#also not related to the performance

[ifyouhappentoremember]

Quick Toughts - Phantom of the Opera - Broadway - March 6, 2023

The main trio was Laird Mackintosh, Julia Udine and Paul Adam Schafer

For those unaware, this performance was Laird’s last day with the Broadway company and his last performance as the Phantom. 

Every time I see Nehal Joshi’s Andre I just appreciate new details of his performance. Like he awkwardly bump into Meg during Hannibal Rehearsal on two separate occasions and then after the number was over he had a conversation with Meg (presumably to apologize). When Andre is introduced to the company, he gives a courtly little bow. I truly love those details.

Okay, I’m not gonna talk about anyone else now. The rest of this post is going to exclusively focus on Larid. 

There is an old school quality to the way he moves. There is an inherent graceful, yet somewhat non-human about the way he moves.

The way he said the first ‘sing for me’ during the title song??? It was so deep and resonant. It made me sit up straighter in my seat. 

The intense eye contact with Christine during “I have brought you’ only for him to break it during the ‘my music’ bit.

The man was vocally batting 1000 on this performance.

The way Laird’s Phantom would flinch when Julia’s Christine got close to him (right before the line ‘turn your face away’ and a second one!!!! right before the line ‘let the dream begin’).

Laird may have the fastest STYDI crawl I’ve ever seen? It was so unsettling, like he didn’t have any control of his limbs (but also somehow he did?

“a ToAD, madam? Perhaps... it is you... who are ... the toad.”

The quiet, whispered “stop” when Raoul and Christine are singing during All I Ask of You reprise hurt.

When the Phantom pops out in ‘Before the Performance’ scene, Laird knocked over the little table (maybe another chair?) that was in box 5 lol.

I think Laird’s Phantom wanted to go in for a kiss during the proposal. The way Julia’s Christine unmaksed him you know she did it to make him stop.

Laird get really in Julia’s face, shoving his deformed side during the line ‘an eternity of this...’

Oh god, his Phantom got so sad when Raoul said the line ‘why make her lie to you...” almost like he truly hated himself for what he was doing and was about to just about to let them go but them Julia’s Christine reaches out to touch his back and his resolve just hardens. The way he then just tossed away the veil he had been clutching was almost cold-hearted.

The ring return hurt. He is so happy for a moment. When Christine breaks her hand from his grasp, he lets out a sharp gasp of pain. When he finally lets out a second I love you, Christine is long gone and Laird said it in such a child-like way.

When Raoul and Christine are sailing away, singing, Laird’s Phantom almost relaxes, when he hears Christine sing.

I’m used to Ben’s Phantom singing the final line to the audience, so Laird directing the first half of that iconic line to the disappearing figures of Raoul and Christine was a nice old-school touch.

I did cry, but surprisingly at the line “it’s over now...” I think it really just hit me that Phantom really is closing and I am rapidly approaching my final visit :(

#also not related to the performance #but the usher let two late comers in RIGHT BEFORE IL MUTO STARTED #act 1 is basically over and these people finally show up???? #it was so strange #quick thoughts #poto broadway #laird mackintosh

[marypsue]

So if you follow me (and aren't just stopping by because you saw one of my funney viralposts), you probably know that I've been writing a bunch of fanfiction for Stranger Things, which is set in rural Indiana in the early- to mid-eighties. I've been working on an AU where (among other things) Robin, a character confirmed queer in canon, gets integrated into a friend group made up of a number of main characters. And I got a comment that has been following me around in the back of my mind for a while. Amidst fairly usual talk about the show and the AU and what happens next, the commenter asked, apparently in genuine confusion, "why wouldn't Robin just come out to the rest of the group yet? They would be okay with it."

I did kind of assume, for a second or two, that this was a classic case of somebody confusing what the character knows with what the author/audience knows. But the more I think about it, the more I feel like it embodies a real generational shift in thinking that I hadn't even managed to fully comprehend until this comment threw it into sharp perspective.

