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doublekanble · 2 months

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Orpheus and Eurydice

Alastor/reader (gnc)

romantic-platonic

word count: 3.3k

i want to go to bed. (deleted this without copying it by accident, its past midnight, if theres any grammar mistakes, no there is not) at some point wedding is mentioned, but this can be platonic, i am just a very touch-staverd thing.

“Al?”

“Yes, dear?”

“Do you know the stories about Eurydice and Orpheus?”

(some say that he journeyed on his own to find Apollo, the Olympian god, reigning over sunlight and all things beautiful and pleasant. others would say that after Orpheus have his fill of travelling with the Argonauts and finally ending their search for the golden fleece in joy, he’d returns home. it was both, as far as you concerned.

but in every version of the story, Orpheus, who was depicted as a gifted musician, personally tutored by beautiful and enchanted Apollo himself, deeply fell in love with Eurydice, an Auloniad nymph, and she would love him all the same.)

He looked down and away from his book, tilting his head to meet you with a glance, ears flickering while you’re stretching across his lap with that dammed electric box still in your hand. You continue.

“It’s a Greek mythology about a man losing his wife and him looking for her in the underworld. I couldn’t find the original, but most of them still have the same meaning for me.” You turn on your stomach and lift yourself up on your elbows, looking at him with a delighted grin. “It’s a really good story, I think! Do you want to hear one? I can read them out to you, just pick one.”

“’Pick’ one? Pray tell, how many is there for me to pick?”

“You tell me~”

You exudes nothing but warmth and content as you grin, Alastor held himself back from squeezing your face.

(one story described how, on their wedding day, to the happy couple on their happiest day, a present in the form of an omen was granted by fate.

all the candles and lamps of the temple gifted them with black and oily smoke, coiling in the lungs of guests and stick to their skin.)

“I see, now what a dilemma… Which one of these unknown stories should I pick?” Alastor hums coyly, his book left on the side table unmarked. Oh well, it’s close to your bed time anyway, when you’re off in your dream land, he can resume. “More importantly, how did you learn of all this, dear? Doesn’t seem quite like the sort of thing you’d naturally pick up on…”

“You’re calling me stupid, again.” Dropping your expression in an instant, your delightful demeanor only drives him to take you less seriously.

“Am I now?! Why, how utterly despicable of me! My most sincere apologies~.”

"You-"

You try to swat at him like a disgruntled old cat, only for Alastor to smile as he catches your wrist with no trouble. Immediately, you gave up and turn back to your thing as he pleasingly pecks your imprisoned hand, knowing you can’t do anything about it.

(some say that she was simply bitten by a sly snake. some said she was chased by a satyr into the forest first. in all of them, Orpheus find his wife, whom he haven't even the time to love fully, lying amongst the green. with the poison already spread through her veins and choke her heart, he held her cold body in his arms as he wept.)

“Anyway-” Alastor pats your head, ears perk up while refusing to let go of you, not that you bothered to take your hand back, already satisfied with lazily draping yourself across his sofa and in his lap. He silently felt your pulse as you snidely remarked, “I learn about it online, idiot. Something an old coot like you wouldn’t know how to navigah-owowow I’m sohry yor noh ouh!-“

This, he somewhat find annoying. You’ve been actively learning more words to try and keep up with his “flowery compliments” and “verbose vocabulary” (he would’ve taken sweet and articulated, but c'est lavie). It would’ve been sweet, if not for the fact you only and exclusively learn insults. Your pleas would’ve fallen onto deaf ears, but there’s still a story you need to tell, so he let go of your cheek and lean back.

“I will have to say, if this story is as popular as you boasted, there would surely be a book somewhere about it.” You open your mouth, then just as quickly, you close it and stare up at Alastor who plucked your device off your hand and all but threw it onto the side table. You looked like you’re considering the consequences of trying to fight him head-on while he gives you a cheeky grin filled with sharp yellow teeth. “You were saying~?”

(some described the nearby nymphs and deities grieved alongside Orpheus. moved by the love that he lost, they tell him to look for a way to the underworld, to meet the God of Death and all things misery and to beg for his wife’s life. some said he find his own way down with a lyre in hand and play a song by the river of forgetfulness, with water almost as oily and black as the smoke from his happiest day, he would find himself singing all the way to the palace of Hades.)

Glaring at empty air and refusing to meet his eyes, your expression wavered as you seethe through you teeth, determined not to be distracted and tormented by him. He chuckles as you clears your throat. It’s good that you’re getting better at picking battles when it comes to him, Alastor can’t risked you realizing the actual hold you have over him, yet.

He watches as you stumbled through your words at first, chasing thoughts too fast for you to catch as they come. Your stories overlapping with one another, but eventually, you’d find your pace, and the images you’ve been trying to paint with clumsy colors and bristle brushes come to life as he plays with your hair. Your free hand motioned along all while.

Orpheus comes back home from an expedition, Orpheus married Eurydice, in haste and in love. One day later, depending on the story, he would either give his beloved Eurydice a funeral first before he finds the river, or he would leave straight for the underworld.

One way or another, Orpheus would find himself in front of Hades and his wife Persephone with a near endless line of phantoms and one giant three-head dog following him. In front of Hades, he plays a melody with all of his misery and grief. His fingers nimble and skilled despite the long travel, his voice lamenting and steady, he all but begged senses into the Gods and for him to be able to live his life together with Eurydice, for just one life. The Gods, then, moved by Orpheus love, allowed him to take Eurydice back, but under one condition.

“Eurydice will not go in front, not even for a single second. And Orpheus will pass through the gates without looking back, not even one glance. Until they returns to the land of the living, together.”

You said it with such longing in your eyes, the pain vivid in his mind. Nevertheless, you continued.

“Some people said the Gods are nefarious and thought of Orpheus as a foolish mortal, coming to their door and demanding his wife back without the bravery to follow her into the dark, they gave him a shadow and tricked him into looking back and let him rotted in his despair.” You look into his eyes and he can see himself in yours, “I don’t like those one that much, but it doesn’t change the meaning of the story.” You looked away before he can decipher his own expression, he wondered what he looked like to you at times.

“Then what about the others?”

“Arguably, they’re much more heartbreaking.”

Orpheus would walk on, away from the hallway filled with the coldness of the dark and the warm of the fire. On and away into the path leading back to the earth, all on his own at first. Then somewhere along the way, his lone footstep was joined by another. Soft pitter-patter right behind him.

Sometimes, it would falter, stopping for a bit, as if it have something to say. Sometimes, it’s chased his heels, a breeze by the nape of his neck, as if wanting to touch. But she never talks, and he would never touch her.

“There’s also version where he hears her calling for him too, but Orpheus stayed strong.”

You pulled a piece of paper on the coffee table, but unable to do anything else, you tear it into small pieces with the end of your nails as he laughs and nuzzles your still-imprisoned hand.

Loving Orpheus walked through the dark tunnel and sat on the boat as Charon paddled them back to the opening, holding strong. Until they’re at the gate, Orpheus at the front, Eurydice walking behind. He would be right there before the end of his journey, and then,

“-one way or another, he looked back.”

You stop to contemplate, then with a heavy heart, you sigh. “Some said he doubted himself at the last minute, some said he never trusted it in the first place. I don’t mind any of them, but there’s also one where Eurydice stumbled and he couldn’t help himself from turning around and catch her in his arm. That and the one where he forgot she also needs to walk out the gate, not just him.”

He huffs. “What a fool he is. I sure hope you’re not telling me all this just to call me a twit, darling.”

At that, you sprang up, “Hey! You say that because you’re cynical! The point isn’t that Orpheus is an idiot!” Alastor briefly mourned your warmth as you wildly gestured and sputtered. “Orpheus looked back and in every one of them, he saw her for a single split of a second before she disappeared!” you all but bemoaned, as if crying to Zeus himself for justice. “He'd try to go back to the underworld, but no mortal is allowed in even once, let alone trying to come back again!”

Deflating next to him, you flopped down and loses all your fight and bites, ending it with a solemn, “In all the stories, he got torn to pieces by women. That’s how his story end.”

You sink into the cushions and turned to Alastor as he clapped and cheer for you, “That was a fantastic recounting! You truly have a way of commanding attention from the audience! I should really get you on one of my broadcast some day!”

Alastor wasn’t fibbing at all, he really does love your story. Your passionate nature for things you hold dear, to the point where you can’t ever properly capture them in anyway -albeit juvenile at times- was, and always will be his most favorite trait of yours (especially since it’s often about him. Alastor is nothing but a prideful man, one who’s proud to admit he'd preened like a peacock at your attention); but he might as well call it all a bore to your face, with how your brows drawn together and your one visible eye squinted at him. He can tell your energy for the day is running low, alongside the fact you’re somewhat miffed by something he can’t wrapped his head around, so he pulls you close.

“Now, why so quiet, dear? Did Hades took your voice along with that fool's beloved muse? You know yours truly would never dare to make a mockery of you or your stories.”

You dissected his ever-lasting smile, as if looking for any hint of a lie. Which, admittedly, bruised his pride a bit. But his jest did go on for a bit too long in the beginning, so he relented. When you’re satisfied with your conclusion, you turned away. Thinking deeply to yourself for mere seconds before you ask, “What do you think about the story though?”

“Is this one of those quizzes where there’s a wrong answer?” he grinned as you lean a bit closer, silently asking for permission before setting yourself into his side.

“If there’s one then you would’ve failed Al.”

“Ah, what a pity it would be~.” He set his arm around you and close his eyes. “What do I think of it…Why-”

With a snap of his fingers, he cheerfully exclaimed, “It’s quite the tale. Quite the tale if I have to be frank! Such a wonderful and tragic story with such wondrous derivations too!" He waves his arms in the air, "I can see why you would be fascinated with this! The romantic you are. Orpheus love for his dear Eurydice is truly admirable, truly. Though, I’d recommend him to be more careful next time. There were black smokes running from the candles, for crying out loud!”

