#TOTC Story

[dark-imagine-robots]

Shove and Kick!!

Woody and Outlaw roughhousing. . . .

@ask-ufpapyrus drew Woody in these and I drew Outlaw.

(Outlaw, my Toy Story oc)

#my art #my drawing #art #drawing #totc #trilogy of the company #my oc #toy story #toy story au #toy story woody #toy story oc #toy story fanart #cowboy #cowboys #western #comic #my digital art #digital art #digital drawing

[queenie-avenue]

I was wondering can we get more Jesper? I don’t have an idea for anything specifically, sorry ToTc

I would like it if he gets jealous though (either his teammates, Katie, or anyone else really, I’m just a sucker for jealously stories XD)

Innocent eyes, deadly hands.

💌 ⤻ THE BASEBALL PLAYER, JESPER HARGREAVES

—> please don't touch anyone else but him.

⤻ reader is gender neutral, jealousy, established relationship, possessiveness, jesper kind of hurts you, just a small drabble.

🦋 ⤻ archives.

Jesper slammed you against the lockers of the guys' bathroom, his eyes wide, tears visible in them as he held you in place. Everyone had left the university field. All his teammates had left, and both you and him were the only ones remaining. You trembled in his arms, Jesper had his moments of anger — throwing tantrums like a baby, never letting you leave his side — but this was the first time you had ever felt unsafe near him.

"What's so good about him?" Jesper asked, his crystal blue eyes begging for your attention. "Why did you hug him like that, please don't do that. I'm your boyfriend, you know. You should only do that with me. I won't allow it, okay?" He cooed, yet the wrinkle of his eyebrows clued you in to his real mood. Upon seeing your discomfort, he gripped your arms tighter. "Unless, that guy really is better than me?" He asked.

You opened your mouth to reply but Jesper suddenly crashed his lips into yours. Jesoer was normally sweet, coy and shy with his affections, like a puppy not yet used to its owner, but this time, it was desperate.

His tongue travelled into yours, he bit down on your lip and just as he parted from your lips, he licked away the specks of blood he had drawn.

"I'll change if you'd like." Jesper promised, his brown hair framing his face in a way you couldn't help but find him attractive even though you couldn't feel blood flowing into your arms. "Is he more assertive? Would you like me to be like that more?" He asked softly, nuzzling his head into your neck. "I can be like that," he whimpered, "just don't leave me."

"Jesper, you know I love you." You whispered. "You're perfect." You repeated the words for the millionth time in your blooming relationship.

"Then don't touch anyone else but me again, okay?" He purred, loosening his grip on you as he looked up at you.

You nodded your head in an attempt to appease your boyfriend.

He looked down at your arms and pouted, "I'm sorry I hurt you." He apologised as he leaned down and pressed kisses onto your arms and honestly, you just wonder what willed you into dating such a volatile man.

Just what had you gotten yourself into?

#yandere imagines #yandere oc #yandere drabble #yandere male x reader #male yandere x reader #yandere x reader #anon ask #yandere male #ask

[cielospeaks]

this is completely and utterly a shitpost but list of potential ricky ds outfits

(most? likely): amadeus the movie

+fits his backstory really well and he could fit as either of the main characters (moz was frustrated when he became an adult and wanted people to respect his music and ideas and not just cute childishness, sal has inferiority abt his music and keeps a lot to himself), would potentially look nice w demon symphony (mask buddies!)

-might be too early to be ds since its from the 80s (please)

(somewhat likely): music man

+would be very wholesome and cute, ricky also has an inconventional means of music and like the main character is good at using his charisma/charm to get around things, cmon i just want to see ricky in a cute little boater hat and bowtie or a marching band uniform im literally going feral over the karaoke outfits, timeline is probably safe since its an old ish movie

-they might not do it bc ricky is typecast as a european nobleman (booo), the main character is probably more crafty and sly than nervous ol ricky

(this is just wish fulfillment): young frankenstein (or chocolate factory)

+yf story fits ricky really well: european man from a famous/infamous family trying desperately to escape his reputation, soft spoken but firm, but eventually his destiny catches up to him. they both have similar temperaments imo. for cf its more that i want to see him in this meme

-doesnt necessarily have to do with music (but guys. the violin scene from yf it could happen. or the tap dancing sequence too!!!), time is girigiri being from 70s

(??? i literally have no idea): totc charles darnay

+like even more parallels. half french nobleman leaves his birthplace and rejects/is rejected by his family, tries to make a life for himself but his past catches up to him and he (almost) dies for it. the french revolution ties might be a big plus for this one

-has gosh nothing to do with music which should be a minus for me but i adore totc so yes please, i have no idea if there are adaptations of the story within the timeframe bc i am a book nerd lol, ricky might have a dead twin sibling which isnt really totc but does support the doppelganger angle of syd and charles

#id say id be losing my mind at yf ricky but literally id be losing it at any of these rickys #alternatively it could be something based on chopin which would be neat but realtalk i dont think ricky and chopin have that much in common #cept getting stuck in france and playing salon concerts and having the first surname #man i wish ricky had a liszt esque friend who could get him into shenanigans. no none of the canon characters count #i have like. no ideas for antonio (cept red violin and i know thats off timelinewise) but i am loaded with ricky ones #and he did shockingly well this year so i have genuine fear #tho if he did ever win as long as it was somewhat ok id probably be cool w whatever #my favorite ds so far is hamlet and dorothy idk if theyre ever gonna top those lol #theyd have to work pretty darn hard lol. those are pretty much my favorite movie and a play im really darn fond of #gameblogging #french virelai

[go-scottishgal14]

BRILLIANT STRATEGY FOR A LONG-OVERDUE TAKE-DOWN!

Because I’m fascinated by all the BS with H&M and the RFs reaction to them, I’ve long read a number of articles and blogs (I don’t have a social life) , and this weekend has been a gold-mine of info between stories, pictures, videos and comments...

“A picture is worth a thousand words” has proven true for H&M taking their seats at St. Paul’s on Friday...I’ve thought about this the last few days, and they were boxed in, limited, and controlled as a result of their own demands...the “ring of steel” worked, was enforced and was impregnable by H&M....being picked up at the airport by a driver reportedly arranged by the RF--who disclosed there were no children, car seats, baby carriers, children’s stuff--they were given the  “privacy” they so craved when they announced Megxit...no participation in events other than grainy images through a window of them at TOTC -- with kids -- which rightly annoyed Zara and Anne, the Thanksgiving service at St. Pauls, no interaction with or general photo set-ups with other members of the RF (other than Zara and Peter Philips while waiting for their car on Friday after the St.Pauls service), no Platinum Party or Parade, and even saying the Queen had met with their doll, I mean their daughter Lilibet, is highly suspicious...the car they had on Friday to take them to/from  the church was not a special accommo-dation for them but to cut them from the herd who would then be going to a lunch to which they were not invited...THE BEST?  their shock at their seating location--the MIDDLE of the row, not even an aisle seat across from W,K, C&C--and Bea, Eugenie and hubbies stepping out of the row, not giving up their aisle seats to them, so H&M could step into the row,  and then the exit processional with them at the back of everybody leaving... these images show how far away from the senior royals they now are and how far down they have been demoted.. they got no “money” shots with the Queen and other family members, and the dolls stayed in their boxes in Monteshito...it’s ironic that the Queen DID make time to be filmed with a computer-generated bear, but not with her grandson and his wife -- what does that say about them???...whoever in the RF/staff worked out how to thwart them at every possible turn is friggin’ brilliant and has my highest regard for thinking of all possible situations and contingencies and how to prevent what H&M wanted the most -- photos & interactions to prove they were were still high-level, high-ranking RF members....

