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bugaboosandbees · 5 years

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Different life, same kwami

I am here today because I am in the mood for some fluffy AU headcanons, and, while I have seen many good kwami swap and life swap AUs, I have not yet seen a life swap AU where all the canon kwamis are kept with the same wielders and without the reverse crush AU. Ergo, I had to come up with something, lol.

So… Sabine Cheng is a world famous fashion designer who always makes some time to spend with her loving husband Tom, and their daughter Marinette. Tom is still a chef, but, because of how famous his wife is, he can’t really run his own bakery, so he just bakes a lot at home for his family and donates SO MUCH food to food pantries and the like.

Marinette grew up in the world of high fashion and fame, but, thanks to her parents, she never let it go to her head. She was captivated by designing pretty much from the time she could walk, and has lived and breathed that life growing up. She gets a lot of praise from critics, but is pretty insecure, worrying that they’re only saying that they like her work because of who her mother is. She also models for Cheng fashions as Adrien does for Agreste fashions in canon.

Sabine and Audrey met in university where they were roommates. They ended up growing up to be pretty different, but still honor their past friendship with a good working relationship and by encouraging the friendship of their daughters. Audrey might be a bit more mellow in this AU to be friends with Sabine, but she still leaves to go to New York. She’s not malicious, she’s just a woman who had a child because she felt obligated to, and then chose to keep following her dream. She’s a more complex character. (I’m reminded of the German musical Elisabeth, which none of yall have probably seen, but it’s SO GOOD FAM)

Aaaaaanyway, Chloe and Marinette have known each other since they were in diapers. While Chloe gets about as much parental love from her actual parents as in canon, in this AU she spends most of her time with Marinette and is practically adopted as the second daughter of the Dupain-Cheng’s. Truthfully, Marinette’s parents always felt more like her real parents than her actual parents. She looks up to Sabine so much, and, being essentially raised by the Dupain-Cheng’s is pretty different from her canon self. She’s much more like Marinette, but she’s less naive. She knows that people are going to want to befriend them because they have famous parents, and she will THROW THE FUCK DOWN to protect her sister in all but blood.

As for Adrien, I can’t really see Gabriel and Emilie as bakers, so let’s say that they were globetrotters in their youth, and they settled down to open a rare book shop when they got older. This still gives them a plausible reason to have gone to Tibet and to have found the peacock and the butterfly miraculouses. I also things it makes their obsession with the miraculouses make a bit more sense, tbh. They value knowledge above all else and need the answers. Things go as they do in canon -- the peacock miraculous is damaged, and Emilie falls into whatever the frell sort of magical coma she’s in. Gabriel knows enough about the miraculouses to become Hawkmoth in an attempt to get her back.

Adrien was always homeschooled as a kid, traveling around with his parents in search of rare books for the shop. They’re really, REALLY strict about learning, and make him do really all the same extracurriculars he does in canon. They found the miraculous book in Asia, so they make him learn Mandarin. They might need him to use a miraculous someday, so he learns how to fence. Playing the piano is becoming of an intelligent and cultured person, so he’ll do that too.

We’ve seen in canon that Adrien likes to learn, but the popular headcanon is that he really likes science, and I think Gabe would push classics and languages. Their relationship is pretty similar to canon where Gabe has unreasonable expectations that Adrien tries his best to meet. When Emilie disappears, they can’t keep doing the one person runs the shop and one person goes to look for books/homeschools Adrien routine, so Adrien gets sent to public school as in canon.

Hawkmoth is stirring, and Master Fu administers his tests, finding a creative girl and a compassionate boy and trusting them with the miraculouses that suit them best, the Ladybug and the Black Cat respectively.

Origins plays out similarly to canon. Adrien is still just as excited to be a superhero, he’s definitely still a huge comic book nerd. Marinette is still unsure of herself and he still supports her.

In the classroom on the first day, Chloe and Marinette are sitting together visiting as they always do, including the new girl (Alya) who now sits behind them in their conversation, when a shy new kid with glasses and a sweater vest walks in, running a hand through his messy blonde hair. He sits next to Nino and introduces himself.

Alya joins Chloe and Mari’s squad (after passing Chloe’s tests that she doesn’t mean harm to her sweet and innocent bean of a sister) and Adrino friendship develops as in canon.

It’s still raining after school that day and Marinette forgot her umbrella. Before Chloe can do anything about it, Adrien walks over, gives her his, smiles, says something dorky, gives her his umbrella and runs out into the rain. (He totally has like a twenty-minute walk home and he’s soaked, but worth it, he made a friend!!!)

Marinette falls about as fast as Eliza Hamilton in Helpless, lol.

So yeah, that’s the start of a take on a life swap with no kwami swaps! (I wanted to have one not-salty, AU, lol)

Let me know if you’d like to see more headcanons/drabbles/scenes/art!

or if I’m just being dumb, lol

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous ladybug au #ladybug and chat noir #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #adrinette #ladynoir #marichat #ladrien #chloe bourgeois #alya cesaire #Nino lahiffe #rena rouge #Queen Bee #carapace #ml au #my aus

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keyofjetwolf · 5 years

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Elisabeth: Father and Son

Essen Alternate Title: “Sucks To Be Rudolf (Reprise)” Zuka Alternate Title: “WHERE’S DEATH WHAT’S DEATH DOING”

This one sits in a weird place as compared to the other songs. It’s kinda in the Takarazuka, but also kinda not. I actually, at first, though it was entirely left out. But no, it’s there, only pared down to what is functionally a conversation, not even set to music, and I’m pretty sure only included to give the barest of plot context.

As is the nature of the Takarazuka, it shuffles this in as quickly as possible to get back to Death Todd.

“HI I WAS GONE FOR NEARLY TWO MINUTES DID YOU MISS ME”

The heart of the Essen version of the song (it’s actually a song!) is the crumbling relationship between Franz Joseph and Rudolf, managing to also slip in Elisabeth-related issues on both parts, Rudolf’s desperation about the future, and Franz Joseph’s insurmountable frustration at the control he’s losing.

IT’S PRETTY PACKED

We’ll begin with the Takarazuka, as it’s fairly perfunctory. The full exchange is below:

Rudolf: Father, why won’t you understand? If things continue on this course, the Hapsburgs will fall. It’s time to abolish the old imperial rule and make a new commonwealth. The people don’t want anything more!

Franz Joseph: How long have you been wasting your time with such nonsense? I see the situation as simply a temporary inconvenience. I won’t be responsible for ending six centuries of Hapsburg rule.

Rudolf: Father!

Franz Joseph: You must think hard about the choices you’ve made.

Death is hovering in the background, Franz Joseph walks away, Rudolf collapses, we begin “The Shadows Grow Longer”.

There’s really not much here to even talk about. Rudolf is all “Power to the people!”, and while I absolutely back that idea, I can’t say I’m shocked that Franz Joseph is like “psssh what no way fuck that noise”. The dialogue hints that there’s more going on behind this scene (THERE IS), but the Takarazuka version doesn’t feel it’s important or interesting enough to share that with the class. Instead we just get the above exchange, which we can boil down to

Rudolf: Dissolve the monarchy!

Franz Joseph: No.

Rudolf: I GIVE UP EVERYTHING IMMEDIATELY

Rudolf comes off like a twelve year old after reading his first social justice Tumblr post, and it’s not an especially flattering look, I have to say.

Essen Rudolf is a much more considered character, and so this scene is considerably weightier. This is our first time meeting the character as an adult, and so “Father and Son” is looking to show us who he is and what he’s about.

What he’s about is bringing down his own legacy. THERE ARE WORSE WAYS TO MEET A CHARACTER.

Rudolf first says they’re lies, then accuses Franz Joseph of having him spied on, and a moment to say how much that always makes me laugh. “You used spies against your own son HOW COULD YOU??” THE GUILT TRIP LOSES SOME PUNCH WHEN YOU’RE LITERALLY A POLITICAL DISSIDENT RUDY. He tries so hard to play this game of thrones and is so delightfully bad at it.

(Side note: it’s another way his claim that he’s just like his mother is hilariously untrue OH RUDOLF)

IF ONLY SOMEONE HAD HUGGED RUDOLF

This song brings in what I’ve taken to calling “Sophie’s March”, the music she’d sing to when she got on her kick about duty. Only now it’s a song taken up by Franz Joseph. The problem is that Franz Joseph is no Sophie, and Rudolf is no Franz Joseph. However poorly he plays the game, however misplaced is his devotion to his mother, by god, Rudolf will stand firm on it all.

Meanwhile, the mere mention of Elisabeth undoes Franz Joseph.

Literally, even his posture slips, going from straight and formal to this mess. Everything spirals out for him now, he’s on the defensive as Rudolf claims Elisabeth’s political opposition to FJojo is why she stays away. That’s not the case, and Franz Joseph says so, but Rudolf insists it is, lest we forget that he, too, is undone by Elisabeth.

I so love these touches to Rudolf’s character, the way that his mother is nothing but a paper doll for him. He doesn’t know her, he never had the opportunity, and so every detail about her is something he’s created or inferred or concluded. He’s modeled himself on what he’s told himself she was. And the saddest part about all that is how he’s a good person. Truly, Rudolf is the most insightful and well-intended character in the whole story. The Elisabeth he’s crafted is someone who tries to act for the greater good, and so that’s what Rudolf does as well. That that Elisabeth never actually existed doesn’t detract from his own efforts to also do the right thing; more, I think it speaks to Rudolf’s inherent goodness that it’s how he built her in his mind.

While Franz Joseph continues to get wound up about Elisabeth, Rudolf brings things back to the now and what matters. (He’s had his entire life to get used to shit with Elisabeth, after all.) That’s when he comes for his father with both barrels blazing.

Rudolf ties the Hapsburg name into all this, and I’m not sure if I think that’s reflective of how he feels or he’s just trying to appeal to his father, but I love it either way. Things cannot continue as they have, and the Hapsburgs can remove themselves or be removed. The use of “victimises us” is so strong and perfectly placed. Their empire collapse WILL happen, and clinging to it will only make them part of that inevitable collapse they were powerless to prevent. Rudolf’s argument that if THEY dissolve the monarchy, they’ll be able to make it a controlled change makes SO MUCH SENSE. But we’re hardly here for sense, are we.

