#we did go theatre on tuesday

[mntalbrakdown]

pocket size - P. Hynes White

masterlist

mentions of: height? idk let me know if you find any!

synopsis: percy liked that you are shorter than him

a/n: i’m no longer writing for him so plz no hate!!!!

12 inches. a whole foot shorter. you were 5”2 and Percy was 6”2. he liked how he could tower you. he liked the way you would have to look up at him. he especially appreciated when it was sunny outside because you would have to look up and the sun would catch your eyes making you scrunch your face. he also enjoyed how your hands would be wayyyy smaller than his. but out of all these things, his favorite thing about how short you were was putting his head on top of yours and wrapping his hands around your waist.

You and Percy have been dating for a year. you bumped into him in a pharmacy, trying to develop your film. Percy was waiting next to you holding his camera and you with yours.

“you take pictures” he tries to start a conversation with a girl he found attractive

“yeah, just started with this, I have an actual camera,” you say smiling weakly

“I think you should keep using a disposable camera so we could bump into one another more often,” he says trying to secure a date with you

“or you could just ask for my number” a date you wanted

“would Instagram be included in that bundle” he tried to stalk you, he tried to find out who you were as a person

“or maybe on the other hand I actually don’t have a number” you try to joke

“no don’t be like that” he’s a little flustered now

a few days later after that interaction, you were on a date. after that date led to more dates than asking for you to be his officially. it was nice to have someone to call yours and be excited to hang out with whenever possible.

—-

“ready to head out,” Percy says wrapping his hands around your waist as you’re putting on the final touches of your makeup and hair

“yeah, one second,” you say putting on some perfume that Percy got you during his time in Romania. it was vanilla-scented. your favorite

you were ready to go out on your date. the date was a dinner and you wanted to bet Percy that he was going to move your seat next to his to be able to sit next to you.

right, when you were seated across from each other Percy gets up and moves his chair in the middle asking you to do the same and you did. the thing is that you thought that the distance between the two of you was perfect, but in Percy's eyes he thought differently, he scooted your chair so his practically touched. the whole night after was him with his arm around your shoulder or his hand lying on your thigh.

—-

during car rides, Percy likes to put his hand on your lap. squeezing it and making his fingers dance around. when it was summer he liked how you would dangle your head out the window. how your hair would dance in the wind.

he also liked how in the winter you would bundle up and wear his hoodies because they were so warm but you secretly liked the smell of them. he liked that you would wear the hood and sit on the car seat with yours legs held to your chest because you were so cold.

—-

he never cared about the arts really until he met you. he liked being able to take pictures of you in his bed in a small form but never liked actually making the art. he never learned from the lessons that Netflix made him do.

he liked how you would look when putting your head on his bicep. while you would observe the art. he would have you wrapped around his arms. his head on top of yours. you would talk about all the details of the painting and he would listen nodding and humming in amusement.

one thing the two of you had in common was liking films. every Tuesday heading to the closest AMC theatre. you would watch films and analyze them together afterward.

the theatre had reclining seats and you could move the middle cup holder up so the both of you could cuddle together. and that’s what you did.

every film no matters if it was scary or not you would lie on his chest while he wrapped his arms around you. (the same way you both slept) you liked the way his heart would beat speed up when he would look down on you. you could tell because his head would move around. and you could tell his shit-eating grin was on his face once again.

of course, afterward, you would talk about the film going back to your shared place. he would laugh at your theories of the film. he would play your theories in his head on the way to sleep and they would always make sense.

—-

he also liked baking with you. he liked how you would move around a lot and get the batter on your face somehow. he liked that you had your hair back in a messy style and would have an apron on. sleeves rolled up ready to take on whatever you were doing

“perc! I need your help” you yelled and saw him resting his body on the wall that splits your living room from the kitchen

“what do you need my highness” he bows down

“I need you to get me the pink bowl on the top right cabinet” you point to the thing causing your pissed-off state.

you never understood why he never got you a stool. maybe he liked being of help and being able to be in your bubble while you bake. because he never once got in the way of your work.

he never once let you put the pan into the oven because he was scared you would burn yourself. which never happened when you were on your own.

“why can’t I do it,” you ask feeling like all the work he has done

“don’t want you to get burnt,” he says opening the oven and putting in the pan

“there are mittens for a reason, y’know they aren’t decorations”

“but you look so pretty all healthy and smooth,” he says getting the brown batter from your nose and licking his finger clean

he liked cleaning up with you. playing with bubbles and splashing you with water. he grew in love with your face, he grew to be able to read your facial expressions. enough being said he could read how pissed you were but he knew to not mess around anymore.

waiting for the pastry was enjoyable. he liked waiting on the couch with you. you were in between his legs and your head rested on his chest. you would scroll on your phone and Percy would watch. when the pastry was ready you both would always burn yourselves it was like you never learned. and you would both laugh at each other. but it was enjoyable and you both would finish it in a day.

—-

the get-together was at his place. it was strictly just the cast. they slowly started to pile in through the door. he was excited to be reunited with them. he found the friends that he loved. and you were happy for him. as he greeted everyone he was ready to sit down on the couch and you were close behind. he was holding your hand guiding you to your seat.

another thing Percy was extremely mad about was you sitting on his lap. no matter if there was plenty of space everywhere else. he loved sitting with you. he especially did this when you were laying on the couch watching some TikToks and he would make you get up and lay on top of him. it would make you go crazy and not in a good way. but it made him happy so you let it slide.

“so how long have you two dated” hunter asked

“About two years,” Percy says playing with your hair. twisting it and fiddling with it between his two fingers

Emma was trying to get your attention. she thought you were interesting. she liked the way you probably have a lot to say but just keep to yourself. she knew deep down you were funny because well you were dating Percy.

“what’s something that Percy has done here that no one else knows about,” Emma asks looking directly at you. you start laughing at the thought

“no-“ Percy says trying to hold you from saying it

“he…he sings t swift when he’s bored” Percy tried to cover your mouth before you finished the sentence, but it was too late because what you said was out and everyone was laughing

“so- uh- so who wants to play uno” Percy says trying to move the conversation

wanting to get the Uno cards that were under the coffee table. in a red tin box that once contained chocolates, Percy got you for valentines day. once you got it you were walking to his kitchen. all the seats were taken and Percy put you on his lap. he shuffled the cards and something about that no matter who did it, was attractive. Percy however liked the way your hands made the Uno cards look humongous while he made them look tiny.

“Are you both teaming?” Jenna asked

“should we” Percy whispers in your ear sending butterflies straight to your stomach

“Sure,” you say kissing his cheek and everyone started teaming up.

halfway through the game, Percy has half the deck with him.

“I should've never teamed with you” you laugh at just seeing the cards

“I’ll make us win don’t worry” he had his eyes wide like he was determined. and that he was because he always kept his promises to you.

and by the end of the night you both did. he liked the way your eyes would sparkle with joy that only lit up with winning. how you would wrap your hands around him and laugh.

—-

one thing Percy hated was high heels. it was like they were enemies. you never understood it. it wasn’t like you would get whiny about the heels hurting you. in fact it was the opposite. you would run dance jump all of it and all Percy’s face was saying is how much he hated those things giving you height.

he liked that you would have to tip-toe for him but those were easy access they took one of his favorite things about you. and if he could he would destroy them all.

he liked that at the end of the day, you would dress in his clothes to go to bed. it was practically a nightgown for you. he liked how you would clean your face and make sure you felt clean. he liked the way you would be ready to go to bed and not even act like you didn’t want to be by him. because you did you wanted him to wrap his arms around you because it is reassuring and comforting. and wake up in that same form in the morning.

[consanguinitatum]

David in rep: 2000's The Rivals, The Comedy Of Errors and Romeo and Juliet

In the recent Putting It Together podcast - which was utterly brilliant and something you should go listen to RIGHT HERE IMMEDIATELY if you haven't already! - David mentions his rep seasons with the Royal Shakespeare Company, where he did three plays in rep. His first rep season was in 1996 (when he did The General From America, As You Like It, and The Herbal Bed). His second rep season came around in 2000-2001, when he did simultaneous runs in Romeo and Juliet, The Comedy Of Errors, and The Rivals. I recently found an amazing July 2000 article about this series of plays, and I'd like to share some of its precious informative nuggets as well as talk a bit about each production.

As mentioned, the three productions ran in rep. For you non-theatre types, that means each production would rotate nights. For example, if The Rivals was on a Monday, The Comedy of Errors might go on Tuesday, then Romeo and Juliet on Wednesday…and then the schedule would rotate back to the beginning. Get the picture? Good.

Let's begin in January 2000.

That January, David arrived in Stratford and took a flat near Anne Hathaway's cottage so he could begin rehearsals for two of the three productions: The Rivals (and his role as Jack Absolute) and The Comedy Of Errors (as Antipholus of Syracuse). He added a third role to his schedule in late April or early May 2000 when rehearsals began for his role as Romeo in Romeo and Juliet.