Seemingly satisfied, although with the slightest hint of disappointment, you nodded along. “I don’t think there’s going to be a next time, but it was really silly. If black smoke starts to come out of my candles at my wedding? The wedding would just turn into baptism for the day. But I also get them though.” You nudges your head under his chin. “I mean, if you die of a snake bite right after our wedding, I’d also go to the underworld for you.”

Never mind the irony in the fact you two are in Hell, or the fact that his rotting heart beats just a bit faster at the idea of your casual tone while admitting you would go so far for him. He slyly chides, “Why, you want me to die by poison in a forest alone? How bewitchingly heartless of you~.”

“Hey! you wouldn’t be there alone…the snake should still hang around for long enough!”

Throwing his head back and shaking it left to right, his cackles fills the room as you hit him square in his shoulder while clamming your mouth shut.

“Ah, yes, yes. I won’t be alone at all, would I?” he sigh, “After all, even in the underworld, you would be right there, looking for me! Charming thing as you are, putting everyone in a trance with your words as you walk through the path leading to that grandiose fire palace!”

You opted to settled back into his shoulder afterwards, sounding more and more drowsy as the time catches up to you. “And then when I walked out of the place, you’ll be right behind me, right?” He grips you just a bit tighter, even when your voice are this quiet, he still wants to keep it to himself.

“I will be right behind you~. And I will do everything I can just for you to turn back and look at me.”

Alastor would be slightly concerned for your silence, if not for the fact that when he cranked his head to peak at you, you looked like the saddest little rodent in the world, head lulling back and forth as you try to keep yourself awake and formulate any slight resemblance of a respond.

“…You know, dear? I wouldn’t mind you resting here for the night. If you don’t mind sleeping on this couch that is.”

“Hm?…Oh. Oh! Thanks! You can drop me here once you’re done with whatever you’re doing then…” He choose to not mention the fact that he’s also going to be on the same couch for the rest of the night, you don’t need to know he’ll be sitting here until morning comes.

“Al…” As he’s reaching for his book, assured that you were dozing off, you suddenly call out to him, voice weak and droning.

“Yes, dear?”

“Which version of Orpheus mistake do you like the most?”

His claws weaves through your hair as he tries to recall the page number, knowing he’ll returned to it in just a bit. “What a delightful question! Personally, I find the idea of the fool forgetting about the rules and turning around because he just couldn’t hold himself back oh-so amusing!” he find it amusing, because not in a million years would he ever made that mistake. “What about you, dear? What do you think?”

“I think I like all of them. Because in all of them, Orpheus failed because he love Eurydice so badly.”

With ears pricked up and hand held in the air, hovering above your head just before he shake the feeling off and resume. “Hm, I didn’t quite catch that-” Laughing, just a tad bit taken aback, he look at you again, “Care to explain your thoughts?”

You yawn and nestled yourself against him, he can hear the sound of his own heart in his throat. He can feel his left ear flickering against the top of his head.

“Orpheus wasn’t ever going to get Eurydice back, either by interference or by normal circumstances. Because he go to the underworld and made a deal due to his love for Eurydice.”

It's a tragedy in the making, a mistake set to happen over and over again. Because Orpheus is a fool, and he loved Eurydice with all of his heart.

“He find his way to the underworld for Eurydice after losing her, only to then lost her again despite the trouble he went through. If he really is a coward, then he would’ve just live on without her from the start.” You shivered, a wandering breeze ran from the inner swamp to your spot. The fire place burns just a bit hotter. “But he made Hades and Persephone listened to his mourning, walked all the way to the gate, and then tries to go back and do it all again.” With eyes knitted shut, you mumbled to yourself, “He must’ve been so relieved and happy to finally have her back after everything …”

“To the point he would forget, and Orpheus looked back.”

"Yeah... you got it..."

Your head back in his lap, like how this silly story time began, except this time Alastor feels beyond unnerved by the churning in his stomach. It’s not exactly unwelcome, but he finds himself utterly exasperated by the fact he can’t properly recall what he was supposed to be doing.

“Alastor?” He thought you would’ve fallen asleep by now, but your eyes are still ever so slightly open, staring at him while your muttering something barely comprehensible, “Do you think you would’ve looked back?”

Just as easily as you said it in your hazy state, he's at a lost for words. Unable to properly be acquainted with the taste of honest word just yet, Alastor bend down just enough to placed a chaste kiss on the tip of your nose and try to find his voice as you hummed.

“Let’s us hope that we won’t ever have to find out, will we?” It’s unbecoming of himself, but he’s placing his all on you not remembering his wavering expression. “How about you then?” he whispered, Alastor don’t pray, but he hope you’ll forget the pain in his voice. “Will you promise me you’ll look back for me, even if it means we will never meet again until you rotted away?”

“I will.”

As your breathing finally evens and falls into a rhythm underneath a red duvet, Alastor find himself smiling a near unfamiliar smile, claws tapping in rhythm as he take a moment to himself.

“How very cruel of you, mon Chéri.”

He started from the beginning, already forgotten most of the plot in a night. He would look back, he thought to himself, eyes scanning a story about an old man beloved new coat. If looking back means he loved you more than the air he breathes, then Alastor will always look back. But unlike the foolish Orpheus, he will be the only mortal that entered the underworld more than once, as many time as it will takes him, as long as it means he can find you again.

(some say that at the end of his life and the beginning of his death. Orpheus would find himself amongst the phantoms, lost and wandering. and as Persephone see his wandering shadow, she plucked him from his misery. when he open his eyes for the first time again since his death, Eurydice is there, as beautiful as the day he lost her.)

#alastor #hazbin hotel alastor #hazbin hotel #alastor x reader #hazbin alastor x reader #hazbin alastor #hazbin hotel x reader #hazbin x reader #x reader #hazbin hotel imagine

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alyona11 · 1 month

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Ok time for my big Hadestown hot take and that’s that West End Hadestown doesn’t give you a 100% Hadestown experience. It’s still ridiculously good and 100% worth seeing, don’t get me wrong (I used my opportunity and saw it twice and will likely see it again if I’m in London), but it kinda made me realise a couple of things about OBC production that will always be my Roman Empire and make me deeply upset Broadway is too greedy to give us an OBC proshot.

So, here are some of my thoughts and reflections based on seeing Hadestown live on West End + seeing different versions (including London National theatre proshot) in boots. I think you can pretty solidly say that in Hadestown there are 2 main stories: Orpheus/Eurydice and Hades/Persephone. And even though arguably Orphedice is the main most important story, it my opinion it also wins from Hadesphone story being strong. Which works perfectly in OBC due to Amber Gray and Patrick Page delivering a very deep nuanced performances as their characters.

I think part of the success of Hadestown when it works on its fullest is how it creates a very deep emotional journey. And I feel that regardless which pair of Orpheus and Eurydice you have (if we take Broadway/tour/West End take on the characters) it’ll still work! Like you need to try really hard to mess up orphedice the way people wouldn’t root for Orpheus or wouldn’t empathise with Eurydice because they are so relatable and cute. You instantly love them, they are so so lovable. So orphedice part is one thing in Hadestown that imo works if not always then in 99% of the cases.

Hades and Persephone’s part of the story in the contrary is VERY hard to nail on 100%, in my opinion, and this is literally driving me crazy. Maybe seeing Amber Gray and Patrick page in professional recording awoken some feelings in me, I don’t know. I will state straight away that I also do enjoy other actors’ takes on characters and I do see some very interesting character moments there and there. However, I keep returning to the thought that Amber/Patrick’s characterisation works SO WELL for the main narrative. I’ll try to explain why I think so. Consider it my love letter to the OBC.

First and foremost, I feel like Hadesphone story has a very fine dynamic that the actors have to nail, so you would feel that: 1) these two still love each other; 2) these two are buried under their problems and see no way out, only a miracle (aka Orpheus and his song) can save their marriage.

And if the first one usually works at least due to Epic 3, the second one, imo, often (at least partially) falls victim to acting/directing choices which can cause troubles with point 1 as well. I think one big thing I’ve noticed is that often Persephone’s alcoholism gets forgotten in the acting performance. Like yeah sure her choreography includes drinking from a flask but in comparison to Amber you never get a feeling that she is absolutely wasted. Which, is in my opinion something that you should feel when you’re watching the show and something I was constantly forgetting about when I was watching the show on West End. I feel in Amber’s performance you can constantly see that her Persephone’s feel good attitude is a façade of a broken person who knows that her marriage is going to hell in front of her eyes yet she is too passive and hopeless to try to make an active change (well, she does try in Chant and nothing happens), so her only way is to chase the sense of normality that the “medicine” gives her. But when she is alone, if you get to catch a moment when people are not looking at her, you can see a deep sadness under her positive front and her memory of the old days when everything was more simple. Nevertheless, the main point that the lyrics literally say is that Persephone is blinded by the river of wine. And this is crucial to her character and her relationship with Hades because the story states that even though Hades is a problem and he is an active actor in creating more problems, he is not the only failure in this relationship. Persephone needs to be woken up from her apathy almost as much as Hades does and this is something that we see during If It’s True.

