#and the little reprise of i know right at the end makes me want to cry

[zishuge]

did more transcription work this morning of the soft piano music that plays during the tender nanqiu scenes in the spirealm that i'm so in love with. sheet music is here for anyone who would like it. note: this is beginner level - anyone who's played piano for probably a few months should be able to play this :)

#the spirealm #music #my obsession with the music in this drama continues #the part at 1:50 makes my heart ache #and the little reprise of i know right at the end makes me want to cry #featuring my lifelong bad habit of overreliance on pedal :) #ignore the absolute mess of my kitchen counter #my ramblings

[oneatlatime]

The Painted Lady

Air Bison, Sea Bison, and now Sludge Bison.

I have no idea how Aang is swimming through a solid. Must be an Avatar thing.

I bet there would be time for more potty breaks if Sokka hadn't spent 100+ hours of their time drawing up the schedule. A very Sokka thing to do though.

Because hills often have horns. Great disguise.

You can't tell me that a factory that close to their town wouldn't also become the town's primary employer.

That is a lot of town.

I sense a return of preachy Katara. This episode is going to suck.

I'm with Sokka on this one. Buy fish, move on, defeat Firelord, return to help with environmental remediation if time permits.

I like Doc. And Shu. Nice people.

Writers: if you have to make one of your characters an entirely different person to set up the episode's lesson of the week, maybe the lesson doesn't fit your chosen characters. This is the Warriors of Kyoshi all over again. Funny how that's happened to Sokka twice.

We are all Sokka.

And where exactly did this mysterious painted lady get the food to deliver to the village, if the reason the Gaang stopped in the village in the first place was because they needed food?

Let the record show: I lost the last of my patience with this episode 8 minutes and 9 seconds in.

Waterbending healing has never thrown off that much light before. Even the spirit oasis water wasn't that bright.

Also where is the water she's healing with? Usually she has a big bubble of it.

Impersonating a religious figure. That won't end badly.

"Well I hope she returns every night otherwise this place would go right back to the way it was." YES!!!!!! THAT'S THE POINT!!!!!

What was Katara's plan? Forget about the eclipse, forget about fighting the Fire Lord, we're going to stay here for the rest of our lives so that the painted lady can put in a nightly appearance. THIS IS WHY SOKKA DOES THE PLANNING.

Spirit magic is more doing the worm than doing the wave. Good to know.

Bold of a kids' show to advocate for ecoterrorism.

Aang's like "Hey spirit lady! Here's my resume! Here's my connections on LinkedIn!" Why did Katara think that faking being a spirit within two feet of the bridge to the spirit world would be consequence free? Actually that presupposes that Katara thought. Which she didn't. Sokka does her thinking.

"I don't get to meet many spirits. But the ones I do meet, not very attractive." I am OFFENDED on Yue's behalf. And Sokka's. I guess Aang doesn't like Water Tribe girls after all.

"I guess I just became her." No. That's an excuse and a deflection. I don't want to hear it.

What was I saying about Aang and Katara enabling each others' bad tendencies?

Sokka is horribly out of character this episode, but Aang is as well. In what universe would Aang be so unbothered by Appa being sick, and then so unbothered by the reveal that Katara had been faking Appa being sick? Like, this is Appa. He nearly skinned a bunch of sandbenders over the guy. And he finds out Katara's been messing with him and calls her 'great' and 'a secret hero.'

So this factory, despite being operational 24/7, has no night staff, not even a night guard? Because if it does (which it absolutely does - automation is a problem for factories in our world, not the ATLA one), Katara and Aang just killed A LOT of people.

And so she follows up one short term solution with another short term solution, which causes a third problem she will no doubt solve with a short term solution. You think there won't be reprisals for the only obvious suspects to this industrial sabotage? You think they won't rebuild the factory?

Sokka was kidding when he said that the Spirit Lady had better blow up the factory, but not in the way Katara thought he was kidding. Katara thought he wasn't being serious. But Sokka was serious, in that blowing up the factory is as short term a solution as appearing every night. He thought the joke - exchanging one bad solution for another - was obvious.

Somebody's enjoying himself a little too much.

Unfortunately, serving as Exhibit A is the most Toph has had to do all episode.

It is cathartic to see someone finally call Katara on her nonsense. But I'll bet everything I own that the narrative is going to side with her anyway.

Welp. I won that bet.

"You need me." Correct! Katara unsupervised needs bailing out after five minutes. "And I will never turn my back on you." A much more realistic goal than never turning your back on anyone who needs you, and also Sokka summarised in one sentence. Impressive for an episode where they had to Flanderise him beyond recognition to make Katara somehow the good guy.

Oh for fuck's sake. It's not about having a heart. This late in the game it's pure damage control.

So that's where the Painted Lady's food came from. I guess Fire Nation factories count as pirates?

I like the jetskis. The seem far more stable than actual jetskis.

It never occurred to Katara to obscure the evidence even a little bit? At least rub some dirt on the emblem. Look at me assuming Katara has thoughts.

Actual reprisals for once. About time.

This kid is annoying.

Toph gets to be a haunted house sound effects machine.

That's awfully waterbendery for a Fire Nation spirit.

I don't buy for a minute that anyone would be able to stay perfectly upright and balanced after an air blast from below without extensive trampoline training.

This won't work. His superiors, or the next shift change, or the first recruit wanting to climb the ranks quickly, will rise to the challenge presented here by the "painted lady." And as soon as one FN attack goes unchallenged by the "painted lady," the village is toast. I give them a week, tops.

Kudos to some clever in-universe bending special effects. Doesn't save the episode though.

Katara's preachy speech here makes absolutely no sense in light of the rest of the episode. Scolding them for not saving themselves, when waiting around for someone to save them appears to have worked perfectly? And having little miss I-must-save-the-whole-world-on-a-weekly-basis-otherwise-my-sense-of-self-implodes deliver that scold?

Who are these people wearing the Gaang's skin?

Yeah, nothing screams undercover in enemy territory like an entire village knowing that you're a waterbender. Good thing the only competent tracker in the Fire Nation is Zuko, otherwise these kids will absolutely be dead long before the eclipse.

Hi Bushi! You're about the only part of this episode that doesn't drive me nuts!

At least the animators had fun with this one.

Is this guy mopping the river?

Exactly how many days did they take out of Sokka's schedule to restore the ecosystem? I don't care how overlevelled these kids are at bending, you cannot mechanically separate an entire river's worth of dirt from water in an afternoon.

Well that's just he piss icing on the shit cake, isn't it? It wasn't enough for Sokka to lose all reason and come around to Katara's very flawed way of thinking, it wasn't enough for Aang to call her a hero, it wasn't enough to have a village worshipping at her feet, Katara needs affirmations of how right and special and correct and perfect and morally justified she is from the spirit world itself. This is Mary Sue stuff.

Final Thoughts

This is the first time an episode of Avatar has felt like a waste of my time.

It's also the first time I've felt like an episode has gone out of its way to insult the audience.

Katara talking about how she knows what she's doing is wrong is worth absolutely nothing when a) she goes right back to doing it; and b) literally every other part of this episode trips over itself to assure Katara that she's in the right.

Katara is downright punchable this episode. Sokka is Flanderised; Toph is non-existent; Aang is just there; poor Appa is an unwitting accessory to crime; and Momo has as much impact as a housefly.

So the execs forgot about the existence of The Spirit World Part One and demanded a save the environment special episode. The writers responded by forgetting that they'd already established that Katara was ride or die for literally anyone with a pulse in Imprisoned, and gave us this to remind us of that fact. They also forgot that they'd already established that Katara has no moral code whatsoever the minute her personal interest is involved in The Waterbending Scroll, so they decided to recycle the "narrative sides with Katara endangering them all over Sokka being reasonable" plot from that episode and hope we wouldn't notice. We did.

At least with Imprisoned, Katara kind of sort of caused the problem that she fixed. She was super tangentially involved in that kid's arrest. Here, she causes problems by trying to fix problems that she didn't really have any business getting involved in.

The more of this I watched, the more I wanted someone to slap Katara. What I wouldn't give for an episode where she is wrong (has happened a lot) and the episode doesn't pretend otherwise (has never happened). For god's sake, LET HER BE WRONG AND FEEL IT. How else is she going to progress past being self-righteously fourteen? Why is she being so consistently insulated from consequences? Aang chooses power over family at the end of season two and gets actually murdered for it. Katara steals, lies, skirts dangerously close to being a false prophet and does a nifty little ecoterrorism (with Aang's help), and she gets villagers being a bit shouty before big brother comes in and fixes it. Then she gets divine sanction for her actions so even the shouty bit is negated.

There's an interesting contrast in Katara's "I will never turn my back on people who need me" and Sokka's "I will never turn my back on you." It shows which of the two doesn't have their head in the clouds, and has actually formulated realistic expectations of how much a single person can do. It also speaks to the fundamental difference in how they operate. Katara acts; Sokka mitigates. Sokka does Katara's thinking for her; Katara outsources her thinking and then gets pissed when rational thoughts don't conform to her emotions' view of the world.

Why haven't the villagers moved away? If the water was poisoning them this much, why are they still here? Was the early 2000s too early to have a theme of climate refugees? Or the pollution equivalent? That would have been more interesting than this.

I hated this. Why isn't this the episode that gets hated on like the Great Divide? Its sins are nothing compared to this.

Doc, Shu, and Bushi were the only good thing in this episode, but they weren't enough to make this one remotely rewatchable.

One out of Three so far on season three episode quality. No other season has had this bad a ratio this early. This does not bode well for the rest of this season.

#atla #avatar: the last airbender #avatar the last airbender #the painted lady

[dumbistsmartass]

Every Hatchetfield song explained badly in ten words or less

spoilers and also this is only the main trilogy not nightmare time.

The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals - Yeah, he didn't like musicals

La Dee Dah Dah Day - "the dogs are my meal"

What Do You Want, Paul? - "please god have an I want song"

Cup of Roasted Coffee - If I had to sing working retail I'd kill someone

Cup of Poisoned Coffee - oh hey, they killed someone

Show Me Your Hands - this is what cops think 24/7

You Tied up My Heart - gaslight, gatekeep, girl bossing your way to mariticide

Join Us (And Die) - Guts Magee and Brainiac explain why you should KYS

Not Your Seed - "it's your fault your daughter is dead bitch"

Show Stoppin Number - He had a point but like no

America Is Great Again - you know what it's a joke about

Let Him Come - they know he's the main character

Let It Out - Is it an identify crisis or possession

Inevitable - a beautifully haunting ending

Tickle-Me Wiggly Jingle - what the actual fuck is this?

What Tim Wants - what can I say, it's sad

Califor.M.I.A. - they really want you to bond with these characters

What Do You Say? - everyone is too invested in these twos relationship

Our Doors Are Open - "shopping will fill the hole in your heart"

Feast Or Famine - this is real footage when the new iPhone comes out

Monsters and Men - He's fucking back!

Deck The Halls - we got a full working boys, we could get this

Take Me Back - I'll be real I skipped this one on rewatch

Adore Me - haunting when you don't say the shit part

Do You Want To Play? - a reversal of who you're told to trust

Made In America - we let him in via consumerism, amazing capitalism critique

Black Friday - me singing a musical as I'm being choked out

Monsters and Men (Reprise) - This guy is so cool

If I Fail You - "are we the baddies?"

Wiggle - Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle

What If Tomorrow Comes? - So she is seeing the other Hatchetfields right?

High School Is Killing Me - they really spoil the people who die first song huh?

