#this is about memory from cats and phantom of the opera

[marybeatriceofmodena]

What did Andrew Lloyd Webber do to make Patti Lupone upset? Sorry, saw your tags and i was curious

Oh.

Oh honey.

You sweet child.

Anyway, get ready for one of the most infamous showdowns in all musical theatre history, with the guy who writes the straightest musicals on Broadway (derogatory) and the one and only, the matriarch, the queen, two three-time Tony award winner Patti LuPone.

So, Andrew Lloyd Webber was basically kind of a boy genius in his prime - he met his future collaborator Tim Rice when they were 17 and 20 respectively, he wrote his first big hit, Jesus Christ Superstar, at 22, with Tim Rice writing the lyrics. And it was kind of a big deal at the time because the topic was controversial (you know, the Passion with rock music), but also because Broadway wasn't that far off from its golden age and let's just say the music and style were very different from, say, My Fair Lady. Or The Sound of Music. Or Funny Girl. It was basically the Rent/Hamilton of its time. (Yeah, Stephen Sondheim was around at that time, he worked on West Side Story which was revolutionary in of itself, but he's kind of an oddball in this case. You'll understand why later.)

Their real follow up (I'm not counting Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat for a variety of reasons) was a little musical called Evita, which you might know mainly because of a song called Don't Cry For Me Argentina. Or at least, your mom has probably heard it once at the very least. It's that song that's oversung from a musical while being out of context along with I Dreamed a Dream for Les Misérables. Or Memory from Cats.

Evita tells the story of Eva Peron, the wife of an Argentinian dictator, who basically screws her way to the top and ends up becoming the mistress of Juan Peron and the most beloved woman in her country through guile and deceit. Yes, I know the historical accuracy is very much debated but I know jackshit about Argentina's history except the bare basics so don't come at me. It was first produced in the West End in London, with Elaine Paige in the role, but because of Equity issues, she couldn't reprise her role for the Broadway production. So a Julliard graduate who was mostly starring in David Mamet plays got the part instead, and that was Patti LuPone.

Patti... did not have a good time during Evita, because the part is basically the kind of score where you can tell the composer is used to writing male parts, but most female singers have a two-octave range (yes, you got Julie Andrews who used to have a three-octave range, and many others, but they're exceptions), so she struggled a lot. That being said, if you listen to live recordings of her, you wouldn't be able to tell, and it got a lot easier later on. But she had this to say:

"Evita was the worst experience of my life. I was screaming my way through a part that could only have been written by a man who hates women. And I had no support from the producers, who wanted a star performance onstage but treated me as an unknown backstage. It was like Beirut, and I fought like a banshee."

This is from Patti's autobiography, which she wrote in 2007 - 8 years after shit with ALW went down. With all that said, she won a Tony Award for Evita, and she pretty much became a musical theatre household name from then on. She played Fantine in Les Misérables, Nancy in Oliver!, Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes. Meanwhile, ALW's next big hits were Cats (I'm not even kidding, Cats was a hit), and, you guessed it, The Phantom of the Opera, which he wrote in part to showcase his then wife Sarah Brightman's triple threat talents.

So, you need to understand before I continue that ALW, from my perspective, has always had a bit of an inferiority complex. He's basically associated to writing these commercially successful musicals that show a big spectacle but aren't ultimately substantial. I'm not sure I entirely agree with that, but I do think that if he didn't have Hal Prince, Maria Bjornson, Charles Hart and Gillian Lynne backing him up for Phantom, it would have probably been a Rocky Horror Picture Show knockoff people would have forgotten about pretty quickly. This is what I mean:

Yep, that was Phantom before any of the people I mentioned above (and Michael Crawford) were really involved.

Remember how I said Stephen Sondheim was an oddball? The thing with him is that his musicals weren't always commercially successful, but in general, in part thanks to being Leonard Bernstein's protégé, he was generally pretty well-respected and it was considered that his work was bringing musicals to a whole other level. Without Sondheim, you wouldn't have Jonathan Larson, and you wouldn't have Lin-Manuel Miranda. I am convinced ALW is resentful of that, and when you stop and think about it for more than 10 seconds, it's so obvious he REALLY wants to be Sondheim or at least command the same level of respect, but that's a story for another day.

So, after Phantom, ALW had other musicals that followed that either got a meh reception or outright flopped. Then there was Sunset Boulevard, which is based on the movie of the same name with Gloria Swanson. Despite all of her griefs for Evita, Patti LuPone agreed to partake in the musical as Norma Desmond, for its production in London, with the promise that she would transfer to Broadway once that production would open. And overall, after a string of flops, Sunset was actually doing pretty well.

HOWEVER. One day, while reading the gossip column of a newspaper, Patti found out that contrary to what she was promised, Glenn Close, who was meanwhile starring as Norma in the Los Angeles production, was to play Norma on Broadway. That was a complete surprise for her since no one on the production team had bothered to tell her it was happening - and keep in mind that for the news to come up the way it did in a gossip column, it probably would have necessitated a delay of a few weeks between the producers and the newspaper, which would have given them plenty of time to break the news to Patti. And Patti kind of needed the leg up because she was pretty bitter that a) Madonna was cast in the Evita adaptation instead of her; b) they actually lowered the key to fit Madonna's voice range, and she still had to expand her own to be able to sing the (lowered) score. And trust me, Patti is mad about it to this day.

So of course, she trashed her dressing room, the cast and crew weren't even mad about it because they were as shocked and angered as she was by the news. Patti sued Andrew Lloyd Webber for breach of contract, namely for 1 MILLION DOLLARS (yup, those are the real numbers), won, used the money she got from the lawsuit to get a swimming pool, which she called (and I SHIT YOU NOT) the Andrew Lloyd Webber Memorial Pool. Since then, Webber is dead to her, to the point rumor has it she had part of a building blocked during an event so she could get out of it without coming across Webber, because she hates him so flipping much she doesn't even want to be in the same building as the guy.

(There's also drama that happened with Faye Dunaway who was supposed to replace Glenn Close after she went from Los Angeles to Broadway, except they abruptly closed the show down after Close left, but that's a story for another day)

So with all the bad press, and with ALW forced to pay 1 million dollars for Patti's lawsuit, that led Sunset's productions to close earlier than expected. ALW has stayed around since, with... mitigated output, so to say. The lowest point for a lot of people is Love Never Dies, the sequel to Phantom, which some people love, and that's fine, but it didn't do well with either critics nor fans of the original show, which ALW is EXTREMELY BUTTHURT ABOUT. And like, there are so many stories I could tell about LND alone, but I will share my own crack theory about it, since it does relate to the ask.

Anyway, buckle up.

So. There have been jokes going around for years that the Phantom in LND is basically ALW's self-insert, where he displays to the world that he's totally not over Sarah Brightman leaving him (in part because making Phantom kinda ruined their marriage lmao), despite, you know, having married since. (Aaaaaakward.) So LND basically becomes this really uncomfortable therapy session where a man writes a self-insert musical about how his ex-wife made a big mistake of leaving a sensitive artistic soul such as himself. The characters from Phantom who appear in LND are all more or less unrecognizable as a result, and one who gets it worse (in my humble opinion) is Meg Giry, who was basically Christine's sweet and loyal ballerina friend who basically went into the Phantom's lair on her own to save her friend despite the danger. In LND, she's basically a bitter hag (because ALW hates women, guess Patti was right about that), who really likes the swim and even has a stripping vaudeville number about it, written in universe by the Phantom, no less.

For comparison, here's Don Juan Triumphant (the Phantom's opera in the original):

And here's Bathing Beauty (the vaudeville number):

Yeah, so... do you see why people hate LND already?

And that's not the only thing with Meg! She's also pining for the Phantom to pay attention to her and threatens to drown the Phantom and Christine's secret love child when he makes it clear that he's gonna love Christine for EVA AND EVA.

So, with everything we learned today about ALW, would someone like him view someone like Patti LuPone as some sort of crazy, bitter diva who's obsessed with him for whatever reason? Absolutely. Would he be petty enough to insert Patti LuPone into his self-insert musical, which gave us the version of Meg Giry we got in LND? Of course. Why does Meg love to swim so much and why does she drag Gustave out ostensibly for a swim? Is it a dig at Patti's Andrew Lloyd Webber Memorial Pool? Maybe.

I kind of hope we find out one day if that theory is true. And maybe start a kickstarter so Patti can add this painting from the 2004 movie in her collection.

Fun fact: during the process of casting for the 2004 movie adaptation of POTO, ALW allegedly suggested Patti LuPone to play Carlotta... only for Joel Schumacher to have to awkwardly remind him that they were not on speaking terms. The idea was therefore promptly dropped.

#YOU'RE WELCOME ANON #anon asks #Andrew Lloyd Webber #Patti LuPone #evita #sunset boulevard #phantom of the opera #love never dies

[eppysboys]

Tim Bruckner, creator of the artwork on Ringo Starr’s landmark 1973 album Ringo, interview with The Beatles Bible in Febuary 2015:

Did you work closely with Ringo on the cover concept, or were you given free rein? What was your design brief?

They already had the images of Ringo leaning against the giant letters, à la Elvis. In the original pictures, Ringo’s shirt is blue. They had it retouched to make it red. There was no concept at the time. I put together 10 concept sketches and they picked the one with him on stage with a balcony full of people. There are 26 portraits in the balcony. The rest are people I invented.