At this, Franz Joseph snaps again. The only response he has to Rudolf is violence.

He raises his hand to strike his son, to try and smack him into silence. Rudolf doesn’t flinch though. He only goes harder.

Parallel to Elisabeth’s “Yes!” at her wedding, Rudolf’s “hate!” catches and echoes through time. These words are their binding contract to the lives they will live: Elisabeth’s willingness to cage herself, and Rudolf’s imprisonment in the only world he’ll know, past, present, and future.

Franz Joseph can only stand there, impotent, as Rudolf walks away.

The tone of the scenes in the two versions, even outside of their specifics, is INTENSELY different. Takarazuka Rudolf argues passionately to his father, but lacks the resolution to push forward. Essen Rudolf refuses to yield and walks out with his head head, rather than crumpled and broken on the stage. Essen Franz Joseph goes through a whirlwind of emotions and ends the scene far weaker than he began it. Takarazuka Franz Joseph is a solid wall, neither hearing nor learning anything.

Even the way the scene is staged gives us a very different experience. Ignoring Death right there in the center of the Takarazuka version, Rudolf and Franz Joseph are never closer than this:

Which is a great visual for how distant they are, but lacks the emotional pull of them mere inches apart and STILL unable to reach each other.

But again, for the Takarazuka version, this is all set up for the song right around the corner, and so for what it’s attempting to do, its choices make sense.

The Essen version, as it turns out, isn’t quite ready for that showstopper, though It has a little something else to talk about first.

WHICH WE’LL VISIT NEXT POST

#jet wolf watches elisabeth #but now: JEW LUNCH

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ripleyvansant · 5 years

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01 / BASICS

FULL NAME: Ripley Daniel Van Sant NICKNAME: Rip (No one calls him that, except his dad and Pip on occasion) BIRTHDAY: April 1st GENDER: CIS Male SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Pansexual Panromantic ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Aries SPOKEN LANGUAGES: English BIRTHPLACE: Asheville, NC RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Single

02/ PHYSICAL TRAITS

HAIR COLOR/STYLE: Brown, long EYE COLOR: Brown FACE CLAIM: Joe Keery HEIGHT: 5′9″ TATTOOS: None PIERCINGS: He has his ears pierced but never wears earrings. UNIQUE ATTRIBUTES: Scars

03 / PERSONALITY TRAITS/TYPES

POSITIVE TRAITS: Charismatic, Flexible, Independent, Peaceful, Relaxed, Sociable, Youthful NEGATIVE TRAITS: Aimless, Artificial, Casual, Cowardly, Escapist, Narcissistic, Scatterbrained, Selfish HOBBIES/INTERESTS: Looking up conspiracy theories, weird lore, video games, going to parties, pressing wildflowers INSECURITIES: Regression in his healing, people calling him out on his bullshit, being called “a sissy”/any derogatory names for boys who are more feminine, his father, non-consent culture QUIRKS/ECCENTRICITIES: Never stops talking about bullshit MBTI TYPE: ENFP (The Campaigner) ENNEAGRAM TYPE: Type 4 (The Enthusiast) MORAL ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Neutral TEMPERAMENT: Sanguine

04 / FAMILY & HOME

IMMEDIATE FAMILY: Marshall (Father), Elisabeth (Mother), Leslie (Mother), Pip (Older Brother), Etta (Older Sister), Hedwig (Younger Brother), Kora (Younger Sister) HOW DO THEY FEEL ABOUT THEIR FAMILY?: With the exception of his father, Ripley is close with all of his family members. He loves his mothers with a passion because they’ve always been there for him. All of his siblings were also supportive of him as well, which makes him love every single one of them. As for his father, if Ripley sees the man again, he’s probably going to have a few choice words for the man. Ripley hates his father. The man promised to come back and didn’t come back. He doesn’t think he can forgive him for that.

Betrayal. He never thought that Pip would do anything like that to hurt him. Ripley doesn’t know what possessed his brother to not even give Ripley’s opinions on the matter a thought. He feels betrayed by his moms too because they also were part of this too. Part of him feels bad that he has to throw Etta, Hedwig and Kora into the fray of all the drama, but he can’t bring himself to forgive any of them. His father is a trigger for him and the man just makes his blood boil and make him feel almost insecure about himself. He hasn’t figured out what it is about Marshall that causes the trigger yet.

HOW DOES THEIR FAMILY FEEL ABOUT THEM?: Ripley’s mothers are both really worried about him. They know he tends to be self destructive and try to curb that as much as they can, but they know they can only do so much when they live three hours from him. They’ve always been supportive of him and will do anything he needs to help heal more quickly. Ripley’s father doesn’t give a shit about any of them, including his son. As for his siblings, Kora is annoyed that Ripley is the reason they had to move her freshman year of high school to a new school. However, they all are concerned for him and want him to be both happy and healthy. There’s just been some tension with his younger siblings because they don’t entirely know how to handle Ripley getting attention like he does. Etta and Pip on the other hand, want to do everything they can for their brother. PETS: The Van Sant’s have a dog named Scoot and feed a two stray cats which they’ve named Buttercup and Westley. WHERE DO THEY LIVE?: Blowing Rock, NC DESCRIPTION OF THEIR HOME: Ripley’s home is a SMALL CABIN in Blowing Rock. There are four bedrooms. Kora has her own room that she only shares with Etta when she’s in town, Hedwig has his own room. Ripley has his own room in the attic that he shares with Pip during the holidays. The cabin itself is very open, yet still cozy feeling. DESCRIPTION OF THEIR BEDROOM: Ripley’s room at home is covered in posters of his favorite bands and pictures of his families. He has an I Want To Believe poster above his bed that’s very faded and old, but it’s his favorite. He has a bookshelf with a bunch of conspiracy theory books. He’s got a few movies as well that are mostly popular movies and small collection of Land Before Time films because those are his favorite movies. Ripley has pressed flowers in frames on his walls. He also collects rocks.

05 / THIS OR THAT

INTROVERT OR EXTROVERT? Extrovert. OPTIMIST OR PESSIMIST? Pessimist. LEADER OR FOLLOWER? Follower. CONFIDENT OR SELF-CONSCIOUS? Self-Conscious, though people see him as confident. CAUTIOUS OR CARELESS? Careless. Cautious. PASSIONATE OR APATHETIC? Passionate. BOOK SMARTS OR STREET SMARTS? Book Smart. He skipped 4th Grade. COMPLIMENTS OR INSULTS? Compliments.

06 / FAVORITES

FAVORITE COLOR: Green. FAVORITE CLOTHING STYLE/OUTFIT: He wears whatever looks good on him. Usually that consists of Converse, paired with a plain colored shirt (usually blue, yellow, or green), jeans, and his bomber jacket. He likes feeling comfortable, but he also likes to look good. It also depends on who he’s with as to what he’s wearing because he has outfits to fit all sorts of groups, including some very goth-like outfits. FAVORITE BANDS/SONGS/TYPE OF MUSIC: He’s not picky about his music. As long as it’s got a good beat and doesn’t have terrible lyrics he likes it. Ripley loves supporting artists that specifically write songs about the LGBT+ community. He tries not to support problematic artists as much as possible. Africa by Toto on repeat. FAVORITE MOVIES: The Princess Bride, Labyrinth, Land Before Time, Scooby Doo, National Lampoon movies, not a movie but Bill Nye videos. FAVORITE BOOKS: Everything You Know is Wrong, 100 of the Top Conspiracy Theories, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Alex Rider, Lord of the Rings, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. FAVORITE FOODS/DRINKS: He’ll try anything, he’s not picky about what he eats, but he doesn’t eat a lot of red meat and hates the taste of most birds. Water is his favorite thing to drink. FAVORITE SPORTS/SPORTS TEAMS: Sports were never his thing. Carolina Hurricanes (he doesn’t like hockey, but he’ll watch it if someone else likes it), Asheville Tourists, Appalachian State Mountaineers. FAVORITE TIME OF DAY: Evening. FAVORITE WEATHER/SEASON: Summer. FAVORITE ANIMAL: Dogs.

#tfctask #im posting this and then disappearing into the void to try and my other replies done #about.#i have.... made changes #also the font i use for headcanons & challenges is called aliens & cows so i thought it was appropriate for ripley

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margridarnauds · 6 years

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For the fandom ask meme you reblogged today: your top three favorite musicals

Thanks! This is super hard for me since I generally shuffle between favorite musicals all the time, but in no specific order:

1. Friedrich

my beautiful cinnamon roll too good for this world fave: Young!Fritz and Wilhelmine.

my trash-shit fave: Augustus and Voltaire. Like, yeah, they’re probably not the best influences on Fritz, but they’re FUN. And Voltaire is the last thing before The Pain.

my I love to hate them fave:GRUMBKOW. The moment when Fritz says it’s a good thing he died before he took the throne is one of my favorite moments because...I’m with you, Fritz. I’m with you.

my I hate to love them fave: One of my favorite things about this musical is that it was released to celebrate Fritz’s 300th birthday and yet it spends half the time calling him out. Old!Fritz has done some pretty despicable things for fame and glory but...it’s really hard to hate him and he’s such a grumpy old man (his most iconic moment probably being in his introduction where he swears to stay alive out of spite) that I still like him. Also,if you go with my very specific headcanon of Ghost!Katte not being Real!Katte, then he’d count, since even as he does everything he can to edge Fritz closer to death, he’s not...wrong? And he calls him out so beautifully.

my I wouldn’t piss on them if they were on fire non-fave: Friedrich Wilhelm. Like, need I say more?

my I didn’t care about them either way at first but the fandom makes such a big deal about them now I can’t stand them non-fave: What fandom? Me, you, and a few people who came for the Fritz/Katte content? Or who I suckered into watching it?