Because, my knee-jerk reaction was to reply to the comment, "She hasn't come out to these people she's only sort-of known for less than a year because it's rural Indiana. In the nineteen-eighties." and let that speak for itself. Because for me and my peers, that would speak for itself. That would be an easy and obvious leap of logic. Because I grew up in a world where you assumed, until proven otherwise, that the general society and everyone around you was homophobic. That it was unsafe to be known to be queer, and to deliberately out yourself required intention and forethought and courage, because you would get negative reactions and you had to be prepared for the fallout. Not from everybody! There were always exceptions! But they were exceptions. And this wasn't something you consciously decided, it wasn't an individual choice, it wasn't an individual response to trauma, it wasn't individual. It was everybody. It was baked in, and you didn't question it because it was so inherently, demonstrably obvious. It was Just The Way The World Is. Everybody can safely be assumed to be homophobic until proven otherwise.

And what this comment really clarified for me, but I've seen in a million tiny clashing assumptions and disconnects and confusions I've run into with The Kids These Days, is that a lot of them have grown up into a world that is...the opposite. There are a lot of queer kids out there who are assuming, by default, that everybody is not homophobic, until proven otherwise. And by and large, the world is not punishing them harshly for making that assumption, the way it once would have.

The whole entire world I knew changed, somehow, very slowly and then all at once. And yes, it does make me feel like a complete space alien just arrived to Earth some days. But also, it makes me feel very hopeful. This is what we wanted for ourselves when we were young and raw and angrily shoving ourselves in everyone's faces to dare them to prove themselves the exception, and this is what I want for The Kids These Days.

(But also please, please, Kids These Days, do try to remember that it has only been this way since extremely recently, and no it is not crazy or pathetic or irrational or whatever to still want to protect yourself and be choosy about who you share important parts of yourself with.)

#also Kids These Days please if nobody's told you: you can't send cheques through email #and if somebody sends you one through email They Are A Scammer and Yes They Are Scamming You #that's not related I just am constantly tearing my hair out about how many people of ALL AGES don't know that #something something something invoking the fuck word in the hopes it will keep this poast from search #i love how the internet has created Magic Words Of Power #unfortunately most of those words perform the action of 'summon jackass idiots to comment on your post' #i am paraphrasing the comment that was left on my AU fic because I am too lazy to go looking for it right now but #it was very similar to that wording #this is just a thing that has been rattling around in my brain and it was finally smoothed out and polished enough to come out

[pumastuffs]

Sometimes I feel like the coining of new terms and microlabels is more about wanting to be the originator of something and getting praise for it than about needing a simple way to express your identity.

#the whole 'i made a flag for x' or 'i want to coin more terms' and such is just...it feels performative #disingenuous and with no real passion behind it #like posting things for clicks and clicks alone #text #oc #yes this is related to the flavor of the week discourse #also the increasing number of microlabels only further splinters the community

[comradesummers]

i don't think the spike girlies talk enough about how he was an upper-class posh dude who reverse my fair ladied himself so that he would sound cooler. like do you think he sat around practicing "the rain in spain" to make himself more cockney?

#i am not a spike girlie but i feel this is a neglected topic of discussion #i mean he's literally a rich dude cosplaying as working class that is so funny #also george bernard shaw's pygmalion was first performed in 1913 #so the exact reference i'm making doesn't fit the timeline i don't think #since he already has the accent in the boxer rebellion scenes #but i'd like to believe he went to see the play and felt really seen #but also because he's spike #he related way too much to henry higgins and could not understand why he and eliza don't end up together #probably loves the musical (my beloathed) though #spike #btvs #buffy the vampire slayer

[speakofcompersion]

God of Performance Taemin ft. the cutest audience in the world 🥰 Move on AKMU's The Seasons: Long Day, Long Night (231103)

