#summer 2021 or 2022. just checked. it was 2021. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

usedpidemo · 4 days

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Update - 3rd year anniversary! (and some future plans, a reflection, etc.)

Hi everyone! π here.

By the time this post is up, it'll be the 13th of May. Three years since I began my writing journey and this Tumblr blog. Three years. Time flies by so fast. I was close to graduating senior high after it was delayed because pandemic, had my graduation in an empty room basically, now I'm hitting my third year of college. Crazy stuff.

With that said, here are the stats + timetable of the blog so far:

First work: Sandwich (Wendy) (published 05/13/21, 4:03 a.m)

Highest note count: Tell your friends (Yujin x Wonyoung) (published 01/14/23, 1274 notes)

Number of works published: 91 fics (1 fic every 12.03 days)

500 followers: June 18, 2021 (36 days)

1000 followers: October 12, 2021 (152 days)

2000 followers: June 18, 2022 (401 days)

3000 followers: November 12, 2022 (548 days)

4000 followers: May 22, 2023 (740 days)

5000 followers: December 18, 2023 (950 days)

Current follower count: 5615 (1 new follower every 5.12 days)

It's been a hectic final month of college, so I apologize for the lack of activity in recent times :< But summer is coming up very soon, so hopefully I'll have all the time in the world to write more till then! I will say, a new fic is on the near horizon, so please be on the lookout!

I would like to take the opportunity to thank every single of you, whether reader, lurker, or a fellow writer for your support! Especially during these lull times, your unwavering support has kept me afloat and has been a motivation in continuing to write. Love you guys as always. Here's to another fruitful year <3

From this point, this part will be an overall reflection and life summary of the previous year, my thoughts on some personal matters, and some ideas I've been contemplating. If you don't wanna read this, you can stop here.

I miss 2023 quite a bit, not gonna lie. I know nostalgia can quickly grow warm and fuzzy, seeing the past through rose tinted lens, but I'll admit that 2024 hasn't been off to the start I envisioned it to be. That year was mostly peak for me, and I could even argue it's my favorite year to live out based on all my experiences. Traveling to new places, finally attending live events, interacting with my K-pop biases, and so on—it really felt like the best was yet to come with how 2023 flowed and transitioned into the new year.

Five months in, and I am struggling. Horribly. Most plans, dreams, and ideas have gone up in smoke, and it's just one devastating gut punch after another. I have a shitty professor in one major that basically made me check out of that class, and I don't know my family will react when I tell them I have to repeat said class because that professor was a dick. My family's been infighting on a daily basis, and I'm mostly collateral damage to them. Not one week can go by without some serious confrontation between them. There was a brief health scare with my mother, but that seems to be a nothing matter; thank God she'll be okay.

All this just makes life so deflating, in all honesty. I get that no life is without struggle, but I genuinely don't know when we'll be in the clear. Not anytime soon, I reckon. In these tough times, there's very little comfort except the past, when everything was pretty all right for the most part. It's been demotivating to write when mom comes forward with another grievance with my sister. It's hard to write when you have a professor who likes to power trip their students into submission. It's hard when you don't know how to admit to your mother that he failed his one class because of said power tripping professor.

But that doesn't mean I will let it eat me alive. I know we've been through some utter lows in the past. And we always get back up. If no one has us, then God does.

Summer break is fast approaching and I want to fix things. Even in my own little way. I know none of what I'm saying has anything to do with writing degenerate stories about hot K-pop idols, but real life circumstances have definitely affected me more than I can brush off. I should be calm, unfazed, undeterred.

After all, some stories are meant to be finished. They just take a more unconventional route. Ask Cody.

With all that being said, I will finish these commissions over the next two months. I'm really sorry to everyone who requested and paid for their stories months and months ago; I genuinely feel bad for not getting these out on time, but I am very mindful of quality control, and I have no one to blame but myself for being a slacker and lazy worker. Despite my feelings, I should remain professional—that's what being a worker means.

A lifestyle overhaul is definitely in my list of things to improve over the summer too. Figuring out how to get writing done, finding ways to alleviate my PokeRogue addiction (GOTY), whilst having a healthy work/life balance and not losing my sanity over it. Or worse, burning out.

And I want to take this opportunity to thank all my friends—peach, caps, majorblinks, chunk, frisky, raf, c.o, levi, sins, iz, ken, v1n, ddeun, notions, kevin, eros, brandon, kaede, svn, frisky, cray, rpg, prael—for putting up with my shit for another year. This life is tough, but you guys make it tolerable. Thank you for letting me air out my grievances even when it wasn't the best time to. I pray that when everything passes, I'm able to repay you all in some shape or form generously.

And to you, dear reader, for making it this far, thank you. Whether you've been with me since day one, or day 1094, as a commenter, reposter, liking, or just passing by/lurking, thank you for giving me a chance. Without you, all of this would have been for nothing. I don't know where I would be now if I didn't take that chance, that leap of faith back in 2021, and it's because of you I am able to keep doing this for the love of the game.

With grace,

Peter / π

#update #anniversary

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aftgficrec · 6 months

Note

ah I'm so excited you're open!!! thank you for the ridiculous amount of work you all do 🙏ok, this might be too specific but any fics with an alternate take on Andrew and Neil's post-trk reunion? Andrew gets out of easthaven early, Neil leaves the Nest later, AU's, etc.? i think it's a really interesting point in their dynamic, and I'm a sucker for sober Andrew realizing someone was watching his back for once

Feeling a bit like a Bernie Sanders’ meme – ‘I am once again asking myself why I spent so much time on an ask,’ 😅 but it's because this is such an iconic and beloved scene for our fandom. For a super fun ‘live’ first-time reader reaction to this high drama, check out ‘The King’s Men, Chapter 1 – Hello Foxhole, My Old Friend’ by @nickireadstfc here. -A

also see

Andrew's POV of throwing keys off roof here

‘Come and Save Me From It’ here (completed)

‘Learning To Feel (When You've Forgotten How)’ and the fandom meta posts here

‘pipedream’ here

‘reaching for the heights’ here

‘Lost boy’ and ‘[Un]broken’ here

‘I Know You From A Nightmare,’ ‘The Marks We Make,’ and ‘Draw Me Out, Mark Me In’ here

‘Marked’ and ‘Soulmates who can feel each other’s pain’ here

‘Of Stars and Stories’ here

‘What’s normal now?’ here

long previous recs with reunion mention

‘No More Fucks To Give’ here (updated)

‘The Sphynx and the Hare’ here (completed)

‘corvus, vulpes, lupus’ here

‘never fallen (from quite this high)’ here

‘Not a Pipe Dream’ here

‘everything and nothing begins with you’ here

Andrew gets sober, Neil stays at Evermore

‘Oh Raven,’ ‘Jailbird,’ and ‘Take to the Wing’ here

‘Scared to Live (But I'm Scared to Die)’ here

‘Comeback’ here

you may also like

in the dream I don't tell anyone (you put your head in my lap) by Fortheloveofexy [Rated T, 1850 Words, Complete, 2022, Locked]

The real Neil would never allow this, would not let himself be this vulnerable. The real Neil can barely stand to be around him. Andrew knows this. But Dream Neil? Dream Neil is a different story.

Will you be there when I come back? by Shamman [Not Rated, 299 Words, Complete, 2017]

Andrew is trapped in Easthaven with an eidetic memory and tries to focus his thoughts on the confusing image of Neil Josten's face. -Because however terrible it may look, Andrew's current circumstances are much less pleasant. Furthermore Bee has been making him sing and play the guitar in a very therapeutic attempt to make him express some sort of actual emotion over the past year.

tw: violent imagery

You Gave Me A Key And Called It Home by glintchi [Rated T, Collection, Complete, 2019]

Chapter 19: Yes, I Admit It, You Were Right [460 Words] Renee was waiting for him in the basement, fingers already taped, hair pulled back into a tuft of a rainbow ponytail.

Foxhole Tidbits by SpangleBangle [Collection Rated T/M, Updated 2018]

Chapter 14: My Friend, O My Friend [M, 953 Words] Prompt for Renee's reaction after Drake/Easthaven and Andrew's return.

tw: implied/referenced rape/noncon, tw: implied/referenced csa, tw: canonical character death

Did You Miss Me? by Deathandcommas [Rated G, 555 Words, Complete, 2023, Locked]

Aaron and Andrew have a late night chat after Andrew gets back from Easthaven.

tfw spoons by StrawBerryRains [Rated G, 216 Words, Complete, 2021]

Nicky offers Andrew ice cream when they arrive home from Easthaven.

A Taste of Your Own Medicine by caffeine_withdrawl [Rated M, 66454 Words, Incomplete, Updated March 2023]

Set after the infamous Thanksgiving, but then diverges from canon. Andrew and Bee decide it’s time for Andrew to come off the drugs, but works some magic so that he is allowed to do it in Columbia. Neil is tasked with helping him through it. They decide to do it the same way Andrew helped Aaron sober up, by locking him in a bathroom. Andrew doesn't react well, and switches between rage and panic. Andrew wonders if Neil is real or if he made him up because of the drugs.

tw: graphic depictions of violence, tw: body horror, tw: implied/referenced rape/noncon, tw: implied/referenced csa, tw: flashbacks, tw: implied/referenced abuse, tw: drug addiction, tw: withdrawal, tw: vomit, tw: implied/referenced self harm, tw: ptsd, tw: emotional abuse, tw: hallucinations

making it harder to breathe by Azure_Allumiia [Rated T, 1643 Words, Complete, 2021]

Christmas Break with the Foxes, featuring Andrew at Easthaven and Neil in Evermore. Foxes celebrate New Years in NYC with the ball drop.

tw: graphic depictions of violence, tw: rape/noncon, tw: medical abuse, tw: torture, tw: blood

Dead Birds by Noah98 [Rated G, 1601 Words, Complete, 2021, Locked]

Neil just got back from Evermore and Andrew has returned from Easthaven. Riko calls. He wants a rematch and oh boy does he get it.

tw: violence, tw: blood/gore

Art

NB: just a sampling of art for this scene

“Feel Again” original song by @whatbutandreil [Tumblr, 2020]

Picking up Andrew from Easthaven part 1, part 2 comic by @coldcigarettes

andreil keys off the roof scene: animation by @hahanken | comic by @rainbowd00dles | comic by @lunapiq | art by @esklinray

I hate you comic by @thematicallycoherent

I’m not a hallucination art by @clumsyartish

Stick around long enough to figure it out for yourself. edit by @m1nyards

You are a pipe dream art by @viennemort

“you spend all this time watching our backs” edit by @matthcwboyd

not a hallucination a pipe dream art by @kryptidfox

“you were supposed to be a side effect of the drugs.” art by @planetmontressor

"Go inside and leave me alone." art by @dimsunstuff

“No, you’re a pipe dream.” art by @starkingdraws

113 notes · View notes

sweetcherryharry · 1 year

Text

Begin Again — 02

Synopsis: Harry and Y/N had a secret relationship for almost two years, until they broke up. A year later, she shows up at one of his Love On Tour shows.

(masterlist)

Y/N wasn’t sure what her best option was. She had three running through her mind, trying to decide in just a few seconds what the best possible outcome could be.

One, she could simply act as if she had never read that message. After all, she never opened his texts, she just read them through her notifications on her phone’s lock screen. She could simply reply in half an hour that she didn’t see them on time and that she was already close to her home, and that the show was amazing.

This way, she’d simply avoid what she dreaded the most; the awkward conversation about how they’ve been.

Two, she could simply stay in the pit and follow what he told her; wait for a bodyguard to retrieve her to get her backstage. It wouldn’t be the first time, but the difference was that this time, she wasn’t alone, and they weren’t dating anymore. She’d need to tell both Maia and Natalie about the little huge secret she kept.

They didn’t know anything about it because Y/N had become close friends with them until the pandemic ended and life returned to normal —going back to classes on January 2022— and by that time, she had recently ended things with Harry.

They had broken up in December 2021 and throughout that semester (August-December), she had been traveling with him on his North America tour, meaning she decided to take all of her classes online, even though some of them were already offered to be on campus with a facemask on.

