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cto10121 · 2 years

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R&J (+ WSS, Oh God) Clown Takes Round ♾ + Part 8

Featuring a shiny new clown take of the Balcony Scene as a comedy skit and a truly terrible article on WSS that sounds like it was written by a high schooler who read a book on literary criticism, like, once. Spoilers of course

Infamous Balcony Scene

Two teens having crushes on each other and saying nice things to each other? Inherently triggering!!!! Something something heteronormative whiteness something something outdated gender roles. #GetWoke

Also…infamous. Infamous. Samuel Pepys, is that you?

Three interesting notes about this clown take.

1- Technically, yes, there is no mention of a balcony in the text, just “Juliet’s window.” But also, no one cares. Seriously, no one. It’s 200+-year-old fanon that has existed before you and I were even a twinkle in our great-grandparents’ eye. Shakespeare himself would probably give up and include it as elevated canon in his ShakespeareMore website. I won’t censure you if you call it anything else, but c’mon. C’mon.

2- Playwrights in the Elizabethan Era did not use Act or Scene markers/divisions in their scripts nor in performance, and neither did Shakespeare. That only began in the Jacobean era ~1600s when indoor theaters rose to prominence and candles were employed. As they needed time to re-light the candles after an hour, a curtain call was instituted. Shakespeare’s later plays in the Jacobean era thus had act and scene divisions. I wouldn’t put it past the Victorian editors to censor Shakespeare in this way out of prudishness, but it’s clownish to imply that Shakespeare meant for Mercutio’s scene and the Balcony scene to be one scene. He quite literally wrote plays as one whole scene. As for the choice in labeling the balcony scene Scene 2, it makes logical sense—after Mercutio and Benvolio both leave, the scene radically changes tone and subject.

3- Tag yourself, I’m “dominatrix date night dinner theater.” Seriously, what’s with this fanon of Juliet being aggressive???? She’s not! First Greer, then this one! Yes, she leads the balcony scene—as is typical, since she’s the one to decide to continue the flirtation and its development or stop it in its tracks. That is actually the traditional role of gender in romance—the woman is the gatekeeper, guarding her virtue and makes all the decisions while the man is usually the supplicant/suitor/wooer. On the other hand, Juliet is also in a very vulnerable position and clearly understands herself as such—hence her long monologue and anxiety as to Romeo’s intentions. This vacillation doesn’t even read as comic—it’s more about the *insert snapping fingers meme* tension, if you know what I mean.

“nO sUch tHING as A timEless classic!!1!”

THE WHITE ETHNIC CHARACTERS ARE ALSO GANG MEMBERS. That is literally the premise!!! Hell, the Jets are more characterized as a gang than the Sharks. Not only that, but the story has a basis in real life—literally ripped from the headlines. Puerto Rican gangs were definitely a thing!

As for hypersexual spitfires, that’s Anita. That is literally just Anita. And as she is a direct analogue of the bawdy Nurse from R&J, it’s straightforward adaptational mapping. Nothing to do with Latino stereotypes.

As for the Latinos who think WSS is racist…I’m willing to bet cold, hard cash only white (millennial) liberals think WSS is racist, period. Except, of course, for the ~Latinxers and Chicanos whose whole personality/shtick is that kind of shallow identity politics masquerading as actual criticism. It’s a hustle, after all. No judgment, but still.

This writer has never even heard the phrase “West Side Story was based on William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet” and it shows. Or that it even had the classical double-suicide (sort of) as its ending. The musical makes it painstakingly clear that Tony and Maria’s romance isn’t doomed because miscegenation bad—it’s doomed because of gang violence is bad (“Now I have hate!”). This reads like a high schooler who thinks tragic ending in play=they had it comin’.

Tfw your critique of homophobia is homophobic, ngl.

Considering that the original musical almost had the two sides be Catholic and Jewish gangs, the Shark side being the Puerto Rican means jack shit. Robbins et al. just rotated through various ethnic groups before finally settling on PRs and white ethnics in New York. They were certainly not salivating for a chance to have hot (non) Puerto Ricans on stage. Nor are Tony and Maria analogues to queer desire—at least, you’ll have to really twist canon a lot to come to that conclusion. But go ahead and fall into the trope of the predatory gay gaze, OP.

Also, it must be said that for their musical adaptation (really inspiration) of R&J, the gay and bi creators of WSS consistently shied away from the eroticism of Shakespeare’s original play, both at the musical and the dramatic level. They were much more concerned with the politics of inner-city fighting and critiquing American societal racism than the forbidden love story, which Sondheim bluntly stated they didn’t care for and marginalized almost to irrelevancy. WSS just doesn’t say anything about the nature of desire of any kind except the most basic—young love is powerful, love can trump ethnic division, etc.

You have never even heard of Shakespeare, classical music, ballet, or the words “You’re fine” from a doctor, OP. And it shows.

#west side story #cristina metas #romeo and juliet #rj meta #r&j meta #this is what happens when you let the identity politics people write about art #a whole lot of nonsense and prejudice #rj clown takes #wss clown takes #that article was seriously skin-crawling #ew ew ew

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oatmilkovich · 2 years

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90s romeo and juliet supremacy forever

okay, you didn’t ask for this at all but i’m just extra and going to give it to you anyway.

one thing i will never understand is people disliking that movie — especially bc the only ‘consistent’ (eg over the years the handful of people i’ve met that say they don’t like it) surface level criticism i ever see of it is the fact that it’s the original elizabethan text set in modern day and that ‘doesn’t’ make sense.

how?! how does it not make sense 😭not to sound like i’m up some 500 year old man’s ass (except that i completely am) but shakespeare’s original language enhances the storytelling bc the words and praises he uses open the door to so many more ways of expressing feelings and emotions. romeo and juliet has some of the most beautiful dialogue and by placing it in modern day, it’s made so much more accessible because the context is so much clearer and relatable. (did anyone else watch the 60s adaptation with the zac efron look alike in school? love it, but why would you go w that one for teenagers to try and connect to the work)

baz luhrmann’s adaptation is camp, unique and all over the place in the best way. maybe i’m biased because i’ve always loved baz’s slightly off kilter signature style, but he took a story we’ve heard hundreds and times injected it with a new lease of life. shakespeare’s work is and will always be timeless – his words will exist long after we are gone, but how often does an adaptation of a play get referenced and drawn from consistently in media? for example, jules’ halloween costume on euphoria or hell, the entirety of skam season 3. the fish tank scene alone is iconic enough to garner it’s own references! shakespeare was a punk of his day and i truly believe that it’s exactly what he would’ve wanted for his work – especially 500 years later.

plus, we get great performances from harold perrineau as mercutio – his queen mab speech is legendary, claire danes – who was only 17 and kills it and john leguizamo as tybalt – who is one of my favourite actors ever. to top it all off we get 2 hours of 90s leonardo dicaprio delivering poetry in a hawaiian shirt and wielding a gun – like, what more could you ask for in life? is it his career defining performance? no, but it’s still a bloody good one and i’ll argue with anyone over how he alone is worth the film’s icon status.

this isn’t even mentioning baz’s music choices and how they too have earned their own reputation. kissing you by diseree? young hearts run free by kym mazelle? quindon tarver’s rendition of prince’s when doves cry? and my personal favourite talk show host by radiohead that kicked off my love for the band at 13. one of my favourite aspect’s of baz’s personal style is making music and the soundtrack as significant to the story as the characters are – and he does it so explicitly well in this film.

this is barely even scratching the surface of why I think this film deserves all the love it gets and how it is possibly the single most influential shakespeare adaptation... pretty much ever. i’m also a big believer that romeo and juliet (it’s one of my favourite plays and juliet is one of my favourite characters) gets misunderstood because of it’s reputation and that this is the perfect way to make his work accessible and fresh. anyways, if you unlocked a pandora’s box and if i don’t stop now, i probably won’t ever. in short: 90s romeo and juliet supremacy forever.

#me: oh i'll get some writing done today before i head out #also me: does this instead #listen. i feel very strongly about baz luhrmann's work #and shakespeare #and leonardo dicpario #and romeo and juliet #so this is all very specific to me #asks #romeo + juliet #skam s3 #baz luhrmann #leonardo dicaprio #william shakespeare #romeo and juliet

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hamliet · 3 years

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Hi, hamliet....why do you like hamlet, romeo & juliet, and othello .....? Now I know what hamliet stands for (so cool)....Thanks...

I find each play (along with many others of Shakespeare’s!) deeply psychologically and thematically interesting. They capture the intrinsic complexity of humanity in how they explore the characters, and that makes them timeless in a sense--you can still read and relate to the characters today, even though they were written 500 years ago.