Literal Monster - shove yourself in your locker

Cool As I Think I Am - you think you're cooler then you think you are

Dirty Girl - makes me genuinely uncomfortable, skip it

Bully The Bully - interesting plan, let's see how It plays out

Bury The Bully - oh... that got dark fast

Go Go Nighthawks! - everyone is happier now that this bitch is gone

Nerdy Prudes Must Die - to be fair, you did kill him

Hatchet Town - mass panic is so hip

Just For Once - we all though the light was gonna fall on her

If I Loved You - they are in so much denial

The Summoning - Wiggly want you to kill your crush

Cool As I Think I Am (Reprise) - really tragic, trying to convince the other to sacrifice them

The Best Of You - I'm so glad it didn't end with everyone dead again

Dirty Dudes Must Die - When you give a Christian a little dark magic

#hatchetfield #hatchetverse #the guy who didn't like musicals #black friday #nerdy prudes must die #star kid #starkid #hatchet field #team starkid

[myheadphonesareneverloudenough]

Nerdy Prudes Must Die; musical motifs

i have so many thoughts about Nerdy Prudes Must Die and specifically the musical motifs used throughout. so buckle up, i want to talk. (theres a whole breakdown under the cut.)

so, if you didn't know already, Jeff Blim is a musical genius. and in the Hatchetfield universe, theres so many musical motifs that get used in every show. but there's one in particular that i don't know what to call it, but i'm gonna say it's 'the nerds' theme'. it's this one right here;

i've heard some call it Pete's theme, which is wrong. this specific melody is the theme of Pete, Richie, and Ruth's self worth and their inescapable tragedies. when we meet the three friends, it's very obvious that they see themselves at the bottom of the high school food chain. the nerds have accepted that they are worthless and will amount to nothing in school, because that is where society has placed them. it's as simple as Pete's song Cool As I Think I Am. he very literally does not see himself as valuable as the other students. but when that idea shifts from Cool As I Think I Am to Cool As She Thinks I Am, suddenly we have Pete realising his self worth, and the motif shows up;

and right after that, Pete is beat up in a parking lot by Max Jägerman. Pete's own self worth can only go so far when you have people like Max denying it constantly.

so now there's lyrics to this motif, and yes, Pete is the first one to sing it. But that doesn't make it any less Ruth and Richie's.

just like Pete, Richie finds his self worth in the acceptance from others. Once Max is gone and Richie makes friends with the football team, he realises how great it is to be alive. he realises that he deserves to be alive.

when Max comes to kill him, Richie justifies his self worth with the motif that returns for him this time, not Pete;

now they're not his final words, but Richie dies after declaring, "I'm Not A Loser". when he finally gets some self worth, he is murdered and never gets to fulfil that worth.

Ruth's self worth is a little different. she views her worthlessness as unfair. she believes that if she was different, she could be something great. unlike Pete and Richie, Ruth really shows that she has bigger dreams. Ruth wants to be the star of the show. she wishes to be appreciated, and her ungodly horniess can honestly be seen as a metaphor for wanting to be loved. Ruth sings about her self worth in the most Ruth way, with her own number in the BBQ Monologues.

the climax of the song (which Lauren kills, btw) the motif comes back again in the background. This time, it's for Ruth and her self worth;

does the fact that Ruth's version of the motif doesn't include the 'im not a loser' lyrics have to do with Ruth having more belief in herself? that she doesn't need to explain she isn't a loser because she knows she isn't a loser and deserves to have a chance in the spotlight? i sure as hell think so.

but Max kills her immediately after. he stops her from ever living out her big dreams of being a star.

the motif comes back again, obviously, in the reprise of Cool As I Think I Am;

the lyrics change this time around, and Pete sings 'you have to do it', which is him telling Steph that she has to be the one to kill him. despite Pete learning how to have self worth throughout this whole show, he still views himself as expendable. could this be justified with the fact that his two best friends just had their hopes and dreams shattered in death? probably. the point is, at some point during Max's killing spree, the death of his best friends, and the summoning of the Lords in Black, Pete has managed to convince himself that he's worthless again.

now. in the end, it feels like a happy ending due to the nature of The Best of You, but there are still a lot of loose ends to be explored. and on top of all that, the Nerds' motif comes back one last time;

because Grace kept the Black Book and continued to use it, and the Lords in Black are far from fair, i think Pete's torment and tragic narrative is not over by the end of NPMD.

so yeah. Pete, Richie, and Ruth are 'doomed by the narrative', as are most people in Hatchetfield. but these three characters are specifically doomed by their own self worth, and the narrative will never let them truly become their true selves.

and Jeff Blim wrote a banger melody to tell that story.

#im so normal about these 3 nerds #this is totally neurotypical behaviour #nerdy prudes must die #npmd #pete spankoffski #richie lipschitz #ruth fleming #j screams #a lot #hatchetfield #starkid #jeff blim

[fabdante]

@zutaraweek day 6, forge: it's 1994. you are at a party. and then you see a girl. and your soul remembers something: listen here (17 songs, 1 hour 9 minutes)

i've been thinking a lot about older internet. namely, old 8tracks playlists. and i thought it'd be fun to harvest a little of that nostalgia to make an old school fandom playlist meant to be listened to in order with a storyline and annotations!

song list with links and annotations under the cut (and if you liked this one, you can check out my longer zk playlist here)

~House of Metal by Chelsea Wolfe (You put your love inside the metal/You build the metal for your house): Tui and La. Moon and Ocean. Yin and yang. An eternal dance.

~Here She Comes by Slowdive (It's so lonely in this place): It’s 1994. He’s at a party. He doesn’t want to be. He looks up. And there she is.

~Home Soon by Vagabon (I’ll be home soon): Something remembers.

~Cinnamon by Jome (It’s a slow cinnamon summer/Your spell is pulling me under): It’s the last year of the 100 year war. The summer air is thick. Her smile’s the same. And something is happening that's far too sweet as they tumble towards the end of the world.

~First Light by Hozier (Could this be how every day begins?): A realization. A secret. A wish.

~Flaws by Daughter: She holds him after the lighting tore through him, after she saved him, as they watch the sky turn blue. What do you say after that? Besides what you want to, of course.

~Neptune by Sleeping at Last (I'm only honest when it rains/If I time it right, the thunder breaks/When I open my mouth/I wanna love you but I don’t know how): A realization. A horror. A little dream.

~Country Rain by Slowdive (I know I shouldn’t care/But I wish you were mine): They part. Not for the first time. Not for the last time.

~Spanish Sahara by Foals (I’m the ghost in the back of your head): Even after years, that summer won’t let go. Even after the years, she's as familiar as breathing.

~Lullabies by Yuna (Though you weren’t mine/You were my first love): A confession. A soft one.

~Fire in the Water by Feist (Nobody should see this/The freeness of the light): Knowledge that is learned cannot be unlearned. But things are seldom simple for them. It's never been simple for them.

~Cherry Tree by The National (Can we show/A little discipline?): What do we do with it? What have we ever done with it? The tangle of their lives, ever so complicated, and ever so woven. Maybe it's dangerous.

~Earth by Sleeping at Last (But I put it out of my mind/Long enough to call it courage): Wrong place, wrong time. That’s what it is.

~Good Day Sunshine by Slowdive: It’s 1994-It’s the dawn of time-It’s the 100 years war-It’s a cave between two cities-It’s-It’s-It’s-

~Samson by Regina Spektor (I loved you first/I loved you first): At least they’ll know. In the knot of his scar. In the tips of her fingers. In the glances, the letters, the comfortable silences side by side. At least they’ll know.

~Welcome Home (Reprise) by Radical Face: Maybe…maybe. Maybe now.

~When the Sun Hits by Slowdive (As the sun hits, she’ll be waiting/With her cool things and her heaven/Hey hey, lover, you still burn me/You’re a sun): It’s 1994. She’s at a party. She doesn’t want to be. She looks up. And there he is.

#zutara #zutara week #zutara week 2023 #prince zuko #katara #zuko #atla #avatar #avatar the last airbender #zutara playlist #playlist #fandom playlist #atla playlist #my playlists

[fictionalmenaremytype]

SEASON FINALE BABY LETS GOOO!!!!!

(Percy jackson ep 8 spoilers)

I'm just gonna start by saying if Disney doesn't renue this for a second season they are stupid and will have missed out on a harry Potter level phenomenon.

- LUKE MONOLOGUE HOLYSHIT ITS GIVING GOOD KID REPRISE

- HE IS KIND OF TERRIFYING IN THAT SWORD SCENE THO

- Ares' cackle. I love him .

- Ares just threw him like hulk did loki

- annabeth having to hold Grover back is so important to me because he's wanting to help percy but Annabeth knows this fight is to the death and any interruption would just get Grover killed.

- Annabeth also knowing he needs to prove himself as the son of poseidon and discover who he is.

- "let's kick the son of poseidon into a puddle right near the sea" I now understand why Athena is battle strategy and Ares is just war.

- THAT TSUNAMI JUST PARTING FOR PERCT US ICONIC AND HE JUST RUNS AND SWOOPS AND CUTS ARES

- my only critique is that Percy never does any movements to show its his power (which ik this is accurate to the books) but it comes off a little like he's just calling on Poseidon to do stuff. I wished they had some sort of indicator that it was Percy like maybe a slight movement or having the water pull back from the puddle he fell in and into the sea.

- I did think the fight was a little quick tbh but it still worked.

- the way I screamed "close your eyes close your eyes close your eyes!" When he was about to show his true form.

- woooh Hades helm

- The cabin looks fuckung terrifying rn

- I haven't seen the end of credit scene yet but I'm predicting it's going to be Sally with Gabe's statue.

- Alecto just wanted to get tho boss his hat back!

- "please" "good luck on Olympus" I thought she was going to be nice but noooo she's still a bitch.

- Annabeth trying to stop Percy from going because they're friends now and she's worried for his safety. I love Leah she is AMAZING.

- "I'm done running from monsters" THAT LINE OMG THE WRITERS ROOM ATEEEE

- THE NECKLACE?? THE MUSIC?? "You're gonna need all the luck you can get." Is so sweet and so patronising she is perfect. Leah is Annabeth Chase she has cyclops powers and just embodies her!

- "how sure are we you couldn't explain everything in an email?" So relatable Grover so relatable.

- "I'm here to see Zeus." Lightning bolt on the table " I don't have an appointment"

- THIS SHOWS ART DEPARTMENT HOLY SHITT OLYMPUS IS STUNNING WTF

- it is so so obvious when you know abt Luke that yes trying to recruit Percy to his side.

- LUKE REALLY JUST SET ANNABETH UP TO BE THE TRAITOR THERE WHAT!

- can someone build this olympus on minecraft please I want to exploreee.

- zeus (rip Lance Reddick we miss you) just waiting on his throne is terrifying.

- The thrown room being in a thunder cloud has so much messaging behind it! It is pathetic fallacy at its finest.

- Zeus is scary. I don't like it. Literal goosebumps rn.

- "your family is a mess" you tell him Percy. Be his therapist

- WHEN HE TRIED TO STRIKE PERCY OH MY GOD POSEIDON SURRENDERING

- "your forbidden son who should've never been born" "the same as your thalia" Poseidon learnt some sass I see.

- THE GREEK IS INGENIOUS.

- "make sure I never see this one again." Well I hate to break it to you sir but you will...a lot

- "obedience doesn't come naturally to you does it?" "No...sir." "the sea does not like to be retrained." CAUSE THE SEA DOESNT LIKE TO BE RESTRAINEDDDDD

- Percy not immediately knowing Greek is such a slept upon lart of the books because they have lessons in it.

- Poseidons smile about Sally.

- "Ares is a moron." The only thing Poseidon and Athena agree on.

- Aww they finally had father son time. Its so emotional and beautiful and its made me emotional.

- the line of applause and I'm just looking for Travis and Connor.

- The hugging is a thing.

- "an accusation against clarisse." "Without proof" annabeth has a feeling!

- honestly adding Clarisse as a traitor and using that to get Percy and Luke alone makes more sense to me given that they know someone at camp stole the bolt.

- I think now is the time to say how Charlie is amazing for Luke he's so sinister when he wants to be l.

- luke making him go through the Prophecy before he reveals and percy slowly realising why Omg chills.

- the red lighting on Luke highlighting his scar.

- luke looking like he's about to cry

- "I didn't think you'd give them to Grover." "I'm here to recruit" AH

- BACKBITER CAN OPEN PORTALS NOW THIS IS A WHOLE NEW LEVEL OF OVER POWERED !!!!!