As you can imagine with this kind of schedule, David was soon running himself ragged. Rehearsal followed by show, followed by rehearsal…again and again and again. He had to leave some rehearsals early to do warm-ups for one of the other shows before going on. As he said in the podcast I mentioned above, this brutal schedule left him "battered." However, once all the plays went into production and left rehearsals behind, he only (only?) had to do eight shows a week and would get days off here and there. He called it "quite full on," but said it was either that or not get the parts at all.

The first of these three productions - The Rivals - began its run at Stratford's Swan Theatre from late March til early October 2000. It then ran at the Newcastle Playhouse from late October 2000 to early November 2000. Then it went to London's Barbican Theatre from mid December 2000 until April 2001.

The Rivals programmes from my personal collection - the one on the left is from the Stratford run, and on the right from the Newcastle run

The Rivals centers around the complicated relationship between Lydia Languish and strategizing young lover Captain Jack Absolute. David played the role of Jack, who pretends to be a soldier named Ensign Beverly to win Lydia's affections. He knows Lydia, a wealthy young woman who wants to marry for love, not money, would have no interest in him if she thought he were rich (more about the play can be found here).

Fans have seen some of the photos from this production: this famous photo of David in a door frame by Simon Annand is but one. The comment Mr. Annand made about his memories of that shot is also interesting, I think, and I include it here.

Other photos of this production were taken by Chris Parker, among others.

But here's where it gets good. From the article I mentioned, we are treated to these brand new photos! In the first, he's in his dressing room getting ready for his performance as Jack Absolute. In the second he's in the makeup chair getting his hair and makeup checked, and in the third, at his dressing room table taking his makeup off after a show.

The second of the three productions - The Comedy Of Errors - began its run at Stratford's Royal Shakespeare Theatre from mid April to early October 2000. It ran at Newcastle's Theatre Royal in mid November 2000, then went to London's Barbican Theatre from late Nov 2000 until early Feb 2001.

The Comedy Of Errors programmes from my personal collection - the one on the left is from the Stratford run, and on the right from the Newcastle run

David played Antipholus of Syracuse, who was raised by his father Egeon in Syracuse and is one of a set of long-separated identical twins. His mother, Aemilia, and brother, Antipholus, live in Ephesus. A of S is the only figure to whom Shakespeare grants an interior life, and his quest to find his mother and sibling comes with a series of wild mishaps based on mistaken identities (more about the play can be found here.)

But again from the article I mentioned, here are a few brand new photos of David relating to this production! In one, he's relaxing in the Green Room. In another, he's waiting to go onstage as Antipholus, and in the third, he's hanging backstage with fellow actors Des Barritt and David Troughton from Henry IV, Part 1!

The third of the three productions - Romeo and Juliet - began its run at Stratford's Royal Shakespeare Theatre from late June to early October 2000. It ran at Newcastle's Theatre Royal in mid November 2000, then transferred to London's Barbican Theatre from mid January 2001 until early March 2001.

The Romeo and Juliet Stratford run programme is from my personal collection; the Newcastle run poster is from the RSC

David played the lead role of Romeo - a role I hope I need not explain to anyone in depth? David himself wrote a lot about his experiences in the role, and if you're curious you can pop over right here to read the essay he wrote. And if you want to see a ton of photos from the production itself, the lovely mizgnomer did this extensive thread of them some time ago that you should definitely check out!

One of the things he had to do as Romeo was duel Tybalt and Paris, which meant David had to practice fight scenes in rehearsals (something he wasn't completely unfamiliar with, by the way, as he did fencing in drama school - and he was quite good at it, too). Anyway - cue this fabulous photo of David during rehearsals!

And the article also proves David can be cheeky indeed!

In rehearsals for Romeo and Juliet, the article says, it reveals it was David who suggested inserting a scene full of filthy puns into Act II, Scene I, where the hung-over Montague lads go in search of Romeo. And during another part of the rehearsal, David asks director Michael Boyd, "When I enter for this scene, do I come out of the fallopian tube?" - no doubt referring to this part of the set!

Well that's it - and oh yes, I must give credit where credit is due! All the new photos are by Robert Workman from a 2000 Scotland On Sunday article entitled, "Enter Mr. Tennant, centre stage", and all are copyrighted by National World Publishing, Ltd.

And I'd be remiss if I didn't leave you with a teeny glimpse of DT as Romeo!

[hoperays-song]

More Canon Details From The Sing Franchise I Keep Forgetting About

When Buster was six, no koala had ever been to space. But what species has? Can only certain ones go?

Despite how Eddie talks about how Buster's dad sounds like a good dad, almost implying he never met the man, we see that Eddie had met Charlie Moon before the man died in the flashback of Buster getting the theatre.

The Gang’s truck’s keychain is an eight ball, which while it can have numerous symbolic meanings, some of the most popular are the unpredictability of life, a representation of the balance between good and bad fortune, and being in a tough situation. Which all describe the gang perfectly.

Harry the polar bear apparently knew the Moon family as well as he was also visible in the flashback of Buster getting the theatre.

Meena has attempted to join bands and choirs numerous times before Sing 1 but why she did not succeed in these never actually revealed, nor how many she tried to join.

China, England, and Scandinavia all apparently exist in this universe but the currency for the US is different, with seemingly different designs and images on the coins.

Two of the sticky notes on Mrs. Crawly computer say to “use less sticky notes” and that she has “Tuesday surfing lessons”.

You can see Johnny smiling at and patting the hood of a limo when the troupe first walks in to the Crystal Hotel for the first time. Which is adorable and very much an allusion to the fact he grew up in a mechanic's garage.

Pete, one of the contestants from the original talent competition, carries a Swiss Medic Bag with him.

In Johnny's audition notes, not only does Buster mark maybe having him try the piano, but the guitar as well.

Gunter's phone's home button is a pig which raises so many questions. Like is it custom? Are there phone's for every species? Why does no one else get a custom species phone?

[hellfireclubmember]

Secret Nerd PT 2

Someone requested this and I can't find the ask so I am sorry. I'm also sorry for literally taking forever to get to it.

part 1

Summary: Eddie, who may or may not be in love with you, finds out you like LOTR.

Warning(s): lots of steve fluff but eddie angst, unrequited love, not proof read

pairing(s): boyfriend!steve harrington x fem!reader, platonic!in love!eddie munson x fem!reader

w/c: 1.6k

Siouxsie and the Banshees was softly playing through the dimly lit shop. The stacks of new records were beginning to lose their height as you sorted them out into their appropriate bins. There was dust in the air from the number of bins you were kicking out of the way. Usually there was someone to help you with the heavy lifting, but it was 10 AM on a Tuesday. A time void of customers.

“(Y/N)!!” Eddie’s voice boomed through the store.

There was something almost pathetic about how fast a smile appeared on your face when you heard him. You loved it when Eddie visited you at work. He always made your shift go by at Mach speeds. He helped you on inventory days, walking around holding piles of records all whilst giving you free music advice. Which was really just him complaining about anything you put on the loudspeaker. Because according to the dramatic mop of hair, ‘your music taste would be perfect if you just cut out all the moody, creepy whining.’

“I know you’re in here, short stack! Only you would be playing Siouxsie.” You could hear the eyeroll from across the store.

“Yeah, whatever, act like I haven’t seen you nod your head to Happy House.” You walked onto the main floor where Eddie was sitting on the counter, next to the Madonna cassettes. “Nice of you to come see me, Edward.”

“No need to continue the act, (Y/L/N).” His face was stone cold, eyes blank. Last time he looked that severe, he was being told that Hellfire couldn’t use the theatre room because the basketball team had booked it last second. Not a good day to be around Hellfire’s dungeon master. Mike, Dustin and Lucas avoided him for two days, just to be safe.

“You don’t have to pretend to be friends with me any longer; for I have been told the truth.” He hopped off the counter and crossed his arms over his chest, covering the Megadeth graphic plastered on his black tee. “The lady lies.”

“Me lady?” You pointed your finger to your chest, confused as you could be. “I lie?” Brows furrowed as you thought of any fib you might’ve muttered out lately.

“You lie! If we were friends, you would’ve never kept your love for Lord of the Rings from me!” he exclaimed, hand on his forehead. In that moment, the appreciation you had for Eddie’s dramatics had been replaced with a strong urge to kill. You should’ve guessed it though; it had been exactly one day and one night since you had admitted it to Dustin. And Dustin is a HUGE blabber mouth. The boy did not stop.

“Ah, heard about that huh?”

“Yeah, I heard about that.” He rudely mimicked your voice and glared at you. “This entire time, when I was holding stacks of Duran Duran for you, we could’ve been talking about Boromir’s heroic sacrifice.” It was taking everything in Eddie not to crack. He couldn’t stop thinking about how cute you look all pouty. You were all frown lines and crossed arms.