[twobrokenwyngs]

(Desculpe, será mais fácil traduzir pelo Google do que eu tentar fazer sentido com o meu inglês ruim). Você não tem noção da qualidade de 'TOTC’, mesmo inacabada, está entre as 3 harringrove-fics para ler antes de morrer hahaha, não fique surpresa se você receber nossas mensagens suplicando pela parte 2 daqui alguns meses ou anos, ela é memorável T_T. Então, vi aquele seu outro post de recomendações e bem, aqui estão as outras duas fics para te viciar ->

-> leia a série "I Don’t Like People (But I Think I Like You)', da hexlibris e a minha favorita porque aqui está o desenvolvimento de personagens secundários mais bem escrito (beijo do chefe) e a queima lenta que quebrará seu coração a cada capítulo: "Maybe there is a beast", da harringroveheart.

which translates to:

(Excuse me, it will be easier to translate by Google than trying to make sense [in] English). You don't have the notion of the quality of 'TOTC', even unfinished, it's among the 3 harringrove-fics to read before you die hahaha, don't be surprised if you receive our messages begging for part 2 some months or years, it's memorable T_T . So, I saw that other post of recommendations and bem, here are the other two fics to spoil you. read the series "I Don't Like People (But I Think I Like You)', da hexlibris and my favorite because here is the development of secondary characters more well written (beijo do chefe) and a slow burn that will break your heart to each chapter: "Maybe there is a beast", gives harringroveheart.

to which I can only say... wow. that is incredibly flattering. especially to be in any way compared to anything by hexlibris, who is a friend of mine and one of the most talented writers I've ever known, and to "maybe there is a beast," which has been on my list to read for years because I'm always hearing how great it is. I do know the first chapter sort of stands on its own but I did have a grand plan for it, a story I badly wanted to tell, and deep down still do.

thank you SO much for this highly complimentary message, it really surprised me and made me feel wonderful. I might re-read chapter 1 before bed tonight, lol. <333

#stranger things #my fic #wowwww im being spoiled today

[heckolve]

1, 8, 13, 14 AGT?

1.) how would you describe the world your story takes place in?

8.) what inspired your world building, if anything?

1 & 8 are pretty similar for agt... i usually describe agt as a mix between howl's moving castle and a tale of two cities for lack of a better easy description lol. howl's for the visual aesthetics and magic system and totc for the kind of extended cast and political commentary.

early on agt's visual aesthetic was very influenced by the russian monarchy, hence some of the character's naming conventions. now its more generally and vaguely inspired by a combination of 19th century southwestern european, middle eastern, and some far eastern sensibilities... though there's a heavy amount of fantasy filler and whatever-i-feel-like lol. the culture is something i have yet to flesh out though i dont think it'll be anything too unique or important to the story... esceynia is a melting pot country with a loose polytheistic & philosophical approach to religion and customs. the relationship between magic and technology through the industrial revolution is heavily inspired by hmc. i think that many stories with a magical setting tend to forego modern technology and technological advancements because of the use of magic but thinking about the two together is absolutely fascinating to me and i want to delve deeper into it <3

13.) how long have you been working on this project? what has changed from the outset?

im gonna say.... 8 years. though the current revamped version of it is only about 2 or so. so much has changed since then 😭 theres been sort of 4 versions of it so far... to be 100% frank it used to just be a harry potter rip off. not getting into it. yuck. the entire setting and plot has been overhauled since then. and the magic context has changed from like modern witchcraft to more of a high fantasy one. but anyways in terms of characters i scrapped the main character charlotte (though may bring him back as a side character...). yara ozerov was essentially the big bad but now they're just a minor villain. blaire was a one-off side character/villain and now he's one of the main protagonists lol. and arrakis was simply a shallow dead mother character and while she's still dead the current story practically entirely revolves around her past actions and choices...

14.) whats your favorite part of this story/project?

how many characters there are and how they're all deeply interconnected <3 it makes my head ache sometimes (the Timeline.......) but theres just so much to work with it makes me so happy and excited. its the reason i reference totc... and in some ways les mis. those books really reminded me of agt because of their dense cast list and how they all become interconnected through the events of the story. makes my brain happy :^]

#ask #anon #agt

[ask-ufpapyrus]

Best of Friends

Dust to Dust: Part 1

Imago belongs to @the-quiet-kid-dark

#undertale #Dusttale #Killertale #Dreamtale #Horrortale #my art #papyrus #skeleton #sans #TOTC #totc epilogue/undertale story #totc #Totc Imago #Noxiatale #Reveritale #Reveritale papyrus #Static #static Papyrus #Noxiatale papyrus #dust sans #killer sans #horror sans #Nightmare sans #dream sans #Best of Friends #Dust to Dust part 1 #part 1 #undertale papyrus #comic

[chibimyumi]

Lost and Wins in Adaptation

Dear everyone, as per Anon’s request, I shall analyse a Kuromyu and discuss the Lost and Wins in Adaptation. The results of your democratic votes (comments and asks) are out, and the winner is TANGO ON THE CAMPANIA! In this post I shall only be discussing character/plot influential changes, so no stand-alone comedic sketches will be included.

This is going to be a very long post because there’s just so much to unpack. But feel free to read it in bits, or skip to the part you are most interested in (but do come back later though (ÒvÓ)b). This post will include the following sections:

What makes a good adaptation?

AberHanks - Expert Glue and Filler

“Just like my family!” - One line, many messages

Grell - A Capable Career Woman

An unfortunate Sacrifice

Raw Trash Demon

Active Inclusion Midfords - Manga Fix?

Reunion and Aftermath

Afterword

I promise you the analysis will make you love TotC even more!

1. What makes a good adaptation?

2.5D wouldn’t exist without the 2D, so it is essential for any 2.5D producer to prove to the fans the producing side understood the source material using their form of medium. Changes are inevitable, but the key is that when things are changed, the core of the original needs to remain intact.

Theatre as medium’s biggest disadvantage is its strict time constraints. Whether the producers are capable of adapting a story within the time constraints without it feeling like a quickly duct-taped patchwork is what distinguishes a good adaptation from a bad one. The scriptwriters have no choice but to sacrifice parts to tell a concise story, but the art is in skillfully choosing what to yeet. The musical does need to be able to stand on its own without new audiences going “what?”, after all

2. AberHanks - Expert Glue and Filler

The most obvious difference between the original manga and Tango on the Campania is the addition of Aberline and the musical original, Hanks. In Tango on the Campania they are very cleverly employed to tie the musical together within the time constraints.