my I could take them or leave them kinda non-fave: I can’t really think of anyone I’m that neutral on, tbh. The closest I can get is Orzelska, but in her case it’s more a mixture of being frustrated and annoyed by the plotline we got with her (FRITZ IS STRAIGHT. VERY STRAIGHT. LOOK. GIRL.) while acknowledging that she had potential rather than true apathy.

my I will go down with this ship and I won’t put my hands up and surrender, there will be no white flag above my door. I’m in love and always will be fave ship: Fritz/Katte

my dirtybadwrong fave ship: Augustus/Friedrich Wilhelm. It’s god awful and I’d be perfectly happy in a world where Friedrich Wilhelm dies loveless and alone, but...

my they’re cute together and I dig them but I’m not all that terribly invested kinda fave ship: Orzelska/Wilhelmine, though I’m not really sure “cute” is the dynamic I’d give them. I’m really intrigued by this dynamic (Fritz isn’t the only one in the family who likes music, after all!) But it’s also harder to map than Fritz/Katte since there’s less material for the two of them (The recurring problem with femslash in most fandoms, alas.) Like, I have a few ideas for what their dynamic would be like, but it’s hard. (Also, there will always be that one little historian voice in my head saying “It never happened!” which I usually quickly silence by reminding it that if the writers of the show decided Wilhelmine/Katte would work as a ship, I can make this one work.)

my I didn’t care about this ship either way at first but the fandom makes such a big deal about it now I can’t stand it non-fave ship: As per anything else, there isn’t really a fandom for Friedrich and what little there is seems to be sympatico with me as far as shipping?

my MAKE IT STOP non-fave ship: Orzelska/Fritz; Katte/Wilhelmine; Fritz/Death Coat

I had my debates about putting 1789 here because I spend most of my time talking shit about it, but let’s be honest here: I’ve spent a considerable period of my senior year with this musical; I have 50k words devoted to it in my Scrivener file, and it accidentally tugged me right back into the French Revolution. I talk shit about it, but I also love it for what I can do with it.

my beautiful cinnamon roll too good for this world fave: Olympe deserves the world. It’s such a good thing that in every. Single. Version. of the musical she survives. Every. One.

my trash-shit fave: Lazare de Peyrol has just. So much wrong with him as a character but he is also my son who has very skewed priorities and needs several good kicks in the pants to get him back on track and half my time is spent trying to get him on that track and the other half is me seeing how badly I can derail him. (Note: In the sequel to Ah, Ca Ira, he’s going to derail HARD.) Like, I have a playlist that’s just called “Peyrol NO” for him.

my I love to hate them fave: Charles d’Artois basically lives and breathes “love to hate.” I personally blame Miya Rurika’s performance because DAMN does that woman know how to play sleazy.There’s a reason why in the Modern!Disneyworld AU I have him getting stranded on It’s A Small World.

my I hate to love them fave: I told myself I wasn’t going to unreasonably project onto another human disaster after Bres took over my life, but no. I had to imprint on Lazare. Which would make more sense if he was given A SINGLE REDEEMING TRAIT IN CANON. Also, even though I have many ambiguous feelings about Danton, French!Danton (and, heck, Takarazuka Danton too) is just too much fun for me to entirely hate. I wouldn’t trust him to walk me home, but he’s fun to watch.

my I wouldn’t piss on them if they were on fire non-fave: French!Ramard. One of the best things I think the Takarazuka cast did was shift the role of antagonist squarely onto Artois and relegated Ramard to comic relief, because him doing both was...unfortunate. He had all of Charles’ sleaziness, but none of the slickness, and it was all caked in terrible jokes (because harassing Olympe is hilarious, oui?) and double entendres and freaky furry conventions.

my I didn’t care about them either way at first but the fandom makes such a big deal about them now I can’t stand them non-fave: Not the fandom, since it’s the same essential problem as with Friedrich BUT the more the Takarazuka version tried to capitalize off Rose of Versailles by shoving Fersen in our faces, the more I hated the little heroic shit. Also, I can only like Ronan under very specific circumstances at this point. Namely, (1) He’s not in a relationship with Olympe, (2) They use the Takarazuka characterization because French!Ronan is unsettling, (3) Lazare doesn’t spend any more than 1/3 of his screentime doing moustache twirling villainy, especially related to Olympe, (4) His relationship with Solene is addressed, bonus if groveling is involved, and (5) You can’t easily substitute any of the One Direction cast for him with no major changes.

my I could take them or leave them kinda non-fave: Takarazuka!Ramard is cute, but other than that I don’t really have an opinion on him. It’s pretty telling that the only universe I currently have anything planned out for him and the Secret Police is the Zombie Apocalypse AU.

my I will go down with this ship and I won’t put my hands up and surrender, there will be no white flag above my door. I’m in love and always will be fave ship: Peyrol/Ronan; Olympe/Solene (I’m rapidly working my way towards understanding this dynamic courtesy of the one prompt you sent me and I’m really liking it.)

my dirtybadwrong fave ship: Charles/Fersen. I have no regrets. The Abomination has also given me lovely tidbits like The Marquis de Sade/Papa du Puget and like. I could go for it, but also no.

my they’re cute together and I dig them but I’m not all that terribly invested kinda fave ship: Camille/Ronan is cute and I can see it, but it’s not my thing. Likewise, Antoinette/Olympe. It’s sweet, there’s a sort of tragedy to it, but it’s one of those things that I ship more as a part of Olympe’s past rather than necessarily wanting a version where it worked out? Like, that was a part of Olympe, I think it helped her, but it’s not something I really *ship*.

my I didn’t care about this ship either way at first but the fandom makes such a big deal about it now I can’t stand it non-fave ship: I’ve read way too much bad Ronan/Olympe fic for me to ever like it, especially given the problems with that ship in general. And it’s not just the fanbase. It’s (allegedly) canon. Which is always hard for me to remember because I’ve created a very snug little canon for myself so I’ll routinely see them shipped together and be like “Ronan with his sister in law? Weird’ before. Remembering.

my MAKE IT STOP non-fave ship: Solene/Danton creeps me out, Charles/Olympe is a given; I once saw Danton/Lazare and NO

And, finally, Elisabeth.

my beautiful cinnamon roll too good for this world fave: This is a musical with very few cinammon roles, but Young!Sisi and Rudolf. Before.

my trash-shit fave: LUCHENI.

my I love to hate them fave: Again, probably Lucheni.

my I hate to love them fave: Der Tod speaks to my inherent weakness for morally ambiguous, vaguely otherworldly goth blonds.

my I wouldn’t piss on them if they were on fire non-fave: Sophie.

my I didn’t care about them either way at first but the fandom makes such a big deal about them now I can’t stand them non-fave: No one that I can really think of?

my I could take them or leave them kinda non-fave: Franz Joseph. Depending on the actor, I can either like him or find him annoying. He’s mostly just...there. Pining. Then cheating. Then pining. I’m going to be really interested with the new Takarazuka Moon troupe production with Miya Rurika as Franz, since she’s sold everything I’ve seen her in so far and will probably manage to smash my heart into a thousand pieces.

my I will go down with this ship and I won’t put my hands up and surrender, there will be no white flag above my door. I’m in love and always will be fave ship: There’s nothing I really ship in this THAT strongly. Elisabeth/Death is a ship of mine, but it’s not one that I feel absolutely DIE HARD for. Like, with, say, Peyrol/Ronan or Olympe/Solene, I’m more or less monogamous with shipping them (Though with 1789, I can ship almost anything that isn’t the canon ships). I can toy with other concepts, but I can almost guarantee that I won’t write anything because I like the chemistry they’ve already got established. With Elisabeth/Death, though? Not as much. It’s very gothic, very romantic, and I get pissed off at every production that leaves her lying on the ground, but it’s also not my be all, end all for the two of them.

my dirtybadwrong fave ship: Death/Rudolf. Goddamit, I shouldn’t like it given that he’s been stalking Rudolf’s mom for years and he’s pretty obviously manipulating Rudolf to cause Elisabeth pain (though, as with anything, it can vary based on the production), but, at the same time...Die Schatten Werden Langer.

my they’re cute together and I dig them but I’m not all that terribly invested kinda fave ship: Franz/Elisabeth can be ADORABLE depending on the production (looking at the Korean in particular), but it’s also just...there. They could have been happy, they weren’t, and history knows the rest.

my I didn’t care about this ship either way at first but the fandom makes such a big deal about it now I can’t stand it non-fave ship: I ship pretty much all of the major ships, so I can’t really add anything here.

my MAKE IT STOP non-fave ship: I don’t think I really have any NOTPs in Elisabeth, to be honest? None that I’ve come across yet, at least.

#fallenidol-453

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lucky13-452 · 6 years

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Beware the goblin men and the wares they sell. All her life, nineteen-year-old Liesl has heard tales of the beautiful, mysterious Goblin King. He is the Lord of Mischief, the Ruler Underground, and the muse around which her music is composed. Yet, as Liesl helps shoulder the burden of running her family’s inn, her dreams of composition and childish fancies about the Goblin King must be set aside in favor of more practical concerns. But when her sister Käthe is taken by the goblins, Liesl journeys to their realm to rescue her sister and return her to the world above. The Goblin King agrees to let Käthe go—for a price. The life of a maiden must be given to the land, in accordance with the old laws. A life for a life, he says. Without sacrifice, nothing good can grow. Without death, there can be no rebirth. In exchange for her sister’s freedom, Liesl offers her hand in marriage to the Goblin King. He accepts. Down in the Underground, Liesl discovers that the Goblin King still inspires her—musically, physically, emotionally. Yet even as her talent blossoms, Liesl’s life is slowly fading away, the price she paid for becoming the Goblin King’s bride. As the two of them grow closer, they must learn just what it is they are each willing to sacrifice: her life, her music, or the end of the world.

I am a little book crazy so I am all over bookmedia including publishers websites so I was on some site when I first heard about Wintersong and I completely lost my shit. I know I haven't even read the book yet so how was I this crazy for it? Simple I grew up with the Labyrinth, a movie that came out so long ago. The movie starring David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly was everything to me, I mean most kids who had watched the movie fell in love with the magic and wonder of it. A teenage girl has to travel to the land of the goblins to rescue her little brother from the Goblin King. It was so fantastical I couldn't help but love the story and I have been chasing it ever since.