- LUKE AND PERCY FIGHT LUKE AND OERCY FIGHT.

- Is that a silhouette in the background???

- " I met your dad" THE ANGER OMG

- the fight with Ares being short is made up for by this fight. Under the fireworks? In the woods? It's stunning!!!!

- PERCYS APOLOGY OMG I FELT SO BAD FOR HIM HES SCARED AND CONFUSED AND STILL TRYING TO SEE THE BEST IN LUKE.

- YES ANNABETH. THROWING HER DAGGER AT LUKE?!? I HOPE THAT KNIFE BECAUSE PART OF ANNABETHS CHARACTER BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE SO COOL. I KNEW I SAW A SILHOUTTE

- " Annabeth?" " I heard everything" I KNEW SHE HAD HER SUSPICIONS

- " He can be very very persuasive" "I'm very very stubborn"

- MR D LOVE HIM

- "Percy? That's your name?"

- I was half expecting Dionysus to do an Oprah and say " you get out and you get out"

- Annabeth saying goodbye to Thalia is so sweet

- " and then sone place called Disney World?" She's never seen a movie she's going to be so confused. "Which kind of sounds like water land but with less trying to kill you" Yeah.

- the way he smiles at her is so cute.

- "wait did I read that wrong. What am I walking into. Is there something you're supposed to do there?" "Just be a kid"

- aww Grovers searcher licence is a flower

- "but no ones ever thought to check the seas!" Nice set up Disney I see you.

- "we meet back here next year." Well you will eventually.

- THE GROUP HUG (if we get up to season 5 I expect editors to make edits of them hugging at 16 to them hugging at 12)

- The cabin and Sally <3

- "what happened?" "It's a long story."

- WHAT JUST HAPPNED OMG ANOTHET DREAM OMG KRONOS I DONT LIKE THIS HES TOO CLOSE OMG GO AWAY DONT INVITE HIM IN HES LIKE A VAMPIRE. HES SCARY SCARY SCARY.

- "no kidding kiddo it's time to wake up." So cute.

- "grandpa." "Don't call him that."

- "Don't forget to tell your mom how much you love her today." "Kronos Lord of the titans said that?" The lying and secrets has begun

- NO GABE WOOH

- THE ENDING MONOLOGUE

- HOW MUCH DID WALKER SCOVELL GROW OVER FILMING HES SO TALL NEXT TO SALLY AND THE DOOR FRAME.

- Sally divorcing gabe is much much better than her just turning him to stone because it gives the message that she now recognises her son can look after himself and now she doesn't have to protect him anymore.

- GABE ASKING THE LAWYER HOW TO PICK A LOCK IS SO FUNNY

- I really like how it's his own hate for percy and everything percy has that gets him killed rather than straight up homicide. It really sets the idea that people like that will find their own downfall (which is ironic bc this trope is commonly used in ancient Greek tragedies)

season one of percy jackson is stunning. It's a masterpiece even with the changes and whilst there was definitely some timing issues and the cut to black became annoying, it was very, very good. If it is renewed for another season, it has a lot of potential, and I will be very excited to see how they adapt The Sea of Monsters for screen.

#percy jackson #percy jackon and the olympians #pjo #percy jackson and the olympians #annabeth chase #pjo tv show #pjo series #walker scobell #grover underwood #percy jackson season 1 finale

[sparklingsora]

For the Vee-Swap AU, how does the Vee polycule develop? The polyvee shippers (me) need to know!!

HEHE OK OK SO putting it under cut bc it ended up longer than i anticipated LOL

as you already know, velvox is the established relationship in this au. and as i believe i mentioned before, velvette and val are sinstagram mutuals, it's how val finds out about the hotel. on val's part, falling for velvette isn't really a surprise to him - back when they just knew each other through social media, he already found her attractive, admired her work and they got along well, so all that turning into a full-on crush when he gets to know her better isn't very shocking. his relationship with vox is where it gets interesting, because it starts out rocky. i mentioned before that vox can tell that val's putting on an act. but because vox obv can't relate to val's situation, val just sees it as vox pitying him and refuses his help. a turning point comes in ep 4 - in the swap au, it actually starts raining during loser baby, which results in val getting sick. vox helps him out and they have a tender moment, maybe a little heart-to-heart (its hard to just describe, i will make a comic/ficlet of it at one point so you'll see :3). their relationship starts getting better from that point on, and soon enough val finds himself falling for vox. (it's funny, really - ep 4 in the swap au leads to the bettering of a grand total of 3 relationships: al & val's, vox & val's and indirectly al & vox's. load bearing episode LOL) on vox and velvette's part, well. val is a douche at the start of the story, much like canon!angel, but vox and velvette can both tell that there's a heart of gold in there somewhere. vox because of the aformentioned seeing through val's facade, and velvette because she, in fact, wasn't mutuals with val's official account, but with his art account, where he keeps his identity hidden. he shows his softer side a lot more on there, and so that's mainly the side of him that velvette knew (so now imagine the whiplash when she actually meets him in person and he's an obnoxious jerk LOL) (i dont know if valentino being an artist is actually canon - i read it on the fandom wiki and fandom wikis cant rly be trusted LOL but in any case if its not canon then its a neat hc that i incorporated into swap!val's character) but anyway yeah, vox and velvette both start falling for val as he slowly becomes more true to himself and starts showing that soft side more. eventually the two of them talk about it um. somewhere around ep 6 i think? maybe? somewhere between eps 6 and 7? something like that. anyway. there we get some juicy conflict - they agree that theyre both in love with val and wanna give the whole polyamory thing a try if he's up for it, but while velvette wants to confess as soon as possible (she's scared that one of them might die in the battle), vox wants to wait until after the battle, because the stress levels are high in the hotel right now, and he doesn't want val to feel pressured. during the last night before the battle, in a scene vaguely equivalent to more than anything (reprise), they make up, velvette admits that vox is right, and they decide to confess to val after the extermination. and then yeah they do that (it's one of the 2 things that i'm sure i want to happen at the beginning of season 2), val is like "HELL YEAH I WANNA BE IN A POLYCULE WITH YOU GUYS" and they're a polycule and its awesome :3

#askbox #veeswap au #tysm for the ask! #polyvees

[woah-uhuh-uhuh-uhuh]

All BMC Hidden Song Motifs

These are all the little tunes I’ve noticed sneakily (or not so sneakily) appearing outside of their own songs in the show! 

I did leave out the ones that are obviously the same because they repeat the lyrics (e.g. c-c-c-come on, it’s from Japan, etc), but I can add those too if enough people want.

If you have more, tell me and I'll add them! And if you have thoughts on why any of these appear where they do, pls post about it so I can read more meta sdjlkfsdjflk

More Than Survive:

Smartphone Hour chorus on synth during Jenna, Brooke, Chloe’s conversation [credit: @zabala0z]

Michael in the Bathroom chorus on synth during Jeremy & Michael’s conversation 

The Pants Song: chorus melody on guitar when Michael talks about "survival of the fittest" [credit: @aqueous-aerolite - tysm for IDing it!]

(Broadway) MTS reprise

Jeremy’s Theme at the end

Two Player Game

In scene: Michael in the Bathroom chorus on synth during their first exchange (“He’s scamming you super weirdly.”)

The Squip Enters

The Squip Song melody on synth right before the SQUIP appears: Helps you to be cooooool…. It helps… youuuu… [“Welcome to your Super Quantum Unit Intel Processor! Your SQUIP.”] ~~Ruuuuuuuule!~~

(Two Rivers) More Than Survive Reprise

Michael in the Bathroom on synth while the Squip scolds Jeremy for thinking about sex. (Still mostly inexplicable, but it’s technically a reuse of the dialogue music from More Than Survive, of which the only synth options were Smartphone Hour and Michael in the Bathroom.)

Michael’s reggae motif from More Than Survive at “Still not gonna be the cool guy”

(Broadway) Sync Up

The Squip Song: intro guitar riff plays when Rich talks to Jeremy

More Than Survive: MTS background chorus sings (‘na na na na na na na na’) with “ah”s in the musical interlude, then with “na”s at the end.

Guy that I’d Kinda Be Into

I Love Play Rehearsal: “I don’t always relate to other people my age” section is the same as “Most people do one thing for all of their lives” - the following lines match lyrics too.

More Than Survive: Christine’s bassline rhythm from the recurring motif of “Christine Christine Christine” (i.e. dotted quarter, eighth, half), originally from MTS, reappears during GTIKBI in the chorus, as well as the “I don’t always relate…” and “I guess a part of me likes to” sections.

Loser Geek Whatever

Two Player Game: the intro (“I already know what it’s like to be the loser”) is sung to the same melody as the main synth loop you can hear at the beginning of 2PG [credit: someone on the Genius page]

Touching My Hand: Not technically a motif, but I want to point out that the pre-chorus of LGW comes from Touching My Hand, a demo song that never made it into the show.

Michael in the Bathroom

(?) Knocking section could kind of evoke the staccato quarters that happen all throughout Halloween (eg, crank! the! bass!, and dunh dunh dunh it's halloween)

The Pants Song

(Broadway) “Michael in the Bathroom” on guitar when Michael says “Look, I already tried to help him, and called me a loser…” (THIS is hands down my favorite one btw. It’s one of the most obvious but that doesn’t stop it from stabbing me in the heart every time…)

The Play

Be More Chill: bass & guitar riff play when the Squip’s revealing its plan to infect humanity.

Jake enters: Jeremy’s Theme, then Upgrade

Chloe & Brooke enter: Do You Wanna Ride

Michael makes an ennnntraaaaance! (Michael in the Bathroom)

Two Player Game: pre-chorus during Michael and Jeremy’s fight (“kung fu fists, activate!”)  - and of course again the verse during their fight for the Dew.

Jenna enters: Smartphone Hour (the opening brass thumps)

Christine enters: I Love Play Rehearsal on flute - then she sings an altered version of GTIKBI

“Jeremy, Jeremy, Jeremy” is the same tune as “Christine, Christine, Christine.” (This one makes me go nuts actually. Like, that’s his deepest desire??? He just wants someone to love him as powerfully as he loves Christine????? AUUGH!!!!)

Loser Geek Whatever: verse melody plays on brass when he gives the Dew to Christine

Voices in My Head

Loser Geek Whatever: verse melody on piano during Christine and Jeremy’s conversation.

Guy That I’d Kinda Be Into: When Christine gives her answer about going out with him, they sing to the GTIKBI chorus melody, and a flute plays the GTIKBI bridge melody  (“I guess a part of me likes to”). Then when Christine says yes, it plays that bridge melody on piano.

ALSO: Overall character instruments?

Christine: flute & mallet percussion (i.e. glockenspiel, xylophone)

SQUIP: plucked guitar with tremolo, tubular bells. Edit: also the theremin [credit: @highlighter-goblin!]

(?) Rich: strummed guitar with distortion (Squip Song, Sync Up)

(?) Chloe & Brooke: plucked guitar with a Wah-wah pedal (DYWR/H)

(?) Jenna: low brass on staccato quarter notes

Yeah that's all I know of so far, but like I said please add on if you can think of more!!

#be more chill #bmc #jeremy heere #michael mell #im just tagging those two bc main character and guy whose motif plays like EVERY OTHER SONG #posts #text #ref #meta #like the littlest amount of meta i guess #everyone #my meta

[decepti-geek]

okay listen Aziraphale has basically NOTHING in common with Elle Woods aesthetically but besides that minor detail a Legally Blonde (specifically: The Musical au) would be PERFECT for Good Omens/Ineffable Husbands????

And I wanna make a distinction right off the bat - if we went by the movie, Crowley would proooobably be the only one who really fits Elle because she's the only one with a real fish out of water narrative. HOWEVER. Musical!Elle is more overtly like... fish out of water but still with some safety nets (ha) to fall back on, which are highlighted within the story. And meanwhile Emmett gets his own fish out of water story with the specific focus on his comparatively underprivileged background, and when you put those two together, Crowley feels a lot more Emmett to me.