Ronald appeared before the Campania Arc, but it wasn’t before this one that he gets his own proper introduction. What the manga readers and musical-only audience have in common then, is that at this point of the story, Ronald is almost equally new. The line: “if we get to meet again, alive, that is” is a very effective way to introduce Ronald’s chipper but cynical personality. In the manga Ronald’s conversation partner was a passenger who fancied Ronald. It would have been a waste of stage time to adapt the third class setting and introduce this girl too, but skipping the line entirely would not do Ronald’s introduction justice. So the script writers cleverly used AberHanks instead, and when Ronald delivered the iconic line, the impact is still the same as in the original.

Additionally, AberHanks are supportive roles in them being police officers who help combat the zombies. The historic Titanic had a really poor survival rate, and that’s without dealing with murderous zombies. In Campania however, that’s a different story. I would argue that Aberline and Hanks evacuation efforts, along with the Formidable Midfords greatly increased the survival rate of Campania passengers.

This addition is a brilliant three-birds-one-stone move. This firstly shows that despite AberHanks being the comic relief, as the police they are not there to fool around. Secondly, by explicitly placing the Midfords along literal fighters of crime, the audience also clearly understands what the Midfords - the Chivalric order - are: fellow fighters of crime.

Thirdly, the gentleman’s code of evacuation is children and women first, and AberHanks would undoubtedly also have heeded that code. And yet Frances was there, and AberHanks never attempted to evacuate her or doubted her skill. The police and Frances fighting side by side shows the audience that even in the 19th century, Frances is recognised firstly as member of the Chivalric Order, before being ““just a woman in a huge dress””. Don’t mess with her.

3. “Just like my family!” - one line, many messages.

A very small but game-changing alternation is when Ciel was trying to convince Lizzie to remove her dress to benefit escape. In the manga when Lizzie refused, O!Ciel immediately rips the dress, saying that once dead she won’t be able to wear any dress, because death is the end of everything.

In the musical with real child actors they couldn’t very well reenact this scene, so instead they gave Ciel the line: “Everything is over if you’re dead, just like my family!”

In the musical, Ciel doesn’t touch Lizzie, which is very clever. When someone refuses to remove her clothes, it is because she feels infringed, exposed and/or unsafe. If somebody doesn’t do something out of fear, what you need to do to convince them is to minimise that fear. By forcefully ripping her clothes, MangaCiel only made Lizzie feel even more infringed.

Instead of touching Lizzie, MusicalCiel appeals to Lizzie’s empathy. By making Ciel say “my family” to Lizzie, both audience and Lizzie are shown/reminded how Ciel had tragically lost his family, and cannot afford to lose more. At that time of the musical, new audiences wouldn't know yet what Ciel had been through. So when later the Cinematic Record of Sebas started, “just like my family” also functions as an effective foreshadowing of what would later be revealed, avoiding Ciel being in a cage looking like it came from nowhere to new audiences.

One could argue that Ciel’s phrase was emotional manipulation, yes... but it was a literal life or death situation for the objective good of everyone. And besides, we all know who our Trash Lord™ is; manipulation is part of him.

Ciel had yelled at Lizzie, and immediately he turned around, clutching his chest. It was such an impressive moment because it showed how that blow Ciel dealt was a doubled edged one. Lizzie was clearly hit too, and very quickly she realised her own fault and apologised. Then the most fun part for the audience is to consider whether this was Ciel’s genuine reaction, or whether that was all part of his acting skills in manipulating Lizzie. I say both are equally likely! (Oh Reo, you brilliant little...)

I personally consider this alteration superiour to the manga original.

4. Grell - A Capable Career Woman

Per Yana’s direct request to Grell’s actor, Uehara, she asked him to portray Grell as a capable career woman because Yana admitted she failed to do so herself.

Most of Yana’s request was fulfilled simply by Uehara’s acting and respect for Grell, but there is also one tiny line added to her script which emphasises her focus on her job. “I’m dropping you!”

Nobody on the Campania had time to fool around because it was literally going down. Grell had her job to do, and yet Rian thought it a good idea to withhold information from Grell about the method of stopping the zombies. By threatening Rian whose life was at Grell’s mercy with “I’m dropping you”, the audience is very effectively shown that Grell is a no-nonsense woman, and that she knows how to get someone to talk. 👌👌👌

5. An Unfortunate Sacrifice

Some things had to be omitted to fit the stage time limit, but the most painful omission in my opinion were details in Sebastian’s cinematic record.

A really unfortunate but understandable omission was Ciel reuniting with Tanaka and Madam Red... but considering the time constraints of the musical, shoe-horning these moments in with different actors would have come at the expense of the rest of the musical. Though very sad, it is what it is.

Another omission is Sebas forgetting to spare one assassin to interrogate. In this post I discussed in detail why this omission by the movie adaptation was such a sin. Tango on the Campania omitted that part too, though as a stage medium it is more forgivable than an animated movie with endless possibilities Ò^Ó. Nevertheless it is a bit sad, because this omission takes away that the audience can see how Sebas was just so used to massacring on auto pilot, and how even Sebas himself recognises he needs to learn control.

THOUGH, I must say the musical actually tries to compensate for this shortcoming, unlike the movie. This omission of what showed that Sebas was far from perfect at the beginning, Furukawa compensated by simply being the most insincere, passive-aggressive, unprofessional, arrogant prick he could be.

The audience won’t catch a hint that Sebas used to be no more than a weapon, but they will see how Sebastyun never served a human on close proximity before!

6. Raw Trash Demon

I have already talked about how Sebastyun is a real game-changer on this blog, so I will not repeat every detail again. So here I will only address the significant changes in spoken lines that add to Sebastian’s character before he was fully trained. In this post I discussed in detail how Furukawa portrayed Sebastian’s gradual growth from raw demon to one hell of a butler. Sebas at the beginning was really butler in appearance only, as he was insolent and never knew when to shut his wondrous trap.

In stage format it would have been quite awkward to do a bath scene, so instead the creators replaced it with a wound-dressing scene. Instead of pouring hot water over the boy, Sebastyun is now scrubbing his master’s skin off. When the boy protests, rather than immediately apologising like his manga counterpart did, Sebastyun just shoves the feedback right back down the boy’s throat. “You’re making too much of a big deal out of it.” Here we see how Sebas is not there to serve his master, he’s just doing his thing because he has to.

Another line that is musical only is when Ciel’s stomach rumbled, and Sebas laughed his arse off, saying: “what an inglorious sound!” In the manga Sebas started a high-horse speech about human weakness, which was quite bold already. But he did not seem to dare straight up humiliate his master for a basic bodily need.

Sebastyun however? Balls of steel.