Unfortunately I hadn't found anything else about the goblins or Goblin King with the exception of the short The Goblin Market. I search book after book trying to find the goblins but nothing, then I heard about Wintersong. After reading the synopsis I realize that I had finally found my book, not only was goblins the supernatural center but it had the Goblin King and I knew I had to have it.

Wintersong was everything I could have hoped for in not only a book but a book about goblins, about the Goblin King. It was beautiful, magical and macabre. The writing was amazing almost lyrical and the story so intriguing that even me a slow reader had zipped right through it, I could put the story down.

The world build is very complicated and beautiful, I would be lying if I did not say that it kind of reminded me of one of my all time favorite faerie books, Tithe by Holly Black. This book took me back to the time when I read Tithe for the first time and that was a very good thing. The beautifulness and grotesqueness of the goblin world. How you can want to be near that world but fear it all the same. The darkness of the goblin world that I couldn't help but be drawn to. As Elisabeth would say there was a wildness to the book because of the dangerous beauty of the goblin world.

Elisabeth is one of the more interesting characters I have ever read. She takes care of her family even though they kind of ignore her and are ungrateful but she loves them so fiercely with all of her heart. While she sees their shortcomings she also sees her family's beauty. Elisabeth was emotional abused, put down but created such beautiful music, music that she never took credit for was never really give credit for because she was a girl, because she was the eldest child, because of so many other things. Because of an incident in the pass Elisabeth locked her true-self away, pushed everything down so deep that she lost herself, she became a shadow. She wasn't the beauty that Kathe was she the dutiful oldest daughter, big sister, helper.

However in the goblin world Elisabeth found herself again and she found the person inside of Der Erlkonig, the Goblin King. Together they discovered each other and themselves which is what makes the story so dramatic so precious. I am not going to lie, to me Wintersong had a sad ending, I mean the tears were falling and I must say that in Shadowsong things better be resolved because it cannot end that way, I will not be okay.

Wintersong is not a nice, pretty story, it is a beautiful, strong, passionate story that is told through music and action, that is told in a darkness that could swallow you whole. I dove in Wintersong wholeheartedly and I loved every single moment of it. If you love fantasy, fairy-tales, romance or an incredible story then you should meet the Goblin King, I highly suggest you read Wintersong.

Overall 5 stars

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operaglass-blog1 · 5 years

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Marie Antoinette

The long-awaited “Marie Antoinette” came and went at the Imperial Theatre.

When it was first announced in February of this year, I was ecstatic for several reasons. I had just seen Furukawa Yuta’s performance in “Kuroshitsuji -Tango on the Campania-“ and just couldn’t wait to see him sing again. Not to mention, who doesn’t love beautiful Versailles and all the gorgeous dresses and decadence of that era? I remember having watched the Marie Antoinette movie that starred Kirsten Dunst at least ten times in my university days, and I was completely enamoured with the lifestyle of the French royalty in the 18th century.

Since I had half a year from the announcement of the musical to the actual show, in preparation, I ordered books on the history of Marie Antoinette, read a bit on the French Revolution, started studying French again, and rewatched the movie a week before I went to see the musical for the first time. The more I read the more fascinating it became, and when it opened at the Hakata Theater in Fukuoka, I was browsing the pictures and digest videos pretty much every day until it finally arrived at the Imperial Theatre in Tokyo. (Talk about obsessed.)

This is the second time for “Marie Antoinette” to be shown in Japan, the last time being the musical’s first performance ever in 2006. Despite the story being set in France, its origins are actually in Japan, with the musical written by Michael Kunze and Sylvester Levay (who also wrote “Mozart!” and “Elisabeth”, both of which I also love) and inspired by the Japanese novel Ohi Marie Antoinette (“The Queen Marie Antoinette”) by Endo Shusaku, published in 1985. I have not read the novel, so I will be talking about what I saw in the musical only.

The story revolves around Marie Antoinette as she is taken from Austria to France to marry Louis XVI, serving as the Dauphine of France before becoming the Queen several years later. In the midst of that, she meets Count Axel von Fersen, a Swedish count serving as a diplomat to France, and the musical also zooms in a little on his relationship with Marie Antoinette. However, rather than only focusing on the secret (or not-so-secret) love affair between Marie Antoinette and Count Fersen, the story also brings in a fictional character named Margrid, a girl who lives on the streets and spearheads the French Revolution, leading to the downfall of the royal family. What I really enjoyed about the story was that rather than looking at what Marie Antoinette did in her life, her involvement with the diamond necklace affair, and other events she is typically known for, it shines light on her growth as a person and the conflicts she encounters both as a woman and as the queen of France, and gives depth that goes beyond being a famous historical figure.

The musical this time features a double cast for the roles of Marie Antoinette (Hanafusa Mari/Sasamoto Rena), Margrid Arnaud (Sonim/Kon Natsumi), Count Fersen (Tashiro Mario/Furukawa Yuta), and Louis XVI (Sato Takanori/Harada Yuichi). Since I went to see the musical four times, twice in October and twice in November, I was able to see the same scenes through different “lenses” depending on the actor. It’s unfortunate that I didn’t have the chance to see Tashiro-san as Fersen (as Furukawa-san is fixed for me...), but I really enjoyed each show, and I found that while particular lines by particular cast members left strong impressions on me, they didn’t necessarily strike an impression when said by the other actor in the same role, and vice versa.

Hanafusa Mari, a past top star in Takarazuka Revue as a musume-yaku (an actress who only plays female roles), always had a kind of elegant joy written in her expression even when she wasn’t smiling. Her Marie Antoinette was someone who wasn’t so ignorant as much as voluntarily carefree; the part of her that chooses to ignore the poverty of her people is strong. The voice and nuances she says her lines are very meticulous, and I loved watching her performance. One of my favourite scenes by Hanafusa-san is when Marie has an argument with Fersen in the garden, and right after she says “Meirei yo! Watashi wa Furansu no ohii yo!” (“That’s an order! I’m the Queen of France!”), she immediately regrets it, reverting back to herself as simply a woman, and says in a small voice, “…Chigau no, ima no kotoba, imi ga nai no. Axel… Modottekite…” (“…No, the words just now, they didn’t mean anything. Axel… Come back…”). This part unexpectedly made me teary. I really felt in this scene that she was a girl, yet not just any girl, and that there was a conflict between the two even within herself as she struggles between her own desires, and her responsibilities and privileges.

On the other hand, the Marie played by Sasamoto Rena, another musical actress with a strong musical background, had a more mischievous and young smile, and Sasamoto-san’s Marie looked more like a girl in love who was going through life as any other woman. Sasamoto-san’s voice was deeper than I had first expected, but I found that it fit very well with a lot of Marie’s solos that required her to belt, like Aite wa Hebi (“Going against a snake”). It was my first time seeing the same musical several times with different people playing the main role, and it was fascinating for me to look at how and where they kept things the same, yet different for other parts, and how each cast member’s interpretation of the scene and his or her own character affected this.

I was happy to find that Count Fersen has the first and last solo in the musical. In the beginning, he has a long solo where he sings about his encounter with Marie Antoinette (I believe they were both 16 years old at the time) and explains her history of being married off to France. At the end of the story, he reads a letter informing him that Marie Antoinette (at 37 years old) had been executed. The solo he sings in the last scene is written with the same melody as his solo in the beginning and starts off similarly, which I thought was brilliant in pulling the audience’s heartstrings and bringing the musical full circle. I really like how the music Levay creates in his musicals is reused (this is true for both “Mozart!” and “Marie Antoinette”), first appearing in the first act during the characters’ innocent and ambitious days, then arranged and reused later in the second act when change is forced on the characters and circumstances are no longer within their control. When Furukawa-san sang this solo at the end, I could almost see actual tears glittering in his eyes.

After reading extensively about Fersen and Marie’s relationship beforehand, I did find Furukawa-san’s portrayal of Fersen a little colder than I had expected. I had always imagined Fersen to be a subtle man (this part is okay) with a loving heart who is secretly but completely enamoured with Marie. However, maybe from the influence of Furukawa-san’s own personality, I found that he was portrayed as someone who loved Marie in his own way, but his logic and coolheadedness to be above that (although that may be accurate in a way since their relationship was able to last for so many years). There were several duets and various conversations between the two lovers; however, they were relatively short compared to the other interactions in the musical. Strangely, I didn’t find the dynamics between the two to be overly romantic, but their scenes together to be more like catalysts, briefly describing their relationship and ultimately move Marie’s life story forward.

In the scene in the garden when Fersen tells Marie to look at reality and shouts, “Otona ni narunda, Marie!” (“It’s time to grow up, Marie!”), despite their fight, the Fersen portrayed remains to be a patient man who, seeing Marie happy in her own little paradise, is hesitant to destroy one of her sole oasis in the midst of her turbulent life. Though he had only wanted to give her advice as an act of love, Fersen reconciles with Marie despite their different opinions, as seen when he asks her if she is still angry at the night masquerade. It is unfortunate that this may have ended up being one of the factors that led to Marie’s ignorance of the situation outside of the palace until it was too late for her.

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In terms of the set, it was very elaborately made and changed quite frequently, with sets coming in from the back, the sides, and down from above. In many of the scenes that involved a large number of people gathering in one place (the ball at Versailles, the garden, the revolutionaries, etc.), a revolving set was used so that the overall scene could be seen by the audience, with the stage turning at some point to focus on something else that was happening at the same time. The revolving circular set was made with a slope, allowing the scene to make use of the depth of the stage without anything being obscured from the audience when characters moved further into the back. I was also impressed with the details of the set for Leonard and Rose’s shop. The shop set came down from overhead, and real items lined the shelves that were built into the back wall of the set. The door attached to the wall could actually be opened, and every time it opened, the sound of a bell sounded to make it more realistic. Furthermore, the usage of lit torches at the masquerade scene in the garden was particularly beautiful and mystical. Other sets that I particularly enjoyed was the printing shop where the revolutionaries make the posters, and the garden scene with leaves coming down from overhead and an image of the riverside projected onto the back wall, the circular stage in the middle covered in a green carpet of grass.