I was working on the design at the R or R offices at night. When I needed inspiration, I’d take a walk through the London streets and come back to work inspired. I didn’t meet Ringo until I went to England so I don’t know what his involvement was beforehand.

Ringo’s cover sidekick, the cherub, happened after I got home. Having met the man and spent some time with him, I understood how important humor was to him and his circle of friends. The cherub just seemed like an natural extension of that part of his character, funny and a little mischievous. Was the cover an intended homage to Sgt Pepper, with the faces in the background?

I’d never intended it to be connected to Sgt Pepper at all. The only directive I got was their desire to have the musicians who played on the album represented on the cover in some way. Klaus Voormann, who did the art for Revolver, had designed and completed a piece line art for Ringo’s cover. Ringo decided against using it.

It was never used. As far as I know I have the only copy, although I assume Klaus has the original.

The motto “Duit on mon dei” (‘do it on Monday’) appears at the top of the Ringo sleeve, and was also a Harry Nilsson album title. Was it Ringo’s stipulation to have it on his record sleeve, and was it a regular in-joke at the time?

This was Harry’s invention. He wanted to make it a joke on a Latin motto. I think the only reason it got on the cover was they thought it was funny and asked that I include it. Did you know any of the Beatles prior to 1973? Did you consider yourselves friends, or was it more of a professional relationship?

I’d not met any of the Beatles prior to working on Ringo’s album cover. Over the course of a couple of years, I got to know Harry and Ringo pretty well. More so Harry. He’d commissioned a couple of pieces of art from me. He lived in an apartment on the corner of La Cienega and Sunset, and I visited him there a number of times.

During that time, I lived in El Segundo, a beach community outside of Los Angeles. There was a silent movie theater down the block from me and Harry and his current girlfriend came over. We had a few drinks and all walked down the block to see Lon Chaney in The Phantom of the Opera, with the hand colored section. It was the first time either one of us had seen it. He was an intelligent, caring, funny and talented man with a penchant for things that were not good for him.

I was friendly with Ringo but I wouldn’t say we were friends. I was lucky enough to have been invited to his house while I was in England, where I met George Harrison, and his lovely wife Pattie. I’d met John Lennon a number of times while he was producing Harry’s Pussy Cats album. He was always kind and patient with me. I have two significant memories of John.

I was supposed to come to the Malibu house to give Harry and Ringo updates on Harry and Ringo’s Night Out. I was eager and anxious and got to the house mid morning. I didn’t know at the time that morning, for the house residents started after noon. I was sitting in at the kitchen table, waiting.

One of the house staff offered me breakfast. A bowl of cereal. I poured out a bowl full of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes and was just about to pour the milk when John came in, sat down, smiled, looked at me, the bowl of cereal and said, “Ah, sitting on a cornflake.” Perfect.

One late afternoon, I think it was a Sunday, I was sitting on the couch. John came in and sat on the chair opposite me. I don’t remember what started the conversation, but he made a point to tell me that women were people too. They thought, felt, reasoned, reacted, created, explored, angered, were saddened, equal to that of any man. Often more so.

I was young and not very evolved. He must have seen something in me that prompted his observation. But that was one of those light bulb moments. I thought about what my attitude had been to the women in my life and realized it needed adjusting. His words altered my relationships profoundly for the better.

One of the things I learned during that time was how transitory your relationships are, especially with famous people. I saw it over and over, people who were near the inner circle desperately trying to hold onto their place in the mistaken belief that fame rubs off. It doesn’t, at least not in those days. The famous have their own friends, their own lives and their own sense of who they are and what they need to get done. If you can contribute to any part of it, you’re lucky and it can be hugely fun. The key is to recognize when it’s time to move on. And move on.

One of the saddest things I witnessed was a person who had been part of the celebrity society but was not as relevant as they once were and the desperation they went through just to stay where they were. When you hear a celebrity see a person coming and they say, “Oh, it’s her/him,” as if the Grim Reaper just stepped into the room, it’s kind of a heartbreak. But you can’t say anything. Partly, because they don’t believe you. They see it as a way to move them aside and move yourself in.

#Tim Bruckner #Ringo Starr #Klaus Voormann #John Lennon #Art #Klaus' art #quotes #Ringo #John #Klaus #Harry Nisson #'he made a point to tell me that women were people too' Oh I'd expect nothing less #everything is Ringo #' The cherub just seemed like an natural extension of that part of his character' #'I think the only reason it got on the cover was they thought it was funny and asked that I include it.' that's the way 😌

[cassynite]

if your oc's had to choose a song to sing for karaoke what would they choose?

Hahahaha thank you for the ask!!

Sparrow: She's singing whatever the person who dragged her on stage wants her to sing, that's literally the only way she's getting on that stage. If she was forced to choose as well, she'd pick something really somber that would inadvertently bring down the mood...like i don't know if you listen to the sheridan tapes but the scene where Sam sings "the parting glass" at a party and is just a big wet blanket about it is how I imagine sparrow being lol. Like she'd go up there and sing "Achilles come down" or something.

Vonzi: Way more capable of keeping party spirits alive, Vonzi would probably go with a classic karaoke song and deliberately sing it bad in a funny way. Like "I will Survive" or "I want it that way" if she's up there with a group.

Evaethi: "Don't Stop Believing." She saw someone sing it in karaoke from a movie once and if put on the spot to choose her own song would go with what she knows is an actual karaoke song lol. I think if she thought about it for long enough she also would be drawn to ABBA's "Dancing Queen."

Ophenia: I'm so sorry. She's pulling out broadway tunes, the really big popular ones. You all get to sit through her belted out rendition of "Defying Gravity" from Wicked, "Think of Me" from Phantom of the Opera, or, if she's drunk, "Memory" from Cats.

I won't do Isore because you could not pay him to walk on a karaoke stage lol.

#cassy answers #Anonymous #oc: sparrow #oc: evaethi #oc: vonzi #oc: ophenia #this was super fun to think about actually thank you for the ask!

[imaginedreamwrite]

Hi :) I’d love to submit an idea for musical Monday based on my own life. I used to live with a roommate and cat and when I would cook dinner at night we’d have musical theater dinner time me and the cat since the roommate was at work. I’d sing and he’d look mildly annoyed that I hadn’t served his dinner yet. Dinner was at 6 and it was only 5 but he didn’t know that lol. My favorite memory was singing the phantom of the opera and I’d dramatically go “Sing for me!” And he’d meow next to his food dish. I could see this for some form of Bucky and Alpine. Second favorite musical theater dinner night was singing “By the Sea” from Sweeney Todd. I would sing Ms. Lovettes lines and kiss his little noggin in between lines while he looked annoyed on cue for all of Sweeneys lines. Love you and your writing ! Happy Monday!

I have the cutest idea!

“I wanna know what love is! I want you to show me!” Bucky picked up alpine as he serenaded her, the song playing in the background was turned up to drown out the sound of the neighbours arguing, again. “I wanna feel what love is, I know you can show me.”

Bucky had spun dramatically as she meowed and tried to escape his clutch to get to her food dish, finally succeeding when there was a knock on the door disrupting the serenade. As he had let her go and turned the music down, Bucky had shuffled toward the front door and opened the wooden barrier without looking through the peephole. When the door was opened, he had blanched as he became self-aware of the lack of a shirt in the summer heat, his metal arm n full display and the little girl standing outside his door.

“Is she here?” The little girl rocked on her heels and looked past Bucky to his apartment, her eyes widening when Alpine had scooted past Bucky to the hallway, running right into the little girl's legs.

“Alpine!” the little girl beamed as his cat started meowing like mad and rubbing against her legs, her furry head and tail in constant motion.

“You know my cat?” Bucky was confused, even more so when the little girl had bent down and rubbed alpine’s head in her special spot.

“Your kitty visits my place all the time! She’s always on the staircase and lets herself in the open window. Mama gives her food.” The little girl had boasted, and Bucky had taken a single look toward Alpine, the white cat purring happily as she placed herself right between the girl's legs.

“Alpine-“

“Mama!” the little girl squealed and turned sharply, Alpine following her as she tore halfway down the hall, stopping short. Buck had stepped out of his apartment and leaned forward to see his cat and the little girl focusing on a woman who had bent down to talk softly to the two girls, his attention transfixed on the mother of the little girl, and her inescapable beauty.

“Mama! I found alpine’s owner!” The little girl had started leading the woman down the hall, pulling her toward Bucky, his breath hitching in his throat as the two of you approached and he had stood face to face with you, while completely shirtless.

“I’m sorry,” you apologized for your daughter’s eagerness, smiling small at Bucky as she had bounced in her place, “she does love your cat.”

“Bucky,” a blush dusted his cheeks, “I’m Bucky.”

“Y/N,” when you smiled again, his heart skipped a beat and the air was stolen from his lungs, “we’re your…kind of neighbours.”

“We live down the hall! Our number is 38!” Your daughter had piped up, looking no older than five or six. “Your cat is so cute!”

“I’m sorry for feeding her, I never knew-“

“No, it's okay.” Bucky had anticipated that this very well could have been the best day of his life, he would have to tell Steve about the cute girl down the hall, and thank Alpine for getting out.

Or it had been until the smoke detector had started blaring in his apartment, and smoke had started billowing out of his place, his food burnt and on fire.