He humiliates his master, can’t apologise for shit, and when he says things in compliance with his master, it’s in a tone of: “well, screw you too”. Sebastyun was so bad at his job that Ciel too was given another line that wasn’t in the manga: “The preparations of a day’s meals is part of a butler’s job”.

Sebas had just criticised his master for being a useless kid, and now Ciel makes a comeback with the line: “well, you don’t even know what your literal job is, let alone how to do it.” The addition of this line is very powerful in my opinion, because it quite effectively compensates for the omitted scenes of Ciel and Sebas both sucking at their respective roles.

When O!Ciel commented on Sebas’ awful cooking, MangaSebas seemed quite willing to do his job well, and immediately offered to fix his mistake. Sebas does not apologise, but he does show that he made a mistake in not being considerate enough of Ciel’s current condition.

Sebastyun however, couldn’t apologise for shit at the beginning. Instead of showing openness to feedback, he immediately externalises by making humans the problem again, rather than his own lack of cooking skill. No wonder Ciel smashed that table with such aggression!

Another changed line is Sebas bringing his master hot milk after his failed dinner attempt. Originally Sebas did so potentially as an attempt to show his readiness to do better at his job. He explains that he does so out of consideration for the well-being of the boy.

In the musical however, Sebastyun does not say the manga line. Instead he says: “I can’t afford to have you starve to death.” I am not sure whether this was the script or Furukawa’s improvisation, but either way it perfectly shows yet again, how Sebas is not there to serve his master, but to just get his tasks over with.

This is a very short but efficient alternative way to retell how Sebas especially at the beginning was not very enthusiastic about being summoned, as analysed here from the original Japanese manga. Sebas is not like: “(UwU) gimme more orders”, he’s like: “(ಠ_ಠ) what is it this time?”

A small addition that was definitely an improvisation was Sebastyun sitting down on Ciel’s bed, and the boy pushing him away. (At the beginning of the run Furukawa didn’t do that yet. The first time Furukawa sat down Reo just moved aside and gave Sebas a nasty look.) Here it also reemphasises how little Sebastian understood of what was done and NOT done as a servant.

A final, noteworthy addition in the far beginning of their contract was Ciel saying that he acknowledges both he himself are the demon are still fakes. The boy says this line after Sebas had brought him hot milk which Ciel appreciated.

Ciel calls his butler forward in a soft tone, and Sebastyun just looked so self-congratulatory, self-satisfied, he adjusted his suit, standing all ready like: PRAISE ME! (●´ิ∀´ิ●)✨

Yeah no... you wish.

In the manga this line doesn’t exist, so Sebas is simply surprised to hear the compliment, and then his master just splashes the cold water right over him.

7. Active Inclusion Midfords - Manga Fix?

The most dramatic and influential change to the musical is the active inclusion of the Midfords. It is an entire scene that was added to the musical, so it is a bit impossible to unpack everything in this already very long post. So here I will only address the most game-changing alterations.

Yana Beaten to the Punch, strike 2 and 3?

Now many chapters later than the Campania Arc, we know that the Midfords had been the legal guardians of Ciel after the death of his family. But even before the release of the chapter, we’d see in Sebastyun’s Cinematic Record how the Midfords were very involved with their nephew. This shows how much respect for the manga the musical producers had, and how well they understood their source material that they too could beat Yana to the punch. Strike 2!

Both Midfords were present before and during the decoration ceremony. And Sebas bows deeply, thanking them sincerely for their aid all this time. Sebas cannot lie, so when he says “sincere gratitude”, it really was sincere. Alexis responds humbly, saying that it’s simply the right thing to do.

Not only did the Midfords aid Ciel in his reintegration into the world, Frances also showed the audience and Sebas she knows exactly what she is preparing the child for. Frances says she understands how cruel it is for the young Ciel to do what is expected of him, because being Earl means more than wealth and power. It is: “shouldering the burden and name of ‘the Queen’s Watchdog’.” The musical also does a great job at linking Frances’ position as the previous Watchdog’s sister, to being the legal guardian of the future Watchpuppy.

I have seen many manga readers talk about how they found Frances’ involvement insufficient in the manga, and I understand. She has a very small role in the manga, so we don’t know what she has or hasn’t done to help. But in Tango on the Campania, we do get a much clearer sense of the Midfords’ role in Ciel’s life.

Ciel was still mid-preparation before the start of the Ceremony, but Frances and Alexis had already arrived to keep a parental eye on him.Ciel is surprised, but Frances responds with: “it would set a bad example if the star is late”. Though it is but one short phrase, the script writers shows (not ‘tells’) how she is there because she wants to make sure Ciel’s decoration will go smoothly, as well as that her own role is to set an example for Ciel by being on time herself.

This is possibly a reference to what Sebas says to Frances in chapter 14, how he wishes her to be his master’s example. Except that here in the musical, it is Frances who takes this initiative, which in my opinion is the superiour way.

When Frances commends Ciel for his courage of returning to fight, Sebastian adds: “The most opportune chance for counter attack is when the opponent strikes. That is what milady Frances had taught him, the Young Master said.”

To which Frances is quite surprised to hear, and incredulously she says: “Ciel said that?” This makes one suspect whether Frances really said those words to supposedly Real Ciel. It would be very funny if Sebastian (accidentally) gave Frances a hint of his master’s real identity. I am not sure whether this is an implicit hint that Frances might have started suspecting Ciel is not the Real Ciel. Some have theorised Frances has the deepest suspicions among everyone. If that turns out to be true, then TotC might have beaten the original manga to the punch again. Potential strike three!

Another change is the replacement of Madam Red with Alexis. This one is just a very pragmatic change, because the phrase “To Ciel you are already as good as family” is very iconic and important and shouldn’t be left out. But getting a Madam Red in here out of nowhere would require time-consuming exposition. So by giving this phrase to Alexis instead, the musical effectively solves two problems in one go.

8. Reunion and Aftermath

Another addition to the original manga is the reunion on the rescue ship, just like the the movie adaptation of the Campania Arc did. After all that has happened it is very nice for the audience to see the emotional reunion and the aftermath. In the manga the Arc ended with Sebas and his master on the rescue boat, and it had a very nice, open feeling to it, I absolutely love it! 💖🚤

Audience Considerate Story Telling

To a musical-only audience (which TotC had a lot of because of the collaboration with TOHO), the opening ending might have felt a bit abrupt. These musical-only spectators don’t have the Arcs after the Campania to know for sure Sebas and Ciel went home safely, and that life would just continue. Nor would they know for sure what kind of impact the enormous revelation of Undertaker being a reaper would have on our protagonists. Had the non-manga audiences been given the same ending as the original, then it might have looked a bit like this to them.

Also considering the musical medium, any (Japanese) audience would want a satisfying finale song to wrap everything up. (Kuromyu21 not having one was a real complaint among JP spectators). And after the dramatic brawl song of Sebas fighting the zombies on that boat, you can’t very well pull another song on that tiny thing again. Okay, the song TotC did settle with for the finale song was......very disappointing in my opinion as it reminded me more of a Disney parade, but it at least had a song.