As for the characters and how they resonated with me, I wanted to support both Marie, a kind girl making the best of her own situation and trying to be happy in it, and Margrid, fighting for her people who were suffering every day while the wealth of her country was dwindling away. Kon-san’s Margrid was portrayed as very energetic and young, whereas Sonim-san’s Margrid was more rebellious, yet with a hidden kindness that shows when she interacts with Fersen and stands up for Marie at the trial.

I really appreciate the fact that the women in Kunze and Levay’s musicals are so strong and three-dimensional. For “Marie Antoinette”, one scene that really touched me in terms of its female characters is when Madame Ranmarre and Marie comfort the children, tucking them into bed and telling them not to be afraid. Even with the revolutionaries storming Versailles and the fear that this must instill in the two women, they choose not to run and play the pillars of support for each other and for the royal family. Although Madame Ranmarre does not have a very big part overall, I was very touched by the scenes in which she does appear, gracefully supporting her mistress and the children. Surprisingly, Madame Du Barry does not make an appearance in the musical—which I’m completely fine with as, honestly, too many depictions of Marie Antoinette’s life focus on her struggles in her early married life as the Dauphine of France.

I did find Marie’s letter that Margrid tries to use as possible evidence at the trial a little hard to believe, seeing how according to historical records, Marie and Fersen used such extensive codes and methods to exchange letters in addition to using pen names and designated messengers. However, the letter does serve as a catalyst for the trust and relationship between Marie and Margrid, and it’s how the musical employs both fact and fiction that made it so entertaining and allows the audience to see Marie Antoinette and her story in a new light.

The music, of course, is amazing. There were so many catchy tunes, and the lyrics were so beautifully written. The ballad between Marie and Fersen when he tells her that he must leave, reused again when he sneaks in to see her as she is detained by the revolutionaries, really pulls the heartstrings, with the sound of the harpsichord and heart-wrenching lyrics: Nakanaide, naku no wa yume ga kanawanai toki / Jiyuu na wakai hi ya shiawase ga mou kaeranai toki / Dakedo ima wa nakanaide / Kono ai dake wa kienai kara (“Don’t cry, crying is for when your dreams are not to be / For when the days of freedom and youth, and happiness are never to come back / But for now, don’t cry / Because only this love will never disappear”). Fersen sings these words again when Marie is separated from Louis XVI and struggling to keep herself and her children together; even in that impossible situation, he tells her not to cry despite her dreams having already been shattered. Despite the lyrics saying otherwise, I cried at this part every single time. Although all of the songs in the musical are spectacular, this song always particularly struck me in the heart.

I was extremely impressed by Sato Takanori, in the role of King Louis XVI, and Yoshihara Mitsuo, playing the role of Count of Orleans. It was my first time seeing both of their performances, but their voices were so mesmerizing and the portayals of their characters so magnificent, I’m sure it was something that only the two of them would ever be able to pull off. I would love to see them again in other productions in the future.

I have so many things I want to say about this musical, and despite nearing the end of December, my mind is still so full of memories from watching “Marie Antoinette”. Fortunately enough, a DVD of this performance of the musical is set to be released next spring, so although it won’t be the same as watching it in person at the theatre, I can’t wait to see it again and relive the wonderful world of “Marie Antoinette” that this production has built.

Although the shows in Fukuoka, Tokyo, and Aichi have finished, there are still upcoming performances in Osaka starting from New Year’s. I really recommend going to see this production if you can—it is amazing and it will not disappoint. You can also pre-order the DVD at each respective theatre for the duration of the musical.

I’m so happy to have had the opportunity to experience “Marie Antoinette” this autumn. And with “Roméo & Juliette”, “Les Misérables”, and “Elisabeth” lined up next year as well, I guess I’ll be quite busy until the end of summer. I can’t wait!

—Official site: https://www.tohostage.com/ma/

#imperialtheatre #toho #tohostage #musical #marieantoinette #teigeki #tokyo #japan #furukawayuta #hanafusamari #東宝 #ミュージカル #マリーアントワネット #帝国劇場 #古川雄大 #花總まり #笹本怜奈 #帝劇 #東京

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life-in-a-labrynth · 4 years

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This is going to be kind of ridiculous, and I shouldn't preface all of my journal entries that begin that way. I'm so self-conscious. Sorry about that.

But so I... somehow got onto the topic of noise-canceling headphones. I think I was simply curious about how they work and wanted a deeper understanding. After reading up on sound waves and inverse frequencies, I must have thought of how a colleague of mine wears noise-canceling headphones. I thought it was odd he should wear them around the office. Surely he wasn't just listening to music all the time?

And the wikipedia entry mentioned how some people wear them to hear others better. And I thought that they may be a godsend, because *I* have trouble hearing people. It used to drive my ex Angela crazy. And I'm wondering now, when did this start?

When did I become insecure about asking people to repeat themselves? Or feeling self-conscious that sometimes, I kind of smile and nod, and there's a delay in what people tell me to my understanding them. A few moments later I'll say to them "oh oh oh THAT, yes, of course".

That can't be a technical glitch, can it? It's a disability. I have ADD. It's likely been with me my whole life. I may be on the autism spectrum. It's a troubling and excessively depression thing to grapple with. One I've tried to deny for many years. And am still denying. Please note that denial doesn't necessarily signal whether a thing is true or not, even though it has those connotations.

Spoken like a true person in denial, heh. But it's crushing me, because what does it all come down to? That I feel like an unlovable freak. That I feel inferior to others. Just some big retard, am I right? And oh yes, you know this was amplified by me having my heart broken by Dawn. Fucking cunt.

I'm still in so much pain from it. I hope I can escape it soon. But dealing with this is just bringing everything back up to the forefront. Not sure what to do. What CAN I do, but accept this?

Okay so, I tried calling a hearing clinic. I left a message to book an appointment to get to the bottom of things. One thing, I remember that I got my ears cleaned out a few years ago and it DEFINITELY did improve my hearing. Whether it improved how well I understood people is a different matter entirely. It didn't.

When did I get them cleaned? I can't remember exactly, but it was around the time that I met a girl named Alyssa, because I met her at the clinic where I had it done, and was so bold as to ask her for her number. I did it on impulse. It worked. Go me.

So anyway, this was after Trump was elected and I vowed to take a break from all social media and news. And I remember feeling bummed out because I wanted to hang out with Alyssa, but her and her friend (Mary?) were down at the shore, and were texting me. And for one reason or another I became defensive and suspicious of them, like they were only texting me to tease me, and I felt left out and unloved, and... it's very toxic, in retrospect.

But I remember them texting me while I was reading Lord of the Rings, or some other book I wanted to catch up on in lieu of my usual distractions. Oh right, it was Fellowship of the Ring, probably around the time that Frodo and the gang nearly got eaten by trees that put them to sleep with some kind of sonorous sound.

Sorry for the aside, I think little derails like that are funny. So anyway, I got my ears cleaned around then, and it must have been around late November, early December 2016. I asked out Angela in March 2017. So are we to say that only after 3 months, my ears again became so clogged, that I had trouble hearing her for that reason?

No. It's a cognitive disorder. And I'm holding onto hope that it's unrelated to autism. Though the fact that I DO have diagnosed ADD can't be a coincidence. It must be co-morbid with that.

As an aside, my ears ARE mad clogged again, and I need to get them cleaned out. I blame scuba diving last May. Bla-glock.

Okay, so, now what? I think I only wanted to write this entry because I was getting distressed about god damn Dawn again. If I were to get diagnosed with some kind of autism (unlikely that they would even venture a diagnosis like that, but nevertheless), I would have to keep it as my most guarded secret.

I'm a quirky person, that's out the debate. Cunt even told me, after demeaning me, that I'm just quirky and a big weirdo but she loved me anyway. It's tough to not see her as sinister, but I don't think it so. I've never thought she acted with malice when she criticized me, then felt bad, and tried to make me feel better by saying it didn't matter, because she still loved me.

I shouldn't have listened to her. "Love" was meaningless, because by that point, she already knew we weren't going to work out. And tried to bullshit me (and herself), two months later, by saying "well I mean I DO love you, I just don't think we'll work out". Or she tried to pretend there's a middle ground between romantic love and platonic love. I'm not buying it.

I shouldn't be dwelling on this. It's just making me stressed out and depressed. But what else can I do? I feel like there's more to explore here. I brushed against it above. Where my mind might now be finally ready to accept that Dawn isn't some villain. I mean... I already know that. It's just, it's so much easier for me, emotionally, to paint her that way.

Next step? Realizing that all her criticisms were founded, oh stop! Bullshit, Dan, don't go back there. I'm not re-litigating this. She's a crazy bitch, her judgments of me were fictional, and there's something seriously wrong with her.

Yeah, there were certain times we didn't see eye-to-eye, but the way she busted my balls over it was uncalled for and disproportional. Fuck, man. Thoughts flooding back. That whole "u are teh autistic/adhd/whatever the fuck" conversation was spawned because she just told me that my trip was "comically poorly planned". And criticized me for not listening to her. And making a mountain out of a molehill. And ignoring counter-facts to what she said, i.e. confirmation bias.

Ugh. I feel ill. Okay, let's pull back. I just need to know I'm not some unloveable freak for the way I am. Okay, Dan, why don't you pose that question to other people you've met? No one else thinks that. Do you REALLY think that all the girls you've went on dates with, think that? Do you think Laura thought that way? How about Mary? How about Tinder Travel Girl? How about Jackie? How about Jewish Pizza girl?

Mehhh, you're not wrong, but they didn't get to know me deeply.

Look, if you were some unlovable freak by the way you keep painting yourself out to be, don't you think they would have noticed pretty quickly upon meeting you? Instead of being charmed by you? Laura had a whole week to lose interest, and not look really disappointed when you told her that you didn't want to date her.

