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theravennest · 3 years

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Let’s Talk: The Blooms at Ruyi Pavilion

I finished all 40 eps about two weeks ago, actually. I enjoyed it for the most part, the 1st half especially, but there were several things near the end that took me out.

But first some of the good bits...

The cast chemistry was immaculate. Our four main lead actors were a lot of fun together. Not just Zhang Zhehan and Ju Jing Yi, but also Wang You Shuo and Xu Jiaqi (Loved them!). The four of them have such obvious ease with each other after their previous work together in Legend of Yun Xi and it made scenes with any combination of the main four really pop.

I was especially drawn to the sisters’ relationship and the Prince-Vassal bond going on between Prince Su and Little Marquis. (Y’all know I’m a sucker for both sibling stories and stories about fictional royals and their loyal vassals.)

Most of the ancillary characters were interesting, actually. As y’all know from my last post about this one, I was crack shipping like crazy all the side characters. 😂 This cast made it easy for me.

Except for Prince An. (Sorry to hit the bad so early.) Good god, I hated that man. His character was poorly drawn in pretty much every way, which is unfortunate cuz he’s the main antagonist. Any story with a main antagonist that just doesn’t work is always gonna be weaker.

Also, no offense to people who like that actor but he was the only cast member who did absolutely nothing for me in terms of performance. So much of the story was focused on his weaksauce motivation and dry acting like, my god, put me out of my misery I do not care.

Anyway, the set design and costuming was top notch and I even enjoyed the broader story ideas the show was trying to put forth. The sitcom vibe of the first 20 eps or so was SOOO good. Our four mains’ comedic timings were pitch perfect.

Unfortunately, the writing took a sharp nosedive in the back 3rd or so and it had a rough ending. (The lightning strike on the tower scene, the fight in the underground temple, the return of Prince An’s mom...all of that was trash. let’s be real.)

I mostly blame this on three things: the missteps with the Prince An character, the lack of development of Rong’s prophetic dreams even though that was the main premise of the show, and the jump-the-shark moment that was the wedding night and its subsequently underwritten fallout.

Now to clarify, I don’t mean to say the wedding night event shouldn’t have happened at all but rather the execution of it within the story was poor and it negatively impacted 90% of the other character motivations/progressions and the overall pacing.

You know, it felt like that thing you do as a writer where you wake up and have a specific scene in your mind. It’s evocative, impactful, fun, or otherwise intense. But you just have that scene and it’s something that would have to happen in the middle of your story. So you work your way backwards to try to get to that scene and you do your best to get the characters to make decisions to get there but when you sit down to write nothing works out. It’s clunky or OOC for the scene to still happen so you end up having to either scrap the evocative scene or keep the clunky lead up and hope no one notices. That’s what that wedding scene and everything that happened after felt like. They wrote themselves into a corner and just struggled to recover until the bitter end.

The main pairing suffered the most because of the poor writing choices. No matter how much chemistry ZZH and JJY have together, even they could not completely salvage Rong’s yo-yoing behavior with Prince Su. They started off so wholesome and then dove into such toxicity and miscommunication for no reason.

Don’t get me wrong. I can very easily enjoy angst. But Fu Rong consistently broke this man down. After ep 25-26, it stopped being good angst and became so awful to watch all the emotional manipulation and turmoil. There’s something broken in the writing if 9 out of 10 times Prince Su cried or fell into depression it was because of something Rong did or said to him after jumping to a conclusion with only part of the puzzle pieces gathered.

I could forgive some stuff because Prince An was manipulating things but some stuff was just all Rong not giving Prince Su the benefit of the doubt or plain old not doing her due diligence in investigating. She is supposed to have inherited the most prolific and successful spy organization in the show and she still got 90% of her conclusions wrong. It was like she was determined to always think the worst of Prince Su no matter what despite how often he went above and beyond to help her. Despite the fact that he literally had a reputation as a general for being a harsh taskmaster but fair and just.

I think what broke me was when she did the bare minimum investigation into her own father’s death and just fully blamed Prince Su without confronting him honestly or even considering his personality or their relationship up until that point. She really believed a single street seller’s entire testimony over the man she lived with and supposedly loved for months. Girl...

And this is after she’d previously mistakenly accused him of killing her mentor with very few facts to the point where she stabbed him on their wedding night.

There came a point where I actually wanted Prince Su to finally, truly divorce Rong and settle down with someone who could love him right. Maybe give him time to heal from the repeated heartbreaks, betrayals, and the literal stab wound in his chest but he was so fucking in love with Rong, he just couldn’t escape.

(If there were behind the scenes production reasons for the clunky-ness of the back half, I would not be surprised at all but ultimately they don’t matter cuz the story we got was the story we got.)

Imagine if we had gotten a Rong who used her prophetic dreams to navigate the cut throat world of royal politics. Or imagine if we’d gotten Rong as a true apprentice to Ruyi who learned both metalsmithing and spycraft in the first half and took over the pavilion as a competent leader in the second half. As it stands, it just felt like wasted potential.

I’m glad they had the modern day special AU eps tho cuz those were great. Zhang Zhehan and Ju Jing Yi had the opportunity to really showcase their incredible chemistry but in a modern setting and with better writing than the back 3rd of BRYP.

Now let’s talk Zhang Zhehan since he was the reason I started this in the first place. I loved him in this. I truly did. He was stern and serious but also playful and sweet. He was romantic but awkward, badass but vulnerable. He really delivered a nuanced and charming performance. I loved every second.

I think my favorite moment wasn’t some badass fight or even a super romantic moment. No, it was when he got drunk and started crying like a little baby cuz Rong was constantly doubting him no matter what he did. It was simultaneously sad and hilarious. Like gut busting funny. Y’all can watch it here:

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I laughed so fucking hard at this. Oh my god, guys! This shit was too much.

Random Thoughts:

The romance between the 2nd leads was A+. Truly an adorable affair. Though I think they should’ve gotten together officially earlier around ep 25 or so and we should’ve seen the rest with them as a couple.

The costuming was so good y’all. For all the main four characters but I was especially drawn to Prince Su’s outfits.

The ghostly pale look with the bright red lips and eyeshadow makeup for Rong did not bother me at all. I actually liked it for her though I think it would’ve worked better if she’d had more explicit prophetic abilities.

I could’ve used more actual war scenes with Prince Su and Little Marquis.

The OST for the show SLAPPED!

That one kid spy in Ruyi Pavilion was voiced by the same actor as Chengling from WOH and I have never double-taked harder. lmao

Even though there were things I didn’t like in this show, I appreciated how gay I could make it in my last post. Truly it was a bisexual’s dream aesthetically.

#the blooms at ruyi pavilion #cdrama #zhang zhehan #ju jingyi #liveblogging #meta #reviews #long post

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letterboxd · 3 years

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Heart Beat.

Minari’s film composer Emile Mosseri (also responsible for the Kajillionaire and The Last Black Man in San Francisco scores) tells Ella Kemp about his A24 favorites, Nicholas Britell’s friendship and the boldest Paul McCartney needle drop in movie history.

What do you think a broken heart sounds like? How about a warm, beating one? It’s something that Emile Mosseri has been thinking about for a while now. The past two years have seen him complete a hat-trick of beguiling, transporting scores for Plan B movies: Joe Talbot and Jimmie Fails’ The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Miranda July’s Kajillionaire and now, the film voted the best of 2020 by our community, Lee Isaac Chung’s Minari.

What binds these scores together is a delicacy that knows when to break free and turn into something altogether spectacular. But on Minari in particular, Mosseri is in full bloom, working for the first time in a way he’d always dreamed about. While The Last Black Man in San Francisco saw him compose to a loose edit, and on Kajillionaire he worked to a locked cut, Chung gave him the freedom to write music directly to Minari’s script. “It was a dream to work this way on Minari,” Mosseri says. “It was so beautifully written and so visceral.”

‘Minari’ composer Emile Mosseri.

Minari is an intimate portrait of a Korean family making their way in rural America, and the composer was interested in “trying to figure out musically how you can feel connected to your deepest childhood memories”. These memories belong, in the film, to David—a tiny king played by eight-year-old Alan Kim—as he comes to terms with his new life on a small farm in Arkansas, as his family strives for their own version of the American Dream.

The Yi family is made up of David and his sister Anne (Noel Kate Cho), their parents Monica (Han Ye-ri) and Jacob (Steven Yeun) and their grandmother, Soon-ja (Youn Yuh-jung). It’s a personal story for Chung, one that Mosseri felt honored to be a part of. “It’s a very intimate story with these five characters, which takes place mostly in this small mobile home—but emotionally, it’s very epic.”

There was something about Chung that had caught Mosseri’s attention early on. “I had met him at the LA premiere of Last Black Man,” Mosseri says, “and I sent him the Kajillionaire score.” Mosseri was already familiar with the filmmaker’s work: “His first film, Munyurangabo, is incredible.” He calls Chung “very open, but also sly” in terms of hitting the right notes and “gently steering the ship”. The partnership between composer and director was about working on “a more emotional level,” Mosseri says. “There was never any talk about what we wanted stylistically.”

The ‘Minari’ ensemble cast.

The result is a film graced with music at once lush and raw, grandiose and vulnerable. Mosseri is keenly aware of these nuances, and always made sure to walk the tonal tightrope in the writing process. “There aren’t sad cues and hopeful cues,” he explains. “Every cue has both feelings. Each musical moment dips in and out of the hopefulness and joy of a family, and then the pain and frustration and dissonance that they hold.”

The way Mosseri’s music swells and flows often feels intangible, magical, even—which comes more from knowing what to avoid, rather than acting with too much forced intention. On his first film, Mosseri brought brass and strings to the streets of San Francisco, and with Miranda July, he worked old Hollywood glamor into the concrete blocks of Los Angeles. Here, we twirl through the tall grass as gentle acoustic guitars and elegant string sections sigh and sway, while the Yi family work through their growing pains.

“We didn’t want to hear Korean music when you see Korean characters, and we didn’t want twangy music when you see an American farm,” Mosseri explains. “We wanted to come at it from the side somehow, in some way that’s unexpected.” ‘Rain’, his collaboration with Minari star Han Ye-ri, which features on the official soundtrack, encapsulates this juxtaposition. It’s an epic lullaby of sorts; Han sings in Korean to a gentle guitar; a pleasing swell of synths climbs alongside her voice. The effect on the listener is as if liquid love is trickling from every vein. “I wanted this score to feel like it had a warm, beating heart.”

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Two of your three feature films to date have been released by A24, and so we must ask: what are your favorite A24 film scores? Emile Mosseri: Three come to mind. First of all, Anna Meredith’s score for Eighth Grade. It’s so adventurous and unexpected and fresh and just brilliant. It’s so pure and out-there. It also does this impossible thing of being hip and exciting and deep, but also hilarious. The pool-party scene fucking kills me.

Then there’s Under the Skin by Mica Levi. I remember seeing that at the Nighthawk theater in Brooklyn and feeling like it was the best score I’d heard in as long as I could remember.

And then of course, Moonlight. That film got under my skin in a way I didn’t see coming. I saw it by myself in a theater, after hearing all the hype for months and months. When a movie has that much hype you can get a bit cynical and it can distract you, so I went in a bit guarded, but I left the film destroyed. For weeks and weeks it resonated with me in a way that was so profound, and a large part of that is due to Nick [Britell]’s music. And the film is just perfection.

Scarlett Johansson in ‘Under the Skin’ (2013), scored by Mica Levi.

You’ve been described as Nicholas Britell’s protégé more than once… It’s funny, I think that came from me being a fan of his and saying nice things about his music. I met him at Sundance two years ago when Last Black Man was premiering. I went with my wife and my brother and I was so excited, I’d been waiting for this moment for so long. We walked in and Nick and Barry [Jenkins] were walking in behind [us]. And there was also Boots Riley, Kamasi Washington… all these people I looked up to. I hadn’t considered that I would see this film in the room with them, and it was the first time I was hearing the final mix and just agonizing.

Nick was incredibly generous and said great things about the score and was super encouraging, and he became a friend and mentor. But I’ve never studied with him or worked with him. Although, if you’re a fan of somebody’s work, you’re a student of any of these composers that you admire. Anything you watch and listen to, you absorb.

What was the first film that made you want to be a composer? It was Edward Scissorhands. Danny Elfman’s score was the first one that made me realize that this was a job. I’m always attracted to big, romantic melodies, and over-the-top sweeping stuff—but done tastefully. In that score, he sets the high-water mark for me. It’s so unapologetically romantic.

And then there are other obvious ones like The Godfather. It’s maybe a dorky choice because it’s the most famous movie ever, but it really is the best. And that got me into Nino Rota, and from there I found [Federico] Fellini and all these movies through Nino, the composer. And then I got really into the score for La Dolce Vita and more movies that he’d written for, which are so beautiful.

The ‘Edward Scissorhands’ (1990) score was an early inspiration for Mosseri.

Which films, new to you, blew you away in 2020? Take Shelter by Jeff Nichols blew me away. It unfolded in a way that was intoxicating and really exciting, and it just really stuck with me.

What’s been your favorite needle drop on screen this year? Aside from Devonté Hynes’ score being stunning, there’s an amazing piece of music placed in an episode of Luca Guadagnino’s We Are Who We Are. They use a Paul McCartney song called ‘Let Em In’, and they dropped it in this incredibly tasteful but unexpected way, in a really dark, emotionally loaded scene. It worked in such a beautiful and graceful way. It’s because it’s the most cheery McCartney, it’s full-blown upbeat and poppy McCartney. And this is the darkest-of-the-dark human pain, and it lands in this way that is such a bold choice, such a powerful move.

What should people listen to after watching Minari? One record I’ve been listening to a lot recently is Jeff Tweedy’s Love is the King. It could be a good companion to Minari. I’m a huge fan of his and it’s a gorgeous record. It’s very stripped-down and emotionally raw, and it’s both hopeful and heartbreaking.

Which filmmakers would you love to work with next? I’m always afraid to answer this question because there are so many filmmakers I admire. There are filmmakers I grew up with loving their films—working with Miranda was that for me. Spike Jonze or Yorgos Lanthimos are directors in her world that I also love and would love to work with. But there’s so many others. Derek Cianfrance is amazing and he works with different composers. I love his choice of collaborators musically. I love that he used the late great Harold Budd to do his shows [including I Know This Much is True], and then Mike Patton, and Grizzly Bear… the music is always incredible in his projects, but he doesn’t have a go-to person. His films are so heartbreaking and powerful and really, really raw. He’s fearless.

I feel very lucky that I’ve worked on these three films which are all very much like somebody’s ripping their heart out and putting it on the screen. I feel like Derek Cianfrance does that in his films too, in this unapologetic, super-vulnerable way of just ripping his soul out and putting it out for everyone to see. It’s incredibly appealing to find those projects, because they’re really rare.

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Follow Ella on Letterboxd

‘Minari’ is available everywhere in the US that movies can be rented, and screening in select theaters in the US and other regions. Listen to the official soundtrack and more of Mosseri’s film compositions in the official Spotify playlist via Milan Records. ‘Kajillionaire’ is available on VOD now.

#minari #letterboxd year in review #kajillionaire #the last black man in san francisco #emile mosseri #miranda july #lee isaac chung #a24 #a25 films #film composer #film soundtrack #film score #derek cianfrance #nicholas britell #nino rota #letterboxd

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laufire · 3 years

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Supernatural s3

It’s so unfair that the season that has Ruby AND Bela is so short :(((. I was done with it waaaay too quickly, and now I’m speed running through s4 xD (which, like the first time around, is Strong Mixed Feelings territory).

-My girl Ruby!!!! I was so happy to have her back, I kept grinning like a loon every time she was on screen. It’s quite interesting watching the 1.0 and 2.0 versions so close to each other, instead of as they air. I have... Thoughts, on whether Ruby as a double agent was something planned or that they decided as they went, but that’s for the s4 post. s3!Ruby really doesn’t come across as one (“I don’t believe in the devil” oh I wish sometimes xD, I love my nonbelievers), imo, but the beauty of such a device is that you can rationalize anything she does as devious if you want to xD

And it goes without saying that I love her interactions with Sam. THIS SHIP ISTG. I love how immediately ~attuned to her he is lol, his present and instinctive concern for her even if he tries to mask his interest as “practical”. And all the repeated times Sam’s conflicted between her and Dean -like when he deviates Dean shot (wasting one of the Colt’s bullets lmfao) or during the argument about the virgin sacrifice xD. And the “that’s my boy”/ “little fallen angel on your shoulder” quotes!!! Ruby 1.0 deserved to be railed by Sam too, smh.

My favourite episode of hers is “Jus in Bello” (which would be my fave of the season just by virtue of having both Bela and Ruby in the same episode lol. Not interacting, of course, the world as we know it wouldn’t have survived). I just love that she gets that final moment of I TOLD YOU SO to the brothers xD. I really like how she expands on the demonic lore of the show- I love, LOVE the detail about how all demons used to be humans, how they’re souls corrupted in hell. And that in her past life she was a witch (there was this really good fic in Spanish fandom about it... I need to hunt it down).

BTW, though I think her interactions with Dean in that episode are interesting, it really hammers home how much I hate him sometimes xD. Can you stop saying misogynistic slurs for TWO GODDAMN MINUTES, DEAN (and as we know from as early as this season, only HE can have demon/monster friends!! What a fucking hypocrite xD). I freaking love the moment in the finale when she viciously yells him about how she wishes she could see him in hell lmao (and how it foreshadows that when she shows sympathy later, it’s actually Lilith in disguise lmfao). I hate Dean gets the last word in their dynamic, tbqh. Until the s15 cameo, at least xDD

One thing that’s been bothering me xD: the French fries. Demons are vulnerable to salt, like other spirits, right? (and hey, look what a nice piece of foreshadowing that was). How does that translate to food lol. Because Ruby adores French fries, and they obviously contain salt. It’s like spicy food for humans? Or like pineapple? Inquiring minds etc. xD

-I still cannot believe Bela Talbot was only on the show for six episodes lmao. Her presence still lingers in the watchers’ heads so much?? Which is understandable because she’s Lead Girl Material if there was ever any lol. The care with which they styled her even?? You don’t do that for just any character lmao (I mean, just look at most of SPN’s female characters for comparison xD).

Her ship with Dean could’ve really been something, too -even if I hate Dean in it, I can’t deny it packs a punch, narrative-wise. I mean, the Batcat undertones alone!! The fake married undercover shenanigans!! And I think it’s really interesting that she’s such a blind spot for him; Dean’s unusually intuitive about people, but with Bela he takes everything at face value and she can fool him like no other (while, OTOH, is Sam who questions her facade and wants to see more). If he hadn’t been such an idiot (and such an asshole) he could’ve had a really powerful ship. Sucks to be him lol.