Emotional Full Circle

Despite the song being quite unfitting, the emotional reunion really, REALLY hit hard. When Lizzie says “welcome back” to Ciel, it was a perfect full circle back to what Lizzie couldn’t do 3 years ago.

In her flashback of 3 years ago when Ciel returned to her, the boy lifelessly said: “I’m back... Elisabeth”. Lizzie however never responded with “welcome back” because she was too preoccupied with something just feeling off.

In the musical reunion however, unlike 3 years ago Lizzie was fully emotionally equipped to genuinely welcome her fiancé back, and Ciel too happily responds: “yeah, I’m back, Lizzie”, using Lizzie’s preferred name.

Sebastian’s Aftermath

The reunion is but a simple addition, but it allows the musical to show the impact of such a traumatic event on the omnipotent demon butler.

The Cinematic Record showed how cocky Sebastyun was, and how he didn’t have a single worry in his life. After Undertaker had fatally wounded even the demon however, Sebas became a different person. In the finale we see Undertaker silently disappearing into the shadows. Sebastyun wasn’t even entirely sure whether Undertaker was there, but at the merest suspicion already you see him flinch and twitch. This shows how from now on Sebas has become a person who is on edge.

I mean, what’s the point of telling an event if the event doesn’t impact the story and characters, right? In this way too, the inserted aftermath scene skillfully wraps up an overwhelmingly eventful story.

9. Afterword

Well, thank you for reading this looong post till the end! As discussed in this post, TotC did a wonderful job at adapting an existing story with consideration of its audience and medium.

The largest obstacle of the theatre medium is time constraint, so the makers have to sacrifice parts. In what was sacrificed however, they more than sufficiently compensated by including parts outside the Campania Arc into the musical, without harming the integrity. This shows just how much respect and knowledge the TotC team have of the source material.

As a musical adaptation, it is an exemplary production.

Related posts:

Hyper Detailed Development - The Art of Kneeling

That Demon, Skin Crawling

That Butler - Punchable

Lost in Translation II - Sebastyun’s Butlernese

#Kuromyu #Comparative analysis #Tango on the Campania #Campania #Musical #Sebastyun #Furukawa Yuta #Uchikawa Reo

[skimblyshanks]

Pouncival for the character ask!

First impression

Ok so it's hard to articulate but I basically saw him how I now see Tumblebrutus 😂 So like, a little edgy, a little hormonal. A bit of a projection character from time to time but only for venting purposes really

Impression now

My???? Beloved???? More of a projection character alsiudhlfiuh but also just. More of a character in general? I don't personally hold the "Henchcats are double agents" hc anymore so that specific edginess is gone now. I think he's the Baby of his family/the tribe, to an extent; and as he's growing up he wants to start being grownup but he ALSO still wants to be Babey and the leniency that affords.

Basically my current understanding and developing of him happened alongside my revisiting Skimble so while also fleshed out apart from him a lot of my looking at him is also very much informed by my hcs for their relationship.

Also he has ADHD bc I have ADHD and I say so uwu

Favorite moment

UGH that's HARD but...in 1998...Either the part in gumbie cat that we don't really get to see where he's pouting in the Oven bc i recently noticed Skimble over on the car telling him to Get Out Of The Oven, Young Man, OR just. All of him and Skimble during Bustopher Jones.

Actually wait yeah I tend to really enjoy his shenanigans in Bustopher Jones so we'll go with that.

Idea for a story

which one do you want?? liaushdf

For specifically 1998-based, how little actual baby pounce grew up and developed teleporting powers+how skimble his guardian(s) handle the fact that he can be gone in a moment and who knows where he wound up.

For TOTC!AU, a big thing I have for him as a child before/just after entering Skimble's life is that he works as a ratcatcher but doesn't really. Get what happens to the rats after he exchanges them for his pay. So of course once he starts living with Skimble and co. one of the first things he and Etcetera do is go and get their own secret pet rat.

Unpopular opinion

What we saw of Jal in costume and semi in character from Asia Tour 2020 bows can absolutely coexist with the more immature, playful interpretations in most bootlegs. We already know 1998's Pounce banged Bomba while still being Babey; you can be childish in day to day life without being an actual child.

Favorite relationship

I mean really my favorite relationship is my father-son hc for him and Skimble alsiduhfsd like. They care about each other so much and Skimble found him after he loses Teazer (and possibly Jerrie sometimes) and before he gets her back so he's always been like. Protective and doting on Pounce, who of course laps this up. And they're just. Very sweet. I think they have a v close relationship.

For ships, I mean. Platopounce is a really cute one, and Munkupounce is...well it is one that I like to draw, and it's particularly useful for the hcs i like to explore abt Pounce trying to keep a nice, simple closeness with his dad where there's no checking in abt intimate goings-on, vs the fact that, well. he is having intimate goings-on and will only talk abt it with his peers, who aren't necessarily going to give the best advice for this or that concern.

Favorite headcanon

HE GETS ALONG REALLY WELL WITH GUS!!! HE CONSIDERS GUS HIS GRANDPA AND ONE OF HIS BEST FRIENDS!!! HE ALWAYS LISTENS TO THE SAME SEVEN STORIES LIKE HE'S HEARING THEM NOW FOR THE FIRST TIME!!!!

[butyouvealwaysbeenthecaretaker]

Sort of related to that, but the newest Tales of the City on Netflix is just so hilariously earnest and po-faced I can’t handle it.

I’m a huge fan of the books, but I only tuned in because I thought a narrative about a trans man possibly coming out as a gay post-transition was an interesting one to see.

And it’s dreadful, it sort of functions like a tumblr educational post. The way that the cis gay men around him are supportively neutral about his exploration process and positive about him coming out, the way that his cis girlfriend who has just agreed to an open relationship earnestly talks about how she misses being seen as a lesbian, it’s...you know, there is a fantastic movie to be made about this story, but you have to treat your characters as people rather than ideological widgets in which everyone is behaving correctly.

It’s queer-utopian to the degree of being actively unrealistic. Now, realistic doesn’t have to mean horrible. But the show just has everything just working out for the characters the way it’s supposed to, and it just doesn’t read as sincere. I didn’t see a story I could relate to.

~*~

A really good comparison point is actually Jake’s introduction in Michael Tolliver Lives, the book in which the character is introduced. Michael Tolliver is the author’s stand-in-self-insert who he’s been writing since 1970-something in a series of like, 7 books; he’s a HIV+ gay man and widower. Unique for the TOTC series, this story is written in the first person from Michael’s perspective.

Michael picks Jake up at a bar, they hook up, and afterwards stay friends and Jake becomes a series regular.

You’ve got Michael’s inner monologue of like, being worried that he’s going to mess up somehow and hurt Jake’s feelings, which reads as legit to me - he knows this isn’t as simple as a tumblr post about inclusion. And you’ve also got Michael making this strong connection between Jake’s transness and his own HIV+ status. Another guy at the gay bar outs Jake nastily to Michael when they’re in the loo; and it reminds Michael of the era in which people did that about him, when being HIV+ meant being a pariah. Michael thinks about how attracted he is to Jake, not only physically but also to his confidence, wondering how often he does this and knowing he is probably scared.