Bonus: AKMU also being cute

#First off: props to the live musicians. this live remix of Move is everything to me. It's so funky and groovy i love love love <3 #i want it stream-able pls give the clean audioo i beg #also to the cutest audience in the whole world: i love you. This video makes me so happy they're all so engaged and energetic #i relate to every person here :P the energy in this room must have been amazing! #he really did get them all to Move 😉 #and look at the beaming smile on Taem's face!!! he is loving this soooo much <333 #on the ethics of gif-ing audience members... i couldn't resist. I did make a poll a few weeks ago and “it's ok to gif” won the poll... #but only 3 to 2 (5 people voted total lol) so.. you can't really call that conclusive. feel free to lmk if it's not fair to audience!! #if so then i will remove gifset :')) #taemin #lee taemin #shinee taemin #shinee #akmu #kpop #performance #move performance #analook

[newvision]

Just watched Hannibal put on Will’s jacket in Mizumono and sobbed so hard I gagged! What kills me about it is that Hannibal is so clearly heartbroken over Will’s betrayal. It must have been so difficult and terrifying for him to reveal more and more of what was underneath his carefully construed mask to Will throughout the episodes, something he hasn’t done for anyone but his victims since he lost his sister. Throughout S2b we see him warm up to the idea of a companion. He tests Will and Will passes the tests, until Hannibal smells Freddie on him and knows she’s not actually dead. He could have left, then, with Abigail and they couldn’t have proven anything, he could have had a comfortable life somewhere else, but instead he chose to give Will the benefit of the doubt, presumably against his better judgement. Will did what I imagine must have been the very worst thing anyone could have done to Hannibal. He didn’t not understand him, he pretended to understand him to serve his own agenda. He sensed Hannibal craved understanding and gave him just enough to be able to turn on him. I think that’s why Hannibal gutted Will and killed Abigail, Will is the only one with the ability to truly hurt Hannibal and he does, so Hannibal hurts him in the way only he can — and by doing so imagines he will be able to leave Will behind, start a new life, just as alone as he has always been, as the promise of companionship was a hoax — but again, he’s doing it half-heartedly. He could have watched the life drain out of Will, but he leaves instead of really killing him, so Will isn’t truly gone from him. He leaves, yes, but he takes Will’s jacket and wears it — so Will isn’t truly gone from him. And that begs the question — would he have done that for anyone before meeting Will? I do not think so and neither did Will. When Hannibal asks him “Do you believe you could change me, the way I’ve changed you?” it seems like he wants Will to say no, but Will doesn’t, he say’s he has already altered him, that he is just as much a part of Hannibal as Hannibal is a part of him. They are both so so torn - Will, who betrays Hannibal, but says he did want the gift Hannibal gave him, Hannibal, who guts him but in a way that won’t allow him to die. Will, who wants to catch Hannibal, but seems so accusatory and hurt when he says “you were supposed to leave”. He’s a good fisherman, but begs the fish to swim away, and Hannibal swims towards him although he can see the fishing rod. Everyone talks about Will running towards his own destruction for him, but so does Hannibal. They’re crashing into each other. I cannot get over it, ever

#the way mads delivers the lines ‘I let you know me - see me’ is one of the best performances in all of cinema #the pain in his voice dear GOD #also will moving closer when Hannibal pushes the knife into his stomach #he takes what he can get from Hannibal!!! whatever it is #thank god I don’t relate to either of them 🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂😂😂😂😂🤣😂🤣🤣🤣🤣 feeling normal and fine #its the most heartbreaking love story of all time perhaps #Hannibal #emmys thoughts on Hannibal #nbc Hannibal #will Graham #hannibal lecter #Mads mikkelsen #hugh dancy #hannigram

[herearedragons]

tag the oc that's most likely to get stuck in a time loop and what kind of time loop it would be