But then, after the breakup, she came back to the California campus for her final semester, ready to graduate in the summer, which she did. There was where she became a very close friend to Maia and Natalie, so technically, she never lied to them about it.

She had mentioned months ago that she had an ex-boyfriend, and how they dated for almost two years before things got complicated and broke up. And yes, she had told them his name was Harry, but that was about it.

She wasn’t sure how her friends would react if the Harry she had told them about was nonetheless, Harry fucking Styles.

And finally, her third option would be to tell her friends that she’ll make her way home later and that they should start getting ahead. What excuse was she going to tell them? She had no idea. And honestly… she knew that neither Maia nor Natalie would want to leave her alone, so this option was almost impossible.

“Are you okay?” Natalie interrupted her thoughts, and that’s when Y/N noticed she had been stuck in her tracks, staring at her screen while she tried to figure out what she should do. “You’ve been standing there for about a minute looking at your phone.”

Maia and Natalie were both looking at her with concern, and for a moment, Y/N felt somehow bad that she was ruining their good moods with her own worries. Minutes earlier, they were thrilled, ranting about the show nonstop, and now, it seemed like the mood between the trio died a little.

Y/N was highly expressive with her facial features, which was both a curse and a blessing, and for that, she knew she couldn’t lie about how she was feeling. But, that didn’t mean she couldn’t say a tiny white lie to lift their concerns.

“Yeah, nothing to worry about,” She shrugged their concerns off, plastering a smile on her lips, “I just got a reminder of something work-related, a few things I need to get done before Monday.”

Maia groaned, “I don’t even want to talk about work right now, I miss being a university student, and simply pushing all the work for Sunday night.” Her comment made the girls laugh, remembering the stress they’d feel trying to complete a whole long assignment in just three hours.

“Stressful times,” Natalie commented with a chuckle, before checking the hour on her own phone, “It’s almost eleven, do you guys want to crash over at my apartment, or do you want to go out?”

And that’s when Y/N decided which was her best option, to leave right now with her friends and act like Harry never asked her to stay back to meet with her backstage. Her past relationship would remain a secret, and she wouldn’t have to explain everything to her friends.

Later in the night, she’ll simply reply that she didn’t see it in time and that the show was amazing.

“Even though I’m just 23, I’m tired already. So much jumping, dancing, and screaming.” Maia replied, to which Y/N agreed. “I’d love to crash at your place and just order some takeout.”

“Perfect,” Natalie replied, and hooked both of her arms with her friends, “Shall we?”

As the three girls resumed their way to the exit of the pit —which was already more on the empty side— they talked about the number of feathers that decorated the floor. It was crazy, really, the number of colors that fans brought to each show.

Y/N loved it.

“Wait!” Maia stopped the girls, and turned to look at them with a grin, “let’s record a quick Tiktok! The one where you stand in the pit with a straight face, and the song Static plays up, and you’re like ‘the concert ended, what now?’”

But before Y/N could say that she wasn’t sure about it, due to the fact that she wanted to leave the place as soon as possible and avoid the bodyguard who’ll come to retrieve her in a few minutes, Maia was already pulling both girls to the barricade alongside her.

In the blink of an eye, Maia had already handed her phone to a random fan who was standing nearby, and the three girls stood side by side. Y/N was wearing her green and black outfit, while Maia wore pink and Natalie yellow.

“Three… two… one!” The girl who was recording them announced to them that the Tiktok was now recording, and the three girls remained serious, their eyes locked on the camera as the girl recording took a few steps back, just like the trend. “Done! I loved it.”

“Thank you so much!” Y/N replied, taking Maia’s phone in her hands. She was beginning to feel nervous, the quicker they left, the less probability there was that she would be approached. The girl simply smiled at her, mumbling a ‘you’re welcome’ and went with her friend, leaving the trio behind.

Y/N handed Maia her phone, and the short-haired girl was quick to post it, typing a quick caption and adding the harrystyles and lotnight5 hashtags, along with tagging Natalie’s and Y/N’s users.

“Okay, now let’s go!”

And as the trio started to take steps away from the barricade, Y/N let out a deliberately quiet exhale, relief filling her body a few seconds later as she finally crossed the exit doors from the pit and unto the outside of the Kia Forum.

But, that relief she felt for those few seconds didn’t last long.

As the girls started to make their way unto the hallway that led to the parking lot, the girl in the green outfit felt a gentle, yet sturdy hand on her shoulder, making her turn around to look for the owner of the extremity, who was now looking for her attention.

Y/N swore she felt her heart falling to her feet as she saw who was now in front of her. It wasn’t a regular bodyguard or another fan that had stopped her —no— it was none other than Jeff, Harry’s manager and someone she had many conversations with (both pleasant and non-pleasant) in the past. He was a friend to her, but he was still Harry’s manager, and he needed to take some decisions from time to time that she didn’t like.

He wore a facemask that covered half of his face, and to disguise himself, he wore a Kia Forum Staff vest, just like the people around the place who worked at the arena. Obviously, he wasn’t dumb enough to come out to the hallways of the Kia Forum with nothing hiding who he truly was, since he knew he’d be surrounded by fans who would recognize him.

“Y/N?” He asked lowly, trying not to raise suspicion or catch fans’ attention.

“Hey Jeff,” Y/N exclaimed, using a low voice too, putting on a forced smile on her lips. It wasn’t that she wasn’t happy to see him, she used to get along really well with him, but the circumstances were the ones that she didn’t like much. “How you’ve been?”

She knew that there was no escaping now; she’ll face her ex-boyfriend after one of his concerts.

Great.

“I’ve been doing really well, thank you,” Jeff replied and pulled her in for a friendly hug, which she reciprocated. He hadn’t seen her in quite a while, the last time had been almost a year ago when Harry and Y/N had broken up. “How about you?”

She could see the concern in his brown eyes, knowing that his question didn’t mean just how she had been feeling lately, but how has she been ever since the breakup.

“Doing much better now.” She replies honestly, making him nod. “What about you? How is everyone?”

Jeff smiled, and even though she couldn’t see his lips, she could see the way his face changed behind the face mask, “Glenne and I have been great, now almost two years since we got married, time flies.”

Glenne was Jeff’s wife, and Y/N loved the woman. The four of them would hang out from time to time, and even though there was a slight age difference between the two women, they got along really well.

“It truly does, I still remember those few days before your wedding when both Glenne and you couldn’t stop rambling about your special day.” As Y/N said those words, she couldn’t help but feel a bittersweet sensation.

She had attended Jeff and Glenn's wedding back on January 2021 and she had been Harry’s official partner to it, yet it was almost like she hadn’t been. Instead of standing by his boyfriend’s side during the ceremony and holding hands with him, she had been on the opposite side of the place, standing alone as Harry held hands with Olivia.

When the ceremony had ended and everyone moved to the party, her boyfriend finally spent the rest of the night with her. Since it had been in a private location, there were no more public appearances that needed to be done, and Olivia had finally gone home.

It was until the party then that Harry was by her side all the time, dancing and singing, constantly telling her how much he loved her.

Y/N had enjoyed that night so much, yet at the same time, she hadn’t.

“Yeah, I remember.” Jeff chuckled, and after a few seconds of comfortable silence, he glanced towards a door a few meters away that said ‘Staff Only’, where two guards were standing, checking that nobody tried to sneak in backstage. “He told me to look for you to get you backstage…”

She felt her nerves increase, knowing that it was all getting very real now. “I know.”

“If you don’t want to meet him, I’ll tell him that I didn’t find you.” He gave her a way to back out of this, knowing that the ex-couple hadn’t seen each other in a very long time, and the last time they had, it had been filled with pure heartbreak and tears. “I’m still your friend.”

She let out a deep breath, weighing down her options.

And as she did, she felt a hand squeeze her arm lightly, making her remember that she wasn’t alone. Talking to Jeff had filled her mind with memories of the countless days they had spent joking around on tour.

Y/N turned to look at the two worried and confused faces of Maia and Natalie, slightly turning her back to Jeff.

“You okay?” Maia mouthed to her, not wanting to cause a scene if her friend didn’t actually know this man or wanted to converse with him.

She nodded, “Yeah, he’s a good old friend.” Y/N gave them a reassuring smile.

Natalie quickly glanced at him above Y/N’s shoulder, and smiled playfully, “If he has access to backstage, tell him to get us Harry’s autograph, and we’ll pay him!” She jokingly (which wasn’t much of a joke) whispered to her.

Y/N stayed silent for a few seconds, knowing that there was a small, deep part of her that would hate herself if she let this opportunity pass. Even though she was scared to talk to him, to see him again after everything, she knew that she’d regret not doing it.

Besides, her close friends deserved the truth about her so-called ex.

“Yeah, about that…” Y/N turned to look at Jeff, and gave him a quick nod, telling him in a simple gesture her final answer, before turning to look at her two friends. “You’re about to meet him.”

sorry it took so long! but finally, here is pt2 to 'begin again' :)

taglist: @samanddeaninatrenchcoat @one-sweet-gubler @jjsgirlp4l @lovingmesstuff @gem1712 @tinyhrry @kipperthedog2004 @behindmygreyeyes @theekyliepage @winterrays @drunk-teens-doing-drugs @itsjustsel @a-strange-familiar @grapejuice-rry @tranquility-moon @tpwksummer @awkwardbisexuall @ameerakane20 @harryspirate

#harrystyles #harry styles imagine #harry styles imagines #harry #harry imagine #harry styles fic #harry styles x reader #harry styles x you #harry styles x y/n #harry styles series #love on tour #harry x reader

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djarins-cyare · 2 months

Text

So it’s been a year…

One year since Disney released episode 1 season 3 of The Mandalorian

One year since I published chapter 1 of Be-All And Endor

I don’t really remember much of the first 20 weeks of that year, just that it was a flurry of proofreading and finalising and uploading (the hard parts) and comment reading and new friend making and massively appreciating (the wonderful parts).

Proofing and publishing 2 chapters a week with average lengths of around 10k words was exhausting. But for the first 8 of those weeks I had Din Djarin on the screen (intermittently *ahem* but this isn’t a post about the quality of s3) and for the rest of the year I had my readers leaving comments and sending messages, and it was… overwhelmingly the best year of my life.

I mean that. The best year. Ever. Because of you. Any of you, all of you, if you’ve ever even just clicked on my fic and given it chance, you’ve raised the hits on it. Even seeing that metric tick up has made me so thankful.

Because I didn’t think I could write. I always wanted to be an author but never believed in myself.

I did an English degree with writing in mind, but told myself nobody ever does anything with an English degree. I took creative writing modules, and when the published author who ran the class gave me scathing feedback, my dream fully died. I got an okay grade, hardly anything to be proud of, and I graduated and went to work in another industry.

I suffered from clinical depression.

One day many years later, I found a favourite author online and messaged him to ask when his fourth novel in a series was being published, and (emboldened by the anonymity of being online) cheekily offered to proofread it for him. Except he took me seriously and sent me the prologue to see what I could do. Like, for a real book you can buy on Amazon. After feeling sick for two whole days I went all Autistic Obsession on it and sent him back the most thoroughly proofed bit of writing anyone had ever seen. And I got the job. (I say ‘job’, I’d volunteered for free in exchange for the privilege of reading it in advance, so I can only ever call it semi-professional since I didn’t earn from it).

This, amongst other things, lifted me from my depression. I came off the pills and felt happier, more creative. Once the proofing was completed, the author encouraged me to write my own stuff, but whilst I’d gained some confidence… my brain was empty. I had no clamouring stories to get down on the page, no gems ready to polish.

Then in summer 2021, a friend sat me down and showed me the first 3 episodes of the Mandalorian. And my brain chemistry was instantly altered. I binge-watched the first two seasons, by the end of which I was unequivocally in love with Din Djarin, and then I binge-watched them again.

Around that time, I moved to a different country. Well, Wales is still the UK, but it’s a different country to England, and I was now 170 miles away from my friends. I went because as a single woman on a middling salary, London is too expensive to live in and having rid myself of an overbearing long term relationship, I was NOT keen to get into another one just to pay the bills. The pandemic meant I could work remotely, so I upped sticks and moved to Cardiff, resolving to visit my office in London (and my friends) once a month. It’s 2 hours by train, totally doable.

