#the royal albert hall version specifically

[thwackk]

in my quiet absence my mind has been going fucking crazy over phantom of the opera. where you see silence, I am suffering

[jackoshadows]

Reminder that the British aristocracy's wealth came from looting and exploiting their former colonies while doing things like pushing the Opium trade in China for example. They are just thieves, proudly parading their stolen loot. These people have no shame. The fact that these thieving, racist, xenophobic, classist aristocrats still have fans is something that amazes me daily.

Rose Hanbury, Marchioness of Cholmondeley, Accused of Possessing Looted Chinese Artifacts

After images were recently widely circulated anew from older stories in the Financial Times, Vanity Fair, and other media about Hanbury and Houghton Hall—the 18th-century estate in the Norfolk countryside where she lives with her husband David Rocksavage, the Marquess of Cholmondeley, and their three children—some social media users have taken particular note of specific pieces of oriental decor, suggesting that they may have been pillaged from China during the late Qing Dynasty, toward the end of the 19th century. “The luxurious life of Prince William’s ‘mistress’ Rose actually came from China,” reads the title of a post last week on Xiaohongshu, an Instagram-like Chinese social media platform. According to the post—and similar ones spread across other Chinese social media platforms like Weibo and Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok) and eventually also on the likes of TikTok, YouTube, and X (formerly Twitter)—Hanbury’s husband had inherited the furniture in question from the Sassoons (of which he is a descendant through his paternal grandmother, Sybil Sassoon).  In fact, the Sassoons, nicknamed “the Rothschilds of the East,” were a Jewish Baghdadi family that owned and oversaw a 19th-century trading empire, which grew much of its immense fortune dealing in commodities like textiles, tea, and notably opium across India, China, and beyond. As future generations of Sassoons gravitated toward England, they officially entered the British aristocracy when the family patriarch’s son Abdallah was knighted in 1872 as Sir Albert. Since then, the Sassoons gained prominence as wealthy business owners, politicians, and friends of the royal family. While the Sassoons played a significant role in shaping China and were avid collectors of art from around the world, it’s unclear whether they acquired specific items through purchase or pilfering. The height of their business in the country, however, coincided with China’s “century of humiliation,” which started in 1839 and ended in 1945 and was marked by the looting of millions of artifacts—most notably from the Old Summer Palace in Beijing, which was ransacked by British and French soldiers during the second Opium War.

[canis-latranz]

maybe i already asked this (i have a poor memory whoospie doodles) but whats ur favorite bmth song??? or like top five if you can't pick (totally understandable bee tee dubs)

mine's happy song according to spotify in 2022 i listened to it 1,250 times :) (<- fun fact, not a contest or ne thing)

ahhhhhh i love bmth so much yayyyyyy bmth therians lets gooooooo

if u ever want 2 talk abt bmth we totally can yippee

peace and love ,

chrome

HI YOU HAVE NOT ASKED ME THIS OMG I have a list

Happy song is also my fav, but specifically the live at Royal Albert hall version!! My other favorites are What You Need, Kingslayer, sugar honey ice and tea, go to hell for heavens sake, and Throne! And diamonds aren't forever is definitely up there!! I only really really got into them in January so I don't know how many times I've listened to stuff yet </33 !!

Ty for the ask :D

[legolasghosty]

Hello my love! How about 25 or 67 for the wrapped game? 😘😘😘

Hello love!!!!! Yes of course, hehehe!!!!

25 is Lie to Me by 5 Seconds of Summer, but the Live from Royal Albert Hall version specifically. I know I have a Juke Lie to Me fic lying around somewhere, but we'll ignore that for this.

This kinda gives post-Bobby Betrayal vibes to me right now. Like post canon type fic where Trevor/Bobby has chosen to just try and ignore the fact that Julie's holograms look exactly like his old bandmates. It feels like it'd be Luke's pov, like spotting him at gigs or events they're at with Julie and just being mad but also wanting to know why the heck he did what he did. And did he ever actually care about him? But also... does he care if Bobby ever loved him for real or not? Does he still want to hang onto the love he had for him, even after everything? It's a lot easier to hate someone when you've already loved them after all. Idk, it's a thought!