Othello tackles racism (and sexism and arguably homophobia--Shakespeare was almost certainly bisexual, so that’s not anachronism), and while it is certainly antiquated in certain aspects, it is also sharply relevant. It’s difficult to hate any of the characters except Iago, who provides a meta commentary that makes him fascinating. He never tells the audience what his motive is, and while he drops some hints, the hints all contradict each other, making it utterly impossible to definitively nail down Iago’s motives. These hints are that he’s angry Othello promoted Cassio over him, he’s angry Othello slept with his wife (while not true, we don’t know whether Iago believes this or not), and that he might himself have feelings of a romantic/sexual nature for Othello and projects them onto Othello (he paraphrases Shakespearean marriage vows when discussing Othello).

Iago manipulates different factions of society together, preying on societal flaws (toxic masculinity, racism) to amplify the flaws inside Othello’s character (jealous, insecurity, and a fear of being dehumanizeD) to turn him into a man who commits monstrous acts (murdering his beloved wife), Desdemona’s (she laid it all down and was disowned for eloping with Othello, which isolates her from any person who might be able to save her from Othello’s growing instability), Roderigo’s, Cassio’s, even his own wife Emilia’s. Iago’s lack of transparency behind his motives is actually extremely important in a meta sense: it reinforces that societal flaws (racism, sexism, possibly homophobia), have no purpose or logic to them, yet bring about tragedy. Similarly, Iago’ actions are inscrutable and probably pointless.

Hamlet... oh, where to begin here? Hamlet is The Tragedy of Passivity. Many writers attempt to write passive protagonists with passivity framed as a flaw, few succeed, and none succeed so well as Shakespeare with Hamlet. It posits the question of how, if we pretend to be something, where is the line between pretending and actually being that? To quote Vonnegut (in another story unrelated, but the quote has always applied to Hamlet) “we are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.”

There’s also a brilliant ambiguity in how we never find out if the ghost, the instigator of this whole drama, is actually Hamlet’s father. Hamlet himself muses it might be a demon, and surely, its never appearing again and the utter tragedy that consumes everyone in the play hint that it may have in fact been a demon. However, it also told the truth about the king’s murder, so... much like Hamlet, the audience has no clear answer, and thus we empathize with him.

Anyways, while for most authors ambiguity can be frustrating, Shakespeare brilliantly crafts it to emphasize his themes. Troilus and Cressida, although often considered a problem play, is underrated and perhaps one of Shakespeare’s best uses of ambiguity.

Lastly, Romeo and Juliet. This tragedy is actually significantly more optimistic than Othello or Hamlet, and is more a tragic romance (romance in both the modern understanding and the literary sense, a la Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale, The Tempest, and Cymbeline, the latter of which I adore alongside these three I’m discussing here.) See, while Othello and Hamlet’s flaws bring destruction to everyone around them and indict society for its flaws, Romeo and Juliet’s flaws might lead to their own deaths, but their strengths lead to the salvation of their society.

The “it’s not a love story, it’s about two stupid impulsive teenagers and their hormones” is a cynical modern take that is not textually supported. Yes, impulsivity is a flaw for both Romeo and Juliet, but they are the victims of the feud in society more so than anyone else. The play emphasizes parental and mentor figures epically failing both of them, failing the youth, bringing death upon them all. It is only through love that everyone is saved: because they loved each other, Montague and Capulet make peace at last. It’s actually kind of thematically similar to Eremika’s relationship in SnK, in that yeah it’s flawed, but that love is still what saves everyone. The play also directly states that their love is what saves Verona, and their deaths bring life (it’s alchemy; actually, seriously, it’s alchemical; think of Mercutio’s name). It’s a beautiful love story.

#ask hamliet #shakespeare #othello #iago #desdemona #hamlet #romeo and juliet #romeo montague #juliet capulet #Anonymous

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satorugojowidow · 2 years

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--- JJK LEAKS!!! --- hello Adari! I saw your post about the leaks and I hope you don't mind me for daring to ask you: do you think Reggie cursed Megumi? or maybe he didn't curse him but anyway what he said might have more relevance in the future? I was going to wait for the official translation but I'm just desperate and distressed because of this. The last wish of a person before dying, is always a curse? What do you think of all this in general, not only in Reggie's case? Thank u!

Hello, dear

feel free to dare

warning: chapter 173 leaks

To be honest I wasn’t considering that as a possible curse, but you have a point and now I’m worried.

The last words of a dying person are very strong, especially coming from sorcerers. The thing is if curses in jjk only take the shape of spirit and hunt you or can have influence in your destiny. The first thing is more easy to solve, you exorcise the curse, but how do you get rid of a curse upon your destiny?

To explain myself I refer to a curse upon your destiny to something similar to what happened in Romeo and Juliet when Mercutio (while dying) cursed both families, and then both families lost their childrens by circuntance that aren’t related with Mercutio’s actions.

We haven’t seen something like that happening, but I wonder why Nanami was so careful of his words. He was afraid to become something like Rika to Yuuji, or because it could have influence in Yuuji’s destiny. If is the second choice, we can see that Nanami’s last words are having a huge influence on Yuuji and are straight related to his idea of being a cog.

Curse energy has its rules and creates a balance, everyone is limited by those rules. Except those who have no curse energy, like Toji, that is why he could fully erase the star plasma vessel and give the chance for all this mess to happen. Considering this, it is not so delusional to believe that a curse can have an influence on people’s destiny, since this destiny is down the curse energy’s rules.

Back to Reggie’s words “can you do me a favor, after all you have killed me”. This, plus the fact he gave the points, is implied a binding: a price to pay. “Let fate toy with you, become a clown and die”. This could mean that Megumi will find death after being fooled, but not by someone, by fate. (actually, Romeo has this line “I’m fortune’s fool”) I only can interpret fate fooling you like a mistake you make. And this brings me to Sukuna and the risk that Megumi could end up helping Sukuna by trying to help Yuuji.

Megumi follows its own criteria and is willing to deal with the consequences of his elections. If it is possible for him to separate Sukuna from Yuuji, he could try it and that could be the mistake (fooled by fate) that causes his death (and others).

Tell me what you think and let's keep up with the official translation.

#ask adari #jjk reply #jjk 173 #jjk meta

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diavolosthots · 4 years

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The boys OR undateables (whichever you want or a mix of both idrc who) reacting to a f!MC Dramaticallyreciting Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet in her undies - bonus points for the top half being covered in one of his shirts (O Romeo, Romeo wherefore art thou Romeo?)

Were you the person that messaged me about this? Idek fam this sounds so familiar. Also fun fact I played Mercutio for a play of Romeo abd Juliet once

THE BROTHERS reacting to F!MC quoting Romeo and Juliet in their underwear

Lucifer:

MC, as amusing as it is to watch this and as entertaining as your knowledge of shakespeare is, could you please put some clothes on.

Mammon:

Woah MC! listen he doesnt know what you're rambling about except that this is definitely a double scene aka you need a man and here he is ready to cite in his underwear too

Leviathan:

So he has no clue about classic literature and that includes Shakespeare so whatever youre mumbling is like nonesense to him but wow MC that's a nice ass

Satan:

He'll call you out if you mess up but also "oh what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east and Juliet is the sun! " can he be your romeo?

Asmodeus:

Oh arent you a sight for sore eyes! Dont mind him if he just follows your body's movements. Maybe some hands on direction?

Beelzebub:

He treats it as a love performance more than anything and will sit there with his food and watch. Go ahead, don't stop on his account

Belphegor:

"Deny thy father and refuse thy name and I shall no longer be a capulet!" Don't try him, he knows the whole play by heart so he might actually join

#obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me headcanons #obey me scenarios #asmodeus obey me #belphegor obey me #leviathan obey me #mammon obey me #obey me lucifer #satan obey me #obey me beelzebub

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otome-crow · 2 years

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So, when I started teaching Romeo & Juliet this year, I told my kids I’d explain every single sex joke except one. One sex joke was dangerous enough that I would not explain it. If they found it, I would confirm that they found it, but still wouldn’t explain it - but if they knew where it was, they could probably figure it out themselves.

That part was in today’s lesson. This is the first year no one, not a single person said “Uh, what’s this medlar thing Mercutio’s talking about?” And I’m actually really sad. Where’s their sense of curiosity? Their sense of the naughty? I hear how they talk in the hallway, this joke is nothing. I normally have a great time being all “Hey, you found it! Still not explaining it, but if one of you figures it out, feel free to tell your friends!”

