pt. 1

Ding dong fannibals I’m back on my bullshit :) 

I discovered that I cannot for the life of me be concise so this one might come in a couple parts. I don't anticipate it's gonna go as long as Cult Girl but we'll see. Y/n is an introverted waitress at a fancy restaurant with a crush on a mysterious regular. An encounter with a dangerous criminal pulls her into his world.

Trigger warnings: graphic descriptions of violence; implied drug use; religiously-motivated violence.

In some ways, waitressing was the perfect job for an introvert. Customers didn’t see you as a person, they saw you as an NPC. As long as that was the case, you weren’t expected to engage with them beyond the script: you take their order, bring them the food and they, hopefully, leave a tip. To ensure that, you perfected the art of fake happiness. You were there to make money, not friends. 

Well, there was an exception to every rule. Yours was the sommelier. 

The sommelier was a regular at the restaurant, but never ordered a meal. He mostly just sat at the bar, drank expensive wine, and watched the people come and go for hours at a time. Among the waitstaff, he was a bit of a local cryptid. Waitresses whispered about the handsome gentleman with an unidentifiable accent and deep pockets. About how lucky you had to be to score a bartending shift on one of the nights he showed up. It got to the point where bartending shifts were swapped like currency, because every woman on staff wanted the chance to meet the sommelier. 

One of the more religious line chefs liked to remind you all that the devil would come as everything you could ever desire. He was fully convinced that the sommelier was Satan incarnate, and he wasn’t completely off the mark. Standing at six feet tall with features sharp enough to cut diamonds, the sommelier wouldn’t look out of place in a vampire thriller. He always dressed in dark suits. Your coworkers hypothesized this was so the bloodstains wouldn’t show. Despite the chef’s well-intended (if not condescending) warnings, even the threat of eternal damnation couldn’t scare you off. 

As much as you liked to believe you were above stupid workplace gossip, you knew you weren’t. You were never the most socially adept person, but this gave you something to connect over. It’s how you discovered that you and the other waitresses were all in the same boat; broke, lonely and in desperate need of some excitement. And if that came in the form of a wine-loving vampire taking a liking to your restaurant, there were certainly worse ways to go. 

Unfortunately, not even the chance at encountering the sommelier could make you look forward to working Easter Sunday. Your manager had you working from noon to midnight that day. As employers went, he wasn’t much of a tyrant. He offered you time and a half and even let you switch from waiting tables to bartending halfway through the shift. He, too, knew how coveted the bartending shifts were. And you weren’t in any position to refuse, either. You quite enjoyed having a roof over your head and food in your stomach. 

That didn’t make up for the fact that most of the other twenty-something employees had left for the holiday, and you were one of the few stragglers left available. Easter was the most dreaded workday of the year, because the infamous after-church crowd quadrupled in size and lasted all day. They came in double-digit parties, had no concept of birth control and tipped in prayer. Too many times had you reached for what looked like a generous cash tip, only to find that it was a church pamphlet disguised as a fifty.

You clocked in at noon exactly, after waiting for the second hand to pass the twelve just to be sure. 

“[F/N]!” Your coworker, Charissa, grabbed your attention before you could walk away. “I heard you’re at the bar this evening. Congratulations.” 

“He’s not going to show up, Charissa.” You rolled your eyes. You decided to go into this shift expecting the absolute worst, that way you wouldn’t be setting yourself up for disappointment. “It’s Easter.” 

“You don’t know that.” Charissa nudged you in the side. 

You grinned. “Why would a vampire come to dinner on the one day everyone is gonna be wearing a cross?” 

“Oh, shit, I didn’t think of that.” Charissa gasped. “Well, good luck anyway.”

The first wave of customers filing through the door and filling the restaurant with noise pushed all optimism out of your head. Sighing, you approached a person that Charissa had already seated. 

“Hi, my name is [F/N], I’ll be your server today.” You greeted the first customer in your block. “Can I get you something to drink today?” 

The man couldn’t have been a day over twenty-five, if that. He was still lively in a way that meant he hadn’t experienced the drain that was a minimum wage job. He was wearing a shirt that said ‘on fire for Christ’ under a flannel with no buttons. One look and you knew he wasn’t going to tip. 

The man flashed a row of eerily white teeth. “I thought you said you would bring the wine?” 

You momentarily thought you’d already taken his drink order and shook your head. “I’m sorry, did I--”

“Ah, I see your confusion.” The man shrugged and forced a laugh. “You’re waitressing this week, you and I are going on a date next week. My mistake.” 