Like, Aziraphale has the two key Elle qualities of a) lots of shit going unexamined because he's never truly lacked power/privilege before, and b) belligerent determination to do the right thing even when people are telling him it will cause him personal detriment. Crowley's whole dynamic with Aziraphale in the Job and Resurrectionist minisodes is basically just Emmett in Chip On My Shoulder if you swap 'navigating the heaven/hell dichotomy' with 'navigating law school.' GABRIEL IS A DEAD RINGER FOR WARNER. THE METATRON WOULD BE CALLAHAN. Serious and Blood In The Water fit them both so well post-s2 I'm just [clutches face] (the reprise for Serious is probably even more fitting for Gabriel than the initial version tbh).

Also, What You Want is just concentrated Aziraphale energy imo - "So! I will get into Harvard, impress Gabriel, win him back, and then marry him! Wait, you really think I need more of a plan than that? Can't I just... charge ahead and do it anyway?" In some ways I think I like this AU because it's effectively Aziraphale walking up to Crowley and going 'god says it's MY turn to be the absolute hot mess'

Beelzebub can a) be Vivian and b) stay together with Gabriel at the end, as a treat for Gabriel (Gabriel still drops out to become a model). This is partly because I find the idea of Beelzebub becoming Aziraphale's personal cheerleader towards the end fuckin delightful. The Brooke thing feels like it would take some finagling but I am confident it can be wrangled into a good shape with the right choice of characters (Harriet Dowling is legitimately a frontrunner right now but I think that could very easily change).

I can think of multiple directions in which to approach the Paulette and Kyle subplot, and honestly multiple couples who would fit if you changed up the surrounding circumstances a bit? I like the idea of Nina and Maggie in a very drifted version, maybe where they both still own their canon businesses, because then TECHNICALLY Nina as the one with the horrible ex would be Paulette, and it would be fun to switch around who is hopelessly pining after who!!

I am also playing around with Delta Nu roles BUT I know in my soul that Muriel is Margot if only because then they get her line like "Keep it positiiiiiive~ As you slap [them] to the floor! :D" Please take a moment to imagine Muriel singing that in full earnestness, it's a delight.

(And having decided this I kind of want the frat boys from the bit in What You Want to just be like... multiple Erics).

These are the edges of the idea, where stitching it together into something coherent starts to get a bit shaky, but at its core is Ineffable Husbands content along such lines as!

Crowley getting Emmett's little moment of delight at the end of Chip On My Shoulder when Aziraphale makes his first successful argument in class! ('Fell' rhymes with 'Elle' we can get some scansion going here with 'little Miss Woods comma Elle' I know it)

For that matter, the "Where are your law books?" bit in Chip On My Shoulder would be extremely funny if Aziraphale's dorm room is just the bookshop in miniature, and then still under all of that the textbooks are plastic wrapped and completely buried and unread becase they simply do not interest him the way an antique bible does.

Aziraphale in the playboy bunny costume and Crowley doing the "What's up?" [excruciating pause] "... Doc?"

The proposal right at the end where Crowley gets the repeated little 'oh my god's!

So many things about Take It Like A Man!

"Swallow your pride for me, just nod yes" is just such an Aziraphale @ Crowley line, generally.

THE CHORUS "Here you'll become what you're supposed to be/You think you can't but you can/Think of the guy you want most to be/Here's your chance to make it..." I will FIGHT people on how much this fits, Aziraphale has always wanted Crowley to have a place where he can inhabit the wants-to-do-good parts of his personality without fear or punishment, which Crowley is convinced he cannot have. This is the same idea!! (And in this AU, a more seamless role in the establishment is... legitimately the best that Aziraphale has the power to offer Crowley, tbh).

"Why can I never say no to her?" is basically just Crowley's canon inner monologue, c'mon.

"That's the best part/The outside is new/But now it reflects what's already in you/Couldn't change that if I wanted to" Again, I am prepared to Fight about this being a brilliant fit.

And then finally with this song, "Don't watch me change!" would have added embarrassed Crowley Noises which is wonderful to think about.

AND!!! The part of this whole stupid concept that so deeply compels me!!!!!

The duet part of the title song from either side of the door!!

"What about love/I never mentioned love/The timing's bad I know/But perhaps if I'd made it more clear/That you belong right here/You wouldn't have to go/Cause you'd know that I'm so much in love"-

AND

"We both know you're worth so much more"

AND

"If you can hear, can I just say/How much I want you to stay"|"It's not up to me..."

AND

[in chorus] "You are the best thing about this place-"

I am going to be thinking about this last one for days.

#Ineffable Husbands #Aziracrow #Good omens #Legally blonde #Legally blonde the musical #Aziraphale #Crowley #Ineffable bureaucracy #muriel #beelzebub #vinylatte #the metatron #gabriel #Also Aziraphale post-breakup with Gabriel doing the whole 'Must we all descend into madness?!' that feels extremely Him #And going back to Chip On My Shoulder AGAIN Aziraphale calling Harvard 'my personal circle of hell' is... extremely on the nose

[what-gs-watching]

"It's not my fault you're like, in love with me."

So while I was trapped in the house for days on end because of ridiculous weather, I kept whinging that I just wanted to get out and see the new Mean Girls. My sister was not surprised at all to hear it, assuming I would have gone the day it came out. 

Because I’m old, old enough that the original movie came out when I was a teenager and it was a big fucking deal. I remember going to the theater with my bestie and being completely obsessed. We all wanted to be Lindsay Lohan at that point, 2004 was a crazy time, and we were incredibly impressionable. So, Mean Girls was everything.

To be fair, it definitely wormed its way into the culture. My sixty-something mother-in-law knows ‘fetch’ and my metal headbanger favorite dude friend appreciates that on Wednesdays, we wear pink. Millennials get it. I’m honestly not even sure how many times I’ve seen it. If my life depended on it, I could accurately quote most of it.

So, I was excited to see the new one, and a little weary. 

But it was cuuuuuute, y’all. I purposely didn’t read anything about it, so I was slightly surprised that it was basically literally the same story, but I guess that makes sense. The whole schtick is that it’s a musical now, so I can roll with that.

One thing I will say though, it’s hard for musicals to make perfect sense. You lose some of the story by trying to flatten it into a catchy number. So it didn’t feel as comprehensive or fleshed out  as the original (which sounds insane because Mean Girls is just a story about girls being bitches, but still). 

I also really appreciated that they kept a good bit of the classic lines that everyone wants to hear. You have to have “stop trying to make fetch happen, it’s not going to happen” and “Yo go, Glen Coco!” it’s literally not Mean Girls without that. (LOL at the explanation though that 'fetch' is slang from an old movie.)

They did strip out some of the weirder aspects, leaving out the gym coach hooking up with one of the kids, which was sketch to begin with, even in 2004. And Karen trying to make out with her first cousin, which, yikes. So ya know, progress. 

But it did feel like they took some of the bite out of Regina. Like, I got that she was supposed to be mean, but there weren’t a ton of actions to reinforce that. Or even a ton of interaction between her and Cady. The frenemy-ship wasn’t fleshed out as much as I wanted it to be. 

On the bright side though, I didn’t expect the actress they chose for Regina. Body positivity, gang! And the cast was a lot more diverse. 

But, no one is ever gonna best Lohan at the role of Cady. Sure, New Cady was cute, and she did her best but honestly, she did not have the same kind of presence or charisma. But I’m probably biased as hell. Like I’ve said before, I just want Lindsay Lohan to get her life back together. 

ALSO, this is just me complaining, but I absolutely do not fucking understand fashion right now. Like, I just…I can’t. It’s weirdly 90’s, and it wasn’t cute in the 90’s originally and it’s not cute now. I was not in love with Cady’s “makeover” and that was one of the funner aspects of the original. Which could just be me projecting because I wanted to wear all of the shit that they did in 2004 but I was not that cool, gang. So now I’m the old guy who wants gen Z fashion to get off my lawn. It’s not their fault, but it’s still confusing. 

The point is, it was a fun way to spend two hours, and I love that Tina Fey and Tim Meadows reprised their roles. I will love anything Tina Fey does, forever and always. And she loves Mean Girls so much. So I’m going to, too. And I might bump “Revenge Party” because who doesn’t love a party that ends with a head on a spike? 

Did we really need this movie? Maybe not. But I suppose we can let the zoomers in on the fantasticness that is Mean Girls. Y’all can have a piece of the crown too, I guess - it’s just plastic, after all.

#mean girls 2024 #mean girls musical #what g's watching #revenge party #cady x regina #regina george #cady mean girls

[gaykarstaagforever]

FREE ON YOUTUBE

Murder by Death (1976)

A weird little guy invites five world-famous detectives to his spooky mansion for the weekend, to see if he can outwit them once and for all. Silliness and charmingly lame jokes ensue. And if you're at least a casual fan of 20th century English-language detective fiction / movies up to 1976, you'll appreciate the characters and genre tropes being parodied / taken down here.

While not as raucously funny as other comedy movies from this era (like Airplane! and Blazing Saddles, assuming that era's comedy works for you at all), the Neil Simon script is consistently chuckle-worthy, with some genuine lol moments. There is one joke involving Peter Falk firing a gun and having to go to the bathroom that is one of the stupidest, funniest things I have ever seen, almost entirely because of how he delivers it. Seriously, the whole movie is worth watching just for that.

Speaking of Peter Falk, the cast is Hollywood royalty, many of them reprising crime-solving characters in parody that they were at this point famous for. Special note to James Coco as the Hercule Peroit parody Milo Perrier, one of the few actors who seems to get the tone the screenplay is trying for, so he is perpetually funny. And of course Peter Falk as Sam Diamond, being absolutely perfect as Columbo doing Humphrey Bogart doing Sam Spade. Falk was never not 110%, and that's also true here. Truman Capote, playing the principal antagonist, is...well. He was never a great actor. But he's certainly being Truman Capote and that kind of makes up for it.

Also special shout-out to Estelle Winwood, who at 93 is bright-eyed and sharp enough to make an extended fart joke funny.

(That woman died eight years after this, two years after I was born. She was born in 1883 and debuted on Broadway in 1916. Amazing.)

The big black mark on this is Peter Sellers as Sidney Wang, doing his awful stupid Charlie Chan Tojo "me so solly" yellowface garbage. Obviously his history of doing this character like this, to pop culture acclaim, was enough to get him into this movie doing it, WELL PAST the point where it was in any way acceptable. The movie knows that, sort of, and tries to Tropic Thunder it by making his behavior an object of (too) light scorn, while also pairing him with an "adopted Japanese son," played by Japanese-American actor Richard Narita. It is still utterly awkward and gross, redeemed only slightly by the fact that Sellers is a good actor so he gives Wang genuine depth of character, despite the rest of this. That is in no way a defense, and it is still terrible. Just slightly less terrible, maybe? Relatively?

With all of the magical realism and trope tear-downs in this plot, I kept expecting by the end that someone would reveal Sellers as a character perpetuating a racist fraud. But they aren't brave enough to do that. Real shame.

Also there are no Holmes and Watson parodies here, which seems like a glaring omission. Wikipedia says they cut scenes from the original screenplay which would have had them either show up right at the end, after the crime has already been solved, or near the end, and then solve it. These were apparently cut because it was decided they would distract from and overshadow the plot at that point.

Fair enough. But as the plot by the end is purposeful convoluted goofiness mixed with a meta-commentary on the whodunnit genre in general...would it have made THAT much of a difference? I don't think so.

It is a breezy 90 minutes. And while the first half drags purposefully bad jokes out a little too long and has trouble settling on a consistent comedic tone, it ramps up and is really solid by the end.

There are also some surprising jokes about sexuality and gender identity here. I don't want to oversell that, because it is all played as just more wackiness. But I didn't expect anything quite like this in a Hollywood movie from 1976. A welcome surprise.

Oh and the paper caricatures of the cast at the beginning and end were drawn by Charles Addams. Yes, THAT Charles Addams.

Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 67%. I'd go higher than that, at least the high seventies. That Peter Falk bathroom joke at like an hour and seventeen minutes is really goddamn funny.

#free on YouTube #free movies #murder by death #1970s #racism #peter falk #whodunnit #mystery fiction #detective #noir

[adridoesstuff]

Your wish is my command ;)

Some random questions that you can choose to answer (or not answer):

What is your favorite moment with the angels in the musical?

2. I know Lucheni is onstage more than in many of the other productions. Is there any of these additions that is your particular favorite? Why?

3. (Totally cracky) - Smrt accidentally touched little Rudolf during Mama, wo bist du?. How would you salvage the production for the night?

4. If you were going to change the Mayerling choreo to put a kiss in, how would you do it?

5. Tell me about a part of the musical that you most want to talk about :) (because sometimes there is that highly specific question that we want to answer but no one knows to ask).

6. And because of course I have to ask this, what is your favorite Pavel Klimenda in the ensemble role?

1. There are many moments involving the angels that I absolutely love, but I will highlight:

The angels taking a few souvenirs from Lucheni during Kitsch

The angels showing up in little Rudolf's room and luring him to them at the beginning of Mama wo bist du

The angels creating Rudolf's grave out of their wings

2. The additional Lucheni stagetime (which just makes this already tasking role even harder imo) is I think a genuinely amazing thing this production did. Lucheni did indeed truly feel like the audience's guide throughout the show and if not, then his additional stage moments just helped in fleshing out his character as more than just a snarky anarchist. You could see in these "in the wings" moments that the snarky sarcastic Lucheni you see when he is centerstage is just pretense and that Lucheni is from the start doubtful of his own effort to justify Elisabeth's murder. He clearly empathises with both Sisi's (Wie Du reprise) and Rudolf's struggle and pities them.

One touching moment was him watching little Rudolf interact with Smrt from the side of the stage with this sad gaze, already knowing how this will end and pitying Rudolf.

3. Indeed a cracky idea, but with how literally millimeters close Pavel as Smrt was to touching his little Rudolfs on the head, it could be a likely possibility.

If we were to go by pure show lore principles, then Rudolf dies then and there and we are done for. Therefore, I would maybe in this case encourage both whoever would that day be on as Smrt and Rudolf to make the conflicted pull Smrt and Rudolf have to one another more prominent and I'd especially encourage the Rudolf actor to really act drawn to Smrt.

4. I would see two paths here: the most in character would be Smrt kissing Rudolf after he has just died and before he lays Rudolf down onto the ground. The other way would be after the moment when Rudolf falls onto the ground at the very end and Smrt offers him his hand to take. Smrt would pull Rudolf from the ground to his feet and I just feel it would be nice if Rudolf, right before he dies, pulled himself closer to Smrt and just pulled him in for a kiss to Smrt's surprise. Or I'd be very happy if this version was reciprocal

5. What I found very interesting and refreshing was that this production didn't simplify the characters and didn't try to forcefully make them sympathetic, but presented them as complex flawed people and paradoxically, that is precisely what gave the characters that sympathetic aspect. Sisi in Act 2 was an outwardly harsh and unsympathetic woman who was just fighting her inner demons and mental health. Smrt was a supernatural being with a soul fully capeable of human feelings. Franz was a well meaning and kind man who was just forever haunted by his mother's upbringing

6. For the uninitiated: during the last few performances, quite a few people from the ensemble were sick following one another on show day, which meant that during these sicknesses, the principal actors who weren't supposed to be playing, but were in town filled in spots in the ensemble. That way we got Smrt actor Pavel Režný as Count Grünne/ensemble for one show and the aforementioned Pavel Klimenda doing a stint in the ensemble in Act 1 while he didn't need to be onstage as Rudolf.

I think my favorite of his ensemble roles was during Fröhliche Apokalypse because he was so tiny compaed to his fellow castmates that he had to try standing on his tiptoes or jumping up to peek over everyone's shoulders and he had the full potential to just goof off. Plus, that dumb little hat he got for the scene was so fun, especially in his last show when he had the already grown out Jesus hair

#elisabeth das musical #adri rambles

[dadsbongos]

chapter 5 - two of hearts (reprise)

3.7K words

@latenightsimping @mantorokk-writes @kitmon @thornsnvultures new series all finished :) warnings - got eepy and didn't edit this as thoroughly as i did for other chapters

prev. chapter / masterlist

Dragging big work boots that you slapped on (you're sure they're your dad's), Mr. Kennedy's brow raises at the glum, muted gray and blue of your sweater and pants. He's standing before your ex - what was he exactly? You barely dated, after all.

Mr. Kennedy is standing before your ex-potential boyfriend, hands firm on his hips and both staring at you. He jerks his head towards Eddie, "You wanna switch partners?"

Exhausted and baggy eyes widen at once, betrayed and bug-eyed gaze flipping to Eddie in an instant. You fold your arms across your chest and 'hmph' as he stutters attempted excuses.

"I - well- you know, it'd be awkward? I just didn't wanna make things tough- we don't have to!"

"Wow," you muse, not particularly caring that Mr. Kennedy's face is stern and over this melodrama, "first you destroy my ego, and now this?" Eddie winces and you shuffle past to where your desks were smashed together, "What's a girl gotta do to get some compassion around here?"

"Nothing!" Eddie clamors after you, hands shaky and knees wobbling. He was hoping to take the coward's way out - really show his mother's far-and-away Irish blood in some silent exit. Then he wouldn't have to deal with the consequences of actually leaving.

"So, no switch?" Mr. Kennedy huffs as he sits back on his chair, "Kids."

"I honestly," Eddie waits until you look at him, swallowing the needles in his throat, "Honestly? I just figured you didn't wanna sit next to me and work with me, and I'm sorry I tried switching…" he looks away, little tears sparkling in his brown eyes, "I'm sorry for what I did to you. I should've never done it. I should've dated you for real," you're silent, peak stoicism and it makes him so nervous he just can't help but keep fucking talking, "I'm sorry I'm so dumb," he just can't help but try and break the tension with bad jabs, "I wanna throw myself into a fire every time I think about it."

And like a cornered animal, like the shrew everyone shudders at, you snap and bite, "But not before you did it?" you shush him as his pretty lying mouth opens, "You're such an asshole. You know? You know, I was excited to actually meet you because my brother and sister and all their little friends adore you," you make a big show of how your eyes crawl over him, little stinging bugs from head to toe and he feels like he's suffocating under the weight, "I wanted to see what the obsession was. And honestly, I can't see it."

You neglect to mention that at one point, you could. And it was beautiful.

He blinks, stupid lashes fluttering and stupid bambi eyes wet and stupid cherry lips wobbling with potential. Eventually, he settles on, "I'm sorry…"

And turns around in his chair to face forward - right at the blank chalkboard. At nothing.

"What hurt the most," your voice snips, rawness exposed, "was that you didn't bother calling after you left."

You don't know what you were hoping for, but it definitely wasn't this sullen silence as if he's the one hurt.

So you continue to thrash and snarl and bare your teeth, "I can't wait to deliver my yearbook bullshit. Declare that you do have layers - evil, then sweet, then evil again," he sits still, except for the incessant battering of his fingertips against the desk, no rhyme or rhythm just batting to bat, "Because you're selfish, you know, at the end of the day. You like winning more than you like being liked."

When he continues to pay you no mind, you feel crushed. You want a reaction to know he cares, and you want that more than you know that Eddie isn't the type of person to argue back when it matters. Petty debates are his hobby, but in real moments - he shuts down. You've seen it before. But that isn't how you operate, so you now walk away assuming you had less of him than when you began.

You dart out of the room, sneaking through the very back of the room and dodging Mr. Kennedy's annoyed face. You get to the parking lot, blotting little droplets from your lashes before you realize why you even care so much. Why you even want to forgive him after what he did.

Because no matter how upset you are, you still just want him to run up and loop his arm through yours and plant a fat, noisy, obnoxious Eddie Munson trademark kiss to your cheek. You feel like an idiot. You fell in love with Eddie Munson after one official date.

Normally, Jonathan drives you and the littles to school. But you didn't exactly tell him your newfound plans to ditch, so that's out of the window. Instead, you find a pay phone at the nearby gas station and dial Hungry Howie's.

"Hungry Howie’s, thank you for calling, how can I help you?" a tired drone breaks over the phone and you can imagine the person hunched over their box in the kitchen, half asleep.

"Robin's working today, right? I need to talk to her."

One fake delivery later, you were pushing open the cabin door and staring right at your dad in the kitchen. He's in a big white T-shirt you vandalized in seventh grade to say '#1 COP DAD and plain faded jeans.

"I wanted to surprise you both," he puts down the overflowing bowl of sugary cereal and wipes away the remnants of a milk mustache, "Take the whole week off, but now I'm being surprised."

"Yeah, well," you press your back to the door as it shuts, kicking off Jim's mud-stained work boots and stomping into the kitchen, "Relationships are stupid and I'm remembering why I never dated."

Eddie isn’t completely certain what Mr. Kennedy said as he ran out of class, his footfalls overlapped until he came to the fork between an exit and the foreign language hallway. Well, maybe Mr. Kennedy just sighed.

Taking the sharp corner into a long line of doors with pastes of other countries’ flags on them, Eddie pressed on a practiced path to the last door on the left. Dustin Henderson’s amateur Latin class.

He slots his face into the thin window that stretches about halfway down the door, waving a ringed hand behind the glass until Dustin finally locks eyes. Subtly, the boy shakes his head - swearing off the idea, at least until Eddie’s face becomes stern and he stomps a foot.

‘Mature’, Dustin mouths before throwing down his pencil and raising his hand and pointing over at the rack of laminated passes. He grabs the yellow one with a little stick figure next to a toilet on the right-hand side and slips out the heavy door.

Shoving Eddie out of the window’s view and into the nearby boys’ bathroom, Dustin grumbles, “This is why Suzie has to fix my Latin grade.”

“I fucked up,” Eddie wrings his hands, eyes flitting away from the good-natured and concerned face of his little right-hand man, “I need a lot of help…”

By the time Eddie’s twisted tale has wrapped up, Dustin’s left with an unhinged jaw - hands wide at his side, “How did I never hear about this?!” before Eddie can respond, he puts up a hand, “Also, that’s so mean - we all need to talk about this.”

“Not now, man,” Eddie scratches at his arm, nails scraping away the sturdy build of anxiety from the past day, “Just tell me how to fix this.”

He can see that Dustin doesn’t truly want to, but he has a big heart and so he sighs, “Alright. To get her forgiveness, you have to offer yourself up on the altar of dignity and even the score.”

Eddie’s neck snaps to check under the stalls, as if somebody had crept in during their conversation, “Don’t say shit like that out loud, man.”

“No,” Dustin punches Eddie’s shoulder, skin sticking to the leather of his jacket, “No, no! You don’t get to listen to Mike’s dumb ass all you want and then shut me out,” only when Eddie concedes with an eye roll and slumps back, does Dustin continue, jabbing a thumb into his own chest, “Because I know exactly what I’m talking about!”

“Okay, okay,” Eddie puts both hands up, “I surrender myself to your knowledge and wits.”

“Good,” the boy nods surely, “First you’re gonna tell me what she likes, we need something big. Something Mike could afford.”

“Why?”

“We’re getting rid of all that money you got and we’re spending it on her because that’s what we should do.”

“And then? Getting her presents cannot be the whole plan,” Eddie flicks the electric blue brim of Dustin’s Thinking Cap.

“And then…” Dustin throws his arms out wide, “You sacrifice yourself on the altar of dignity.”

Eddie’s first thought goes to that pink and purple and blue lighting he first saw you - really saw you - under, dancing and free to the sound of sweet Stacey Q in The Sunset. You go every Wednesday and Saturday.

And he now has two days to learn a guitar cover of Two of Hearts.

“I mean, the nerve of that guy to not even come to school after that,” Barb gags, “Makes me sick!”

“Right?” Robin scoffs, shaking her head with folded arms, “I mean- what kind of person- “

“Please,” you settle onto one of the plush velvet barstools, clicking your nails against the smooth white counter, “I kinda don’t wanna talk about him right now.”