#I feel like Kyana has time loop potential but idk what the exact loop would be #maybe the loop is the entirety of DAO and she keeps getting companions killed/locked into their Bad Endings #and the loop only stops when she manages to get them all to survive the Blight #something something she needs to learn to be a good leader and care about others #unsuccessful loops reset via the archdemon killing her (even if the dark ritual was performed) #Selene gets the classic 'your love interest keeps dying and you try to stop it' time loop #to escape the loop she must Let It Happen (and then it turns out it's fine and everyone survives) #Secret gives me the vibe of someone who knows they're in a time loop but has given up on trying to solve it #she's just going through it. trying everything. keeping herself entertained. trying to stay sane #sometimes she clues Varric in on the looping. sometimes she doesn't #actually maybe her time loop rule is that someone else has to save her from it. nothing she does by herself will work #idk what the exact reset point would be #I'm thinking the Arishok fight maybe. or Meredith #I don't think it would go as far as the Fade #also. after writing Homecoming I did have the thought of a time loop story #with Dorian as the one being trapped and trying to prevent Neil from dying/becoming possessed #maybe in his case he's not really trapped. he can stop anytime he wants but he keeps choosing to go back #the reset point is something Solas-related maybe #herearedragons meta #oc: kyana amell #oc: watcher selene #oc: secret hawke #oc: neilar lavellan #oh. actually. Aqun would be pretty fun to put in a time loop #that runs over some part of DAI and/or Trespasser #Adina is his time loop buddy (the person he usually tells about the loop because she immediately believes him) #idk what his reset/escape condition would be though #maybe in his case it's something purely mechanical #like there's no lesson to be learned it's just a magical anomaly he's trapped on #and on a meta level the 'lesson' is accepting that not everything has a Purpose or a Reason

[lolathepeacocklord]

if they started a band together I think it should be called Triple A, representing their combined power of autism adhd and autism again

#prowl would be drummer btw #bumblebee and bulkhead would be guitarist and keyboardist. and also theyd both be lead singer #they have no rhythm #all of their instruments are made out of scrap and always sound very slightly out of tune to various degrees #the singers are constantly trying to talk over each other and they both have different memories of what the lyrics were #bumblebee is trying to dance and do some sort of shredding. bulkhead tripped over the cable and has broken a hole into the stage. #prowl has four beats he repeats over and over again #also they think it's strictly mandatory to destroy your instruments at the end of every performance #prowl has some doubts about it but before he can ever say anything bumblebee has already thrown the guitar through his drums #this drawing is nothing related to them being a band btw. this is just a lineup of hc designs #anyways I hope you've been doing well pookiesss I liked drawing this a lot <33 #my art #transformers #maccadam #transformers animated #tfa #prowl #bulkhead #bumblebee #tfa prowl #tfa bumblebee #tfa bulkhead

[justanotherhh]

smthin about blitzø's romantic relationships defined by him as bodyguard, with fizz, with verosika, and with stolas. something about that being a part of his core, either as a negative (it's all about putting his body in front of theirs because he's the "less important" factor and it's the only real thing he feels has to offer alongside sex) or as a positive (he likes protecting others, he likes being of use, it's a good way of communicating how much he cares and he's good at it)

but yeah, that forming part of the foundations of those relationships from his side

#helluva boss #blitzø #blitzo #he'll protect all of his loved ones of course #but that's not what's needed for millie or moxxie or loona or barbie #bodyguard is a function that specifically relates to his romantic interests #ALSO AGAIN MY DESIRE FOR BLITZ!WHUMP #BECAUSE WHAT HAPPENS IF HE CANT PERFORM THIS SERVICE??????? I WISH TO SEE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! #my meta

[agemnor]

STAYBLR SKZ ANNIVERSARY | Day 4

dancing machine 🥰

#stayblrskzanniv #hyunjin #createskz #stray kids #skz #*gifs #performance #this set has been in my head for almost a year #also doing this set i watched a lot of his fancams and dance related videos #and i have so much respect for him #he really puts his all into it #and it shows #i #<33333333333333333333333

[hoperaypegasus]

Cool Jobs I Made Up But Still Wish We Saw in Beyblade

Bey Designers

People who design the ideas of beys and how they look and make them. There are really popular ones who make tons of beys and others who make specialized or more unique and custom ones. They typically are either loved or hated by mechanics due to their designs.