(For the record, the joke is basically Mercutio getting grumpy and grumbling about how he bets Romeo wishes his girlfriend did anal.)

(The general belief is that et cetera should actually read “an open arse” and “poperin pear” a pun on “pop her in there.” Anal sex was actually pretty normal back then, as a form of natural birth control. And for the record, this is a medlar:)

#ocrow rambles #Romeo and Juliet #ocrow teaches stuff #probably badly

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ganymedesclock · 3 years

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excuse me hold on i didnt end up finishing skyward sword does demise not wield ghirahim in a proper sword form??? why is it degrading im picturing him fighting link just holding this petrified ghirahim-shaped club PLEASE elaborate

OH dude, no, me saying not a proper sword form is an act of snobbery. It is, in fact, technically a sword! It’s even KINDA COOL I GUESS conceptually, because it’s clearly “the master sword, except evil”, but the thing is it’s this, y’know, big meaty serrated chopper. This thing’s almost as large as Link’s entire body. A friend of mine referred to it as a “spiked oni club” and that description stuck in my head ever since.

I can see the appeal of a [that one fish from Spongebob voice] big! meaty! sword! but the fact of the matter is Ghirahim is pretty strongly and consistently characterized before then as valuing aesthetic elegance, precision, efficiency; the weapons he wills out of his power for his own use, while made of the same materials, have a lot more in common with Ganondorf’s Wind Waker swords than what Ghirahim himself turns into when Demise grabs him for the final boss fight.

[image attached; Ghirahim’s sword form. image description: a large black sword isolated on a white background. The sword has a curving, pointed crossguard, a diamond-shaped ruby stone in the hilt, and some red filigree and an inverted triforce symbol (three triangles touching at the tips to create a larger triangle with an ‘empty space’ in the middle). The blade of the sword consists of three diamond-shaped segments, each with protruding spikes. It is a heavy weapon with a broad flat plane of a blade before tapering to the bronze-colored edges. the entirety of the blade is silhouetted in a red glow. end description.]

This very clearly has the look, to me, of a sword belonging to someone who lives by the statement of “when the whole world looks like nails to you, all you want is the biggest hammer”. It doesn’t have a pronounced cutting edge that would make use of the extra weight, nor is it particularly useful as a shield given how small it is to Demise and how he uses it. The spikes are threatening but not even positioned like a harpoon or arrowhead so Demise couldn’t, say, stab and then rip his sword out for maximum ouch.

So like, I find Ghirahim’s final form demeaning to him personally less because it’s a garbage sword and more because I feel like ideologically, Ghirahim is established as a very precise and careful person who is extremely dangerous for how efficient, tenacious, and creative he is, but his sword form makes it very clear the only thing Demise ever wanted for him wasn’t even the qualities that made him capable of resurrecting Demise in the first place.

Ghirahim is straight-up an absolute bastard to fight for the very reason that he’s a true ‘rival to Link’ in many ways. We finally get knocked off our high horse to realize just what those poor bokoblins and moblins we massacre our way through on the regular must feel having to deal with our shit- someone who is unbelievably light-footed, will tenderize you with projectiles before springing in for the kill from oblique angles or from behind. Also, nearly unique among Zelda antagonists, he wastes absolutely no time hiding or dawdling- we run into him on the front lines not because he’s been expecting us but usually because he has his own business in the same places we do. He’s dungeon-crawling!

And Demise is an evil god, and he lives up to his hype. That’s not remotely what I’m saying- he’s horrifying. But I think that it’s very clear that he’s weak in ways that both Ghirahim, and Ganondorf, are strong- in precision and creativity. You can even compare The Imprisoned as a more or less mind-scrambled Demise, to Calamity Ganon as a more or less mind-scrambled Ganondorf- one is a titanic and formidable beast but lumbering, only lazily puts out features and slightly more complicated strategies as its attempts to shuffle upstairs are thwarted- and the other is a hyper-detailed, all-terrain mobile, complicated attack pattern creature whose attempts to glue itself together and even recreate Ganondorf’s human face were aborted early and even then, it seems to have yanked together as much of itself as possible from ready-made sheikah tech parts.

And if anything this kinda works as more of a boast for Demise- it tells us Demise hasn’t needed to be particularly inventive, or cautious, or tenacious. I think it’s really interesting to compare/contrast Demise’s curse in Skyward Sword to Ganondorf’s in Ocarina of Time, because one is a deliberate metatextual shoutout to the other, but they have completely different tones. It’s like how different productions of Romeo and Juliet play Mercutio’s final speech- one might have him cheerfully joking around tonally until he suddenly drops dead and the other one does the whole thing in barely-contained screaming before he gets to A PLAGUE ON BOTH YOUR HOUSES.

#Legend of Zelda #Ghirahim #Demise #readmore #nefres

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eurydicees · 3 years

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i adore this au have more theatre club hcs (first post is here) bc i don’t have the energy to write an actual fic (though i might do it later when i have more time and less emotional fatigue, ironically i’m exhausted because i’m doing a show rn):

tamaki loves musicals. like he LOVES them. he can sing for days— his only weakness is his dancing. they do “bye bye birdie” and he gets cast as conrad but hikaru nearly kills him because he just can’t get the steps and conrad’s “whole THING is the DANCING, tamaki!!!!”

that being said, when he sings “honestly sincere” half of the audience nearly passes out. (“Oh, baby! Oh, honey! Hug me! Suffer!”)

more on bye bye birdie: hikaru is albert, haruhi is rose, honey is the brother (sry i forget his name lmao), renge is the mom, kaoru is the dad (kaoru singing “kids these days” is the funniest fucking thing i’m sorry), mori is hugo idk who kim or everyone else is fuck i forgot how big this cast is

hikaru and kaoru once propose that they do “cats,” but they couldn’t get the rights

in addition to shows, they also do a coffee shop cabaret yearly

tamaki always comes out with a show stopping song (one time he sings “being alive,” and, though kyoya will never admit it, the rendition makes him cry)

kyoya and mori do a scene from a shakespeare show together (they’re both unsure of themselves when it comes to acting, so they choose each other to do the scene with bc they both think, though they can’t compare to haruhi or renge’s acting, that at the very least they can be better than the other)

haruhi refuses to participate if they don’t have to, so kyoya ropes them into organizing and running all the tech shit (which is incredibly overwhelming, but they manage, somehow)

i think i said this in the last post, but mori does the lighting design for the all the shows, and he’s absolutely brilliant at it, but his real specialty is stage fighting

when they do “romeo and juliet” he gets cast as tybalt solely on the basis of his skill with a sword (kaoru is mercutio, because he’s both a dramatic homosexual and the only one who can keep up with mori)

tamaki allows himself to explore his gender via theatre— it’s a safe way to dress up and wear makeup and fuck around with gender norms without making a big deal of it

he starts requesting female roles on the dl (since they still only have one woman and an afab nonbinary person)— it comes as a surprise to everyone except kyoya, who was directing the first show that tamaki got the lead female role in, and somehow knew exactly what tamaki needed (yet again we see the top notch director/sm pair working together without question or confusion)

the show was “romeo and juliet” (like i talked about before) and tamaki played juliet to haruhi’s romeo (it came as a shock to the rest of the school when the cast list went up, and tamaki was super nervous about it, but the hosts were all really supportive even when the rest of the school was a lil apprehensive)

he absolutely killed it as juliet (pun intended)

sorry this turned into tamaki gender exploration hcs back tO THEATRE

their show schedule is intense for high schoolers: a musical in the early fall and late spring, a one act in the winter just before break, and a full length play to celebrate the start of the spring semester

each show performs for a friday and a weekend, and then closes— tickets are hot commodities

they spend about two months rehearsing for each show; and kyoya holds them to a very strict rehearsal schedule— miss a rehearsal for anything less than literal death, and you’ll have to face his wrath

most of them don’t really plan on going into theatre professionally, but they have a lot of fun while in high school

kyoya likes being sm because it helps with his organizational skills, which he’ll def be using as ceo for whatever business he ends up running into new heights

honey just has fun with it— chika thinks it’s a waste of time, but honey likes to make the argument that he practices martial arts via stage fighting (unfortunately, the haninozuka method is strictly banned from the stage— they use non-lethal methods only, thank you very much)

haruhi ends up actually really liking theatre, and they spend their free time finding new plays to read, and end up proposing a few of them for their one act show in the winter

kaoru secretly starts writing his own plays, just for fun (when the other hosts find out, they want to produce the shows, but he refuses)