67 is Certified Depressant by Taylor Acorn. Heh this one has Alex written all over it!!! Alive AU, high school probably. He's hanging on, but like just barely. And he's trying to keep it together and not make life harder for his family and friends. But also he's falling and he can't make himself ask for help. It would be a hurt/comfort fic probably that ends with him in a dark spot and his friends coming to find him and protect him. That one is more vibes than story, but oh well.

I hope you like them!!!! I love you, thanks for sending these in!!!!

(Send me a number from 1-100 and I'll tell you what fic I'd write based on that song on my Spotify Wrapped!)

[loveharlow]

EVERYBODY SHUT UP THE HEARTBROKEN LOVER GIRL NATIONAL ANTHEM IS PLAYING AND YES THIS SPECIFIC VERSION

[ilostyou]

hiiiii i'm gonna ask u some opinions/ questions just bc

rep tour or eras tour (could be conceptually or personally)

name a 5sos song that makes you feel 1. inhuman 2. divine 3. feral so basically 3 songs lmao

what was ur first song you listened to of taylor's

when did u get into 5sos (era/year)

if i hugged u would u hug me back (purely in a non creepy way ok i just love seeing ur posts on here they make me feel normal bc someone else is feeling the same way as me)

hiiii bestie <333

eras!!! def eras conceptually, but also personally (even though my rep tour ~experience~ is sooo special to me for personal reasons too lmfao)

this is gonna be so much more than only three songs my apologies in advance BUT. inhuman - easier lftv, lover of mine, specifically the bridge of lonely heart (i feel like it's the 5sos version of the willow cult moment yknow), bad omens. divine - take my hand (if we're getting specific we can add the royal albert hall version), best years, easy for you to say LIVE, osco royal albert hall version. feral - if walls could talk, blender, not in the same way, girls talk boys, and more (for the easier transition but also the riff is soooooo sexy)

i wanna say love story honestly i think i heard it on the radio at the time yknow

i got properly into 5sos last year! i'd been a very surface level fan til then (i.e. big singles and maybe one or two songs) but i stumbled upon take my hand a bit after it was released as a single and to make a much longer story short the rest is history lol

absolutely yes!!! hugging you back soosooso hard rn <3333

[sebnameyourcar]

orchid for the ask?

orchid ⇢ what’s a song you consider to be perfect?

oooooooh this is tough lemme think lemme think

okay i was trying to be objective here but instead i’m gonna go entirely on instinct and say Read My Mind by The Killers (SPECIFICALLY the live version)

[copiousloverofcopia]

Ok imagine this in your minds eye: Papa (any papa of your choice, but I specifically imagined Copia or possibly Terzo) Ciricing a girl but instead of singing Cirice he sings “The Phantom of the Opera” (specifically the version from the 2004 movie, bc everyone knows that if you watch(ed) that movie, especially if you watched it as a child/throughout childhood, you’re now obsessed with ghost; sorry, I don’t make the rules lmao /j). “Past the point of no return” (the version from the Royal Albert Hall and not the 2004 movie though, bc the Royal Albert Hall is the best version) would work for Primo or Secondo in this scenario too, if you’d prefer to imagine them!

Oh I can imagine this with them all....

So romantic and yet dark and forbidden mmmmmm 🤤

If you I get told all the time my The RED DRESS fic reminds people of Phantom of the Opera... Even though it wasn't intentional I swear lol

[bunnyinatree]

One thing about me is that the Phantom of the Opera track "Prima Donna" (specifically the version from the 25th anniversary performance at Royal Albert Hall) will move me to tears. It pins me by the neck with its knee and throws me back into my 10th grade obsession with Phantom of the Opera.

[heterosexual-hall-of-fame]

We are proud to induct Christine Daaé and Erik “The Phantom” from Phantom of the Opera (Broadway) into the Heterosexual Hall of Infamy!