So what to do with all the spare time I suddenly had?

By Easter 2022 I’d started writing. 9 months later (yes, it’s my actual baby), Be-All And Endor was complete and I began publishing alongside season 3’s release.

Now… it has over 62.k views and 1.2k kudos 🥹🤯

Did I think it would be this popular? No way. I can’t even believe it now. I still see SO much wrong with it, which is why I’m still proofreading and editing it.

A professional proofread/edit takes a long time, and if you’re wondering what I’m doing to it, it involves the following:

Checking for things like clichés, non-inclusive language

Checking all adverbs to see if a better word can be used (e.g. ‘bellows’ instead of ‘shouts loudly’… adverbs usually end in -ly and it’s not good to overuse them)

Rephrasing any passive sentences (simply put: ‘the ship is flown by Din’ is passive; ‘Din flies the ship’ is active)

Reducing average sentence length (shorter sentences are easier to read)

Going through every single damn polysyllabic word (e.g. anything that has more than 3-syllables) and seeing if a shorter synonym can be found (this helps the rhythm, as too many long words slows things down and can make readers stumble… and I use them a lot 😖)

Checking the 50 most frequently used words and seeing if I can find synonyms for those (helps give more variety in the language)

Ensuring Din’s name isn’t overused or underused, and adding epithets (e.g. ‘the hunter’ or ‘your Mandalorian’) where it’s overused but it’s too confusing to just say ‘he’/‘him’

These are the big things, but there’s more too - I’m streamlining decisions I made to use certain phrasings throughout; tweaking Din’s word choice here and there to ensure his voice is captured the best way possible; revamping some of the photos. And with all the tiny tweaks, it’s slowly padding things out too… when publishing was done it was 393k, now it’s 403k, although it’s not extra content as such, just better described.

I’m up to chapter 13 so far, and I’ll probably be doing this for another 2 years to get through all 40, because (a) I want to write other things too so that slows down the proofing, and (b) I so badly want to be proud of this project… everyone’s telling me I should be, and I am in a way… but it’s more gratitude to others than pride in myself… and I feel like if I get this proofing done and finally have a story I’m truly happy with, I can at last let myself be proud of what I achieved here.

I confess, I’m so envious of those who can post something without obsessing over it. I know it’s a facet of my autism, and I’ve long since accepted that my neurodivergent brain will not let me be cool about things other people are cool about. If I’ve learned anything, it’s that I should turn it to my advantage, so okay… I’m gonna make this fic the same quality as a published book on your bookshelf. And meanwhile I’m gonna enjoy and love all the fics that people can write and publish with far greater speed than I can, because the greatest thing about this fandom is that every contribution is worthy of appreciation, no matter the author’s experience or writing method. Quality fic isn’t synonymous with proofreading, and I hope it’s clear that I’m describing my obsession with perfecting my own writing, not other people’s. I’ve read so many amazing authors on here, and I want them all to know how much I love their work (any recs are from the bottom of my heart).

So anyway, this long and rambling post has turned into something unintended… I guess you now have some insight into my mind and the origins of Be-All And Endor and the future of it. Not what I meant to do, but I’ll leave it in for context.

Because the real reason I started writing this diatribe was because I wanted to express my true and undying gratitude to everyone who has ever read, commented, or left kudos on my fic over on AO3, and/or messaged me, followed me, interacted with me, or reblogged my masterlist here on tumblr 🧡💚

I know I am insanely lucky to have received the level of support I have, and I don’t take that for granted at all. I want to give back to this fandom, and I love reading and reccing other people’s fics, meeting new moots, and hopefully soon I’ll be publishing new fics for you all to read too. Fresh material is percolating, so it won’t be too long now.

So thank you to everyone who reads this post, you’re the absolute best and I love you more than I have the vocabulary to describe. Please accept a grateful forehead kiss instead 💋

#well this was longer than intended #but we all know brevity isn’t my strong suit #cannot express how much i love you all #so i rambled and i hope my gratitude comes across in there somewhere #thank you for supporting me #the mandalorian #din djarin #din djarin x reader #mandalorian #the mandalorian x reader #mando #mandalorian x reader #mando x reader

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yurimother · 1 year

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Poly Lesbian Light Novel 'Yuri Tama' Volume 2 Released in English

On January 17, J-Novel Club digitally released the second volume of toshizou's Yuri light novel series Yuri Tama: From Third Wheel to Trifecta The Second (Yuri no Ma ni Hasamareta Watashi ga, Ikioi de Futamata Shite Shimatta Hanashi). The series is notable for its polyamorous relationship between its three female main characters.

In the first volume, protagonist Yotsuba Hazama gets asked out by her both of her best friends, Yuna and Rinka. Unintentionally two-timing the girls causes her enough stress as is. But, she is now also despised by everyone else at school, who ship Yuna and Rinka and treat Yotsuba like an obnoxious third wheel.

The publisher describes the volume:

Yotsuba Hazama has it made. Summer vacation's just around the corner, and she gets to spend it with her two new girlfriends…if she can avoid their fan club's wrath, pass all her finals, and figure out why her sisters are treating her so coldly! Yotsuba Hazama has it made. Summer vacation is just around the corner, and this year she gets to spend it with her two girlfriends, Yuna and Rinka! Sure, she'll spend it doing makeup lessons instead unless she passes all her finals, but how hard could that be? And her girlfriends' fan club is a ticking time bomb in the background of her school life, but it's not like that has any chance of causing her problems! And, yes, her little sisters have been treating her with an inexplicable mixture of contempt and suspicion lately, but there's no way that'll go anywhere unpleasant! On second thought, let's start over: Yotsuba Hazama is in way over her head! Her first-ever summer with her new girlfriends is in peril of flunking-induced cancellation, her social standing at school is dangling by a thread, and she can't even figure out what's wrong with her relationship with her sisters, but it's definitely going to be a problem! Who knew having two girlfriends could be this difficult?!

Yuri Tama is published in Japanese by Overlap. The first volume was published in Japanese in November 2021, and the second in May 2022. Both volumes are illustrated by Kuro Shina.

Tristan K. Hill translates the light novels in English.

You can check out Yuri Tama: From Third Wheel to Trifecta The Second digitally today: https://amzn.to/3J8FAlu

Reading official releases help support creators and publishers. YuriMother makes a small affiliate commission from sales to help fund future coverage.

#Yuri #lgbt #lgbtq #poly #yuri light novel #manga #anime #gl #girls love #wlw #lgbtqia #yuri manga #yuri anime #gay

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sitp-recs · 1 year

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Hello, thank you for all your hard work!! ᕦ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)ᕤ

As a former drarry fic addict I want to go back to reading again. Could you please recommend me some really good fics with happy endings?? They could be really old or brand new (๑•̀ㅁ•́ฅ✧

Hello and welcome back! I’m afraid you’re never leaving Drarry again 🤣 happy to share some recs, I decided to highlight fics published within 2017-2022 (some very prolific years imo) and I think you might be familiar with a few already. These are mostly long, plotty fics; I can def do a shorts version if you’re interested (in fact I’d love to do it sometime because short fics are my jam), I just didn’t want this post to get even longer. You’re also welcome to check my master post with many other lists. Happy readings!

2017

Blood and Fire by @lqtraintracks (E, 45k)

9 1/2 Days by @magpiefngrl (E, 69k)

Cauldron Full of Hot, Strong Love by @aibidil (E, 80k)

Dwelling by aideomai (T, 83k)

Balance, Imperfect by @bixgirl1 (E, 91k)

What We Pretend We Can't See by gyzym (M, 131k)

Things Worth Knowing by Femme (E, 164k)

2018

In The Red by @bixgirl1 (E, 45k)

Take the Air by dysonrules (M, 51k)

Orbit by HenryMercury (E, 52k)

Little Compton Street by @writcraft and LLAP115 (E, 65k)

Little Deaths and How to Avoid Them by nerakrose and dustmouth (M, 96k)

All Missing Things (Can Be Found) by daisymondays (E, 100k)

Changing Tides by carpemermaid (E, 109k)

A Sword Laid Aside by @korlaena (E, 128k)

Away Childish Things by lettered (T, 153k)

2019

amid this warm and steady sweetness by warmfoothills (E, 21k)

Like Lightning at Your Fingertips by potterwatch (T, 43k)

Turn from Stone by @harryromper (M, 45k)

The Beauty of Thestrals and Other Unseen Things by @writcraft (E, 63k)

The Promise of Summer by Omi_Ohmy (M, 66k)

That Old Black Magic by bixgirl1 (E, 77k)

I Am Not Who I Became by mab_di (E, 93k)

Who we are in the shadows by @quicksilvermaid (E, 100k)

Way Down We Go by @xiaq (T, 109k)

Grounds for Divorce by Tepre (E, 122k)

2020

Vortex by @xanthippe74 (T, 20k)

Nice Things by aideomai (M, 22k)

Clouds That Veil the Midnight Moon by @drarrytrash (E, 36k)

(Un)wanted by @aibidil (E, 36k)

Unseen by @jackvbriefs (T, 47k)

The Four Doors by @fluxweeed (E, 49k)

Modern Love by @tackytigerfic (E, 61k)

Super Rich Kids by @thusspoketrish (E, 81k)

Criminal by @the-sinking-ship (E, 83k)

The Liars Department by @dorthyanndrarry (T, 103k)

Far From The Tree by aideomai (E, 112k)

2021

Take A Chance On Me by @mintawasalreadytaken (E, 41k)

The Trouble with Wanting by waldorph (E, 60k)

The Compact by astolat (E, 64k)

Home Truths by @skeptiquewrites and @fantalfart (E, 67k)

Timecode by Rasborealis (M, 73k)

Among Ancient Pines by @graymatters, @cambiodipolvere and only_the_heart_knows (M, 74k)

Nor All That Glisters by @sweet-s0rr0w, Danceabra and @fantalfart (E, 110k)

This Ain't the Garden of Eden by @romaine2424 (E, 131k)

By the Grace by lettered (T, 140k)

The Secret Keeper by @the-fools-errand and Razielim (M, 225k)

2022

Eager for the Sky by @oknowkiss and @upthehillart (M, 35k)

Heal Thyself by astolat (T, 47k)

Vis-à-Vis-à-Vis by @vukovich (E, 50k)

Meet Me at Midnight by @the-starryknight (T, 57k)

Kept in Cages by @sweet-s0rr0w and @ihopeyoubothstaysafefromharm (E, 77k)

all the western stars by @oflights (E, 78k)

A Case of You by @epitomereally (E, 97k)

where all the veins meet by eight_of_wands (E, 146k)

#asks #drarry reclist #long fics #2017-2022

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bcofl0ve · 4 months

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new austin butler fan? start here!

hey there girl/pal/buddy/friend! welcome to the crazy train the endearing mad house that is the austin butler fandom. i joined the party after seeing elvis 2022 with my dad on a whim opened my third eye and have adored austin ever since. if you have any questions please please send an anon or send me a message, but i hope this post is useful as well!

media

congrats, i have a hyperfixation on being an update blog which means i have a masterpost of where to stream everything he's ever been in since he's started acting!

my personal favorite thus far is shocking no one, elvis 2022, but i'm really excited for everything coming out in 2024!

interviews

if you want to get to know austin the person outside of being an actor, i highly recommend checking out his episode of the marc maron podcast. content warning for talk about losing a parent- austin's mom who passed when he was 23 from cancer, and some allusions to domestic violence re: a step father. but that to say it's imo the most personal interview austin has ever given (and it makes me cry when i listen to it). i linked to apple podcasts but it's also on spotify!

austin's first ever interview from when he was 16 years old (article)

long- and personal, interview/profile via esquire from 2024 (article)

ruthie’s table interview - 2021 podcast with his good friend, chef ruthie rogers. some very sweet childhood talk in here.

austin butler drives greg williams back home (austin going back to his home town and visting his childhood home and elementary school)

austin butler plays with puppies - what the title says

in conversation: baz luhrmann and austin butler (article) - a very funny joint interview where baz and austin talk about filming elvis

austin butler @ the oscar nominees luncheon - the interviewer is jason kennedy, a long time buddy of austin's who also knew his mom. this was my favorite interview of awards season.

austin giving his publcist kate an honorary oscar - also from the oscar nominees lucheon press junket, so sweet! we love his ginger publicist around here (:

austin and lisa marie presley joint interview - lisa adored austin, and he mentioned in a different interview during awards season that when he was at graceland she took him upstairs for *3 hours*. if you're unfamiliar with the presleys, that is point blank unheard of for someone that isn't a blood relative. lisa passed away in january 2023 just two days after watching austin win his golden globe, and is very very missed. (lisa and austin at the globes)

another little lisa and austin interview, my personal favorite because of the hug!

so who's the girl?

austin is currently dating kaia gerber and has been since december of 2021! i'm working on a masterpost timeline of their relationship which will likely take...a while. but in the meantime the basics are that they like to make out in public while also being quite the private couple.

here is a very cute little video of the two of them after the elvis premiere at cannes and my favorite deuxmoi sunday spotting of all time- someone saying they were making out *in face masks* in line at erewhon.

like i said, they are veryyy private but that means the little tidbits we get are a treat! austin 'gushed' about seeing her walk in a celine show here, and here's a little clip of his smiley little self in the front row.

the two share a dog milo, who is the shining baby boy light of ausitn's life and came up no short of two billion times when austin was doing press for his ysl campaign this past summer. we love milo!