[sgiddings]

used to love info dumping my jossam headcanons back in the day so i'd thought i'd give y'all a new and improved run down of all the new jossam (and some old + reworked) headcanons i've accumulated over the years (a lot were inspired by my love @evildeadgf & those specific hcs pretty much belong to her but we're a TEAM here so!!) let me share the visions with my fellow jossamers again

sam LOVES to thrift. genuinely anything second-hand she loves, and she loves dragging josh along with her to flee markets or a random hole in the wall quirky and kitschy thrift store they'll find wherever they may be travelling. josh never forgets to take photos of all the weird antiques he finds, like the 19th century porcelain dolls with cracks in their faces and the moment sam sees them she will SHRIEK. get it away from her!

josh finds little post-it notes everywhere around their apartment due to sam. she writes up reminders for josh, like what times he needs to take his meds, or that there's leftovers in the fridge for breakfast (when he gets up though, it's lunch time)

when at work, sam never misses the opportunity to take photos of the furry companions that come in since she works with animals. and josh totally gets the message sam is trying to send every time he gets a new photo of a cute dog, cat or rabbit - sam clearly wants a pet for the two in the future, but josh can hardly take care of himself most times let alone a whole animal, which sam understands, but she won't let up so easily!!! she's gonna send cute cats!!!! and he's totally gonna warm up to it some day

they're both very musically inclined, sam can sing and josh can play the guitar, though not many of his friends actually know it about him - he pretty much only jams out with sam whenever he's up to it. even if he's much more a film guy, he's down to listen to sam lull him with her pretty voice any time of the day

speaking of film - they both love it, though in different ways. sam's not too much of a horror person like josh, and she hates the supernatural genre - literally scares the soul out of her body, she can't handle it alone, but with josh there she's calm enough, and comes to love some of his favourite horrors, and of course josh comes to love all the oldies she grew up with that she shows him even if he'd already seen some of them before in passing. whenever josh talks to her about the particulars of how they took a certain angle or shot sam is totally enthralled, she loves to hear him speak about the things he's passionate about

with sam being half italian and vegan simultaneously, she cooks up a lot of family favourite meals with vegan substitutes and always has josh taste test. they never fail to be delicious. sam is THE best cook, josh washington's seal of approval

they 100% geek out on musical theatre together and have totally dressed up to the nines to see phantom of the opera on broadway at least once or twice

they've both been in love with one another for pretty much half of their lives. when they were preteens their first kisses were each other, sam 11 and josh 12 - it was a quick little nervous and flustered peck but nonetheless, the memory never left both of their minds even as they grew older, and josh was barely a lady's man in his teens to early adulthood, too many people found him unapproachable or 'weird' despite his partying nature (which is a whole can of worms in itself imo! escapism at its finest!) he never had a solid or proper relationship with anyone until he finally got with sam. now sam, she tried to date here and there, but it was weird for her, after years and years of crushing on her best friend's brother, she told herself to get over it, face reality (in which she thought he clearly didn't reciprocate her feelings) and find someone who made her happy and who'd she make happy in return, and that of course, was a bust. josh was her only love, and sam was josh's

josh has a polaroid scrapbook of their adventures together, and sam is absolutely in love with it, when he first showed it to her it literally broke her, she couldn't suppress her tears and nor could she hold herself back from throwing herself into his arms

i really could go on and on and on but ahh!!! i love them so much!! they are my babies!!!!

#jossam #josh x sam #sam giddings #josh washington #until dawn #bathing bird #juliatxt #otp: i was the only one who understood him

[withloveivy]

23

Sometimes you’re twenty three and standing in the kitchen of your grandparents house, toeing the ground, as your dog comes and stands by your side. Nuzzling your leg, as you look down, smiling and patting her head.

You move away from the counter, grabbing two mugs filled with coffee as you bring them into the living room, the view from your kitchen window fading from your thoughts. Bargain Hunt is on the TV, your granddad guessing whether he believes the things that are going under the hammer, are worth the amount the auctioneer thinks they are. 

Sometimes you’re twenty three and you no longer feel like you fit into the skin that makes up your body. You feel itchy and everything around you feels surreal. Almost as if you’re trying to wade through water but you’re stuck in the middle of a lake, you don’t know how to swim and you realise  that you’re into deep.

Sometimes you’re twenty three and you’re sitting in a cafe in Chelsea, having just paid five pounds for a coffee with the remaining money you have left over (which, surprise, isn’t a lot) as you hold your best friends hand and catch up with life. Sometimes you’re twenty three and you’re walking through a city that you used to call home and you think to yourself … what if you gave it another shot? Sometimes you’re twenty three and you think about how many coffees you made this year and how many times you locked yourself in the bathroom of your old work and cried. In hindsight, you probably should have left there sooner, but curiosity killed the cat and you thought it was going to get better. Spoiler: it got worst.

Sometimes you’re twenty three and you read your old journal entires from earlier on in the year, where you used to write in capitals, affirmations that were supposed to uplift your mental and not make it worst .. you think to yourself that you should probably start that again. Sometimes you’re twenty three and you wish that you had more time and more conversations with the people you loved — you wish that things weren’t so complicated.

Sometimes you’re twenty three and you realise that this was the first year since you were sixteen that you felt real loneliness. At the same time, you’ve come to love your hometown again, you don’t hate it as much as you did and while you still struggle with the concrete fact that your Dad isn’t here, you remember that he was here at some point in time and that feels like more than enough. You are grateful for your grandparents and grateful for all of the time you spent there this year .. even though it pains you to see your Nana cry whenever you leave, you know that there will always be a place for you there.

Sometimes you’re twenty three and you go away to America to meet your best friend, who so happens to also be an internet friend you’ve had for over nine years. You hadn’t seen her since 2019, but you are so happy with the time you spent there. But, then again no one ever told you how hard your 20s were going to be and although you had the best time of your life and you met some beautiful souls, that you’ll carry with you in your pocket for eternity, you can’t help but wonder is this it? Is this all life is? You make money, you save up, you go away, you make memories, only to come back to the same place again. Sometimes you’re twenty three and you think it’s all a bit pointless, but then you remember you went to New York and you think you’ll hang on for a couple of more years, if anything to feel what you felt in that city all over again.

All encompassing feelings of happiness and freedom in the form of shoes on suitcases and running to The Phantom of the Opera. Or the time you went to Washington DC and you realised that this is what life is about, climbing up never ending steps to the Lincoln Memorial, or sitting on the edge and looking out onto the Monument filled horizon.

Sometimes you’re twenty three and all you need to hear is “I love you” or “I’m sorry” or “It wasn’t your fault.”

Sometimes you’re twenty three and you’re sitting in your living room, wiping away tears from your eyes as your Mum wraps you up in her arms. She’s whispering that you’re going to be okay, that it will all be over soon. That this grief that sometimes takes you into a chokehold will subside and it will get easier. That although it feels like it’s the end of the world right now, it will get better. The pain will ease up, you’ll be able to move on and while that won’t be for a while, you’ll find new ways to honour your Dad.

You realise that although you don’t need much, you want more. Is that selfish? You’re not quite sure, but you don’t tell anyone just incase it is. Sometimes you’re twenty three and you realise that living is a gift and you don’t need to pretend to know what’s wrong or right. That watching The Holiday for the first time and hyper-fixating over Jude Laws nose isn’t a crime. That singing along to that one song over and over again five times is actually a brilliant way to pass your time. You realise that everything you do with your time isn’t wasting it, rather living it instead. That all of the walks you take down the same roads, is a gift. It’s a gift to know your way around the town you grew up in, it’s a gift to live with your Mum and sister.

Although, you’re still scarred from the crash and cars are really scary right now, you think about all of the times something was horrible and then realise that you got through it. Just like you’ll get through this. Life doesn’t end when a tragedy happens and you found that out the hard way with your Dad, so you just have to keep going. Of course, you’re sad that you feel like this because of something that happened and it sucks that both your body and mind, is still reaping the effects of something terrible, but you know it won’t be like this forever.

Twenty three is also this: There used to be comfort in a certain number in your phone, or friends that didn’t live so far away or a family that felt put together. But now, everything feels foreign. It’s the first time that you feel old, the first time you realise that you’re an adult now. You can’t remember how you got from sixteen to twenty three in what feels like no time at all and suddenly you’re overcome with a want to be small again. You feel like a stranger to yourself, your Nan finishes her coffee. Your Mum puts the washing out. Your sister giggles at a Tik Tok she just saw. The dog curls up with her head in your lap. Your Grandad correctly guesses the amount that 9 carat ring went for. You’re sprung back into reality again and you breathe in and out.

You’ll be fine in five minutes or so … or at least you hope.

you’re grateful to be alive and you’re grateful for the opportunity to reach twenty four … yet another age you never thought you’d see the day of.

#my writing #writing #creative writing #female writers #writers on tumblr #poetry #poems #literature #books #words words words #twenty three #being in your 20s #being in your 20s is really hard

[angelchanisaweeb]

Introduction

Hello!

Salutations, friends, travels, and all those present.

I'd like to welcome you. My name is Angel. She/Her, please.

I'm sure we'll find something here that interests you here.

I'll have a bit about me, (most of) my fandoms, and my personas/self inserts and my fandom and non-fandom ocs.

I do roleplay sometimes. Usually only with friends, but if you're fine with doing short and simple stuff I'm sure we can give it a shot! Please keep in mind that I have a life, and a busy one at that. So, I may not have the most time in the world. And if I don't like roleplaying with you and I don't find it fun I will tell you so (politely) and stop replying. Here are my rules. Also, I don't usually censor and am generally okay with darker topics, but please let me know what you have in mind before we start.

I'm just a silly little fae that loves stories and bats. Hope you have fun! Don't be scared so ask me something or start up a conversation!