Maupin wrote the first trans character in american literature as far as we’re aware; he doesn’t always get it spot on, but his heavily autobiographical books always come from a place of inner truth and personal experience.

Like, I don’t want trauma porn or to see a character like Jake - my fave trans man in literature! not that there are many to choose from - harmed on screen, but I also don’t want this bland pollyanna-ish utopianism, especially when the original source handles this scene so well. I want complexity - I want conflict. Conflict doesn’t need to mean anger or violence, but it does need characters with fully-realised inner lives like...Jake and this random guy going home together, and the experience not being a simple one for either of them. It doesn’t need to show shame or abuse to be realistic, but it does need to be surprising or a moment of discovery, perhaps discovering something unexpected, or something that changes a person or is mixed, rather than just - and it was all OK. How often do trans people have sex with a stranger and the experience is one where “...but they supported and validated my gender identity, and that’s all I really needed, so I had a great time!” is the total reality of the experience.

And ditto with things like, the girlfriend’s response being so even-handely “I want to support him, but I miss being seen as a lesbian and I’m not sure how I feel about this being an open relationship” like, get angry, girl! Or, repress it. Or throw yourself into supportiveness as a cover for how you’re feeling. Or get a new girlfriend and have some proper poly drama. Or throw something at him, or throw him out, or endure it politely, or say no. Don’t just behave the way you’re supposed to in a single tell-not-show dialogue scene. Humans are messy! The conflict between what a person says they want and what they actually want is a ripe source for storytelling! What if the girlfriend has the worst possible response in the world, while knowing that it’s unethical and unkind, and her story is about trying to reconcile those two parts of her experience? I’d watch that.

(Case in point, I really love the protagonist’s wife in Victim (1961) - she’s a fantastic character, really nailing this middle ground where she doesn’t want to cause harm to her closeted husband, and she isn’t depicted as some kind of cludgel to beat the gay character for being destructively gay; but she’s still strong, about her own need to be in a real, mutual relationship, about feeling deceived. Perhaps the best line of dialogue in the film is hers, something like “I’m a woman, not a life raft, and I want to be loved for myself”. It’s fantastic writing, maintaining empathy for its closeted character in a way that’s radical for the period but also holding empathy for this wife as well, who quite rightly wants more from her life than to be a life-raft or a savior figure or a beard for this messy guy. idk how a 1961 movie arguing for gay rights has more compassion and understanding of the “ally spouse having a hard time with new information” character than a full 2010s series focused on queer people of all kinds)

#the queer tag #the representation tag

[dark-imagine-robots]

Slight Buzz Lightyear practice

But also feral Outlaw ( Toy Story Oc ) moments

#my art #my drawing #art #drawing #my oc #toy story oc #TOTC Outlaw #toy story buzz #toy story jessie #toy story woody #toy story fanart #toy story #cowboy #cowboys #space ranger #traditional drawing #traditional art #ink drawing #ink art #ink

[pardussy]

I feel like if you watch tales of the city 2019 without having watched the previous tales of the city series you really miss out on background stories and character development of some of the old characters.

Also in the original series there are some really crazy and unbelievable storylines which I found very amusing and I really missed that in 2019 totc.

#okay there were some mysteries for mary ann to solve in 2019 but nothing like..... #NORMAN #she was right to let him die #or.... the amnesia guy who puked bc of 🌹 #and ofc dede and jim jones wtfffff #but also i miss mona and mother mucca #yeah the old times... totc was about more than just being queer back then #tales of the city #lgbtia #queer #gay #trans #lesbian #bisexual

[cielospeaks]

regarding g-o and avengers in particular im putting my last hope on ahab tbh. apparently he shows up in a fate thing already, would be an a+ avenger, not too likely chance of being a “evil sexy tsundere who needs validation from the person reading this” character (tho i would hope malvolio, hamlet, and montresor have no chance of that but. they did it to lamb sauce and louis so)

#poor lamb sauce and louis.... press f to pay respects #the two casualties of this year heck g-o in particular #plumies banner in f-h was atrocious too but hopefully i can get her in the dec one (that would somewhat redeem it) #like. f-h main story and g-o after lb 5.1 are both awful but tbh after part 1 ending/1.5 and b3 f-h i was not expecting anything good #i-d-v is. hm. not big like but not deep dislike (tbh if anything some characters are growing on me) #i still prefer other things for specific character based victorian settings (totc/acc are the first that come to mind bc i l o v e them) #or sweeney todd but i will admit thats just a big bias (esp for the musical) #tbh its not rlly story based which is a relief tbh #but yea! still heck go for what they did to lamb sauce and louis #i mean its good that katsu kun is added #and himi chan and hajime chan is neat too #but still #thats like 3 people (albeit 1 super good event) #summer wasnt anything surprising and the free servant was good #nemo is great and gogh is fine (she didnt rlly make the foreigner thing worse but didnt make it better either) #o man im grateful for ofc #negative #ahab im countin on you dude #disregard the fact i suck at reading your book lol

[youreonyourown-kid]

vintagevinos replied to your post “GUYS Tales of the City on Netflix is sooooo gooood.  I tried reading...”

In the 1993 TOTC there is a short crazy story of a white woman who’s made her skin look black, played by an actual black actress. Also I have to say that I understand the first 2019 episode (and Mary Ann) more after I saw all the previous series. — I’ve never read the books tho.

Woah that is crazy. Full disclosure I did not see the original series, I was reading an article with the new actors and they brought up the blackface storyline. 

There are a few things about it that make me uncomfortable, so I’ll just watch the netflix series and be content. 

But if anyone else is interested I’ll spread the word!

#vintagevinos #Tales of the city #TOTC #armistead maupin #The more you know #netflix #lgbtq

[pamy92]

Tango on the Campania (Ishikawa run) Review

This is a fan review of the Ishikawa run of Musical Kuroshitsuji: Tango on the Campania (TotC), for both 3rd February (setsubun special) and 4th February shows. I also had a glorious close-up view of Ciel and Sebastian when they appeared behind my seat. SO READ ON TO FIND OUT MORE! 

ABOUT ME

 I have been watching Kuromyu ever since the first musical. I am glad to be able to finally watch it live in person after all these years. I am also a huge musical nerd, and am musically and dance trained. I also live in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, right now. 

I attended the opening show on Saturday and the closing show on Sunday! Super happy to be part of the special setsubun celebration during the curtain call, and I’ll share more later in this review. My seats were on row 10 (Saturday) and row 18 (sunday), so I am pretty close to the stage!

This review will not contain huge spoilers or a full summary of the entire plot, so you can go ahead and continue reading without dying from spoilers.