Performers

I’ve talked about these before but these bladers work with their beys to create a visual performance like performers do in Pokémon and unlike regular bladers, would be judged by the audience to see who wins. I do think this would be pretty popular too since we see bladers who already are combining performing with battling.

Blader Consultants

Ok ok, so Chao-Xin says that one of the reasons he likes beyblade is that the outfits are cool… have there be people who help bladers come up with their initial costume and style that makes them stand out as a blader. That would just kinda be cool though I do think mainly rich or very famous bladers would use them regularly.

Beyblade Trainers

We kind of see this in Coach Steel (ok, he kinda also does bey design to from what we see him do to modify Striker), but he runs a gym. I was mainly thinking that besides beyblade gym trainers, successful bladers might take on the jobs of basically being personal trainers/tutors to newer or less experienced bladers. Basically the beyblade equivalent of personal trainers.

Blader Fashion Designers

I’m just saying that there’s no way they’re wearing regular street clothes if it survives everything they go through in the show. Like seriously, what jacket can survive being surrounded by tornadoes constantly or what gloves can withstand catching a quickly moving (and therefore very hot) metal object without any damage and still look decent? There’s fashion made specially for bladers and therefore there must be blader fashion designers.

#mfb #beyblade metal saga #metal masters beyblade #im making stuff up again #if you can't tell i really love the idea of performers #and i swear its not just because i would be one i also like the concept #but bey designers!!! imagine like fashion week but for beys!! #beyblade metal fight #mfb headcanons #would most of the main cast have any respect for performers or trainers? probably not seeing their reactions to jack and chris #but im gonna ignore that fact for now #:) #im making up a ton of different other beyblade related careers because i refuse to believe everyone just leaves the industry #like seriously? everyone just gets office jobs? nope. don't buy it.

[toranekooo]

i've fallen into an impossible love... will we meet again next week? ah... mondays are the worst.

#kobayashi is the most relatable character ever because i too would fall in love with narumi mona the moment i see her #ALSO. i did have a kobayashi moment during my wife's first performance i was literally just. staring at her with heart eyes #remember to fall in love with a few idols its good for you trust me (lying) #fuck. i should actually tag this #1.20 | mine #gifs #amatsuki #amachan #mona narumi #narumi mona #getsuyoubi no yuutsu #monday's melancholy #honeyworks #haniwa #haniwakkusu #hanipre #honeyworks premium live #honeypure #hanipure #honeypre #anime #anime aesthetic #aesthetic #anime edit #aesthetic edit #aes #anime character #aesthetic anime #utaite #amatsuki gifs

[sainz]

a closeted 20 year old that comes from a conservative rural family falling in love with a openly gay 18 year old on spanish prime tv

#a bit of background: #this is operacion triunfo a spanish tv show about sing! there are 16 contestants and they have to sing every monday a song #so they live in like a school academy where they have each day classes related to music (and they also rehearsal the song the have to #perform the mondays) #okay and like they have 0 connection with the rest of the world (they have phones but with no internet) so they know nothing about #what’s happening outside #SO there’s a youtube channel where they show each day what these contestants are doing (like big brother but related to music) #so um u get really attached to them cause u see them 24h!!! #so one of this contestants is juanjo (the one with the 🧢) and comes from a rural village and his fam is a bit conservative so he never #speaks about his sexuality - all the opposite he’s a bit ashamed of what he is bc he’s now used to act like himself #and then there is martin who is 18 and openly gay and like super open about all this topic super comfortable with himself etc #so this show has been going on for 3 weeks now okay? and in the first week u could see something was going on between these two #but since juanjo is so ashamed of this he rejected every type of touch that came for martin #martin got all ☹️ and he kinda told his friends there that he was having something with juanjo and he wasn’t receptive #(WE WERE SCREAMING IN TWITTER) #well since that moment it has been a fucking rollercoaster but juanjo is now a chiller and they cuddle and flirt in from of everyone #(they even have showers together cause rip they have 0 intimacy) #okay but today has been!!!! PUNTO DE INFLEXIÓN #juanjo has fallen in love so deeply with martin that oh god he needs to be by his side all the time omgomg #and yeah this vid happened tonight while their friends were singing and all twitter cried