From Hades’ side I feel like it’s not a good decision to make him a total villain because when he is irredeemable you don’t feel like the whole “song that will fix the world” has any chance of working long term. I think Patrick nailed a deep antagonist very well. His Hades is weird and lowkey creepy and alien. He does objectively bad things but when you look at him you can’t stop thinking that he doesn’t operate in regular human logic or morality. When I look at him in Chant, it feels to me that his words about building stuff to impress Persephone are absolutely sincere, and I can absolutely see that his Hades doesn’t understand why she is so upset about it when his intentions are so so clear. Maybe it’s my vision but even before Epic 3 when he is so far gone and buried in his projects and messed up ideas I don’t have a single doubt that Persephone is a single motivator and goal of Patrick Hades’ life and that he literally doesn’t need any other being to care about. And tragically this fixation is what makes him blind to all other things he does even if those things ruin Persephone’s life (and other people’s but tbh I don’t think he cares).

I feel like by removing Persephone’s Chant 2 verse Hadestown created more problems for Hades and Persephone part of the story making it a much harder job for the actors to prove to the audience that Hades and Persephone have a chance to make their relationship work. Like I get that maybe it was a necessary things to do (even though I think the show is much better with it) but it made it so much harder to empathise with this particular part of the story unless the actors use the choices that work in the narrative. Because for example when I was watching the show on West End part of me was wondering “what is Persephone’s deal in all of that, what does she win by staying with Hades?” With the verse, and with Broadway Previews or London 2018 in particular this part was clear: Persephone still loves Hades and believes that he has the opportunity to change and become a better man he used to be. Without the verse, however, the actors should give you the same idea during the show which is a hard task considering Hades and Persephone have only 2 big conversations together (Chant and How Long). So apart from those songs there are only subtle mostly silent moments they get together through which the actors have to convey the same thought which is hella difficult and probably hardly will be appreciated by anyone apart from the people who sit closely.

So, maybe because in the actor combo I saw (Zachary and Lauren), I got a feeling that even though they were great separately, I didn’t feel much chemistry between them as a pair. I think, Persephone seemed pissed and tired of Hades all the time until How Long and I didn’t feel that she still believes in his willingness to change. And Zach Hades despite being entertaining, kinda gives the impression of Hades who has other options, he is not into Persephone enough. The only sparkle appears between the two in Epic III which is still cute but I’m not sure if it works just as well if that’s the first time you see the show? Also considering Zach Hades gives more malicious intent in His Kiss, The Riot it seems that he is not even slightly interested in Orpheus having any opportunity to succeed with his quest. Which is not bad, don’t get me wrong! But in comparison to Patrick who is deeply self projecting into Orpheus to the point where you could see that even though he doesn’t want to let him go, part of him does because it would prove he too could succeed in his challenge of waiting for Persephone, this take seems a bit lacking. And overall because of His Kiss, their promise in Wait For Me doesn’t seem as giving much hope that the story won’t repeat itself next Sunday. Which in its turn makes Orpheus’ sacrifice feel a bit… worthless. If on Broadway, when Orpheus turns, but spring comes again you feel like it is the start of something new: hopefully a kinder and softer time. On West End the show also wants you to feel it but when you think about Hades and Persephone you feel…less certainty that this sacrifice will have a long term effect?

I guess the creators wanted to concentrate on Orpheus and Eurydice more and forget about Hades and Persephone by making them more secondary story or maybe there was a lack of director’s involvement to give the cast some hints on how to make this particular part of the story work better, but it feels to me that in its current state the show works in its 85% power which is still great but once you know there is something missing you can’t stop thinking about it and wishing the show would give you those 15% you crave.

#me being me #hadestown #thanks for coming to my ted talk #I still immensely enjoyed the production and would come see it again #but when you know the show at its fullest you seem to miss some parts that worked better #also I was able to appreciate the same cast from different angles the second time I could see them from the first row so I could #get a clear view of their acting #and don’t get me wrong Zach and Lauren are really interesting to watch and I liked them #but also I started thinking if it was my first time to watch the show would I understand the appeal of Hades/Persephone line?#and I can’t stop thinking about it #hades #Persephone #hadestown broadway #hadestown west end #it’s also not about WE only but just about some characterisations I saw from different actors in different productions #I just felt like it would be fair to compare to the production and cast I saw life because obviously bootlegs even the greatest are not #the same #thanks for reading this long post

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that-nerd-who-writes-fanfiction · 3 months

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Can I ask your top 10 fav fics ever (from any fandom, if you don't mind)?

Also, just curious, is there a story behind your name "that-nerd-who-writes-fanfiction "?

Top 10 fics, in no particular order, (these are all complete, in English and most have just a touch of angst. Also there’s no smut, it’s just not something I enjoy reading)

things lost in the fire by earlgreylover98

ALTA fic In which Zuko isn't sure Ozai knows which side of his face he burnt off and it sends him spiraling, the gaang finds out about his scar. It's a super great one shot, 5,067 words

Drinking Buddies and Diaries by dove_dove

Good Omens fic where Muriel reads Aziraphel’s diaries and Crowley finds out some stuff about his angel. 31,115 words

The death song of arthur pendragon by hanyuism

Merlin fic, Orpheus and Eurydice but make it Merthur, the angst is amazing, 6,827 words

Two Feasts and a Bard by emerillon

Merlin fic, pure Mercelot fluff, completely destroyed me, I’ve reread this an unhealthy amount of times. 2,785 words

Possessed by Emrys by ooh_look_the_void

Merlin and Gaius tell Arthur that Emrys is a magical entity who possesses people to interact with the mortal realm so Merlin can use magic. It gets a bit out of control when Merlin isn’t the only one getting possessed by Emrys. 10/10 fic had me wheezing. 14,759 words. (You do need an account to read it but well worth it)

Kilgharrah Moves to Camelot by ticketyboo00

In which Kilgharrah learns to actually be a decent person, gets therapy and is surprisingly a good brother figure to Merlin. 55,918 words

i know why the birds sing your name by ironfamjam

Arthur is banished from Camelot, Merlin follows him, together they unite Albion and find a family along the way. It’s really cute, Merthur and background Gwencelot. I can’t remember if there were a few mild smut scenes but they were skipable I think. 113,376 words.

Merlin in disguise by Theroundbartable

5 Times Merlin disguised himself. And 1 time he stops hiding, Gwaine being Gwaine, Arthur being smitten, Merthur. 21,576 words.

For Want of a Nail by 0hHeyThereBigBadWolf

Fleeing from Essetir in the bloody beginnings of the Purge, Hunith finds herself on the doorstep of Leon’s family (Hunnith’s old friends) so Leon and Merlin are raised as brothers. Also needs an account to read, but one of my all time favourite fics 234,831 words

the cute guy next door (might be a villain) by Alesyira

Mha fic Shinsou is an underground, undercover pro hero trying to find a lead on a case that may or may not involve the socially awkward guy living next door, (Midoriya) Misunderstandings ensue

And shit that’s 10. I have so many more so let me know if you want any others. I’ve got a few Yuri on Ice fics, a lot more mha and toh, one or two Sasaki to Miyano, Seraph of the end and Sherlock fics. I’m still getting into Song of Achilles fics, but there’s a few of them and a few crossovers too.

And for my name, there’s a kinda long story behind it, but the short version is my grandad used to call me Nerdy or clever or anything like that, he always said being smart and working hard to be smart was the best thing a person could do and I really looked up to him as everything I wanted to be when I grew up. Then when I came online in lockdown during Covid, it was just a whim that stuck to go by Nerd, or ThatNerd on Ao3 but the user was taken so I added bits till I found something available. After he died, it became more sentimental but generally it was just a lockdown thing that stuck.

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finleyforevermore · 18 days

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I actually don't know what you'd title this but this post probably would serve as an explanation! Uhhh, enjoy!

First off, we've got quite a few names here, so let's go through name key!:

Endermes (@ender-outlaw as Hermes)

Silmes (@soursileu as Hermes)

Vellmes (@allergic-to-four-leaf-clovers as Hermes)

Amores (@amorvincitomnia-14 as Hermes) (hey knock knock guess what you're Hermes now :D)

Atpheus (@literatureisdying as Orpheus)

Finchpheus (@flowers-floating-in-space as Orpheus)

Euryauden (@tellme-o-muse as Eurydice)

Eurysyd (@sydneyofalltrades as Eurydice)

Perzeephone (@ziipzeepzop-eez as Persephone)

Finades (me as Hades!)

Ok, it's "The Actual Point Of The Post" time!:

Endermes is having a BALL during Road to Hell.

Vellmes' RTH in one word: Spins. So many spins.

Segue brought to you by Daisy's (@meowydoe) Fate being The Fate That Waves At Eurydice During Any Way The Wind Blows & Hey, Little Songbird™

Amores, during the section about Orpheus in Any Way The Wind Blows: "I love this child so fucking much you don't understand-"

During Come Home With Me: Hermes: "You wanna talk to her-" Atpheus, no hesitation: "YES."

Eurysyd is fucking FLABBERGASTED during Come Home With Me.

Sequoia, I wholeheartedly believe that you would straight up start glowing at some points. The "The Song™" section of Wedding Song is one of those times. /pos

Endermes draws out the "old song" in Epic I. ("It's an ooooooold song")

Perzeephone is booping ALL THE NOSES in Living It Up On Top.

Silmes loudly exclaims "Oh SHIT-" after tasting the wine after Orpheus' toast in Living It Up.

Euryauden + Atpheus: Gayest All I've Ever Known Of All Time

Comedically grumpy all throughout Way Down Hadestown.

Atpheus fucking LEAPS in front of Euryauden when Finades notices Euryauden in WDH.

Segue brought to you by The Fates (Josie (@/meowydoe), Satanic (@satanic-witchcraft), and Annabeth (@two-minute-notice)) having a great time during When the Chips Are Down.

Eurysyd has the saddest "Gone, I'm Gone" ever /pos

Silmes is PISSED at Orpheus during Wait For Me Intro.