#ohshc #ouran high school host club #ouran high school host club fanfic #ohshc headcanons #ouran koukou host club #theatre club au #fun fact the being alive hc is based on the fact that one of my friends nearly made me cry while he sang it for an audition #i hope the tamaki gender hcs are ok lmk if there's something harmful there #there aren't a lot of honey hcs just bc i don't have a great grip on his chara #but i will hopefully work on that for another post

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faerielleart · 2 years

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i definitely get the dislike because some aspects of the story are questionable like our morals are of course totally different to what it was to live in the 15th century. but i still like it so much regardless 😭 i always assume romeo definitely is closer to juliets age i believe that she is 13-16? i take it with a grain of salt because in the og she is around 16 while shakespeare makes her of barely 13-14? and romeo is also said to be very young. i think it’s a way to contrast two children to the rest of the characters who are grown ass adults. but romeo is def in her age range (which is 15-18)? paris is an adult (like mid to late 20s) and her family just. threatens to disown her unless she marries him so i definitely get why she did what she did. idk. and young people are dumb asf 😭 i am still fucking dumb even as a young adult but that’s just expected of me ig. even when people become of age i look at them and they’re just children? if i look at an eighteen year old to someone in their 20s it’s so different it ends up making me sad. also the death of mercutio pushing romeo to kill tybalt, i can’t condemn romeo for it bc it was done in his grief 😔 and tybalt should be around their age too if not a little older and you can’t hate him because they were all raised in a shitty environment. i can only hate all of the adults around them for existing ☠️lmfao but. sorry i brought it up 😭 i didn’t know you hated it! i was just very upset because i found people who would just minimize what they were all going through and saying things like they weren’t really in love or that they were so stupid to fall in love in three days and comparing it to stories written today and using presentism to look at the past (which i am also guilty of too often tbh). but also it’s just literature? we may all be bitter enough to believe love at first sight is fake but this is fictional and we’re just the third party looking at it how unlucky they are. but gosh i hate fiction too for not giving them a happy ending too. yes i’m also thinking of levi and hange ✋😭 what’s wrong with me!!! also remembering the 104th are barely adults hnng. except maybe eren who knows the future and everything. he’s like middle aged in my eyes ☠️ he acts old too. but he’s so stupid i can’t sympathize w him

actually my issues with the story totally stem from personal shit that happened with a person who some years ago happened to be obsessed with it and now my traumatized ass can’t separate the two things anymore 💀💀💀 i appreciate it a lot from the literary point of view tho #justenglishliteraturestudentthings🌈

ive always been drawn more to mercutio’s dramatic ass bc dude’s a different kind of dramatic bitch compared to romeo but i gotta be honest,,,, my personal beef with romeo most likely comes from my dislike for straight people AYYYY 🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤

but yeah if there’s one thing i’m not too big on is when people try to apply today’s principles to the past. like there’s no room for critical thinking and an actual discussion when that happens and it’s just either people lacking the common sense to make this very simple thought process aka “modern society is the result of millions of years of evolution and what is normal today wasn’t normal yesterday and viceversa” or just people wanting to sound smart and “morally superior” or whatever for upholding today’s standards to yesterday’s even if without yesterday’s “normal” having happened we literally wouldn’t have today’s “normal” but hey there’s no room for critical thinking here! only empty, baseless criticism is permitted on the internet and if you dare say you can’t compare the past and the present people will come for you bestie

we all do it, hell i do it too, but we should all be objective and rational when it comes to these matters skfjdjjsjd of course today our concept of what constitutes a good love story to read has VASTLY changed, but our present conception is the direct consequence of the existence of the past one? and acknowledging that doesn’t mean “justifying” a “bad” story? the two things can co-exist, we can look at romeo and juliet through our modern lens and claim that yes objectively these two are “dumb teenagers” by our modern standards of common sense, and we can also look at them and claim that they are a product of their time in which stories and characters like theirs were really ideally romantic AND we can look at them and recognize that many things happening in the story are kinda fucked up AND we can look at them and recognize that while being fucked up they are, again, a product of their time and, by yesterday’s common sense, “normal”. whoop there we go, would you look at all these things that can co-exist at the same time! but again people are really allergic to nuance LOL

like i am PRETTY sure if someone in my english course dared to unironically and seriously call romeo and juliet “dumb teenagers” in relation to our modern perception my teacher would (rightfully) whoop their ass for not keeping the context, the history and all that into account 😭😭

don’t tempt me with a romeo and juliet au levihan don’t tempt me don’t temp- oh no oh noo my hand is slipping i am opening the painting app oh nooo

i am laughing my ass off at the middle aged eren imagery bc yeah peak boomer who protests against masks and doesn’t believe covid exists 💀💀

#also 👉👈 i kinda feel like the writing is familiar… 🌴???

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cto10121 · 3 years

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Mercutio and Romeo’s Battle of Wits: Or, the Mercutio-Romeo-Benvolio brOTP

Or, Mercutio Misses Romeo Something Fierce As His Main Bro Because Romeo Is Not A Whiny Wimpy Stick-In-the-Mud and Is Actually Very Fun To Be Around and Benvolio Is Good and All, but He’s Just Not The Same(tm), You Know?

So the first half of Act 2, Scene 4, when Mercutio and Romeo have a game of wits before the Nurse enters gets cut or abridged a lot, for obvious reasons. The double entendres and witty Elizabethan wordplay are very difficult for even great actors to convey them to an audience, and they don’t seem to serve a narrative or thematic function apart from “two bros just being bros!!!” That bit of the scene just feels like filler safely cut or abridged in order to jump to the Nurse’s entrance and thus the plot. R&J the play, after all, is long; the whole play done completely is usually touching three hours. Cuts are always necessary, and for the most part it’s justifiable.

But I’m not going to lie, I like this bit a lot. Always have. Not only do we get Mercutio’s attitude toward Tybalt and his growing concern over Romeo’s love doldrums, but we get another side of Romeo hitherto unknown to us: Romeo being witty and fun and actually roasting Mercutio good, even besting him in a game of wits. And Mercutio actually being happy about it and just surrendering the battle to Romeo (!!!) What is this cinnamon roll of an exchange, too pure for this world, doing in an otherwise heavy tragedy? Are Romeo and Mercutio out of character just for some punny times? Not at all! The punny times are entirely necessary narrative and thematic-wise, sets up the tragedy, and shows needed nuance and dimension to both characters and the Montacrew in general.

Where the Fuck Is Romeo Seriously, I’m Getting Kinda Worried

So we begin the scene with Mercutio right away wanting to know where Romeo is:

Mercutio. Where the devil should this Romeo be? Came he not home tonight?

Benvolio. Not to his father’s, I spoke with his man.

Mercutio. Why, that same pale, hard-hearted wench, that Rosaline, torments him so that he will sure run mad.

It’s really hard not to read even a little bit of concern in that first question past the bluster, but in case you missed it, Shakespeare makes it explicit by having Mercutio blame Rosaline and worrying that Romeo’s love for her is driving him crazy. Once again, we get the sense that Romeo was not really himself pre-Juliet, and that, according to Mercutio, this is something to be concerned about.

We then segue into news that Tybalt has challenged Romeo via letter. Benvolio expresses confidence that Romeo would fight him, but Mercutio has doubts:

Mercutio. Alas, poor Romeo, he is already dead! Stabbed with a white wench’s black eye, shot through the ear with a love song, the very pin of his heart cleft with the blind bow boy’s butt shaft—and is he a man to encounter Tybalt?

Once again Mercutio switches to troll mode and characterizes Romeo’s love angst over Rosaline as him “being dead” (“the ape is dead!”)—which would be dramatic, to say the least, except that the tone is humorous/satiric. But it does betray an anxiety on Mercutio’s part and gives the understanding that whatever Romeo’s infatuation with Rosaline was, it was not “typically” Romeo, at least according to Mercutio and by implication Benvolio, since he doesn’t challenge it. When Romeo finally enters, Mercutio continues his satiric portrait:

Benvolio. Here comes Romeo, here comes Romeo!

Mercutio. Without his roe, like a dry herring. O flesh, flesh, how art thou fishified!

We get it, we get it, Romeo has turned a lameass pussy by ~love. But unbeknownst to Mercutio but knownst to us, Romeo is not the same guy of previous acts. How will Julietsimplord!Romeo react to Mercutio? This is going to be good.

Mah Bruh is Back and He’s…Fucking Roasting Me?

So we get the first encounter.

Mercutio. Signior Romeo, bonjour! There’s some French salutation to your French slop. You gave us the counterfeit fairly last night.

Romeo. Good morrow to you both. What counterfeit did I give you?

Mercutio. The slip, sir, the slip. Can you not conceive?