The small crush Eddie had on you seemed to grow at speeds that would leave NASA’s head spinning. When you were first introduced, he didn’t think much of you. Some chick he saw at school occasionally, walking with Nancy or laughing with faceless losers. You were one of the rare people that didn’t move to the other side of the hallway when he walked by, so he definitely remembered you when Dustin was pushing him toward the group. He already knew you were dating Steve, how could he not? ‘Steve’s girlfriend’ was your identifier. And back then, there was nothing he cared less about. Currently it’s something that didn’t let him sleep at night.

Eddie was never sure what love would feel like; and now he knew what both love and heartbreak felt like. Even so, he was never truly sad, not when he could spend time with you like this. The faux vexed look you were forcing onto your face was enough to crush any self-pity swelling in his chest. Besides, he knew that there was no way he had a chance. You loved Steve, and Eddie knew there was no one else you would rather love.

“You would be a Boromir kind of guy.”

Eddie held his hand over his chest as if he were hit with an arrow. “A woman after my own heart.” He fell onto the counter he was previously sitting on.

“Where’s my pretty girl?” The voice of the sandy haired man was heard before he was seen. Eddie watched your eyes light up before you walked around the counter toward the door.

“Hi, Stevie.” You wrapped your arms around his waist, resting your head on his chest. Steve was like a giant, human Xanax. He made every muscle in your body relax, every racing thought slow down. You squeezed him tight and took a deep breath. Steve loved your hugs. You hugged him as if he had gone away for years at a time.

Steve’s arms wrapped around your shoulders, and he kissed the top of your head. “I missed you.”

“Aw I missed you more, Harrington.” Eddie stood behind you. His arms were crossed over his chest. He was trying his best to look as big as possible. Even if he did know you loved Steve, it did not keep him from messing with him as often as he could.

There was really very little things Eddie could do about the pesky feelings that clawed at his chest when your eyes reached his. He knew that at some point they would slowly fizzle out, like the bubbles in his favorite beer. But for now, he was going to enjoy them. Enjoy looking at you smile, hearing you laugh, rolling your eyes, even putting away those annoying records and cassettes. Even if the image of you stuck to Harrington chunked away at his health. He was used to piecing his heart back together with the scraps of time he could spend with you. Eddie knew what his role was in life and getting the girl wasn’t part of it. It was devastating but his songs had never been better.

You felt Steve’s body tense up. “Man, you’re in here a lot.” He kept a possessive arm around your shoulders. “You wouldn’t want my girl or anything, would you?”

Your head snapped up to look at your boyfriend. That was a really jerky thing to say. Something King Steve would say. Which is what was the most surprising bit, with all the effort Steve put in to distance himself with his asshole high school self. All his other moments of jealousy were pretty tame, cute even. But he was being a jerk to your friend, and it was very upsetting.

Eddie scoffed. “I could never. That would be really dumb of me, right?” He grabbed your hand and pulled you toward him, his lips placed a soft kiss on your knuckles. “I bid your farewell, fair maiden. I have dragons to slay and whatnot.”  

The sunlight from outside painted the walls of the record store once Eddie opened the door. The second he was out of ear shot you finally spoke to Steve.

“I hate it when you’re like that.” Steve looked over at you when he heard your voice, and your frown was like a shot to the heart. He was no stranger to your cute angry face, but he knew when you were really upset. That frown looks nothing like the one you shoot him when he steals some of your fries. And he knew why you were upset. He was being a douche bag. As he was saying the words, he knew they were very asshole things to say but he couldn’t stop it. Steve couldn’t help how angry Eddie’s heart eyes made him.

“C’mon baby. He was flirting with you.” He tried to reason with you, walking around the counter to where you were counting some cassettes. “He has to know he can’t have you. Even if you’re all nerdy too.”

“Steve, Eddie isn’t a threat to you.” You turned around to face him. “Just cuz we both like..”

“I know. God, I know he’s not. I’m not insecure, sweets.” He put his hand on your right hip. Looking down at you. “I know I was made for you ‘cus there’s no one out there that loves you like I do.” He let go of your hip and found your hand. A perfect fit, but he already knew that. If that thing about an invisible string was true, he knew you were both knotted up together. Like those impossible knots on your necklaces, the ones you have Steve work out for you.

The anger that you felt for Steve dissipated and turned to another familiar feeling. Adoration. Love. Loving Steve has been the easiest thing you have ever done. He made it so easy. With his honey coated words and his pretty pink lips that kiss away all your worries.

“I just wish you would be nice to Eddie. He’s done nothing but be good friend to me.” There was a part of Steve that knew you were right. He was a good friend, not just to you but to multiple of his own friends. But the part of him that knew he was in love with you made him want to pummel Eddie.

“I just hate that he thinks about you the way I do.” He placed a gentle kiss on your lips. “It should be illegal. I should put in a word with Hop, get him arrested or something.” Another kiss on the tip of your nose. “In fact, get every loser that thinks they have a chance with you and through ‘em in jail.” Another kiss to your forehead. He saw the way you were biting back a smile when he pulled away.

“Just please stop being an asshole okay?” His finger found your sides and he started to poke, making you giggle and squirm away.

“If you insist, angel.” His lips pressed to yours for a long kiss.  

taglist: @slashersluttt @slurmp69 @sadbitchfangirl @actual-mom-steve-harrington @stylesyourmine @pennyllanne @johnricharddeacy

[transboysokka]

BREAKING UPDATE [Tuesday Night 5/28] : Taiwan's Controversial Legislative Reform Bill PASSED

A democracy-threatening bill passed in an undemocratic way.

Here is what this means and what happens next...

(For full context on this, please refer to this post)

What specifically passed?

The president will be "invited" to give a state of the nation address every year and must answer questions on the spot

People can be summoned to answer questions to lawmakers, no "reverse questioning" allowed (the meaning of this term has still not been specified)

If people being questioned refuse to answer or do anything in "contempt of the Legislature" they can get a huge fine

The legislature can conduct investigative hearings and can request documents from the government, military, companies or actually anybody. If you don't provide them, you get fined.

Hearings will be public unless they need to be secret for national security/trade secret/etc reasons

If you don't show up for your hearing, you get a big fine

If you lie you get fined

For other details, please refer to this article.

Separately, "Contempt of Legislature" was added to the Criminal Code.

How did it pass so fast?

Interestingly enough, it did take three days to get through the second reading of the bill, and that was WITH undemocratic show-of-hands votes and only allowing the DPP to speak for three minutes at a time, one speaker per article.

Today's third reading took less than an hour.

Furthermore, some legislators allege that there were changes made to the wording of the bill before they even had time to read it. They were voting on something they hadn't read.

What does the KMT want to do with these new powers?

A big part of this is about political theatre, which is a huge part of Taiwanese politics, and humiliation. It's also important to note the discussion that has been going on about how it will not be necessary to have a lawyer present to answer questions.

KMT leadership has already announced plans to establish a "special investigative unit" to deal with fraud from the DPP, basically punishing their enemies. First on their list will be officials from the most recent presidential administration, but the extent of their aims is unclear since they frequently use "fraud" as an explanation for things they don't like. They claimed, for example, that the tens of thousands of protestors showing up in front of the legislature lately were hired by the DPP.

The KMT has also tonight called for the abolishment of the Control Yuan, one of the five branches of government in Taiwan, demonstrating their willingness to dismantle the system of checks and balances keeping Taiwan's democracy in place.

The president can't veto, so what happens next?

For now it seems that the protests will continue. 30,000 protestors showed up outside the legislature last Tuesday, 100,000 last Friday, and 70,000 today. This coincides with growing actions in many other cities around the country.

This bill has been publicly condemned by over one hundred legal scholars and also the Control Yuan.

The next options now are:

The Executive Yuan has ten days to basically send the bill back to the legislature. At that point the LY could vote to uphold the bill within 15 days and then it pretty much would have to be law.

More feasible at present would be to go in the constitutional direction. The Constitutional Court could review the law, suspending it in the process before their decision is announced.

A referendum could be held to repeal the law. This would be time- and resource-consuming but it would be an option. It's hard to say if it would pass because the people would overall vote to repeal but the KMT has a lot of influence with powerful families and gangsters, so it's not for sure what the votes would say.

The point is there are still options! The Bluebird Movement now is going to start focusing on more local actions, and we'll have to see what those will be.

Why don't we just occupy the Legislative Yuan? It worked for the Sunflower Movement in 2014.

While it seems direct action may now be necessary, that wouldn't work again. A huge reason the LY occupation was successful in Sunflower was because the people in charge of the LY didn't let police in. Under current leadership that... almost certainly wouldn't happen. Think back to the attempt to occupy the Executive Yuan in that same movement and how it brought out the most devastating use of police force sense the martial law period.