Anyway. Man, I love her. So much. I love how Gordon’s threats to kill her don’t work on her, and I love that the show basically said “Bela killing her abusive parents is good, actually” (I’m so tired of forgiveness narratives, you guys. This entire show is founded on revenge, so let me get my revenge fantasies in peace!!) xDD. And I love, LOVE that she withheld that truth from Dean, that she decided he wasn’t worth it. OTOH, you know, fuck the fans that got her written out, definitely; but on the other, I do love how her story ended (and that it was a clear "fuck you" to shitty fans). Doesn’t stop me for wanting to read and re-read (and maybe write!) even more “Bela escapes hell” fix-its, but still.

Also, very important question: what happened to her cat?? It’s the cat alright?? I’m going to headcanon that she left them with that cougar friend of hers lol.

-So. THE DEAL. Okay. Oof. I love this storyline, a lot. A loooot. I love the conflict it creates between the brothers (as long as there’s still conflict and Sam hasn’t yet started taking everything lying down I can enjoy that part of their narrative lol). I love Dean’s initial forced giddiness about “making the most out of his last year” and I love the moment Dean decides he does want to try to live because it makes the last few episodes all the most desperate and cruel (and hey, I’ve heard he only went to hell because the season was cut short due to a writers’ strike... if that’s true that’s so funny lmao).

My absolutely favourite part however? That you can FEEL Dean’s unvoiced resentment towards Sam. For Dean having to die for him, even if Sam never asked him to. He lashes out to Sam repeatedly through the season, but it really came to ahead in the dreamspace episode, where Dean confronts another version of himself that talks about how Sam was “dotted on” (the revisionism asldfkaf). This show is absolutely ruthless when it comes to showing you its characters’ ugly, unfair reactions to things and it’s my favourite thing evah.

Speaking of the dreamspace episode, OMFG. I loved both brothers there. Dean’s hallucination, seeing himself as a demon? And how he let out his anger about John?? Beautiful, truly (regarding John, I also loved their different reactions when it looked like his spirit had contacted them: Dean jumping on it and Sam detached skepticism). But my favourite part has to be when Sam uses the villain’s abusive father against him. Like. Damn. That was cold-blooded o.0

The second-to-last episode, when Sam tracked down that Frankenstein doctor to try and make Dean immortal was ABSOLUTELY HORRIFYING OMG. I loved that. I love that Sam wanted to use it for both them. It was some scary shit. I also love the scene where the crossroads demon questions whether Sam really wants to break the deal, I’m gathering it’s going to be nice foreshadowing later on in the show lol.

Anyway. I also found Dean’s death scene more impactful than Sam’s. Partially because of the horror of it, but mostly because I think at this type of scenes, Padalecki is better. Sam’s grief felt more real, Dean’s got me out of the scene (it’s the voice, I think. Sometimes Ackles’ voice takes me out of scenes, it sounds... forced).

I also really enjoyed how the time loop episode wrapped around this subplot. It managed to be both heartbreaking and mind-numbly hilarious lmfao. Like?? All the deaths?? Were so pathetic?? I tip my hat to Ackles because I don’t think most actors could carry plots like this half as well lmfao.

Sidenote, it’s always a trip to see The Trickster God knowing that fucker is Gabriel. Archangel “hey Mary do you accept God knocking you up” Gabriel. Which I guess isn’t exactly a thing in this show?? Since according to the wikia SPN Jesus was “just a man” (and let me tell you, I’m tickled pink by the fact that out of ALL mythological figures, specifically all CHRISTIAN mythological figures, the show decided to go “nah” on Jesus Christ. I mean, I guess he’d take away from Dean’s, Sam’s and Castiel’s resurrection narratives, but still. It’s so funny!!).

-Gordon Walker remains a superbly acted and fascinating character with extra racist nonsense alsdkfjasdf. But I can’t deny I loved seeing him as a vampire. He was terrifying. And I’m definitely shipping him with Kubrick, ouch xD

-The Ghostfacers episode is... something. As in, incredibly exploitative and homophobic and with an egregious case of BYG (and the first where I’d say it’s incontestable to claim the trope was used. s1 and s2 are muddy territory given the circumstances, IMO, but this one is 300% BYG), but so successfully manipulative my heart hurt for Corbett and Corbett x Ed still. Fuck them for that ngl. I do still enjoy how anti-Winchesters they all are though xD

-3x01 introduces the one nice marriage of hunters so far, between a black couple. The man dies in a gross, horrifying way within the episode ofc (because he was Mean to the the brothers duh). She makes it out alive, and since she doesn’t reappear in the show she gets to live. So for now black women have a sliiiiiightly better track record in SPN than track guys there: they get to appear in a few more episodes and be more fleshed out (Victor, Gordon), but as long as they’re only in one episode they get to live!! (Cassie, Tamara).

-Rufus and Bobby are exes, right? Right?? Probably still married in some state? You know that post about how when gay marriage was legalized across the USA there were a lot of issues because some couples had split and never bothered to divorce, since it was only legal in one place? That post was made for them. Pity Rufus is a black man, and as such has a limited number of allowed appearances before he’s killed off ¬¬

-I would’ve enjoyed Dean’s moments with Lisa and Ben more (it’s just so RIGHT that in this moment he’d want Ben to be his) if my knowledge of future spoilers didn’t perpetually have me in a state of “pls keep this guy away from kids” lol.

-They had Harmony’s actress (BTVS) and they made her a vampire!! The show’s hard on for the Buffyverse is a bit of a hit and miss but I can’t say I don’t relate xDD.

-I know Jensen Ackles can sing (in fact thanks to youtube I know a few of the actors can... is there a musical episode. Does this show have its own OMWF. I need to know). So why. WHY. Does he sound like that during “Dead or Alive”??? I actually like the scene but he sounds so off-key lmao.

-BTW, I found out that apparently Katie Cassidy and Lauren Cohan originally auditioned for each other’s roles añslkdfjasf. I can’t picture it. Ruby 1.0 is Ruby 1.0 and Bela is Bela xD. Although I’ve seen each playing roles that could meld with the other, just. Nope. Good choice on the casting there lol.

#talking to the void #my thoughts #spn thoughts #supernatural #spnruby #samruby #bela talbot #deanbela #deanruby #sam winchester #dean winchester #gordon walker #ruby 1.0 #spn gabriel #ghostfacers #alan corbett #bobby x rufus #spn s3 #the winchesters get to have a tag I GUESS

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frozenartscapes · 4 years

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Wilhelm + Rhea - I’m pregnant.

Something was wrong, Seiros was sure of it. She staggered back to her cot after running a cool, damp cloth over her face, and flopped down with little grace. She groaned as she clutched her abdomen, praying to the Goddess that the world would stop spinning so much.

Someone must have poisoned her. Or rather, is poisoning her because this is the fifth day in a row she’s woken up like this.

“Seiros!” A singsong voice floated through the opening of her tent, all bright and chipper.

“Come in,” Seiros managed to call out, gulping as she felt her stomach heave again.

It was Rowena, which was probably good considering her current situation. How Cichol had ever managed to find, woo, marry, and have a child with such a woman so…different from himself had always been a mystery. But it was times like these that Seiros was thankful she was around.

Rowena frowned when she spotted her companion curled up on her cot. “Another rough morning?” she asked, producing some herbs from her bag and setting them down on the desk. She pushed aside some of the war maps and got to work making a nausea remedy.

“We really must…find whoever’s...responsible for this,” Seiros grumbled.

Rowena brought over the concoction and wordlessly handed it over. As Seiros brought it to her mouth, she caught her friend’s knowing, and worryingly smug grin. She gulped anxiously and asked, “What?”

“I think I know who’s responsible,” Rowena teased, “You might want to have a word with Wilhelm.”

“Why would he be poisoning me?”

“Poisoning?” Rowena’s gleeful laugh filled the tent, though Seiros was still at a loss as to why, “Oh my dear, please tell me all this war planning and scheming hasn’t clouded your head that much!”

“I…I don’t understand…”

Rowena reached out and took Seiros’ hands in hers, and gently pulled her up into a sitting position. “Seiros, my dear,” she said softly, breathlessly happy for her friend, “You’re pregnant.”

“…I’m…what?”

Rowena chuckled. “Don’t worry. That news always takes a moment to sink in.”

“I’m what?”

“Expecting, Sweetie.”

“But… I…I can’t be pregnant!” Seiros cried, “We’re fighting a war! I’m leading the war! A…and Wilhelm and I… I mean… We did, but he’s human and I’m…not…” She gasped, clamping a hand over her mouth as it finally, finally hit. “Oh Goddess I’m pregnant.”

“I don’t think you have much to worry about,” Rowena assured her, “It isn’t unheard of for our kind to have children with humans. And it’s not like you’ll be in this alone. I’ll be here, and so will the others. And of course there’s Wilhelm.”

“Oh Goddess…Wilhelm!” Seiros exclaimed, “I…I have to tell him!”

“Knowing Wilhelm I imagine he’ll be rather excited, too,” Rowena added.

“But what about the others?” Seiros demanded, “Cichol and Indech I’m not too worried about, but Macuil will be furious, I know it.”

“Oh don’t you worry about that old windbag,” Rowena sighed, “If he gives you any problems, send him to me.” She suddenly clapped her hands together, bouncing a little in excitement. “Oh little Ceth will finally have someone she can play with!”

“I’m pregnant,” Seiros murmured, suddenly feeling nauseous for a different reason. This was something completely out of her wheelhouse. She could lead an army. She could wield a sword. She could kick anyone’s ass with just her fists if she had to.

She could not picture herself as a mother.

She sighed heavily and buried her face in her hands, trying not to think too deeply about how this was going to affect her war against Nemesis.

“Oh Wilhelm! What perfect timing!” Rowena greeted cheerfully.

“Very funny, Wena,” Seiros groaned.

“Oh! I’m…sorry… Is this a bad time?”

Her head snapped up in an instant. “Wilhelm! No, it’s… Actually Rowena’s right: it’s perfect timing,” she said quickly.

“I’ll…give you two some privacy,” Rowena said, making her way to the door of the tent. She slipped out quickly, but Seiros could tell by the shadow cast against the canvas walls that Rowena’s definition of “privacy” was a tad skewed.

“Is everything alright my Love?” Wilhelm asked, a look of concern marring his gentle face, “Have you been sick again?”

Seiros was momentarily lost in his warm hazel eyes, but she shook her head briskly to bring herself back. “I…yes, I have,” she admitted, “And Rowena believes she’s found out the reason why.”

“It’s not poison, is it? I swear on my life I’ll find the bastard that’s been doing this to you and—“

“It’s not…poison, Wilhelm,” Seiros cut in with a wince. She patted the space on the cot next to her, and Wilhelm readily sat down beside her. She worked her hands into his, and gave a small squeeze. “My Light,” she breathed, “I’m pregnant.”

There was a pause, as the information sunk in. Then a brilliant smile - as bright as the sun itself - worked its way onto Wilhelm’s face. “You are?” he gasped, laughing with joy. He leapt up from his seat, dragging her along with him. He twirled around the tent with her in his arms, before slowing to pull her into a tight hug. “That’s wonderful, my Love!” he sighed.

Then he stopped, pulling away while still holding tight to her arms. “That…is wonderful, right? I… If you’re not… What I mean is, I know you’ve got your own—"

She put a finger on his lips, a common action of hers whenever the excitable man began to ramble. “It…it is wonderful,” she assured him, “I just…never thought it would happen to me.”

He chuckled. “I have to admit, knowing you can I believe that,” he said, tucking a lock of her emerald hair behind a pointed ear. She cast him a playful glare and he smiled innocently in response. “But…” he continued, “Wouldn’t this mean that… Well, we’ll be a family. You, me, and the little brawler waiting to come out.”

She snorted at the thought. “I should hope the child decides to become a brawler after they are born, my Light,” she stated. But then her mood sobered, as the rest of his statement was realized. “A…family…”

He frowned when he saw her eyes beginning to glaze over. “If it’s too soon, my Love, I…”

“No. No, it’s…” Tears began to form in her eyes, and slowly a large smile spread across her face. She could barely contain her joy as she uttered, “I’ll have a family again.”

— — —

She held the bundle close to her chest, still exhausted and sore. But a tiny hand had a tight hold of her finger, and wide, green eyes stared up at her. The child in her arms giggled, then, and tightened his grip.

“He’s incredible,” Wilhelm breathed as he watched over her shoulder, “So…small. But incredible.”

“He’ll grow to be a great Emperor someday,” Seiros sighed, looking up to meet the gaze of the newly-crowned Emperor of Adrestia.

“Hopefully he’ll know more of what he’s doing,” Wilhelm stated anxiously.

Seiros reached for her Light’s hand. “He’ll have an excellent role model,” she assured him gently.

In her arms, little Lycaon reached for his Papa and smiled.

— — —

AN: Ok, hear me out... This is my take on Rhea and Wilhelm. We don’t really know a whole lot and the stuff we do know comes from fairly shaky sources. We know Rhea - then Seiros - had some kind of relationship with Wilhelm but we don’t know the extent. We also know Wilhelm had a son, but we don’t know with who.

So what if Rhea is the matriarch of the Hresvelg legacy?

I’m going to expand on this more later, but for now I wanted to first, answer this prompt, and second, cover something I probably wasn’t going to cover in my longer fic.

So here are my headcanons that appear here and will likely pop up later:

Rhea and Wilhelm genuinely loved each other. They met when Rhea was in a dark place, having lost her family and unsure of where to turn next. Wilhelm was a kindhearted farmer who wanted to help her out, saved her life from some of Nemesis’ men by sacrificing himself, and was then saved by her in turn when she gave him her Crest in the healing process. From there, their relationship blossomed. Rhea calls him her “Light” because he brought light and warmth back into her life when she thought it was all gone (much like how El views Byleth...hmm, symbolism...)

Rhea tells Wilhelm that Nemesis destroyed her family, but doesn’t go into details. He respects her enough to not push for more answers, though he is curious. He always hopes that one day she’ll trust him enough to open up.

The other Saints join the fight against Nemesis at Rhea’s insistence, but they stay for Wilhelm. He’s a charismatic guy, a hell of a warrior, and a kindhearted man, and he wins over Cichol and Indech with little effort. Macuil, however, never trusts him and acts like the scary big brother protecting his little sister (Seiros).

Rowena is my take on Seteth’s wife/Flayn’s mother. I picture her as a Nabatean, just not one of the powerful saints. (I always kinda pictured it like a hierarchy of Sothis first, then the Children of the Goddess/Saints, then lesser Nabateans forming the bulk of the community.) Like Flayn, she’s mostly a healer and has a bubbly personality. She brings out the fun and happiness in Seteth, and after her death he struggles to feel such things again. Her loss was heavily felt by all, due to how friendly she was with everyone.

The reason Edelgard doesn’t look more like Rhea/only has a minor Crest of Seiros, etc. is due to the fact that it’s been centuries since Rhea gave birth to Lycaon. The Nabatean traits eventually fade, as Rhea is the only Nabatean to ever continue the line in the Hresvelg family. Crest-strength and other traits shared by Nabateans eventually faded as more human genetics were added in. (This is also why I HC Flayn as having two Nabatean parents rather than just one.)

Rhea, having lost Wilhelm in the war and then watching her son grow old while she stayed young, disconnects from those types of relationships once the heartbreak becomes too much. In her altered history, she makes sure Lycaon’s mother is listed as unknown, and eventually the number of people who did know becomes only her close, remaining family. And she swears them to secrecy. Eventually, the connection she and the Church have with the Hresvelg family shifts and breaks, and it eventually becomes unimportant that the Imperial family literally wouldn’t have existed without her.

Perhaps that was a dumb decision, along with some of the other dumb decisions she made back then, but I also headcanon that Nabateans age very slowly. So while she was probably around 100+ years old by then, for a seemingly immortal being who appears to be in her 30s? 40s? nearly 1100 years later, her emotional age by that point would have been maybe late teenager? Early twenties? Around the same emotional age that Edelgard was when she decided that there would be no potential flaws in her Flame Emperor stunt. That’s not to diss either of them - it’s just that they were young, and dealing with emotional shit far too heavy for any one person to deal with. So Rhea’s choices back around year 90 through to year 100 should probably be taken with a grain of salt.

All those centuries don’t make it any easier, though, when Edelgard declares war on her ancestor unknowingly, and through all the anger and betrayal Rhea feels she can see the same passion and fire in the girl that Wilhelm once had.

#fanfic #fe three houses #rhea #wilhelm i #prequel fic #i have a bunch of headcanons under the read more #if anyone wants to add or discuss feel free #i'm down for some brainstorming #Anonymous

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tomb-bloom-noctem · 3 years

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Any cartoon recommendations? My friend gifted Disney+ for Christmas :)

Oooh! What a nice friend!

Okay no clue if you've seen these and I really hope I'm not just recommending stuff you've already seen or even don't like but oh my gosh for tv shows if you haven't please watch-

Ducktales 2017 of course but I probably don't have to tell you that.

Amphibia. I feel Amphibia gets a bit overshadowed by The Owl House and other shows but it is legitimately so good. The theme makes me feel pumped and despite the shorter episodes they manage to make them so funny and also so impactful. So far only season 1 is up, I wish they'd include the first half of season 2 that they've aired on tv already but ugh is what it is. Still, season 1 alone is still great and worth watching!

The Owl House. Probably most Disney fans have seen or at least heard of this by now but I cannot stress enough how good it is. It does feel familiar to Gravity Falls fans but it stands out on its own strongly as well. Just amazing.

Gravity Falls. The KING. I don't think there's anything I can say that hasn't already been said. It's clever, it's funny, it's got a great mystery element, this is a series that cannot be ignored. Short and sweet but amazing and I'll literally never forget it.

Big Hero 6 the Series. An awesome continuation of the universe that the movie started. It's really funny and legitimately has arcs that I feel could have worked for movies. Also fun fact, ideas that didn't work out for the movie have been getting reworked to be included in the show which is super clever.

Kim Possible. Classic 2000's teen spy fun that holds up so well. It looks great and it's still so fun and enjoyable.

Big City Greens. Probably the most different one on this list but it's a really silly and funny series. It feels aimed more at a younger audience but it is also surprisingly good at having humor that older audiences would like without being inappropriate. I relate to the Green family since I basically would be as lost and confused in a big city as they are. It's mostly humor but there's also heartwarming to it.

Darkwing Duck. Launchpad's favorite! It's super ridiculously out of order on Disney+ so make sure to look for Darkly Dawns the Duck parts 1 and 2 first before watching the rest. It's got that strong 90's feel to it (fitting as it is a show of the 90's of course) but it's still very funny and got great slapstick cartoon animation and humor. Don't miss this!

American Dragon Jake Long. This is an underrated great show from the 2000's! It's about a teen named Jake Long who you guessed it, is a dragon. Worth checking out! (Edit: Sources say it should be coming to Disney plus eventually. It appears to be available in some places but in America it's not currently available.)

Gargoyles. This one is such a hit from back then. It has super quality animation for the time that I still feel holds up to today with powerful messages. It's amazing, do check it out. (Edit: it turns out that yes this one is also available on Disney plus right now.)

Brain is drawing a blank on some other shows so I'll move on to some movie recommendations. Again I have no idea if you've seen any of these so hopefully I'm not just recommending stuff you already have seen 😂 If I am, sorry 😂

Big Hero 6 (the movie takes place before the series so definitely watch the movie first to get the most out of the series and the movie is incredible of course.)