[rosyfingereddawnn]

want arms? ;)

@axlrosesixx02 asked for the links to the videos from this post, and while i raided google images for those specific gifs, i thought it would be nice to make a masterpost of arms links :) these are the fullest versions of the shows i could find. without further ado:

royal albert hall (london, england), sept. 20, 1983

cow palace (san francisco, california), dec. 1, 1983

cow palace (san francisco, california), dec. 2, 1983

the forum (inglewood, california), dec. 6, 1983

madison square garden (new york city, new york), dec. 8, 1983

madison square garden (new york city, new york), dec. 9, 1983

i’ll edit as i find more links :)

[soup-for-breakfast-99]

when i was a kid my mum couldn’t drive so we took the bus everywhere, and i was a very anxious child who hated people and needed to be distracted or id have a meltdown and also had adhd so had zero focus, and for this reason one of the first gifts i remember getting when i was about 5 or 6 was a tiny cheap mp3 player because music was one of the few things i could actually focus on. the only music on it was by adele because it was all we had on cd at the time and specifically it had the Adele live at the royal albert hall soundtrack and my favourite song was hometown glory and i would put this one damn song on repeat on every bus journey and listen to it on a loop for hours and watch the time go up, and i remember this so vividly she started singing at 0:44 and id wait for it every time. its so important to me and i cant listen to any other version of that song because the intro is the wrong length and she doesn’t start singing at 0:44 and it makes my blood boil like no she has to start singing at 0:44 or the world is going to end this is so important to me. this song is my comfort song because its like, literally the whole purpose of me ever hearing it was to distract me from my anxiety so yes id say im over attached to this song thank you for coming to my therapy session

[greenorangevioletgrass]

I went on a deep dive into your revived side blog (oof honey it’s so hot🔥) and found a random song insert from les mis, specifically empty chairs and empty tables, and now I am on a binge of listening to that musical. God it’s giving me alllllll the feels. Ah!

Which version have you found to be your favorite to listen to?? I like the original London cast a lot.

omg i think i meant to reblog that here to my main 😂😂

but ayyy, I just rewatched the movie again the other night! The OG London is great I love them 💖💖

I listen to the 25th Royal Albert Hall cast the most bc that's my first and Alfie Boe is the literal voice of God ahhhhhh

[scarletwelly-boots]

Books Read 2020

I started off really good this year, what with quarantine and all. And then I got sidetracked by reading one hundred and forty-nine fanfics (and counting) (mostly Destiel; CW can kiss my ass). 

I read 30 books this year, which I thought was bad, but apparently I only read 24 last year, so not awful. I did the Popsugar reading challenge for the fifth year. There were 50 categories this year, so 60% isn’t too bad. So without further ado, let’s get started under the cut.

1. The Mermaid, The Witch, and the Sea, Maggie Tokuda-Hall (a book that’s published in 2020). This book, y’all. My god. It has it all: pirates, queer relationships, genderfluid characters, an intense plot. This book was so good. I definitely recommend this book. Pirates!!! And gay!

2. Somebody Told Me, by Mia Siegert (a book by a trans or nonbinary author). I don’t know how Siegert identifies, but I know they use they/them pronouns. This book was... okay but frustrating. A bigender teen, Aleks/Alexis, has a traumatic experience and moves in with their aunt and uncle, who is a newly converted Catholic priest. I liked the queer rep, but sometimes it felt like the author had these assumptions or prejudices about the Catholic church. Some of them were right, granted, and I’m not a practicing Catholic anymore so I don’t know why it pissed me off, but it bugged me anyway. So I guess if you don’t mind it seeming like the author did little to no research on Catholicism, then it’s a good book.

3. All the King’s Men, by Nora Sakavic (a bildungsroman). Who, me? Rereading my gay comfort trilogies during quarantine? It’s more likely than you think. Love the All for the Game trilogy. This is the third book in the series. It’s the best book in the trilogy. It is a series about a college sports team who play a made up sport called Exy, which is basically a more violent version of lacrosse. I’m not a huge sports fan, but the way she writes Exy matches had me on the edge of my seat. The team is made up of all “at-risk” students, the main character being a kid on the run from his mob boss dad. Trigger warning for the series for violence, sexual assault/rape, abuse, drug use, I may be missing some things. It was so good though.