Atpheus does the vibrato on "WAAAIT" that Reeve Carney did on his last performance in Wait For Me. I just get that feeling. /pos

Wait For Me, aka Finch Starts Fucking Glowing Moment #2. /pos

Slooowwly turns head to look at Finades when she sees Eurydice in Hadestown during Why We Build The Wall, like, "oh no you did NOT"

"....anybodywantadrink?"

During "Our Lady of the Underground": *Lowest, most gravelly voice imaginable* I don't know about you, BOOOYSSS!

Lots and lots and LOTS of twirls during OLOTU.

During Way Down Hadestown (Reprise): "I did what I had to do." "Yeah sure whatever."

Vellmes, with a "it's not all bad"-like voice: "What she was instead was dead....dead to the world anyway!" You're only dead to the world, it's not alllll bad!

Yet another segue to appreciate how fucking amazing Eurysyd's "Flowers" cover is. Please give it a listen.

During Come Home With Me Reprise: Euryauden: "I called your name before-" Atpheus: "I know!" "You heard-" "NO-"

During Papers: Orpheus: "I'm not going back alone. I came to take her home-" Finades: W H E E Z E

Segue brought to you by the most melancholic "Nothing Changes" ever. /pos

During If It's True, Atpheus is fucking PISSED. Screams out "is this how the world is??" like Dónal Finn (west end Orpheus actor)

Finchpheus is less pissed and more heartbroken. We can throw in a voice crack on "is this how the world is?" for good measure.

Scream out "I believe that THEY ARE FEW!" during If It's True like all the tour Orpheus actors.

During How Long: Perzeephone: "What are you afraid of?" Finades, genuinely confused: "...what?"

Perzeephone: "He loves that girl, Hades!" Finades, who genuinely couldn't care less: ..well that's too bad!

"What's that noise...?" during Chant Reprise is played for laughs like in the Broadway previews boot.

We can reinsert Persephone's verse in Chant Reprise. You know, for funsies!

We're doing NYTW Epic III too. Screw the Broadway version.

Epic III, aka Finch Starts Fucking Glowing Moment #3. /pos

Finades + Perzeephone: Dorkiest Lovers Desire/They Danced Of All Time.

Amores keeps giving Finades the "don't you fucking do it" glare during His Kiss, The Riot.

Silmes, during Wait For Me Reprise: "Don't you dare fuck this up, Orpheus--"

Everyone is crying when The Thing™ happens and after The Thing™ happens. Iykyk.

Vellmes knew it was coming but is still in disbelief.

Endermes is more confused than anything, even if she knew it was coming.

Silmes is trying not to appear effected, but still definitely cares and is effected, even if it knew it was coming.

Amormes is going THROUGH IT. Like, "visibly close to tears" going through it.

Perzeephone has the most poignant "We Raise Our Cups" because ofc she does. /pos

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cinnamon-girl-writes · 10 days

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who am i against him? (the darkest hour of the darkest night) . . . satosugu fic

what if gojo couldn't move on from getou leaving, and it drove him crazy? or: a collection of feral gojo pining for his long lost lover.

3.6k words, angst, gojo x geto, set during gojo's past arc, canon compliant request: [...] a little angst with gojo and geto inspired by the myth of orpheus and eurydice, hadestown is my favorite musical (well you can tell from the url hehe) and i was listening to 'doubt comes in', the kfc scene came to me in your head for a moment thinking about satoru trying to rescue suguru from the underworld, following him in the darkness and trying to show that he was present, suguru entering a spiral of dark thoughts and doubt, realizing that he will be alone in the underworld because he let his own thoughts defeat him. [...]

by @cinnamon-girl-writes

SEPTEMBER, 2007

It wasn't him.

The raven-haired, kindred spirit of his past was gone. The old Suguru was dead, gone and buried somewhere beneath the man that stood before him-- no, the man that was walking away from him now.

And in that moment, Satoru knew what he had to do. He couldn't continue on the way he was now; he was an emotional wreck who could hardly breathe without a sharp pain in his heart. He would get better, for his own good and the good of the jujutsu world.

And he knew the only way to do that would be to save Suguru's soul.

SOMETIME, 2 WEEKS LATER

It had seemed like hours that Satoru had sat at the small desk in his room at Jujutsu High, pouring over books and phone receipts and journals left behind. There had to be something somewhere that revealed where Suguru had gone and what he'd planned to do. Everyone had seen it on the news, reports of horrific massacres caused by an unknown person, but they knew who it was. It almost hurt more to see it on the television when the normal people were so confused, so unaware of what was really happening.

A cleansing. A genocide.

Satoru slammed the book in front of him closed in frustration. He felt like he would never figure this out. Mabye he'd never see him again. Have to live with the pain of always having him as an enemy instead of a friend, have to teach the next generations about the notoriously wicked curse user Suguru Getou. No. Not Suguru.

By some miracle, it had come to him one day when he was walking the streets of Shibuya. He was pondering where else he could possibly look when he felt something brush against his hand in his pocket-- no, Suguru's pocket. Suguru's jacket that he had left behind.

After all, there were some things that Satoru couldn't just leave behind.

When he recognized the foreign object, he ripped it out, smoothing it's surface in his palms. With a pang in his chest, he recognized the handwriting, the glossy black pen that belonged to him (it hurt too much to think his name).

His normally neat, structured penmanship was disshelved, spanning across the entire page in what seemed like an insane man's attempt at stability. Perhaps a sign of his mental decline.

The note read an address, a date (September 29, which had passed), and one word: temple.

AGAIN, LATER

It would be hard to tell who's the insane man now, Gojo thinks as he frantically shoves clothes, books, and everything else he can see into a someple black bag. His room is in shambles, things scattered across his bed and the floor. It hasn't been an easy past couple of weeks, but this was no time for cleaning. He decides against wearing Suguru's coat, however-- the thing holds too many memories, too many good times to potentially be lost or damaged.

Maybe, if he didn't make it back alive, Shoko could keep it, he considers.

"Gojo? What's wrong?"

Shoko. Satoru feels anxious then, as if he's summoned her with his thoughts.

He shrugs the bag onto his shoulders, crossing the room to stand squarely in front of the girl. She's blocking his path, leaning against the doorframe with her arms folded on her chest.

"You know what, Shoko."

Her eyebrows crease. She's concerned. "You're not going to look for him, right?" she questions. When she doesn't get an answer, only Satoru looking away from her face, she asks again, "Right?"

His eyes harden then. There's no easy way to do this, he reminds himself. But it has to be done. To fix everything.

"It's the only way. I have to find him, to talk some sense into him, to curse him, anything!" He doesn't intend to, but his voice increases to a shout. He doesn't want to yell at Shoko, but he doesn't feel he has a choice.

She scoffs, "You're not going to help anyone with your little stunt! You're only going to end up getting yourself hurt or killed."

"And what if that's what I want?" he counters. "I have to do something or I'll die here under the weight of doing nothing. And I'd rather be killed than live like this."

Shoko stands shocked, appalled. If this was his decision, then so be it. She understood how he felt more than anyone-- Suguru was her best friend, too-- but Satoru had turned reckless, abandoning all caution or thought.

Without another word, he pushes past her, shoulders brushing as he exits. He thinks to himself as he walks: Will this be the last time I ever walk these halls?

there were so many memories held here: the boys carrying a drunk Shoko back to her room one Halloween, stargazing at midnight, dying Nanami's hair purple in his sleep. Satoru wanted to laugh, but he found he couldn't.

"You're going to find him, aren't you?" He recognizes the voice: Nanami. He wishes people would stop interupting him. Was it not enough to die in peace?

He turns, seeing the underclassman behind him in the hall. He's got his hands shoved in his pockets, his blond hair covering half of his face.

Satoru considers the man in front of him for a moment. Since Haibara's death, it seems like he hasn't been the same. He realizes, for a moment, that if anyone has a chance at a normal life one day, it's Nanami. He can get out of this hell hole of Jujutsu society and have a normal job, a normal life, maybe even a family and kids.

"Yeah. I have to."

Nanami nods solemnly. "I understand completely. If I could go back and change things I regret, I would too."

This strikes Satoru as odd. Does he not regret Suguru leaving? Does he agree with his frustrations? He realizes then that he must be talking about Haibara, one of his only true friends.

There's a moment of silence, of two people regarding eachother and acknowledging what's about to happen. Nanami takes a step forward, extending his hand.

Satoru laughs a little in his head. Nanami was always one for formality.

"I hope it goes well. You have my best wishes, Gojo."

The two shake hands, mutual understanding passing between them. Though they had never been close, more like mortal frienemies, what they had been through had changed them. They realized they weren't just high school students anymore and never would be again; the world would never have the same blue tint as it did those sweet years.

And with that, Satoru thinks he can leave in peace. He's made all the ammends he needs to; Shoko knows his plan, and though she disagrees with it, she must understand. And he recieved Nanami's blessing, something he never thought he'd have. Grief does strange things to the world.

THE NEXT DAY

First, leave the city. He took the night train from Harajuku to the farthest outskirts of Tokyo he could make it to. From then on, he continued by foot. He knew the address through and through, having read the scrap of paper over and over enough times to have it memorized.

The autumn wind played about his hair and kissed his cheeks as he walked, leaving him with a flushed face. What would happen when he saw Suguru for the first time? After all that's happened?

He couldn't even let himself ponder that right now. For now, he had a job to do and he couldn't afford to get distracted.

Eventually, he comes onto the street name, feeling a chill go down his spine when he notices a large building on the top of a hill. There are images painted on the outside of the building, but he can't quite make out what they are from here.

He hikes upwards, not failing to notice the steep incline. The path is littered with small, white flowers, their leaves browned by the cold and petals shriveled nearly beyond recognition. Would there ever be beauty again?