Great. You thought. It hasn't even been five minutes and I'm already being gaslit.

Any interaction that forced you to go off-script was bad, but this was a particularly irritating diversion. “Would you like to see a wine list?”

“I’m Chase.” He said. “It’s nice to meet you, [F/N].” 

“Have you decided on a drink?” You repeated, trying not to grit your teeth too obviously. 

"I'll have a glass of your finest coke, please." He faked an English accent, poorly.

"We only carry Pepsi products." You said, dreading how this joker would react to such a minor inconvenience.

He threw his head back and made a face like he had just taken a bullet to the chest. "No, it's gotta be coke! It's coke or nothing!"

"Did you want something else, then?" You tried to hurry him along. "The bartender makes a very nice mimosa-"

He smacked the table as if he had some urgent question. "McDonald's or Chick-Fil-A? There is a right answer, so choose wisely."

"...uh," You mumbled, just praying that he would order a drink already. There wasn't even a Chick-fil-A in the area. "I like McDonald's."

Again, he acted like he was shot in the chest. "Oh, you're down zero to two!"

"If you need a few minutes to select a drink," You said. "I can come back-"

He grabbed your arm and forced a laugh. "I'm just kidding around with you, [F/N]. Pepsi is fine."

You scribbled the order down on your notepad, mostly just to pry your wrist from his grip. You wanted to go into the bathroom and scrub yourself down, but perhaps it was just easier to chop the whole arm off. That way you could get worker's compensation, too.

The tables were filling up and you had spent far too long coaxing a drink order out of this youth pastor creep. You had actual families to wait on. The shift was off to a horrible start.

You made him wait for as long as you could get away with. You took drink orders from three full booths before returning to the youth pastor. Because you knew he was raring to corner you again.

You planted the pop in front of him, the glass already wet with condensation. "Have you decided on a meal?"

"I was just looking over this menu and something caught my eye." He began, looking at the holiday menu your manager had printed off. "This rack of lamb, it's a special, right?"

"Right." You nodded. "It's a pretty large meal, though, so I'd recommend sharing it-"

"No, y'see.." he cut you off. "Jesus was the lamb of god. He died on the cross for your sins. And, look!"

He pointed to the menu. "It says it's a 'praying hands' lamb!"

"Oh!" You forced yet another smile. "I can see the confusion. That just refers to how the rack is arranged."

"I think it's a sign from god." He said.

You demonstrated the shape of the dish with your fingers. "See, the rib bones are long and the racks are Frenched, so the dish takes the shape of a pair of, well, praying hands."

"I'll take it." He nodded furiously.

He took a sharp breath in through his nose and you started to seriously wonder if his definition of "coke or nothing" had a double meaning. It formulated in your head as a joke, but it became more and more of a serious inquiry by the minute.

You leaned in just slightly to get a closer look at his face. Some details you hadn't noticed before were beginning to come into focus. His eyes were vacant and glassy. A small but noticeable stream of blood trickled from his nostril.

"Sir?" You said in a clear, projected voice. "Is there someone I could call for you?"

He turned his head. "Jesus died for your sins."

You looked around the room for any sign of your manager, a supervisor or anyone with a shred of authority. "This man needs help!"

In your haste to call attention to the situation, you didn't see him pick up his steak knife.

"You want to know what Jesus felt when you pierced him?" He muttered, just loud enough for your ears alone.

You felt the serrated knife puncture your skin before you had time to process his words. The pain shot through your body, making you freeze in place.

A chorus of screams filled the restaurant. Blood was pouring from the open wound in a quantity you didn't think possible. Underneath, the knife went straight through your hand and into the table.

The man gripped the handle and gave it a twist, a look of horrifying pleasure on his face. At this point, several people had stepped in to restrain him. He was tall and athletic and could easily overpower many of the other customers, which he did. He found another steak knife and began to cut throats while chanting an incomprehensible prayer.

An older woman claiming to be a doctor rushed to your side. She made a makeshift tourniquet from a napkin and a butter knife. Everything after that was a blur. You struggled to stay conscious as the woman tried to guide the knife from the table while keeping it embedded in your hand.

Soon enough, police and ambulances arrived on the scene. The woman placed you in the care of one of the many EMTs, then rushed away to assist the others.

"I'm just doing what Jesus says!" The youth pastor shouted, before gouging his knife into another man's throat. "Spreading his love!"

The officers notably didn't open fire and made an attempt to de-escalate. Maybe that was how the youth pastor was able to escape.