A Goofy Movie. Classic 90's, an epic soundtrack, and the freaking BEST portrayal of Goofy and Max. Legitimately the second most important movie of my personal childhood. It definitely has a 90's feel to it but the performances and the way it hits the heart is timeless.

The Princess and the Frog. Legitimately one of my favorites. Tiana is one of my favorite princesses and it's such a good movie.

Brave. Merida, an icon. The music, amazing even though it's not a musical like The Princess and the Frog and other Disney Princess types. Beautiful animation. Scottish people. It's a win.

Wreck It Ralph. I have mixed feelings on Ralph Breaks the Internet but the original is such a good movie. I feel that even if you aren't a gamer it's still an enjoyable movie but if you are a gamer (which I play a lot of video games 😂) it's even more fun.

The Three Caballeros. Classic Donald fun! It's a weird trippy film but it's such fun and come on it has Donald, José, and Panchito. Win win win.

Fun and Fancy Free. Also an older film, this one has both live action and animation. The highlight is definitely the Mickey and the Beanstalk story which takes up the second half of the movie. But the first half which is the story of a bear named Bongo is still cutesy.

Mickey, Donald, and Goofy: The Three Musketeers. Seriously why does Disney not make more movies like this and the Mickey and the Beanstalk??? It's fun, it's nicely animated, it's a musical, it's really well voice acted, it's a great film.

Monsters University. I think some people brushed this off as the unnecessary prequel movie but I feel like it's a must watch. Definitely works better if you've seen Monsters Inc already though I'm sure most people have. But on it's own, it still stands really strong, it's funny, the voice acting is so strong, and it's at times painfully relatable. It's encouraging and heartbreaking at the same time. I really love it.

And lastly although this one is definitely the most unlike the rest as it's more mature and also a mix of live action and animation- Who Framed Roger Rabbit. This is such a fun film. It's a bit of a parody on the film noir genre but it's so much fun. And come on, it's got Disney and Loony Toons in it. A winner!

EDIT:

Anastasia. This one is newly added so I'm excited that it's finally here. While it is technically not a Disney film it is still an incredibly well-made animated film. Definitely took some historical liberties we'll say, it's still a very beautiful film Amazing soundtrack, stunning animation, and a great story at its heart.

This one I thought I had written down but it was missing so I must have forgotten it

Ducktales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp. This one will feel familiar like a certain Disney princess film as they are similar but this one still has enough duck flair to not feel like a rip off. It's got classic DuckTales fun as well as the classic voice actors, it's great for laughs and for the nostalgia.

Hopefully this is a good list! I tried to pick stuff that wasn't just Disney princess movies or other just popular choices. Thanks for asking and sorry for the errors! 😅

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nerianasims · 3 years

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Billboard #1s 1985

Under the cut.

Foreigner -- "I Want To Know What Love Is" -- February 2, 1985

One of the quintessential 80s power ballads. It's actually kind of interesting if you think about it enough. He's not in love yet, but he's gotten sick of not being in love, so he's asking someone he's in the pre-love stage with to show him. Though he's had "heartache and pain" before, and doesn't know if he can face it again. It's not consistent. I feel like it's a missed opportunity, but oh well. It's good enough for what it is.

Wham! -- "Careless Whisper" -- February 16, 1985

Oh my god I love the saxophone in this. The music throughout the song is so incredibly sexy. And this is the kind of song George Michael's voice was made for. He's totally capable of sounding both hot and in agony at the same time. I actually adore a whole lot of cheating songs -- mostly, though not exclusively, the tormented kind. Drama! Love! Sex! Angst! Gorgeous.

REO Speedwagon -- "Can't Fight This Feeling" -- March 9, 1985

<3. He keeps singing "r"s like a pirate, but he doesn't go as hard on the other consonants, so I'm good with it. Lyrically, this song sounds like it might be two songs mashed together. "What started out as friendship has grown stronger" or "my life has been such a whirlwind since I saw you." Well which is it? Except I've had that happen. I love this song.

Phil Collins -- "One More Night" -- March 30, 1985

This is a depressing heartbreak song without the saving grace of any of Phil Collins' neat drum stuff. Blah.

We Are the World -- April 13, 1985

Whoo boy. I was 8 when this came out. Obviously I loved it. All the kids loved it. Now, though... I'm sorry, but it's bad. Really bad. Many others have gone deeply into why it's bad. I feel acutely embarrassed listening to it, so I'm just running away from it as fast as possible. (Remember all those celebrities singing "Imagine" in their mansions in 2020? I blame this song for that.)

Madonna -- "Crazy For You" -- May 11, 1985

This is one of Madonna's most straightforward love songs. Maybe the most, period. This or "Cherish," and this is a better song. It's lovely. Like Olivia Newton-John, Madonna can act a song. (Unlike in most movies she's been in.) But what I'm thinking about now is learning in this article that her label wouldn't let Madonna release "Into the Groove" as a single. That song was huge. It was played on the radio all the time. If it had been released as a single, or maybe if Billboard had tracked songs then like it does today, it would have been a massive smash, definitely #1. "Into the Groove" is also the best song of her very early career. "Crazy for You" is good, but not nearly as special.

Simple Minds -- "Don't You Forget About Me" -- May 18, 1985

As I am "Gen X", I am supposed to deeply connect with The Breakfast Club. I was 8 years old when it came out. My life as a teenager was nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, like that movie. I didn't recognize any of the "types." I liked the movie when I saw it in college, mostly, but the whole sexual harassment turns into a relationship deal was not seen as cool any longer. The "jocks vs. nerds" thing also felt very dated. The school in the movie was bigger and richer than mine, but it's a fantasy.

Anyway, though I don't feel much about the movie, its breakout song was really good. It does speak to a real fear both in graduating high school and during young adult relationships. I haven't forgotten the people I knew in high school, as far as I know, but obviously they don't have the same importance to me any longer. I'm Facebook friends with a lot of them. And very much not with a couple who were the most important then, because we grew apart -- or blasted apart. One of the nicest girls I knew in high school thinks there's a war on Christmas. Another keeps trying to get me to join her MLM. One of my best friends became my first boyfriend, and I don't regret that, but it was also a semi-disaster. And others... we just have nothing to say to each other any longer.

So, Breakfast Club: I don't connect with at all. "Don't You Forget About Me": Speaks to something very real and timeless.

Wham! -- "Everything She Wants" -- May 25, 1985

What a dick. Songs in which the narrator is a colossal jerk are perfectly fine, of course, but this one gets under my skin. He's whining about his wife getting pregnant when she's dissatisfied with their life and that they're broke. As if it's something she chose to do to him. She's stuck creating a whole other person with her blood and flesh, and he thinks it's all and entirely about him. I really hate it.

Tears for Fears -- "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" -- June 8, 1985

I can't hear this song without thinking of this Baldur's Gate fan trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jdd06d2nids. Speaking of which, I am incredibly excited for Baldur's Gate 3. I've been reading the early access reviews on Steam, and anything anyone is saying that's negative is stuff I don't gaf about (except bugs), whereas the positive stuff, I care about deeply. I hope it's got some of the feeling of that trailer. Um, right, Tears for Fears.

Honestly, though, it works best as a Baldur's Gate theme song. I don't think everybody actually wants to rule the world. It sounds good though. And pretty different from other stuff around it. But I like Lorde's cover better, and not just because it fits so wonderfully with all sorts of fantasy stories.

I usually play a paladin or paladin-type the first time in fantasy RPGs, but I'm thinking bard this time.

Bryan Adams -- "Heaven" -- June 22, 1985

He's been with this woman since they were young, and while they've broken up and gone through rough patches, now they're together forever and they're "in heaven." Bryan Adams knew exactly how to write a song that would become a hit. I used to not mind it at all, but it also means nothing to me. The chorus is catchy as hell though. So catchy that I ended up waking up with it in my head and it would not leave for hours and hours, so now I resent this song.

Phil Collins -- "Sussudio" -- July 6, 1985

I refuse to believe anyone ever told Phil Collins he was too young. He was born middle-aged. Anyway, the narrator isn't supposed to be him, so it's fine, but it's still kinda funny. He's got a crush on someone who doesn't even know his name, but "she's all I need all of my life." Um. The music is repetitive, the drums aren't as interesting as Phil Collins at his best, and I don't like the lyrics. I don't hate it, but I don't like it either.

Duran Duran -- "View to a Kill" -- July 13, 1985

I'm not sure I've ever heard this song before. It's about as good a song as the Bond movie they wrote it for was as a movie. In other words, it's bad. I'm not even sure there's a melody. Just a mess. "Ordinary World" would have made a far better Bond theme, but of course that was the 90s, when Duran Duran decided to try to make sense both lyrically and musically.

Paul Young -- "Every Time You Go Away" -- July 27, 1985

I like the high keyboard notes in this. They're sort of haunting. The rest of the song is musically pretty good, too. Lyrically though, it's only passable. This woman keeps leaving him every time "the leading man" shows up, so I guess he's the backup. Why does he keep waiting for her anyway? There's no hint in the song. I'm kind of embarrassed for him.

Tears for Fears -- "Shout" -- August 3, 1985

I think "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" is a better song than this one when done by Lorde. But I think "Shout" is a better song than Tears for Fears' original iteration of "Everybody Wants to Rule the World." The chorus seems clear enough. But the verses are not. "They gave you life/ And in return you gave them hell" makes sense in isolation, but then there's a bunch of stuff that doesn't go with it. Like "I'd really love to break your heart" -- wtf? But the music is really good.

Huey Lewis and the News -- "The Power of Love" -- August 24, 1985

This was the big song for Back to the Future, and it meshed beautifully with the movie, but it doesn't need that association to be a great song. "Don't need money, don't take fame/ Don't need no credit card to ride this train/ It's strong and it's sudden, it can be cruel sometimes/ But it might just save your life." Yep. It's sort of Motown, sort of rock, and I love it. (Also: "Stronger and harder than a bad girl's dream." Heh.)

John Parr -- "St. Elmo's Fire" -- August 24, 1985

Of all the John Hughes movies I have not seen and do not plan to see, St. Elmo's Fire sure is one of them. The song is about a disabled man who inspired people by rolling himself cross-country in his wheelchair for charity, which has absolutely nothing to do with the movie. I'm disabled, and I just... okay look, what he did was admirable. But we shouldn't have to be inspirations to be counted as worthwhile, and I've been told I should die because I can't produce for capitalism, so you know. I've got some personal issues with this and I'm gonna move along.

Dire Straits -- "Money for Nothing" -- September 21, 1985

This is not Dire Straits' best song, but it's an awfully fun one. I watched the video tons when I was a kid. (That sound is Tipper Gore falling to the floor in a dead faint.) The music is great rock. And the lyrics are very true-to-life. You can either sanitize people or present them as they are honestly, and I know which I prefer.

Ready for the World -- "Oh Sheila" -- October 12, 1985

The band's from Michigan. The English accent at the beginning of the song is fake. That's a good preview for the song, which sounds like a 3rd-rate Prince knockoff at best. Blech.

a-ha -- "Take On Me" -- October 19, 1985

The video totally ripped off one of my aunts. Somehow or other, they saw into the little comic she drew for me about someone going into a land of drawings to rescue someone else in a romantic adventure, years before 1985. Anyway, this song is great musically, massively synthesizer heavy without sounding artificial. Though I can only understand maybe a third of the lyrics as he sings them. I've always understood "It's no better to be safe than sorry" though. Yep, at least when it comes to romance, which is what they're singing about here.

Whitney Houston -- "Saving All My Love for You" -- October 26, 1985

It's not better to be safe than sorry, but that doesn't mean it's good to be an absolute idiot in matters of romance either. Nor is it good to be a colossal jerk. That's what the narrator is here -- the "you" she's singing to is married. And he won't leave his wife and children, though he used to say he would. The lyrics seem to say that's she's accepted the situation, but the way Houston sings it, I think the narrator's trying to get him to leave his wife -- and children -- for her still. This makes sense, as it puts some kind of passion and sense of story into the song, which without Houston's singing would not be there. The narrator certainly never acknowledges that what she's doing is wrong in the slightest iota. This song could be done in a way that works. But it's a completely sincere ballad. So, no. I despise the narrator, I despise the man she's singing to more, and the whole thing leaves me feeling gross.

Stevie Wonder -- "Part Time Lover" -- November 2, 1985

No one's thinking anyone's gonna leave anyone in this one. It's about cheating, and the thrill of it, but then at the end, he's found out his wife's cheating on him too. "I guess that two can play the game/ Of part-time lovers." This kind of funk groove is one way you make a song like this. It makes the whole thing sexy and fun, and the lyrics also work even beyond that ending, because they acknowledge it's wrong.

Jon Hammer -- "Miami Vice Theme" -- November 9, 1985

My parents didn't watch Miami Vice. And then I never felt like watching it in re-runs when I got older. I don't recognize this song. It's an energetic instrumental, but there's so much going on, I keep trying to figure out if there's a main musical idea anywhere. Nope. Just lots and lots of synth. Headache-inducing.

Starship -- "We Built This City" -- November 16, 1985

Blech. This song sounds both unfinished and overproduced somehow. The chorus seems designed to be catchy with absolute ruthlessness by people who didn't really care, and no one involved even seems to want to bother to fake it.

Phil Collins & Marilyn Martin -- "Separate Lives" -- November 30, 1985

This is supposed to be heart-wrenchingly sad. Well, it does tank my dopamine, but that's not what a good sad song does. A good sad song makes you feel better. This one makes me need to turn on something high-energy after about 30 seconds, before I sink into bleakness. It's aggressively boring.

Mr. Mister -- "Broken Wings" -- December 7, 1985

This was one of the first songs I recorded from the radio. On my pink tape deck/radio that was a sort of a mini boom box. I've always had my own tape player since I can remember, but that was a definite upgrade from the Sesame Street one. I was 9 then, so getting more seriously into music and developing my own taste intentionally, rather than simply absorbing what was happening around me.

Anyway, the song. It's about a relationship in trouble, and he wants to stay with her. To me it sounds like she has been so seriously hurt (and not by him), that she can't trust anyone, and he's laying himself on the line for her. That has spoken to me deeply ever since I first heard the song as a child. Moving on to the music: While the lyrics are repetitive, the music is not, which is what makes the song so good. It's a beautiful song.

Lionel Richie -- "Say You, Say Me" -- December 21, 1985

I look forward to Lionel Richie no longer being on the charts. This song was on the soundtrack of some movie I've never heard of. I wish I'd never heard of the song. Totally artificial glop.

BEST OF 1985: "Don't You Forget About Me" by Simple Minds WORST OF 1985: "We Built This City" by Starship

#billboard number ones

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incorrect-pokespe-quotes · 4 years

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I read every single Emerald fic on FFN so you don’t have to

There are 66 fics with Emerald listed in the tags.

First, I took out any fic that was either not in English or actually gameverse, leaving me with 38 fics-- though I will say, the Spanish fics look like they slap

After filtering out “everyone appears” fics (I skimmed them to make sure) I was left with 26 fics. (While I would like to include “everyone appers” fics, I do not have the time nor motivation to read 30,000 words of derring-do and melodramatic heroics seventeen times in a row for Emerald to show up, deliver 2 lines, shoot something, and leave)

From there, I sorted them into various categories based on whether Emerald was a BG character or not, whether the fic had romance, whether Emerald was actually PART of that romance, etc. Then, finally, I was ready.

Below the cut are the reviews of all twenty six fanfictions!

Category 1: BG Emerald Every fic needs side characters, whether to provide extra voices or comedic relief or just a foil for the MCs. These fics don’t feature Emerald in a huge capacity, but he’s there and that’s what matters to me. I came into this site expecting anything: third wheel Rald, wingman Rald, Im-only-here-to-complain-about-your-flirting-Rald... I found everything but! It seems the most cliche writers among us don’t like using the Emerald tag, bc the few Frantic-with-BG-Emerald fics with I did find turned out to be spectacular! I’m pleasantly surprised and impressed.

1. That Special Someone - Team Cap Cap is on this list like 30 times so get used to it. This fic is mostly about Ruby refusing to shut up about Sapphire and how much he loves her (and how Emerald finds it infuriating). The details of this fic are super cute and the way Ruby and Emerald interact added 3 years to my lifespan, so I highly recommend this one if you want a nice, relaxing read involving the Hoenn boys (dare I say best boys?). In short, read this fic and all of Cap’s other fics while you’re at it.

2. A Picnic - Team Cap Oh look. It’s Cap again. This fic, surprise surprise, is also good, and while it’s a little more basic than the others (Emerald runs into Ruby/Sapphire at a park and they mess around), it’s still cute and I still love it! Not really much else to say here... but the fic is good and I recommend if you’re in for some light domestic reads.

3. High Hopes and Checkered Skies - aromatisse I’ll be honest: my general opinion of frantic fics with BG Emerald is... low. A lot of them shoehorn my poor boy into whatever the plot requires at the cost of his characterization but this fic really surprised me in the best way! This one features Sapphire bringing Ruby to a “special place” the two of them arguing, and Emerald having to patch things up (mature Emerald? I don’t believe it!!). I found this fic while making this list and immediately bookmarked it bc THIS SHIT GOOD FAM. Please read this.

4. Alpha and Omega- Ruby and Sapphire's Thoughts - Shadoweevee70 Not much to say about this to be honest. It’s exactly what it says on the tin. No plot, no development, not even 500 words. Emerald has a line. I think two.

5. Boundaries - Team Cap This fic hurt my heart. Though it focuses on Wally’s one-sided crush on Sapphire, there’s a touch of Emerald in there acting as Wally’s emotional support buddy, which tells me that either Emerald has matured or Hoenn is just devoid of emotionally stable individuals. Regardless, this fic is heartbreaking and beautiful but contains very little Emerald, so therefore I have very little to review. In short... not a lot of Rald, but you should read it anyway.

6. Summer Days - eonentity Crystal and Silver go on a “date” and Gold + Emerald try and stop them. It’s cute, it’s honestly kind of creepy if you think about it, and it involves Emerald. While the premise is kind of sketch, the banter between Gold and Emerald is incredible and I really like the general progression of the plot (especially the ending!) This is a very cute fic if you’re looking for something simple to read. Highly recommend, utilizes Emerald as a character really well!

Category 3: MC Emerald (gen) This... this is my bread and butter baby. These fics run the gamut from friendship to domestic to drabbles to angst and everything in between, but the gist of it is that it includes Emerald as a focus without pairing him off. Not to say this is my favorite category... but it is. I’m biased, sue me.

1. Family Inclusion - Team Cap They say to leave the best for last, but I disagree. You’ll realize pretty quickly that Cap is one of my favorite authors to appear in this tag, and this fic is one of her best! I’m focusing on Chapter 3 (that’s the part with Emerald) where he has to entertain a shiny baby Ralts while Ruby and Sapphire are away (everybody say awwww). The fic is stupid cute, and while it doesn’t really offer much in terms of character development or stakes, it’s the type of domestic fluff you can read over and over and still find just precious each and every time. Also... Emerald takes care of a baby pokemon how can you NOT love that. Seriously. Look at this.