[resssistance]

mea tormenta

#shoma uno #figure skating #gpf 2022 #r:gif #the look on his face here!!! #99.99 injured 0.01 dead #this moment had never stand out as much as it did here #usually he was *shoma intense original* on this beat #but today he clearly was having a blast #this could be an intended performance feature and he's just getting better into it for all i know #but i think it was a little 'breaking the character' moment #you can see on the replay that he got the 'fuck yeah i did that' kind of smile after 3A+2A (precious boy) #he was done with the jumps and went all out #he was ON #but remembered to tone it down a bit after this moment lol #(also to get spins and ending on time hahahahah) #(mea CSSp properate) #and honestly i don't care if it doesn't match the overall mood #i like it this way so much more #probably related to the insane amount of affection i have for shoma and him being happy but i digress #this moment was the final nail in my coffin (the almost starfish was a ressurection spell) #i am making a set (or trying to haha) but i really wanted to highlight this moment individually #oh how i wish it was on the replay in better quality and possibly slow mo damn

[sdsmsn]

힘내야지 뭐 어쩌겠어!!!

파이탕 해야지 - BOOSEOKSOON

#seungkwan #dokyeom #hoshi #mine #gif cw #// #NE YEOPESEO BULLEOJUGESSEO!!!! HIMNAEYAJI MWO EOJJEOGESSEO!!!!!!!!!! #i need to be dragged to a torture chamber to admit that im a c*rat but i'll gladly claim that im TTEOKTWISOON #this comeback is so good im obsessed. love the concept LOVE the conceptual cohesiveness in the visual designs #THE SONG AND THE CHOREO AND THE LIVE PERFORMANCE ARE SO GOOD AND FUN AND SILLY AND ENERGIZING!!!!!! EXACTLY AS IT SHOULD BE !!!!!!!! #THE SILLY GUYS OF KPOP THATS RIGHT #and also i know im repeating myself now but their energy on stage is incomparable #every life performance every dance video i always feel energized after watching them #also this took so long to make in relation to my other gifsets bc i havent made a proper gifset in a while and i forgot everything #idek if the coloring's consistent i cant tell anymore

[plan-3-tmars]

okay i don't really know how to title this so im just gonna call it how Half tells the story of Kazui's marriage with Stages.

Half opens up with a green apple in the center of a stage, the spotlight illuminating it. The green apple in Kazui's MVs is tied to Kazui's sin. The apple being in the center of the stage before the 'performance' even begins could represent that this is Kazui's main motive for acting and lying, this is the reason for the show.

The Kazui of the present is in the audience of the play. Throughout the entirety of Half he is there watching the events leading up to Hinako's death with us. We are the audience watching the video but also the literal audience of this performance. I think this could represent Kazui reflecting on his actions and what he did throughout his marriage while in Milgram, or right before Milgram (which I'll get into at the end.)

It then cuts back to the stage, where we see the Kazui of the past walk onto the stage wearing a mask - the performance is about to begin. This is, I'm assuming, when he is freshly married. Sure he would've had to lie while they were engaged or simply partners but there's not so much at stake at that stage in a relationship rather then when he's married. Kazui is wearing a mask to cover up his sins with lies and now he is also acting, putting up the performance of a happy marriage for others so they wouldn't question his true motives for getting married or see the real him.

When we see flashbacks of Kazui during his marriage, we can see either stagelights or the background never filling up the entire screen. This also ties to the fact that, even when Kazui isn't wearing his mask, he is still acting and putting up the performance of being content in his marriage with Hinako. I've chosen this scene to showcase this because it shows both at the same time but this happens in the bar scene too.