Settled against the counter by an elbow, Robin sucks in sharply, leaning over to nudge you, “Are you in the mood to see him then?”

“Huh?” you whip around, the stool screws squeaking as it spins and you catch Eddie Munson on stage - ole Sweetheart hanging over his chest and fumbling hands securing the microphone into its stand, “He’s such a fucking idiot.”

Barb nods solemnly, “This really isn’t his scene…”

Eddie’s eyes scan the crowd until he comes across the bar, and you can see his hand twitch up as if to wave. He decides against it, “Hi…” the call echoes and he winces, “Uhm, a girl that I - that I love is in the crowd tonight, and this is the song that played when I first saw her here,” he leans back, observes the group of misfits before him, and leans back in, “I also just recently realized what kind of place this is, so… I’ll be on my way soon,” and just as you think he’s finally about to begin, the devil’s forked tongue splits his lips again, “Also, you know, don’t worry about me saying anything- “ he raises a fist and you’re so mortified, “Power to the pussy and whatnot.”

And so the normally poppy and saccharine sweetness of Two of Hearts is replaced with echoing strums and the deeper tumble of Eddie Munson’s little Satanist voice. Little angelic loverboy Satanist voice.

Barb turns, red ringlets twisting and brown eyes flickering to you, she has the question on her tongue - You wanna leave? - but despite your prior complaints, you’re entirely hypnotized. Frozen on the stool with both hands stuck to your knees, eyes wide and doughy and so loving it hurts her.

She hates Eddie right now more than she ever hated Steve Harrington, but she fears that asking you to break out of this moment then perhaps it’ll send you spiraling. Which direction, she doesn’t know and she definitely doesn’t want to find out.

And you spot each other again, his chest puffs up when he notices you staring - he grins and that same twitch to wave hits his arm. And this time you’re seeing him - really seeing him - under pink and orange lights for the first time. Messy curls and pale skin and scratched, bumpy leather reflecting sunset shine and he sees you under Cupid’s magical pink lights and he thinks he’ll just about die if he can’t see you ever again.

And the lights change, flowery violet and it snaps you from his stare. You hop down from the stool, hands shaking at the realization of how ready you already are to forgive him. With knocking knees and lungs that squeeze between the gaps in your ribs, you slide down the checkered hallway into the bathroom.

Robin and Barb follow and Eddie’s already begun planning his next stage of apology.

Your locker jiggles open, door thick and stuck to the rusted frame - but eventually it pops open, just as it always does. A jumbled light blue fabric with baby pink flowers and flourishing green leaves printed over it rests on top of your textbooks. No price tag is attached but you recognize it from store windows and magazine catalogs with pretty brunettes and blondes and mannequins wearing it.

“What is it?” Barb leans against your side, peeking over your shoulder with a quirked brow.

“A dress,” you answer simply, balling your fist into your thigh and pressing until the muscle grows sore. Laura Ashley, the one you’ve wanted to wear to prom since it first was even announced.

You turn, spotting Eddie as he tries twirling around to pretend he hadn’t been watching you.

“What are you trying to do?”

Eddie kicks at the tile as if there are rocks and dirt to distract him, “Well, I had some cash that a guy paid me to take out a girl, but I fucked up by falling for her,” he shrugs, eyes fluttering from the tiled floor and the spot right between your eyes, “Fucked up even more by hurting her, so I have to try and make it right.”

And this is what you wanted, right? To be sick and twisted and see him miserable. You asked and you received and you absolutely hate it here.

“And are you hoping to get something out of this?”

He presses his lips together, thousands of little responses on his tongue, and yet none can escape - you hate how he shuts down, “It’d be nice to get back together, but I can’t expect anything when I’m the one that fucked up.”

“Eddie, I- “ you pause, laugh, and feel something hot like lava catch in your throat because you think you’re more scared about how badly you want him than you are angry at his misdemeanor.

And you can’t find a way to say that, so you turn and scamper off as the bell rings. Eddie sighs something heavy and thuds his head against the locker behind him, a heavy clang rings through his skull when suddenly the call of his name interrupts the self-pity. Dustin lingers just down the end of the hall, head and shoulders peeking past the wall as he gives an over-enthused thumbs up.

“You saw that, right?” Eddie’s bambi eyes follow Dustin as he skitters over, “Very decidedly not thumbs-up worthy.”

Dustin smacks Eddie on the shoulder, pearly whites on full display, “But she wanted to forgive you! Did you see that hesitation? We just need something incredible, something really big that she really wants.”

Eddie’s gaze flies up to the water-stained, browning ceiling tiles, “I have an idea, but it’s gonna be a huge pain in the ass.”

And for a week, you heard nothing from Eddie Munson. And for a week, you were ashamed over how heartbroken it left you - much more broken than when he initially screwed you over so royally.

Earlier today, Principal Higgins said he had to meet with you after school - theories boundless as to why, and it left you with cold sweats and a racing heart. What’s worse? Robin and Barb were sketchy about it all day. Downright refusing to look your way when you began the tale of the fucked up request.

And until you actually slip inside Higgins’ office, you were honestly thinking that perhaps they’d been replaced with heartless little science experiments that took on your friends’ shapes.

Upon entering Higgins’ office, you see the man himself adjusting a purple and yellow striped tie against his white button-down. You also see Barb and Robin and Chrissy fucking Cunningham littered around the carpeted room - leaning against walls and nestled into large indoor tree pots. And, of course, it isn’t a party unless he’s there, Eddie Munson squirming in the rightmost seat before Higgins.

“Munson came to me about your idea for a girls’ club,” Higgins gestures to the left seat, and you twitch your way into it, “I agreed under the terms that Hellfire split the drama room for your meetings. The scheduling for that will be up to you.”

Like that first fresh breath after a dunk in the pool, you feel your lungs lift. Your hands clench against the material of your floral dress - the closest you could get to that gift from Eddie without having the balls to actually wear it.

“As long as you, Barbara, Robin, and Christina don’t drop out and you can maintain proper club reports then- “ Higgins gestures to the four of you, “The club is yours. Appropriate files will be with your homeroom teacher next Monday.”

You nod slowly, arm and fingers numb as you reach over to snatch the President’s pin from Higgins’ hand. As soon as the cool metal is in your hand, the needle pokes an angry dot through your palm.

“Okay, happy ending, now shoo! Shoo!”

And with that, the mismatched group was sent lingering in the hallway - now empty of the bustling teenagers ready to be rid of the education system nightmare for the day.

“Congrats!” Chrissy Cunningham is the first to speak once you’re all out, her hand spindles against your shoulder, “I was so excited about the club when Eddie told me about it.”

“Right,” you can’t feel her hand on you, and you can’t feel it when she pulls it away - you don’t think to look for Barb and Robin. Not that you even can when there’s a sudden blur in your vision. The corners of your eyes left bubbling with this shock.

You’ve wanted this forever and you want Eddie, but you don’t think you could stomach the idea of people thinking you’re some gullible simp. And maybe he can tell because he’s quickly taking you aside.

Lovingly, he holds you, brushing hair out of your face and swallowing the pins in his throat, “I hope these are happy tears or something…” he laughs hollowly, “If not, I’m sorry.”

And the tears decide to fester on themselves, spreading like sores down the sides of your face, you think you’re really smitten with this guy. You wipe the tears and sniffle and say, “I’m so done being dramatic, but it feels like I have to be.”

Eddie shakes his head softly, and now you can feel his hands on you - they’re warm, “Why do you have to be dramatic? You’re, like, the frontman of the Individuality band.”

You wrench your face sharply, smearing the sores from under your eyes, “I just don’t wanna move too fast,” but you’re shifting closer to him, “I feel like I should be mad, but I’m not anymore, and I don’t know if this is the right way to go about everything.”

“Well, you know- I can’t make you forgive me- “

“That’s the thing, Eddie,” you groan, squeezing your eyes shut so tight that not even Geoff Capes could pry them open, “I do forgive you! I forgave you ten minutes after I found out! I haven’t been mad at you, but everybody else thinks I should be and I’m just not - and that’s so fucking scary.”

He’s quiet for a moment, then his hands slide down from your arms to your hands and he feels even warmer now, “I have to show you something.”

The girls and Higgins and the nightmare of this high school drama are left behind as Eddie drags you to the drama room. He’s rambling, in his usual stupid-sweet way, with a message that basically settles into “the guys are mad at me, but they can eat rocks”.

A pink symbol of Venus lays against a blue, purple, and orange sunset on a crumbled white banner on the middle table. It’s squiggly and the colors don’t bleed into each other quite right.

“Did you paint it yourself?” you turn to Eddie.

He inhales sharply, shrugging, “Yeah, had to retry like three times.”

“And you think I’m worth all this trouble?”

“I had five more plans if this one didn’t work and you didn’t tell me off.”

Because he thinks you’re sweet and loving, and you lean in and kiss him.

And he wraps his arms around you, tight like you might suddenly slither out. He buries his face into the junction between your neck and shoulders, hair tickling the side of your face.

“I missed this,” he whispers, going lax against you, “God, I missed this.”

Suddenly, you frown and he can feel it, “I should probably redo my assignment.”

He pulls back, plucking stray hairs out of his face with a quirked brow, “You finished it?”

“Yeah,” your face grows hot at this admission, “I went on a rage bender and it was done before Jane’s bedtime.”

But he laughs, full-bodied and entirely contagious - you find yourself giggling along with him. Eddie’s head is thrown back before he sighs, shaking his head, “You should keep it, it’d be funny!”

“No way!” you lightly punch his chest, brows furrowed, “I can’t be one of those people complaining about their boyfriend - that’s crazy!”

“Then I can help, if you want,” Eddie offers, leaning back in to kiss you.

But you lean further away, a teasing smile on your lips, “Nope. I want it to be a surprise!”

“Good things?”

“You know it.”

“I have good things in mine, too.”

“I’d hope so,” you lean in to return his kiss this time, then pull back suddenly, “But don’t think you can just pull extravagant bullshit every time you mess up!”

“Of course, not,” he rolls his eyes, “There’s also smaller bouquets of flowers and trinkets and jewelry.”

You laugh and finally lean in, only to pull back again, “But seriously- !”

“I know, sweetheart,” he closes in for you, stealing a chaste peck, “I’m messing with you.”

“Good,” and you cup his cheeks this time, bringing him back in for a much harder, more passionate, very deserved kiss.