Here's my Carrd

There's lots (and I mean lots lol) of info after the cut if you're interested^^

A BIT ABOUT ME

Name: Angel Lovelace (online persona, what I've gone by for years)

Gender and Pronouns: Girlflux | She/Her

Sexuality: Omnisexual (or maybe omni-sapphic)

Triggers: None really. Except for people being creepy toward me

Squicks: A specific type of body horror: where you like- get blown up from the inside like a balloon. Idk, I just don't like it.

Favorite animal(s): Cat, bat, snake, fox

Favorite color(s): Purple (2nd is blue, 3rd is black)

Favorite song: (currently) Catch a Falling Star

I listen to all kinds of stuff, so anything I vibe to. Pop music (from all over the world), classic rock, metal music, folk music (from all different places, not just American country music), opera, jazz, electronic, a little rap, you name it.

Fact: I know a little ASL and a little French

Hogwarts House: Ravenclaw | [Harry Potter]

Camp Halfblood Cabin: 20 - Hecate | Percy Jackson

Panem District: District 8 | [Hunger Games]

Divergent Faction: Eurdite | [Divergent]

Genshin Element: Anemo | [Genshin Impact]

Nen Type: Manipulation | [Hunter x Hunter]

Bending Element: Air | [ATLA]

Ability: ??? {TBA} | [BSD]

Breathing Form: ??? {TBA} | [KNY]

Blood Demon Art: Illusions | [KNY]

Quirk/Meta Ability: Sensory Override: User can manipulate senses, and sometimes memories | [MHA/BNHA]

Night Raven College Dorm: Ignihyde (or possibly Pomefiore) | [Twisted Wonderland/TWST]

Unique Magic: ??? | [TWST]

Feel free to ask questions!

--------

FANDOMS

Aaron's Absurd Armada

Alice in Wonderland

Alice in the County of Hearts

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Babblebrook

Black Bulter

Bungou Stray Dogs (not far far in lol)

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba

Descendants

Diabolik Lovers

Divergent

Ever After High

Five Night at Freddy's

Genshin Impact

Harry Potter

Hazbin Hotel

Helluva Boss

Hunter x Hunter

Julie and the Phantoms

Link Click

Lost

Marvel

Maze Runner

Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir

Monster High

My Hero Academia

Obey Me!: One Master to Rule Them All

Once Upon a Time

Percy Jackson

Pirates of the Caribbean

Seven Wonders

Sk8 the Infinity

Spy Family

Star Wars

Stranger Things

The Coffin of Andy and Leyley

The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.

The New Legend of the Monkey King

The Vampire Diaries

Twilight

Twisted Wonderland

(I'm sure I forgot a lot of them and a lot of fandoms I'm not that far into, so I didn't list them. Stuff like Attack on Titan and Haikyuu!!!. But you ask me if I'm in any of your fandoms! And if I remember anymore, I'll update my list.)

--------

PERSONAS & SELF INSERTS

HARRY POTTER

Name: Angel Lovelace

Blood status: Pureblood

House: Ravenclaw

Birthday: January 10th, 1979

Is American. Transferred from Ilvermorny to Hogwarts in her second year (the Golden Trio's first year)

PERCY JACKSON

Name: Angel Lovelace

Godly parent: Hecate

Fatal flaw: Cowardice

HUNGER GAMES

Name's the same unless said otherwise, k?

District: 8

Usually not a tribute. Usually the niece (or sister or smth) of a victor.

BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES

Capitol citizen. A first year at the University and one of Dr. Gall's assistants. Friends with Tigress and Hilarius Heavensbee.

DEMON SLAYER

Species: Demon

Age: 128 (chronologically), 14 (biologically)

Blood Demon Art: Smth to do with illusions

Was training to be a demon slayer in life, but a demon got her best friend and she kinda lost her faith in them. Never took the test.

DESCENDANTS

AK or VK: VK

Parent: Red Queen (or Queen of Hearts if we're only doing og animated ones)

HAZBIN HOTEL

Sinner or Hellborn: Sinner

Death date: It changes from time to time, but it's either 1888, 1924, or 1986

HELLUVA BOSS

Species: Imp

Job: Informant and hitman

Affiliation: IMP

BABBLEBROOK

Location: Harrington (I think... the town near the inn)

Job: Librarian

Very good friends with Maybell. Also friends with Mrs. Pippetwhistle, the haberdasher, and Bridgette. Has bats and cats around the library.

MY HERO ACEDEMIA

First - Hero

Age: 15

Class: 1-A or 1-B

Quirk: Sensory Override - Can manipulate senses and sometimes memories

Second - Villain

Age: 19-24

Affiliation: League of Villains, Shie Hassaikai, Paranormal Liberation Front, Poppyseed Circus, among others

Quirk: Sensory Override

Doesn't really commit to anyone one thing or ideology. Just drifts from place to place selling information for entertainment. (Not that kind of entertainment, chill. Think Undertaker from Black Butler, wants jokes and stories. Also likes to play pranks and stuff yk)

TWISTED WONDERLAND

Year: Second year

Dorm: Ignihyde (sometimes a Pomefiore transfer)

Class: 2-E | Seat 18

Unique Magic: "Make a Wish" Basically shows the target illusions. Sometimes puts them to sleep.

Club: Film Studies

DIABOLIK LOVERS

(I've only played the first game and the beginning of the second, so sorry if these are bad. That being said my personas for this are works in progress)

First-

Age: ???

Species: Vampire (possible has demon connections)

Worked in the manor for years as a dresser (made everyone's clothes) and sometimes an advisor of sorts. Admired Cordelia for her beauty. Knew/knows lots of secrets and very fond on manipulation.

--------

FANDOM & NON-FANDOM OCS

Work in progress, but I kinda have them scattered all around lol

Looking back, they're all so cringy 😭 I d e s p e r a t e l y need to update all of them lol and the stories too because like- ugH

I also have a Toyhouse account that I never use, but I should get around to. Anyways, here's the link.

ANywAys-

I'm crying looking back on my old stuff. Tempted to just delete lol. And I still need to find all my roleplay ocs, the ones I made spefically to rp with. And I still need to do my Twelve Cities stuff. The Twelve Cities is a story I'm working on, if you care.

--------

WOW! That's a lot of my stuff lol. Anyways, if you made it this far, congrats! Have a cookie 🍪

Well, I hope you have a good time. Come visit me whenever!^^

[bookish-artist]

Hi!

I just found your blog and loving it! Could you maybe answer all those questions since I'm new here? 🙏🏼

Well welcome! And of course I can, thank you for asking so nicely mon ami ❤️

1: Do you sleep with your closet doors open or closed?

Closed, always

2: Do you take the shampoo and conditioner bottles from hotel?

No my hair is picky

3: Do you sleep with your sheets tucked in or out?

Um well they're tucked in at the end, not on the sides

4: Have you ever stolen a street sign before?

No not my vibe of decor

5: Do you like to use post-it notes?

Yes way too much tbh

6: Do you cut out coupons but then never use them?

No I'm not really a coupon user

7: Would you rather be attacked by a big bear or a swarm of a bees?

Probably a bear. I feel like a single creature is easier to get away from than a swarm, if escape is plausible

8: Do you have freckles?

I do not

9: Do you always smile for pictures?

Yes

10: What is your biggest pet peeve?

Cutting me off/talking over me.

11: Do you ever count your steps when you walk?

No never

12: Have you ever peed in the woods?

Yes

13: What about pooped in the woods?

No

14: Do you ever dance even if theres no music playing?

Occasionally yes

15: Do you chew your pens and pencils?

I chew my pens *sometimes* but not my pencils

16: How many people have you slept with this week?

1

17: What size is your bed?

Queen

18: What is your song of the week?

Loud - The Home Team

19: Is it okay for guys to wear pink?

Of course!

20: Do you still watch cartoons?

Oh yeah

21: Whats your least favorite movie?

Talladega Nights, can't stand it

22: Where would you bury hidden treasure if you had some?

Probably on my family's land

23: If you’re a girl, bra size? If you’re a guy, pants size?

42DD

24: What do you dip a chicken nugget in?

Depends on the restaurant I get them from, different places have different favorites lol

25: What is your favorite food?

Mexican, specifically enchiladas

26: What movies could you watch over and over and still love?

Oh gods.. Pride and Prejudice, any of the Winnie the Pooh movies, old school Disney, Phantom of the Opera, there's just so so many lol

27: Last person you kissed/kissed you?

My fwb 😆

28: Were you ever a boy/girl scout?

Nope

29: Would you ever strip or pose nude in a magazine?

Sure why not?

30: When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper?

Hmm, probably in elementary school. We did that write a soldier program and that's the last vivid memory I have of writing a letter

31: Can you change the oil on a car?

Nope

32: Ever gotten a speeding ticket?

Yes

33: Ever ran out of gas?

No, I always have at least a quarter in there

34: Favorite kind of sandwich?

Turkey, cheese, lettuce, mayo, jalapenos

35: Best thing to eat for breakfast?

Sunny side up egg on an everything bagel with orange juice, maybe some bacon

36: What is your usual bedtime?

Between 11:30-12

37: Are you lazy?

No

38: When you were a kid, what did you dress up as for Halloween?

My first costume ever was a hershey kiss! Then I was a power ranger, pirate, Belle, witch, cat, dog, wolf, red riding hood, Ghost face, pumpkin king, angel, devil, fairy.. I've done a little bit of everything 😅

39: What is your Chinese astrological sign?