Romeo’s greeting is polite, open, but unconcerned, perhaps a bit breezy, perhaps humoring. Notice how Romeo before has given Mercutio a ton of slack for his satiric mocking—his only critical comment so far in the play is “He jests at scars that never felt a wound,” which can read almost as dismissive (this in contrast to Benvolio’s worry that Mercutio would anger Romeo by talking about Rosaline lewdly). Either way, he responds to Mercutio’s acerbic queries about him ditching them straightforwardly and without heat.

Romeo. Pardon me, good Mercutio. My business was great, and in such a case as mine a man may strain courtesy.

Mercutio. That’s as much to say, such a case as yours constrains a man to bow in the hams.

Notice how Mercutio doesn’t ask Romeo directly about what his business was, but rather assumes that it was sexual (“bow in the hams,” to flex his butt cheeks). Again, typical of Mercutio, but it does justify a little why Romeo, at this point in the story, does not immediately tell Mercutio and Benvolio about Juliet. And also why he says this instead:

Romeo. Meaning, to curtsy.

Mercutio. Thou hast most kindly hit it.

Romeo is 100% trolling here, doing a Mercutio, in fact by pretending to take another meaning—oh, yeah, you obviously mean curtsying, right???? This marks the first reply in which he doesn’t answer openly, but instead answers slyly. Mercutio answers accordingly with an equally troll-y, “Oh yeah, that’s definitely what I meant, super PG” *snort*

Romeo. A most courteous exposition.

Mercutio. Nay, I’m the very pink of courtesy.

Romeo. Pink for flower.

Mercutio. Right.

Romeo. Why, then is my pump well flowered.

My Burton Raffel edition, infuriatingly enough, only gives one definition of “pump” as shoe, but make no mistake—Romeo also obviously means “dick” (the pump, I think, being the “head” part of the shoe, and thus….you get the idea). Mercutio is immediately excited—Romeo is speaking his language now.

Mercutio. Sure wit, follow me this jest now till thou had worn out thy pump, that, when the single sole of it is worn, the jest may remain, after the wearing, solely singular.

Romeo. O single-soled jest, solely singular for the singleness!

Mercutio. Come between us, good Benvolio, my wits faint.

Romeo. Swits and spurs, swits and spurs, or I cry a match.

Mercutio. Nay, if our wits run the wild goose chase, I am done, for thou hast more of the wild goose in one of thy wits than, I am sure, I have in my whole five.

Barely does the game of wits begin when Mercutio seems to give up, and now Romeo is the one urging him playfully to keep going or else *he* wins. Mercutio could just be joking about needing to be “rescued” by Benvolio, but he does say explicitly that nah, Romeo is just too witty today to continue to “chase” the joke, or the goose (“wild goose chase” eventually became a cliché all on its own, and it’s really just a throwaway line).

And now for my absolute favorite Romeo retort:

Mercutio. Was I ever with you there for the goose?

Romeo. Thou wast never with me for anything when thou wast not there for the goose.

“Was I ever with you for the game?” “Bitch, you weren’t with me for anything but the pussy!!!!!” “Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!”

Mercutio. I will bite thee in the ear for that jest.

Romeo. Nay, good goose, bite not.

“I’ll fucking jump you for that” “A pussy jump on me??? Oh no, I’m ~scared” 🤣

Mercutio. Thy wit is a very bitter sweeting, it is a most sharp sauce.

Romeo. And is it not, then, well served in to a sweet goose?

“Your game has some spice, bro” “Like the spice they’ll put on you after cooking your ass????” 🤣

Mercutio. O here’s a wit of cheveril, that stretches from an inch narrow to an ell narrow to an ell broad.

Romeo. I stretch it out for that word “broad,” which, added to the goose, proves thee far and wide a broad goose.

“You’re stretching that joke so damn much it’s going to break” “As much as I’ll stretch your stupid ass out because you’re the joke, bro!!!!!!” 🤣

And then comes the end of the game of wits with the final twist:

Mercutio. Why, is not this better now than groaning for love? Now art thou sociable, now art thou Romeo, now art thou what thou art, by art as well as by nature.

“Jokes on you, bro, I’m into that shit!!! (Seriously, though, glad you’re back, bro, omfg, finally)”

Conclusions

So now for some wrap-up:

Mercutio in the beginning of the scene thinks the Romeo he knew is lost or “dead” by love. This has been established before in the after the ball scene, but here it is explicit—The Romeo he knows is gone and replaced by a pussy all over Rosaline’s pussy. Not good. There is also more than a trace of concern and worry—Mercutio is the one who asks for Romeo, and not Benvolio, the guy’s own cousin.

Mercutio is not upset by Romeo beating him at the game of wits and in fact gives in rather too easily. It’s not too clear why Mercutio does this. Mercutio has been established as a witty, satiric character. Romeo is as verbally dexterous as he is, if not more so, but his wit is warm and expressive, not satiric. His roasts and shade are playful and good-natured for the most part. By all accounts, Mercutio should have won the skirmish. It could be that he is too happy with Romeo actually making witty puns to care about winning, but personally I think Mercutio would be too proud of his verbal acrobatics, to concede that easily and make himself a willing target for Romeo’s roast (especially since he has roasted Romeo so damn hard these past scenes). It’s not like Mercutio to go easy on Romeo or even anyone, as he proves with his roasting Tybalt and even ragging on Benvolio. It could be Shakespeare is slyly characterizing Mercutio as a character who can give it out, but not take it, hence his backing down so easily, (“Okay, okay, you win!”) but usually that type of character responds with impatience and even anger. Mercutio’s replies are too amused for that. Perhaps he was too surprised by Romeo suddenly taking a page out of his book after scenes of him just angsting—to his perspective, but not ours, this does seem to come out of nowhere. But his replies don’t sound like someone who is surprised at all by this show of wit by a good-natured friend—on the contrary, it is taken as proof that the friend is back.

By the end of the exchange, Mercutio believes Romeo is more himself again. Not entirely, as he does cast further shade on his infatuation with Rosaline, but he is genuinely glad to see Romeo act more like himself again. We are once again reinforced with the notion that the mopey Romeo with Rosaline and even the radiantly lovestruck Romeo with Juliet is not the Romeo his friends have known. We receive proof of this: Romeo can and will throw shade over you for a song.

Not going to lie: I am here for all of this.

So I think it’s fair to conclude, based on the above information, that Mercutio has missed Romeo, perhaps something awful. His constant ragging on him for Rosaline and being mopey (lovers aren’t even supposed to be sad, wtf man) and his asking for him and just generally talking almost exclusively about him (that could just be his supporting character role, though) supports that. His joy at Romeo roasting him also characterizes a key component of their friendship and dynamic hitherto missing or not as present: Jokes, teasing, puns, wordplay, outright roasting when called for.

Not only is bro bonhomie clearly established (brohomie!), but also the macho culture—this exchange is far from locker room talk, more focused on wordplay than crude expression, but it does set up the dynamics of the duel scene and Mercutio’s motivations. Mercutio is most happy when Romeo performs masculinity through puns, wordplay, and roasting; when he doesn’t, or refuses to take stand in the defense of his honor, that’s when Mercutio gets frazzled. This is not because he believes Romeo is inherently a wimp—far from it, as he clearly expects Romeo, once he seems unstuck from the quagmire that is Rosaline, to duel Tybalt. He is unsurprised when Romeo throws shade on him right back, and is even pleased. So it’s shocking and disturbing for him when Romeo refuses to step up as he had done in previous scenes to fight the likes of Tybalt, for seemingly no good reason.

On a related note, expectation is noticeably absent in Mercutio’s own dynamic with Benvolio, whom he sees as helper and abettor of his wit and decisions, a soundboard, and a quasi-sidekick (“come, shall we go?” “Come between us, good Benvolio, my wits faint” “Help me into some house, Benvolio, / Or I shall faint”). When he does rag on Benvolio for his supposed sword-happy temper, Benvolio does not rise to his bait or roast him back, but gives only mildly amused replies, if gently pointed, to Mercutio’s surly displeasure.

Benvolio. An I were so apt to quarrel as thou art, any man should buy the fee simple of my life for an hour and a quarter.

Mercutio. The fee simple? O simple!

Mercutio may want to fight someone badly enough to go after Benvolio, but he also wants a challenge, the excitement of a back-and-forth of wits—hell, even for someone to tell him he is full of shit if so he could hit back. Perhaps that’s what Mercutio needs and perhaps secretly desires: Someone to roast him and tell him to shut the fuck up every once in a while. But would Romeo do this?