Any occupation likely to take place would probably just be the continued presence of protestors outside of the legislature like we've been seeing.

We'll have to see what action is called for in the future. There's still hope for now!

This is a developing story, but one thing I urge as the Bluebird Movement continues to gather steam and garner more international attention: Be careful of misinformation! Try to read sources from inside Taiwan!

Further Reading for Now

Taiwan's legislature passes major reforms amidst controversy (TVBS)

[cadet-aviator]

Normal life (1)

When we got back, things were pretty quiet and normal, for a while. I didn't feel all that confused anymore. Dad paid more attention to me, but then his work took over, and I was on my own again for a few days, then a week, then another week. I was fine with it. Mrs Lee took care of me, and I did my own laundry and ironing anyway. There was school, as always.

I had missed a Saturday morning drill at school and the regular Tuesday and Thursday drills, I had also missed fulfilling disciplinary service at the barracks at Saturday afternoon, Monday afternoon and Wednesday afternoon - 8 hours altogether. I had permission from school cadets, but I was given a fairly normal punishment anyway, I copied out the cadet manual once again, took me all Sunday afternoon.

And even though the Army Cadets had consented in giving me 'leave', I still had to catch up with those hours I missed. They slapped an additional 10 hours of service on my old 240 hours, because I had been out of cadet uniform, in Thailand, where I should have been properly dressed.

As you can imagine, by now, none of that seemed unfair or wrong; I was being disciplined, reprimanded, I understood it, accepted it, welcomed it. That's how my mind worked, at the time.

I realise that this ‘digested’ account of my childhood years might give the impression that I was under a lot of pressure. I wasn’t, or I wasn’t always.

For starters, I went to a really good school, with lots of bright teachers, excursions, trips, theatre, games, and my classmates were generally really nice, I had friends there too.

And if you think it was odd that after school hours I didn’t hang out in the mall, or went for a smoke behind the bike shed, or played football on the school yard until dark, it wasn’t all that strange: most kids had a well-organised life, strict rules at home, planned activities. We all did what we were told.

The school cadet program was intense and asked a lot from the cadets – to the point of being inspected at home - but it wasn’t more strenuous or demanding than, say, the school rugby eleven or the swim team (those boys had their first practice at 5.30 every morning). The school was popular (and expensive) precisely because it provided structure. I didn’t know any better and I fitted in.

And yes, I always wore my school tie in a perfect knot, never showing the top button, and my shirt was always tucked in correctly, and I may have been a bit more fanatic about that than other boys, but wearing uniform as ordered was just normal. All boys complied.

One of the best moments of the day was that half hour before drill started, when we got together in the school dressing rooms, to change from school uniform to cadet uniform.

There was always a good buzz, there, as friendly as boys that age can get, joking about a bit, but also making sure our uniforms looked fine and we were all on the same page when it came to the exercises of that afternoon.

We were pretty ambitious too, planning to do really well in these regional drill competitions, hoping to go on to the nationals.

So in that half hour we made sure we looked the part.

And the sergeant came in, for a formal check (possible demerits), and then we would fall in. And get silent.

And then we’d march out, for our endless exercises.

It was mandatory. Some kids just did it, went through the motions.

I loved it.

(All images are AI-generated)

[jgroffdaily]

In all of the rush of getting home and back to my real life, I didn’t get a chance to write up the experiences that we, your faithful JGD-ers, had this last weekend in NYC.

On Saturday morning, we did a tour of the front of house sections of the Hudson Theatre. It’s a gorgeous building, with a fascinating history, and I would recommend the tour to anyone who is interested in Broadway - the company was Broadway Up Close.

In the afternoon, we went to the matinee of the show, the first matinee (and thus the first two-show day) of this Broadway run. We had great seats in the first row of the mezzanine / dress circle, from which we had a decent view of the actors’ facial expressions (although not as good as from the orchestra seats / the stalls on Thursday evening) and also a fab view of the actual orchestra, who sit “upstairs” in Frank’s apartment.

I loved the show again, of course. I had fully intended to turn my attention to different elements this time - to watch Frank during Franklin Shepherd, Inc; to watch Frank and Beth during Not A Day Goes By, to check out what the orchestra were doing. But in fact I was entirely dragged into the story, and the performances, once more, and my eyes snagged on the exact same things as last time.

As for Sunday, my final day in NYC: well, we had realised a few weeks ago that there seemed to be *something* due to happen on the Sunday evening - there was no show listed for that afternoon, which broke the pattern of all of the rest of the weeks from Opening onwards. So we wondered if that date might be the Opening Night (which it kind of turned out to be, amidst some confusion around “industry opening / red carpet interviews / after party” on Sunday vs press night / release of embargo on Tuesday).

So, on the off chance that we had guessed correctly, I changed my flight home to the UK, so that instead of an 8pm flight, I had an 11pm one. That meant that I could stay in Manhattan until 7pm ish, and we could investigate what was happening.

Earlier on in the day, we went to the Broadway Up Close booth to buy some Broadway themed merch, and I had to laugh when the guy manning the counter asked me “have you seen any shows?” and when I replied “Merrily”, he said “aha, I had a theory…” and pointed to the Groff sweatshirt that I was wearing! Might as well wear your heart on your sleeve (chest), I guess!!

We walked to the theatre in the afternoon, and there were some union guys / security people chatting outside, so I asked them if anything was due to happen outside that evening. They said: “oh no, no, nothing at all, it’s all going to be inside; not at all worth you coming back here”, then blew their own cover a little by adding “unless you want to watch us work, setting up!”

Setting up what, you may ask? And indeed, that is what we did ask ourselves, after we had thanked them and wandered away. If they were setting something up outside, there must be something worth seeing. And so, at around 5pm, we “accidentally” found ourselves back at the theatre, and located a spot close to the steps, where we could semi-nonchalantly linger.

While it was true that the red carpet was happening indoors (not entirely surprising, as the lobby of the theatre is, as previously noted, stunningly beautiful, and the scaffolding outside is decidedly less photogenic), the security and queuing / ticket checking system was happening outside, as was a good deal of “people in fancy clothes loitering and waiting for their friends to arrive before going in”, and thus we had a great view for an hour or so, as many people arrived and went in.

We spotted Anna Wintour (sharp haircut, giant sunglasses and all - but having to queue with the masses - quelle horreur!), Zach Quinto with a friend, Raul Castillo and Alexis Forte (newlyweds! 💍🎉) and Cynthia Erivo, who arrived with Lena Waithe.

Although we didn’t see Jonathan - the cast must have gone into the theatre much earlier, or via the stage door, or both - I am so pleased that we were there. There was a fantastic buzz of excitement amongst those arriving for the show, and it felt to me like one of those real “Covid is over [note: I know it isn’t!] and the world is back!” moments. It made me so happy and grateful to see all of those people there, to support and celebrate our favourite guy (and his friends and colleagues), and it was the perfect end to my perfect NYC trip!

[fitzrove]

The Crown Prince Rudolf Tour of Vienna

Hey, you - yes, you! Travelling to Vienna? Too much of a hipster to want to devote your trip to Mozart or Sisi things? Or just looking to expand your horizons even while you're doing the more traditional tourist stuff? Look no further than here :D I'm going to take you through some of the Rudolf things you can do in Vienna. (And some Elisabeth das Musical things as well.)

General Tips

Stuff you may find very useful to have:

- A public transport day/week ticket for the entire time you're in Vienna. Vienna public transport is generally awesome because of the short intervals (3-10 minutes during weekdays for most lines), and you can get pretty much everywhere by bus, tram, the underground (U-Bahn) and S-train, all of which are included in the Wiener Linien ticket.

- An international student card if you're a student under 26. I have an ISIC card and in some countries it doesn't qualify you for all discounts, but in Vienna, it works everywhere. You can save a lot of money on museum and theatre tickets! There's also something you can get called the Vienna City Card which gets you discounts as well, but you would have to calculate whether it would be worth it to pay for the card (depends on how many places you intend to visit and if they're covered by the discount). I didn't get it because I was interested in a very narrow scope of things (= Rudolf).

- Change in Euros. You can pay by card basically everywhere, but for souvenirs that cost less than 10 euros, it just feels more convenient to use cash/coins (and from what I gather, a lot of people do use cash to pay in Austria compared to Finland :D)

- There are combo tickets like the Sisi Ticket (Schönbrunn + Hofburg Sisi Museum and Silberkammer + Möbelmuseum) if you want to do all of the museums that it covers. I didn't get any of those because again, Rudolf priorities, but if you do end up doing that combo, definitely get the combo ticket instead of separate ones!

Now onto the actual tour stops. We shall start from the city centre and work our way through the city from there.