Stumbling, he halts a few feet in front of the doorway. He was really about to do this; to go see Getou again. To fix him? No, to save him. From what? From himself? Maybe his mind was playing tricks on him or there was something in the air, but he couldn't quite remember why he came all the way here. Right. Suguru's here.

He presses against the door, willing it to open. He didn't travel all this way just to turn around now. To his surprise, the door slides open, revealing a dimly lit room about the size of the classrooms at Jujutsu Tech. Cold air brushed against his face, and he took in the scene before him: small, golden candles lined the walls, woven mats layed on the floor in an intricate array, and a woman carrying a clip board stood at the front before what seemed to be a stage. A place of worship?

She was of average height, her coral pink hair spilling down her shoulders. She would have been beautiful if it hadn't had been for the scowl on her face that seemed to be permanent. She seemed a little familiar to Satoru, but he couldn't quite pinpoint where she was from. Perhaps they shared a passing glance in a hall where she once practiced jujutsu. Likely, he would never know.

She started walking forward fiercely, "Excuse me, you can't be here-" Almost on command, she stoped in her path, her face dropping and her eyes widening in recogniztion. It was almost as if she had seen this face before, or she knew what his presence meant.

She nodded solemnly, taking a step back in submission. She extended her hand to a doorway that Satoru hadn't noticed was there, "This way."

He followed to where her hand pointed, though she herself chose to stay behind. He spared a final glance back at the lit room, then continued down his path.

The hallway he found was slightly more lit than the room, and he recalled that it must be dusk at this point. He did the math in his head: 30 minutes bus ride, then two hours walking- or was it three?

He followed the hallway, noticing several shut doors along the way. Which one was he supposed to enter? And what lied behind closed doors? Suddenly, he realized how many secrets and how much information this building held. Having gotten this far, he should be searching the rooms for anything that could benefit the council of jujutsu in stopping another mass murder. Or heading back to the school to share the location of Getou's base. How many lives could he save in doing so? How many more atrocities could be prevented?

He continued walking. With a jolt of realization, he knew where he was supposed to go.

On the left side of the hall, the second furthest door down, a simple black curtain covered a doorway slightly larger than the others; it must be significant, he thought.

Sooner than he'd like, he came to the concealed room. He didn't want to enter. In this moment, he wanted to turn around, head back to jujutsu high, pretend like he'd been there all evening. Swear Shoko and Nanami to secrecy about what he'd done.

Before he can consider his options, however, a rustling sound comes from inside. He hears the sound of someone's footsteps coming closer, closer. Heavy and slow: familiar. Panic rises in his chest. He could die here. It felt strange, but he realized that he was okay with that fate.

"Satoru. Nice to see you."

The familiar stature of Suguru Getou stood in front of him, but Satoru could hardly recognize him. He was dressed in blue robes, so dark they were almost black, and his hair which was usually tied back cascaded down his shoulders.

He froze. Was this a dream? No, this is what he had imagined for weeks. This exact moment, idealistic and impossible as it seemed. He could save him, right here and right now.

With a motion, Suguru steps back, inviting Satoru into the room. It's small, with almost nothing in it but two mats on the floor and scraps of paper lining the walls with words that Satoru payed no mind to reading. He stepped inside the room, taking in the warmer air.

"Suguru." He takes in the man's presence. He seems so different to him, though it's only been mere weeks since he left. "I thought I'd never see you again."

Suguru nods solemnly and Satoru swears he sees a hint of a smile on his face. How could he be so calm in this moment?

"I appreciate your dedication in coming all this way, Satoru. You would've made a fine member of my new family. But I'll spare you the time. I'm not coming back."

Satoru was taken aback. A fine member? Was what they had not enough? Would it ever be enough? "New family?," he repeated. He felt himself stepping away from the man in front of him. "We had a family, Suguru! You and I and Shoko. We had everything! We were happy."

Surprisingly, Satoru sees something strange and unfamiliar and decidedly unattractive on the man's face: anger. "No, we weren't. Maybe you were, but I could never really be happy. Not in this filthy world."

Satoru feels speechless. How could he never had known? Getou was never the most upbeat, but he always boiled it down to his personality. And sure, he had his moments, but being a sorcerer was hard, and sometimes things had to end. Could he not understand that?

Getou steps forward and leans in, impossibly closer. He's almost speaking directly into Satoru's ear. He breathes in his scent, all too familiar and lined with too many memories. Suguru at the beach. Suguru tying up his hair. Suguru lying against his chest. He pushes the air out of his lungs, willing the memories to disappear. He wants them gone, to never think of them again, to never breathe again.

"What we could've done together, Satoru. We could have changed the world. You and I, we could have been gods."

Satoru can't comprehend what he's feeling right now. He grabs Suguru by the shoulders, fruitlessly shaking him, trying to knock any sort of sense into him. "What do you mean, changed the world? We had the world, Suguru. You and I, it was enough. And now you've gone so crazy, I can't even recognize you anymore! For god's sake, you killed your own parents? Where's your humanity?"

He continues. "And what of the next generation? What will they learn in their textbooks? They'll read about the evil curse user Suguru Getou who killed thousands. They study and train to kill you!" He was nearly shouting at this point. "I don't want that for you, Suguru. I want you to be there with me. I don't want to have to hate you! You do understand what this means, right? We'll be painted as mortal enemies. They'll pit us against eachother, and eventually, one will have to kill the other, and you know who it'll be. I don't want to, but I'll have to! You know how the higher-ups are, they're already out for your blood! Imagine what would happen when they waged war on you!"

"I don't want to hate you. I won't hate you. But I'll have to kill you," he falters. "Is this really what you want? I thought you respected jujutsu more than anything!"

A beat. Then, as if being roused from a dream, Suguru feels calmer, regaining his own composure. He places his own hand on top of Satoru's, as if replicating a loving touch; how ironic in a time like this. His skin is cold and pale and unfamiliar.

"Unfortunately, I don't think you understand my vision. You and I have led very different lives, and though our paths my have intersected for a brief time, you are no longer a part of mine. If you're unable to see the reality of the situation, then I'll have to ask you to leave."

He can't breathe. He tries to inhale, in, out, anything, but the air won't come. It's as if it's been sucked from the room. Slowly and mechanically, he steps back, releasing the man from his grip. He nods, turning on his heel to face the door. He felt like he was a robot, controlling his body with methodical instructions. Now you have to leave, Satoru.

As he's pulling back the cloth that covers the doorway, Suguru's voice sounds behind him, deep and rich and resonant. "Perhaps we'll see eachother again, someday."

He doesn't have the strength to respond. He steps outside, finding himself back in the hallway in which he arrived. Now you walk outside, Satoru.

He makes his way down the familiar hall, recalling the hope he had the first time he was here only a few minutes ago. He'd thought that he'd saved his best friend, that he could finally come home. How foolish he had been.

He ends up in the large room again, stopping in the center of the floor to regard it. It's truly a beautiful building. He wonders if Suguru had it built himself or if it had been here for centuries.

He realizes that he'll probably be here again soon, on a mission from the jujutsu higher-ups. To spy or investigate or worse.

"He told me about you, you know." Satoru turns, searching for the source of the voice. It's from the coral-haired woman that he had seen earlier. She's changed now, wearing a long midnight blue nightgown and white slippers.

"He told me that if an arrogant white-haired man claiming to be the strongest sorcerer came, to send you to him." She smirked a little. "Almost as if he was expecting you'd come and try to stop this. Always the hero, aren't you?"

Of course, Suguru had put so little meaning behind his once best friend. His past life didn't matter now, right? He had even sank so low as to taunt him.

"I'm flattered," Satoru replies without humor. He notices that she's no longer carrying the clipboard from before. Instead, she holds a small wooden box with intricate engravings on the sides.

"You're different than I would've thought. I admire that," she explains. Satoru starts to fell a little annoyed. Is this all she has to say? To mock him for his failures?

She steps forward, extedending her hand and placing the box in his own. "Farewell, Satoru Gojo. I wish you the best of luck."

Luck? Luck in what, exactly? But it's too late to ask, as she's already turned around and headed back down the hallway. What a strange woman.

He puts the box in his bag, zipping it shut, and making his way toward the door. He lets his feet lead him, not quite questioning where they're taking him. He goes down the slope of the hill, past the road name in which he had memorized. Then he's at the train station, riding in the crowded car. Eventually, he's back in the dorm building at jujutsu tech.

When he enters and notices the common room is empty, he says a silent prayer of thanks that no one is out and about. Then he realizes there's only two students left besides himself.

His door pushes open, revealing his room, dark and lonely. He unpacks his bag, his clothes, the torn pieces of paper, and finally the wooden box.

It really was quite small, fitting on top of his hand. He traced the etchings on the side with his fingers, recalling where he'd seen the box before. It had lived in Suguru's room on his bedside table. he'd never questioned what was in the box, always assuming it was some sort of personal item from home or a family heirloom of sorts.

He felt like a trespasser. The old Suguru was dead, and this felt like he was invading in the part of his life he had never known about. But isn't this what he wanted, or what should be done? The woman wouldn't have gave him the box if it wasn't for a reason. Maybe it was fate.

He twists the small metal lock on the box; it was a simple thing, really, and most likely hand crafted.

Satoru fought the urge to gasp, though he was alone in his own room. The box contained tens of dozens of photographs. the first one he picked up was of Shoko sitting on the balcony of one of the buildings, flashing a grin and a peace sign at the camera, cigarette between her teeth. The next was himself and Suguru. He assumed the picture was taken by Shoko because they were both of them were engaged in the moment, laying on the training field in the evening and looking up at the stars. He hadn't even known that the picture had been taken.

He turned the small photo over. On the back, in the same familiar handwriting, read: August 17, Me and Satoru on the field. Only mere weeks before everything fell apart.