2. At the Amusement Park - Team Cap Oh wow, another Cap fic I really like. What a surprise. I’m astounded /s. This fic focuses on Emerald’s dilemma of being short at a place where height restrictions mercilessly mock the vertically challenged and how he deals with it with the “help” of Ruby and Sapphire. Though there is background Frantic (which shouldn’t really come as a surprise), this fic mostly focuses on Emerald’s insecurities and his relationship with the trio. It’s introspective, it’s wholesome, I’ve read it six or seven times (I lost count). Regardless, it’s good, and like every other Cap fic on this list, I demand you read it. That is a threat.

3. Frantic Fight - Puph17 Any fic that drops a line like “margarine is in vogue” within the first three lines is immediately propelled to my top ten fics of all time list and this is clearly no exception. Despite the name, this isn’t franticshipping, just Ruby and Sapphire bickering and Emerald / Wally being annoyed about it. This fic, hands down, is one of the funniest pieces of fanfiction I’ve ever read on this godforsaken site. I am begging you to read this fic, if not for Emerald with a megaphone for the sheet amount of laughter it will cause. This fic may not be deep but it sure as hell is hysterical. ... Well, what are you waiting for? Why are you still here? Go read the fic, we’re wasting daylight.

4. Weird War - storm-aurora This is another fic I think I’ve probably read a dozen times and refuse to get tired of. Emerald and Sapphire are having a paintball fight in Slateport market, and I literally could not ask for a better friendship fic. The writing is high quality, the characters are very accurate (altho bc this is fanfic it doesn’t matter all that much), the friendships feel real, they’re having a paintball war.... everything about this is ideal. This is the quality content I live for. Please PLEASE read this fic, you’ll be happy you did. Close this tab and go read it immediately for your sake and mine.

5. Skydrop - ayasato Not a lot of people write about Emerald. The ones that do, for whatever reason, seem to do it very, VERY well. This fic, which is so long it might as well be considered an epic, is probably the piece de resistance of Emerald friendship fics. While not as snappy or funny or domestic as some of the other fics in this list, it more than makes up for it with a beautifully built slowburn friendship between Emerald and Sapphire, my favorite take on his living situation I’ve ever seen, and enough introspection to make your high school English teacher swoon. This fic is a must for any Emerald fan, even if it takes like an hour to read in full. It may be long but it’s magnificent.

6. Croissant Kings - ayasato The fact that this fic is discontinued is irrefutable proof that this is the timeline god abandoned. Emerald and Pearl running a croissant stand is quite possibly the single most absurd fic concept I’ve ever heard but... it works. Somehow? It works. This fic is perhaps, hands down, one of the most ridiculously entertaining concepts and executions I have ever seen in my life. Everything about it, from the setup to the writing to just Emerald being Emerald is so raw and so ridiculous that I smile fondly when I think of it. I wish there were more than 3 chapters, however...

7. Perfect - Micah Debrink I’m gonna be straight with y’all: I don’t like this fic. I’m not too sure what the plot is, and it was certainly an interesting read, but not my cup of tea. It’s good, don’t get me wrong; the writing is mature, very well paced, and overall well-written, but something about the characterizations is just not vibing with me. Thus, I’m not gonna pretend I thought this fic was perfect (har har) but I will say it’s something you should give a try. I’m admittedly a very biased party, so maybe you’ll enjoy this fic more than I did. For sure give it a shot, because maybe you’ll like it more than I did. This ain’t my jam, but it’s quality preserves nonetheless.

8. Roost - ayasato This is short and sweet and may have some Sapphire/Emerald crushing if you squint, but overall a fun read. Very short, very good, give it a shot. This author is very high quality and that’s that on that.

9. One Day - Jian-Kenkoku This is short yet again but has a super interesting (if poorly explained) premise: Emerald gets adopted by Gold / his mom! This short oneshot details his first day, and while it is a tad rushed, it gives me the Emerald family content I have been sorely lacking. Not sure if this is one of my “reread until my eyes bleed” fics, but it’s certainly worth the trouble of reading through! It’s very cute and I recommend!

10. Emerald: Lying to Himself - reminiscent-afterthought Very poetic and extremely well-written, but less than 200 words. This fic took me thirty seconds to read and it feels like time well spent. Please read it, even if for the sole reason that it’s super short. It’s also a super poetic way to talk about the Emerald arc.

11. Go Away Gold! - jayfeatherelle Ah yes, the “little brother enlists the help of a prankster to keep apart his sister and her boyfriend” trope... This may be cliche, but it sure as hell was enjoyable! Emerald enlists the help of Meddler Blue (side note: where did this trope come from bc she never does anything in canon that would be qualified as meddling other than just messing with Red at any given opportunity). Anyway, this fic is adorable, has a lesson at the end (that surprised me), had a really mature conclusion, and gave me Blue / Emerald friendship I really didn’t know I needed. In short? This is a cliche done well. It’s predictable, sure, but that’s not a bad thing! If anything, it’s a great nostalgic read.

12. What if: Emerald never met Crystal - LetEveryoneOveraRip This fic stole the last little bit of hope I didn’t even know I still had. You thought it couldn’t get more violent or sad? You were wrong. Everyone dies. This fic made me sad for like 45 minutes and I feel emotionally manipulated. I guess I should have seen this coming. Not much else to say except that this fic made me really sad, which, of course it did, but I still feel cheated out of a happy ending regardless.

13. Emerald Owner’s Guidance and Maintenance Manual - Pokerescue18 Nothing happens in this fic. It’s literally an instruction manual and it’s well written and all but also has no plot. It is quite literally what it says in the title, so perhaps this should have been obvious but even still, I was left confused after reading this. I think I need a nap.

14. Through My Eyes - Kaith1 Relationship angst that hurt my heart. This is less than 400 words so again, took me only around a minute to leave but the emotional impact scarred me for life. Very well done! This fic details Emerald’s inner turmoil as Gold and Crystal get together and Emerald worries he’ll be abandoned again. While I do feel like Emerald hating the two of them for getting together is a little ehhh, this fic does a great job of showing why Emerald would be so upset about it and his inner motivations for being so hurt by it. While I don’t agree, the author made me “get it” a little more, and for that I say bravo!

15. At the Fair - IanDonyer This one is short and focuses on Emerald meeting a security guard at a Halloween fair kinda deal. It’s also one of the first Emerald fics on FFN, released far before the remakes even came out! While obviously it doesn’t contain much in terms of character development, it also was written with only the Emerald arc to go off of-- so I can easily overlook any character inconsistencies. That being said, this fic is really cute and uses the OC pov really well! If you’re looking for a blast from the past, check this fic out!

Category 4: Emerald shipping fics On the rare occasion where the blue moon hangs melancholy in the sky, the planets align, and starlight rains down from the heavens... someone ships Emerald with another character. Romantically. Not sure where the aversion to shipping him came from, but for whatever reason everyone prefers him single. These authors, these brave knights, they’re changing that. Hell yeah for romance.

1. Left Out - RedCharmeleon Not to be like “this fic is painfully straight...” but yknow. Emerald is upset at Gold/Crystal’s wedding because he’s the only single one and needs a girlfriend. There’s also a “what are you, gay?” joke in here, which soured my mood for the rest of the fic. I’ll be honest, I never really liked the “all male protag / female protag ships and then taking Silver, Pearl, and Emerald and pairing them off with OCs” deal, so I’m heavily biased against this fic, but the writing is decent and the plot is fine. If you enjoy this style of plot (everyone needs to be paired up, blushing galore, love at first sight, everyone acts like they stumbled out of a hallmark movie script) then this is the fic for you!

2. Glances - Diemerald A collection of drabbles about Emerald and Wally becoming friends and falling in love. I’ve read it seven times now. While the plot is a tad disjointed because of the format, this author really NAILS Emerald’s character. Emerald (and Wally) show a lot of growth between the snippets and god it’s so beautiful I need more of it. Please read this fic. Tell your neighbors about this fic. This fic is fantastic.

2. Revolvershipping Cuddles - Charmerruby You’re never gonna guess what this one is about. It’s very cute but it’s literally just fluff. Very cute, like marshmallows. This is kinda short so there isn’t really much to say, but I will am starving for Emeruby content, so though this be but little, it be fierce. And fluffy. Did I mention cute? This fic is so filled with love my heart grew three sizes after reading it. I could keep calling it adorable, but I don’t think that’s productive. Spend the time reading this fic instead.

3. Misunderstandings - Pokeluv101 Reading this was very weird because I know the person who made the OC the story is centered around. Reading even the names thrust me so violently back into my middle school days I can almost taste the edge. It’s very good, and I suggest giving it a read even if you’re not a huge dexholder/OC fan. Also tsun Emerald is good Emerald.

4. Unexpected - Diemerald A fic about Emerald and Yellow falling in love. Not exactly my cup of tea so I skimmed it but this author is really good so it’s a great fic, even if it’s not to my tastes. I suggest giving it at least a once over because this author worked hard and I respect them, even if this isn’t really... my thing. Check it out!

5. Big Changes - Aquatales You know how I said I would read every Emerald fic? I lied. This one is about Emerald getting genderbent and immediately shipped with Wally against his will by his friends. Reading the summary gave me hives and I could not bring myself to read it in full.

Final Thoughts While I’ll be honest and say that I did find some of the the cliche fics I was expecting, I was incredibly and happily surprised to discover that more often than not, the people who bother to publish Emerald fics really care about his character and publish some pretty high quality stuff, and that’s pretty damn cool. There are shipping fics, BG Emerald fics, MC Emerald fics, and most of them are pretty fantastic! Way to go spe fandom writers, you did my boy justice, all..... 10 of you.

#trainer emerald #pokespe #not a quote #I read every fic so you don't have to #admin vex

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musashi · 5 years

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Quick! Top 10 best James TeamRocket episodes of all time and why are they good?

OH GOOD ASK TELLY. im actually gonna just to top 5 because i have too many feelings and putting them all in one ask makes me anxious haha.

5. DP153/The Treasure is All Mine! - bruh they really gave an homage to my favourite episode of pokeani smack dab in the middle of DP. god i lov this ep. i can’t believe they acknowledged james’ backstory in such detail so so late in the series and so far after his initial episode. mostly i love this episode because we actually get to see a lot of bby james living his life as a kid and it drops the BOMB that he actually did have feelings for his ex fiancee at one point, incredibly shallow ones that rode entirely on the fact that he thought she was pretty, and OH BY THE WAY SHE LOOKS EXACTLY LIKE JESSIE BUT NO ROCKETSHIPPING BRO. i have too many feelings about this. also growlie was there i love growlie. also finally got jessie in disguise as jessebelle why’d that take so long??? i mean probably because the writers aren’t cruel enough to do that to james but yknow.

4. AG147/Sweet Baby James - god i just watched this episode for the first time in japanese and it’s so good. it’s so fucking good. i think my favourite thing about this episode is that it lets you know there were at least two more people looking out for james in his childhood. so he had them and his growlithe, which is a comforting thought. every time he starts talking abt his childhood i black out from heartbreak lol. i love this whole arc of the anime because james’ chimecho is arguably his favourite pokemon of all time and when he finally gets one he helicopter parents it to an extent that it’s kinda virtually useless from a story perspective (hence why it got written out so quick) and despite his obsession with protecting it from harm, it ends up getting so sick it can’t travel with him anymore. so even though it’s not explored there’s this underlying lesson he has to learn that no matter how much he loves something he can’t protect it from everything, and i think it would’ve been really cool if they had explored that more because in a way james is kind of perpetuating a cycle in how he was treated (sheltered, stifled, and locked away) on the closest thing he has to a child of his own. only instead of out of control and abuse, he makes that mistake out of love. again none of that is expanded upon in the episode, but this episode lays the GROUNDWORK for it, and i love that. it’s also really good how devoted he is to staying by its side, how easily he truces with team twerp and turns on his teammates for wanting to rob his estate & fuck everything up, and just how good of a person he is in this episode, owning up to his lies and staying true to himself. i rly think this episode is the rawest we ever get james? like this is him at heart, no facades, no fronts, just james as he is. i love that. i love him.

3. SM058/Fighting Back the Tears! - This episode belongs more to Mareanie than it does to James but upon rewatching it a few times I just gotta say: its good. Esp on a second rewatch. Mareanie does a lot of Questionable Things in the beginning of this episode u don’t understand until you know her backstory, and then once you do it hits twice as hard. Her and James have so many moments of quiet love together, talking one on one, and the way he speaks to her is with so much softness in his voice it quite literally rots my teeth out of my skull. There’s a lot of subtle callbacks to James’ own backstory that I’m downright ANGRY weren’t explored (Mareanie and James have the same backstory. They were both wronged by their first love and found a second chance in a partner who resembles those first loves. Despite being a direct parallel, THIS IS NEVER MENTIONED OR DISCUSSED??? POKEANI???) Oh and there’s whump & h/c. James is deathly poisoned at one point and his friends are at his bedside looking after him while he deliriously makes poor life choices. Also James fights a tentacruel w/ his bare fists. Also there’s a slutty bisexual crown of thorns starfish in this episode. a+. good episode.

2. DP146/Dressed for Jess Success! - i’ll do the horny part first: fetish brain like sick girl oughghhghhhg jessie hot sexy. K ANYWAYS this is my second fave episode of all time. mostly for horny reasons but theres a lot of good shit happening that isn’t that. despite only ever posting abt jessie when i liveblog this episode it’s actually an episode about james and meowth and jessie doesn’t do much besides scream at her tv while on a lot of cold medicine. this episode is fucking hysterical to me because james is really really good at being in disguise as any old rando, melts into roles perfectly, and overall never sees any of that as a burden--but the SECOND he has to act as the literal woman he has spent the last 10+ years of his life with he freezes up and is like “I DONT KNOW WHAT IM DOING??? HELP” like he can’t fathom it. that is so fucking funny. like is he scared he’s gonna come home and jessie’s gonna shove him in a closet and scream at him for being ooc. the other thing thats good about this episode is james spends like 10 minutes slinking around the contest hall like “ughghghg im not a fucking coordinator meowth lets lose” and he then proceeds to eviscerate not only the competition but the literal heroine as well, i mean he just EVISCERATES dawn. he has almost full points when he beats her and she has NONE. he humiliates the poor girl. and he gets the loudest cheers the MC has ever heard. loud enough that jessie yells at him fsdghfsg “i don’t like that you as me got more applause than i as me!!!” LIKE JAMES IS SECRETLY A REALLY GOOD COORDINATOR... CAN WE PLEASE GET MORE OF JAMES IN CONTESTS. fuck i love this episode. did i mention jessie’s hot

1. EP048/Holy Matrimony! - Like dude do I have to say any more about this episode... beyond being the quintessential Backstory Episode it has one of the most pivotal rocketshipping moments in it. The black comedy is so fucking good and makes you feel all kinds of weird for laughing and that is my favourite feeling of all. There’s a vileplume AND a growlithe, like thats a wombo combo of good pokemon. Everyone in the dub of this ep is blitzed off chaotic energy. Rachael Lillis does a steel magnolia accent for like 20 mins & they named her character after a biblical figure who gets eaten by wild dogs. I’m p sure Eric Stuart transcends his mortal form to make New Noises. This is the least objective part of this list because this is my favourite pokemon episode and I will take NO feedback or constructive criticism.

#wendy rambles #pokemeta #like no one ever was #we have liftoff #hot koko #os #ag #dp #sm #ep048 #ag147 #dp146 #dp153 #sm058 #tetedetele #wendy answers

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wolfpawn · 4 years

Text

Life is a Game of Risks, Chapter 58

Chapter Summary - Tom thinks over everything that happened the day before and realises there will be a lot of changes for their little family. This Christmas is full of presents.

WARNING - CONTAINS REFERENCES TO PAST POST-NATAL DEPRESSION

TRIGGERS - Past domestic abuse, Past emotional abuse, Past sexual abuse.

Previous Chapter

Tags: @damalseer @hiddlesbitch1 @winterisakiller @theoneanna

Request if you wish to be tagged

Tom woke earlier than usual, the darkness outside told him that it was not even approaching sun-up yet. He felt Alexianna move slightly in the bed beside him, sighing in her sleep before settling and continuing to breathe deeply. He thought of the day before and the life-changing events of those few hours.

A baby, they had created a child together. Inside Alexianna’s body, a small grouping of cells, the result of their actions as a couple, were developing and dividing to create a completely unique little human being, according to the pages he read online while he waited patiently in the car for her, at least. He thought of the night they were in his home alone while Lily stayed with her uncle in their home; but he also recalled Alexianna’s words regarding Jonathan and how she had never felt good with him, as well as her annoyance that she had conceived Lily without having enjoyed the act with her husband. He knew she had enjoyed creating their baby. The fact that there was no one in the house beside themselves meant they did not have to cautious of the noise they were making meaning he had encouraged her to be vocal with how she felt and he was satisfied that he, as a partner, had made her feel good. The way she curled against him after, her arm on his abdomen, the smile and caring look on her face, the way he had felt for her, the loving words shared, it all told him even at that time how much they truly cared for one another. Now, their words and actions had even greater meaning. They had a baby as a result, they had made a baby.

He always felt they would have a child together, further down the road. Alexianna’s declaration of never having any more had long fizzled to ‘ifs’ and ‘when’. The clothes Lily had grown out of yet she did not discard were in the attic of his house. He wondered would they be used again. Would the little pinks and dresses have another little girl don them, or would they be left there, only to have blues be added to them as a little boy outgrew them? His heart pounded in his chest, a son, a little boy to carry the Hiddleston name after him, to do things with as his father had done with him or a daughter, a beautiful little princess, just like her sister, who would have him at her beck and call, playing her Daddy as Lily did, two girls that would argue like rabid wolves one moment but fight so valiantly for one another the next, just as his sisters did. Either one was something he would yearn for, the gender would never matter as much as its health did. He didn’t care what they had, so long as it was healthy. He did not plan this, and yes, Alexianna had been right in some respects, the timing was not as good as it could be. She would be ill on the run-up to her exams and the job timing was not perfect but they were able for this and knowing that come the end of it all, they would have their baby, it was worth it, he felt.