Nurse. I pray you, sir, what saucy merchant was this that was so full of his ropery?

Romeo. A gentleman, Nurse, that loves to hear himself talk and will speak more in a minute than he would stand to in a month.

The answer is yes. Yes, he would.

R&J Adaptations’ Weirdness with This Exchange

So why the difficulty retaining this fun exchange? Well, Romeo talking about well-flowered pumps and Mercutio just happily taking his roasts goes against the usual romantic!Romeo and charismatictroll!Mercutio characterization of earlier scenes. Even in adaptations that do keep this part of the scene, they tend either to brush it by (Baz Lurhmann) or even mischaracterize it a bit to keep it consistent with the interpretation of the characters as established (Zeffirelli). McEnery’s Mercutio in the Zeffirelli is in control and dominant all of the way through, and one of his lines (“Thy wit is a very bitter sweeting, it is a most sharp sauce”) is given to Romeo instead. The Baz Lurhmann plays it only broadly in terms of group male camaraderie and not so much Mercutio-Romeo dynamics; Benvolio does not participate in the game of wits and is by all accounts just vibing (my personal troll headcanon is he is keeping track of the game of wits on a slate. 2 Romeo, 1 Mercutio, that sort of thing).

Also, perhaps due to Mercutio being on Romeo’s case for most of the play and his being a lil’ shit at points, some adaptations take a weird Ho Yay approach to the dynamic, especially productions that make Mercutio gay or queer. If so, then productions have to do a lot of heavy lifting to interpret Mercutio’s gleeful/amused roasting of Romeo, his lewd blazon of Rosaline, and his anger at Romeo’s loss of honor in refusing to fight Tybalt as signs of romantic love towards Romeo. Romeo’s own emotional independence from his friends and his willingness to roast Mercutio also works against this interpretation. Thus another reason why this exchange is often cut or abridged (although the Globe Theater just decided to go ahead and have Mercutio roll all over Romeo while Romeo is roasting him as a shameless pussy chaser in this scene, because of course that makes perfect sense. Is it any wonder why I don’t like most R&J productions and adaptations?).

The only adaptation I know that gets the camaraderie and dynamics even close to right is the French musical (and to a certain extent, the Hungarian version) through that earworm and evergreen bop, Les Rois du Monde. It captures the spirit of their friendship and youthful zeal so delightfully. Mercutio, Benvolio, and Romeo were so well cast you can identify which is which at a glance—and they are literally as far as from my personal faceclaims for them as you can get, and it’s great. Presgurvic didn’t have to go that hard, but he did and it was glorious.

TL;DR

Mercutio roasts him, Romeo enters, they trade quips and wordplay, Romeo roasts him, Mercutio is too happy to gaf, and everything is character-building fun that will pay off very nicely later on, except that versions and productions can’t make the puns and wordplay comprehensible so they prefer to cut or abridge it (ten points from Gryffindor). And all because Mercutio actually misses Romeo and wants his bro back. Bruh.

#romeo and juliet #shakespeare #william shakespeare #rj meta #r&j meta #les rois du dorks #les dorks du monde #lehetsz dorkály!#i’ll stop now #but seriously am loving these two in the play #hope my troll paraphrases please #montacrew #cristina metas

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butchhamlet · 3 years

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r+j is my personal favorite shakespeare play so i’d love to hear you talk about what you like/don’t like about it!! if you wanna

so fun fact for the people who HAVEN’T been here for two (three??) years. when i made this blog it was in the spring of my freshman year after we read - guess what - romeo and juliet!!! (i was transm3rcutio i didn’t change the url for like a good year) i read the play in class and went absolutely fucking nuts about it and was so excited that i made a sideblog and proceeded to go balls to the walls on here about it

...and then i read hamlet and the rest, i suppose, is silence history.

this is a long-winded way of saying that R&J is actually what got me into shakespeare!! it’s an old fav; i adore it and i particularly think the strongest points are

the side characters - mercutio, benvolio, and tybalt are just so fucking enjoyable man like. love or hate them they’re so dynamic and their interactions are fantastic (almost more compelling to me than romeo and juliet themselves oops)

the innocence of the lovers - fuck anyone who has something shitty to say about the two of them. if they had waited to get married NOTHING would have changed except they would have had less time together :( they didn’t do anything wrong that wasn’t explained by the culture they live in (ie, romeo killing tybalt was something he was forced into by verona’s culture of violence; juliet not talking to her parents was reasonable because... her parents are That Way)

the language - idk i just think it’s so much fun. mercutio is one of my shakespearean dream roles i love his monologues and wordplay SO fucking much (other dream roles, predictably, include hamlet, edmund, touchstone, benedick, and so many people from twelfth night)

the comedic tone in the beginning - the fact that it starts half-comedy and then warps into a tragedy so quickly and devastatingly is one of my favorite things about it, like, the way it captures the joyous recklessness of youth and the fun these kids all have with each other and then it just all goes to shit so fast... :( obliterates me

“so max if you can talk about it for this many paragraphs why isn’t it like... higher on your favorites list. why don’t we hear more about it” i do... not know. i think it’s like a personal thing for me? in the past three years i’ve read R&J more times than i have any other play and it’s almost at the point where i’m not... like... SICK of it but i’m, like, sated. like... until the next time that hyperfixation revs up, im all set personally on consuming R&J content that occasionally comes across my dash and no further, if that makes sense skdhfdsbfs.

so that’s to say that i don’t dislike it by any means! i just am more interested (at least currently) in a number of other plays dkdhfsbfjdsbfsd

#max.txt #romeo and juliet #tl;dr: i've read it so many times that i am almost full of it if that makes any sense. still an old fav though. makes me happy #asks #Anonymous

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statticscribbles · 3 years

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Distance

Summary: Jughead/Plus Sized!Reader Request: Reader figuring out that she’s liked him all along but he started being distant, and can it be very angsty and sad with whatever ending

“Oh my god I like Jughead Jones.” You gasp jerking back when you can feel eyes on you. “You what Y/N?” “Got stuck with Jones; for the english project.” You nervously spit back towards Betty. “And what’s wrong with him?” “He well; he’s really passionate, which is good, but it can be kind of annoying when it’s just a simple essay.” And hot; you think but try your best not to entertain the idea of anything happening.

“Y/N. Betty said you were bummed about working with me?”Jughead’s hand rest on your shoulder and you shrug a little and shake your head. “I’m not; just you’re really into english and the books we read; but there are so much better books than the ones we’re forced to read.” “Oh really? Care to share?” He grins leaning forward and you nod back. “You can come over to mine later; since we do have to actually work on this essay.”

“Are we doing Romeo and Juliet for this?”Jughead looks up from where he’s perched on your bed. “Yeah; I figured we could write it from the point of view of Tybalt and Mercutio?” You offer and he shakes his head. “And what’s your idea then?” “Juliet’s nurse and the Friar.” “You’re comparing me to the nurse?” “Well who would have a more exciting romance? The friar and the nurse; forbidden and barely seen except to-“ “Friars can’t have sex. Not that you need it to have an actual relationship.” “But that’s sort of the point of a relationship; being intimate with another person in ways you wouldn’t with friends.” “You’ve obviously missed out on some key relationship issues.” You laugh and Jughead scowls.

“And what do you know of my relationship issues.” Jughead snaps and you roll your eyes. “You’re a thin white boy; the worst you’re gonna get is rejected and assumed you’re gonna shoot up the school.” You sneer and can see his hand falter. “That shock you into silence?” Jughead nods chewing his lip. “Was it the school comment; or the white boy thing?” “The uh fat thing; I don’t think of you as-“ “I am. It’s obvious; you denying it makes it even worse.” Jughead shrugs pulling the copy of Romeo and Juliet over. “You just want to go back over the assignment then?” “What?” He pretends to be absorbed in the book he’s just pulled out. “The assignment where we have to write as two lovers from Romeo and Juliet but it not be both of them.”

“Oh yeah; course. I still think we should do the nurse and the friar.” “Mercutio and Tybalt would be so much more dramatic.” “Really? More dramatic that Romeo and Juliet?” “Yes.” He arches his eyebrow and you shrug. “We could do Mercutio and someone else? Make him in love with Romeo?” Jughead grins. “What about Mercutio and Juliet.” “Mercutio? Really? What he’s been in love with Juliet and hoped that bringing Romeo to the ball was going to give him a chance to get with Juliet?” Jughead nods, you shrug and he grins more leaning forward. “So what do you say Juliet? Want to fall in love with someone destined to die.” “We both are Mercutio.” You laugh a little. “So what we’re gonna west side story this? Since you’re in the serpents.” You roll your eyes when he glares. “You admitting to being a Ghoulie?” He grins and laughs when you shove him.