Jackie, Jamie, that girl who took you home and had a dog... why did all these girls jump your bones on the first date? You're just such an unlovable freak, Dan! All the true blue sweaty neckbeards living in their basements would kill to have that kind of body count. You think incels are unlovable bastards? They only get that way from telling themselves that, otherwise they'd be perfectly normal people. YOU'RE DOING GREAT.

Do you think Elisabeth thought you were some unlovable freak? (wish I hadn't fucked that up, sigh). Elisabeth was highly intelligent - hell, read her blog! So why do you want to take the opinion of a dumbass like Dawn, whose criticisms will collapse under scrutiny?

Sigh. Okay, you're right. I feel better. I really do need to keep Elisabeth in mind way more. She's highly respectable, intelligent, empathic... just an all around great person. So if she wanted to keep dating you, then what does that tell you? Forget about Dawn, she's an idiot, good for her, NEXT.

Okay, good. I feel better now.

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performingartsmillie · 7 years

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Theatre Review of the West End production ‘Wicked’

Introduction:

Wednesday 1st February 2017 at the Apollo Victoria Theatre, I went to see the production of Wicked.

Wicked has been running in the West End since September 27th 2006, and it is still currently running in 2017. Showing an impressive amount of 4,291 shows in total.

Wicked is based in a fictional place called the Land of Oz, including places such as the City of Emeralds. There isn’t a set time period for this production however, due to the original story The Wonderful Wizard of Oz being based in the 1900’s, it is probably more likely for the production to be set in the 1900’s. As mentioned before, Wicked is based on the famous novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz as well as the novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. Displaying the early story of how the Witch became the Wicked Witch of the West.

Main body:

Elphaba was the Wicked Witch of the West. Her costumes consisted of dull and dark colours. Throughout the whole performance, as the Witch, Elphaba had to wear a green body suit under all her costumes to ensure that her skin will be green throughout the whole of the production. When she first came onto the stage she had to wear a school uniform, the extras wore the same type of uniform (blue and white stripes), while Elphaba wore a dark green blazer, skirt/dress and hat. As the production goes on I saw the change in Elphaba’s costumes, as she got given a hat as a present, the colours getting darker and eventually wearing a black gown, cape and hat.

Glinda is the Good Witch, her image is a lot more colourful than Elphaba’s and stands out a lot more than the rest of the cast as she is presented in pretty dresses and colours. In the first scene, Glinda is presented in a beautiful, puffy light blue gown. Presenting to the audience that she has quite a high position, compare to others, in munchkinland. It’s clear that Glinda and Elphaba are perfect contrasts of one another.

Elphaba, is the antagonist of the production. Meaning she is in fact the villain of the play. Due to Elphaba looking different she didn’t really have lots of friends and only seemed to have one person to keep her company, which was her sister. However, Elphaba always looked after her sister and spent lots of time with her so, she was the only person that could be her friend. When they both started the school, her sister shared a room with Madame Morrible (the headmistress) leaving Elphaba on her own. That was until Glinda accidently volunteered to share a room with Elphaba (which was clearly something she didn’t want to do). Once Glinda and Elphaba started sharing room, Elphaba started embracing herself a bit more and start being confident, which turned out that she was turning a little more evil. As at the beginning Elphaba could be seen as quite awkward and unsure of herself. While Glinda, being a bubbly, fun, quite high pitched sounding, popular girl that she is, helped Elphaba to come out her shell a bit more. Glinda was seen as, in my eyes, as the complete opposite of Elphaba as she was very outgoing, confident and very social towards everyone. Glinda’s mannerism is very hyper-active, as she uses big gestures while moving around on stage and has a cheesy smile on her face the majority of the time. Comparing that to Elphaba, she is more to herself. Having a stern look on her face towards the other characters and going around stage with more strict movements (meaning she wasn’t as bubbly as Glinda). When it comes to props they used, Glinda had more petite and girly objects that related to beauty, using props consisting of; small handbags, mirrors and not having anything educational. While, Elphaba had more educational props such as books. However, she would use props such as a broom, to prove that she is able to produce spells (hence the scene with Elphaba singing ‘Defying Gravity’).

Before the production started and the intervals, there was a map of the Land of Oz. once the curtain went up we are welcomed with a backdrop of a huge clock with dancer at the front. As the story was mainly set centre stage the only set that changed majorly was the backdrop and any necessary props. The backdrop would represent different times and places. For example, there is a scene when Fiyro (the handsome young man) enters the stage for the first time and, from what I saw, I believe it was after school hours and close to the evening as the backdrop displayed a pink sunset. Above the stage there was a stage laid out that was connected to the wings. The use of levels were used clearly, as there was a bridge brought down and set a bit higher than the main stage. This stage allowed the audience to see everyone’s reactions for example; there was a scene when Elphaba was on the main stage while Glinda and Fiyro were running across the bridge in a jolly way. While seeing them run across the screen I was able to see Elphaba’s reaction to what she saw. During the same scene, there were animations of rain pouring down, this adding more of a sympathetic to Elphaba, as you could say she gets quite jealous about Glinda and Fyro. When the audience first got introduced to Emerald City, the whole stage had the colour of green. With the back drop being green, the lights shining a bright green, while everyone was wearing green, displaying that Elphaba is where she belongs.

Willemijn Verkaik was playing the role of the Wicked Witch of the West.

Suzie Mathers was playing Glinda, the Good Witch.

I think these two actresses were perfect for these roles because of how powerful their voices are when singing and speaking in general. They would’ve both gone through lots and lots of training before being able to start their careers in musical theatre. Before Willemijn Verkaik was in musical theatre, she was in fact in different pop bands for over 10 years. Her first role in a musical theatre production was a performance in the Dutch production of Elisabeth. She has also been in productions such as; We Will Rock You and The Three Musketeers.

While Suzie Mathers graduated with a degree in music theatre in 2007. Resulting in her being able to perform tours of the famous Mama Mia and of course Wicked. Making both actresses a perfect fit for each given role, as like I have said before, they have such amazing and powerful voices, going through years and years of voice practice.

The influences of this production was a fictional tale, making it non-naturalistic. However, if they have to work from a practitioner, it would have to be Stanislavski. This is due to the idea of the actors using the ‘Seven Step Method’ and the actors going into the character shoes. So they can get a feel of how the character would act and react towards necessary situations. Due to the production being non-naturalistic, it could be argued that it was a bit harder for the actors to be involved in their characters, as it these characters would be doing things out of the ordinary, due to the production being based on magic and other non-naturalistic things.

Conclusion:

Overall, I thought that this musical was amazing, one key part of the musical that I loved was when Willemijn Verkaik (Elphaba) and Suzie Mathers (Glinda) sung ‘Defying Gravity’. This was because it was sung with so much passion and power, that it left me speechless. There were so many long notes Willemijn Verkaik had to hold, it showed that she had amazing breath control and projection. The lights added to the atmosphere, as they were so bright that you couldn’t really forget the image. That is a key moment that has replayed in my head ever since watching this musical.

When it comes to skills and attributes, all actors in the production would need a lot of self-discipline and perfect punctuality and attendance. Making sure they are 100% focused during all rehearsals and during shows. As well as all these, it’s best for every actor to be able to work well with everyone else and be very well communicated between one another so everything can go smoothly.

When it comes to musicals, vocal skills are the most important skill to have. Need to be able to use the diaphragm and know the right timing, pitch and have good breath control. Before every performance I can imagine that each actor goes through a particular amount of vocal and breathing exercises to ensure that their diaphragms are nicely warmed up and their vocals will not strain throughout the performance (as this could harm them). They would have to do a scale to make sure it is fine for them to reach each note without hurting any parts of their vocals.

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therealkk · 7 years

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Alright! I’m home, settled and have completed a full week back at work, post Christmas in

Meiko wearing my antlers

Colorado! I thought I’d post a “how our Christmas went” type of blog, since Lauren took the time to do so too!

We started Christmas Eve with Mitchell’s family. Breakfast, and stockings, and a little bit of time just hanging out. It was low-key and drama free. 4 pups, 9 people and Christmas Cheer.

After we had finished celebrations with them, we decided it was time to finish up packing, and spend some more time with Kitten before we left her for the week. (This was the longest we’ve ever left her, I was feeling really guilty.)

We had an uber come pick us up, and we nervously, and excitedly packed all our luggage in the back of her explorer, and headed on our way to the airport. I don’t fly very often, and actually, the last time I was on a plane was 2009 when my stepdad passed away. I was a little nervous and unsure how quickly we’d be able to get through security, and even more worried about how my anxiety would be on the plane. I don’t have a normal and rational fear of the plane crashing (and honestly I personally would never be afraid of that…) My anxiety about flying is ridiculous and silly, but it’s very real.

Mitchell and I decided to get to the airport early.

Never. Again.

It’s been ages since I’ve flown, and even longer since I’ve flown on my own (those of you that followed me from LiveJournal will remember the last time I flew alone was 2007 to Texas.)

Last time I flew things were a little different, and being three and a half hours early for your flight was no big deal.

So Mitchell and I thought nothing of getting to the airport a little early, put our anxieties at ease, and have a little time to relax before hopping on a plane full of complete strangers.

Imagine our surprise when we got there and our airline had a sign saying no one was going to be at the counter until 2 hours before flight. We had 2 checked bags, which meant we couldn’t go through security or anything until they were at the counter. So we had a long 1.5 hour wait… we sat, and talked, my anxiety rose, people stared at us.

Mitchell and I post security, showing off our attire.

oh, pause! I forgot to tell you! We went to the airport in our Christmas PJ’s (Mitchell’s Christmas Pikachu PJ’s and my Bumble PJ’s) wearing our Pikachu hoodies and a santa hat, and I had antlers and Mitchell had Pikachu ears on top of our santa hats! We both had these fabulous christmas light necklaces that I found on amazon.

Once employees showed up at the counter, we lined up (took a good 30 minutes to get through the counter) and we headed off to security! Everything went smoothly, and the photo above was us celebrating finally making it through security! We wondered down to our gate, found it, and then decided it was time to find a place to get some food and a drink or two.

We stumbled across this place called Africa Lounge. We sat in the bar, Mitchell ordered a “large” beer (which to our surprise was HUGE) and I got their alcoholic coffee. It was super delicious, we sat, ate some food and gushed about how excited we were to be on our very first vacation!