He knew Alexianna was wary of it all and he would hamper a fairly good guess why. Marie had conditioned her from youth to see pregnancy as a negative thing, nothing, to Marie, was worse than coming home pregnant, that she instilled in her, so of course, Alexianna could not help but think such thoughts on the matter. Then with Jonathan, she clearly did not want to have his child. She stated on many occasions her heartbreak when she realised she was pregnant, the fear she felt daily as a result of waiting to see what would happen, knowing the monster that was her husband behind the happy facade. His dismissal of her whilst and for her pregnancy. Giving out to her for being ill, tired and hormonal, three aspects of pregnancy that were practically non-negotiable side effects. All women suffered such during the ten months of gestation, yet Alexianna was expected not to by a man that did not care for her. Then after it all, when she was still in theatre, having just been through major abdominal surgery, he had managed to outdo his previous cruelty and leave her and the baby he forced into her without so much as a packet of nappies, adding the salt to the wound of calling her names because he didn’t like that fate had decided the sperm to fertilise the egg to be an X Chromosome one, leading to a little girl, the most incredible and amazing little girl he ever had the honour to meet. She was perfect; smart, sweet, funny, playful, loving, caring, kind, her list of good traits was endless. He knew she would be the best big sister, that come what may, she would love her brother or sister and no matter what, he would continue to show her how much he loved her. This baby would never replace her, it would not trump her, be more important than her, it was only adding to their little family and he knew that he needed to show her that when the time came to tell her. He knew it could not be too soon, mostly because forty weeks is a long time and Alexianna had already made it clear she wanted to get as far through it as possible before telling people, outside of the immediate family but even at that, she requested they wait a few more weeks before saying anything, she stated with Lily, she was too ill to deny her condition, so they would simply keep it under wraps until a better suited time. Lily, as is common with children, would not be able to contain her excitement and could easily tell everyone around her the news before they were ready, it was necessary to not tell her anything until the time was right. She asked regularly about it, to him more than her mother, as Alexianna dismissed it outright whilst he said “Not yet”. He also knew he had to show Alexianna that he was not Jonathan and this pregnancy was not a bad thing. He would make her see the joy she had referenced seeing other women have while she was pregnant before was the norm and make her feel as happy for this pregnancy. He would show her how it was meant to be.

He had watched for the rest of the day after they returned to the house to see if Alexianna was as confident with the decision as he hoped. She took her multivitamin and folic acid in the car and brought the vitamins to the room when they arrived back so that his mother would not find them. She ate well and most certainly did seem to be thinking of the baby, switching to decaf tea and ensuring to eat even healthier than she usually did. He could not understand how both forms of protection had failed, they were both so careful, but as he felt his hand gently brush over Alexianna’s currently flat stomach, he was glad they did.

“It’s not going to grow overnight.” Her voice was heavy with sleep. “Go back to sleep, Lily will wake us all early, trust me.”

“Sorry.” Tom pulled her to him. “Did I wake you?”

“No, the need to turn around did...My boobs hurt.” She curled in so she had her nose to his chest, noting his natural scent soothed her and made her want to rest more. “This won’t be fun.”

“I am here for you, all the way through.” He kissed her temple. “No matter what.”

“Nine months is a long time.”

“I am talking far longer than nine months, pregnancy I cannot help as much with but I will do what I can, after that, I will assist even more.” He kissed her head again and got comfortable, knowing that in a few hours time, their day would be more than a little busy.

“Daddy! Mommy! wake up!”

Tom smiled as he woke, seeing Lily rush to him and shaking him slightly. “What is it, Princess?”

“Santa came.”

“Lil’s, didn’t I tell you not to go downstairs without us?” Alexianna stretched as she spoke to her daughter.

“But, Mommy, Santa!”

“But Lily, sleep!” her mother jested. “That’s a grown-up’s Christmas present.”

Lily giggled. “That’s a boring Christmas present.” She jumped up onto the bed, right next to her mother.

Immediately, Tom felt himself go into a form of guarding mode he had never experienced before. He watched as Lily got excited and began to jump around. “Lily, relax a little sweetheart, mind Mummy.”

“Daddy, I want to play.” She jumped around again.

Tom rushed forward and caught her just as she came close to accidentally falling on Alexianna. “Lily, careful.” Lily looked at him, hurt at his scolding her. Tom wanted to tell her off more for risking hurting her mother but he stopped himself, reminding himself that Lily was entirely oblivious to the fact there was a reason to not play with her mother in a manner she had done before but he also reminded himself it was Christmas morning, of course, she was excited. “We cannot wind Mummy, alright? We need her to be okay.”

“Otherwise we have no breakfast.” Lily nodded sagely.

Tom and Alexianna stared at her silently for a few seconds before both began to laugh. “I know where I stand in this.” Alexianna scoffed. “Food bringer.”

“An integral role, really. Tom chuckled. “Come on, let’s get up and see what Santa brought.”

Tom and Alexianna got dressed as Lily rushed to the bathroom. “Tom?” He turned to face Alexianna. “Thank you for stopping her falling on me but…”

“I know, she doesn’t know.” He nodded. “If she did, you wouldn’t be allowed do anything.”

“She is small, excited and it is Christmas Day, so of course, she is not paying full attention.”

Tom thought for a moment. “Perhaps if we tell her you’re still feeling a bit off since yesterday, she will be less inclined to jump up at you.” He suggested as Alexianna stretched and groaned. “Are you okay?”

Alexianna realised at that moment that for the remainder of her pregnancy, and she suspected a considerable time after, Tom was going to be fretting. “I am fine, my breast hurt because my body is literally pouring hormones out at the rate of knots.”

Tom gently pulled her to him one-armed, making sure not to pull her into him so to not apply pressure to her breasts. “I wish it did not cause you to suffer so.”

“I know, but it is what it is. Now, come on before a certain nutter of a daughter of ours opens her presents without us.”

Smiling at Alexianna referencing Lily as “our” daughter and not simply hers, even with everything else, Tom pulled her to the door of the bedroom. On opening it, he was startled to see his sister walking down the hallway. “Did Lily wake you?” He asked.

Emma and Jack had planned to spend Christmas with his family, but as his niece was at his parents house and was currently covered in chicken pox, it was decided that he and Emma would not risk carrying the virus back on a plane with them for public health reasons, so the day before, Emma rang her mother who was elated to have them instead. “No, we woke…” Tom gave her a raised brow. “Okay yes, she woke us with talk of Santa, so we want to see what he got her too.” She smiled as she looked at her brother and her friend. “Is everything alright?” she noted the slightly grimacing face of Alexianna.

“Yes, I am still a bit off since yesterday.” Alexianna decided to go with Tom’s suggestion. “I feel a bit sick.”

“I am not really myself at the moment either.” Emma nodded in solidarity. “Come on, before Lily has an aneurysm waiting for us.”

Smiling, the adults descended the stairs to see Lily hopping up and down with excitement, the sitting room doors, the location of the presents so meticulously placed there the night before by her mother and an overexcited Tom, still closed as Diana presided over things, preventing the eager Lily from rushing in without her parents, Jack was to the side, boiling the kettle to make the teas for everyone.

“So, I think we should have some tea and breakfast first,” Alexianna stated nonchalantly as she walked to the kettle.

Lily’s face fell as she thought of the length of time adults took to drink hot beverages before she saw the smile on her mother’s face. “Mommy!” She giggled as her mother beamed back at her as Tom took her hand and walked towards the door.

“Ready?” She nodded before he opened it and looked at her face as she processed the scene in front of her. Her eyes lit up as she looked at the gifts waiting for her. She immediately rushed in with a high pitched squeak of joy, her focus going to the black stuffed toy which sat on top of the majority of the rest of her presents and cuddling it tightly to her chest. When she turned around again, she walked over to Tom and leant in against him. “Lil’s?” He asked.

“Thank you, Daddy.” Her voice was strained as she wept.

“What do you mean?” He leant down to look at her.

“I forgot to ask Santa for a Toothless teddy and it was too late to send a new letter, and you are the only grown-up I told and you said that if you saw a Toothless you would get him and now he’s here and I have him and I love him so much.” Tears cascaded down her cheeks at the joy of getting the stuffed toy, resulting in Tom pulling her to him and encasing her in his arms, feeling a swelling in his chest as he realised how much he adored the little girl in front of him more and more each day.

He smiled lovingly as she cuddled and kissed the dragon. “I am glad you like him, Princess but I think he would love to see what else you got.”

Nodding, Lily turned and looked at the other toys, cautiously opening the first one as she attempted to hold onto the dragon at the same time, which was considerably sized in her small arms. She tore the paper and smiled excitedly at the horse figurines from the movie she played ad nauseam, the golden horse she spent more time pretending to be than anything. The next item confused her. It was clearly clothing, so she opened it with a furrowed brow and looked at it. “Pants?”

“They’re jodhpurs.” Her mother explained. Lily had no idea what the word her mother just used meant. “They are horse-riding pants.” Lily looked at her mother in shock. “Uncle Dan, Daddy and I think it is time you stopped pretending to ride horses and actually take a few lessons. What do you think?”

“I...I get to ride a horse? A real horse, like Spirit?”

“A more real horse than Spirit. Though it would be more of a pony at your age, but Emma and I were not much older than you when we started and it’s time for you to begin to do a few after school activities and such, so this is the best one to start with, we know you have the interest.” She smiled as she explained it to her daughter.

For a time, Alexianna and Tom discussed Lily and the need for her to have interests outside of schooling. They discussed what classes would suit her as well as what would interest her most. She was lithe by nature but small, dance was an option but Alexianna had seen the negative aspects of it while she was in school, one of the girls she knew well had developed a severe eating disorder as a result of her dance teacher’s attitude. Tom thought drama to be a good fit on a few levels for Lily. She was animated and enthusiastic but it also boosted confidence, something everyone should have in his opinion. They were currently deciding on others to put forward to her as her options, not wanting to force her into anything, but they knew horse riding was a must and had made arrangements accordingly.

The presents continued to be opened, more than Lily had ever received before as Tom insisted in spoiling her. Nothing was overly extravagant but he did insist on getting her a few things of practical use as well as her main toys, such as puzzles, books and other such things, much to Lily’s joy.

Tom and Alexianna smiled as Lily began to play with her toys, making the horse figurines talk as she enacted one of her favourite scenes from the movie. Emma had gone to get her present to her mother, Jack was currently in the bathroom and Diana had gone to get a fresh cup of tea as they watched Lily play.

“Was it what you wanted, seeing her this morning?” Alexianna asked.

Tom smiled. “So much better than I had hoped.”

“Scary to think next year will be different.” Tom looked at her worriedly before Alexianna leant in and whispered to him. “There will be a small, unable to sit unaided baby to add to it.” She bit her lips together after she said it.

Tom’s mind raced forward to the following Christmas and the idea she had just put into his mind. He could not help but smile at the thought. What also caught his attention was how Alexianna spoke about it. It was not the same fear she seemed to have the day before, there was a slight apprehension, a worry in her voice, he could hear that, but the smile she gave, one of hope and dare he think it, of excitement that caused him to think she was embracing the pregnancy. He pulled her close to him and gave her a kiss, hoping to silently portray his joy at that, both worried that anyone would hear their news before they decided to share it.

Only a moment later, Emma reentered the room, a box in her hand and an excited look on her face. “Mum, I have something for you here.” A moment later, Diana entered the room and sat in her favourite chair. “It’s a weird present, but the note inside will explain it.” She passed the box to her mother and waited, Jack by her side. Diana opened the box curiously, noting the light weight of it before pulling apart the light paper within and looking at the small pair of shoes inside. Taking out the folded over piece of paper, Diana read it and felt her eyes fill with tears.

“What’s wrong Nana?” Lily asked worriedly, rushing over to her grandmother, concerned by her tears.

“Well, see this piece of paper?” Lily nodded. “It says, 'Dear Nana, I cannot wait to meet you but I have to wait another few months. I am due on the 13th of July but being half Hiddleston, I will most likely be late'.”

Lily listened to Diana’s words before frowning. “But...what does that mean?”

“It means that auntie Emma has a baby in her belly and that you will get a new cousin this summer,” Tom explained, giving his sister a huge smile. “Congratulations.” He walked over and hugged her before doing the same with Jack.

“I am getting a cousin?” Lily asked.

“Yes,” Emma smiled.

Lily spent another moment processing the words before jumping up and down in excitement. “This is the best Christmas ever, in the whole wide world!" Lily declared loudly. “Can I help with the baby when it gets here? I can get the nappies and the powder, I promise I won’t wake it, I'll be super quiet.”

Emma smiled and hugged Lily tightly. “I would love for you to help when we are all at Nana’s, but it will be very small.”

“Of course it will, it’s a baby.”

The manner in which Lily made her statement implied she thought that Emma should have been more aware of that fact and that she was informing the woman of something very obvious, causing the adults to laugh as Diana embraced her daughter and thanked her for the wonderful gift.

When Emma turned to Alexianna, the other woman smiled at her, knowingly. “You knew?” Emma looked at her in shock.

“I sort of figured it out last night,” Alexianna confessed.

“What gave it away?”

“A few things really, the biggest of which being you giving out to Jack that you had morning sickness for Christmas and him saying how going to his family was definitely a bad idea because of the risk to the baby.” She smiled.

Emma could only nod back. “I suppose that would give it away, yes.”

Alexianna embraced her friend. “I am so happy for you both.” Alexianna had been one of the very few people Emma had informed that she was actively trying to have a baby, for a year, she and Jack had no luck, she had even made an appointment with a fertility specialist regarding it.

“You’ll help me through this, won’t you?” Emma asked, fearful of all the terrifying stories that people seem to be obsessed with telling actively trying-to-be and expectant mothers, knowing her friend would not do the same.

“Every step of the way,” Alexianna swore.

#Life is a Game of Risks #chapter 58 #tom hiddleston #tom hiddleston fic

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filmaficionerdo · 5 years

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Best Films of 2018

2018 was not the year for prestige pictures by a long shot. Film this year was at its best when it came to superhero movies, and as much as I prefer those over most any other entertainment, that shouldn’t be the case, and that’s not what got me into film in the first place. As happy as I am to see my favorite comic book characters come to life, I got into film because of daring, bold, and outspoken artists who didn’t need a franchise to speak their minds. Too many mid-range films went to Netflix or other streaming services and they’re mostly of poor quality with a few exceptions. I miss the days when film studios took risks, but now they only look for the largest IP with the largest net-profits. It’s sad. I love Marvel movies more than anyone I know but they shouldn’t be the only reason I look forward to going to the theater. But this year also sparked a personal change for me because I moved away from the movie mecca of Hollywood to mid-Michigan, where there aren’t any arthouse theaters nearby during peak awards season so I missed more films than I would’ve liked (even though it’s been the most emotionally rewarding experience I’ve ever had) so I hope that helps explain why this list is so late. I’ve been catching up on independent films via online rentals as soon as I can and still have many left unseen. So maybe I missed something during 2018, but I can’t help but be letdown by the lack of inspiration I look to when I try to experience the medium I’m most passionate about. With that being said, I was still able to conjure a list of my favorite 25 films of the year. So, here goes:

25. Halloween

This was way better than I would’ve expected, especially coming from the guys who brought us Your Highness. Director David Gordon Green and writer Danny (Eastbound & Down) McBride delivered the first worthy Halloween sequel that’s ever existed. Their updated and timely subversion elevated this homage-y sequel while adding more fun than this franchise has ever seen. John Carpenter’s contribution and the opening credits sequence hit hard with me.

24. Ready Player One

Haters be damned, I really enjoyed this movie. Of course, I never read the book so that discredits me somewhat but what I got was a rousing Spielbergian experience that we haven’t witnessed since Minority Report. If you hate this movie, but you loved Hook, there’s something fundamentally wrong with what you think a Spielberg movie is supposed to be about. Ready Player One was a toybox of fun ideas and intellectual properties sewn together for a generation hung up on video games and nostalgia. It’s definitely not his best but I love seeing a veteran director who still has the ability to dust off his old toys and make pretend. The Shining sequence was an absolute standout of appreciation and love for another director’s craft.

23. Sorry to Bother You

Boots Riley’s debut was strong and weird as hell. This felt like Spike Lee meets David Cronenberg. It’s funny, nuanced, and insightful. Riley’s new voice was energetic and angry in the best way. I saw this later in the year than I wanted to, but I have a feeling that repeat viewings will enhance this films relevance and my appreciation.

22. You Were Never Really Here

Lynne Ramsay is one of the best and most unpredictable working directors today. I always look forward to her work, but this semi-Taxi Driver remake was remarkably accessible for her and more powerful than it had any right to be. If you haven’t seen it, seek it out. It’s a crisp 88 minutes long and it’s riveting as well as heartbreaking. There was a uniqueness to the short runtime, violence, and poignant urgency that she handled with deftness. Joauquin Phoenix was remarkable, brute, and subtle all at once.

21. Ant-Man & The Wasp

Go ahead and agree that this wasn’t the strongest Marvel output in a while, but just like the previous Ant-Man, it’s a palette cleanser from a previous Avengers film. Ant-Man & The Wasp is maybe the most child friendly film they’ve ever released and it was still enjoyable as hell. It’s not important. It’s simple fun. And I love that Marvel still knows how to craft something that doesn’t want or need to reach for the fences. Sometimes an inside the field hit is just what we need. Ant-Man & The Wasp is a damn good bunt.

20. The Incredibles 2

Now that I hang out with a toddler on the reg, watching this movie never gets boring. I’d know, because she’s watched it with me five times. Incredibles 2 was long overdue and it’s maybe not quite so worthy of such a long wait considering the original was my favorite film of 2004, but its sequel was still full of exceptional animation. That sequence with Jack Jack and the raccoon still fills me with joy.

19. A Star is Born

Bradley Cooper’s directorial debut was surprisingly strong. Filming everything in close-ups was an intimate and innovative way to express a rising star’s personal journey to stardom. Even though we can all agree that the first half of the film is vastly superior to the tear-turkey-jerky second half, it’s still an important film and a worthy update of a timeless classic. The music, performances, cinematography, and sound are all exceptional.

18. BlacKkKlansman

Spike Lee felt reborn with BlacKkKlansman. Do The Right Thing will always be one of the all time greatest films; no question. BlacKkKlansman might be his best since. John David Washington just established himself as a commanding lead, and Adam Driver further cemented himself as a phenomenal actor. The poetic-ness combined with the satirical edginess made this one significantly heartbreaking watch while being entertaining and iconic all at the same time.

17. The Death of Stalin

I saw The Death of Stalin early in 2018 and it never left me. Writer/Director Armando Iannucci is a certifiable genius and the controversial nature of a film like this was one of the most refreshing voices of the year. This is one of the darkest political satires I’ve ever seen but it’s so goddamn funny. Laughing at something so atrocious and maddening is one of the only ways we, as a society, can heal from dark times in history. I fully believe it takes the power away from the people who committed such heinous crimes. It takes time and a brilliant voice, but it holds a mirror to the ridiculousness we’re currently subjected to, and hopefully with time, we can make fun of our situation too.

16. Leave No Trace

Debra Granik finally followed up her outstanding Winter’s Bone debut and she did not suffer from the sophomore slump that so many other filmmakers have. Leave No Trace is the saddest love letter to veterans that I’ve ever seen even though it’s beautiful and full of hope. Granik definitely should’ve gotten a Best Director nomination this year for her delicate and heartfelt look at a father struggling with PTSD while living with his daughter in the woods, away from society. Ben Foster and Thomasin McKenzie are stunning. This film stayed with me for weeks after I watched it. It’s a small but hugely important film.

15. Annihilation

Alex Garland previously made his directorial debut with Ex Machina after an incredible script writing filmography. He’s established himself as one of the smartest and most important voices in science fiction cinema after Annihilation. This is a heady sci fi film that scared the shit out of me. I felt uneasy the second the group of women walked into The Shimmer. Garland adapted the book it’s based on after only reading the book once, but he created something so frighteningly ethereal that it’ll be talked about for years. The score for this was off the charts good. Going from an acoustic instrumental to something electronic was what struck me the most as a stroke of genius.