1. Hofburg / Rudolf's Apartments

The whole Hofburg area is super cool and imposing, so I definitely recommend going there just to walk around - it's completely free. You can also take tram 1 towards Prater Hauptallee from the opera to the Schwedenplatz & back (which I did) to observe the palace from the Vienna Ring Road, which takes you past many gorgeous buildings, including those of the Hofburg (and the Wiener Eistraum, a famous skating rink that features in the Affaire Mayerling musical, complete with its trauma-inducing snowman). But don't only do the overview, it's really super cool to actually wander around the palace area!

The most interesting area of the palace is the Schweizerhof. When you enter the palace through the big entrance on Michaelerplatz (idk if it's the main entrance but it's probably the most tourist trappy one) and walk through the "tunnel" (my English architectural vocab is failing me) to the main courtyard (Innerer Burghof), the smaller Schweizerhof courtyard will be on your left. From there, you can enter the Hofburg Chapel / Hofmusikkapelle (which has very limited opening hours due to it being an important practice and performance site for the Vienna Boys' Choir; it's open to tourists Monday and Tuesday from 10 am to 2 pm & Friday 11 am to 1 pm) for free (once you have entered the courtyard, it will be on your right) and sit there listening to some nice choral music. It's very quiet and off the beaten path imo, so it's very nice.

But the main point of interest on the Schweizerhof is, of course, Rudolf's apartment, located on the left side of the courtyard on the second floor (I think). You can't go in because it now houses the offices of the State Monument Office (Bundesdenkmalamt), but you can peer up at the windows >:D

2. Augustinerkirche

The Augustinerkirche is a stone's throw away from the Hofburg (4 minute walk), so it's very easy to get to once you're already there. Just go out through the Schweizerhof exit (directly in front of you if you've just entered the small courtyard from the main Burghof; visible in the photo above) and exit to the Josefsplatz (the plaza in front of the Austrian National Library). Walk across the plaza, past the statue of Kaiser Joseph II, and enter the church from a door on the west side.

The Augustinerkirche is where Sisi and FJ got married, but less famously, it's also the site of Rudolf and Stéphanie's wedding. You can go in for free and guided tours are forbidden within the church, so it should be quite quiet and peaceful. Opening hours 8 am to 5:30 pm (Mon, Wed, Fri) / 8 am to 7:30 pm (Tues / Thurs) / 9 am to 7:30 pm (Sat / Sun), though be aware that the church is in active use by the parish so sometimes services may be taking place.

3. Kapuzinergruft

The Kapuzinergruft is a three-minute walk away from the Augustinerkirche. Just proceed down the Josefplatz until it turns into Augustinerstraße, go past the Theatermuseum, make a few turns (Google Maps will help you with this better than I can) and you're there. You can enter the crypt for 7 euros (student) / 8 euros (adult). The price of the ticket ensures that it's quite quiet, at least on winter weekdays - I basically had it to myself for ~20 minutes. Remember that it's a graveyard, so you should avoid making any kind of ruckus while there. You can see the graves of many famous Habsburg personalities, but what obviously interests us most is Rudolf. His grave in the Franz Joseph vault is pretty hard to miss accidentally.

Do consider bringing him something. It doesn't have to cost anything (and perhaps you shouldn't spend a lot of money given that mementos are regularly cleared away. I think pretty rocks work as well as anything), but it's a nice gesture.

4. Theatermuseum

The Theatermuseum is very close to the Capuchin Crypt, so you can easily proceed there directly if you want to. It doesn't have much to do with the historical Rudolf, but right now (Feb 2023) it has the original 1992 costume sketches for Elisabeth displayed in the Mozart to Falco exhibition. In the museum gift shop you can buy the 2004 blue Elisabeth Vienna cast album (Lukas Perman as Rudolf) for 13 euros (cheap!), as well as the 2005 Vienna Elisabeth DVD & the 2016 Vienna Mozart proshot DVD and official CD. They are quite expensive (~16 euros for the Mozart CD and 30 euros for each of the dvds iirc) and not really cheaper than what you could find while online shopping imo, so I didn't buy them.

5. Raimundtheater

We're making a pretty large jump across town :D The Raimundtheater, operated by the VBW, is the leading musical theatre venue in Vienna. In the theatre you can do the following Rudolf-related activities:

- Buy Elisabeth merch (a wide variety of things from VBW productions from the last 10 years; when I went they had the 2012 and 2019 CDs, iirc 2022 as well, and the 2012 libretto. Basically anything you can find in the online VBW gift shop will be here.)

- Buy the Rudolf: Affaire Mayerling CD and DVD (don't) (XD)

- See a show in the theater where Elisabeth 2012 happened

- As long as Rebecca is playing: Meet a Rudolf/Young Hungarian Nobleman (choose your pick from u/s Vienna 1992 and/or u/s Vienna 2012) at stagedoor 😎 You can also meet several Elisabeths and Franz Josephs and watch Mark Seibert run away from his fans at lightning speed.

You should definitely join the VBW Musicalclub to buy last-minute tickets for 22 euros (available 2 hours before the show starts), especially if you're alone. The membership is 17 euros a year but just one good last-minute ticket will make it worth it. I sat in seats worth 120 euros in the 5th and 6th rows (stalls) and paid only 22 euros each for them, plus the membership. You need a bit of luck but it's definitely worth it, especially on less busy weekdays. The visibility from category C and D seats, at least those on the balcony, isn't amazing - you miss some action even from seats where it isn't indicated that there's limited visibility.

6. The Crown Prince Apartments at Schönbrunn

The crown jewel of the experience, in my opinion. >:] Take the U4 from the centre and get off at Schönbrunn station. Once you enter the main courtyard of the castle (on which the war crime that was the Elisabeth Konzertante Aufführung was committed), head for the entrance seen on the left corner of the main facade. If you go straight ahead once you enter the building, you will find a small unassuming door. This is the entrance to the horribly kitschy Schönbrunn Virtual Reality experience. It's also the entrance to Rudolf's apartment.

Watching the 24-minute VR film is pretty okay. It looks cool, even though it's not a great film for people who already know the history. (We only see Rudolf for a few seconds on the carriage to Mayerling, and then darkness, a whisper of "mother, forgive me" and two gunshot sound effects. Gross. Lucheni has more screentime than Rudolf and he's depicted as a whistling cartoon villain living in a rat-infested apartment.) I did learn new things about the early history of Schönbrunn, which was nice. But the important thing is that after the film you get to walk around all the rooms (at least if it's not super busy) and look at Rudolf's apartment!!! Only the bedroom is off-limits. It's not known what each of the rooms' function was (except that the first room you enter was his living room), but it's really cool to look at the 18th century bird murals, which were ludicrously expensive to create and took 7 years to complete (by only one artist and then his student when he passed away). The apartments were Empress Maria Theresa's favourite part of the castle because they were hot in winter and cool in the summer.

The VR tour only costs 8.50 (student) / 9.50 (adult) as an add-on to a regular Schönbrunn ticket. Definitely do that! The regular tickets (Grand Tour and Imperial Tour, and some combos that are available in the summer) get you a nice tour of the first floor of the castle, with Sisi and FJ's apartments and the glorious Spiegelsaal. I would get the Grand Tour because it's 18 extra rooms for only a marginal increase in price. I'm too lazy to google the prices rn and they might change in the future, but it was something like 20ish euros.

After the tour you can buy merch at the gift shop. Sadly, the Rudolf merch is limited to two postcards - one a photograph of him as a young boy and another a hunting clothes portrait photo from 1888. I think the latter one is super cute so I bought it :D You can also buy a Sisi themed nail file 💀

That concludes my Rudolf Tour experience. XD There are additional things you could do that I don't have personal experience of, so I'm listing them briefly here.

Things you could also do but I didn't do (and why I didn't do them)

- The Sisi Museum / Imperial Apartments at Hofburg. I read online that the apartments aren't very different from those at Schönbrunn, and I don't have a great interest in Sisi, but you could do this if you want to. Like in Schönbrunn, FJ has pictures of all of his children in his apartment, which is cute.

- Imperial Treasury/Kaiserliche Schatzkammer in Hofburg. I didn't particularly care xD It's on the Schweizerhof so easy to pop into while going to see Rudolf's Hofburg apartment if you want. Not free.

- Silberkammer - another which is next to the Sisi museum afaik. Again, didn't care xD

- Paniglgasse 19. This is a now-random building that once contained the apartment Rudolf bought for Mizzi Kaspar, his favourite mistress. You can go stand outside it if you're in the Wieden area (underground stop Karlsplatz) anyway to see the famous Karlskirche or the VBW main office / Theater an der Wien. The latter is being renovated so there's nothing to see but I did it anyway. I didn't go to Mizzi's apartment because I found the area a bit weird to navigate and was tired at that point of my day :D

- The Museum of Natural History / Naturhistorisches Museum. The mineral collection contains some geological objects of interest from Rudolf's private collection, as does the ornithological collection. There's a pair of white-tailed eagles on display that were shot by him on Jan 22, 1889, only nine days before his death. I realised too late that I should go and missed it - maybe next time. Tickets 16e (adult) / 12e (student/reduced).