(and i also love that austin wears his gf's clothes sometimes, king!)

misc fun stuff

austin is close friends with ashley tisdale, and has been since the two of them met filming the movie aliens in the attic in new zealand in 2008. he's 'uncle austin' to her little girl jupiter, and they're also distant cousins!

speaking of aliens in the attic, 300 years ago in 2008 austin ran a little blog for his fans throughout filming which is just the darn sweetest most endearing thing to me. you can read the entries that i pulled from the wayback machine here and here.

some other austin-isms that i love

his habit of wearing shirts inside out

how everyone that works with him gushes about how kind he is

this little video of him when he was four years old

his dear sweet publicist kate having to hand hold his golden retriever self on track

the 27 he has tattooed on his wrist bc it was his late mom’s god number

and so many other things that would take me too long to list

if you have any questions that this post doesn't answer pls slide me an anon or a direct message! happy to have you here! <3

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eddie-redmayne-italian-blog · 2 months

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The Untold History of Cabaret: Revived and Kicking

As Broadway welcomes the ever-evolving musical, its star, Eddie Redmayne—along with Liza Minnelli, Joel Grey, and Sam Mendes—assess its enduring power.

As director Rebecca Frecknall was rehearsing a new cast for her hit London revival of Cabaret, the actor playing Clifford Bradshaw, an American writer living in Berlin during the final days of the Weimar Republic, came onstage carrying that day’s newspaper as a prop. It happened to be Metro, the free London tabloid commuters read on their way to work. The date was February 25, 2022. When the actor said his line—“We’ve got to leave Berlin—as soon as possible. Tomorrow!”—Frecknall was caught short. She noticed the paper’s headline: “Russia Invades Ukraine.”

Cabaret, the groundbreaking 1966 Broadway musical that tackles fascism, antisemitism, abortion, World War II, and the events leading up to the Holocaust, had certainly captured the times once again.

Back in rehearsals four months later, Frecknall and the cast got word that the Supreme Court had overturned Roe v. Wade. Every time she checks up on Cabaret, “it feels like something else has happened in the world,” she told me over coffee in London in September.

A month later, as Frecknall was preparing her production of Cabaret for its Broadway premiere, something else did happen: On October 7, Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel, killing at least 1,200 people and taking more than 240 hostages.

The revival of Cabaret—starring Eddie Redmayne as the creepy yet seductive Emcee; Gayle Rankin as the gin-swilling nightclub singer Sally Bowles; and Bebe Neuwirth as Fraulein Schneider, a landlady struggling to scrape by—opens April 21 at Manhattan’s August Wilson Theatre. It will do so in the shadow of a pogrom not seen since the Einsatzgruppen slaughtered thousands of Jews in Eastern Europe and in the shadow of a war between Israel and Hamas that continues into its fifth month, with the killing of thousands of civilians in Gaza.

Nearly 60 years after its debut, Cabaret still stings. That is its brilliance. And its tragedy.

Redmayne has been haunted by Cabaret ever since he played the Emcee in prep school. “I was staggered by the character,” he says. “The lack of definition of it, the enigma of it.” He played the part again during his first year at Cambridge at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where nearly 3,500 shoestring productions jostle for attention each summer. Cabaret, performed in a tiny venue that “stank,” Redmayne recalls, did well enough that the producers added an extra show. He was leering at the Kit Kat Club girls from 8 p.m. till 10 p.m. and then from 11 p.m. till two in the morning. “You’d wake up at midday. You barely see sunshine. I just became this gaunt, skeletal figure.” His parents came to see him and said, “You need vitamin D!”

In 2021, Redmayne, by then an Oscar winner for The Theory of Everything and a Tony winner for Red, was playing the Emcee again, this time in Frecknall’s West End production. His dressing room on opening night was full of flowers. There was one bouquet with a card he did not have a chance to open until intermission. It was from Joel Grey, who originated the role on Broadway and won an Oscar for his performance alongside Liza Minnelli in the 1972 movie. He welcomed the young actor “to the family,” Redmayne says. “It was an extraordinary moment for me.”

Cabaret is based on Goodbye to Berlin, the British writer Christopher Isherwood’s collection of stories and character studies set in Weimar Germany as the Nazis are clawing their way to power. Isherwood, who went to Berlin for one reason—“boys,” he wrote in his memoir Christopher and His Kind—lived in a dingy boarding house amid an array of sleazy lodgers who inspired his characters. But aside from a fleeting mention of a host at a seedy nightclub, there is no emcee in his vignettes. Nor is there an emcee in I Am a Camera, John Van Druten’s hit 1951 Broadway play adapted from Isherwood’s story “Sally Bowles” from Goodbye to Berlin.

The character, one of the most famous in Broadway history, was created by Harold Prince, who produced and directed the original Cabaret. “People write about Cabaret all the time,” says John Kander, who composed the show’s music and is, at 96, the last living member of that creative team. “They write about Liza. They write about Joel, and sometimes about us [Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb]. None of that really matters. It’s all Hal. Everything about this piece, even the variations that happen in different versions of it, is all because of Hal.”

In 1964, Prince produced his biggest hit: Fiddler on the Roof. In the final scene, Tevye and his family, having survived a pogrom, leave for America. There is sadness but also hope. And what of the Jews who did not leave? Cabaret would provide the tragic answer.

But Prince was after something else. Without hitting the audience over the head, he wanted to create a musical that echoed what was happening in America: young men being sent to their deaths in Vietnam; racists such as Alabama politician “Bull” Connor siccing attack dogs on civil rights marchers. In rehearsals, Prince put up Will Counts’s iconic photograph of a white student screaming at a Black student during the Little Rock crisis of 1957. “That’s our show,” he told the cast.

A bold idea he had early on was to juxtapose the lives of Isherwood’s lodgers with one of the tawdry nightclubs Isherwood had frequented. In 1951, while stationed as a soldier in Stuttgart, Germany, Prince himself had hung around such a place. Presiding over the third-rate acts was a master of ceremonies in white makeup and of indeterminate sexuality. He “unnerved me,” Prince once told me. “But I never forgot him.”

Kander had seen the same kind of character at the opening of a Marlene Dietrich concert in Europe. “An overpainted little man waddled out and said, ‘Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome,’ ” Kander recalls.

The first song Kander and Ebb wrote for the show was called “Willkommen.” They wrote 60 more songs. “Some of them were outrageous,” Kander says. “We wrote some antisemitic songs”—of which there were many in Weimar cabarets—“ ‘Good neighbor Cohen, loaned you a loan.’ We didn’t get very far with that one.”

They did write one song about antisemitism: “If You Could See Her (The Gorilla Song),” in which the Emcee dances with his lover, a gorilla in a pink tutu. At the end of the number, he turns to the audience and whispers: “If you could see her through my eyes, she wouldn’t look Jewishhh at all.” It was, they thought, the most powerful song in the score.

The working title of their musical was Welcome to Berlin. But then a woman who sold blocks of tickets to theater parties told Prince that her Jewish clients would not buy a show with “Berlin” in the title. Strolling along the beach one day, Joe Masteroff, who was writing the musical’s book, thought of two recent hits, Carnival and Camelot. Both started with a C and had three syllables. Why not call the show Cabaret?

To play the Emcee, Prince tapped his friend Joel Grey. A nightclub headliner, Grey could not break into Broadway. “The theater was very high-minded,” he once said. When Prince called him, he was playing a pirate in a third-rate musical in New York’s Jones Beach. “Hal knew I was dying,” Grey recounts over lunch in the West Village, where he lives. “I wanted to quit the business.”

At first, he struggled to create the Emcee, who did not interact with the other characters. He had numbers but “no words, no lines, no role,” Grey wrote in his memoir, Master of Ceremonies. A polished performer, he had no trouble with the songs, the dances, the antics. “But something was missing,” he says. Then he remembered a cheap comedian he’d once seen in St. Louis. The comic had told lecherous jokes, gay jokes, sexist jokes—anything to get a laugh. One day in rehearsal, Grey did everything the comedian had done “to get the audience crazy. I was all over the girls, squeezing their breasts, touching their bottoms. They were furious. I was horrible. When it was over I thought, This is the end of my career.” He disappeared backstage and cried. “And then from out of the darkness came Mr. Prince,” Grey says. “He put his hand on my shoulder and said, ‘Joely, that’s it.’ ”

Cabaret played its first performance at the Shubert Theatre in Boston in the fall of 1966. Grey stopped the show with the opening number, “Willkommen.” “The audience wouldn’t stop applauding,” Grey recalls. “I turned to the stage manager and said, ‘Should I get changed for the next scene?’ ”

The musical ran long—it was in three acts—but it got a prolonged standing ovation. As the curtain came down, Richard Seff, an agent who represented Kander and Ebb, ran into Ebb in the aisle. “It’s wonderful,” Seff said. “You’ll fix the obvious flaws.” In the middle of the night, Seff’s phone rang. It was Ebb. “You hated it!” the songwriter screamed. “You are of no help at all!”

Ebb was reeling because he’d learned Prince was going to cut the show down to two acts. Ebb collapsed in his hotel bed, Kander holding one hand, Grey the other. “You’re not dying, Fred,” Kander told him. “Hal has not wrecked our show.”

Cabaret came roaring into New York, fueled by tremendous word of mouth. But there was a problem. Some Jewish groups were furious about “If You Could See Her.” How could you equate a gorilla with a Jew? they wanted to know, missing the point entirely. They threatened to boycott the show. Prince, his eye on ticket sales, told Ebb to change the line “She wouldn’t look Jewish at all” to something less offensive: “She isn’t a meeskite at all,” using the Yiddish word for a homely person.

It is difficult to imagine the impact Cabaret had on audiences in 1966. World War II had ended only 21 years before. Many New York theatergoers had fled Europe or fought the Nazis. There were Holocaust survivors in the audience; there were people whose relatives had died in the gas chambers. Grey knew the show’s power. Some nights, dancing with the gorilla, he’d whisper “Jewish” instead of “meeskite.” The audience gasped.

Cabaret won eight Tony Awards in 1967, catapulted Grey to Broadway stardom, and ran for three years. Seff sold the movie rights for $1.5 million, a record at the time. Prince, about to begin rehearsals for Stephen Sondheim’s Company, was unavailable to direct the movie, scheduled for a 1972 release. So the producers hired the director and choreographer Bob Fosse, who needed the job because his previous movie, Sweet Charity, had been a bust.

Fosse, who saw Prince as a rival, stamped out much of what Prince had done, including Joel Grey. He wanted Ruth Gordon to play the Emcee. But Grey was a sensation, and the studio wanted him. “It’s either me or Joel,” Fosse said. When the studio opted for Grey, Fosse backed down. But he resented Grey, and relations between them were icy.