You’d gotten an A on your project; you’d assured Jughead you weren’t bothered by the late addition of Mercutio’s last letter proclaiming him alive and posing as a banished Romeo in the countryside. When he asks you out to Pop’s to go over something he’d written; the idea your teacher had planted in his head after the project; you agree. It takes you three more ‘editing session’ to realize they are in fact dates and then another four dates to realize how in love you are with him. It takes two more weeks and a fight in front of the Serpents for you to realize how distant he’s been being. What you had assumed were jobs with the rest of the snakes turned into a tangle of misinformation from Toni, sweet pea and fangs all through each other and then passed to you.

You’d tried confronting him but he’d only grown more and more distant until you’d managed to convince veronica and Cheryl something was going on. They look unimpressed with your detective skills and Veronica tries her best to gentely tell you Jughead and Betty have been together for three days. You thank her for the information and inform the rest of the serpents who all seem just as put out as you about his lying. “Jones. We’re voting Topaz as leader.” “Voting?” Jughead wrinkles his nose. “Yeah. Can’t have a leader that lies to us all just cause he wants some blonde northsider to suck him off after school.” Sweet Pea snaps and you cringe back. “Sweets; that’s harsh.”

“It’s true, he’s been feeding us misinformation for weeks; how’re we supposed to trust him as leader; what if he’s like Mustang and pulling one over on us to get in good with the Ghouls and Hiram?” You chew your lip and Jughead stomps his foot snarling. “I would never-“ “Never what Jones? Toni is blood more than you. You scared about the vote?” “No.” He’s glaring at everyone as FP steps from where he was lounging behind. “Y’all really want this?” He nods and the rest of the serpents put there hands up. “Alright hands down. Fangs up for Jughead’s continued leadership?” You try not to cringe when no hands go up.

“Toni Topaz?” You raise your hand keeping your eyes met with Jughead’s. “We need to talk.” You don’t turn back from where you’re congratulating Toni. “Y/N.” You tilt your head and watch as Jughead’s shoulders sink. “I’m sorry about being distant; I just thought it was better; with us being Serpents; it’s not safe, makes you a target.” “And a northsider is less of one?” You watch his brow furrow. “Betty can-“

“Take care of herself?” “Well just-“ “She’s thin, pretty? A cheerleader? Come on Jones Just admit you never cared.” “I did but- I do; just.” “Please don’t lie; I know you’re a Serpent but I don’t want to think of you as a snake.”

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skzsauce01 · 4 years

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In Fair Verona︱Chapter 10

Synopsis: Jisung knows he is the Romeo to your Juliet. He could wax poetry about you all throughout rehearsal and even a little after. Except Hwang Hyunjin is the one playing Romeo in the school play, not him. Jisung is just another tech crew member that you don’t know, but he’s determined to win your heart... by any means necessary.

Warning: violent thoughts

Word Count: 3.2k

Pairing: fem!reader x Jisung; fem!reader x Hyunjin

updates every Wednesday and Sunday @ 11 PM PST︱chapter list

Two household, both alike in dignity

In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,

From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,

Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.

Opening night has arrived. Tech crew’s call time is 5:30 PM, and Jisung pulls into the parking lot just a few minutes later. The late afternoon sun is low in the sky, and he has to squint through the light when he runs up the steps to the auditorium. The entrance leading to the lobby is predictably locked, but he doesn’t have time to take the long way. He peers through the tiny window and sees nobody in the immediate vicinity. He pounds against the heavy metal door, hoping someone hears him. When no one shows up, he growls to himself and texts the tech group chat. No answers. Seconds later, you appear, walking by with a box of programs. He doesn’t want your help, but he doesn’t want to get a verbal lashing for being late either. Jisung hits the door again, and you almost drop the box.

“Y/N!” he shouts. “Open!”

With wide eyes, you quickly push open the door for him with the side of your body and go back to place down the programs. You’re dressed in the same shirt he is. While he normally would be delighted at this coincidence, he’s repulsed now, knowing that you stabbed him in the back a mere twenty-four hours ago. You don’t say hello to him, and he doesn’t either.

“Thanks,” he roughly says, avoiding eye contact with you.

You don’t say a single word back.

He swings open the door to the auditorium with more force than necessary, and it knocks against the metal trash can. He’s greeted by a song with a thumping bass and Chan’s rapping.

“What’s happening?” Jisung asks no one in particular. He’s glad that he hasn’t missed anything though. He settles down in a seat in front of the soundboard and watches different colored lights flash across the cyclorama. A couple of silhouetted bodies dance on stage.

“Felix found out two of the actors are dancers,” Changbin replies. “Chan wanted to play his new song, and Jeongin just went along with it.”

Jisung nods, but he doubts Changbin notices in the darkness anyway. Jisung himself can’t make out who’s who. Another figure later appears on stage and shouts in Mr. Gi’s voice, “What are you guys doing?”

The lightshow stops, and the music volume drops to a whisper. Felix, Hyunjin, and the guy playing Mercutio pause in the middle of their dance off. Hyunjin’s smirk is starting to slide off his face, and Jisung feels the sudden urge to drag the corners of his mouth down with barbed hooks. He would look a lot better if he had a perpetual frown.

Felix hesitantly offers, “Sound and light check?”

Mr. Gi lets out a short laugh before turning serious. “We’re going to run through tech now.”

Everyone springs into their usual positions, while the two actors return to wherever they were before. Jisung gives Hyunjin a sufficiently long glare as he walks out the side door. The real sound and light check then begins. Occasionally, the floor crew is needed to set up the stage and to practice for blackouts. Jisung envies Seungmin, who is assistant tech director. He gets to relax for the night.

Before the main doors open, pictures are taken, one of cast, one of crew, and one of everyone involved. Jisung doesn’t miss the fact that Hyunjin has an arm slung around you and that you’re twisting the silver ring on his finger. He looks around and, to his disbelief, discovers that no one cares. The very people surrounding the two of you are busy adjusting their hair and clothes while waiting for the parent volunteer to take the photo.

“3, 2, 1!”

Jisung snaps back to the camera with thinly veiled irritation. Another picture is taken, and the brittle smile he has on is threatening to break. There are calls for a funny picture, and while he normally would be excited, he wants to get away from you and Hyunjin’s public displays of affection. In the next picture, he and Changbin give each other bizarre looks and shoot finger guns at each other, while you and Hyunjin reenact one of your fake endings to Romeo and Juliet.

Disgusting.

During the play, Jisung does his best to stay attentive to Felix and Changbin’s calls. He’s more talkative in the comms now that he realizes what a waste of time the last two weeks were pining after you. He jokes with his friends, and he’s happier than he's been in days. He learns that the stage kisses are now real kisses, and Hyunjin doesn’t bother obscuring the action. Both the crew and the audience cheer loudly when they see it.

During your costume change, he boldly watches you shimmy out of your dress and observes your protruding spine when you bend down to pick up the fallen garment. If he throws one of the metal counterweights from the fly rail system at you, he thinks, you would drop dead.

So would any other person, but he gets a certain thrill when he pictures Hyunjin finding your crumpled up body on the floor. It’s all Hyunjin’s fault anyway. He would get what he deserved.

Strangely — well, maybe not — Jisung actually enjoys the play now. The death scene, which hurt him to watch before, is his favorite part. It’s a fitting ending, you and Hyunjin dying together after all the casualties you caused. He feels vindicated. When the main curtain comes down, he’s almost disappointed.

There’s a crowd of lingering people in the audience after the show ends and when the post-show music starts playing. While you and Hyunjin take (more) pictures with each other, your friends, and families after the show, Jisung once again sits in the row in front of the soundboard, taking in everything happening. Your friends have signs and flower bouquets, and you happily receive them all. Hyunjin momentarily disappears before coming back with a dozen roses for you.

“Romeo’s got game,” Seungmin, who has taken over photography duty, lowly whistles. He picks up his camera and snaps a photo.

Jisung grits his teeth and doesn’t say a single word. You place a shocked hand over your mouth before shyly kissing him on the cheek. There’s another click of the camera.

“They’re dating,” Ryujin announces.

“How do you know?” Seungmin asks. “And why didn’t we know about this news?”

“Yeji told me today when we were getting lunch, and it’s none of your business anyway,” she shrugs. “But it’s been pretty obvious they’ve been crushing on each other since rehearsal started.”

“Who’s Yeji?” Jeongin interrupts.

“Lady Montague, looks like Hyunjin?”

“Who’s Hyunjin?”