4. Captive Prince, by C.S.Pacat (a book with a map). Back again with the gay comfort trilogies. This is the first book in the Captive Prince trilogy, and whoops, did I say love All For the Game? Love this series more. It’s awesome. It’s fantasy and gay and romantic. But the romance isn’t even the central part. Laurent is my favorite asshole. Damen is so sweet and sassy as fuck. HIGHLY RECOMMEND. Seriously. I can’t do this series justice.

5. The Foxhole Court, by Nora Sakavic (a book recommended by your favorite blog, vlog, podcast, or online book club). First book in the All for the Game series. What are you still doing here? Go start this trilogy!

6. Ella Enchanted, by Gail Carson Levine (a book that passes the bechdel test). This is such a good book. It was one of my favorite books when I was a kid. It’s basically a retelling of Cinderella, and if you’ve seen the movie version with Anne Hathaway, the book is way, way better. 

7. Loki: The God Who Fell to Earth, by Oscar Basaldua (a book with the same title as a movie or TV show but is unrelated to it). God, I cannot WAIT for the Loki show. Anyway, this is a new comic about Loki (obviously). I love anything with my disaster wife in it, so 100% I recommend it. 

8. As Drowning Men Clutch at Straws, by EA Roisin (a book by an author with flora or fauna in their name). Okay, so. Roisin is an Irish name that means rose, and EA Roisin is my (unpublished) pen name. In my defense, the manuscript is 186 pages long and it felt like an accomplishment when I finally finished rereading it for the first time since I finished it in 2015. Do I recommend it? I’ll let you know if it ever gets published.

9. Red White and Royal Blue, by Casey McQuiston (a book that won an award in 2019). I’m still rereading this book. I got interrupted because my sister wanted to read it and then I got a new book for my birthday. But this is, far and away, my FAVORITE BOOK. It’s so beautiful. It was very romantic (once they stopped “hating” each other), and gay. The premise sounds far-fetched: First Son of the United States falls for the Crown Prince of England. But, guys, it’s soooo gooooood. Highly, highly, highly recommend. 

10. A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor, by Hank Green (a book with only words on the cover, no images or graphics). This is the sequel to An Absolutely Remarkable Thing. This was just as great as the first, but I spent a good chunk of the book vibrating with anxiety. The stakes were way higher, and I don’t think I’ve been scared while reading a book since reading Jade Green (Phyllis Reynolds Naylor) in junior high (which was fucking terrifying, btw). But I definitely recommend it!

11. Crush, by Richard Siken (a book with a pun in the title). Guys. I read this book almost every year, because it’s quick and gorgeous and the title is accurate because it absolutely crushes me. This is a collection of LGBT (more specifically, gay) poetry, and OH MY GOD. This is in my top five favorite books. I read it all the time. This is the book that made me fall in love with poetry, back in high school.

12. The Raven King, by Nora Sakavic (a book with a bird on the cover). The second book in the All for the Game series. Trigger warnings for All the King’s Men apply to this one, too. 

13. 1014: Brian Boru, by Morgan Llewelyn (a fiction or nonfiction book about a world leader). If you know me, you know I’m a complete Irish history nerd. This book is about a very important battle that took place in Ireland, and the last great High King of Ireland, Brian Boru. High Kings are mostly just an elected title, who get paid via taxes from provincial kings and chieftains, but Brian was the only one who saw as close to a united, free Ireland as it got until 1921 (although since the island is split between the North and the Republic, it’s still not totally unified). I recommend if you like history.

14. The Magnolia Sword, by Sherry Thomas (a book by a WOC). Oh. My. God. So this is a retelling of the ballad of Mulan. Mulan is a very important story to me anyway (tomboy as a child, genderfluid, bisexual as fuck), and this retelling was so good and interesting. It also features one of my favorite tropes, Surprise Gays. I highly, highly recommend.

15. My Own Ways Through This Life, by Chris Viau (a book with at least a four-star rating on Goodreads). Okay, so it miiiight have a four-star rating because of me and my camp family all rating it, but it counts. This is a mixed media autobiography by one of my camp friends. He has written at least three books, and all are available on Amazon. This is the only one I’ve read so far, and it was really interesting. I definitely recommend it. 