OVERALL THOUGHTS

IT. WAS. AMAZING! I was pretty bummed about the circus version last year because the music was just...bad. Pretty sure their entire budget went into the costumes and acrobatics department instead of music 

For TotC, It is pretty fast paced but it has the key stuff from the Campania arc! The set is beautiful, the Bizarre Dolls were great, dance choreography marvellous as usual. Kudos to the supporting cast! There was no bad singing at all (unlike in Noah’s Ark Circus).  You’ll tear up at the sad parts and you’ll get chills at the scary parts and great singing! It’s THAT good!

There are some slight changes in the Saturday and Sunday ad-libbed parts, in consideration to fans who attended both days. Bless them! <3

MUSIC & SONGS

The music in TotC was so good! But of course, it cannot beat the masterpiece of Lycoris featuring our vocal prowess Akane Liv. Yuta Furukawa (Sebastian) was so good, and his songs really show off his vocal talent. 

My favourite song is ‘私は執事、あなたは伯爵’ (I am a butler and you are an Earl), especially Part 2 reprise of this song when Sebastian sings about Ciel’s soul after realising his little Master isn’t content with just being an Earl and wants revenge. The lyrics then changed to ‘I am a demon butler and you are a fake Earl’. So so SO GOOD!! 

The other side characters had very nice songs too, especially the 2nd comic-relief song ‘Ey yo, Ey yo!’ sung by Viscount Druitt. It was hilarious! Druitt is a GREAT singer and in his first song, he did this flamboyant pose and crooned ‘PHOENIIIIiiiIIIX~!’ at his entrance. Yes, lucky dude got to sing two solos! I know some of you may be thinking oh man, a comic-relief song when zombies are killing everyone? Don’t worry! Because the whole second half of the story was super intense, the comic relief song by Druitt was refreshing and helps steer us out of this depressive wave. This song ended with Ciel, Sebastian, Grell, Ronald doing the fabulous mass Phoenix pose that is exactly like in the manga! The dancers encouraged us in the audience to clap along too! 

The actress for Lizzie sang really well in her solo song too! Her voice was very cute and she kept up the moe-vibe. But her song was really sad and some people cried when she sang about ditching everything to be cute for Ciel. 

BIZARRE DOLLS

The Bizarre Dolls (supporting cast) was marvellous! Their zombie-walk was great and their dance choreography was to die for (pun not intended). Remember the basement scene where Ciel, Lizzie and Snake discover thousands of coffins with Bizzare Dolls rising from the dead? The show used a projection screen to project the rattling coffins and it looks really good and realistic! Then suddenly, this screen was raised to reveal a hoard of Bizarre Dolls lunging forward for them. Accompanied by the music, I literally got chills running all over my skin. 

To make up for the lack of BIzarre Dolls, extra zombie mannequin dolls were used and tossed around to fill up the zombie numbers on stage. 

FLOODING & SINKING SHIPS

Screen projections were used to create many of the effects on the ship. They used a transparent projection screen to project the rising flood-waters as well as water raining down from the ceiling. It was pretty realistic considering they cannot have real knee-length water flooding the stage.

Projections were also used to show the Campania breaking in half and when the ship started tilting as it sank! 

KEY/ FAVOURITE MOMENTS

1. The playback of the pre-show announcements featured Reo’s super cute voice. I could see some fans of him squealing when they heard his voice.

2. Characters (AbberHank duo, Midford family, Ciel, Sebastian and Snake, Ronald) entered the stage from the audience exits and not from stage left/right. I am not sure if it is done at other shows or just for Ishikawa. In previous musicals, they did not have character entrances from the audience except for Hank/Abberline. 

In the Saturday show, Ciel, Sebastian and Snake appeared and stood behind my seat (to my shock and delight). I could see their gloriousness up close! Reo/Ciel was just scowling and man, Reo is so skinny up close! His black tights made his legs look like chicken legs! Yuta/Sebastian looked utterly (and perfectly) demonic! I swear my heart stopped beating right there and then. Unfortunately, my Sunday show seats were further back but the trio did not stop behind my Saturday seat but instead continued walking towards the stage.

3. The opening for TotC is also different from previous musicals. We usually start the musicals with the contract scene but this time around, we had a Campania song with the characters boarding the ship.

4. The amount of Campania wordplay jokes..god! They were so funny!

(While boarding the ship)

Abberline: I heard they are selling merchandise on the ship.

Hank: What? What kind?

Abberline: Cam-badge (Campania + can badge)

Audience: LOL

-------------------------------------------------

(At the banquet)

Ronald, Abberline, Hank: Kampai-nia! (kampai (cheers) + Campania)

5. Yuta/Sebastian & Reo/Ciel doing the Phoenix pose was hilarious! Reo/Ciel was wearing heels so he was wobbling on one leg. The rich man from the Aurora Society circled Reo/Ciel to make sure he is keeping his Phoenix pose and the audience laughed. 

In the Sunday show, poor Reo actually lost his footing but thankfully Yuta quickly caught his hand to stabilise him! It looks so authentic and in-character, and it delighted the audience! I am so sad that this probably won’t be in the DVD release... 

6. Ryan Stoker also interviewed the front row audience about what is the most crucial thing aside from life, and the poor lady (on both days) kept giggling uncontrollably.

7. In the scene where Yuta/Sebastian fights the hoard of Bizarre Dolls in the ship’s basement, a giant red silk cloth was run over the audience’s heads towards the stage to signify a bloodbath/ wave of blood. This scene then led to the belated contract scene song!

8. YES. THERE IS AN ICE-BERG IN THE MUSICAL! It is huge, it is fabulous and it had Grell standing on top of it as it neared and crashed into the ship! What a fabulous entrance!

9. Yes, the fan-favourite scene of Sebastian calling Grell a hentai (pervert) is in the musical and it is super hilarious.

Grell: Ehhhh. So mean! I even bought some bromides (of myself) as presents.

Audience: LOL

10. Lizzie’s badass reveal was perfectly executed! She even did the same fighting choreography in the anime movie! She also the same poses in the manga! It was so good and I think Momoko really delivered and a perfect casting choice. 

11. Undertaker’s shinigami reveal was really nice too! HIS DEATH SCYTHE IS GLORIOUS!!!!

12. In the stabbing scene, both Reo and Yuta were lifted by the supporting cast so it looks like they are ‘falling’ off from the top floor. The projection screen behind then projected the blood splatter as Undertaker’s scythe stabbed through Sebastian’s torso. 

13. My favourite part in the whole musical is when Sebastian narrated his initial life as a butler to Ciel. As we all know our!Ciel is not the real Ciel! Reo actually portrayed our!Ciel very well. He hesitated before calling himself with his dead twin brother’s name. Sebby says 「 かしこまりました/ I understand.」 in the most super lazy, sarcastic and reluctant way, it was super funny. In the Sunday show, Yuta/Sebastian sat on the Earl’s bed after serving him milk & honey, which led to Reo/Ciel shoving him off. Yuta/Sebastian also made a ‘tsk’ sound when Reo/Ciel reprimanded him about cooking everything from scratch like a real human butler should. And as he walked away, he spat out 「クソガキ」(stupid brat) before launching into my favourite song  ‘私は執事、あなたは伯爵’ (I am a butler and you are an Earl

14. The final Bizzare Doll fight scene in the middle of the ocean was beautifully executed. You can refer to the official trailer on the website to see how it was done! 