He realized that every photo had a date and a description on the back: February 8, Riding bikes; June 30, Night in Harajuku. March 14, April 13, July 9. The list went on and on, moments and memories that could never be relived or taken back.

Satoru gazed out the window then, taking in the view. It was a beautfiul sunset, one of the most breathtaking he'd ever seen. Oranges and pinks and purples melted together in a kaleidoscope of colors. How could the end of the day be so beautiful? His heart ached with longing for some sort of closure. Would he ever feel that way again?

Of course, all beautiful things must end.

#satosugu fic #satosugu #stsg #sgst #sugusato #goge #satoru x suguru #gego #gojo x geto #geto x gojo #jjk fic #jjk #jujutsu kaisen

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luminousstardust · 11 months

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Constellations for each member of Bells Hells!

As I started making my level 10 Imogen dress, I wanted to have the constellations I painted on there to have meaning. While looking up some constellations and the mythos behind them, I realized that a lot of them actually related to a lot of the members of Bells Hells, and wanted to have them all represented on her dress!! Along with a couple key NPCs.

So, here’s the list:

Imogen - Andromeda

This was the first constellation I added to the dress!! According to my friend who is very into astronomy, Andromeda’s mother bragged about her beauty, angering the greek gods and causing Andromeda herself to nearly be sacrificed for her mother’s mistakes. I feel like this ties into Imogen’s life very neatly, as Liliana’s involvement with Ruidus and the Ruby Vangaurd have definitely had a more negative impact on her life so far. And, speaking of Liliana…

Liliana Temult - Cassiopeia

Liliana is the only true NPC to be featured on Imogen’s dress, because the comparison of Andromeda and Cassiopeia to Imogen and Liliana was too good to pass up on! I also have Liliana’s constellation on one side of the dress and Imogen’s on the other for optimum heartbreak…💔

Laudna - Ophiuchus

Speaking of placement… Ophiuchus as Laudna is right next to the Andromeda constellation on the dress 💜🖤. Ophiuchus is a greek healer often associated with bringing people back from the dead, which Laudna has done twice now. He’s also associated with snakes, which is a fun little nod to Laudna’s snake ring.

Fearne - Capricornus

Fearne being placed next to Imogen and Laudna is also intentional - I could not separate the witchy bitches!!! Capricornus represents, just like Fearne, a horned half-goat. I chose this one not only because it matches Fearne’s physical satyr presentation, but because her Fae nature is so key to her character and her relationship with the world around her.

Orym - Scutum

And right next to Fearne is her bestie, Orym!! While Scutum doesn’t have much mythos attached to it like the other constellations, it’s name means shield in Latin, which is just SO Orym. Not only is his own sheild very important to him, but Orym often utilizes his battle maneuvers in fights to protect other members of the party, so he is kind of like a sheild himself.

Dorian - Lyra

OF COURSE I had to include Dorian!! And put him right next to his sending stone buddy. Lyra was an obvious choice for Bells Hells’ bard, since the constellation represents Orpheus’ lyre. But I also chose this with the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice in mind, because Dorian’s separation and inability to “see” the rest of Bells Hells at the moment hurts me sooooo much. Hoping for a reunion eventually!!!!

Chetney - Caelum

Seeing the Caelum constellation, which translates to “the chisel,” is actually what inspired me to pair constellations to characters in the first place. A chisel constellation was MADE for Chetney!! Not only do I love love love the idea of a carver using their tools as weapons, but I absolutely ADORE that Chetney uses those same tools to make little personalized wooden crafts for his friends. He cares more than his grumpy old persona lets on!!!!

Ashton - Hercules

This one feels as though it may be a bit on the nose, but as the tank of the party I chose Hercules for Ashton. I feel like Hercules as a very strong mythical character represents all of Ashton’s strength - the physical, the internal, and the mental. Not only are they an incredible fighter, but having to deal with their chronic pain and emotional anguish requires a great deal of strength. Not to mention what team Issylra have been going through recently, and how he’s done his best to be, for lack of a better term, a rock for his friends.

F.C.G. - Libra

The Libra constellation represents a scale, a form of balance, which is why I chose it for F.C.G. With his healing abilities and love of emotional counseling, F.C.G. brings a unique balance to a party of heavy hitters who don’t necessarily love talking about their emotions. Also, their newfound religion promises to bring a new perspective to the party amidst their moral conundrum with the gods, which I’m excited to watch play out.

Bertrand Bell - Corvus

Last but certainly not least, the man who inspired the name of the Bells Hells himself! Corvus, the constellation representing crows and ravens, was an obvious choice for Bretrand. Not only was taken by the Raven Queen himself, but his girlfriend, Lieve'tel, was a cleric of the Raven Queen, so he feels intrinsically tied to the Matron. And as morbid as it was, Bertrand's death really set the Bells Hells off on the chain of events that has spiraled into the story we know today.

…And that’s it! I may add more constellations in the future (I have a few in mind for some of the guests, but I don’t want it to get too cluttered), but we’ll see! I’ll definitely post more when I finish Imogen’s whole level 10 outfit as well. Thanks for reading!

#reblogs appreciated since i spent a lot of time on this post / dress :))#imogen temult #imogen temult cosplay #critical role #critical role cosplay #critical role fanart #kinda!#bells hells #bells hells cosplay #painting #cosplay #sewing #tays cosplays

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viola-halogen · 4 days

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Ok I already wrote this out in my notes but I thought I’d post a compilation of some of my thoughts/things I noticed about Hadestown when I saw it in London.

Firstly I mentioned in this post a thought I had during Doubt Comes In about Orpheus being injured after Papers and that making it harder to walk out of Hadestown

Secondly GENDER NEUTRAL HERMES IS ELITE. I loved that they were actually referred to with they/them pronouns a couple of times. Also Orpheus saying “excuse me Hermes” instead of “Mister Hermes” like. This boy is so polite.

Dónal Finn was absolutely devastating during Is It True. Like the way he just SOBBED “is this how the world is?” gave me intense chills

Multiple times during When The Chips are down Eurydice seems to be pleading with Hermes to tell her what to do, but Hermes just doesn’t respond. It really showcased how they can only tell the story, they can’t influence it

Also during Why We Build The Wall Hermes is the only character who isn’t singing—they’re just standing there the whole time stony-faced and silent despite at points Hades singing directly at them like he’s trying to get a rise out of them. Like it portrays so well how Hermes is outside of the story and also how they’re mourning it and have been since they started telling it.

Just in general Melanie la Barrie did such a good job portraying the tragedy of Hermes and being the powerless narrator

Zachary James was made for the role of Hades. His voice was incredible and his physical acting was so enjoyable to watch.

Also His Kiss, The Riot was incredible. Probably on par with Stewart Clarke’s Javert’s Suicide

After Why We Build The Wall Hades walked over to Persephone and touched her arm and she flinched and shoved him off and it was a really powerful moment because for the whole song Persephone is like a wall herself and in that moment you see the cracks in her composure

During Epic III after Hades hears The Melody he rushes over to try and subdue the workers and is physically taken aback when he realised he doesn’t have power over them anymore

Also at the end of Epic III when Hades finally sang The Melody Persephone burst into tears and Oh My God

Hades and Persephone’s dance was so dorky and sweet in They Danced and honestly Zachary James’s Hades was just so dorky in his more human moments. Peak endearingly awkward old people.

During Orpheus’s parts of Doubt Comes In the stage is completely dark with only him lit so that we can’t see Eurydice either and even we’re not actually sure if she’s there

I love all the ways in which they make the audience complicit in the story. Like obviously there’s the “we’re gonna sing it again” motif and like, by nature of us being there we’re part of the reason the story’s getting told again

But also in Epic III the audience laughs when Hades says “oh, it’s about me” and that’s what makes Orpheus lose his nerve and have to be encouraged by Hermes

Also when Hermes tells Orpheus and Eurydice “you’re gonna have to prove it before gods and men” they gesture to Hades, Persephone and the Fates as the Gods and then to the audience as the men. Like it just cements how we have a role to play as Orpheus’s audience, the thing that gives him his power

Which also makes me think (even though it probably wouldn’t work) how cool it would be if in Our Lady of the Underground the audience was expected to join in on the chorus lines (when Persephone sings “brother what’s my name?”)

#hadestown #hadestown uk #hadestown west end

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cobaltsoulsearcher · 6 months

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you seem to like Hadestown? What's it about? I looked it up on you tube, and saw something two hours long. I'm not very good at paying attention to long videos tho-

Okay so

The musical itself is like 2.5 hours but you definately don’t have to watch it through to enjoy!

Hadestown is a musical (very jazzy style music) that combines two ancient myths, the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice (the dude whose wife died and walked to the underworld for her, was told she could come with him only if he walked in front and didn’t look back, but then he looked back and lost her forever) and the tale of Persephone and Hades (the god of the underworld kidnaps an earth goddess, but nothing will grow without her, so they decide she gets half the year in earth and half with him once they are married).

Hadestown takes a very anti-capitalist stance to the myth, with climate change being caused by the industrialization Hades does while Persephone is away, and is really special to me and a lot of others because Orpheus, who is autistic, is seen as touched by the gods themselves. The underworld is also a kingdom ran by two black people so that’s cool. The cast also has lots of amazing shenanigans (if you want a taste search my blog for irreplaceable ecstasy 😂). The musical has TWs for drugs, alcohol, someone getting beaten up on stage, and some very creepy old guy vibes.

If you’re curious you can find the soundtrack on Spotify! Or ask me more 😊I don’t just like Hadestown I am consumed by it lol

#hadestown #eurydice #orpheus #Hadestown explained #Greek mythology #anti capitalism #thanks for the ask!