Um sign of the rat I think? '96 baby ✌🏼

40: Are you horny?

At this very moment?? No lol

41: Do you have any magazine subscriptions?

Not currently no, eyeballing a couple

42: Which are better legos or lincoln logs?

Legos, duh

43: Are you stubborn?

Me? Stubborn? Never 🙄

44: Who is better…Leno or Letterman?

Ew neither

45: Ever watch soap operas?

No not really my thing. Unless you count k dramas

46: Are you afraid of heights?

I don't love them, but they're not a fear

47: Do you sing in the car?

Full on karaoke show

48: Do you sing in the shower?

Karaoke show part 2

49: Do you dance in the car?

Way way too often 😂

50: Ever used a gun?

Yes, I'm a good shot too 😏

51: Last time you got a portrait taken by a photographer?

Probably my uncle's wedding like 10+ years ago

52: Do you think musicals are cheesy?

Absolutely not, I love them! One of my favorite genres ever

53: Is Christmas stressful?

When you wait until the very last minute like I did yes 😮‍💨

54: Ever eat a pierogi?

I have not actually, I'll have to add that to the list

55: Favorite type of fruit pie?

I'm not a big pie person

56: Occupations you wanted to be when you were a kid?

Marine biologist, ballerina, librarian

57: Do you believe in ghosts?

Yes

58: Ever have a Deja-vu feeling?

Frequently, it's a little unsettling actually

59: Take a vitamin daily?

No

60: Wear slippers?

Sometimes

61: Wear a bath robe?

Also sometimes lol

62: What do you wear to bed?

Either sweatpants and a tee or just a tee

63: First concert?

Panic at the Disco!

64: Wal-Mart, Target or Kmart?

Walmart

65: Nike or Adidas?

Both

66: Cheetos Or Fritos?

Cheetos

67: Peanuts or Sunflower seeds?

Well I'm allergic to nuts and I don't eat sunflower seeds, sooo 😂

68: Ever hear of the group Tres Bien?

No never

69: Ever take dance lessons?

Yes

70: Is there a profession you picture your future spouse doing?

I don't really care honestly, as long as they can help pay bills and have some ambition in life in gemeral

71: Can you curl your tongue?

Yes 😇

72: Ever won a spelling bee?

No

73: Have you ever cried because you were so happy?

Of course

74: Own any record albums?

Not yet!

75: Own a record player?

Soon!

76: Regularly burn incense?

Yes

77: Ever been in love?

Yes

78: Who would you like to see in concert? Ghost, Bad Omens, Hozier, BTS

79: What was the last concert you saw?

Panic at the disco back on 2016

80: Hot tea or cold tea?

Hot tea

81: Tea or coffee?

Coffee, iced, extra milk extra sugar please thanks

82: Sugar or snickerdoodles?

Snickerdoodles are god tier

83: Can you swim well?

Well enough

84: Can you hold your breath without holding your nose?

Yes

85: Are you patient?

Ehh that could use some work

86: DJ or band, at a wedding?

DJ for sure

87: Ever won a contest?

Not that I remember

88: Ever have plastic surgery?

Not yet

89: Which are better black or green olives?

Don't make me choose

90: Can you knit or crochet?

No but I want to learn to crochet

91: Best room for a fireplace?

Bedroom

92: Do you want to get married?

Maybe

93: If married, how long have you been married?

Single af

94: Who was your HS crush?

He was one of my best friends senior year and nothing ever happened :/ come to find out he almost kissed me one day bc he liked me so much but he never did 🤦🏼‍♀️

95: Do you cry and throw a fit until you get your own way?

No

96: Do you have kids?

Nooo

97: Do you want kids?

NOOO

98: Whats your favorite color?

Green

99: Do you miss anyone right now?

Yes

Hope this gives you some insight! If you wanna know more you're always welcome to ask 😊

#me #get to know me #ask box #ask #ask me stuff #ask me anything

[drfirsnogayny]

Introduction

Non-gif pictures is here

🦇 Dr.FirsNogayny or Firs or Raphyr

💀 Fir/firs/firm/firself pronouns

🧔 Adult

🎂 July 25th

🇷🇺 Russian

🌧️ Depressive

💔 Don't have friends

💬 English, Russian, Spanish

Anyone can interact, however, if you came here solely to promote your views, then get out. This applies to both chauvinists and SJW. Seriously, I won't go crazy about my post being liked by the wrong person. Except sex spam bots, its fly into the ban immediately.

And I'm also a whiner.

Art status

Trades, Collabs, DTIYS, Gifts

Prefer human(oid)

Requests ONLY WHEN I ask for it

My works

Cleavers cult

Byron Kagita is an evil, harsh, domineering and depraved military man who returned to the city of His childhood to rethink His life. Cleavers Cult is basically His project to help random people figure out their problems. His best friend Howard, who volunteered to help, needs protection, because he is an escaped mutant. Andro is trying to save his wife from the hands of maniacs who constantly call him, while Vincent and Tinj are under pressure from their superiors. In addition, Byron will have to improve relations with His family, which harbored a grudge against Him.

Tags page

Depressive school

Girl Nancy enters the school where her aunt works as head teacher to help her. Her new classmates don't like her, because it's in Nancy's interests to report on her classmates and participate in their punishment… or torture? The girl Myrtle is one of the few who is friendly to Nancy: she wants to use her help in finding Bunny, a maniac boy. And perhaps not only him.

Tags page

Biolitary school

Just Kindergarten 3 AU. The main characters enter a new school with a biological and sports bias with very arrogant local children who perform some of the functions of the staff. Can be deleted or changed.

Tags page

Applegang

20 years have passed since then, but a certain Information Collector is still interested in the investigation. Compromising files fall into the hands of private detectives, and their classmates, the Applegang bandits, have the same ones. They will be reunited with classmates and remember their past — and the memories are not the most pleasant.

My social networks

Discord: dr.firsnogayny

Art Fight: Dr.FirsNogayny

I also have Twitter, DeviantArt, Facebook, Amino and VK, but please don't

Tags and TWs:

(May not work correctly)

General

Artist on Tumblr vs Not my art & Reblog (Talking reblog & Answer reblog)

My universe vs Fanart

Ask blog

Art trade & Gift art & Collab art & Art request

Not my OC & Not my AU & Not my sona

Repost

Redraw

Sketch

Delete later (If you find posts with this tag, you are lucky)

Events

Art Fight (2023)

Funguary (2024)

Cross-fandom characters

🥏 Abigail

🦇 Firs (my sona)

💣 Jerome

📻 Youth Radio Host

My universe and AUs

🌻 Biolitary school

🔪 Cleavers cult

🩸 Depressive school

🎤 Hilsod

✉️ Penitent (no one post yet)

Fandoms

📼 Amanda the Adventurer

🐱 Castle Cats & 🐶 Dungeon Dogs

🍎 Kindergarten 1 & 2

😭 The Binding of Isaac = TBoI

🎭 The Phantom of the Opera

Trigger warning

If you don't like seeing content on these topics, block #tw 'tag name' (for example, #tw blood)

The full list of tags is here

I also have AI-generated art on my page. They are not tagged with a TW tag, but if you don't like that, you can block the #ai art tag.

Ships

Block this tag (for example, #anna x bob) if you don't like this ship.

Cleavers cult:

⛓️☎️ Byron x Andro 👨‍❤️‍👨 (m)

⛓️🪓 Byron x Howard 👨‍❤️‍👨

⛓️🍦 Byron x IceCream 👩‍❤️‍👨

⛓️🦀 Byron x Lucy 👩‍❤️‍👨

💉🦜 Vincent x Roma 👨‍❤️‍👨 (m)

🦜🥑 Roma x Brin 👩‍❤️‍👨 (r)

🦜🐍 Roma x Carla 👩‍❤️‍👨 (m)

(M) — mention (R) — reblogs only

Kindergarten:

🪛⚙️ Carla x Penny 👩‍❤️‍👩 (r)

🪀🪛 Jerome x Carla 👩‍❤️‍👨

🥇🟣 Felix x Alice 👩‍❤️‍👨 (r)

🥇🌺 Felix x Cindy 👩‍❤️‍👨

🥇🧻 Felix x Ozzy 👨‍❤️‍👨 (m)

🍗🍩 Nugget x Lily 👩‍❤️‍👨

🧻🟢 Ozzy x Madison 👩‍❤️‍👨 (r)

(M) — mention (R) — reblogs only

#introduction #meet the artist

[caught-in-the-filter]

17 questions, 17 people

Tagged by @hiddenstitches 🥰❤️

Nickname: I mean I usually just go by Kayla, but Kay is fine too

Sign: Taurus

Height: 5’2”

Last thing I googled: HP deskjet 4100 ink

Song stuck in my head: currently listening to “The Only Exception” by Paramore, but I was dangerously singing “Corrupt” by Depeche Mode to myself up front at work earlier without realizing that’s what I was singing at first lol, so then I started humming instead lol 😅❤️🖤

Number of followers: 219

Amount of sleep: Ahaha what is sleep? 🥲 I’m in the process of moving but also still working, so I’m not getting very much sleep at all rn

Lucky number: idk if they’re lucky but I like 5 and 24

Dream Job: dream that won’t happen is being on Broadway, dream that might maybe eventually happen is being a graphic designer

Wearing: my work shirt, teal jeggings, a hoodie which I’m not supposed to wear at work but it’s cold, and black boots