- The Hofmobiliendepot / Imperial Furniture Collection / Furniture Museum. I was going to go because they had some Rudolf stuff (... including the bed he died in, which I find a bit gauche to display), but I was too tired after Schönbrunn and skipped it. Located at Andreasgasse 7, served by the U3 underground line. Student ticket 10,50 / adult 11,50.

- The Kronprinzengarten in the Schönbrunn grounds. It's named so because it's located right outside Rudolf's apartments, so going there will give you a view of the outside of his place & his yard, basically. Definitely pop over if you can, it's very practical to do if you're in Schönbrunn anyway! The gardens were closed for the winter when I was in Vienna. You can get a Schönbrunn Classic Pass (from April 1 onwards) to do the castle Grand Tour and visit all of the Schönbrunn gardens.

Thanks for reading :D Hope you have fun and please bring Rudolf all the rocks

[laboulaie]

From Girl Next Door to Conniver Blair

Kassie Wesley is making a dramatic switch from sweet young thing to Llanview’s bad girl BLAIR but she’s not daunted by the challenge.

“I’m so excited about this,” Kassie tells SOAP OPERA MAGAZINE. “My character CHELSEA REARDON on GL was so squeaky clean, while Blair is on the dark side.”

“I’m so used to playing the girl next door. It’s like night and day. But it’s definitely going to be fun.”

The young actress left GL in January 1991 after five years as Chelsea, then moved to California with her husband Richard Hankins, GL’s former art director.

This is her first soap role since then, and also the first time she’s taken over a part held by another actress. Devious Blair, who shares her Aunt Dorian’s scheming genes, was previously played by Mia Korf.

Kassie, whose first airdate was December 15, admits it could be tough taking over a role when another actress is so closely identified with that part of the audience.

“There will be people saying, ‘Kassie’s better’ and others saying ‘She’s never going to be the Blair we know.’ It takes a while for people to warm up to you, but even more-so when you’re recast in a role,” Kassie explains.

With quiet confidence, she adds; “I can do the acting and play the part, but I cannot believe that out of all the actresses they had to pick from, they picked me. That’s not to say I can’t play the bitch - just ask my husband!”

It’s easy to be confident when you’re as multitalented as Kassie. Besides her acting credits, she’s a superb singer and songwriter. She was featured as a backup singer with Bobby Womack and other country music stars, and she performed solo at Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.

Still looking to further her musical career, Kassie is now sending her demo record to recording companies, hoping to land a contract.

Born in Morganfield, KY, Kassie first got interested in acting in a high school speech class. Then she attended Indiana University and completed her studies in theatre at UCLA.

After getting a few small TV roles and commercials, Kassie signed on with GL in 1986. When she quit and headed to California with Richard, she admits it was rough finding work, but never regretted her decision to move there.

“You have to go with your gut feeling and my gut was telling me it was time to try other things , and I did,” Kassie says. “I had a great time, and I thought: If I’m going to be unemployed, I’d rather be unemployed in California where I can go out and play golf!” she laughs.

During her two years on the West Coast, Kassie stayed busy. “I did an episode of Timetrax, which aired in November, and an episode of Melrose Place which was scheduled to air sometime in December or January. Then I’ve got an episode of Baywatch airing in February.”

When the part of Blair came up on OLTL, Kassie got caught in a whirlwind of frenetic activity: auditions in Los Angeles, a screen test in New York, and trying to fit it all into her frantic schedule.

“They gave me the weekend to think about it,” she says. “Everything was happening so fast, and I was trying to get through one job before moving on to another job. So I came to New York on Monday and did the screen test, and found out I got the role on Tuesday.”

“That was the week of Thanksgiving and I’d already planned to go home to Kentucky to see my family. I went home and just came straight from Kentucky to New York and began working. So it’s been a little overwhelming.”

Kassie, who speaks with a charming Southern accent, won’t make that part of Blair’s new image. “Of course I’m going to do it without the accent,” she tells us. “I did GL without it. Once you learn lines it’s much easier to control the accent. The hardest part is going to be working with all those Texas cowboys, CORD, ASA and CLINT with their accents.”

“I’m sure there are certain words that are going to come out only like Southerners say them, but I’ll do the best I can,” she concludes with a laugh.

- Soap Opera Magazine (1994)

[bananaofswifts]

Update: “This one is hard to predict,” is the constant mantra this weekend among rival box office sources guesstimating the opening swing for Sam Wrench’s Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour concert movie. Friday is currently pegged in the $40M-$50M range with a big spread of $107M-$130M at 3,850 theaters. On the high-end, that could be the third biggest opening at the current 2023 domestic B.O. after Barbie ($162m) and Super Mario Bros 3-day of $146.3M. Added another source about Eras Tour outlook: “Prepare for us to be wrong.”

Why is a Swift concert film calculus to box office bean counters instead of weekly algebra when it comes to projections? Basically, there’s an enormous amount of frontloaded presales here, plus the x-factor is how many walk-ups occur. Add to that the standard drops on Saturday night with a young-female skewing title. One source has Eras Tour tracking ahead of Barbie‘s pure Friday gross (less $22.3M Thursday previews), which was $48.2M. That said, no one is expecting Swift here to play out like Barbie which fashion-walked to a $162M opening. We’ll have more updates as they come.

Meanwhile, haters aren’t going to hate: Critics on Rotten Tomatoes are giving Eras Tour a 100% score. AMC isn’t sending out official figures until tomorrow.

Early Screen Engine/Comscore PostTrak from last night, which was combed from $2.8M previews, gave Eras Tours five stars or 95% positive. Parents gave it 4 stars and kids under 12, 5 stars. Thursday night leaned 76% women with females under 25 at 42%, females over 25 at 34% and guys way behind at 15% over 25 and 9% under. Moms, natch, outnumbered Dads, 67% to 33% with an jawdropping 95% girls making up the majority of kids under 12. Best grades are women over 25 (100%) and under (97%) while men over 25 grit their teeth for 2 hours and 48 minutes giving Eras Tour its lowest grade of 78%. Note these exits will shift during the weekend.

Previous: The AMC distributed Taylor Swift: Eras Tour concert movie officially made $2.8M in Thursday night previews.

We told you last night that the rough estimate was below $5M. The pic played in 2,700 theatres with showings last night beginning at 6 p.m. local time.

Remember, these previews aren’t indicative of how the weekend will go. Projections of $100M+ stateside still stand at 3,855 theaters. Swift announced Wednesday night moments before her premiere that she was pivoting her lucky 13 release date plan of Friday 6PM to Thursday night previews for the Sam Wrench directed movie. In certain places, advance tickets for the concert film last night didn’t go on sale until six to eight hours before showtime.

There are technically no comps to last night, not only because of the last-minute addition of Thursday previews, but also there haven’t been many wide release concert movies in the preview millennium era of box office. Interestingly enough, the midnight showtime starts for Michael Jackson concert docu, This Is It, drew $2.2M on its Tuesday night, Oct. 27, before posting a $7.4M Wednesday and $34.4M five-day.

The last minute showtimes for Eras Tour didn’t take too much air out of the sleepy autumn box office with Universal/Blumhouse/Morgan Creek’s The Exorcist: Believer earning an estimated $1.3M yesterday at 3,663 theaters, -9% from Wednesday for a first week of $33.9M.

Lionsgate’s Saw X at 3,262 theaters did $729K yesterday, +1% from Wednesday, and $11.3M in week 2 and $35.7M running cume.

Paramount and Spin Master’s second week of Paw Patrol: The Might Movie earned $15.8M after a second Thursday of $620K, +2%, at 4,027 theaters. The animated pic’s running total is $42.8M.

New Regency/20th Century Studios/Disney’s The Creator at 3,680 theaters grossed $571K on Thursday, even with Wednesday, with a second week of $9.3M and a running total of $28M.

Fathom Events’ The Blind saw $271K at 1,312 theaters, and a second week of $4.5M and a running total of $11.9M.

[veganathleteballerina]

This week has gone so well.

Monday I had my grade 2 ballet class and I did an 'almost perfect glissade'.

Tuesday I had grade 2 ballet again and I definitely feel I've improved since last week.

Wednesday I had tap followed by jazz / musical theatre dance. So excited about the music choices for the performance in April. I love tap so much.

Thursday and Friday unfortunately I was working in the evenings this week.

Saturday (today) I started a brand new hip hop dance class. I'm so excited about this class because we are learning new choreography every week. This is so refreshing to me. It will also be a challenge as I'm slow at picking up choreography. I am really hoping I will improve at this!

Will taking multiple dance classes help me improve my ability to learn and remember choreography? Will it benefit my dancing in other ways?

Tomorrow I am planning on going to a barre class in the morning and then aerial hoop in the evening.