16. Insomniac City, by Bill Hayes (a book you meant to read in 2019). This book was beautiful and heartbreaking. It was a Christmas gift from my brother. It’s a memoir about Bill’s time in a relationship with Oliver Sacks, a famous neurologist. It’s sweet and melancholic and funny. Huge recommendation.

17. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens’ Agenda, by Becky Albertalli (a book about or involving social media). Still such a wonderful book. Better than the movie, I’m telling you. It was really good, and I definitely cried. If you liked the movie, read the book. It’s different in several ways. I think if you’re thinking in terms of trueness to the book, the movie was maybe not as good, but they’re both good as their own standalone things. But I highly recommend both.

18. Loki: Agent of Asgard, by Jason Ewing (a book that has a book on the cover). This is such a good series. It’s a great characterization of my disaster wife.  I love this graphic novel series. I love how they depict Loki, how he finally gets a goddamn redemption arc. It’s a really fun read. Check it out.

19. Kings Rising, by CS Pacat (a book with a made up language). This is pushing it, since they never actually speak in the made up languages on paper. But UGH. Third book in the Captive Prince trilogy, and hands down the best. Laurent and Damen finally let go of the goddamn longing and actually do something about it.

20. The Deep, by Rivers Solomon (a book set in a country beginning with C). This is pushing it, because it’s about mermaids (basically), but I think they’re in the Caribbean. I loved this book. It was so interesting. It’s based on a song by clipping., Daveed Diggs’s group. The premise is the wajinru (the mermaid people) originated as the infants from pregnant Africans that died and were thrown overboard during the slave trade. So like, it’s a pretty heavy book. But it’s heartfelt and sweet, too. Also more Surprise Gays, which came at an excellent time (November, post-Supernatual finale) for me. I highly recommend.

21. Written in the Stars, by Alexandria Bellefleur (a book you picked because the title caught your attention). I just finished this book tonight and it was so. good. It’s basically a modern, lesbian, fake dating rendering of Pride and Prejudice. And let me tell you, if there’s one thing I love more than Pride and Prejudice, it’s lesbians. It’s really really great. I highly, highly recommend. 

22. Running with Lions, by Julian Winters (a book with a three-word title). Thanks to All for the Game and movies like Handsome Devil and Boys, I have discovered that I have a huge thing for queer sport stories. So this book was really, really good. It’s got friends to enemies to friends to lovers, which is great. It’s got soccer, which is way more homoerotic now. And it’s got gays, which is really why I picked this book up. But it’s well written and the story is interesting, too. I definitely recommend.

23. The Prince and the Dressmaker, by Jen Wang (a book with a pink cover). Oh my god. AHHHHH!!! This book is amazing. It’s a graphic novel, so it’s a quick read. It’s fantasy and feels a little Cinderella-y, but that’s not the best part. The queer relationship is amazing, but that’s not the best part. The prince is genderfluid! Like me! And his mask name is Sebastian! Like me! (Okay, so my name is Bastien, but close enough) This was so so so good. I got it at a convention in February, and I was practically vibrating with excitement as I read it. I highly highly highly recommend. 

24. Girl Crushed, by Katie Heaney (a book by or about a journalist). I think I’d have liked this book better if it wasn’t so...similar to my life. The main premise is the main character is getting over a sudden and painful break up, after being dumped by her long-term (maybe first? I can’t remember) girlfriend. The ex has the same initials as my ex and acted very similarly, so maybe I ended up picturing her when the character came up in the book. The ending pissed me off. It was very gay and that wasn’t the entirety of the book, so maybe you’ll like it more than me. It was just too true to life for me and opened up some old wounds I didn’t want to open up. The author is an editor at Buzzfeed, so that’s how it fits into this category. 

25. Date Me, Bryson Keller, by Kevin van Whye (your favorite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading Challenge--a book published this year). This might be my second or third favorite book, goddamn it’s that good. It’s queer, obviously, and sort of fake dating? Bryson is dared to date someone new each week. He’s assumed to be straight, so all the people he dates are girls until Kai asks him. It’s really sweet, and there’s some issues with coming out to your family that don’t always sit well with me, but overall it was really good and it ends well. I definitely recommend.