In this scene Kazui is singing the chorus of Half while acting on stage. However, he is wearing his mask and doesn't show alot of emotain in his movements or expressions. This could be interpretated as the effects of hiding his true self that Kazui experiences, which can really be seen considering the fact that the lyrics and way his VA sings them is very intense and rich with emotain, compared to how Kazui's expression and movements are animated

In this same scene, there is a shot of an empty chair on stage alongside Kazui. This most likely referances Hinako's involvement in Kazui's 'performance', or lack thereof, as empty chairs usually represent the empty space of a person in art. This could be interpreted in different ways: Hinako isn't shown in the performance anymore because she's dead, Hinako isn't shown in the performance because she wasn't aware of it happening so her presence is replaced by a chair - etc.

This scene in Half is one of my favourites for a multitude of reasons, so let's point out the things that stand out first and then we'll delve into my understanding of their meaning. Firstly: Kazui isn't wearing a mask in this scene but he also isn't on the stage, which has more meaning considering the other times we saw Kazui without his mask, he was still on stage - still acting. Here his performance has fallen. Secondly: the green apple is atop the stage in between Kazui and Hinako. I've already established my previous interpretation of the apple on the stage at the very start, but I think its appearance here is in a different context. This is the scene where Kazui tells Hinako the truth, so his mask and performance has stopped because these are both tied to him hiding his true self and his lies. The apple being on the stage in the middle of the two of them could mean that this is the topic of conversation. It is illuminated because they are litteraly bringing to light the elephant in the room that has been putting a wedge in their relationship. The reason why it's still on the stage might be because Kazui is still hiding what his sin is from us, so in a way his sin is putting on its own performance - disguising itself as an apple.

After Kazui tells the truth, his performance is alot more emotional. His movements are more dramatic, and so are his expressions. He's not trying to hide his real feelings anymore, and after years of doing so, they come bursting out all at once. He is still acting and putting on a performance, so we can assume at this point in time Hinako is still alive and they are still married, but he's unmasked. He's no longer lying to her.

In this scene, Kazui takes what looks to be a final bow infront of the chair before walking off the stage. I think this scene shows Kazui's intentions when it came to telling the truth. He told Hinako the truth and expected them too get a divorce afterwards, so he walks off the stage - ending the performance (their marriage.) The bow to the chair could be interpreted in different ways: a goodbye, an apology etc.

However, despite what Kazui's actual intentions where when it came to telling Hinako the truth, they didn't happen. Kazui sees the apple shattered on the ground (Hinako's death) and goes back onto the stage. He starts his performance again, this time as a mourning widow, and starts lying again too. He puts back on the mask, scared of what might happen if he were to reveal the truth about himself to someone again.

Remember what I said at the start of this painfully long post about how this might be pre-Milgram Kazui watching his performance? Yeah, this is where that comes into play. There are things I had to leave out because of tumblr's 10 photo limit, but the main point is that this Kazui on stage at the end of Half and the Kazui in the audience are wearing the same outfit. I think this might be a case of Kazui reflecting on what happened in his marriage right after Hinako's death and pinpointing where he went 'wrong' (in this case, he deciphers that telling the truth was his mistake) and decides to start his performance all over again, careful to not repeat his mistake - vowing to never reveal his sin to anyone else.

#in case it isnt obvious i think the mask represents Kazui's lies to hide his true self #and the performance/acting imagery represents him upkeeping the appearance of a happy marriage #him not having the mask on around Hinako could imply that she was aware of his sin which i think definitely could be a possibilty tbh. #but thats a different tangent for a different post! #sorry this post is so long. now you know what my notes app looks like lmao #also is there a masc version of the word widow? because i have no idea and have only ever heard it in relation to women with dead partners #milgram #kazui mukuhara #milgram project #everyone thank my vkei playlist for helping me write this monster of a post #also daily reminder to vote kazui innocent!!!!