Movies/Books that summarize me: oof like that are essentially my life rn or that are my faves? Not necessarily my fave movie but Inside Out is coming to mind to summarize me? I’m moving and having a lot of feelings about everything rn, the personified emotions in my head are fumbling my memory orbs, I’ve a conveyor belt of Killian Jones copies, and I’m 26 but I feel like my puberty island is just popping up within the last 1-2 years lol

Favorite Song: honestly this changes by the minute lol. Most recently I’ve been hooked on “Mindset” by Every Avenue ❤️🖤

Favorite Instrument: guitar and piano, though I play neither as much as I’d like to learn (I used to be able to play a liiiiiittle piano by ear but I wasn’t very good at it and can’t keep time well, so basically I can’t play it lol)

Aesthetic: quiet, introverted, cats, surrounded by unread books, cozy covers, stuffed animals, fandom everything, black graphic tees, hoodies, colorful nail art but also solid dark chipped nails (it varies), varying lyrics from BSB to Halestorm to Broadway etc, and recently secretly black lipstick 😇

Favorite author: Roland Smith and Lemony Snicket, though I haven’t really read much of anything in a while. Lots of CS fic authors too ❤️

Favorite animal noise: my cat’s purrs 🥰

Random: I never know what to say for this lol. In my high school chorus class, we sang a medley of songs from The Phantom of the Opera, so they showed us the 2004 movie version at the end of the year, but I missed a day because I was sick. So me being me, loving both the musical and Gerard Butler, borrowed it from the library to see what I’d missed. With my renews, I ended up watching it while I did homework every night, 31 times in 28 days, to learn every single word of singing and dialogue before I had to return the DVD, because I didn’t know if I’d ever get to watch or listen to it all the way through again so I wanted to memorize it. (My mom got me the DVD and CD for my next birthday after that. lol) It’s been a while now since I last watched it so I might’ve forgotten some by now, but yeah, for a while I could basically watch the whole movie in my head. 😅🤷🏼‍♀️❤️

Tagging ❤️: @dystopiandramaqueen @hollyethecurious @mischievousgraxaim @justanother-unluckysoul @undercaffinatednightmare @cosette141 and I know that’s not 17 but my phone is acting up, so if you see this and want to do it, consider yourself tagged 😘❤️

#hiddenstitches #tag games #about me #personal #Kayla speaks

[rutadales]

ur so right about that performance of memory u posted like they slayed that. sometimes i forget how much i appreciate theater bc i've mostly moved on from my brief theater phase and i'm no longer as adjacent to it as i was when i was a choir kid in high school but like damn. thats some good shit thank u👌

OF COURSE!!! i grew up watching the 1998 cats production, rent, and phantom of the opera, and then in highschool I was involved with every form of performance (band, choir, theater) I could get my hands on so every so often I just get filled with this need to gush! especially abt cats it's so unfairly hated 😔😔 the 2019 movie did irreversible damage. but gosh, sillabub's (the cat who stands up and sings with the main cat, Grizabella) voice is gorgeous. Such a soft, sweet soprano thats so gentle compared to Grizzabella's desperation !!!! anyway anyway!! I'm rlly glad u enjoyed it :D

#root talks #ask #I could gush abt music for HOURS #it's about the motifs

[musicalisht]

have finally qualified my love-hate relationship with andrew lloyd webber’s music and have decided he really knows how to write moving pieces that are nice to listen to especially with great actors/singers 

but i dislike actually playing them because the songs are so repetitive and it feels so long (though in all fairness that makes them easier to play)

#rambling #this is about memory from cats and phantom of the opera #alw #andrew lloyd webber #musical theater

[honestsycrets]

The Phantom I: Think of Me | Ubbe x Reader x Ivar

❛ pairing | ivar x reader x ubbe

❛ type | multi

❛ summary | you're used to a life with the phantom. his company feels like home.

❛ tags | slight violence, phantom of the opera au, love triangles, original characters.

❛ sy’s notes | this piece has been a long time coming. each chapter will be named according to soundtrack pieces. the introductory scene is probably reminiscent of the movie, i really want to recreate those feelings for me. @alicedopey

The Opera was loud today. Usually, the flutter of shoes downstairs, the rush to change costume, or the giggles from flirtatious girls was typical. Sigurd would lower backdrops as beautiful ballerinas crossed him, dreaming of life not as the keeper of backstage: but as a musician. He loved the dancing girls. You rushed down the stairs to the bottom floor and binding it with soft ribbons passing rich crimson curtains of the stage. Madame Gunnhild reprimanded you for your heavy steps, reminding you that this was not folk music. This was ballet. Powerful, yes. But not unnecessarily loud.

The only loud one was the star whose voice rattled the stage. Her presence incited the glamour of a fat cat. Not that she was plump; perhaps she would be happier, rather than hungrily scrounging and screaming and howling for more and more. Signora Stella was insatiable.

“It’s because someone is coming for tonight’s gala. She wants to make sure he knows who she is. Didn’t you hear?” Adeline whispered. “Bjorn sold the Opera.”

“Is that really true?” The dancers convened on the stage for a final run-through of the opera Hannibal. For which your pink gossamer silk slave piece so appropriately draped off your hips while she stood donned in gold and red, strutting around the stage.

“It’s not FAIR!” Her eye was squarely upon manager Halfdan. His soft eyebrows bundled together as she berated him with her latest complaint. At his side, his brother stood with his hand settled nicely into the taupe pocket of his slacks. You recognized them. Bjorn brought them in the deep quiet of dance rehearsals. Harald especially loved the dancers. He loved to watch them spin along the stage like a top.

“Signora,” Halfdan’s sweet voice consoled. You rushed around her stony body, her beautiful blonde hair wrought in delicate curls. “La mia Stella,” he crooned. There was a softness to the way his dirty blonde hair framed his gentle eyes.

“I am the star, me! Me, me, me!” her foot cracked down on the hardwood floor. She gestured toward your ruddy-haired friend, then you, biting out her complaint. “Not one of these-- these dancing girls can sing like I!”

“We know, Signora.”

“Then who dressed-- them?”

Harald crossed his arms over one another, glancing toward his boots. It could never just be the voice. It was an experience. For a man like Harald, whose artistic expression was about in line with that of a straw doll, it meant costume.

“You will be the focus. We will give you a solo. Just for you!”

“A new song?” she turned, the wheels of her brain suddenly spinning again. She ran her ringed hand down Halfdan’s pressed deep blue suit, drawing her ruby nails up to tap him on the nose. “What kind of song?”

“Think of Me,” said Harald.

“Think of Me!” she squawked. “That is perfect. Perfect for a girl like me! Can you imagine me-- a childhood lover-- in Paris?”

No, you couldn’t. Even Paris was too muted for her taste.

“Well?” she looked toward your group. “Get off my stage. Especially you,” she pointed her finger between Adeline and you. You’re not sure who she’s talking about. “Fat little frog.”

It’s better not to push. You take Adeline in one hand and, with the other, the sheer fabric. The orchestra wretched alive again as the awful vocalizations filled the auditorium, reverberating your ear. Think of Me never sounded worse.

Still, it must be nice, you think, to be an opera star by virtue of birth. Sour with embarrassment but saved by the prospect of dance, you delighted in knowing that Stella would soon leave after her songs were sung to a T. A woosh of air hair threw your hair over your shoulders. It was compounded by her harsh scream and filling the auditorium. You glanced from the floor to the upper stage where, if you looked closely, you might have seen a shadow flitting across the bridge with the aid of the banister.

“Up up up up! Get me OUT FROM UNDER HERE!”

“Sigurd!” Halfdan boomed. “What are you doing up there!?”

“I wasn’t up there.”

Your fingers left your locket when Sigurd hiked up the stairs beside you. His dark trousers were stained with paint, as was his crisp white dress shirt, pulled apart with a pretty blue smear across his chest. You peered over Sigurd to see the black drop clattered over Stella’s back, pressing her chest to the ground and chin quivering in horror.

“So it fell on its own?” Harald accused belligerently.

“I never said that. Signora. The Opera is full of strange magic.” he stood upright, helping her stand on quivering heels, shouting in awful pain. He quirked his head. “Oh, she won’t be able to perform on that.”

She jabs her finger into Harald’s chest, deliberately on his fine silk tie. Then Halfdan, whirling a curse. Stella squealed with renewed vigor. “You see what you’ve done! I hate you! I hate you! And I hate this-- this phantom!”

“Not that again,” Harald rolled his eyes.

The light in her eyes burst, soaring through the surface like an explosion across the surface. How awfully she punched him, shouting about his indignation in not paying the Phantom his salary-- before flitting down the steps on a beating heel. She would be back. Maybe not today, but another. Sigurd dragged the fallen backdrop to the side, inspecting the thick-cut rope and all its seeming imperfections.

“Can we reschedule for next week?” said one.

“We need a new star,” said the other. “Every day is the same.”

Adeline leaned her aquiline nose into your curls, “Do you think it was him?”

An awful warmth flooded your belly. Should you rejoice in a woman’s abuse? No, but at the same time, it meant she would not be here to berate the ballerinas. There was no one there.

“She can sing it for you, Harald.” At that moment, Madame Gunnhild hooked her arms under your arms. Harald turned on his boot to Gunnhild, a sultry smile playing on his lips. “What? Her?”

“No, Madame. Please.” You choked on your own words in the attempt to process what she meant. She wove her spindly fingers in your hand, jerking you toward the middle of the stage. For a moment, your heart seized to beat, blood ran still, and you might have fainted by the curiosity in the brothers’ eyes.