[ingravinoveritas]

Hiya, I am the anon from a post you reblogged regarding Michael Sheen and his female co-star from Amadeus (her name is Lily btw and she looks like a version of Sarah Silverman). For a total of 4 weeks he was rehearsing in my work building and I saw a few instances between the two. In the last week he was rehearsing on site I saw them lunching together. Both respectively on either side of a table reading their scripts quietly with no interaction. They weren't talking, or looking at each other. Just eating and reading. Towards the end of their lunch together, she got up and gave Michael a big hug whilst he was sitting down. Honestly it looked like she was consoling him. From the moments I have seen of them together I get a sense she really admires him and looks forward to being around him. Although it sounds like a stretch I do also get a sense that she is quite flirtatious. There was an occasion where Michael was sitting at a table and she was sitting on a table leaning toward him (cue imagery of secretary trying to pursue her boss). I do get the impression on his end that he is being careful around her. Perhaps he finds her attractive? Or perhaps he's trying to keep his distance because of his family situation? I also read your observations regarding AL not posting about Christmas and her family coming in from Sweden. Honestly I think they're coming in so that they can look after the kids and give her a break. She probably is exhausted herself because Michael has not been at home. But it definitely appears like he lives an exhausting separate life from them. I mean on NYE and NYD he is doing 3 performances in total. His regime must be sleep, eat, work, repeat and with his kids in tow that leaves little room to breath and have Mum and Dad time. So it makes sense to have trusted family over to look after the kids. On Tuesday I did get to see opening night of Amadeus. Was trying to spot a platinum blonde AL in the audience. I was pretty close to the stage maybe she was towards the back of the theatre. I kinda thought that she would post some kind of praise about Michael having a successful opening night, alas no. Michael and Lily kiss twice, and I could tell who the fans were in the audience because they were gasping when it happened. Or maybe they were gasping because it was uncomfortable to watch. I found it uncomfortable out of pure jealousy than the actual scene itself. He genuinely is a profound performer especially when the performance goes for 2 hours and 50 mins his stamina to be on point is remarkable. Anyway here is my tea. Simply observations. I do wonder if there is some connection between him and Lily. I wonder if she has become his confidante away from his home life while he is in Sydney. I can't imagine he has people to talk to that aren't his family in town so she just might be the respite he needs. Sorry for this being so long. Hope it is of some interest.

Hi, Australian Anon! Yes, I did see and quite enjoyed the message you sent to @problematicwelshman​, and I found it all very interesting, just as I do this. So I appreciate you writing in to share some more info with me! I love that you have this firsthand experience of Michael and have gotten to see him in the weeks leading up to the opening of Amadeus.

I think we’ve always known that Michael takes the weight of any production he is in on his shoulders, and I am sure that is especially the case here, where he is in the leading role. So to then have two small children and AL in tow on top of all that must undoubtedly be exhausting, and as you said, it would make sense for her family to fly in from Sweden to give her a break (at the very least, to attend the official opening night of the play after the previews, which seemed to be last night, rather than on the 27th). 

It’s also fascinating to hear about his interactions with Co-star Lily (who I am going to call such to distinguish her from his daughter Lily). I think we know that Michael has had a tendency to engage in dalliances with his co-stars (Lizzy Caplan and Caitlin Fitzgerald from MoS and Rachel McAdams in particular come to mind. David is a whole other separate case...). And Michael being magnetic and having a level of charm that just naturally draws others to him is not at all surprising, nor is the thought that CS Lily might have become enamored with him.

What’s interesting to me is his deliberateness in being careful around her. I can certainly understand the reason why, with him very publicly being there with his family (by “very publicly” I mean it being mentioned or noted in multiple interviews with the Australian media, all of which felt like deliberate PR). But it seems like just having another woman look his way makes Michael uncomfortable, or possibly afraid that whatever arrangement he and AL have in place will go to hell if he’s even slightly suspected of cheating. If that is the case, I find that a very strange and sad way to live, being in a relationship that seems to be so greatly lacking in any kind of trust.

I had hoped that if AL made a post regarding opening night, it would shed some more light on the strangeness of recent events. But what she posted did not do so, and managed to make things even weirder than before. AL seems to have used opening night to promote herself, as the caption barely mentions Michael (not even by name) or the play, and the pictures are of her posing with the poster of him the way a fan would. There is also not a single picture of them together. (Yet interestingly, they did take a picture when they went to see David’s play Good in October...)

As you said, it seems like Michael and AL are living separate lives together (which I also alluded to in this post) while in Australia. I completely understand the exhaustion of taking care of two little ones while Michael is working and that that is most likely why her family flew in, but the blanks you’ve filled in regarding CS Lily add to an already complicated/strange picture.

Thinking about AL’s caption on Insta, I feel like it was really her trying to seem “deep” and like she knows anything about the play/opera, but in reality, I don’t see her as much of a classical music aficionado, and I have a feeling she found the play boring. You mentioned CS Lily being his confidante while away from home and I could see that, too. AL is his actual girlfriend--not to mention an actress herself (supposedly)--but he apparently needs respite from her and seemingly can’t talk to her about anything, least of all this role and his preparations for this play which has consumed his life for the past month. I one hundred percent believe Michael has been talking to David on WhatsApp or Zoom, but he seems like the kind of person who needs someone to talk to in person as well, to feel their energy and body language in the room with him. It’s very likely, then, that CS Lily has become that.

I also appreciate the tea on the kisses between Michael and CS Lily, because no doubt that has created some tension/attraction (which I think is natural and a normal part of a performance, because you need that to effectively convey the emotion of the scene). But kissing someone for a few takes on a TV or film set is different from kissing someone every night on stage for a month straight, so who knows if that’s been part of the conversations he and CS Lily have had (or part of why AL has seemingly distanced herself from Michael since they arrived in Oz).

So yes, those are my thoughts on the whole situation. I think it will be interesting to see what unfolds as the run of the play continues (and after it ends later in January and they go back to the UK, for that matter). I guess we’ll see what happens...

[howlinchickhowl]

Jumping in on the tag game tuesday EARLY because I have been hugely neglectful the last few tag times. Thank you @celestialmickey and @heymrspatel for tagging me. Here we go!

name: howl

age: late twenties (mid thirties)

pronouns: she/her

when is your birthday? september 4th

where do you call home? LANDAN TAAN

do you have any pets? 1 little angel doggo

current favorite musical artist: i’ve listened to Nonsense by Sabrina Carpenter every day for the last like, 3 months. So her I guess? 🎶

what do you do for work? whatever someone will pay me to do honestly.

if you could have lunch with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be? my dad.

what are you wearing right now? my comfy cords, tank top, crop top, coziest sweater known to man which I just got as a gift and haven't washed yet so the inside is still peak fleecy and soft and I never want to wash it except. I did already spill something on it so it is unavoidable. le sigh.

you’re going back to school, what’s your major? already doing that and it's theatre all the way baybee

last fanfic or book you read: second chapter second chapters! <3<3<3

and finally, share a happy memory with me: last week I ate a really amazing dinner at one of my favourite indian restaurants with some amazing folks and they forgave me for arriving drunk and promised to bring me to a real jewish deli when I visit their neck of the woods in july and it was just so cute and delightful and easy and fun and honestly a dream <3<3<3<3

WHOMST shall I tag?? let's see...@metalheadmickey @gallawitchxx @you-are-so-much-better-than-that @gardenerian @whatwouldmickeydo @whatthebodygraspsnot @energievie @y0itsbri @iansfreckles @squidyyy23 @captainjowl @abundanceofnots @7x10mickey @sleepyfacetoughguy @sluttymickey

[miasiegert]

Suncoast Broadway CATS update 2/17

There was a great comment by @lie-in-a-bureau-drawer , so I hope it's okay that I post it here since I've got some info and comments! (I still don't get tumblr and I keep forgetting how it works/etiquette but I'm trying!)

I never would want anyone to ever strain to put themselves in a financial situation ever for any project I do, or anything in general, but especially me. This is something very personal as in 2016, I was about to live in my car until two amazing friends took me into their home. What was meant to be two weeks turned into six months, which I can never financially repay but I promised to repay it forward however I can. Since we don't have money to pay it forward, that's where on other social media platforms I signal boost, and also where I'm absolutely happy to share info and help when I can. I totally can understand the disappointment of wanting to go somewhere, and it's incredibly touching and means a ton to me (you have no idea) for that sort of support. So thank you, from the bottom of my (supposed to be) frigid heart.

For anyone thinking of or planning to attend, David and I will be there for the shows on Feb 1st and both shows on the 2nd--our flight home is the 3rd (missing that show and the rest of the run). This is pretty standard for costume designers, sometimes we don't get to go at all (aka Wichita with their full department already!). I'd feel bad if someone only came to try to meet us and we weren't there so I wanted to give those dates but the show will run until, I believe, April 7th. There is accessible seating and accommodation.