A 26-year-old Liza Minnelli, on the way to stardom herself, was cast as Sally Bowles. The handsome Michael York would play the Cliff character, whose name in the movie was changed to Brian Roberts. And supermodel Marisa Berenson (who at the time seemed to be on the cover of Vogue every other month) got the role of a Jewish department store heiress, a character Fosse took from Isherwood’s short story “The Landauers.”

Cabaret was shot on location in Munich and Berlin. “The atmosphere was extremely heavy,” Berenson recalls. “There was the whole Nazi period, and I felt very much the Berlin Wall, that darkness, that fear, all that repression.” She adored Fosse, but he kept her off balance (she was playing a young woman traumatized by what was happening around her) by whispering “obscene things in my ear. He was shaking me up.”

Minnelli, costumed by Halston for the film, found Fosse “brilliant” and “incredibly intense,” she tells Vanity Fair in a rare interview. “He used every part of me, including my scoliosis. One of my great lessons in working with Fosse was never to think that whatever he was asking couldn’t be done. If he said do it, you had to figure out how to do it. You didn’t think about how much it hurt. You just made it happen.”

Back in New York, Fosse arranged a private screening of Cabaret for Kander and Ebb. When it was over, they said nothing. “We really hated it,” Kander admits. Then they went to the opening at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York. The audience loved it. “We realized it was a masterpiece,” Kander says, laughing. “It just wasn’t our show.”

“PAPA WAS EVEN MORE EXCITED ABOUT THE OSCAR THAN I WAS,” SAYS LIZA MINNELLI. “AND, BABY, I WAS—NO, I AM STILL—EXCITED.”

The success of the movie—with its eight Academy Awards—soon overshadowed the musical. When people thought of Cabaret, they thought of finger snaps and bowler hats. They thought of Fosse and, of course, Minnelli, who would adopt the lyric “Life is a cabaret” as her signature. Her best-actress Oscar became part of a dynasty: Her mother, Judy Garland, and father, director Vincente Minnelli, each had one of their own. “Papa was even more excited about the Oscar than I was,” she says. “And, baby, I was—no, I am still—excited.”

By 1987—in part to burnish Cabaret’s theatrical legacy—Prince decided to recreate his original production on Broadway, with Grey once again serving as the Emcee. But it had the odor of mothballs. The New York Times drama critic Frank Rich wrote that it was not, as Sally Bowles sings, “perfectly marvelous,” but “it does approach the perfectly mediocre.” Much of the show, he added, was “old-fashioned and plodding.”

In the early 1990s, Sam Mendes, then a young director running a pocket-size theater in London called the Donmar Warehouse, heard the novelist Martin Amis give a talk. Amis was writing Time’s Arrow, about a German doctor who works in a concentration camp. “I’ve already written about the Nazis and people say to me, ‘Why are you doing it again?’ ” Amis said. “And I say, what else is there?”

At the end of the day,” Mendes tells me, “the biggest question of the 20th century is, ‘How could this have happened?’ ” Mendes decided to stage Cabaret at the Donmar in 1993. Another horror was unfolding at the time: Serb paramilitaries were slaughtering Bosnian Muslims, “ethnic cleansing” on an unimaginable scale.

Mendes hit on a terrific concept for his production: He transformed his theater into a nightclub. The audience sat at little tables with red lamps. And the performers were truly seedy. He told the actors playing the Kit Kat Club girls not to shave their armpits or their legs. “Unshaved armpits—it sent shock waves around the theater,” he recalls. Since there was no room—or money—for an orchestra, the actors played the instruments. Some of them could hit the right notes.

To play the Emcee, Mendes cast Alan Cumming, a young Scottish actor whose comedy act Mendes had enjoyed. “Can you sing?” Mendes asked him. “Yeah,” Cumming said. Mendes threw ideas at him and “he was open to everything.” Just before the first preview, Mendes suggested he come out during the intermission and chat up the audience, maybe dance with a woman. Mendes, frantic before the preview, never got around to giving Cumming any more direction than that. No matter. Cumming sauntered onstage as people were settling back at their tables, picked a man out of the crowd, and started dancing with him. “Watch your hands,” he said. “I lead.”

Cumming’s Emcee was impish, fun, gleefully licentious. The audience loved him. “I have never had less to do with a great performance in one of my shows than I had to do with Alan,” Mendes says.

When Joe Masteroff came to see the show in London, Mendes was nervous. He’d taken plenty of liberties with the script. Cliff, the narrator, was now openly gay. (One night, when Cliff kissed a male lover, a man in the audience shouted, “Rubbish!”) And he made the Emcee a victim of the Nazis. In the final scene, Cumming, in a concentration camp uniform affixed with a yellow Star of David and a pink triangle, is jolted, as if he’s thrown himself onto the electrified fence at Birkenau.

“I should be really pissed with you,” Masteroff told Mendes after the show. “But it works.” Kander liked it too, though he was not happy that the actors didn’t play his score all that well. Ebb hated it. “He wanted more professionalism,” Mendes says. “And he was not wrong. There was a dangerous edge of amateurishness about it.”

The Roundabout Theatre Company brought Cabaret to New York in 1998. Rob Marshall, who would go on to direct the movie Chicago, helped Mendes give the show some Broadway gloss while retaining its grittiness. The two young directors were “challenging each other, pushing each other,” Marshall remembers, “to create something unique.”

Cumming reprised his role as the Emcee. He was on fire. Natasha Richardson, the daughter of Vanessa Redgrave and director Tony Richardson, played Sally Bowles. She was not on fire. She’d never been in a musical before, and when she sang, “There was absolutely no sound coming out,” Kander says.

“She beat herself up about her singing all the time,” Mendes adds. “There was a deep, self-critical aspect of Tash that was instilled by her dad, a brilliant man but extremely cutting.” He once said to her out of nowhere: “We’re going to have to do something about your chin, dear.” As Mendes saw it, she always felt that she could never measure up to her parents.

Kander went to work with her, and slowly a voice emerged. It was not a “polished sound,” Marshall says, but it was haunting, vulnerable. Still, Cumming was walking away with the show. At the first preview, when he took his bow, the audience roared. When Richardson took hers, they were polite. Mendes remembers going backstage and finding her “in tears.” But she persevered and through sheer force of will created a Sally Bowles that “will break your heart,” Masteroff told me the day before I saw that production in the spring of 1998. She did indeed. (Eleven years later, while learning how to ski on a bunny hill on Mont Tremblant, she fell down. She died of a head injury two days later.)

The revival of Cabaret won four Tony Awards, including one for Richardson as best actress in a musical. It ran nearly 2,400 performances at the Roundabout’s Studio 54 and was revived again in 2014. And the money, money, money, as the song goes, poured in. Once Masteroff, having already filed his taxes at the end of a lucrative Cabaret year, went to the mailbox and opened a royalty check for $60,000. “What the hell am I supposed to do with this?” he snapped.

Rebecca Frecknall grew up on Mendes’s Donmar Warehouse production of Cabaret. The BBC filmed it, and when it aired, her father videotaped it. She watched it “religiously.” But when she came to direct her production, she had to put Mendes’s version out of her mind.

Mendes turned his little theater into a nightclub. Frecknall, working with the brilliant set and costume designer Tom Scutt, has upped the game. They have transformed the entire theater into a Weimar cabaret. You stand in line at the stage door, waiting, you hope, to be let in. Once inside, you’re served drinks while the Kit Kat Club girls dance and flirt with you. The show’s logo is a geometric eye. Scutt sprinkles the motif throughout his sets and costumes. “It’s all part of the voyeurism,” Scutt explains. “The sense of always being watched, always watching—responsibility, culpability, implication, blame.”

REDMAYNE’S EMCEE IS STILL SEXY AND SEDUCTIVE, BUT AS THE SHOW GOES ON HE BECOMES A PUPPET MASTER MANIPULATING THE OTHER CHARACTERS, SOMETIMES TO THEIR DOOM.

Mendes’s Cabaret, like Fosse’s, had a black-and-white aesthetic—black fishnet stockings, black leather coats, a white face for the Emcee. Frecknall and Scutt begin their show with bright colors, which slowly fade to gray as the walls close in on the characters. “Color and individuality—to grayness and homogeneity,” Frecknall says.

As the first woman to direct a major production of Cabaret, Frecknall has focused attention on the Kit Kat Club girls—Rosie, Fritzie, Frenchie, Lulu, and Texas. “Often what I’ve seen in other productions is this homogenized group of pretty, white, skinny girls in their underwear,” she insists. Her Kit Kat Club girls are multiethnic. Some are transgender. Through performances and costumes, they are no longer appendages of the Emcee but vivid characters in their own right.

Her boldest stroke has been to reinvent the Emcee. She and Redmayne have turned him into a force of malevolence. He is still sexy and seductive, but as the show goes on, he becomes a skeletal puppet master manipulating the other characters to, in many cases, their doom. If Cumming’s Emcee was, in the end, a Holocaust victim, Redmayne’s is, in Frecknall’s words, “a perpetrator.”

Unwrapping a grilled cheese sandwich in his enormous Upper West Side townhouse, Kander says that his husband had recently asked him a pointed question: “Did it ever occur to you that all of you guys who created Cabaret were Jewish?”

“Not really,” Kander replied. “We were just trying to put on a show.” Or, as Masteroff once said: “It was a job.”

It’s a “job” that has endured. The producers of the Broadway revival certainly have faith in the show’s staying power. They’ve spent $25 million on the production, a big chunk of it going to reconfigure the August Wilson Theatre into the Kit Kat Club. Audience members will enter through an alleyway, be given a glass of schnapps, and can then enjoy a preshow drink at a variety of lounges designed by Scutt: The Pineapple Room, Red Bar, Green Bar, and Vault Bar. The show will be performed in the round, tables and chairs ringing the stage. And they’ll be able to enjoy a bottle (or two) of top-flight Champagne throughout the performance.

This revival is certainly the most lavish Cabaret in a long time. But there have been hundreds of other, less heralded productions over the years, with more on the way. A few months before Russia invaded Ukraine, Cabaret was running in Moscow. Last December, Concord Theatricals, which licenses the show, authorized a production at the Molodyy Theatre in Kyiv. And a request is in for a production in Israel, the first since the show was produced in Tel Aviv in 2014.

“The interesting thing about the piece is that it seems to change with the times,” Kander says. “Nothing about it seems to be written in stone except its narrative and its implications.”

And whenever someone tells him the show is more relevant than ever, Kander shakes his head and says, “I know. And isn’t that awful?”′

You can also listen the entire article here !!

https://www.vanityfair.com/style/cabaret-revival

I know it's a very long article , but very interesting!!

#eddie redmayne #cabaret #cabaret story #theatre #vanity fair #liza minelli #alan cumming #rebecca frecknall #director #gayle rankin #sally bowles #the emcee #nyc #august wilson #broadway #tom scutt #costume designer #scenic theatre #emma stone

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dangermousie · 9 months

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OK I just realized every year for quite a while there is one cdrama I go utterly insane and irrational for and I never know which one it’s going to be

2019: Novoland Eagle Flag - trailers looked cool but I knew nothing about the story and had never seen the cast in anything. Checked out because it looked pretty and grim went totally insane.

2020: The Wolf - I didn’t even know it would ever air, let alone anticipate it. Waking up to @andoqin screaming in my messages that The Wolf just dropped, yes all of it, is still the most awesome and surreal moment of my drama watching career.

2021: The Rebel Princess - they only announced the airing the day before and same with a very short nondescript trailer. I checked out because of the cast expecting nothing and lost my entire mind.

2022: Love Between Fairy and Devil: I was actively mocking this one before it aired, I hated that trailer and their male lead can’t act and the premise is dumber than a box of rocks irradiated with a dumbing down ray. Two minutes into the opening and I had to eat every single word I said before. The obsession I had with this thing!