“Shh,” she whispered into your ear. “I know you can sing Think of Me. I’ve heard you sing with him.”

If you ever have a moment, spare a thought for me.

Your stomach leapt with uncertainty in the silence of the room. Outside, gossip ran like a bolt of lightning across the sky. Stella’s replacement was never a position you hoped to have. Not for a day, nor an hour but here you were, dabbing your lips with a pink product after intermission in your father’s old room. His picture sat framed by photos of your family: Thyri, Siggy, and him. Your hand trembled as you seized it. Then, falling away, you looked toward the letter that sat square in front of you.

“You have a letter from the Opera Ghost,” Gunnhild had said. Usually, those words would have inspired anyone with fear. Instead, it filled your belly with fervor, a soft pinkness that dusted over your cheeks soften than any blush you could apply. “Open it when you’re alone.”

You fluttered your eyes, hoping that the excitement in your belly was just a built-up from this corset that restricted your breathing. Breath swelled in your chest. You hooked a letter opener under the blotchy gold seal.

“Bellisima.”

The voice echoed through the room. Your physician Athelstan told you it was nothing: a figment of your imagination that you ought to hush about-- or they would send you away. Your angel was a kiss from God and nothing more. Your chest swelled with a heavy breath, fixing the earrings into your ear. They looked like the very stars that shone on the rooftop of the opera house. The voice filled the room, a soft sing-song that bounced from wall to wall and filled you with something like peace.

“Open it, my sweet.”

“It frightens me,” you murmured.

“Don’t be frightened.”

With a flick of your letter opener, you forced the crisp letter apart. In it, a square of parchment sat nestled between a glimmering gold chain. It was a glorious gold chain and, at the end of it, a singular heart locket. There was a knock at your door just as you inspected the inscription etched into its surface.

“May I come in?”

Whether or not you’d agree, Harald already came in. He was a man of tall stature despite his height. Wherever he carried himself, there was respect. You knew him to be in love with Gunnhild, and though she gave him no attention, you knew his intentions for her.

“Do you want to sit down?” you offered. Harald drew off his taupe jacket to figure with a tucked letter in his black breast coat. He held it out to you. You took it, bracelets jingling and saw that inside was a wealth of currency.

“Oh-- this is…” you murmured. “More than I can accept.”

“You knew the viscount, don’t you?”

The viscount Ragnar, you recall. Your cheeks warmed with his memory—a thin child with honey brown hair and a big heart. Harald kneeled before you, running his hand on top of your fluffy pink ball dress.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

“It has been a while,” you gesture to your photo of your father, reminded by the memory of the land you left behind in Scandinavia. “He probably wouldn’t remember me.”

“I’d wager you’re wrong. Put in a good word for us. He’ll be hard-pressed not to notice you,” he pauses. He rolled his finger through your long curl. It slipped away from his finger as he took his bunched-up suit jacket and opened the door. “As beautiful as you look tonight.”

“I-- thank you.”

The door clasps shut. You didn’t need this money, you murmured. But perhaps the children could use bread. Your attention fell to the necklace around your neck. If you turned the gold pendant over and over again between your fingertips, you could calm the racing of your heart. Today, you would be Elissa. Tomorrow, maybe a chorus girl once again. It was your time. The Ubbe from your memory was just that: a memory.

“Sing it again.”

@tephi101 @alicedopey @supernaturalvikingwhore @tootie-fruity @titty-teetee @queen-see-ya-in-valhalla @ethereallysimple @deathbyarabbit @deathbyarabbit @readsalot73 @natalie-rdr @lol-haha-joke @lisinfleur @hissouthernprincess @marvelousse @dangerous-like-a-loaded-pistol @vikingsmania @wish-i-was-a-mermaid @lif3snotouttogetyou @gruffle1 @cris101071 @gold-dragon-slayer @babypink224221 @wonderwoman292 @naaladareia @beyond-the-ashes @generic-fangirl @chinduda @laketaj24, @peaceisadirtyword, @ly–canthrope @cris101071​ @daughterofthenight117 @unassumingviking @ladyofsoa, @inforapound @winchesterwife27 @feyrearcheron44@readsalot73 @squirrelacorngliterfarts @gold-dragon-slayer​ @medievalfangirl @sallydelys  @bluearchersstuff @affectionrabbitt @whatamood13 @notyouraveragegirl17 @igetcarriedawaywithyou @unacceptabletatertots @ivarandersen @stra-vage @tgrrose @cookies186 @learninglemni-blog @theleeshanotlouise @soiproclaim @msmorganforever @destynelseclipsa @soleil-dor @strangunddurm @superwolfchild-fan

#ubbe x reader #ivar x reader #Ivar Ragnarsson x Reader #ubbe ragnarsson x reader #vikings imagines #viking imagine #ubbe x reader x ivar #ivar x reader x ubbe #vikings/reader #ivar/reader #ubbe/reader

[templedragon]

Supergirl 6x03 Phantom Menaces

Supergirl 6x03 Phantom Menaces, had a late name change from Phantoms of the Opera. It's another marked change from the previous two episodes. The first was crammed to the point you couldn't appreciate anything. The second was Lex taking up screentime. This was all heart with just enough plot to serve said character growth. CatCo writes an article about Lena Abdicating from her throne (royalty). Brainy has future knowledge of Phantom's reproductive cycle. The Phantom Zone didn't merge like the rest of the universe in COIE, so Kara's getting memories from timelines she didn't experience, and this explains the 'everyone I loved died' comment last episode (akin to the season 2 finale where she said everyone was in a romantic relationship when there were plenty of singles). Otis blew up the children's hospital off screen.

In a COIE move to explain why writers didn't want to deal with characters from others shows, Nia's absence from saving Kara is explained by CatCo having a retreat. It also took Andrea and William from our screens. Thankfully Nia had development last episode. As long as she has forward development when she's on screen. This is true of M'Gann, who is still with us. She and J'onn, having taken on each other's souls in 6x01, have restored each other from fungal nails. Cis hets get this privilege, while Silas, an openly gay man, got turned into a cold soulless monster. Do I file this under kill your gays or gays are villains? Silas isn't the biggest problematic message of the episode, which is a battle fought between Kelly not getting any screentime or agency, or Lena having to be poor to escape abuse.

I'm going to talk about unemployment. J'onn has a PI business which supposedly funds the Tower, so if we ever see him do that job what the heck does he charge his clients?! Alex quit the DEO. Then the DEO blew up, making Brainy jobless. Obsidian North folded so Kelly doesn't have a job (but has a stash of the technology for special occasions). Lena just walked away from her job (though I hope she has hidden money away after the last time Lex cut her off from family cash which lead to her working with Jack). Where has Brainy been sleeping since he broke up wit Nia? How has Alex paid for her apartment as a vigilante? I can't wait to see what happens to Kara when she gets back without a Cat Grant interview. Nia is the only SuperFriend we see having a job. Is Brainy using his knowledge of the future to buy winning lottery tickets?

The events within the Tower seem to take place within 48 hours over 6x02 and 6x03. But events outside happen over longer periods, be it William's bullet wound healing, or the evidence gathering for Lex's trial, or the CatCo refurbishment. Presumably bad things have happened in National City but no-one's concerned about Supergirl's absence. The DEO blew up and no-one cares that Lex, Lena and Supergirl aren't working together publically any more, or how the mindwipe affected this. No-one has told Kal that Kara's reliving her worst nightmare. No-one's told Alura that her daughter is in the prison she designed. No-one has told Lena that her protocol worked in 6x01 - from her perspective Lex sent Kara straight to the Phantom Zone rather than killing her.

We've missed another important scene of Kelly dealing with Obsidian North being used for evil, when she was a champion of the good the technology can do. On the plus side, we got two important Dansen scenes on screen, but Kelly deserves more than being a sponge for other people's grief and then dispensing advice. Alex went from one day of assuming Kara was coming back, to the next day of listening to the recordings (and the fake bangs, what a way to be immortalised) because Kara's not coming back. The cynic in me says Alex should have had these thoughts before as Kara is in a high risk job so there's a good chance she'll outlive her. Plus, Kara has a death wish through survivor's guilt.  I shall call this, No-One On This Show Has Healthy Emotional Coping Strategies. Kara's going to live forever. Lena can make the Luthor name a force for good. Kelly can have agency. J'onn will have more modes than desperate papa and unyielding soldier. Kara will deal with her own issues in a place that tortures her rather than helping other people with theirs. Brainy...

This episode belongs to Jesse Rath and Katie McGrath for the BrOTP of the show. Brainy says everything we presume Lena feels. Hate Lex. Kill Lex. Miss Kara. In a call back to season 4 where Lena broke down and Brainy offered advice, now it's Lena telling Brainy to steer away from murderous impulses as it puts you on a dark path. She knows from her own experience, the distended season 5 (contrasted to her offering encouragement to Kara since forever and pep talks to Sam on being a single mom business bitch). She got to punch Kara in VR as an outlet for her anger, while Brainy's getting through a lot of keyboards, monitors and tablets, especially someone without an income. Once the emotions are unboxed (which allows you to have a fulfilling relationship), we see Operation Vengeance was a distraction for dealing with Kara's loss. As Kelly said, everyone deals with loss differently. Lena's the only SuperFriend that hasn't had a big breakdown over Kara's absence. "Me, too," isn't enough. It's allowing Brainy the space to grieve.