14. Shoplifters

For a film I saw so recently, very few films this year have had such an emotional impact on me. Shoplifters is a small “family” film from Korean director Hirokazu Kore-eda, but it packs a punch that I wasn’t expecting. All I knew was that critics loved it and it was up for a Best Foreign Language Oscar. It’s a powerhouse of social status and what it means to be a family that defies language and cultural relevance.

13. First Man

First Man hit me hard on a personal level. I’d sort of written off Damien Chazelle as a director after La La Land underwhelmed me so much, but this film reinvigorated my appreciation in him because the filmmaking here was profoundly beautiful. The acting is impeccable. The cinematography was breathtaking. Seeing this in IMAX (as my last film in LA) was a jaw-dropping cry-fest. I left the theater shook. I doubt this film will shake as many as it did me, especially if you missed it in IMAX, but this was the theater experience of the year. At least recognize that Justin Hurwitz’s musical score was the most overlooked snub at this years Academy Awards.

12. Suspiria

This was another film I’d sorely missed in theaters, but when I finally got a chance to witness it I was blown away. Luca Guadaninio’s follow-up to my favorite film of last year, Call Me By Your Name, was a worthy successor. This was less a horror film, and more of an art-house homage to Dario Argento’s original 70s classic. It’s still a haunting film, but in a beautifully macabre way. Thom Yorke’s score is absolutely outstanding, as well as the subversively drab look, completely deviating from the originals color saturated visual palette. It’s a film that has to be watched more than once. Even though it’s 2.5 hours long, I was completely transfixed the entire time. It’ll depend on your mood or taste, but if you enjoy artistic, visual, and auditory enhanced horror, Suspiria is among the best.

11. Mandy

Throw up the horns. Mandy is here. Pasmos Cosmatos cerebral horror film is full of the best revenge porn I’ve ever seen. Nicolas Cage is unhinged (as he should be) in his best performance in ages. He’s the Cage we’ve been dreaming of since the 90s. The first half of this film belongs to Andrea Riseborough and underrated character actor Linus Roache, but the second half is all Rage Cage in full gory glory. Mandy is a film unlike anything you’ve ever seen, but yet somehow it’s still completely accessible. The title cards for each chapter are something straight out of a Heavy Metal comic book, and the hauntingly beautiful score by the late-genius Jóhann Jóhannsson is simply gorgeous. Mandy is a film meant to be laughed at and with. It’s a fever-dream of ideas that work brilliantly as a whole. It’s a hard one to recommend but if you know, you know.

10. Eighth Grade

Bo Burnham just burst onto the directorial scene with this film about the awkwardness of being a thirteen year old girl. Not something you’d expect from a male standup comedian in times like these, especially when it’s handled so delicately and with so much heart, but it feels so important to young kids who’ve been thrown into subjectivity amongst their peers within the digital age. Eighth Grade can, at times, make you so uncomfortable, and at other times it’ll completely tear your heart out and make you want to hug your dad. I know, because I saw it in the theater with my dad. He was like, you’re still the eighth grade girl you’ve always been. Thanks, dad.

9. Aquaman

I know there isn’t a ton of hate for this film, but there isn’t a ton of high praise for it either. Aquaman was exactly the film James Wan set out to make. It’s one of the most comic book-y films since Age of Ultron except it’s dumb as hell, and for that, I absolutely LOVED it. This was a throwback comic book film ripped from the pages that was corny as hell and never took itself too seriously. Aquaman is a damn hard character to adapt so it’s unbelievable that he got this big of a budget that included over-the-top actors like Willem Dafoe and Dolph Lundgren. Patrick Wilson chews the scenery as Ocean Master and I don’t give a damn what people think of Black Manta; he’s completely awesome. You could’ve easily cut this film down, but I was happy to live in its oceanic cheesball world for hours. Aquaman was the comic book movie of the year that was as ridiculous as it was awesome. I laughed so hard at how stupid it could be, but I couldn’t help but be entertained by how insane it was.

8. Mission: Impossible Fallout

I don’t know how these films keep getting better, but they do. This was THE action film of 2018. As much as I love Fast & Furious 5-7, Mission: Impossible 4-6 has been the best run of a long running action franchise ever. Fallout brought one of the best villains yet in a story that barely makes sense, but I couldn’t care less. This film was big in that edge-of-your-seat way that rarely comes along. Thrilling doesn’t begin to describe it. The IMAX presentation was fantastic. I live for movies like this. It harkens back to 80s and 90s action films but presents itself for a whole new era of practical effects extravaganza. It’s the best action film since Mad Max: Fury Road.

7. Black Panther

There are a lot of people questioning this film’s entry as a Best Picture Nominee, but it absolutely deserves all of the recognition it’s getting. Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther is both culturally and politically significant as it is cinematically. This film is a culmination of what Marvel has been growing to. The Marvel Cinematic Universe isn’t simply about story progression, it’s about cultural progression. These films represent societal beacons of the times we live in through decades old comic book prisms. The lore and spirit of the comics are still present, as well as relevant, and the socio-political themes have been injected into them effortlessly.

A character like Black Panther can be a leader of change within his own cinematic universe. Marvel’s created something that transcends blockbuster cinema. Black Panther is now an icon of cultural appreciation that can inspire real change in the real world. He’s an optimistic embodiment of what we should strive to achieve as a society. We should share with the world our hope for change. Comic Book’s have never been so relevant. Black Panther has never been so important.

6. Roma

Director Alfonso Cuarón’s intimate portrayal of life as a housemaid was one of the most vibrantly affecting films I’ve ever seen. Every single shot wasn’t just a landscape; it was a mural. I’ve never seen direction take this angle and provide so much while saying so little. Some people might’ve felt emotionally disconnected from his style but Cuarón’s masterful direction captivated me like very few films this year had. There are multiple layers to his visual representation that effect more of what’s seen than what’s said. It’s not an easy watch and perhaps that’s part of why it was released by Netflix. Unfortunately, I had to watch this at home instead of in theaters, but I still felt the impact of the themes and presentation. It’s one of the few Best Picture nominees that truly belong in the category that’ll stand the test of time.

5. Paddington 2

This was one of the earliest releases of 2018 and it never escaped my mind throughout the year. Paddington 2 advances upon the original’s tone to encapsulate something that is pure joy. Paul King directed the bejeezus out of this movie. I felt like I was watching Wes Anderson meets Harry Potter. I saw Paddington 2 in theaters with just one mother and daughter couple and it never felt weird. The only thing that’s weird is that more people haven’t seen this film. I had a smile from ear to ear the entire time. This movie is magic. Like the Harry Potter films, all of the best British actors are present, and Hugh Grand and Brendon Gleeson give their best performances in years, if not ever. Hugh Grant should’ve been nominated for Best Supporting Actor. If you haven’t seen this hidden gem yet, do your soul a favor and seek it out immediately.

4. The Favourite

Yorgos Lanthimos is on a roll. This nutty Greek director began his career with the insane film, Dogtooth, and hasn’t let up since. But he’s also learned and built from his previous work. What started as something of a cultish followed career has expanded into prestigious and innovative filmmaking. I’d nearly missed this film in theaters until I drove across the state to see this with my parents in Ann Arbor, and although it might be one of the worst movies to see with your parental units, we all could agree that this was a uniquely hilarious and thought-provoking experience. At first, I wasn’t sure what to think because I was too busy trying to avoid talking to my mom and dad about Emma Stone jerking somebody off, but The Favourite stayed with me for weeks and I loved dissecting all of its themes and nuances. The Favourite is both entertaining and timely. It’s another one of the films this year that absolutely belong with (and should’ve won) the Best Picture nominations.

3. Widows

Steve McQueen’s Widows was vastly underseen and underrated. Here’s a director who usually only does vague, cerebral drama, but working with Gillian Flynn as a screenwriter adapting Lynda LaPlante’s 1983 novel about wives finishing the heist their husbands failed to complete before their untimely deaths, is about as pulpy and as timely as you can get. There are a lot of stories woven into Widows epic crime saga and some critics have faulted the film’s narrative for it, but look at Heat; one of the most prolific crime sagas of all time, which has more subplots than you could imagine, yet it’s still widely regarded as one of the best films ever made. Widows is the best film of its kind since Heat in 1995. It still carries the acting heavyweights and still compelled me more than nearly any other film in 2018.

2. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Into the Spider-Verse is one of the few films in 2018 that has the power to influence cinema for the future. Not only is it extraordinarily entertaining, but it’s also innovative in terms of style and theme. No other film in 2018 was this inventive and groundbreaking. I was definitely excited to see this as a lifelong Spider-Man fan, but based on Sony’s mishandling of the character for years, it had me extremely cautious. Thanks to Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s impeccable screenplay, I got more than the Spider-Man I’ve always wanted to see. This is a Spider-Man for a new generation. He’s not my Spider-Man, he never was. This film is for everyone, and I mean EVERYONE. The cell-shaded animation and soundtrack elevated this film into bonafide classic territory. I couldn’t even comprehend it after I first saw it, because I wasn’t ready for something so new. Months after I watched this film, I could not stop thinking about it. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is so nerdy for the fans and so accessible to the newcomers. It feels like I’m living in an alternate universe where good movies in 2018 DO exist.

1. Avengers: Infinity War

The *Snap* heard ‘round the World...

Marvel has a good history of taking formulas from other genres and using them as a framing device for their superhero films; political thrillers, space operas, video games, heist films are all borrowed ideas that helped them keep the superhero genre from feeling stale. Avengers: Infinity War is Marvel’s fantasy epic. This is the Lord of the Rings of the MCU. The result is legendary. The Russo Bros. looked at their massive roster of heroes, who audiences have come to deeply care for over ten years, and came up with a way to tell one cohesive world-ending story centered around one villain; the mad titan, Thanos. They looked at Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones, and they saw how well those were balanced, and they applied it to a superhero film. It’s unbelievably well executed. The big reason Infinity War works so cosmically well is Josh Brolin’s portrayal of Thanos. We couldn’t get behind another world-ending event in these movies unless we believed and understood the villain that was behind it all. Brolin gave Thanos both menace and pathos. From the moment the movie starts, the stakes feel real. None of the characters are safe because we believe Thanos is capable of anything from the very beginning. There aren’t many epics where we spend this much time with the villain. Thankfully, Marvel knows we already care about the heroes, so after building up a ten year rapport between audiences and protagonists it was finally time to focus on the Big Cheese who’s behind all the conflict. This movie is so comic book/fantasy it’s ridiculous. I loved every second of it and could not wipe the smile off my face nor the tears from my eyes. I felt like my ten year old self, alone and engrossed in the most epic comic book I’ve ever read. I was shaken when I left the theater. I turned around and watched it again just 30 minutes after my first viewing, and I couldn’t believe how captivated I was the second time, third time, forth viewing, fifth, sixth, and so on... Nothing could’ve prepared me for this film and I’m so thankful it exists.

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shadowsfan · 6 years

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A brief (well maybe not) synopsis of my time in Cork - seeing Stephen Dillane in How it Is (part I)

I am back from Ireland, and have been lazy about writing this so I apologize. I figured that Stephen Dillane’s B-day is as good a day as any to post my Stephen Dillane-centric review of the play/not play How it Is (part I) and give you the overview of my three days of seeing the play and other adventures. I’ve already posted links of the reviews from the Irish newspapers so check my blog to read them - they summarize this play and the performances way better than this post will!

Beckett’s, How it Is (part I), this novel set for stage, is difficult to understand. There, I admitted it! But, I figure most of you who follow this blog probably don’t want to know about the novel so much, but more about Stephen and his performance. He was amazing as always, and I know I always say that, but really I was even surprised by how good this was - and how good he was in it. It must have been incredibly difficult to memorize this (there is no punctuation in the text) and then recite it with another actor in duet - sometimes at the same time, sometimes a beat behind or ahead, sometimes listening and then repeating (I asked Stephen about this and will tell you his answer later). This from the reviews :

“Dillane effortlessly finds the rhythm in Beckett’s work, at times almost singing the text, and seems to be enjoying himself immensely. Where Lovett appears to turn inward in his torment, imbuing his performance with a sense of heartbreaking humanity, Dillane preens with mischief and humour, in an utterly compelling performance.”

The seating was limited to about 48 audience members total (4 rows of 12). We were ushered in by a side entrance to the stage, where the audience sat on the stage facing the seats in the auditorium. The theater is a beautiful old Victorian-style building in the historic district of Cork city center. The curtain is down at first, so we just see the curtain in front of us - not into the auditorium. Soon, Stephen, Conor, Judy and Mel (Conor and Mel act in the play and Mel also does the sound/music), walk out to stand in front of the audience with the curtain at their backs. I am in the front row (what did you expect?) and they are very close - maybe 3 or 4 feet away. Judy (the director) introduces everyone (she says “Stephen Dillane - actor”), and explains that How It Is (part I) is not a play but a novel, and the performance is one hour and 47 minutes with no interval. If you leave, you can’t be allowed back in. Then they exit, single file around the curtain.

The first time I saw it, was the Wednesday night preview and the audience was mainly composed of die-hard Beckett fans from Ireland. So, the Irish Conor and Judy, who are known there in Cork, got more applause on introduction than Stephen. The three of them looked at each other and had a giggle at that. It was mostly because we weren’t sure if we were supposed to clap - nobody really knew what to expect, and he was the first one introduced so he got mediocre applause, but it was funny because he’s the guest star.

I’m not going to go into detail about the play/not play itself, I’ll leave that to the reviews, and also because I don’t want to spoil it for anyone who might see it. I will just say that each night’s performance was slightly different and I’m glad I went more than once (I asked Stephen about that too). I will tell you that there are parts that feature Conor and parts that feature Stephen and some both of them in duet.

Of course the Dillane fans will want to hear about the part near the end where Stephen has what you might call a monologue - but he’s also being echoed by Conor so it isn’t really. He plays with the space between the darkened theater and the audience. He’s standing on stage in front of us - sometimes pacing and sometimes still. He moves closer and then away. All the while he’s reciting the text as if talking to himself - or someone only he can hear. His face is so expressive that you know exactly how he feels - and it’s pretty good at this point in the text - and he relates the humor in the text that I didn’t really get from reading it. He moves so close at one point that I am staring directly into his chest. I could touch him (of course I don’t but he’s THAT close). He takes this moment to make his voice boom - “Good God!” he shouts and my ears hurt (seriously). Then, when he moves away his voice goes quiet, contemplative. He has all of us in the palm of his hand waiting breathlessly for his next word. The man sitting next to me has his eyes closed and he’s nodding with a smile on his face. The play ends and the actors return to take a bow. The first night they got a standing ovation. The next two nights we don’t stand but applause is quite enthusiastic. I think the audience is so small and we are so close to the actors that people are a little self-conscious about standing.

Okay on to the after party. The preview night there was a scheduled, after play discussion, which ended up being a little more formal than I expected. The theater has a tiny - maybe 8 tables? - bar. Most of the audience, or more than half at least, went over there and got drinks and mingled until the cast came out and took seats on bar stools lined up in front of the bar. There was a moderator and a cameraman - not sure what they filmed it for - news or private or what, but it is on tape somewhere. Stephen was the last to arrive and he dumped his bag and hat (knit cap with a ball on top) in the corner and took the last stool. They mostly talked to Conor and Judy about their theater company and how they only do Beckett plays and then adapting this to stage. The noteworthy Stephen exchange was when the moderator asked about accents and how they decided to do their own voices - Conor with his Irish accent and Stephen with his English/London voice. Stephen said he always thought Beckett had to be done with an Irish accent and he’d learned one for Faith Healer and tried to use it for this. Judy laughed and said yeah it was a problem and everyone laughed. She said that she’d asked him “What the hell are you doing?” He looked down and said he worked really hard at it and everyone laughed again. So I guess the Irish didn’t like his Irish accent - I made a mental note not to tell him I don’t think his American accent is that good either Lol. Poor Stephen.

Anyway, it was getting late by that time - 11:30 or so (past my bedtime- to be fair I’d taken an early bus from Dublin that morning) and they finally wrapped up and I saw Stephen starting to grab his gear. I wanted to say hi, so I went up and asked him if he remembered me. It took a moment (I hadn’t talked to him in nearly 2 yrs) but he finally smiled and said, “Yes of course” and then I just started gushing about the play. I should say that everyone in the bar was really stoked about the play and I could tell Stephen and the others were hyped about it too, so I think he was really happy to talk about it. I had been sitting next to a lady from NYC who knew Conor and Judy (a Beckett fan), and so I introduced her to Stephen and we all started talking about Beckett. Again, I’ll try and keep to the noteworthy comments

I made a confession and told Stephen that I liked the play more than I expected to, and he wanted to know what I meant. When I started to say that the text was so difficult to read - he finished my sentence for me. I think he could relate to that. I said that I got more from seeing it performed and that I really enjoyed it. I asked about it being difficult to memorize (yes he said) and whether or not he and Conor listened to each other when they were talking/repeating the same lines - he said yes, they found that they had to. (I think it’s kind of like a duet in a musical number)

I mentioned that I was surprised by the humor, I hadn’t found it that funny when reading it. He said that it was really difficult to get the timing right because in the text the setup might happen several lines before the payoff/punchline. We told him we really wanted to see parts II and III and hoped they could do it. He said it depended on funding but he would be interested if they wanted to do it. I asked if they were really bringing it to London (now the dates are set but then they weren’t) and he said yes but he wasn’t sure how it was going to work in that space but he trusted Conor and Judy to work it out (turns out it is a much different space so I’m curious too since the audience will be much larger). Then he said he had to go. He laughed and asked me if I was “really” going to see him the next two nights and I said “of course, I’ll see you tomorrow!” So we said good night and I finally got to go sleep (good dreams of course).

The next night was opening night. The play was great again, but I think there might have been a problem with Stephen’s mic at the beginning. They did a couple of things differently and my friend (she went to see it again too) and I talked about it in the bar afterwards. I didn’t expect Stephen to come to the bar again - although in hindsight it was opening night so I guess he would. He walked in and came over to our table and so I was lucky enough to chat with him again! We asked about the couple of things that were different (one prop in a different spot and one acting thing he did - mouthing words instead of speaking them). He admitted that they mixed things up slightly from time to time in the play to keep it fresh. He asked us a few questions about what we were up to and then I asked him about the Tacita Dean art exhibition he was in. He asked if I was familiar with her work - I said yes with An Event for a Stage - but that I hadn’t seen the film, only heard the audio. He was surprised at that and told me I needed to see the film! (I agree so please show somewhere close to me) Anyway, he described the process of how she makes her films and it was really interesting (especially as explained by him complete with hand gestures). Conor and Judy got us all a beer and they joined us and we chatted some more and then they had to go mingle so I lost track of Stephen for awhile (well I saw him talking it was a small bar) until it was time to go. He waved goodbye and took off.