I'd call the theatre to double-check (as a courtesy) but already in many production meetings I brought up superfans in costume and said there's a good chance that'll happen. They seemed really excited by the idea. So if you like going to shows in costume, this one should be very friendly to it and there will be more interaction than usual due to dinner theatre. I can't say much more than that but there was a very specific reason why we were hired (well, several... but something really stood out).

Let's be honest, this is the one y'all care about: YES, there WILL be pictures and (hopefully) video! And I'm pretty sure people who come to the show will be able to take pics/vid on their phones and probably with performers but I'm not 100% positive there--I will get confirmation. Once opening happens, I will share at least one special costume design I made. There will be one special performer who will greet every table in a very special costume as the host/ess. Who will it be? Who... will it be..? (Spoiler: It's not Macavity. WHEN WILL PEOPLE LEARN HE JUST WANTS TO DO SOMETHING AND IS SUFFERING THE WORST MIDDLE CHILD SYNDROME EVER?)

Additional fun info: On Tuesday (maybe Wed) we'll be teaching the make up classes. We had to improvise with some different products, still Mehron base but also some snazzaroo for detailing and some powder and eyeshadow. I don't believe I'll be allowed to share video of these classes (there will be video) because make up classes usually are emotional the first two days, then by day three everything's fine. It's a very emotional process and I'd love to share how I teach but I also need to respect the privacy of the cast in case there are tears.

Kind Suggestion: If you do go to the show, please tip kindly. As this is nonequity, the actors are responsible for providing their own shoes (they will need to be replaced during the run), undergarments, make up (first initial batch on the theatre), other things. We did everything we could to help them, but I know with undergarments and shoes, especially shoes, some actors are really struggling, and if they dance but also tap, and it seems like one actor will cover three tracks... it's very hard. Just a very kind thing to do/consider. We had to talk with a few about whether they could do just one dancebelt and basically the, "well, yes, you CAN... but for twodoshays, you probably don't want to. If not an option, these are things you can do to help keep yourself dry, prevent bacterial infection and odor, and prevent chafing." Also added like a 4-page skincare routine that I stressed was optional but what I personally do/like in case anyone wants to take care of their skin--if anyone wants the routine, I can share it here but it's seriously excessive.

I'm irrationally terrified of flying, so here's hoping that Monday is very smooth with no sudden squalls or anything. I'm really going to miss my floofs but my mom and her BF will take excellent care of them! Currently I'm resting although I should be packing because my immune system gave out and I'm taking as much stuff as I can to knock whatever this is out of my system.

[harrison-abbott]

"Are you acting?"

He wanted to be a movie star ever since he saw Clint Eastwood in those Sergio Leone movies when he was a kid.

At Halloween he would dress up as Clint Eastwood, with the hat and the poncho … and he would shoot people with his cap gun. He got a real kick out of the way the gunpowder smelled each time he got a cap. And the other kids liked him; he made them laugh: but he was a good natured kid as well.

And he could perform in front of people as well. He kept persisting that he wanted to go become an actor. So I found out in the city about drama classes. And began taking him along. This was when he was a wee bit older, when he was eight or nine, I would drive him over on Tuesday nights to this theatre group for kids. And they would put on a show in the winter and summer.

I spoke to his drama teacher about him. Or rather, she spoke to me. “Your kid has a real talent,” she said.

He didn’t play in any of the main roles. Lead roles, I mean, because he was younger than most of the other kids. But he had good roles, and was good at what he did: I saw him yell lines in front of hundreds of people.

And he kept going with his acting until he was ten and into eleven. Was devoted.

It got to the summer holiday just after he had finished primary school. So he was in his summer holidays. And he was gearing up for a show. Which he was excited about; he was playing in an adaptation of Bugsy Malone. Not singing but dancing.

I went down into the kitchen, and he was there, standing in the middle of the room. He kinda gave me a fright because he was poised awkwardly and he had his back to me. “Honey?” I said to him. “What are you doing?” It looked like he was trying to pick something up off the floor … except, there was nothing on the floor. And he kept making this movement of going to lift something up, but no object was there. I went around the side of him and looked at him, and again asked what he was up to? He couldn’t look at me. He didn’t respond. Even when I knelt down to him and spoke into his face he was dazed and didn’t communicate. “Honey? Are you joking with me?” I said to him. Because I hoped that he was joking and that he was only playing with me. I thought he was acting. “Are you acting?”

But he wasn’t. So I went and told my husband about him. And my son was still unresponsive and wasn’t communicating. So we took him to the hospital. I really had no clue what was happening, and the doctors, at first, were baffled as well. They tried to interact with him as well, and couldn’t. Until one of the doctors reckoned his issue might be brain related.

They put him through a scan. And it turned out there was a tumour in his brain. It was un-operable. And he had under a year to live.

Just like that, a potent spike of cancer had bloomed in his brain and it would kill him. I won’t tell you about the last five months of his life, after the diagnosis. Instead, I like to remember him as the little boy pretending to be Clint Eastwood and making folks giggle. And I fantasise about him having not died and grown up and gone on to be a proper actor. That type of thing most children dream about. I like to think he would have been a role model.

[beardedmrbean]

Security will be increased at Champions League games this week after a media outlet supporting the Islamic State group published threats against venues.

Ministers in both France and Spain have confirmed enhanced security measures.

A pro-IS media channel has published several images of stadiums hosting quarter-final ties on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Uefa said it was aware of the threats, but said games in Madrid, Paris and London would go ahead as planned.

French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said there would be "considerably reinforced" security measures in place when PSG play Barcelona in Paris on Wednesday.

Mr Darmanin continued: "I will remind you that only 10 days ago, IS shared a picture of the Munich stadium and said action should be taken against sports venues that host football games - although all sports can be targeted. Given how important the Champions League is for football, we are of course talking to our partners."

The jihadist images posted this week did not refer to any particular match or event and were shared by pro-IS media groups not officially linked to the organisation itself.

Two quarter-finals are due to be held in Madrid this week. Real Madrid host Manchester City on Tuesday, while Atletico Madrid take on Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday.

Pilar Alegría, Spain's sports minister, has issued a message of "calm" ahead of the games in Madrid and said "more than 2,000 police and civil guard officers" are being deployed.

The acting mayor of Madrid, Inmaculada Sanz, told Spanish media there was no specific threat afoot, adding the terrorist alert level in Spain was four out of five, which is classified as high risk.

"These announcements are usually propaganda actions to provoke fear," she said.

"Both the security forces and the intelligence services are studying any possible threat, but there is nothing that makes us foresee a situation of special risk."

Live: Champions league build-up and football latest

A counter-terrorism source told the BBC that IS did not normally advertise planned attacks, citing last month's shootings at a theatre in Moscow. That had not been discussed in advance on any social media channels.

Arsenal play Bayern Munich in London on Tuesday. Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan said: "We're aware of online and media reports in relation to calls to target matches across Europe and here in London.

"However, I want to reassure the public that we have a robust policing plan in place for tonight's match and we continue to work closely alongside the club's security team to ensure that the match passes peacefully."

The pro-IS channel featured images of the Emirates Stadium in London, the Bernabeu and Metropolitano Stadiums in Madrid, as well as the Parc des Princes Stadium in Paris.

Although the channel is not officially linked to IS, it is thought the directive to publish the threats may have come from the jihadist group itself, as its leadership recently hinted at close co-ordination between official media operatives and online supporters.

Material seeking to incite attacks on channels with long-standing ties to the group have increased in the wake of last month's Moscow concert hall attack, according to specialists at the BBC's Monitoring service.

Another image shared last week depicted the Allianz Arena in Munich, which is due to host Bayern Munich's return leg against Arsenal next week.

A spokesman for European football's governing body said: "Uefa is aware of alleged terrorist threats made towards this week's Uefa Champions League matches and is closely liaising with the authorities at the respective venues.

"All matches are planned to go ahead as scheduled with appropriate security arrangements in place."

Germany is set to host the Euro 2024 European Championships later this year.

When asked last month about threats to stadium security, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said the "dangers have reached a new level". "The state is arming itself even more strongly against all current threats," she added.

Ahead of Arsenal's match later against Bayern Munich at the Emirates Stadium, a spokesperson said venue staff were "working closely with the Metropolitan Police regarding the safety and security of all supporters and staff at Emirates Stadium for all our matches".

"Our planning for tonight's fixture is no different and our approach, working together with the Police and UEFA, is proportionate to the current UK threat level."

The Deputy Assistant Commissioner of London's Metropolitan Police, Ade Adelekan, has said officers have "a robust policing plan" in place for Tuesday's match, but has asked the public to "remain vigilant" at the event.

"The UK terrorism threat level remains at 'substantial', meaning an attack is likely, and we work closely with colleagues from across Counter-Terrorism Policing in planning for events here in London, to take into account any relevant information that could help us to keep those attending safe," he said in a statement.