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idiasmentalhealth · 5 months

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yo so this is really weird but im tryna think of names inspired by cozier songs and I see that you have a case of the hyper fixation so if it suits your fancy could you perhaps like think of some (no pressure at all btw)

i'm not entirely sure if i'll be much help but i will try my best :)

and p.s. a lot of his song reference stories i don't know much about and i'm willing to do some research to understand it but not that much so 😭

(edit note: i wrote this last night and stayed up till like 3am i think and i was gonna proofread it today but i was too busy/lazy and forgot to and i don't wanna take too long to reply so here you go good luck lol) i probably put way more effort into this than you wanted me to from the ask buttt too late now

ok so i'll start with the easier songs (the ones with actual names in the lyrics/title)

"But, still, the mind, rejectin' this new empty space

Fills it with somethin' or someone

No closer could I be to God Or why he would do what he's done"

"What you're given, what you live in Darlin', it finds a way to live in you And your heart, love, has such darkness I feel it in the corners of the room"

Selby: gender-neutral name meaning "manor village; from the willow farm"

note that these songs are inspired by the fictional character De Selby. Hozier describes him as "-this philosopher, this kind of scholar, who's kind of part genius part lunatic. He sees the world through a very dream-like logic." its up to you if you want to name ur character after a song inspired by another character or not lol

here's a cool little description of the name on thebump.com: "Selby is a gender-neutral name of English origin, meaning “manor village.” Softly alluding to a place of dwelling in Yorkshire, England, Selby is a wholesome moniker that feels like home the minute it’s spoken. Selby is also a name linked to Old Norse history and points to a person or thing “from the willow farm.” Known for its connections to the Underworld and Otherworld, willow trees, in all their cosmic wonder, put realms beyond imagination right at our fingertips. Both an abode and a bridge to a land existent only in legends, Selby inspires us to look beyond what our eyes can see but reminds us to stay grounded while we’re at it!"

and hozier's other song "Would That I" also references willow trees so in a way it's inspired by 3 songs?

"Do you think I'd give up

That this might've shook the love from me

Or that I was on the brink?

How could you think, darling, I'd scare so easily?

Now that it's done

There's not one thing that I would change

My life was a storm, since I was born

How could I fear any hurricane?"

"Heaven is not fit to house a love (like you and I)"

This song is about the story of Francesca da Ramini in the 2nd circle of hell. Basically Francesca has an affair with Paolo Malasta because of how unpleasant her husband (Paolo's brother) is. Eventually they get found out and her husband kills them. She's saying that even though she's in the 2nd circle of hell (where lustful souls are punished by somekind of hurricane) she doesn't regret loving Paolo and would do it all again. - a summary of a comment on genius.com about the lyrics

Francesca: feminine name meaning "free."

similar names: Francis, Francisca/o

you could also use Paolo (meaning "small; humble) if you want

"I do not have wings, love, I never will

Soarin' over a world you are carryin'

If these heights should bring my fall

Let me be your own

Icarian carrion

If the wind turns, if I hit a squall

Allow the ground to find its brutal way to me

If I should fall, on that day

I only pray, don't fall away from me"

clearly referencing icarus, the man who flew too close to the sun

Icarus: "follower; the one who reaches the sky"

"I'd be the voice that urged Orpheus

When her body was found"

"And I'd be the immediate forgiveness

In Eurydice

Imagine being loved by me"

Orpheus: "the darkness of night"

Eurydice: "wide justice"

similar names: Alice, Justyce, Justin/e

ok now to get more creative

or not. quite a few of his songs reference light/darkness and there are a LOT of names that reference either one of those 😭 here's some examples:

light/shinning/clear/etc:

Phoebe, Clara, Nora, Lucian, Lucius, Elena, Ayla, Claire, Bodhi, Lucia

dark/shadow/etc:

Adriana, Achlys, Akmad, Apollo, Azazel, Asra, Carey, Colin, Corvina, Cronan

now back to "Would That I," he describes 2 kinds of loves in this song: the willow tree and the fire. thr willow being a past love, and the fire being the new that burnst away the attachment to the old. or something like, that im tired.

could always use Willow, which i think is a pretty name.

other names meaning willow tree: Dozier (haha), Arava, Salton, Wellesley, Liu, Wilford, Osier, Vide, Lian, Verba

names meaning fire: Ember, Bedelia (goddess of fire in Celtic mythology), Bridget, Calida, Cyra, Enya, Eliane, Elidth, Elidi, Hestia, Helia, Idalia, Mehri, Soleil, Seraphina, Oriane, Nina (also mentioned in "Nina Cried Power" which is a protest song)

speaking of Nina Cried power, a list of all the names in the song just in case: Nina Simone, Billie Holiday, Mavis Staples, Curtis Mayfield, Patti Smith, John Lennon, James Brown, B.B. King, Joni Mitchell, Pete Seeger, Marvin Gaye, Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie. These are all names of musicians who contributed to the battle for equality over the years (Civil Rights Movement and other such protests) not sure if you'd want to name your character one of these since it wouldn't exactly be naming them after a Hozier song, but i felt like i should mention them anyways

other names mentioned in song lyrics but i'm too tired to do more researching rn: Cher, Atlas, Fred, Sergei (Sergei Polunin, the dancer in the music video for "Movement")

#spotify #hozier songs #hozier lyrics #hozier #hozier fandom #oc names

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trashpoppaea · 10 months

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ancient historical romance recs

for @en-theos and @marcvscicero

I have some ancient HR recommendations!

{Enchanted Fire by Roberta Gellis} This is a historical fantasy romance, about Orpheus and Eurydice in an alternate ancient Greece where the Greek gods are actually powerful mages, but I love it to pieces. Literally. My hard copy is falling into bits at this very moment.

{Render Unto Caesar by Gillian Bradshaw} This is more of a historical thriller than true historical romance, but there is an HEA and a smidgen of sex too. It's about an Alexandrian Greek merchant searching for justice in Imperial Rome, and the Celtic gladiatrix who becomes his bodyguard. It's SO GOOD.

{The Ravishers by Jeanne Duval} (archive.org link) This is definitely an old-school bodice-ripping epic, by gothic author Virginia Coffman. Our heroine, the half Greek half Gallic Lysandra, is sold into palace slavery, whereupon she becomes the mistress of Nero, Galba and Domitian, while still pining for General Maximian. There's plots and palace intrigue aplenty. Also Vesuvius blows up!

{Claimed by the Enemy by Shauna Roberts} A farmboy and a princess find love in war-torn Sumeria. There's not much sex that I remember, but lots of action and it's emotionally very gripping. It is also very accurate from what I can tell.

Render unto Caesar and Claimed by the Enemy have a high degree of historical accuracy, while the others are.... fine? At least there's no oranges, like this one historical romance set in ancient Etruria I just read. And nobody converts to Christianity. IMO they're a lot of fun.

#historical romance #bookblr #roberta gellis #enchanted fire #render unto caesar #gillian bradshaw #the ravishers #jeanne duval #virginia coffman #claimed by the enemy #shauna roberts #ancient greece #ancient rome #ancient sumeria

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jadenight67 · 2 years

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This is literally for one person so. Strap in?

While watching the season premier of The Winchesters I was struck by a reoccurring thought:

God this is going to hurt when it ends

I mean how can it not? John and Mary are so young and the spark is there. Mary is full of such anger and hurt, longing for more than the hunter life. And John is a haunted man, desperately trying to find a greater good to fight for after being devastated by war. You can see the threads of who they are here and how their talents and flaws will snowball into the tragedy that their lives become. And that's not even mentioning Carlos and Latika; two vibrant characters who are conspicuously absent from the family history Sam and Dean know.

Some might ask, what's the point in telling a story if you know how it ends? Why rehash the history for a man who ultimately abused his kids and went against the wishes of the woman he loved. Why torment us with the tragedy of a woman who never was able to escape the generational trauma she was stuck in, and who was unable to prevent her children from suffering the same fate?

Because to know how it ends, and still sing it again. As if it might turn out this time. I learned that from a friend of mine.

Hadestown is hands down one of my favourite musicals ever written. It bends genre and breaks the fourth wall to provide a story rich in meaning and heart. When Hermes sings "It's a sad song, it's a sad tale, it's a tragedy" in the opening number, we know from the beginning exactly what story is being told. It is an old song, a sad song, a love song.

Over the course of the musical you watch as Orpheus and Eurydice make choices that pull them apart; Eurydice's need for more for security driving her into the arms of Hades and Orpheus' inability to see the world as it is revenge him from seeing the real problems they faced. And when it comes down to it, after all the struggling and triumph, after helping the gods dance again, doubt still creeps. And Orpheus looks.

And yet, in the final numbers, we see the stage reset, the story preparing to tell itself again. A literal representation in telling a story for the story's sake mirrored in the play being performed night after night. As if it might turn out this time. And so it goes, again and again being told as a reminder and a warning and for the sake of the story itself.

Thankfully, in our case Dean is no Orpheus, always doomed to turn and look. Here he is Hermes, the story teller, the one guiding us through a story we think we know. The Winchesters, much like the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice, has merit even if it may not appear relevant on the surface. While I doubt any of us will be forced to sing before the Lord of the Underworld, we will have to find the strength to push through an impossible situation. And while we may not be fighting demons and ghosts in our day to day lives, many of us have complicated relationships with family and must learn how to see them as more than just the harm they caused us, perhaps not forgiving but understanding for our own healing and growth. The Winchesters provides a unique opportunity for a character to take back the narrative and tell their story how THEY want, their voice guiding us forward.

There are other far better written meta on what exactly may be happening in The Winchesters, where exactly this story is going. For my part, all I can say is I look forward to seeing what story Dean would like to tell us, what old song he wants to sing for us again and again and again.