The last night in Cork, I thought the play was the best - well maybe it was a tie with the first night - but Stephen’s performance was the best of the three nights. Later I was talking to Conor and he said it too - unprompted - wasn’t Stephen amazing tonight? I met another Stephen fan from France and she brought some stuff for him to sign and some presents. Sadly, he had to run out right after the show - he did sign her stuff and got his gifts - so we didn’t get to chat again. I found out later his family had flown in and he had to pick them up at the airport. I can’t complain, I was incredibly lucky to talk to him as much as I did. Even if I hadn’t, seeing him perform was well worth the trip! That wraps up my fangirl review. Until the next play - I can’t wait!

#Stephen Dillane #fan review of my fav

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for-f0rever · 6 years

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i saw Dear Evan Hansen for the second time on December 17 at the 3pm show, and figured I’d write a recap on it/comparisons between MLB and the show the first time and Noah/the show the second time!

i apologize in advance that this is so long! I’ll put it in a read more because i tend to ramble a lot and figured maybe people don’t want to read this because it’s probably going to be long? so you don’t have to scroll forever just to see this! but if you have any specific questions or you just want to talk about it you can always ask them i’m so willing to answer anything! :)

i write notes on my phone on the way home from shows i see every time, so i’m going to go through them and kind of make them more coherent for you guys :) i have one about MLB’s performance as well, so if anyone wants that i can do this again :)

starting with the theater:

the Music Box is honestly one of the most gorgeous theaters i’ve been to. It’s small in my opinion, but so intimate that i can honestly say wherever you sit is a good seat. I was in the mezzanine the first time around (like three row from the last row in the theater), and the orchestra this time, and both times i felt like i could feel everything just as well both times. the theater really lends itself to immersing you in the show and the storyline without feeling disconnected.

the show:

Act 1

there were no understudies on :)

in the opening when Evan is saying why it’s going to be a good day and why he shouldn’t have to worry, Noah pauses a lot, thinking about what he’s going to say. he puts a lot of emphasis on certain words but he was so funny about it and definitely played the part so well, i really believed how anxious he was about having a good day and just being himself and not worrying about anything

When Heidi enters, she spent a lot of time rubbing his back/shoulder and trying to encourage him that this year will be great. it felt so intimate if that makes sense? i’m not sure, it just felt like she was really rooting for him/was just as invested in him having a good year as she wishes he was

when the Murphy’s enter, Connor is playing with the spoon in his hand, generally looking high and not listening. Zoe bounces her leg uncontrollably like she’s constantly on edge by her family, and Larry is scrolling through his phone not paying attention.

when Cynthia says that Connor has to go to school, Mike leaned his head back to look at her, and kind of rested his head against her arm. I don’t know if it’s intentional or not (the first time i saw it i was off to the left and so i couldn’t see the angle i was at this time, but it was a cute thing i noticed and i’m not sure that it happens every time)

when Connor says fuck you to Zoe and Cynthia denies that he’s high Mike does this little smile that is so funny and cute at the same time before he storms off

Laura rolls her eyes when she says if Connor isn’t ready she’s going to leave without him

Will is INCREDIBLE at making things feel lighthearted when they seem to be getting too intense, and he starts right away like i love it.

Kristolyn delivers her lines so perfectly and when she’s talking to Evan on the first day of school you can’t help but laugh at how awkward things are

When Jared says Connor’s new hair length is very school shooter chic, Connor looks up with the huge smile on his face like he can’t believe he just said it.

He pushes Evan to the ground so hard (because i was so close i could hear a lot of the sounds on the stage that i didn’t hear before, and Mike’s hands slammed pretty hard into Noah’s chest. it didn’t seem like it hurt, but damn it sounded like it did) (also to be fair mike did slap his own leg, chest, arm quite a bit and he did it just as hard as he hit noah)

i was so impressed by Noah’s vocals the whole show? i wrote like in the notes that WTAW was incredible but? the whole show i was just so impressed by how great he was. i didn’t expect much mostly because i didn’t know much about him and i don’t know, but i definitely was blown away by him singing and playing this part that is so hard

when Connor goes to sign Evan’s cast and grabs his arm roughly, Noah yelps much louder than MLB did, which isn’t a bad thing, it’s just a little difference between the two

also when he asks Evan how he broke his arm and Evan says he fell out of a tree Connor says “that’s the saddest fucking thing i ever heard, oh my god” and kind of laughs. in this show when Mike laughed he didn’t even finish the word god he just sort of laughed through it, smiled and shook his head

at the end of For Forever, Cynthia just grabs Evan and hugs him so tight while thanking him a million times. it takes Evan a moment before he hugs back

will sincerely, me ever not be a bop? Noah and Mike definitely looked like they were having so much fun doing it, they were smiling and laughing at each other during the dance parts. also Will’s laugh in this song gives me life it’s so funny

Connor does this little smile after “dude i’m proud of you” and like points to himself and it’s so cute

when Connor says “my sister’s hot” Noah’s version of “what the hell” is more annoyed than horrified that Jared would write that

when they’re going through the bridge of sincerely, me, Evan like awkwardly grabs Connor’s arms when he says “dear connor murphy i’m just glad to be your friend” except Noah? rubbed Mike’s nipples? i collapsed

this isn’t specific to this point in the show, but Will mimics the pitch of Noah’s voice a lot when he’s mocking Evan, and it’s hilarious

Laura cried during requiem when she crumples the emails in her hand, Cynthia sobs into Connor’s pillow. she just holds it and rocks back and forth. Larry mostly just tries to hold it together

Evan got flustered a lot during If I Could Tell Her (fidgeting with his cast, his collar, really everything)

During Disappear when they’re telling the Murphy’s their plan Jared tries to butt in and Evan holds his arm out to stop him and Jared just looks upset that he’s not as included

When Cynthia tells Evan that Connor hadn’t been invited to a single bar mitzvah she is so upset and trying not to cry at the thought when she’s giving Evan the tie

in between Evan’s speech and the beginning of YWBF Evan drops his notecards and falls to the ground and has a borderline panic attack trying to collect himself in front of everyone. Noah portrays this INCREDIBLY well, it made me feel like he really was having a panic attack and my heart hurt just watching him struggle to breathe and shaking (side note his shoe fell off? i cannot for the life of me remember that happening to MLB, so i’m not sure that was planned)

during the bridge of YWBF baby pictures of Connor flash on the screen and Larry is center stage looking up at them. he breaks down, stumbling over with his hands on his knees, just crying. Cynthia runs over and embraces him, holding him tight as they both sob. (i could hear both JLT and Michael Park just sobbing holding each other and it was so heartbreaking)

Act 2

the first song is a sincerely, me reprise, and Will and Mike were making each other laugh so much when they were doing it it was funny. (when they say hey to each other they both did really weird voices omfg). when Evan interrupts them and says Jared can’t make things up Jared pushes Connor off the stage

during to break in a glove, Larry bites his lip to try to stop himself from getting emotional just after “you’re just trying to do your best to a kid who’s lost control”

Evan finally invites Zoe over, and when she says they need to talk he’s scared she’s breaking up with him and rambles about how he doesn’t even know if they’re dating officially. she stops him and says she’s not breaking up with him, and he reaches out and rests his hands on her arm and is like “thank you” and she laughs and does it back to him and goes “you’re welcome” it’s so awkwardly hilarious

during only us Zoe just seems so appreciative of Evan? they were super cute

the scene where the Murphy’s offer Evan Connor’s scholarship money for college is so tense and awkward that you can’t help but feel something watching it. it’s so beautifully written and acted out, but god is it tough to watch

Evan and Heidi’s fight just after is SO TENSE. Evan almost slips up and calls the Murphy’s his family, which sets Heidi off. It’s insanely tense to watch, but RBJ and Noah play this so well and I was in love

Evan says that he’s a burden to her, and Heidi gets emotional and yells about how he’s the one good thing that’s ever happened to her

good for you is also a bop, and the whole thing is just pinning Evan in the middle so he can’t escape thinking about what he’s done. it’s so claustrophobic the way they pin him in

during good for you Evan says to Jared that they’re only friends so Jared’s parents will pay for his car insurance and Jared is just so hurt and says “fuck you, Evan! Asshole!” and runs off. it kind of feels like the first time Jared really has a huge problem with Evan.

just after good for you is a Connor/Evan scene, where Connor tries to get Evan to keep the lie going. Evan wants to just end it all, but Connor says he can’t. I love Mike Faist with my whole heart and i’m definitely biased, but good god is he incredible. each time he’s on stage you can’t help but watch him, but this scene is where he shines. He is so set on Evan keeping the lie going, letting his parents believe all these things about him.

Connor gets Evan to admit that he’s lying to himself about how he broke his arm, and the whole thing is so intense. i’m definitely overusing that word but i don’t know what else to say about it.

during the for forever reprise Connor cries while he’s singing, he starts crying just before with his little speech (”you can get rid of me whenever you want...”

the buildup to Evan revealing the lie to the Murphy’s is almost anxiety-inducing. you can sense something is coming, you know it’s going to be intense and earth-shattering, but nothing prepares you for the way Evan yells “he didn’t write it!” and the silence that falls over everyone before he says “i wrote it” while sobbing.

Cynthia SOBS during Words Fail. Not small sobs, but covering her mouth, breaking down, unable to control herself sobs

Connor comes out and stares at Evan during Words Fail just before “this was just a sad invention” and he just looks so sad and broken that someone could do this and admit the lie to the family that was struggling so much

the scene just after where Heidi and Evan are talking on the sofa is heartbreaking. you can see how broken Heidi is that she had no idea how much her son was hurting. Evan says “if you had any idea how broken i am” after he says she’d hate him if she knew, Heidi says “I already know you, and i love you” and god, her face when she says it. i can’t even describe how emotional she is.

RBJ’s vocals speak for themselves in this song, i can’t write anything that would even come close to doing them justice

during so big/so small Evan flings himself at Heidi, and god, she holds onto him so tight, rubbing his back, singing to him, rocking back and forth

when he pulls away she rubs her thumbs along his cheeks, trying to force his mouth into a smile, wiping his tears away. it’s just so soft and motherly and caring and it’s all a bit much for me to handle through my own sobs and tears

when Zoe and Evan meet at the orchard Zoe gets choked up when she says “it’s been...it’s been a really tough year” and god, you just feel awful for this poor girl who’s been through so much. she tells Evan about how the orchard saved her parents, how they’re there all the time having picnics, and how everyone needed it for something. Evan tells her how he’s trying to get to know Connor better by reading his 10 favorite books that he listed in a yearbook, but he knows it’s not the same. Zoe tells him it’s something.

Evan asks her why she wanted to meet there just before she leaves, and she says “i wanted to be sure you saw this”, and his face is just so hopeful? emotional? a little bit of everything

the finale Evan turns around to face the cast, and they’re all emotional/smiling and the screens turn from blue to this orangey-purple to mimic a sunset, and it is GORGEOUS

during bows Will and Jennifer hug and Will said something to make Jennifer laugh. Mike and Kristolyn hugged, then Mike hugged Michael. When Jennifer and Michael were running out Jennifer said something and both of them died laughing and then Mike and Kristolyn laughed at them. Rachel walked over to Jen and held her hand, and then Noah ran out and they all smiled and clapped for him.

differences between MLB and Noah/the show the first and second time around

i can confirm that even if you know what’s coming, you’re still going to cry! i definitely did!

i genuinely cannot pick who i liked better between MLB and Noah. Going in I had no opinions on Noah, but i knew he had a lot to live up to because MLB just blew me away at how talented he was in this role. Noah definitely brings something different, but it’s a good different that’s so believable that you just can’t help but immerse yourself in the story the same way between the two

overall, there’s little blips that are different. Noah has a litlte bit more of a confident side with Evan at points, whereas MLB definitely played him a little more shy, a little more anxious. again, NOT a bad thing, just something a little different.

Noah’s rambling has a few more pauses, some vocal intonations that rise and fall, and Michael was more a quick talker with more emphasis on some words.

i loved both of them and felt like they both did such an incredible job, and if you’re seeing either of them you’re in for a treat! both of them bring this role so much depth and do this character justice, and i’m just so proud of both of them?

there really isn’t much i can say about the differences between the shows, because i think it’s so consistent show to show that there isn’t much that changes. maybe little moments between the actors on stage where they smile or laugh at each other, but the acting was all virtually the same -- so gut-wrenchingly emotional, hilarious, and incredible all at once.

this has nothing to do with anything, and maybe i’m biased, but JLT deserved a tony nom. good god, this woman spends 85% of the show crying, and your heart breaks for her and god, she brings it to a level that you just understand how heartbroken she is over the loss over her son and how she just wants to hang on to the little pieces she has left via Evan. i understand why she wasn’t nominated, but god, i wish she was.

okay, this was far too long i’m so sorry! if you have any questions about parts in the show/MLB and Noah comparisons feel free to send me an ask! i’ll answer whatever, i promise :) like i said earlier i also have a recap of MLB’s performance in my phone if you want something similar to this, please let me know :)

#deh recap #dear evan hansen recap #dear evan hansen #deh #noah galvin #mike faist #laura dreyfuss #kristolyn lloyd #will roland #michael park #jennifer laura thompson #rachel bay jones

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itspileofgoodthings · 7 years

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Things I loved about Anastasia (1997)

the colors and music and overall aesthetic of the movie was so specific and intentional. I don’t know much about Russia at the time of the Romanovs so I can’t judge its historical accuracy, but the world of the movie felt very grounded and real to me.

Anya is sweet and sassy and red-haired and I lOVE HER (I also love her get-up most of the movie because it’s genuinely unimpressive.)

the voice cast is spectacular !! I recognized the lead actors almost right away. Meg Ryan! John Cusack! Angela Lansbury! Very solid choices. (Hank Azaria is always enjoyable too.)

I love the themes of family and the importance of your past in relation to your future. Not that that’s a new theme for movies but I thought it was handled so thoughtfully without being heavy-handed. it does matter where you come from.

Her grandmother is a beautiful, stately character with so much inherent dignity. It’s touching and heartbreaking how long she looked for Anastasia but you really sympathize with why she decided to stop and the pain all these cons cost her.

the whole set up is so funny and perfect and delightful! I love cons in movies and I love them even more when they turn out to be true. It’s like the fake married AU. It’s deception that’s used to reveal a truth and it’s awesome!

“Grandma it’s me! Anastasia!” CAPE DROP

Anya and Dimitri learning to waltz on the ship!!!!!!! This whole scene gave me major Stardust vibes (kind of the whole movie actually?) and I love scenes where characters who may or may not be in love have to dance with each other! Yes! Tip that questioning attraction into full-blown love.

I’m so attached to the love story! Anya and Dimitri are amazing and instantly iconic. GOSH. I love their fighting and their equal give-and-take. They’re both stubborn, and they’re both spit-fires. They have a very classic princess-and-pirate spark. I love their protestations (especially his) that he could never!!! like her!!!! yeah okay buddy.

but no, genuinely they’re so cute together and ALSO VERY REAL BECAUSE THEY ARE BOTH STUBBORN IDIOTS

the final act of the movie where neither of them will admit what they’re feeling/do anything about it is so great because with her doubts and his insecurities it makes sense that they’re stuck. but also asdfsASDFSDF THEY’RE SO CUTE AND UNCOMMUNICATIVE. I died at the scene when he talked to her grandmother and didn’t take the reward money and then didn’t tell Anastasia that he’d turned it down, because it’s such a mixture of pride and genuine love.

“i have concluded my business here” YEAH OKAY BUDDY. He is incredibly noble (in that he’s not going to tell her that he didn’t take the money and make her feel weird about it) and incredibly stubborn (because he’s not going to clear up the misunderstanding) and if that isn’t my absolute jAM I DON’T KNOW WHAT IS

considering the fact that both of them are so stubborn, the final “Dimitri saves Anastasia” scene makes so much sense because there’s probably no way they would ever have gotten over themselves if the stakes weren’t so high and he had to come save her. That final sequence makes both of them admit, “okay we love each other!” so POINTS TO YOU RASPUTIN

(I also enjoyed Rasputin as a villain and was mostly entertained by the running gag of pieces of him literally falling off. I appreciate when villains make me laugh.)

overall i just really loved the way it blent its familial and romantic love stories in a way where you understood the importance of both. the movie doesn’t make you choose one (which is good because this girl loves romance!!!). That’s why Marie is so great. She knows that Anya needs Dimitri as much as he needs her. Anya’s story is how she’s formed and changed by her relationship with her grandmother and with Dimitri. it’s a beautiful balance.

i can’t remember anything else but it’s so cute and pretty and sweet and funny and ahhhh I want to see it again!!!!!

#anastasia #anastasia 1997 #long post #thanks @ everyone who told me to watch it!!!!

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thebrideinthemirror · 6 years

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Review

Phantom of the opera February 17th, Harpa Reykjavík; Iceland

So this production was pretty darn good. The orchestra was on the stage behind the actors but it wasn't a distraction rather it added to the whole scenery. The stage had a screen that they projected backdrops on (sort of like the 25th anniversary concerts) and the costumes were rented somewhere from England, Malta used them last in their production, most of them are very Björnson inspired and some not at all. The blocking was mostly good although sometimes it kind of ventured into campiness. The actors were all very strong and the ensemble was rather powerful.

Þór Breiðfjörð (The Phantom) - He has a splendid voice and his acting was rather solid. He didn't stand out that much though but he did have his moments, like in the AIAOY reprise after PONR were he made me tear up. He flubbed a couple of lines and forgot some all together. Overall a solid Phantom with a good voice

Valgerður Guðnadóttir (Christine Daaé) - WHERE DO I EVEN START? First of all her voice is magnificent, strong, operatic, pure and unique. But her acting oh my! She started out so lost and childlike, you could see she fully believed that the Phantom was her angel and during the title song she looked distressed and in shock because she found out her angel was actually a man. It was genuinely heartbreaking. Her reactions during MOTN were beautiful, she kind of mirrored his movements at times for example. She was an adorable Serafimo and she looked genuinely concerned for Carlotta when she started croaking, her panic on the rooftop scene looked believable and I loved how during AIAOY you could see her panic melt away in a very natural way. Her Christine was utterly in love with Raoul and she looked adorably giddy after their kiss. Notes II was a standout scene for her, she portrayed Christine's fear perfectly (her "I'll go mad" was epic) and the way her trust in Raoul started to fade away. Her wishing was epic, pure and utter grief, pain and sadness. During PONR after finding out she was singing with the Phantom she looked absolutely devastated, kind of like she was angry at herself for letting this happen again. Her final lair was amazing, she portrayed Christine's anger, confusion, sadness and sense of betrayal perfectly. Overall an absolutely AMAZING Christine, one of my top favourites

Elmar Gilbertsson (Raoul) - Such a gentle and strong Raoul. He didn't take anyone's crap but he was incredibly devoted to Christine. His AIAOY was one of the best I've ever seen and he had some tiny details that added to his overall portrayal. He has a good voice also and he was overall a very good Raoul

Sigrún Hjálmtýsdóttir (Carlotta) - She has a very good voice but it has started to decay slightly, as she has gotten older. She still delivered fully and her acting was great, very strong and annoyed but with a touch of vulnerability and sadness. A decent Carlotta

Hlöðver Sigurðsson (Piangi) - He may the best Piangi I've ever seen! Incredibly funny, completely devoted to Carlotta and in a weird way kind of adorable? He sometimes imitated Carlotta's movements and he had some moments of utter stupidity such as reading the Don Juan score upside down, failing to hit notes and then looking very proud of it. I loved him

Bergþór Pálsson (Firmin) & Gísli Magna (André) - Nothing new, solid voices and solid acting. They did their job but they added little to nothing

Margrét Eir (Madame Giry) - She has a strong voice and she used that to her advantage but her acting felt like a caricature, overly strict and little to no mystery

Greta Salóme (Meg Giry) - Her voice is very good and she was cute. Kind of like the managers she did her job but added little to nothing. (She is adorably tiny though)

#poto iceland #phantom of the opera #phantom of the opera review #poto review

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cdyssey · 7 years

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Saw Great Comet yesterday (7-30-17), and I just wanted to share some of my experience with you guys! I was sitting in the rear mezz, which I highly recommend!