2023: Lost You Forever Part 1: this is going to be the most hyped and the least watchable hit of the summer, thought I. Nobody could coherently explain to me what the story was about, I eye reverse harems like a Puritan eyes a satanic orgy, and the closest I came to liking anyone in the cast was Tan Jianci, where the last drama I enjoyed him in was in 2018. For Yang Zi it was 2013, I was utterly unfamiliar with Zhang Wanyi and Deng Wei to me was the personification of the color beige. Plus none of the trailers grabbed me. Checked it out only because I check out most costume cdramas and now am clearly raving and obsessed about the drama, the story and the cast. Mmm crow!

Ok, clearly I’ve kept the pattern running for five years let’s see if we can go for six.

#cdrama

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franzis-frantic-thoughts · 2 years

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thanks for the updates from Maddie and Twitter! I can’t believe whats going on. The relaunch of Magnus in combination with stopping so many cool ongoing shows is so weird

You are very welcome! I actually revived my Twitter account to be able to check regularly for new posts, either from Maddy or others. There doesn’t seem to have been anything new in a few hours now, even if I personally missed it, I’d have heard about it via one of the multiple discords I’m on.

Yes, RQ has made incredibly strange decisions this past year (or even beyond that) which leave me as a fan - and highest tier Noble - incredibly frustrated.

When they shut the discord down, they said they’d reevaluate six months later. RQO recently “celebrated” its first death day. Personally, I don’t want RQO back. But I would have liked to have that promised reevaluation.

The reason the discord had to be shut down can apparently also be traced back to shit communication between RQ and the team of volunteer and unpaid mods.

When Chapter&Multiverse, Trice Forgotten, and Cry Havoc (Ask Questions Later) were announced in late 2021, they were projected to air within the first half of 2022. Instead, only C&M aired “on time”, Trice has a change in director and was delayed until summer, and Cry Havoc has now been pushed back until 2023. It’s great that they don’t want to burn out their cast and crew, but they’ve also been releasing Enthusigasm episodes twice a week and C&M main campaign and specials in parallel earlier this year. Clearly, someone didn’t think their schedule through properly.

Instead of making sure their new shows are taking off, they instead drag TMA’s corpse out of its grave. I love Magnus as much as the next person, it was an incredible show. Writing, acting, soundscaping… but the way RQ keeps pushing it into the limelight and down our throats to the detriment of their other shows (formerly only RQG and STL, but now even more shockingly also new shows like C&M and Trice), has fostered a real resentment towards TMA in me and others.

When the transcripts were put out, after literal years of delay, they were - and still are - full of errors, inconsistent, or incomplete. There have been no responses to feedback given via the appropriate feedback form, there have been no responses to emails, and there have been little to no corrections made to the transcripts, whether for old shows or new ones. Transcripts are Accessibility tools and should fulfil certain standards. Apart from that, the quality of these transcripts offends me on a professional level. RQ has referred to an agency multiple times in their updates. That agency clearly didn’t work to professional standards and RQ didn’t have any quality assurance process internally either. What an utter waste of (my and other patreons’) money.

Some of the TMA transcripts were apparently taken down this week for maintenance, which was ridiculous timing that made people think it was related to the ARG. Again: shit communication.

They’ve lost so many great people in the last two years: Auto and all the mods, Bryn, Mike, now Maddy. I didn’t listen to RQ podcasts, because they were RQ podcasts. I listened to them, because I enjoyed the content and creators. If the creators leave RQ, I’ll follow them to their next endeavours. Go check out @re-dracula for Karim, Jonny, Beth, Alasdair, Sasha, and Ben; @thekilda for Alasdair, Ben and Sasha; @faustiannonsense for Alasdair, Ben, Tim, and Jonny. I hear Mike is in Tiny Terrors. Sasha and Jonny create TTRPGs. Jonny just published his second book. Also check out everyone’s streams (I particularly enjoy Bryn and Auto struggling to solve puzzles together) and individual patreons and kofis.

Sorry this reply turned into a rant. I’m just fed up at the moment. I’ll go to bed and probably feel better in the morning.

#franzis thoughts #rusty quill #maddy searle #rqg #tma #stl #chapter and multiverse #trice forgotten #Faustian nonsense #super suits #the secret of st kilda #re: dracula #tiny terrors

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morallyinept · 8 months

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A list of all my favourite COMANDANTE VERACRUZ Fic Recs, with the writers tagged. Includes fics I am currently reading/want to read.

Please show some love to the writers by re-blogging and commenting on their work. 🖤

⚠️ Please ensure you check the triggers/warnings etc... on the stories themselves as some of them may not be suitable to your own particular tastes.

Comandante & Cariño Masterlist - @flightlessangelwings

The Favourite - @flightlessangelwings Featuring Javier Peña

The Comandante & The Agent - @flightlessangelwings GN!Reader

Kinktober 2022 Day 20 Mirror Sex - @flightlessangelwings

Kinktober 2021 Day 21 Wax Play - @flightlessangelwings

Vete A La Mierda - @wannab-urs

You Put Me On A Feeling I Never Had & Whatever You Want & I Said I Didn't Feel Nothing Baby, But I Lied - @iamasaddie

Christmas Cards Day 23 - @pintsizemama

Meet Me In The Afterglow - @unhinged-summer-fun

Pull Me Under - @sp00kymulderr AFAB!Reader

Baby - @mrsmaxwelllord

Kinktober 2021 Ropes/Bondage - @vanillafrog

You'll Take What I Give You -@221bshrlocked

Card Game - @artemiseamoon Demon!Veracruz Featuring Max Phillips

A Deal With The Devil - @artemiseamoon Demon!Veracruz

Back For You & Wait For Me - @waywardodysseys

Forbidden Fruit & Chocolate - @yespolkadotkitty

Future Nostalgia - @la-lunaluna Militar!FReader

Touch Me, Don't Feel Me - @mustyrosewater

What You Mean To Me & My Dark Angel & Massaging - @supernaturalgirl20

Waterfall Scene - @ithinkhesgaybutwesavedmufasa Tomb Raider AU Reader

Veracruz Drabble - @the-purity-pen

Barstool Throne - @chadillacboseman

It Belongs In A Museum Series - @shadow-assassin-blix Indiana Jones Type/Bodyguard AU

Indelible Series - @tintinwrites

Veracruz Masterlist - @musings-of-a-rose

It All Hurts, It All Hurts Just The Same - @iamasaddie DDDNE

A Breath Of Fresh Air - @ezrasversion DDDNE

The Bet - @flightlessangelwings

#pedro pascal characters #fic recs #comandante veracruz #veracruz the fall of sam axe #comandante veracruz x f!reader #perdo pascal universe #pedro pascal character stories #pedro pascal fan fiction #comandante veracruz x you #veracruz x reader #veracruz

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jerzwriter · 1 month

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The Exes: Trystan & Carolina Edition

Fandom old-timers may remember this template from the summer of 2022 (or was it 2021?); it was created by @jamespotterthefirst as a tool to help us delve into our characters' histories a bit more. Since I plan on expanding my HC for Trystan and Carolina in the near future, so I pulled it out, and once again, it really helped! (Thanks, Bree!). Relationships should never define us, but our actions in and surrounding them say a lot about who we are, and if we let it, they teach us about ourselves. Further, the way people treat us absolutely impacts us, sometimes temporarily, sometimes for good. So, I think exploring helps us get to "know" our characters better.

I highlighted 6 exes for both Trystan and Carolina. I imagine they had many more dalliances, flings, and one-night stands between them, but these are relationships that shaped them in some way - for better or worse - and played a part in bringing them to where they are today as individuals.

I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed creating it.

Dahlia Aceves: Dahila grew up in the same Bronx neighborhood Carolina did, but they only met at 16 because they attended different schools. They became fast friends when Dahlia transferred to Carolina's high school. Dahlia was a bit closed off from others, and while she was generally liked, she didn't have a "clique" or fully fit in. Carolina was similar in those regards, and that drew them to one another. Shortly thereafter, their relationship also became sexual but neither had any desire to be in a relationship, so their friends-with-benefits arrangement began and remained on and off for nearly a decade. Everyone knew there was "something" between them, but no one dared to pry. At times, Dahlia was a fixture at Carolina's place, and she still pops by to see Tommy to this day. While neither woman even envisioned a "serious" relationship together in the future, they both thought (to different degrees) that their arrangement might just go on the way it had indefinitely. (Of course, it didn't). Carolina still sees Dahlia around the neighborhood, and they're friendly but not exactly friends. Dahlia never warmed up to Trystan and she tends to ignore him or give him an attitude when she bumps into him. (FC: Lee Rodriguez)

Marcos Candella: Carolina cannot remember a time when she didn't know Marcos. They played on the streets together as kids, went to school together from K-12, and always had each other's backs. When her father was murdered, Marcos checked in on Carolina daily, dropping off some of her favorite treats prepared especially for her by his mom. Their connection was always platonic, but that changed briefly after HS. Carolina was confused about her sexuality. She always believed she was bisexual, but at that point in time, she had only been with other women and felt like she couldn't fully make that determination unless she gave men a shot, too. Also, she also couldn't understand why she enjoyed sex and comradery with partners but couldn't form a romantic attachment to anyone, so she decided to try dating Marcos. The physical attraction was real, as was their long-established bond of friendship, so it was much more than a meaningless fling. When they reached the 6-month mark, Marcos asked her if she felt they had a future, and she said only as friends. She was happy to see he was relieved about her answer. They are still friends to this day and always have each other's backs. They usually forget this brief part of their life together ever happened. (FC: Ismael Cruz Cordova)

Josh Bowlan: After graduating from Hostos Community College, Carolina began working on her bachelor's degree in criminal justice at John Jay College in Manhattan. It was the first time she was outside of her Bronx bubble on a daily basis, and that changed her life drastically. Her on-again-off-again thing with Dahlia was in an off spot after the two women had a big spat, and Carolina was 100% single when she started at John Jay. Josh was the guy everyone wanted to date, and when he pursued Carolina, focusing all his attention on her, it was a bit intoxicating. Despite a little arrogance, he was a good guy and treated Carolina very well, even though they were far from a perfect match. She was still confused about why she couldn't "feel" the same feelings her friends did when it came to relationships, so she mostly played along because she didn't want to feel different. She liked Josh; she enjoyed his friendship, the intimacy, the sex, but that butterfly, I need you and never want to be without you feeling... it just never came for her. Josh sensed it but tried to ignore it. He assumed it would happen in time. Just shy of their one-year "anniversary," Josh stopped by Carolina's place unexpectedly and found her with another woman. He was furious that she was "cheating" on him; she reminded him that they never once said they were exclusive, so she hadn't done anything wrong, but Josh felt it was just "understood." Hurt, he broke things off, and they only saw each other when their paths crossed at school, where things were contemptuous between them. Most people "sided" with Josh, though Carolina's real friends had her back. (FC: Logan Schroyer)

Kayla (Kai) Sato: After Josh, Carolina was pretty certain she wanted nothing to do with relationships. She and Dahlia started up again; she had many short flings and ONS, but for years, relationships were a no-no, and she ran anytime a lover suggested they take things further. That changed a little when she met Kai at a fundraiser during Pride. The two women had many friends in common and were passionate about similar causes. Carolina was drawn to Kai's creative nature, and Kai found Carolina's practicality settling. They started a passionate affair, and Carolina began to think the infatuation she was feeling could be something more, but for Kai, there was no confusion. She was head-over-heels for Carolina from the start. When she told her that she loved her, Carolina chose to be honest. She explained she cared for her and enjoyed being with her, but love wasn't in the equation, and she wasn't even sure it ever could be. Kai said that was fine. She insisted it would come in time, and until then, she "had enough love for both of us." Carolina told her she couldn't make any promises, but Kai chose to live in denial. A few months later, Kai asked Carolina about becoming exclusive, and when Carolina declined, Kai was furious. Shortly after that, Carolina ended things, knowing they wanted very different things. (FC: Karen Fukuhara)