After our meal at the Africa Lounge, we continued on to the nearby bookstore, picked up a bottle of water (mitchell has to take some congestion meds when he flies, and we both felt we needed to hydrate.) We picked up a few fun souvenirs for Lauren and Elisabeth, and headed to the gate. We got t

Successfully boarded on the plane!

here just in time for boarding, and loaded on the plane. We got settled, my anxiety went down a little, and we sat back and relaxed.

While on our 2.5 hour flight to Denver, we goofed off, closed our eyes, and made friends with the girl sitting next to us (bless her heart, I may have accidentally caught her in the background of some of our selfies.

Mitchell played some games on his phone, I listened to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone on Audible and we both took turns watching out the window.

We didn’t fall asleep at all, but we did close our eyes, our flight left at 7, and landed at 10:30. We had been up since 8am, and with a mixture of holiday stress, and traveling stress, we were exhausted!

About 15 minutes before landing we turned off our music and chatted about how excited

Sleepy, but incredibly happy to be on vacation!

we were to get to Colorado and see our friends. We also looked out the window and guessed what we could see.

We came to the conclusion that we could see Colorado Springs, which is where Lauren’s parents live, and what we assume was a bunch of other nearby towns.

The plane has landed!

Our flight was pretty uneventful, we had some turbulence, that the flight attendants were spooked by, but honestly it wasn’t bad at all. It did cause one of the bathroom doors to fly open, but I bet it wasn’t closed all the way.

Once the plane had landed they told us we could turn off airplane mode, and we texted Lauren to let her know we had landed.

We got off the plane, and Mitchell went to the bathroom while I explored a nearby gift shop.

I looked for snacks but decided to just wait until we left the airport.

While walking to baggage claim, we found this guy, so we both decided to pose with him, I don’t have a copy of the photo of me, because it is on Mitchell’s phone, and I’m too lazy to ask for it. :D

We wondered our way down the escalator, to the train, and then to baggage claim.

Once at baggage claim, we heard several people pointing and saying “They were on our flight!”

All day people were snapping photos of us, pointing, and cheering us on. The flight attendants, and everyone we came in contact with loved our outfits and Christmas spirit. How else would one travel on Christmas eve?? :P

Our bags were the first off the plane (WIN!) and we headed out to get in the car with Lauren and Sidney!

Lauren’s photo of her stocking goodies

Once we got to their house, we had a snack and went to bed, we were exhausted! We woke up the next day to a delicious breakfast cooked by both Sidney and Lauren, and enjoyed their company.

We all had agreed that we’d spend the day at home just relaxing. So we did, and it was wonderful. We opened stockings, ate yummy food and played games together.

later in the evening, Lauren’s parents came, we had dinner, opened some wonderful and

Christmas Dinner, sorry, I had eaten most of it already

thoughtful gifts, and enjoyed the company. It truly was one of the best Christmases we’ve had, ever. Good food, good company, lots of happiness, and love. I am so grateful for Lauren and Gene inviting us into their home on such a major holiday! We are so lucky to have such loving and caring people in our lives!

Ken and Kathy (Lauren’s parents, two people I have always adored) brought some gifts for everyone, and some delicious Christmas dinner!

A thoughtful ornament made by Lauren’s Family

After Christmas dinner we hung out a bit more and went to bed. We didn’t have any solid plans for the week, but I think the plan for Monday was to go into Denver and look at the Capitol building, get brunch and explore a little.

We woke up Monday morning, and Lauren told us that the Capitol building was closed, but we could still go into the city if we wanted, we ended up deciding to not do so, but we did go to the COOLEST museum Mitchell and I have been to.

Lauren took us into Denver to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

Boy was it busy there! So many people had the same great idea we had, but that didn’t stop us! We spent a whole 5 hours at the museum and still didn’t see everything. I’ve included some of the photos we took there, below.

We came home that night, and relaxed, played more games, and enjoyed good food.

Tuesday, we went into Denver, saw Lauren’s work, and went to the 16th Street Mall and

went into the cutest little store called I (heart) Denver and bought souvenirs for Mitchell’s mom and our friends Katy and Adam.

Then, we went to REI to rent snowshoes, for our snowventure the next day! The REI we went to was MASSIVE. As a Seattleite, I honestly have never seen an REI as huge as this one. It was amazing!

We came home after a very long day out (another 5 hours) without lunch, starving, and exhausted. We ate dinner (Noodle soup made by Lauren.)

After dinner, we sat down and worked on our D&D characters with Elisabeth and Lauren.

Lauren, Gene, Sidney and Elisabeth have been playing D&D for quite some time, and Lauren has been inviting me to play for just about as long as she’s been playing.

Mitchell and I discussed it and decided we wanted to give it a try while we were in Denver, so that night we sat down, created our characters, and played the first half of our very first D&D adventure!

We were off to a rough start, both rolling 1s, but I ended up having much better luck the rest of the game and kicked major butt.

We played for about an hour that night, and had a blast, but by the end of the evening, we were exhausted. I went to bed after we finished D&D for the evening, Mitchell stayed up and played video games with Sidney.

The next day, Wednesday, We woke up early, layered up, and took the snowshoes up to the Rocky Mountains.

It was just Mitchell, Lauren and I, but we were all super excited to snowshoe together!

We packed up, got in the car and headed toward the mountains. Lauren took us to Estes Park. It was a little bit of a drive, but it wasn’t too bad. I enjoyed looking around, we drove through Boulder, and even drove past the hotel that inspired The Shining.

As we climbed higher we saw our first snow flurries (first for the entire visit, Denver didn’t get any snow, it was colder here in Seattle!)

We pulled into the park, only to have a ranger tell us it wasn’t safe for her car. He directed us to another area (Devil’s Gulch) to snowshoe. So we turned around and headed there. Sadly there wasn’t enough snow to snowshoe, but we did hike! We saw some amazing sights, and several elk! It was all around a great time!

We came home that evening, and went out to dinner at a vegan restaurant called Native Foods. (There’s one in Oregon, and I plan on visiting it!) The food there was DELICIOUS, and I wish we had one locally!

After dinner,

The last photo I took at Lauren’s house

we came back, finished out or D&D, I made butterbeer and then we headed to bed.

Thursday, we woke up, hung out, and Lauren and I went to return the snowshoes that we sadly didn’t get to use, and we came home, relaxed, since it was our last day there, and played games. I went to bed around 9pm. We had to be up and out of the house by 3:30 am.

We packed everything up that night, and said our goodbyes to Elisabeth, (Sidney was already in bed) and set our alarms for our early wake-up.

We sadly woke up, loaded up the car and headed to the airport before anyone else was awake for the day.

ene came with Lauren to drop us off. We said our goodbyes and headed in. The atmosphere in the airport this time wasn’t quite as chipper, and the lines were longer. We waited 45 mintues to check our bags, and then 30 minutes through security. Then we had to ride the train to our flight. We got some breakfast at Dunkin Doughnuts, and then we got to the gate with just 5 minutes to spare before they boarded us.

Our flight home was uneventful, I slept most of it, and woke up just in time to see this beautiful view!

Overall, it was a wonderful way to spend our Christmas. Mitchell and I had a great time, and definitely plan on visiting again! We both agree that this was the best way to spend our favorite time of the year!

Below, are some photos I didn’t include in the post, mainly Lauren’s cat Pippin.

A Christmas to Remember. Alright! I'm home, settled and have completed a full week back at work, post Christmas in…

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ripleyvansant · 6 years

Photo

01 / BASICS

Full Name: Ripley Daniel Van Sant Nickname: Rip (No one calls him that) Birthday: April 1st Gender: CIS Male Sexual Orientation: Pansexual Astrological Sign: Aries Spoken Languages: English Birthplace: Asheville, NC Relationship status: Singleish? Do I know what’s going on with Cam & Ripley? Nope.

02/ PHYSICAL TRAITS

Hair Color/Style: Brown, long Eye Color: Brown Face Claim: Joe Keery Height: 5′11″ Tattoos: None Piercings: He has his ears pierced but never wears earrings. Unique Attributes: Scars

03 / PERSONALITY TRAITS/TYPES

Positive Traits: Charismatic, Flexible, Independent, Peaceful, Relaxed, Sociable, Youthful Negative Traits: Aimless, Artificial, Casual, Cowardly, Disloyal, Escapist, Narcissistic, Selfish Hobbies/Interests: Looking up conspiracy theories, weird lore, video games, going to parties, pressing wildflowers Insecurities: Regression in his healing Quirks/Eccentricities: Never stops talking about bullshit MBTI Type: ENFP (The Campaigner) Enneagram Type: Type 4 (The Enthusiast) Moral Alignment: Chaotic Neutral Temperament: Sanguine

04 / FAMILY & HOME

Immediate Family: Marshall (Father), Elisabeth (Mother), Leslie (Mother), Pop (Older Brother), Etta (Older Sister), Hedwig (Younger Brother), Kora (Younger Sister) How do they feel about their family?: With the exception of his father, Ripley is close with all of his family members. He loves his mothers with a passion because they’ve always been there for him. All of his siblings were also supportive of him as well, which makes him love every single one of them. As for his father, if Ripley sees the man again, he’s probably going to have a few choice words for the man. Ripley hates his father. The man promised to come back and didn’t come back. He doesn’t think he can forgive him for that. How does their family feel about them?: Ripley’s mothers are both really worried about him. They know he tends to be self destructive and try to curb that as much as they can, but they know they can only do so much. They’ve always been supportive of him and will do anything he needs to help heal more quickly. Ripley’s father does care, except things happened where he couldn’t be near the family anymore and while Ripley doesn’t know this, his father does still care about him. As for his siblings, Kora is annoyed that Ripley is the reason they had to move her freshman year of high school to a new school. However, they all are concerned for him. Pets: The Van Sant’s have a dog named Scoot and feed a two stray cats which they’ve named Buttercup and Westley. Where do they live?: Blowing Rock, NC Description of their home: Ripley’s home is a small cabin in Blowing Rock. There are four bedrooms, meaning Ripley shares his room with Hedwig. The cabin itself is very open, yet still cozy feeling. Description of their bedroom: Ripley’s room at home is covered in posters of his favorite bands and pictures of his families. He has a I Want To Believe poster above his bed that’s very faded and old, but it’s his favorite. He has a bookshelf with a bunch of conspiracy theory books. He’s got a few movies as well that are mostly popular movies, but also a small collection of Land Before Time films because those are his favorite movies.