*I'mma skip over a lot of the main details just because they’ve already been covered, but I’ll try to include things that were particular to this show/not often talked about.

“Prologue”

• There’s a little vignette right before the show starts where Andrey is leaving for war, and it begins with Natasha screaming the most heartbreaking no you’ve ever heard in ur life. • When Oak came out, there was thunderous applause. Like, it went on for at least a full minute. I was so happy. • Also, hearing that first accordion note reduced me to tears bc I’m sensitive™.

“Pierre”

• So lemme talk about Oak’s voice real quick. Someone noted that it’s this perfect blend between Groban’s smoothness and Malloy’s roughness, and I have to wholeheartedly agree. It’s absolutely beautiful. He’s a beautiful Pierre. • Also, he plays Pierre with a lot of melancholy. It’s almost as though he’s always on the verge of tears. • “He’s charming; he has no sex.” While the ladies are skipping around him, Hélène is conducting them, and it’s hilarious. • “I pity you. I pity me. I pity you.” — Oak sings these lines so gutturally. His agony echoes off the very walls of the Imperial. • “Pierre” received a long applause as well.

“Moscow”

• GRACE MCLEAN DESERVED TO BE NOMINATED FOR A TONY AWARD!1! HOLY CRAP. HER VOCALS BRING THE HOUSE DOWN!!!!!!! • The moment she belts her first lines, you know exactly what kind of personality Marya D. has, and that’s a tribute to her actress. Srsly. • During the song, Marya will sometimes act maternally to Sonya, but the moment Natasha comes back into sight, she’ll roughly push Sonya away, and it’s hilarious. • Natasha’s humming is absolutely heartbreaking. It’s one of the many moments in the musical when you realize how young she is.

“The Private and Intimate Life of the House”

• There were understudies for both Mary and Bolkonsky/Andrey, Courtney Bassett and Ken Clark respectively. They were wonderful. Ken’s performance especially stood out to me. • “People enjoy me, though…” Before he sang these lines, he held eye contact with a person across from him for, like, five seconds, and it was incredibly funny. (Same goes for him patting his wig and powder flying into the air.) • “BRING ME MY SLIPPERS! YES, FATHER. YES, FATHER. BRING ME MY WIIIIIIIIIIIIINE.” • The audience interaction in this one is A+. Mary’s suitor and Bolkonsky’s cheap French thing draw huge laughs from the crowd. • “They are there upon his head.” I’ve seen a few posts where people lament that the audience laughs at this line, but I truly think it’s supposed to be laughed at. Mary is kind of coy when she says it, like she’s laughing at it herself. After that, though, her mood dips, slowly sinking into this utterly palpable reproach. • The audience was completely silent. • While she’s singing her final lines, Bolkonsky is slowly making his way back to his chair, and your heart shatters as you watch. He’s clutching his back and using the railing for support. When he finally collapses in his chair, he kinda puts his head in his hands.

“Natasha and the Bolkonskys”

• Towards the beginning of the song, Natasha and Mary hoist chairs over their heads and join a table of people on stage. It’s hilarious. They really milk the awkwardness of the moment. • “Constrained and strained” is so frickin’ good. When Courtney and Denée sing it, it’s really low and creepy. • “Says the mean, old man in his underthings” drew huge laughs, especially bc of Bolkonsky’s hand movements. He kept gesturing towards his entire body.

“No One Else”

• Honest to God, I could write essays on how perfect Denée Benton and her performance of this song is. She emotes so beautifully. Her voice, her movements, her facial expressions all come together to create Natasha, a young, lost girl who wants nothing more than to see Andrey again. • I cried (obviously). • The blue light is absolutely gorgeous in this song. (The blue light is meant to be the moon.) • At one point, Andrey shows up, and snow begins to lightly fall on him. He reads one of Natasha’s letters, brings it to his lips tenderly before walking away, and just behind him, almost able to reach him, is Natasha, her face the perfect picture of despair. • Denée Benton. • The applause after this song was long and well-deserved.

“The Opera”

• Just for the record, songs like this one, “The Duel”, and “The Abduction"—where all of the cast members are out—are absolutely electric. The energy is incredible. • “The opera, the opera…” Marya D. belts these lines so loudly, lololol. • On one side, you can spot Heath Saunders as one of the opera goers, and lemme just tell you guys, that long, black coat suits him. • “Hélène and Dolokhov arm-in-arm…” They aren’t so much arm-in-arm as they are passionately making out on stage. Omg. I love them. • “Noooo, I’m enjoying myself this evening.” Pierre pumps his fist and smiles this absolutely giddy smile. • When Marya sees that Natasha is talking to Hèlène, she runs up and pushes Nat behind her. • To indicate that the “curtain rises,” some of the light bulbs retract. It’s a cool effect. • I know the literal opera part of the song sounds incredibly weird on the recording, but in person, it’s more hilarious than you’d think. The actors are doing ridiculous things and making animalistic noises, lol. • When it’s over, the spotlight turns to Natasha and Sonya. Sonya’s asleep, lolololololol. • Right before Anatole comes in and around the time Natasha begins to “pass into a state of intoxication”, she hallucinates Andrey being injured during the war. The two circle each other around Pierre’s salon, simply gazing into each other’s eyes, and it’s intense. • Anatole’s entrance is frickin’ ridiculous and amazing all at once. • You know those measured beats at the beginning of his introduction? During each of those, he sharply turns his head in a new direction, ostensibly to show off his head. • Also, his walk is literally a swagger. • Either in this scene or during “Natasha and Anatole”, he caught a lady unaware and kissed her on the cheek. She jumped so badly, lolololol.

“Natasha and Anatole”

• During the intro of the song, Anatole checks himself out in a mirror before posing himself perfectly for the moment Natasha turns around to see him. • Also, let’s talk about Lucas Steele for a hot minute. He is Anatole Kuragin, from his almost exotic voice to the way he walks. Out of the cast, I’d say that Steele is the one who plays the crowd the best. • Throughout this number, Anatole and Natasha play the roles of pursuer and the pursued. Natasha tries so hard not to be wrapped under his spell. :( • When he takes the flower off her head, Natasha makes a perfect :O face. I love Denée Benton. • “And kiss me on the neck.” He does manage to get this kiss, and it’s really rough-looking. • “How do you like Moscow?” Lolololololololol. • For the most part, the two are roving around the stage (mostly bc Natasha is running away from Anatole), but at the end, they sit down next to each other, and it’s played as a really significant moment.

“The Duel”

• “The Duel” is epic live. Holy freakin’ crap. • The moment Dolokhov, Pierre, and Anatole clink their glasses together, the strobe lights come on and the real party begins. There’s intensely sexual dancing, half-naked people, and glow sticks everywhere. • Y'all, I saw Marya D., in a skin tight, black costume no less, whip several people with a riding crop with my own two eyes. • Also, in the very back of the rear mezz, there was, like, a threesome going on. • The energy during this song was absolutely nuts. • Sonya’s party outfit is so cute. It’s an almost innocent looking dress, and she’s wearing bright sunglasses. • The ensemble echoing back “corpulence” is really frickin’ funny. • Nick Choksi really highlights the psychopathic part of Dolokhov, especially in the “Here’s to the health of married women” sequence. His movements are jubilant but also shark-like. He and Hélène make out for a loooooong time.

“Dust and Ashes”

• Oak’s “Dust and Ashes” is an absolute privilege to hear, and if you have the chance, I would go and listen to it while you can. His voice could have shaken the entire foundation of the theater. • While he’s singing, the entire cast lines up in the rear mezz to provide backup vocals, and it’s incredibly poignant. (Also, tho, Lucas Steele stood in front of me, and I died.) • “Don’t let me die while I’m like this…” During these lines, Oak starts crying, and it guts you. • There was a two minute applause for “Dust and Ashes”, and I was on the verge of crying just bc he was getting such a huge applause. • Oak is perfect, okay?

“Sunday Morning” / “Charming”

• “Everyone sees a man!” Ingrid delivers this line so well. It got a huge laugh. • AHHHHHHHHH, now here’s a symbolic moment for you. When Natasha says that she can see a shape in the darkness as she’s looking into the mirror, Pierre is standing up right behind her. Pierre is her future. • (The moment Nat leaves, he sits back down.) • Amber Gray can slay me, tbh. “Charming” is everything I could have ever asked for. • When she walks in, the lights are bright behind her, and her hood is over her head, effectively masking her identity. It’s a really neat moment. • The lights dim when she takes off her hood. • Natasha is in her undergarments throughout the song until Hélène gives her her cloak. (Btw, Natasha looks gr8 in said cloak.) • At some point, Natasha starts mimicking Hélène’s movements, and it’s adorable but also a really nice character touch. Same goes for Hélène snatching Andrey’s necklace off of Nat’s neck and exchanging it for her own pearls.

“The Ball”

• This number was enchanting. I had a hard time focusing on the main stage bc the dancers in the rear mezz. were so mesmerizing in their movements. • Also, tho, the ensemble dancers mimicked what Anatole and Natasha were dancing at times. • When Natasha tries to run away from Anatole, he pursues her up the steps and forces their first kisses. She’s surprised at first, but gives into it with abandon a few seconds later. The kiss lasts a very long time. • At the end of “The Ball”, Natasha and Anatole run through the doors together and then turn to face the audience. They’re holding hands. The lights are bright behind them.

“Letters”

• “Letters” is such a frickin’ jam, y'all. • When it starts, the cast members spill out of the double doors singing. • At the beginning of “Letters”, just as Pierre is addressing Andrey, Andrey appears at the top of the stairs. Pierre faces him. • “I see nothing but the candles in the mirror.” For one of the very few times in the play, Natasha and Pierre face each other. • The geometric symmetry in the choreography is really wonderful all around. For instance, at one point, Mary, Natasha, and Pierre are all positioned in a triangle, taking turns facing one another. • Anatole’s love letter was an absolute showstopper. People were whistling, clapping, and screaming when he started holding those really long notes. Holy crap @ Lucas Steele!!!!!

“Sonya and Natasha” / “Sonya Alone”

• “Sonya and Natasha” is intense. I was on the edge of my seat for their fighting. • “I’m soooooooooooooo happy, and sooooooooooo frightened.” Kill it, Denée!!!! (When she’s singing about her happiness, her arms are extended widely, and when she’s singing about being frightened, she withdraws into herself.) • “I have no will. My life is his.” During these lines, Natasha is wrapped around an increasingly agonized Sonya. • “Sonya Alone” is one of the most powerful numbers in the show, and you really don’t recognize it until you see it live. • The theater is almost completely dark with the exception of a spotlight on Sonya. Throughout the entirety of the song, Natasha is ambling about, tightly clutching Anatole’s letter. • Sonya never takes her eyes off of Natasha, and your heart can’t help but ache for both of them. • Ingrid Michaelson is truly a wonderful Sonya—maybe not as sure as Brittain but she definitely doesn’t lack heart. • On the first “I will protect your name and your heart”, Natasha stumbles on a stair, staggered by the weight of her friend’s words. Then, she walks to the opposite side of the stage, only to be completely stopped by Sonya’s, “I know you’ve forgotten me.” • For the rest of the song, Natasha is still, her head inclined towards Sonya.

“Preparations” / “Balaga”

• When Pierre greets Anatole at the beginning of this number, it’s almost as though he’s caught Anatole out. Anatole had been trying to sneak past unnoticed. • Anatole shaves in front of a mirror during “Preparations”, lol. At one point, he turns to the crowd with shaving cream still on his face. • Dolokhov sings his arguments at Anatole very fiercely during this song, even more so than he does in the recording. • I looooooooooooove “Balaga”. It’s such a wild performance. Paul Pinto moves with such agility and manic energy. The ensemble hands out the egg shakers during this one.

“The Abduction”

• “THE ABDUCTION” IS SO GOOOD. HOLY CRAPPP. • Anatole singing “WHOOOOA” while swinging his green jacket cleared my skin, watered my crops, and cured my depression. • The whole theater is absolutely alive with commotion. There’s a dance off between a guy in the rear mezz and a guy on stage that’s frickin’ amazing. • People are doing backflips. • Natasha smashes a painting on Balaga’s head. • Marya and Hélène are making out. • Pierre is doing a cute jig. • It’s beautiful, beautiful chaos. • When Pierre screams his “WHOA” part, everyone collapses on the floor, absolutely exhausted, and then, then, the most wonderful thing happens. • Pierre giggles. • “Hee-hee-hee.” • God, I love Oak. • “Wait, wait. First we have to sit down.” Anatole made room for himself next to a girl, which was hecking funny, but what was even funnier was that the girl leaned her head on Anatole’s shoulder. The whole theater dissolved in laughter. Anatole held the quiet for a comedically long period before getting up, and when he did, he kissed the girl on the cheek. It was really cute. • When Marya entered at the end of the song, surrounded by this harsh, red light, there were audible gasps in the audience. People weren’t expecting her, lol.

“In My House”

• GRACE MCLEAN DESERVED A TONY NOMINATION: PART TWO. • She acted her butt out through this entire song. I’m serious. • Her voice is dangerously quiet until, “YOU LISTEN TO ME WHEN I SPEAK TO YOU. YOU LISTEN TO ME WHEN I SPEAK TO YOU.” • The tension in the room was palpable. • Also, all of the yelling you hear on the recording? It’s so much more intense live. It’s fierce enough to make you flinch. • “Don’t touch me!” At one point when Natasha screamed this, she physically pushed Marya away, and Marya wasn’t angry so much as she was stunned. • “Natasha’s whole body shook with noiseless, convulsive sobs.” She was literally bent over, grasping the railing like she couldn’t breathe. • “And she threw herself down on the sofa.” Natasha stands erect with her arms crossed and her head buried in them. The spotlights focus on her, and that’s when Marya softens. • You can see the fight leave Grace McLean’s body. Her voice is incredibly tender.

“A Call to Pierre” / “Find Anatole”

• GRACE MCLEAN DESERVED A TONY NOMINATION: PART THREE. • Her face is absolutely devastated as she’s talking to Pierre. Like, I still have chills thinking about it. • Also, Pierre is waking up from a nap at the beginning of this number, lol. • “I have been… studying.” He glances quickly at the place he had been napping. • The sheer power in Oak’s voice really comes out in these next songs. Anger and fear simmers behind the way he sings. A+++ • At the beginning of “Find Anatole”, he truly sounds out of breath. His body is fully bent over for a couple of seconds. • “He can’t be married!” The absolute horror in Denée’s voice nearly slaughters you, tbh. • When Pierre discovers Anatole and Hélène and gets mad, they start to run away. • Pierre is livid when he finds Anatole and Hélène. I mean, livid.

“Pierre and Anatole” / “Natasha Very Ill”

• Pierre nearly throttling Anatole is a sight™. • “Amuse yourself with women like my wife!” The spotlight shines on Hélène as she stands up and bristles indignantly. What an amazing character touch. • During that long pause before Pierre apologizes to Anatole, Natasha walks right between the two and drinks the arsenic. A few moments later, it begins taking effect, and she starts screaming. It’s a terrible, convincing sound. She runs off stage. Marya and Sonya follow her. • “FOR PETERSBUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURG!” :’))) • There was a pause between “Pierre and Anatole” and “Natasha Very Ill” while we all wildly applauded that C#. Holy crap @ Lucas Steele!!!!!!!!!!!! • “Natasha Very Ill” is sad. Everyone is devastated, especially Sonya and Marya.

“Pierre and Andrey”

• Ken Clark is an amazing Andrey. He has a v. human approach to the prince. • When Pierre and Andrey are trading insults, there’s a lot of affection between them. It’s really as though the two haven’t seen each other in quite awhile. • Andrey’s somewhat tender tone continues until he asks Pierre to confirm whether the rumors he had heard were true, and when Pierre replies in the affirmative, that is the very moment when Andrey assumes his colder exterior. • It frickin’ breaks your heart. • #PoorAndrey • “If you wish to be my friend, never speak of that again.” During “If you wish to be my friend,” Andrey’s voice breaks seemingly on the edge of tears, and then it hardens at the end as he jabs a finger in Pierre’s chest. The moment he does so, though, he immediately looks horrified. Did I really just threaten my friend? • “Well, goodbye” is soft. • #PoorAndrey • CRAP. I FORGOT THE WORST PART OF THIS SONG. Behind Andrey and Pierre, Natasha and Sonya are standing in a darkened corner. Whenever Andrey refers to Natasha, she flinches and buries herself into Sonya. • :(

“Pierre and Natasha” / “The Great Comet of 1812”

• “Pierre and Natasha” broke me. • At the beginning of the song, Natasha slowly makes her way down the staircase, entirely dependent on the railing to get down. It tears at your heart. You can’t help but remember how lovely and vibrant she had been at the beginning of the play. • The nightgown she’s in makes her look so small, and with her braided hair, she looks just like a little girl. • Oak emotes his lyrics so tenderly, so gently in this one. His voice is always on the verge of breaking. • “She began to cry…” Yeah, no. She sobbed, and you sobbed with her. Her whole body was shaking. She had to hold on to the rail. • An interesting tidbit: Hélène is sitting right behind Natasha, and she has her head in her hands like she’s reacting to the sadness of this scene, too. • “All over…” At this point, Natasha is walking back up the staircase, and the theater is absolutely silent. You could have heard a pin drop. Oak says the written line to her back. • I’ll never forget the way Oak delivered it, and I will never want to either. • His voice simply broke on “if I were free”. • Pierre turns away from her, and then she turns towards him, slowly making her way back to him. • During her last lines, Natasha touches his cheek, and it is sincerely one of the most beautiful moments of this very beautiful play. • “The Great Comet of 1812” was moving, too. • The theater very much looked like a beautiful night sky. The comet prop was stunning, too. • Pierre sat down at the end of the song and gazed reverentially up at the comet.

This play was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life, and I recommend it with all of my heart and soul. Please, please support it if you can.

#natasha pierre and the great comet of 1812 #npatgco1812 #the great comet #reginianwrites #p: natasha pierre and the great comet of 1812

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