Raul Montes: Enter Raul. Raul was one of Carolina's father's best friend's sons, and they had known each other forever. He also lived in the Bronx as a child but moved away for college and never came back. Six years her senior, Carolina was only 12 when he moved away, and neither gave each other any thought. When Raul moved back to NYC for a career opportunity, he settled on the Upper West Side of Manhattan but would visit his family in the Bronx several times a month. It was on one of those trips when he spotted Carolina, who was in the middle of a spat with a street vendor who was trying to rip her elderly neighbor off. Raul's interest was piqued, and they began talking. When he asked her on a date, she felt something and accepted. It was only in retrospect that she realized that feeling was solely because Raul had a connection to her father, and that was something she desperately craved. Raul was 30 and wanted to find a wife and settle down... and the thought of that alone terrified Carolina, but then again... he knew her Dad. He loved her Dad. Blinded by this, she wanted to see if she could make it work. By this point, Carolina knew she was demiromantic, and when Raul wouldn't slow down the relationship escalator, she explained this to him. If he wanted things to work, he'd have to be patient. She wasn't going to jump into anything just to satisfy him. Raul didn't even know what demiromantic meant, so he did some "research", but ended up mostly on information that suited his needs. On their next date, he told Carolina that he had looked into it, and she was honestly impressed, thinking he cared enough to try to learn more and understand her better, but those hopes were quickly dashed. He told her his "research" found there was really no such thing as being demiromantic. Obviously, she just had commitment issues stemming from her father's murder. He encouraged her to get more "help" so they could move forward. Not wanting to make a scene in public, Carolina smiled curtly and attempted to change the subject, knowing this was their last date. But when Raul didn't take the hint and kept pushing the issue, Carolina told him he was an ass. He smugly replied, "No, I'm not Carolina. You're just confused." She proceeded to pour a pitcher of sangria over his head as a string of Spanish curses fell from her lips, and she walked out, never to see him again. (FC: Anthony Ramos)

Daphne Miller: After Raul, Carolina went into a serious "fuck relationships, fuck people, I want none of this" period. Sex and her friendships more than satisfied her need for intimacy, and she had no desire for anything more. One of her lovers was Daphne, a fellow detective in the NYPD. They worked well together... on cases and in bed and in life. Their shared passion for their jobs, the NY Yankees, and just living the best life they could brought them closer. Daphne loved Carolina very much and would have pursued more with her, but Carolina was upfront about her wishes, and Daphne respected her boundaries. While they were together, Daphne, who was polyamorous, moved in with another one of her partners, but her affair with Carolina continued as it had before. But when Carolina was forced out of the NYPD, it caused tensions in their relationship, eventually leading to its end. At the time, Carolina felt Daphne was being disloyal to her; in hindsight, she can tell that Daphne was just in a terrible position and trying to make the best of it. They had no contact for a long time after their split, but in time, they became casual friends again, sometimes even going on double dates where Daphne often challenged Trystan to drinking match-ups, which she almost always won. (FC: Kim Delaney)

Irena Baciu: As the heir apparent, Trystan was expected to court women from the finest families in Europe and find a suitable wife as soon as his formal studies ended at seventeen. His lack of interest in doing so was of little consequence to his family. After having a bevy of lovers, both public and in secret, he and Irena came up with a pact. A wealthy heiress from a traditional family herself, she was in a similar situation, so they pretended to court while secretly seeing others as well. It got their family off their backs, and the tabloids got a "darling" couple to focus on. It was a win-win. But, they found that they enjoyed each other's company, so their ruse turned into a no-strings relationship. They both knew it wasn't going to last, but they enjoyed it while it did. They remained friends, and Irena was among those who always believed in Trystan and stood by him after Juliana's death. They're still friends to this day and she totally shipped Trystan and Carolina. (FC: Anastasia Kuchinskaya)

Juliana Georgescu: When Trystan refused to find a suitable bride on his own, his family took matters into their own hands and arranged a political marriage with Juliana. It was good for their families and good for Drakovia. Trystan didn't have the will to fight it; if he was going to be stuck in a loveless marriage, he could do worse than his childhood friend, Juliana. They had known each other their whole lives, and he believed they were still friends. He didn't know that Juli had been having a secret affair with his half-brother, Vasili, and she believed Trystan to be a hedonistic, self-entitled lout. Still, she accepted her fate as his future wife because she felt it would be best for Drakovia and would allow her to enact positive changes in the nation. As time progressed, she got to know Trystan better and discovered he wasn't the man she thought he was. Under Juli's influence, Trystan matured and began to take his responsibilities more seriously, and in time, the two fell madly in love with one another. The engagement was no longer solely a political match, and the two looked forward to marriage, starting a family, and ruling Drakovia as husband and wife until that fateful night. Heartbroken, guilt-ridden, and devastated over his true love's death, Trystan was forced into exile and began a new life in New York. (FC: Isla Fisher)

Daniel Berger: When Trystan's abject depression over Juliana's death morphed into plain old depression, Trystan chose to soothe his pain with a hedonistic lifestyle. He didn't believe he was worthy of love, so living the life of excess expected of a rich playboy suited him well. Daniel attended one of Trystan's lavish parties, and the attraction between the two was instant. Their passionate love affair began that very night, and before long, Daniel had a key to the prince's apartment - with strict rules about what days he could use them. It was all about sex and fun at first, but Daniel was a sensitive soul and could sense the pain Trystan was in. He was there for him, and his tenderness, warmth, and understanding soothed Trystan's mind, body, and soul. Before long, they were exclusive. But Trystan was not out yet, so their love had to remain a secret to most. Just shy of a year after dating, Daniel was offered a lucrative position in Paris. Knowing Trystan couldn't leave the States, Daniel told him he'd turn it down in an instant if they had a future, but Trystan wasn't prepared to be open about his sexuality. Further, Trystan still didn't feel like he deserved real love, and he knew he might not be able to give Daniel what he so richly deserved, so they parted tearfully but amicably and remain close friends to this day. (FC: Chris Salvatore)

Augustine "Gus" Riccio: Trystan let Daniel go, but his loss impacted him more than he had anticipated; he found himself sad and lonely. Most of his nights were spent with a bottle of whisky and memories of Juliana and Daniel; he was beginning to spiral. That's when Gus stepped in. One of Manhattan's best-known party planners, he made himself indispensable to the wealthy prince. Planning one huge bash after another. Their business arrangement quickly turned into a personal one, and Trystan allowed himself to believe it might be real. Eight months after they began dating, Trystan received an envelope containing compromising photos of him and Gus. The sender threatened to out Trystan unless he transferred a large sum of money to an offshore account. Using his connections, Trystan found out that Gus, who was pretending to be outraged by the blackmail, was actually the one behind it. With proof in hand, Trystan tossed him to the curb and threatened to make his life unbearable if he went to the press. (FC: John Mayer)

Alicia Porter: Trystan was done—more than done at this point. Worried about him, his sister Marguerite began dragging him everywhere she went, including plenty of fashion shows. At one such show, he was introduced to Alicia, one of the newer models, and sparks flew. Trystan made it clear, he wasn't looking for love, just a lover and sometime companion, and Alicia was fine with that. They partied, traveled, and slept together; the fun and levity were just what Trystan needed. Six months after they met, Alicia told Trystan she was pregnant and planned to have the child. He wasn't thrilled but wasn't about to back away from his responsibility. He suggested Alicia move in with him, and that they should try to see if their relationship could be more for the sake of the child. But, at minimum, they could raise their child together. Unfortunately for Alicia, her acting skills weren't as good as she believed, and before long, Trystan realized she wasn't pregnant at all. She had been hoping for a lump sum payment to "take care" of the non-existent "situation" and go away. Of course, they were over at that point. (FC: Millie Lewis)

Lucas Bernard: After Gus and Alicia, our poor prince was 150% completely done. He trusted precious few people, but among those few were his good friend Lucas. He met Lucas years before when he first moved to NYC. Lucas was kind enough to show him around and let him know he had a friend in his new hometown. Their friendship had deepened over the years, and Lucas was there for him after Daniel and Gus, and he was there for him again after Alicia. Their long talks led to the two men developing deeper feelings for each other and they embarked on a very close friends-with-benefits relationship. Lucas wasn't interested in settling down with anyone, and Trystan wasn't interested in anything more at that time. While neither expected the relationship to last forever, that doesn't mean they didn't take it seriously. It was filled with trust, kindness, compassion, and love. It was during this period that Trystan found the strength to be open about being bisexual. The two men briefly discussed more of a future together, but neither took the conversation too seriously. After about a year, they decided to remain just friends, but Lucas had helped Trystan heal and realize everyone wasn't to be mistrusted; there were still genuine people in the world. Lucas has since moved to LA, so they don't see each other as often as they might like, but they still consider each other dear friends and will always be a part of each other's lives. He and Carolina get along famously. She teases that she only adores Trystan a little more than Lucas. (FC: Keiynan Lonsdale)

Carolina would gladly save any of her exes - even Raul, who she doesn't care for one bit; she's just not that kind of person. But she took the assignment seriously and limited it to one. She chose Marcos because he's been a friend since they were children and has been there for her even in her darkest days.

Trystan may no longer be with Daniel or Lucas, but he considers them to be two of the most important people in his life, so it was an easy answer (though he wouldn't leave Irena out to die either!)

They both dislike Raul the most of Carolina's exes, while Trystan dislikes Gus and Alicia equally; Carolina gives an edge to Gus.

Carolina is still friendly-ish with Dahlia too, but since she can't stand Trystan, it causes some friction.

Who the family liked the most was a no-brainer for Trystan. After all, they didn't even know about most of his lovers. It was slightly more difficult for Carolina to answer, as she hadn't been terribly serious with any of her exes, and her family didn't get to know them well, but Marcos was beloved by them on his own, so she picked him.

"Happiest with" was also a no-brainer for Trystan. After all, if Juliana hadn't died, he had hoped to spend his life with her. It was a much harder question for Carolina, but she selected Daphne because Daphne loved and respected Carolina for who she was and never pressured her to become or give more.

But Daphne was also Carolina's most difficult break-up. Partially because it was tied into her departure from the NYPD, but mostly because Carolina really liked and cared for Daphne and missed her when it was over.

Trystan selected Gus as his worst break-up because he felt so betrayed. He thought Gus cared for him, and the realization that he was being used all along hit him like a ton of bricks. It made Trystan doubt himself in ways he hadn't before.

Carolina realized none of her exes was particularly funny, but that's OK. Trystan makes up for it in spades. Daphne was sharp as they came, so she was the smartest. Marcos was the kindest to her.

Juliana was easily the funniest and brightest of Trystan's exes. He would say kindest, too, but Daniel had an edge because his love and kindness to Trystan were so selfless. He gave without expectation or agenda from the start, and he was always honest & trusted Trystan. While Juli was very kind, and their love grew, their relationship didn't have all of those elements from the start.

Why Dahlia and Daniel for kiss? They'd both say because they were fucking great kissers. Marry was easy for Trystan, but Carolina was surprised to find her visceral answer was Daphne. Carolina chose Raul for kill, making it clear that she really wouldn't kill him, but maiming didn't sound so bad. Trystan chose Gus and said killing seemed perfectly suitable.

They both meet their exes, who remain friends in their lives. Marcos and Daphne both liked Trystan, and Dahlia tolerates him on occasion when needed. Irena, Daniel, and Lucas all get along well with Carolina, but she and Lucas are the closest of the three.

Thank you for checking this out and if you have any questions about this, feel free to shoot me an ask!

#crimes of passion #trystan thorne #carolina rose #m!trystan thorne x f!mc #trystan x carolina #trystan and carolina hc #their exes

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blmpff · 1 year

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THIS USER IS ON A BREAK UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE (Q's running)

All my posts are tagged with either the name of the show, actor/s, character/s or ship/s. If you want to check if I'd posted about something just search "(title/name/etc) blmpff".