#supernatural #the winchesters #hadestown #holy fuck it's been a while #shity meta from a silly little theatre kid #did I cry thinking about the parallels between Mary as Eurydice and John as Orpheus #perhaps

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jomiddlemarch · 1 year

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If you're still taking February prompts: "doomed voyage" or "instead of you" for The Hour?

“Should’ve been me, old man, instead of you. Should’ve been me,” Hector muttered, every part of him aching in the torture device the hospital considered a chair, pulled up beside the narrow bed Freddie lay in, far more quietly than Freddie had ever done anything before as far as Hector knew. What did he know, though, he’d cocked it all up, Marnie had filled every surface of their fitted kitchen with various puddings and the icebox was full of trifle setting, more varieties of citrus curd than anyone could ever want, and there was no room left for him at what was supposed to be his home, nor yet the office, where Bel’s eyes were the color of fresh bruises and Lix looked at him with the distaste she’d reserved for weak coffee and a bad lead.

“Don’t be silly,” Freddie whispered, all he could manage. Hector hadn’t thought the other man was awake, the nurses wouldn’t say whether he was sleeping, drugged or in a coma, and Hector hadn’t wanted to ask Bel. It was startling, to hear Freddie’s voice so diminished, as if he’d screamed himself hoarse instead of nearly hemorrhaging to death in Bel’s arms. The drab blanket covered him nearly to the neck and his chest rose and fell only slightly with his breath.

“Silly am I?” Hector said. He had to say something, a little jovial perhaps. The truth certainly, and it was a relief that whatever had happened to Freddie hadn’t taken that ability to see what was real away from him. He might have preferred it, but who among them got what they wanted?

“They’d never have missed with you, you great hulking sod,” Freddie said. “There are a few advantages to being built like a consumptive Romantic poet, as long as one isn’t actually consumptive. Or Romantic.”

“Being a poet isn’t a problem?” Hector asked. Freddie’s color was still terrible, like the whey Marnie sieved out of some failed attempt at cheese-making, and his tenor was still raspy, but there was a gleam in his eyes that said some essential part of him remained inviolate. When Hector left, Bel would be waiting and he’d be able to offer her a real smile before she hurried in, her gloves shoved into the pocket of her scarlet jacket. It made her so pretty, Freddie wouldn’t be reminded of blood when he saw her.

“Wouldn’t know,” Freddie replied. “Gave up after I’d butchered about a dozen sonnets. Absolute rubbish.”

He meant he’d written a crown of sonnets and they’d all been about Bel, Hector would have put money on that. They were probably all shoved into a drawer of Freddie’s desk at the office.

“Literature’s loss is journalism’s gain,” Hector said. “Though you’re not to rush back—”

“The case—”

“Is being looked into,” Hector said. “It’s not been forgotten. There’ll be other stories for you, when you’re well again.”

“I thought, in the ambulance, it was a hearse, that I’d died already and I’d never get there,” Freddie said. He winced, his mouth making a shape that spoke of dreadful pain. It was unfortunate that the grimace made him unutterably lovely.

“There?”

“Heaven. Hell. Peace. Limbo. Wherever I was supposed to go,” Freddie said. “They wouldn’t let Bel come along, that was the worst. Don’t tell her though.”

“I won’t,” Hector said. Had Freddie meant in the ambulance or into death, Eurydice speaking of Orpheus? Bel already knew how it had hurt him, even before the stupid young nurse named Connie had told her how Freddie had called for her as if his poor heart would break, miss, inconsolable he was.

“You should go home, Hector,” Freddie said. “You don’t need to waste your time here.”

“I’ll waste my time however and wherever I like, Lyon,” Hector said, leaning back in the excruciating chair, crossing his legs at the ankle. It had been the right thing to say. Freddie closed his eyes and took a long, deep breath, the faintest curve of a smile on his lips.

Bel would knock before she came in. It would be good for her to find them like this. To know he hadn’t left Freddie alone, not this time.

#the hour #prompt fill #better late than never #bel/freddie #hector madden #freddie lyon #friendship #post season 2 #canon au #angst #hurt/comfort #oldshrewsburyian #marnie madden #lix storm #happy easter

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inkofamethyst · 2 months

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February 25, 2024

I met up with my family in NYC this weekend to explore and see Hadestown to celebrate my birthday and it was fantastic. I feel so rejuvenated after the quick jaunt (less than 24 hours in the city!). I'm not really a huge fan of NYC compared to my current city, but I can recognize its beauty and appeal (even though it gives me an awful experience of some sort every time I enter lol). We went to the New York Public Library and it was amazing. I wish we had hours to spend in there rather than minutes, but we had a show to get to.

Hadestown was... I don't really have words to express how much I enjoyed the show. I mean, it broke me, wrecked me, body mind and soul, but I'd see it again in a heartbeat. I'd heard about it from a friend of my dnd-friend way back in 2019 during or after a game of, you guessed it, DnD, and I'd wanted to see it ever since. I knew the story of Orpheus and Eurydice; one of my favorite tumblr posts of all time discusses the varied interpretations of the myth, and I honestly go back and read it once and a while because the story has always always always been beautifully tragic to me. So I knew how it ended (but I hadn't listened to the soundtrack--I'd refused all these years). And yet. I cried silently at intermission, knowing that Orpheus' quest would be in vain. I cried silently as Eurydice slowly dropped at the end. I cried during bows, I cried on the way out of the theater, I cried while expressing to my family how beautiful it all was. Why tell a story you know is doomed over and over and over again? And every single time, we hope they get it right, though we know they never will.

The music was excellent, the storytelling excellent, the actors (named and ensemble (even with just five they sounded so powerful)!!!!!), the choreography, the set design, the musicians, the lighting design (!!! (as a once-former lights person I'm keenly aware of the effect lighting can have on a story and whew they certainly used it))... All phenomenal. There was a choreographed bit in "Wait for me" with the lights swinging on beat and, just, wow. WOWWWWW. All involved should contribute to my next therapy bill lol.

My mother said she never realized I was such a romantic and, frankly, I didn't either. I mean I knew I was a crier. If there's one thing Imma do, it's cry. And cry ugly. But I think I'm drawn to stories about what love makes us do. Stories that show us how love can destroy, but we still do it anyway, again and again. We seek it out. We risk destruction for the chance at being known, truly and fully.* There was a line in act one from Eurydice, something like "All my life I've only held my own, now I just want you to hold me," and that knocked me out.

Y'all I think Hadestown might be my new favorite musical, surpassing Aida after, oh, six years?

I also had my first ever migraine during my trip lol. I'd braided my hair very very tightly, so it was pulling on my scalp, slowly forming a headache. That combined with the plethora of street smells, the greasy ham and pineapple pizza (which was so so so so good though, place called Carve), and two nights in a row of less than six hours of sleep (braiding lol) resulted in headache + nausea and I wanted to die. But it was nothing an Exedrin and some rest couldn't fix.

During my braiding marathon (a week and a half because I was so busy ugh (but they look gorgeous!!!!)) I watched Blue Beatle finally and thought it had a lot of heart. Regret not seeing it in theaters, but I think it came out during a period where I was just tired of it all ("it" being superhero movies). Also watched The Flash and thought it was very compelling. Flashpoint is not an uncommon means of exploration for the character, so I've seen at least a couple iterations of the same story, but I think this version was done quite well. It was interesting, well-paced, had a nice ending, and was a graceful way to get rid of Ben Affleck lol (also loved the old Batman theme <3 (ALSO also love Is She With You because that is a banger every single time)). I think Ezra Miller plays a really endearing Flash, shame he's crazy :/

Also watched a lot of animated movies on Max! I watched Belle (another with some "la-la-la"'s hehe) which was odd in many ways but was also cute and beautiful, compelling and full of heart. Then I did a bit of a Ghibli marathon of movies I'd never seen before: Tales of Earthsea, Princess Mononoke, Nausicaa, Arietty. All beautiful in their own ways. Very unique storytelling, gorgeous art, powerful messages. There are still several I want to see!

I finished Batman Beyond and the ending was dumb anticlimactic lol. The least they could've done was a two-parter that built to something satisfactory. Honestly the epilogue episode in JL (JLU?) was more compelling. Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker was pretty solid though. I think I'm going to give the DCAU a rest now hehe. Gotta catch up on the MCU, frankly. They've got some interesting things coming up...

*ReesaTeesa's "Who tf did I marry" series was something else. That was another thing I watched while braiding. Finished in two days. Was watching while making figures in the office and someone recognized her face lol. Three things. 1. I did not know a person could be tortured in the way that she was. What happened to her was awful, and it was only because she put herself in the vulnerable position of seeking love. 2. I can't say I fear a pathological liar specifically, but one of my romantic fears is wanting someone's affection so badly that I overlook red flags. Wouldn't be the first time. 3. I know how the internet works, so I shouldn't be surprised, but imo finding her ex's facebook and flaunting it in her comments was a breach of the social contract between ReesaTeesa and her audience, and it should not have been done. She does not want to be associated with that man. I fear for her peace and hope that he does not attempt to make a single penny off her. Was I curious too? Yes. But a person's privacy is more important than my curiosity, always.

Today I'm thankful for the time I got to spend with my family. I'm so thankful to have a family I enjoy spending time with. Teared up while saying goodbye :') We're considering making this a yearly thing while I'm in school here. That would be lovely. Also thankful that things are looking up for my sister, it's been a rough school year so far, but things are shifting toward the positive rapidly! Lastly, lowkey thankful that the subway was out of order today on my way back to my apartment. Forced me to take a shuttle which drove through parts of the city I'd not been to yet. Excited for spring and summer treks there, though!

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