#eddie munson x you #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson #eddie stranger things #stranger things fic #stranger things x reader #10 things i hate about you #eddie.🍓 #10 things i hate about you.🍹

[marvelgirl123]

Rating Hazbin Hotel songs

So a friend of mine recently got me into Hazbin Hotel and while I haven’t watched the whole series I love it. I love the designs of the characters, the voice acting is incredible, and the little theater kid in me loves the music. I think the soundtrack is filled with absolute BANGERS that had no reason to be as good as they are. I’ve seen a lot of people rating the songs so I thought I’d do the same and before I get started these are just my opinions that you are welcome to disagree with. As long as you respect my opinions I’ll respect yours. Anyway let’s get into it

Hell’s Greatest Dad - This is actually the first Hazbin song I listened to and I love it. I think the banter and fighting between Lucifer and Alastor is hilarious and I can’t hold back a smile whenever I hear it. The song really makes them look like two divorced dads who are fighting over their daughter who doesn’t want them to fight

Respectless - I won’t deny that Velvette is a bitch but she’s fun to watch and I love her song. I think her voice actor did an amazing job with it and Velvette actually is one of my favorite character designs. She kind of reminds me of Cersei from Game of Thrones in the aspect of she’s a bitch but she’s a great and entertaining character

Stayed Gone - I love the back and forth between Vox and Alastor here and I once again think the vocal talent is great. Vox makes me think of a teenage girl who’s obsessed with the boy that turned her down at prom. The song also makes me wonder what could have possibly happened between Vox and Alastor to make them absolutely hate each other now so I hope we get some insight on that in season two

You Didn’t Know - I love the part when Emily and Charlie sing together. That harmony just scratches my brain the right way and I love it. I was also definitely not expecting Vaggie to be a fallen angel and seeing Charlie’s reaction to it broke my heart. I also loved hearing Lute sing and even though she’s a bitch I think her voice actor is really talented

More Than Anything - I love Charlie and Lucifer’s relationship and kind of envy it (daddy issues if you can’t tell). I love the “I’m grateful you’re my father/daughter” part and it always hits close to home. I also really do think that Lucifer does his best to be a good dad to Charlie and I hope we get more of him in season two

Poison - Angel Dust is one of my favorite characters so hearing this song makes me feel so bad for him and makes me hate Valentino even more. I want to hug Angel so badly whenever this song finishes and I was definitely not ready for that episode

Loser Baby - I love Husk and Angel’s relationship so much and I need to see Husk battling Valentino for Angel is some way in season two

Hell is Forever - I hate Adam and his song had no right to be so good but it was. I also love Alex Brightman and think he did an amazing job throughout the entire show even though his character is an asshole

Out for Love - This one is usually higher on people’s lists but there are just songs I’d prefer to listen to before listening to this one but still think it’s really good

Happy Day in Hell - I think Charlie is adorable and I think this one is usually further down on people’s lists but I really like it. No hate pls 🥺

Ready for This - Honestly I think Alastor and Rosie carried this whole song. I adore their friendship and hope that we get a lot more of it in season two. I need to see them hanging out and talking shit about other demons and overlords

More Than Anything (reprise) - Really cute song and I love Charlie and Vaggie together

Finale - It was a nice way to end the show but there are just other ones I like better than it. Also someone please go help Alastor, my boy needs it

Whatever it Takes - It’s a good song but it’s not really my cup of tea but I do love Carmila’s voice actor and I think we need more of Vaggie singing because I love her singing voice

It Starts With Sorry - I think this song is cute but that’s about it. Other than that I don’t have much to say on it

Welcome to Heaven - I hate this song and I think it’s pretty much just the angels flexing the whole time

And there you have it, my ratings and opinions on the songs from Hazbin Hotel. Like I said before, if you disagree that’s totally fine all I ask is that you respect my opinions. Have a great day or night and hopefully I’ll post again soon (it’s the middle of the night for me and this is what I’m doing)

#hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel fandom #hazbin lucifer #hazbin alastor #hazbin angel dust #vivziepop #hazbin hotel vox #Hazbin hotel charlie #hazbin hotel vaggie #Hazbin hotel husk #hazbin hotel velvette #hazbin hotel valentino #hazbin hotel adam

[riseofamoonycake]

The Light Side of the Moon

🌙 Pairing: Rudra x moon goddess!reader

🌙 Setting: post Ragnarok

🌙 Warnings: mention of wine, sex (oral, penetration), nudity, death. 

Part 4 of 4: Two (Dawn)

Where you are a moon goddess of immense power (like Tanit), but clumsy, gentle and, after sorrowful relationships, afraid to fall in love again; but love comes to you anyway. 

And he has four arms.

🌒🌕🌘

“There was a time when I wasn’t the Great Moon.

These lands remember him: a mighty god, the Lord of War, ruled them, making enemies tremble as much as friends. His face was dark as the deepest sea; his footsteps brought silence wherever he went, he rarely spoke and smiled even less… and when he did, nothing good followed. There was no one who didn’t fear him: even we, gods of his own pantheon, tried to cross his path as little as possible, preferring not to know he was near.

To be honest, in something you remind me of him because he was determined, energetic and self-confident; and although he never had your kindness and understanding towards others, like you he knew how to defend, protect and take care of those who invoked his help.

This was our supreme king: an impregnable tower, unshakeable and frightening, a frightening entity.

At least that’s how my eyes saw him: but then I was little more than a child compared to him, a young goddess of fertility and family whom only new weds and mothers prayed to. Only immortality differentiated me from women, with whom I liked to mingle: like them I had a husband, like them I loved and was loved, and one day, I thought, I would also have children of my own.

I wasn’t a queen: my job was to guide the moon on her nocturnal journey and accompany her to the regions beyond the horizon, to take care of the creatures and their offspring, to watch over Nature. My name was known, but I didn’t have the power I have now; and I didn’t even want to. My life as a minor goddess was enough for me: I was happy when I ran under the stars and followed the dances of the planets, I was happy when only the moon listened to my words and I hers, when I heard the cry of a new life and the trembling of vegetation under the soles of my feet, and when I returned to my home, where my husband waited for me and took care of me in the same way I took care of others. I would never have asked for more… I would never have wanted anything else. But, evidently, I’ve never been allowed to choose.”

You pause for a moment, breathing hard, let the little bird scamper on your lap and then watch it fly away. Rudra doesn’t force you to continue, and it is this silence that pushes you to talk further.

“Something was wrong that night: I realized it right away, at the beginning of the trip. The air was heavy, it stinged my skin and gave me unpleasant sensations, as if the whole world was holding its breath at something terrible.

For some time the city that was to become the center of my cult and another had been at war over unrespected borders, and if at first the respective citizens had limited themselves to a few reprisals and minor quarrels, then the blood had begun to flow more abundant and frequent.

That same night the decisive battle would take place, as agreed upon; and our lord, invoked by the constant prayers of my future city, would intervene to fight at its side and deliver the victory to it, despite the terrible trap woven by the enemies.

This is exactly what happened: my city won the battle and with it the war... yet, things didn’t go quite as planned; and it was my fault.

What I did, only later would I have understood in its full extent, even if the night and the sensations I had experienced had tried to warn me in time: because I had been ordered to carry out my duties as always, without any change, and I obeyed… but the light of the moon, at that moment above the place of the battle, revealed the enemy ambush too soon, so that it all ended before what had been decided by the deities. The King of the Gods arrived when the battle was already over: he was welcomed by the soldiers with prayers and gifts, altars were raised and he was called with names that made all his opponents tremble, but it was not to him that the real honors went.”

Your voice trembles and your fingers squeeze the animal as if to protect it, while the images of what you are narrating run before your eyes. Everything is vivid, as if you were living it right now, and tends towards the deep shadows that will follow shortly thereafter.

“... Because it was I who was invoked by the victors as their guide. It was I, together with the moon, who had led them to victory. Involuntarily I had anticipated the king, taking his place, depriving him of the prayers and gratitude that were due to him, and which he now saw being assigned to a goddess of modest importance. I had made a huge mistake.”

Rudra’s fingers tighten around yours, stopping you for a moment. You stroke them in reassurance.

“Initially the fact did not have a follow-up. No one in the pantheon mentioned the incident, not even the king showed resentment for the offense he had suffered; but I tried to stay as distant as possible from the others, dealing with my duties with the utmost rigor, hoping that everything would be resolved as soon as possible and no one would ever remember what happened.

However, the ones who did not forget at all were the humans. While the other cities continued to adore the king as their protector, the one I had helped began to change its prayers and rituals: my small temple gradually became larger, the gifts on the altars richer, and military men and nobles united with those who have always revered me. In a short time, the city changed its face and its tutelary deity: and I, from the simple goddess I was, began to be called the Lady, the Mother.

The city had become mine.”

“And the King of the Gods did not accept it.”

You lean a little towards the God of the Storms. Immediately, he wraps an arm around your shoulders: the next words won’t be easy. “No, he didn’t: not only had a brat stripped him of military honors, but now she was also stripping him of a city! To all intents and purposes it seemed like a climb to his throne. And his revenge was not long in coming.” You close your eyes, then swallow.

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. We both know where the wrath of a god can go.”

You just nod, thanking his concern with your eyes. “That wrath was vented during the night in which he burned the city to the ground; it acted thoroughly, striking anyone who supported me. I had to pay up to the end, it was a necessary lesson: and those who trusted me really lost out. Only the women were spared; in the following days they would have to take care of the bodies of their men, looking for them and mourning them in the burned and destroyed streets, in the gutted houses, in the violated temples. The whole region risked collapse due to the wrath of the god they had forgotten because of me, by a fatality, by my mistake.

Even my husband... I’m sure he defended me to the last. None of the other gods told me, but I know. He paid the love for me with his life, and I… I didn’t even get to say goodbye to him one last time.”

Rudra stiffens and narrows his eyes as he looks at you, but you turn your head away. Although centuries and centuries have passed since that moment, it is still an open wound. He was your first love, and however much you try and try again, the emptiness that his loss has left you is still empty.

“I couldn’t save any of them: my punishment was having to witness the fires, the destruction, the death, the annihilation from my divine throne, tied up so I wouldn’t escape, watched over by the other gods.

I passed out before I saw the worst, but I didn’t have to watch to know it was coming. And, Rudra, do you know what happened the next day? Nothing. No one hurt me: when the king returned, he freed me from all chains and treated me as if nothing had happened. I resumed my usual duties, and nothing happened.

My husband’s throne disappeared: he was forgotten, removed. Thus, it had never existed, and revenge was accomplished, order re-established. The little goddess who dared to question her Lord’s power was put back in her place.” You wince, then let out a bitter laugh. “Shortly thereafter, the survivors began building the city from top to bottom: slowly, but steadily. Layer by layer, stone by stone, until it is even more beautiful than it has ever been before. And they re-dedicated it to me, who had brought them close to complete ruin.

The gods let them be, laughing at them, but deciding not to intervene and watch them fail. Instead, those walls, those fountains and streets would last for millennia: they had just begun their story… and I with them.

The Great Moon was born then, but at what cost?”

The song of the ocean creeps into your words as if it wants to answer for you, and you let it do it for a little while.

“Perhaps that was the true revenge of the gods: letting me shoulder all the responsibilities of the city, witnessing its glory and the ruin that would one day erode it. Knowing every fate, every life, every step, of all the creatures that would have walked the streets in the night or in full sunlight, shadows and sighs under my gaze.

And love… love. When you bind yourself to a deity, the end is a remote possibility: it exists, but it doesn’t even cross your mind. But when your heart is taken by a creature that in a heartbeat will be reclaimed by Death… it’s hard, it’s sad to accept. And it doesn’t matter to know the cycle of life so thoroughly to learn not to fall into the trap of feelings: for us too there are roads that we cannot avoid... like the ones that awaited me.

Our friends will surely have told you that it was a man who brought me almost to the edge, who reduced me to the state in which they first saw me: but they were wrong. It was two, a man and a woman, who really made me experience the night.”

“Did they… they hurt you?”

“No: they have only done me good, throughout their existence. The first priests of the House of the Moon: they had nothing then, they had lost everything along with everyone else, except their lives. And they dedicated them to me.

They lived by my side for years and years: they saw the city prosper, they were part of it, they weren’t afraid to take care of me and of that melancholy you still see. I never heard a word of guilt from them, they never reproached me for bringing ruin upon their head: I never saw such adoration, such sincere respect and devotion to a goddess who scarcely knew anything of the world, and which had risked completely annihilating theirs. And in return, over time, I fell in love with both of them. There was no difference between the feeling I had felt for my husband and the one that arose for them, and this was my second big mistake: I forgot that one day they would leave. I laughed at Death and did not value time, considering it infinite. For the first time in ages and ages I felt really strong and remembered what it was like to be alive, to be protected, not to be alone.

I have never forgotten my first husband: however, together with them, his absence didn’t hurt so much, because they spoke his same language to my heart and it was as if they had inherited a part of him, so he was still by my side. 

Two humans had won against the gods just by being that, humans. We spent happy, rich years, fast as a flight of hawks; and then… then came the End, anticipated by old age, by a silent peace. They saw it coming from afar and accepted it serenely; I, on the other hand, only became aware of its icy touch when it was already among us, and in a sigh it took them both away from me.

They didn't suffer: Death came to take them together, without noise or blood, just a squeeze to the heart and another to tie their respective hands, and made me find them like this, on their faces the same smile with which they awaited my words.