》 My most often used tags:

favorite shots - favorite scenes - rack focus shot - shared locations - bl parallels bl memes - roll credits - various tropes - shadow kisses tattoos - bl fashion - im a sucker for an all black fit - bl work out photos taken before the invention of shirts thai actors - korean actors - japanese actors - taiwanese actors

》 My favorite gifmakers' sets (alphabetically): gabrielokun - pharawee - ueasking - wanderlust-in-my-soul

》 Regularly updated Masterlist of series/movies I've made posts about (sorted by years of release and alphabetically)(Movie, Short or Drama):

-> 2018: Dear Ex M Some More S Step For You S

-> 2019: Mermaid's Jade M Sonnet 18 S

-> 2020: Secret Roommate S When The Waves Rise S

-> 2021: A First Love Story 1/2 S A First Love Story 2/2 S Please Tell Me So S Summer Pasta Recipe S To My Star s1 D

-> 2022: Blueming D Egoist M Grand Guignol M My Ride D Semantic Error M/D

-> 2023: Various Favorites 2023 7 Days Before Valentine D A Boss and a Babe D Absolute Zero D Bake Me Please D Bed Friend D Dangerous Romance D Destiny Seeker D Happy Merry Ending M/D Hidden Agenda D House of Stars D I Feel You Linger In The Air D Kiseki: Dear To Me D La Pluie D Laws of Attraction D Love Class 2 D Love Mate D Love Tractor D Low Frequency D Midnight Museum D Minato's Laundromat 2 D Moonlight Chicken D My Personal Weatherman D My Universe: Marry Go Round D Oh No! Here Comes Trouble D One Room Angel D Only Friends D Our Dating Sim D Our Dining Table D Our Skyy 2 x Never Let Me Go D Our Skyy 2 x The Eclipse D Playboyy D Pure Vanilla S Shadow D Sing My Crush D Star Struck D Stay Still D Step by Step D Sweet Home 2 (non bl) D The Eighth Sense D Tokyo In April Is... D VIP Only D

-> 2024: Deep Night D Love For Love's Sake D Love is Better the Second Time Around D

#compilation #blmpff

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autumnslance · 8 months

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LynMars FFXIV Write 2023 Master Post

This year's challenge completed! Congrats to everyone who wrote anything at all this month, even if just one prompt! Thanks again to @sea-wolf-coast-to-coast for 7 years of this!

Previous Years Master Posts: 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022

Anything wolcred ship-related is marked by an asterisk* as usual. Commentary and stats for anyone interested below the Read More.

01. Envoy: ARR; Aeryn makes her Grand Company choice. 02. Bark: Dark has the wrong pie thief suspect. 03. Free Day! 04. Off the Hook: EW; Lucia & Maxima explore their new HQ. 05. Barbarous: HW; Aeryn's frustrated by the land of her birth. 06. Ring: EW; keepsakes & memories of Aeryn's mother. 07. Noisome: Dark & Iyna contend with ubiquitous seasonal flavors. 08. Shed: EW; Aeryn answers Zenos at the edge of everything. 09. Fair: EW; Azem's brother tries to ensure the future has his aid. 10. Free Day! 11. Once Bitten Twice Shy: ShB Bozja; unwarranted concerns. 12. Dowdy: Backstory; Aeryn's always had Opinions about fashion. 13. Check: Iyna discovers C'oretta's personal business. 14. Clear*: ShB; semi-poetic sweetness of coming together. 15. Portentous: Backstory. Zaine speaks to Tanzel about a decision. 16. Jerk: EW; Aeryn meets an old friend as the Final Days loom. 17. Free Day! 18. Fish Out of Water: Shb: G'raha gets used to his new life. 19. Weal: EW; Vrtra sees to his people and their home. 20. Hamper: In a possible future, Iyna answers academic questions. 21. Grave: Legacy; Zaine Striker returns to his childhood home. 22. Fulsome: C'oretta sorts through her parents' old promos. 23. Suit: ARR; what the Scions wore that most fateful night. 24: Free Day! 25. Call it a Day: Pre-ARR; Iron Summer contemplating his daughter. 26. Last: EW; a final conversation between ancients. 27. Sole*: Post-ShB; Thancred vs the perils of Aeryn's flip-tastic jobs. 28. Blunt: Post-ShB; working with Gaius, like it or not. 29. Contravention: EW; "In from the Cold" violates laws of nature. 30. Amity: EW; Varshahn & Aeryn discuss Thavnair & Garlemald.

Only 2 short shippy prompts all month! All 4 modern girls got a couple spotlights, various family cameos and backstories, a future prompt as is tradition, Zaine had a few posts, a few NPC-only scenes, a LOT of Endwalker, and even Ancient Icarus got a story, tying into 2021's "Destruct" prompt and how/why the siblings' souls have been connected through time and reincarnations.

A few of these are alternate takes on scenes I've touched on before, but it's interesting what a new prompt at a different time can get one to say, how we change as writers in what we focus on and how we say it.

This comes in roughly 300 words shorter than last year, at 18,493. The week of the 18-22 I had off work for my birthday, and that had the most 1k+ prompts, with a word count nearly double the other 3 full weeks. While the longer prompts are good, I'm really happy with how so many of the short ones turned out!

I was again trying to be realistic about my time, energy, not pushing free write days...and also working on an original writing project on the side, so I actually did do more writing over the month, just not FFXIV related!

(Also why some of my responses were in just under the wire...)

But this was a good break and exercise from that other writing, and let me try a few new things.

And comparing to earlier years--especially 2017 and 2018 when I was getting back onto the writing horse and feeling out my OCs--I feel like my growth as a writer, especially to be more succinct yet still evocative when needed, is evident. I've gotten a lot of practice in over time, and this challenge is one of the things that helped me get to where I can write an original story on top of my fanfic!

Breakdowns for funsies: Longest: 21 Grave; 1,652 words Shortest: 14 Clear; 106 words

Between 100-500 words: 1 Envoy; 2 Bark; 4 Off the Hook; 5 Barbarous; 7 Noisome; 8 Shed; 14 Clear; 15 Portentous; 26 Last; 27 Sole. Between 500-1000 words: 6 Ring; 11 Once Bitten, Twice Shy; 13 Check; 16 Jerk; 18 Fish Out of Water; 22 Fulsome; 23 Suit; 25 Call it a Day; 28 Blunt; 29 Contravention; 30 Amity. 1000+ words: 9 Fair; 12 Dowdy; 19 Weal; 20 Hamper; 21 Grave.

I didn't look at the totals until the end; I only checked some of the shorter ones during the challenge to see if they hit my personal "500+ words" cut off for adding a Read More to the posts.

"Grave" honestly could have been a lot shorter; I started the plot too early, and much as I like Zaine making one last visit to his childhood Nana, for the purposes of the challenge, I could have just focused on going to the lichyard to save myself time and energy, and wrote about the visit on my own another time. On the other hand, it's done now!

Not sure which is a favorite; there's a lot I like.

As usual, these will be revised at...some point (some more than others, probably) and added to Ao3, in my various series and threads.

#final fantasy xiv #ffxivwrite2023 #Lyn Writing #Aeryn Striker #Dark Autumn #Iyna Cauld #C'oretta Khell #Zaine Striker #Scions of the Seventh Dawn #A Realm Reborn #Heavensward #Stormblood #Shadowbringers #Endwalker

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luxicides · 1 year

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coquette fashion faves 🐇🎀⛸️💒🎧

the other day my mom inadvertently called me a bimbo for liking high fashion. to be fair, she did catch me watching rick owens fw22/23 when i should have been writing my lit essay, but who's she to judge? anyways, here's a quick list of fashion brands whose work i adore as of late. i'll try to include links to some of my fav shows from them too xx #girlssupportgirls

++necessary disclaimer: this is all just for fun!!!! obviously, these are all just my personal opinions. i'm in no way a fashion expert, nor am i claiming to be. live laugh love, gaslight gatekeep girlboss :3

and so, presenting....

LUXICIDES' DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO FASHION BRANDS IN THE MODERN AGE ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

1. MIU MIU

at this point, eeeeeeveryone has heard of miu miu. how could you not?

founded in 1992 by none other than mrs prada, miu miu has been having a (imo) well-deserved revival in the past few years. as the sister label of prada, miu miu serves as a more "youthful, playful and affordable alternative".

though i personally prefer last year's fall/winter rtw show to be more visually interesting than this year's spring/summer show, AND found their campaign with kendall jenner to be... a little lacklustre, i still love what the brand has been doing.

i just love the way miu miu's runway styling is done - going back to fw22, the incorporation of more preppy influences in their cable-knit sweaters along with the very obvious y2k references (mini skirts, lace and mesh, and those cropped tops girl!) is just... to DIE FOR.

and i'm not going to wrongfully malign the ss23 show! i thought the varying textures and how everything was just so flowy and loose. the set for this show was also incredible.

FAVOURITE: pre-fall 2020 (especially this look!)

2. BLUMARINE

ngl, when i first researched into blumarine, i was CONFUSED. just because i had always seen blugirl (their brand for teenagers) being labelled as blumarine (the core brand).... thanks pinterest.

but regardless, i think blumarine is FASCINATING. to me, they've always had elements of frivolity and femininity, with their intricate embellishments, and delicate lace detailings that are just to die for - every coquette girlie's dream.

lately, though, they've been moving towards more y2k influence: i mean, the ss23 rtw show is 99% denim. look at that and tell me that doesn't remind you of britney justin circa 2001 amas !!!

in all seriousness, i love the direction they're going in. i love that they're still maintaining some of the very ethereal, dainty energy that has been at the core of the brand for so long.

blumarine almost never misses with their styling. it's like their textures always go crazy - in the best way.

though it definitely doesn't get as much attention as its sister brand, blugirl is absolutely worth checking out too. i'm personally biased towards their older collections, think 2004-2005 era. they're literally all over pinterest, so it shouldn't be hard to find either.

FAVOURITE: fall-winter 2021 rtw

3. OZLANA

to me, ozlana is like the perfect combination of every trend i love. their pieces are so delicate and so dainty, and i literally can't get enough of their styling... like the fur coats? the pastels??? the DREAMINES???? oh my god don't do this to me rn.

literally every look from their 2022 shfw runway is basically perfect. to me, at least.

like - the colours. the bows. the denim looks in particular..... and the set!!!! don't even get me started on the set design.

ozlana is another brand i see on pinterest all the freaking time. honestly, they're kind of reminiscent to fw04 blugirl in the sense that they both have such dreamlike qualities to them...

unfortunately, ozlana does use real fur :( so that does dock them down a point. but i still do love their styling, and their pieces without the fur embellishments still are quite cute!

FAVOURITE: 2021 shfw

4. CUCCULELLI SHAHEEN

pinterest also brought me to this one!

think glamour. think sparkles. think euphoria but aged up and set kind of in a vaguely old hollywood-esque era. that's Cucculelli Shaheen to me.

Cucculelli Shaheen is NYC-based, and was founded in 2016. which is insane to me, because the level of craftsmanship in their work is breathtaking. their tailoring and the patterns of their pieces are literally... chef's kiss. i'd give up my first born for a dress from them.

listen, the embellishments? the intricacy? the detail??? their pieces are astoundingly lavish and astoundingly beautiful. not to mention, their shoots are basically works of art themselves.

i'm not a bride-to-be, nor am i going to be in the near future, but their bridal collections make me..... goddamn. someone wife me up.

FAVOURITE: collection 13 OR collection 10

5. SCHIAPARELLI

yeah. you don't even need an intro to this one.

if you've been anywhere on the internet in the past month or so, and i mean ANYWHERE, you've probably seen the recent schiaparelli show. and the reactions that go along with it range anywhere from sane, logical, to absolutely batshit crazy takes.

me, personally, in my oh so humble opinion - i loved the recent show. the phrase "a feast for the eyes" was basically made for this show. i mean, the uproar (get it) over the fake taxidermy heads alone was entertaining, but the show itself was a freaking stunner.

i've always loved daniel roseberry's work. i think he does a great job of sticking to the house's codes, whilst also creating a new, exciting vision for the brand. it's what elsa would have wanted!

daniel roseberry has brought so much drama to schiaparelli in his time there - both in terms of public intrigue, but also in the actual pieces. the garments are so bombastic and literally are each works of art in their own right.

i love their use of shapes and i love the over-the-top-ness of it all. i can't wait to see what they do next.

FAVOURITE: fall-winter 2022 couture

that's it for this post, hope u liked it <3 i've never really done much fashion critiquing (unless you count me and my friends sanctimoniously picking apart chanel's recent shows), so this is pretty much new to me.

:3 hope u all have a great day!

catastrophically yours,

luxicides

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