15. Grell was more worried about his false eyelashes after Ronald and Grell found a boat. It was super funny!

16. The musical ended with a reprise of ‘私は執事、あなたは伯爵‘  and the Campania theme song. 

SETSUBUN SPECIAL CURTAIN CALL 

So setsubun was on Saturday and the cast prepared a special curtain call for us! Abberline and Hank did their ad-libbed comedy routine, and here are some of my favourite parts:

Hank:「鬼はoutside！福はinside！」(starts rapping)...あ、でも、鬼がいないので‥ （‘Oni outside, luck inside, ahh, but there aren’t any oni inside here...)

Hank: Oh, look so many oni! (gestures to audience)

Abberline: Oi, don’t be rude! (smacks his head)

Hank: ...you’re right, there is only one oni...(gestures to one poor audience member in the first row)

Audience & Cast: LOL

Abberline:じゃ、「鬼はなし！福は内！」にしてた！(Well, let’s do `There is no Oni, Luck is inside’ then!)

The supporting cast then entered the hall and spread out, they tossed packets of 福豆 at us. I did not manage to catch a packet but the lady beside me did. Lucky girl.... 

The main cast also threw the packets of beans and Reo/Ciel got too excited and tried to fling the packet further out, and his Phantomhive ring flew out from his finger. He had to leap off the stage to recover it from the first row. The AbberHank emcees teased him about it 

How can Earl Ciel do that? 

That’s not something Ciel will do? (LOL)l

SATURDAY & SUNDAY CHANGES

As mentioned earlier, the cast made an effort to make every show unique so it doesn’t matter if you attend just one show or many shows. Each show has special changes in the actions and ad-libbed dialogue. Here are some of my favourites:

1.  Opening Entrance: On Saturday, Abberhanks appeared together in the audience. On Sunday, only Hanks appeared alone and was super happy. But he met Abberline as he was walking to the ship who pretended not to recognise him. 

Hank: Aren’t you Fred Abberline?

Abberline: No, I am Fured Abburraineee...(exaggerated accent)

Hank: No-th-that, besides the accent. The name is the same isn’t it? Fred Abberline! 

Abberline: It’s Fured Abburraineee...

2.  Banquet scene: Ronald taught Abberline how to pick up ladies, but Abberline was being socially awkward when flirting with them in the Sunday show. The trio only kept drinking in the Saturday show.

3. Ronald & Grell on a boat scene: In the Sunday show, Grell ad-libbed something random. Not sure if he forgot his lines but it was really funny...

Grell: (pauses before gesturing to the sky)  Look so many birds, I want to be a bird too...

Ronald: (bursts out laughing)

4. Curtain call: We did not have long thank you speeches on Saturday due to the Setsubun special. But we had it on Sunday for the closing show. 

Abberline: TADAIMAAAAA ~!  Audience: OKAERIIIIIIIII~!

Congratulations, you made it all the way to the end of my super long review! 

I will attend the live-viewing of their final performance at the cinema again on the 12th  (just so I can see the set/costumes and all that in super high-definition on the big screen). Also I kinda wanna see the cast start crying when they make their final thank you speeches! Also because they mentioned we will be watching exclusive back-stage clips and I really wanna watch it! 

Please, please PLEASE order a copy of the DVD/BLU-RAY. Please support the cast and giving them a well-deserved income from these sales.  

The DVD/BLU-RAY will be released in Japan in June 27. You can order it off CDJapan, Amazon Japan or Animate International.   I will be buying a copy myself as well! 

#tango on the campania #musical kuroshitsuji #kuroshitsuji #kuromyu #pamyinjapan

[stressedandhighlyfavored]

Tale of Two Cities: Ch. 1

So, It's currently 1 AM on Saturday, BUT in my book that's Friday night! So no, I am not late! Anyway, here is chapter 1 of TOTC! This is a little long for such a short chapter, so I might split longer chapters into two posts in the future (both posts would be posted on the same Friday). Again, I am always open to conversations about my posts as long as they are respectful. If you have something you want to add, feel free!

TW: death, mention of a variety of crimes, and the punishments of those crimes. I tried to be very vague about the punishments, specifically, but just know that the book goes into painful detail.

This book starts off with the famous, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times …” Dickens is describing the environments of both England and France by using foils like best and worst, wisdom and foolishness, Light and Darkness, etc. All of these foils amount to the perfect set up for this book. The book goes back and forth as well, what is a good thing for some characters is equally as bad for others. In the same way this entire stanza sets up the characters themselves; almost all of them can be viewed as both good and bad, depending how you look at them. They’re all good and evil.

Immediately, Dickens sets up the two cities, or at least the countries they are in, stating that the countries “were settled for ever.” England and France are also foils of each other – well, kind of. Dickens originally sets the countries up as extremely similar. However, the main (if not only) similarity lies in each of the monarchies. Both kings are described as square-jawed, and the queens are described as pale and fair. Connecting the monarchies by how they look cosmetically also connects them by how they look politically or societally. On the surface, both France and England appear to be civilizations of equal stature. However, once all details are accounted for, it becomes blatantly obvious that France is more on the cruel end of the spectrum.

France tortures and murders young men for not kneeling for monks who are literally half a football field away. When speaking of France, Dickens describes the Woodman (the guillotine) and the Farmer (death), and the relationship between the two. But in England, the citizens are committing crimes that actually do harm to people – burglaries, robberies, murders, mob doings, etc. And while the crimes in England are significantly worse than those in France, the punishments are more civil, for lack of a better word. And while France has the guillotine, England has the noose. The comparison between the countries is setting up how barbaric France’s government is becoming. England is barbaric in that their people are committing crimes left and right, but the government is the barbaric party in France. France is torturing people and murdering people for ridiculous things while England is punishing people for robbing, murdering, pickpocketing, etc. While both circumstances seem archaic in 2021, England’s punishments seem a little more justified. England is punishing actual crimes, whereas France is punishing silly disrespects.

Meanwhile, the monarchies of each country continue going about their business as usual. Neither monarch nor their consorts really care about their subjects, and it shows.

Dickens also makes MANY references within this chapter. One of which is the Cock-lane ghost, an old ghost story which (surprise, surprise) turned out to be one big hoax. Dickens uses this to subtly hint at the lies of the monarchies – it’s all a scam. Dickens also references the American colonies, foreshadowing the revolution to come in France. Yet another reference the author makes is calling England France’s “sister of shield and trident.” This alludes to Britannia, Great Britain personified. The phrase “shield and trident” is also in reference to weapons used in Rome, the fallen empire. Dickens is hitting his readers in the face with foreshadowing here, and it’s brilliant!

#al reads #al reads tale of two cities #totc #charles dickens #tale of two cities #literature #or as i like to call it #bookiessss