It was I myself who buried them under the flowering trees that populated the sacred precinct of the temple; I extended the night four times its duration for the moon to watch and weep with me, and the more tears I shed the more emptiness, shadow and annihilation took their place. Soon it was difficult for me to bear the sight of my city, full of corners where I had spent moments of joy which later became painful memories; and from not bearing it I passed to being afraid of it, to hating it, to fleeing it.

In the end, yes, I had to run away so as not to give in to despair. I was alone: all those who had loved me were dead, my pantheon had long since disowned me and I would no longer be able to take care of my people, I had no direction, what purpose had my existence? With each step I took, a dark thought clothed me like a breastplate, suffocated me in bitterness, chained me and built around me a dark globe of infinite darkness, which even distanced me from my celestial companion.

I don’t know how far and how far I walked, by now I was no longer in control of myself: I began to see again, to feel the world around me and to be aware of myself, only when I crossed Indra’s path. You know the rest… and now you know this too.”

Rudra remains silent, absorbing the echo of your last words.

Even the ocean has subsided its strength and murmurs a sad lament, expressing for you all that you are feeling.

You cannot cry: it is a liberation that is denied to you. “I don’t want to lose anyone again, Rudra… I can’t. The truth is: I love you deeply, with all of my being, why keep lying about this matter? And I’m afraid of it. I’m scared to see you gone forever, and to be alone again. This time, I know, I couldn’t bear such pain. 

We gods cannot die of a heart attack, but that doesn’t mean our heart is stronger than a human’s; in fact, we have the same weakness as mortals, and we must carry it with us forever.

I love you and when I look at you, all my fears laugh and say terrible words: do you really want to long for the land of Niflhel as you did before and envy the human privilege of Death? So leave this place, let me go before love hurts me again and hurts you too. Give me peace.”

Before answering you, Rudra’s arms hug you like they never have before. Slowly, gently, you almost lose your breath as you feel his fingers slipping through your hair and clinging to your dress, enclosing you in an embrace that leaves no room for escape and yet is thoughtful enough to give you shivers. “You really are the greatest, my moon”, your love murmurs, “you have loved as much as you have suffered, and still you have a beating heart and you are able to bring the light everywhere you go. Now that I know the truth, I see clearly your fears and insecurities, and I understand why they continue to live: but I’m here, I’m here by your side, and I’m not leaving. Your past doesn’t have to be your future. And, believe me, you have no fault in what happened.”

“Rudra… I don’t think you listen to me at all.”

“I don’t think so. And if before I had no intention of letting you escape without an explanation, now I don’t want to lose you at all. You don’t want to decide everything by yourself, do you?"

You bite your lip until it bleeds as you place both hands on his chest and gain some distance. You want to stay there and this desire clouds your thoughts, but you can’t. “One day you will leave: your impulses will lead you to take the ways of the world again, and I will mourn your absence. Once I could fool myself, but now? Before it’s too late, please..."

“And who said I’ll leave alone, and that I won’t pick you up and take you with me?” Rudra bursts out laughing as your eyes widen in surprise, then strokes your cheek. “There is no need to hurry, we don’t have to decide everything now; and I will not force you to do anything, never. You are stronger than you think and you have proved it all these years: but you too need rest, and your heart with you, and to forgive yourself. We can’t fight forever.”

“I already know how it will end…”

“If you don’t live it you can’t know it, and we haven’t even started this journey. It’s normal to have these fears, and I’m not asking you not to; what I’m asking is: don’t let them control you or let them speak for you.”

These words go through you like a jab, and you gasp as you fully realize what you already knew inside you. It is true: I have left the entire control of me to my terrors. I kept them locked inside me allowing them to fill me, and I forgot all other ways. If I don’t listen to him I will never have a chance to heal. “Then what should I do, Rudra?”

The God of Storms releases his embrace to stand, then extends a hand to you. “What do you really want to do, (Y/N)? This is the first question you should ask yourself. The rest will come by itself.”

You hesitate for a moment, then take his hand and stand up too. “I…have cradled the darkness for a long time, and as much as it may have hurt me more than anything else, I’m going to have a hard time leaving it quickly.” A break. “I would like to go back to thinking that happiness exists for me too: not now, perhaps, not immediately or without effort, but that it exists.”

Rudra smiles, then takes your face in his hands to kiss your forehead. “A step at a time; you are not alone, and I will do everything to prove it to you. You know, I don’t think we’re going back to the others any time soon, and it doesn’t even matter what or who brought us here anymore… there’s a whole city waiting for its lady to return. We can start from here.”

You don’t immediately reply and turn your face towards the ocean. Ancient images and countless sensations are returning to you along with the waves, and only now do you really feel the weight of nostalgia. How much did you deprive yourself of? It doesn't have to be like this forever. As you think this, Rudra moves away a little; but you are quick to hold him and drag him close again. The fingers tighten around his wrists and the eyes stare at him with the same desperate need of a shipwrecked person who sees in front of him the rock that will take him to safety.

I will save myself with you. Stay with me. This is what I really want.

You wait a moment longer, then you throw yourself into his arms; this time you’re the one clinging onto him. “Stay,” you murmur to him as you sink your face into his chest and close your eyes, feeling the tears come, “please stay.”

Rudra hugs you back and rests a cheek on your head, cradling you. He won’t do anything to stop the tears that erupt from your eyes, he knows you need to cry and it will do you good; there is no better place for you to be now. “Fear not, sweet goddess: wherever you go, I will be with you… my beloved moon, my great love”, is the last whisper that you hear.

Afterwards only the sound of your sobs remains, and the song of the water that welcomes you home again.

🌙 BONUS (A TOAST TO THE HORNY ONES!) 

Your skin shivers, feeling the cold of the room.

You can’t see anything, someone has blindfolded you; but from the scent that fills the place, you recognize one of the innermost chambers of the House of the Moon. You are lying on soft blankets and pillows, your head tilted towards the ceiling; and, you realize as you quickly touch your belly, you are naked, covered only by your jewels. You are not feeling fear at all, but your heart is pounding with anticipation, and excitement.

“Leave everything to me: I want to take care of you in the best possible way.”

A sigh of surprise escapes your mouth as the voice penetrates your mind and you recognize the God of Storms; instinctively you arch up to meet him and one pair of hands reach out to gently caress your back and buttocks, while the other two tighten around your wrists and slowly spread your arms around your face.

“Now…”, Rudra whispers in your ear as he caresses both your hips, your weakest point, then plays with a strand of your hair and lightly tickles the hollow between your breasts, “... let’s get to know each other again, my love?”

Although every touch brings with it a peak of sensations and your body tenses and trembles, you cannot make a sound: your throat is dry, it almost seems as if you have lost all your voice. The god’s words confirm that it is not the first time you have been at his mercy, and that takes your breath away for a few moments. What happened before?

“My lady is silent now…does she really think she can hold on that long?”

You feel Rudra lean over your mouth and immediately he closes it with a kiss, but he escapes before you want to; you let out a moan that comes out soft as a breath, and you hear the god laughing in a low tone as he backs away. The next moment his fingers squeeze your thighs and spread them to allow him to slip between them, and you clearly feel his desire brush your lips. With the utmost kindness, before entering inside you, he lifts you to sit on his lap, and you abandon yourself completely to his embrace, your head resting on his shoulder and your hands ready to sink into his back.

“My lord,” you finally manage to whisper as the god bites lightly into your golden jewels to move them and reveal the skin underneath, then cover it with kisses, “the moon is ready to welcome you back.”

You open your eyes, out of breath.

The scene around you has completely changed: you are not inside the temple, but on a hill next to what remains of it, and a new morning has just risen from the blue ocean.

By your side, Rudra is still in peaceful sleep and has not heard your agitation; what you experienced was all a dream. And that’s fine, for now: there is no need to rush, you two have just started walking together.

As you calm down, you reach into the god’s face and give him a soft kiss on the corner of his mouth. One day, you think as you lay back and rest your head on his chest with a sweet smile, one day.

🌒🌕🌘

Thanks to @evansuvamp, @bao-yu-sarah-morningstar-wang-9 and @luashinazugawa for their kind words!

I think I could write about Rudra again, eheheh, but now it's the turn of other interesting gods ❤️💞

#record of ragnarok #record of ragnarok rudra #ror rudra #rudra record of ragnarok #shuumatsu no valkyrie #shuumatsu no Valkyrie rudra #snv rudra #rudra x reader #record of ragnarok x reader

[tending-the-hearth]

why hadestown was literally one of the best shows i've ever seen

so i saw hadestown this past saturday for the first time ever and when i tell you i have never been so emotionally wrecked by a broadway show before

so i've compiled a little list of my favorite things from the show!!

act 1:

orpheus doing the stomping cues for the opening with hermes... that's his mom your honor!!!

"his mama was a friend of mine" THAT LINE WHEN LILLIAS WHITE VOICED CALLIOPE IN THE DISNEY HERCULES MOVIE I LOVE LITTLE THINGS LIKE THAT LIKE ORPHEUS' MOM REALLY IS ONE OF HER FRIENDS

short king orpheus and tall wife eurydice supremacy

jordan fisher was SUCH a sweet and silly orpheus, like he was fully tripping over himself around eurydice the entire first act

LOVE the chorus so so much

eurydice being so cynical until she sees what orpheus can do and then immediately falling for him

they're the definition of "he fell first, she fell harder"

also during "wedding song", orpheus continues to reach out to eurydice, and then during "all i've ever known", the way she reaches out to him but it's so hesitant and awkward, but orpheus just beams and immediately holds onto her 😭

hades and persephone were playing dominoes up on their little balcony and they actually looked so in love until orpheus started the epic, such good bg character acting

lillias white and betty who said mama bears hermes and persephone supremacy!!!

persephone #1 wingwoman she wants these two idiots to get married immediately

the entirety of "way down hadestown" with eurydice and orpheus being giggly and in love!! they're so so oblivious and focused on each other, just the most innocent love

adding onto the fact that jordan is shorter than both solea and phillip the moment where he jumps between them at the end of the song was so silly

i really love the detail that orpheus stays on stage for "a gathering storm" and the rest of the act, he's so focused on his work and doesn't notice anything

i was worried "wait for me" wouldn't live up to the hype but OH MY GOD OH MY GODDDDDDDD

the little details between hades and persephone, with them shifting from how they were acting in the balcony to persephone barely being able to reach out to hades

act 2:

love that eurydice is naive like orpheus, but in a cynical way

holy SHIT solea my beloved "flowers" was actually godlike

what if i lost my mind at how gentle orpheus was when he found eurydice... what if...

the way eurydice drew back when hades told orpheus that she went with him willingly, like she was ready for him to be angry at her... the way he went right back to her and was checking to make sure she was okay

literally started sobbing during "if it's true", the way orpheus gets angry in a way we haven't seen, and the chorus + eurydice join with him

when the chorus removed their caps and became people again... i was a wreck for the rest of the act ngl

"epic 3" or as i like to call it the "hey look at how hard i can cry" song

orpheus comparing himself to hades, and it being so emotional because we see how innocent and happy he is, how he loves so much, and has so much hope, and seeing how hades had become, and knowing that without eurydice, that's how orpheus becomes, giving up on love and life until he's killed

HADES AND PERSEPHONE DANCING 😭😭 THEY WERE SO PLAYFUL AND HAPPY

jordan and solea were just... the most amazing orpheus and eurydice. they just had such sweet chemistry, and "wait for me" reprise with them reaching for each other UGH

the way you could hear orpheus quietly crying as hermes began to sing the "road to hell" reprise somebody sedate me

IT'S ABOUT SINGING THE SAD SONG AND CONTINUING TO HAVE HOPE THAT IT'LL TURN OUT HAPPY THIS TIME

the only reason i didn't completely decompose is because the knowledge that in the myth, when orpheus dies, hades gives orpheus and eurydice their memories back, and they get to be together, happily, in the underworld.

anyways if i had the money and it was possible i'd fully go see hadestown over and over and over again because it just was so beautiful and impactful plus i'm a sucker for good greek mythology retellings

#hadestown #broadway #orpheus #eurydice #hades #persephone