Kara's also helping other people through their problems in the Phantom Zone. Finally, a new female cast member amidst a sea of white men. Meet Nxy, an 5th dimensional Imp like Mxy, the reforming Imp. (Reforming in Kara's eyes is progressing from chasing her romantically to helping her change reality to fix her relationship with Lena.) The CatCo article saying abdicate, the way royalty does, hammers the parallel home. Kara's spent years building up Lena's self esteem while she fights against a controlling parent in Lilian and her brother Lex who everyone loves. Now she's helping Nxy, a Princess, develop her self esteem against a narcissitic parent and a brother everyone loved. Power comes from believing in yourself, the ability to free yourself from the shackles of your family. Applies to Lena, to Nxy. Will it apply to Kara, as she lives in a prison her mother designed? Let's face it, the House of El sucks. Alura building torture prison, Zor-El making the Medusa virus, both her parents thinking a teenage single parent was better than surviving in her culture, using Kara to kidnap her aunt, Uncle Non using Myriad to control and kill everyone, Kal deciding he'd rather start a family than look after his existing one when Kara showed up and abandoning her to the Danvers. While Kara is helping her Lena surrogate, Lena is helping her Kara surrogate in Brainy, to have a space to rage and be vulnerable.

Kara's overcompensating in the Phantom Zone much like Lena is, as they don't have safe spaces yet. I don't know if Lena thinks quitting her family name (she can take Kara's...) will mean acceptance by the SuperFriends rather than using her when they have run out of other options. It's cheap writing if it is, as Lena has been stuck in a cycle of abuse for four seasons, to the extent murder wasn't enough to free her. It's bad messaging, and she needs professional therapy as deciding to love yourself rather than hate someone doesn't cut it. But if the SuperFriends still don't accept her as a person, then it may explain why Kara's been hesitant to pursue romance as to Kara she'd have to choose between Lena and everyone else and she has huge abandonment issues. This extended Kara break may enable Lena to be fully accepted so Kara can have everything.

We got on screen deepening of canon romances. M'gann and J'onn have soul swapped again, and Alex asked Kelly to live with her. Turns out you can mouth kiss your co stars during a pandemic. I don't know if Nia and Brainy are back together yet, with their pinky promises.

Kara's father is rocking pyjama chic. Supposedly the outfit you wear when you're sent to the Phantom Zone is the one you're stuck with. Was there a pandemic when he yeeted himself, which meant he was working from home...?

Living for Benoist’s broken leg performance. She doesn’t get injured often as her character.

CGI is better again.

I need a rewatch to catch all the callbacks to Lena’s life, like Kasnia and the Luthor wing at the hospital.

#supergirl #supercorp #dansen #brainia #lena luthor #kelly olsen #brainy 5 #alex danvers #phantom zone #M'gann M'orzz #J'onn J'onzz #lex luthor #episode review #supergirl season 6 #6x03 Phantom Menaces

[coffeeheartaddict2]

Hi Hi Hi! Since tumblr has been a ride the past 12 hours or so, I thought why not go and do something fun with everyone on here. Which is why I am here with some questions about your MCs

• What is your MC's happiest memory that doesn't include their LI?

• If your MC had to choose just one person from their friend group who would it be and why?

• Did your MC ever have any pets before they started their life at Boston?

• If MC's LI had to give them one thing as an apology gift after a not so serious argument what would it be?

• I know Ethan is a role model to many MC's but is there someone else in their life who shaped them into the person today?

• Your MC is humming a song under their breath, so much so that it gets stuck on the LIs head. What kind of song is it (is it a fun one, or a soft melancholic one or something from an obscure tv show, or a particular artist?)

----

It's okay if you can't answer these, the idea is to celebrate our multidimensional MC's beyond their chosen LI and having fun along the way❤

Also, a little reminder, I love and appreciate everyone of you and your presence in our little fandom is extremely cherished by many❤💜

Happiest non LI a memory.

When Casey graduated from Medical school top of her class at Yale. Finishing top 10 at any Ivy medical school is an achievement but Casey wanted to be top 5 to have a hope of getting pass the first round of selections.

If they had to choose one person, who would it be.

Aurora Emery. After getting to know her they become really good friends and when they work together they really bring out the best in each other.

Did Casey have pets?

Yes they had a cat and fish. Cat was a part Persian cat named Fluffy.

Apology gift after a not so serious argument.

Ethan normally buys her flowers or high quality dark Belgian or Swiss dark chocolate. Then they discuss if needed.

There is always a minimum of make up snuggles.

Other role models in Casey’s life.

Casey’s grandad. He was a medic in the Korean War. Casey never really wanted to go into the military but did want to help people so she decided on medicine.

What songs does she hum that get stuck in Ethan’s head?

Depends on her mood. If she is feeling stressed there will be angsty Taylor swift, green day, nirvana

Happy she will sing Beatles, non angsty Taylor swift, pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, sometimes a little bit of phantom of the opera.

Thank you so much dri for these questions. It was fun answering them

Tagging: @gryffindordaughterofathena @jamespotterthefirst @jerzwriter @genevievemd @bex-la-get @potionsprefect @writer-ish @the-pale-goddess @a-crepusculo

#open heart #asked and answered

[duamuteffe]

Thoughts on Halloween? Do you celebrate? Any fun traditions for you and the doc?

I love Halloween SO MUCH, omg. You have unleashed a torrent of stories, I apologize in advance.

So my Mom's mom, who we called Bummy, was an amazing seamstress. She had started at seven (so, 1935) on a Singer treadle machine helping her mother make clothes out of flour sacks for her seven siblings, and by the time us grandkids came along there was nothing she couldn't sew. She could look at a garment and figure out a pattern, or make one up out of her imagination, and this translated into the best Halloween costumes of all time. When I was a toddler she made costumes for me that she thought would be cute; a bee, a Care Bear, a strawberry. Once we were older she'd ask my brother and I in June what we wanted to be for Halloween and by October (after numerous fittings and fussings :) it would be done. I was a wizard with beard and robes and a glowing crystal ball, I was the Phantom of the Opera with an ankle-length cape, I was a cat with velvet ears and paws and tail and a shiny blue alien with deely boppers and extra hands. My brother was a cloaked Death with ragged robes, a fishman with trailing seaweed, a futuristic astronaut with a silver spacesuit. If we didn't have a preference, she'd decide for us; she had always loved the style of kimonos and obis so she managed to make a gorgeous and very reasonable facsimile of a garment she had never seen in person, only in National Geographics, and made me a geisha one year. (Note - was this cultural appropriation? Yes. Did I know that at 14 in 1993? No, I did not, and neither did she. Rest assured that while my love for Geisha and Maiko remains undimmed, I wouldn't do it again because I know better now. But as a demonstration of her talent that outfit was beautiful.)

Trick-or-Treating in my small neighborhood was fun, although I was very shy so it could be a little nerve-wracking. Several houses had adults who also had their elderly parents living with them, so all visiting kids would be ushered in to the living room so the old people could exclaim over our costumes. ("Oh, look, how nice! Who are you being this year?" even when the child in question had a store-bought Batman costume that was a mask and a plastic poncho that said "Batman" across it :) We usually got an even mix of store-bought candy and homemade treats because it was a very poor county; popcorn balls, rice crispy treats, little bags of cookies, no-bakes that were so good we always tried going back at least once to see if the lady of the house had forgotten she'd given us some already, store bought apples, and, from the lovely but very poor lady who lived up past the end of our street, apples from her tree out back. Since there were only about a dozen houses in my town (out of fifteen total, plus three or four camps) that gave out candy, sometimes one or more of the moms would pack local kids in cars and either go across the river or up the road to the slightly larger towns so we got more candy. My folks would ration it out to us over the next few days so we didn't overload on it and get sick.

Once you hit your mid teens you either stayed at home to give out candy and attempt to terrify incoming children with spooky setups or go out egging other roving bands of teens. I always went with giving out candy because I hate being sticky. We had a great setup one year were my brother wore his Death costume and slumped in a chair looking like a dummy and holding a bowl of candy in his lap. We replaced the porch light with a blacklight bulb and put the cats in the attic so we could leave the back door open and played this exact cassette tape on the stereo:

Kids would sneak up the porch stairs and peek into the living room, and, seeing the supposed dummy, would creep towards it. When they reached for the candy my brother would shove it towards them and growl, and they'd scream and run back outside, where I would catch them and tell them it was fine and herd them back inside so they could grab some candy. The kids were usually fine once the shock had passed, but some of the moms were so scared I couldn't get them to go back inside, which was always hilarious.

When I moved up north, the farm was too far from the town for trick or treaters, sadly, and when I came back home I was in a second-floor apartment for 14 years so no trick or treaters there, either, which was a great disappointment. But once we moved to the trailer I could finally start decorating and handing out treats the way I have always wanted to:

With a whole cemetery and a big bowl of goofy toys and glowsticks and candy. (Reminds me, I need to get ordering this years' round of toys and glowsticks. We almost always run out of glowy things.)

Incidentally the Doc and I are ADF Druids, so Halloween is also Samhain, the day when the barriers between us and the Next World are the thinnest, and we think of the Ancestors who have gone ahead of us and make offerings to them. Our yearly offering is the giving of treats and toys and a bit of scares to children, the way our folks and grandparents and local old folks did for us as kids, in the hopes that those kids will have happy memories of the holiday the way we do.

#life in the duamuteffe household #after the hours for passing out candy are over we get dressed up in costumes and go out for dinner #because wandering around as a steampunk airship pilot (him) #and a burlesque wolfgirl (me) is super fun