26. Loki: Where Mischief Lies, by Mackenzi Lee (a book written by an author in their 20s). AAAHHHH!!!! Fuckin.... Okay, y’all know I have feelings about Loki. He’s my spouse and I love him to death. This book was so, so good. Loki gets sent to Victorian London to solve a mystery and meets a group of humans who know about Asgard and basically keep Midgard in order for Odin. Loki is canonically pan and genderfluid (as he should be), and Theo is a sweetheart. I wrote a 10k fic coming out of reading this book (Phantom Limb by Irishavalon on AO3, check it out.). I seriously recommend!

27. Because of Winn-Dixie, by Kate DiCamillo (a book by an author who has written more than 20 books). I read this with my third graders at the beginning of this year. Such a good book. I read it as a kid too. The movie is great but as always, book is better. Recommend.

28. Adventures of Charls, the Veretian Cloth Merchant, by CS Pacat (a book with more than 20 letters in its title). This was a reread of a short story that comes after the Captive Prince trilogy. Charls, the cloth merchant, was such a great side character in the CP trilogy, and telling the story from his perspective was great. It doesn’t have to be read after the other CP short stories, but at least the trilogy should be read first.

29. Fence vol.1, by CS Pacat (a book from a series with more than 20 books). I’m pushing it with this category. I read the first volume, but this is a comic book series, so the 20 books is more issues. This is very good too. It’s another gay sports story, and is probably going to be enemies to lovers, but they’re still enemies by the end of volume 1. Still recommend. 

30. Prince’s Gambit, by CS Pacat (a book with a main character in their 20s). Book 2 of the Captive Prince trilogy. Very very good. 

[operafantomet]

Seeing as we’re on the topic of Mme Firmin, do you happen to have any photos of the dress worn by the woman accompanying M Andre to Hannibal? I’m finding it impossible to find any pics cause she’s never named in the show!

If I’m understanding your question correctly... That’s a role specifically created for the Royal Albert Hall version, which is probably why it’s impossible to find photos or information anywhere else. I assume she’s meant to me Madame André, and she was played by Deborah Dutcher (ex Christine) in the RAH version. The costume she wore was - as far as I can tell - a generic Victorian dress, and not a Maria Bjørnson design.

[somehowsomethinggoeswrong]

How do you chose faceclaims for broadway muses that are so strongly associated with specific performers?

Hey, Anon! Thanks for asking!

It’s definitely tricky to pick an alt FC for any character where there’s already a strong attachment to the original actor, but I’m somebody who loves to use icons, both for the sake of better representing facial expressions/reactions and to break up my writing, and––unfortunately––we were never gifted with a recording of the original Broadway cast for Anastasia.

Now, honestly, if there were plenty of good, quality icons or a way to make them for Ramin Karimloo as Gleb, I would absolutely use them. Same with Derek Klena for Dmitry. I’m actually currently making icons of Ramin as the Phantom from my Royal Albert Hall copy because I love his version so much and it’s available for me to icon.

When there aren’t icons, however, and no way to get quality ones, I tend to just try to find an actor who has a similar look and vibe to me.

Gleb Vaganov

For Karimloo, I picked TJ Ramini because he has a similar look about him and he has a kind of intensity as an actor, while he can also pull off awkward and goofy. Ramini is also great actor, too, so I was glad to be able to use him as an FC.

(Bonus: Muscles.)

Dmitry Sudayev

For Klena, I picked Nathaniel Buzolic, though that also had to do with the fact that he’s close to how I would picture a real-life Dimitri from the ‘97 Century Fox animated Anastasia, which is a lot of where I pull from for mine mine.

Anya/Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova

For Christy Altomare, I picked Molly C. Quinn because, again, she gave me the same kind of vibe. While her hair is a bit too red in actuality, her eyes are a beautiful blue and she’s right at the correct height for Anastasia at 5’3”. (The real Anastasia was 5’2”.) She can also convey wide-eyed innocence as well as imperial indignation and fury.

I think those are my only Broadway muses that I changed who already had strong associations in place, so hopefully that answered your question and you can kind of see where I got my alternates! 😃