05 / THIS OR THAT

Introvert or Extrovert? Extrovert. Optimist or Pessimist? Pessimist??? Leader or Follower? Follower. Confident or Self-Conscious? Self-Conscious, but also confident. He’s weird. Cautious or Careless? Careless. Passionate or Apathetic? Passionate. Book Smarts or Street Smarts? Book Smart. He skipped 4th Grade. Compliments or Insults? Compliments.

06 / FAVORITES

Favorite Color: Green. Favorite Clothing Style/Outfit: He wears whatever looks good on him. Usually that consists of Converse, paired with a plain colored shirt (usually blue, yellow, or green), jeans, and his bomber jacket. He likes feeling comfortable, but he also likes to look good. It also depends on who he’s with as to what he’s wearing because he has outfits to fit all sorts of groups, including some very goth-like outfits. Favorite Bands/Songs/Type of Music: He’s not picky about his music. As long as it’s got a good beat and doesn’t have terrible lyrics he likes it. Ripley loves supporting artists that specifically write songs about the LGBT+ community. He tries not to support problematic artists as much as possible. Favorite Movies: The Princess Bride, Labyrinth, Land Before Time, Scooby Doo, National Lampoon movies Favorite Books: Everything You Know is Wrong, 100 of the Top Conspiracy Theories, Harry Potter, Alex Rider, Lord of the Rings Favorite Foods/Drinks: He’ll try anything, he’s not picky about what he eats, but he doesn’t eat a lot of red meat and hates the taste of most birds. Water is his favorite thing to drink. Favorite Sports/Sports Teams: Sports were never his thing. Carolina Hurricanes (he doesn’t like hockey, but he’ll watch it if someone else likes it), Asheville Tourists, Appalachian State Mountaineers Favorite Time of Day: Evening. Favorite Weather/Season: Summer. Favorite Animal: Dogs.

#about.#tfctask

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ripleyvansant · 5 years

Photo

01 / BASICS

FULL NAME: Ripley Daniel Van Sant NICKNAME: Rip (Only Pip and their dad ever called them that) BIRTHDAY: April 1st GENDER: Agender SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Pansexual Panromantic ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Aries SPOKEN LANGUAGES: English BIRTHPLACE: Asheville, NC RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Single Still pining over Cade

02/ PHYSICAL TRAITS

HAIR COLOR/STYLE: Cotton Candy (purple, blue, and pink); shaggy EYE COLOR: Brown FACE CLAIM: Joe Keery HEIGHT: 5′9″ TATTOOS: None PIERCINGS: Ripley has their ears pierced, but rarely wears earrings UNIQUE ATTRIBUTES: Scars

03 / PERSONALITY TRAITS/TYPES

POSITIVE TRAITS: Charismatic, Flexible, Independent, Peaceful, Relaxed, Sociable, Youthful NEGATIVE TRAITS: Aimless, Artificial, Casual, Cowardly, Escapist, Narcissistic, Scatterbrained, Selfish HOBBIES/INTERESTS: Looking up conspiracy theories, weird lore, video games, going to parties, pressing wildflowers INSECURITIES: Regression in their healing, people calling them out on their bullshit, being called “a sissy”/any derogatory names for being feminine, their father and Pip, non-consent culture QUIRKS/ECCENTRICITIES: Never stops talking about bullshit MBTI TYPE: ENFP (The Campaigner) ENNEAGRAM TYPE: Type 4 (The Enthusiast) MORAL ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Neutral TEMPERAMENT: Sanguine

04 / FAMILY & HOME

IMMEDIATE FAMILY: Marshall (Father), Elisabeth (Mother), Leslie (Mother), Pip (Older Brother), Etta (Older Sister), Hedwig (Younger Brother), Kora (Younger Sister) HOW DO THEY FEEL ABOUT THEIR FAMILY?: With the exception of their father, Ripley is close with all of their family members. They loves their mothers with a passion because they’ve always been there for them. All of their siblings were also supportive of them as well, which makes them love every single one of them. As for their father, if Ripley sees the man again, they’re probably going to have a few choice words for the man. Ripley hates their father. The man promised to come back and didn’t come back. Ripley doesn’t think they can forgive Marshall for that.

Betrayal. They never thought that Pip would do anything like that to hurt them. Ripley doesn’t know what possessed their brother to not even give Ripley’s opinions on the matter a thought. They feel betrayed by their moms too because they also were part of this too. Part of them feels bad that he has to throw Etta, Hedwig and Kora into the fray of all the drama, but they can’t bring themself to forgive any of them. Their father is a trigger for them and the man just makes their blood boil and make them feel almost insecure about themself. They haven’t figured out what it is about Marshall that causes the trigger yet.

Ripley’s family has always meant a lot to them. Knowing that their family would much rather spend time with them rather than let Marshall back into their lives means a lot. They’ve started leaning more on Etta. Their moms are being very supportive of them too, which means a lot. Ripley knows that they’d do anything for their children. Seeing the way that both of them have supported Ripley through their most recent crisis really put it into perspective just how much they love their children. Hearing from Etta that Kora and Hedwig spent most of Thanksgiving defending their family members helped Ripley remember that at least majority of their family does care. Their relationship with Pip might be changed for good, it might be damaged beyond repair now.

HOW DOES THEIR FAMILY FEEL ABOUT THEM?: Ripley’s mothers are both really worried about them. They know Ripley tends to be self destructive and try to curb that as much as they can, but they know they can only do so much when they live three hours from them. They’ve always been supportive of them and will do anything to help heal them more quickly. Ripley’s father doesn’t give a shit about any of his children, including Ripley. As for their siblings, Kora is annoyed that Ripley is the reason they had to move midway through high school to a new school, but she’d defend her older sibling with her life. Tthey all are concerned for Ripley and want them to be both happy and healthy. There’s just been some tension with their younger siblings because they don’t entirely know how to handle Ripley getting attention like they do. Etta on the other hand, wants to do everything she can for her little sibling. Pip’s always been selfish. When he was a kid, he always liked that Ripley looked up to them, rather than the more responsible Etta - and it was always a point of tension between Etta and Pip. Etta always thought that Pip needed to be more responsible with Ripley, and she blames Pip for Ripley’s addictions. Pip never saw it that way, but he’s so selfish that he’ll do anything for himself, not caring about what everyone else in the family wants, including Ripley. He does love his family, Pip just loves himself more. PETS: The Van Sant’s had a dog named Scoot when Ripley was younger, but they don’t remember that. They also feed a two stray cats which they’ve named Buttercup and Westley. WHERE DO THEY LIVE?: Blowing Rock, NC DESCRIPTION OF THEIR HOME: Ripley’s home is a SMALL CABIN in Blowing Rock. There are four bedrooms. Kora has her own room that she only shares with Etta when she’s in town, Hedwig has his own room. Ripley has their own room in the attic that they only share with Pip during the holidays. The cabin itself is very open, yet still cozy feeling. DESCRIPTION OF THEIR BEDROOM: Ripley’s room at home is covered in posters of their favorite bands and pictures of their family. They has an I Want To Believe poster above their bed that’s very faded and old, but it’s their favorite. Ripley has a bookshelf with a bunch of conspiracy theory books. They’ve got a few movies as well that are mostly popular movies and small collection of Land Before Time films because those are their favorite movies. Ripley has pressed flowers in frames on their walls. Ripley also collects rocks and shells, though they’ve never been to the beach before.

05 / THIS OR THAT

INTROVERT OR EXTROVERT? Extrovert. OPTIMIST OR PESSIMIST? Optimistic Pessimist. LEADER OR FOLLOWER? Follower. CONFIDENT OR SELF-CONSCIOUS? Self-Conscious, though people see them as confident. CAUTIOUS OR CARELESS? Careless. Cautious. PASSIONATE OR APATHETIC? Passionate. BOOK SMARTS OR STREET SMARTS? Book Smart. They skipped 4th Grade. COMPLIMENTS OR INSULTS? Compliments.

06 / FAVORITES

FAVORITE COLOR: Green. FAVORITE CLOTHING STYLE/OUTFIT: They wear whatever looks good on them. Usually that consists of Converse, paired with a plain colored shirt (usually blue, yellow, or green), jeans, and their bomber jacket. They like feeling comfortable, but they also like to look good. It also depends on who their with as to what they’re wearing because Ripley has outfits to fit all sorts of groups, including some very goth-like outfits. FAVORITE BANDS/SONGS/TYPE OF MUSIC: They’re not picky about their music. As long as it’s got a good beat and doesn’t have terrible lyrics they like it. Ripley loves supporting artists that specifically write songs about the LGBT+ community. They trie not to support problematic artists as much as possible. Africa by Toto on repeat to annoy Cade. FAVORITE MOVIES: The Princess Bride, Labyrinth, Land Before Time, Scooby Doo, National Lampoon movies, not a movie but Bill Nye videos. FAVORITE BOOKS: Everything You Know is Wrong, 100 of the Top Conspiracy Theories, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Alex Rider, Lord of the Rings, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. FAVORITE FOODS/DRINKS: They’ll try anything, they’re not picky about what they eat, but Ripley doesn’t eat meat and not a lot animal products. Water is their favorite drink. FAVORITE SPORTS/SPORTS TEAMS: Sports were never their thing. Carolina Hurricanes (they doesn’t like hockey, but will watch it if someone else likes it), Asheville Tourists, Appalachian State Mountaineers. FAVORITE TIME OF DAY: Evening. FAVORITE WEATHER/SEASON: Summer. FAVORITE ANIMAL: Dogs.

#tfctask #addiction tw #homophobia tw #about.#me: redoes this a third time cause changes

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