“Romeo?” she answers incredulously. “It’s been two weeks!”

“I sit back here and turn the lights on and off!”

While they bicker, the audience members still around slowly start leaving. You wave goodbye to your friends and promise to meet your parents in the lobby after you’re done. The ushers begin walking through the aisles to check for trash, and the actors go to the dressing room to change out of costume. Then Mr. Gi gives out the tech notes for the night.

There’s only a few critiques, and Jisung is satisfied that Felix can’t rib him for any mistakes. While notes are ongoing, you hand back two mic packs to Chan, explaining that one of them is Hyunjin’s. Jisung notices that you’re wearing the jacket you supposedly returned to Hyunjin. It’s unzipped and hangs loosely on your frame. It could have been his jacket there. Another shred of anger rips through him, and he looks away, no longer gritting his teeth but grinding. You prance to the classroom, and he hopes one of the lights falls from its fixture and lands you in the hospital.

After notes are finished, the tech director congratulates them all on a job well done, and they’re all free to leave. It’s late, and Jisung’s excited to go home. He spots your parents milling around the lobby, making awkward small talk with the drama students selling grams. You’re almost a carbon copy of your mother, down to the way her eyes widen when a new person enters the room. He politely smiles, and she returns the gesture like you would have last week. It’s another reminder of what he could have had.

He’s on autopilot the drive home. He rolls at least two stop signs, but there’s luckily no one around in those four way streets. He has an unfinished plan in his mind, and he desperately needs it to be complete. It was previously tailored for Hyunjin, so he makes a few adjustments to include you.

The rest of the night he spends researching online. The glow of his screen illuminates his face in the darkness and reflects off of his bluelight glasses. His back hurts from being hunched over for three hours, but his scheme is ready. As he shuts down his laptop, he stretches, enjoying the tension released from his shoulders and mind. He’ll sleep well tonight, very well.

—

The second show is the day after opening night on Saturday. This time Jisung arrives a solid twenty minutes before his call time. He’s been in a good mood all day; he woke up refreshed and energized, and he even made a quick trip to the local flower shop to buy a beautiful blue monkshood plant for his mother. He takes the long way to the auditorium, knowing that he’s likely the first tech crew member to arrive.

He passes by the green room and spots you eating dinner alone. There are other actors and extras nearby, but you’re sitting at a center table, scooping fried rice into your mouth. How pathetic. He can hear a sword fighting scene being rehearsed on stage, and he’s certain Hyunjin’s part of it. He wonders why you aren’t cheering on your Prince Charming. Surely, you like him more than your terrible, burnt rice. The old Jisung would have jumped at the opportunity to be around you, but the enlightened Jisung strides to the stage, unaffected by your charms.

He’s proud of himself. He feels no rush of rage when he sees you anymore, and when he sees Hyunjin stab Tybalt with a wooden sword, he’s calm. He walks to the back of the auditorium, where Chan has his own headphones on and Felix is furiously tapping his phone screen.

“You guys are here early,” Jisung remarks, taking Jeongin’s chair.

“Nothing better... to do,” Felix mumbles, clearly concentrated on whatever game he’s playing.

Chan is engrossed in his own world, bobbing his head to the music and drumming his fingers across the board. Jisung leans back in his seat and checks Hyunjin’s Instagram. As he expects, his latest post is a photo of you and him from last night. You hold the roses he gave you, and he has an arm around your waist. The caption simply reads, “Opening night.” Satisfied with his findings, Jisung turns back to the stage, where the actors are starting their fight from the beginning again.

As time goes on, he loses interest, and more of the crew starts arriving. Jisung later waits in the lobby, opening doors for anyone too lazy to take the long way around. He’s reading gardening forum posts about monkshood when you and one of the house managers come by with more programs, predicting how packed it will be tonight. He glances up momentarily before deciding to ignore you. He can’t help but feel a tiny bit of resentment when you try to meet his eye. Where was all that a few days ago?

“Hi, Jisung,” you cautiously greet, seemingly trying to dissolve the tension between the two of you. You still have that scared deer look though.

While the house manager gives him a curt nod and then disappears into the auditorium, you linger around.

“Hey,” he replies and leaves it at that. He’s over you, and he doesn’t want any reason to come crawling back.

“Opening night went well.”

“Yeah.”

“How many people do you think will come tonight? I think at least a hundred.”

“I don’t know.”

You try to continue the conversation — though it barely qualifies as one — and Jisung shuts down every attempt you make. He doesn’t want you anymore, not after you strung him along with your jokes and smiles and then ran off into the sunset with Hyunjin.

There’s a knock on the door, and he absentmindedly opens it for Yugyeom, who’s out of breath from running up the stairs.

“Thanks,” he manages to get out. “Have we started yet?”

“I think we’re about to,” Jisung answers. “Bye, Y/N.”

He opens the auditorium doors for Yugyeom and lets it swing shut after him before you have the opportunity to slip inside.

Fine. Maybe he’s still a little angry at you, but it would be insane to think that he would be completely over you after all the interactions he’s had with you.

He follows Yugyeom to stage right. While sound and lights are being tested, the floor crew waits patiently in the wings. Ryujin slides the hangers across the rack, counting the number of costumes, and Yugyeom makes sure all the props are in order. With nothing better to do, Jisung stands by him and watches as he rearranges the items on the table. He sees two chemistry tube looking containers, and he can’t help but reach for them.

“Do they actually drink this?” Jisung asks as he picks up a clear vial filled with green liquid. “And what is this?”

“Just colored water,” he shrugs. “And yeah, they drink it. Hyunjin asked if I could change it every day since he and Y/N use it as a water break on stage. He said Ms. Park was okay with it.”

Jisung remembers the vial Hyunjin drinks from in the death scene. He grimaces as he sets down the container, suddenly feeling contaminated.

“Water, but not coffee or something?”

Yugyeom shrugs again. “He said water. And also, water is free.”

“But not food coloring.”

“Ms. Park asked the culinary class for some. Wanna help me change out the water?”

Jisung looks around and sees that Changbin is scrolling through his phone, eyes glazed over, tuned out of what’s happening despite wearing a headset. “Sure. It’s not like I have anything better to do.”

Jisung and Yugyeom take the vial of poison and Juliet’s sleeping draught. Apparently, you used that as a water break as well. Though Yugyeom asked him to help, Jisung does nothing but observe. It’s not like he needs the aid either; all he has to do is dump the water in the bushes, refill from a water fountain, and stir in a few drops of food coloring. The sleeping potion is a midnight blue, while the poison is a murky green. Neither look particularly appetizing, and he wonders how anyone would be able to drink either without feeling sickened.

When they return to the stage, Jisung goes back to his usual spot and continues waiting. In the meantime, he resumes reading about monkshood. Apparently, their roots are especially toxic.

The show that night goes well. He doesn’t know the exact number of audience members, but when he peeked past the curtain before the show began, he saw that at least half the seats were filled. During the death scene, Jisung pays close attention. Hyunjin’s back faces him, so he doesn’t know if he actually did drink it. He does get a good look at you, and he sees you kiss Hyunjin squarely on the lips with no hesitation.

At the end of the night, he waits by the soundboard for all the audience members to leave before tech notes can begin. The main cast stays around, talking to people they know and taking pictures with them. You don’t get any flowers this time, but a random girl with adoring eyes gives Hyunjin yellow and pink roses. There’s not a hint of jealousy on your face, and Jisung feels strangely irked by that. Hyunjin accepts the flowers sheepishly and shyly introduces her to you, his co-star and girlfriend. The girl’s expression falls, and Jisung empathizes with her. He’s been there before.

Seungmin’s snapping pictures, and he takes one of Hyunjin holding the flowers. “A potential love triangle?”

“No way,” Ryujin replies. “Hyunjin’s head over heels for Y/N.”

“Y/N’s Juliet, right?” Jeongin asks. Ryujin opens her mouth, but he cuts her off. “Right. She is.”

Felix chimes in, “Minho said that Hyunjin’s totally in love with her. They are cute together.”

The old Jisung would be outraged by those statements from his friends, but the new Jisung agrees with those remarks. Even he has to admit that the two of you make a pretty picture together. You and Hyunjin perfectly deserve to be with each other for the rest of your lives.

“Who’s Minho?” Jeongin expectedly asks.

“Mercutio,” Felix answers. “The other guy in the dance off yesterday.”

The gossip dies down when they notice you and Hyunjin heading over with your mics. Chan strikes up a discussion about the cast and crew dinner after the last show next week, and everyone immediately gets excited. Chan takes the mic packs from you two, and Hyunjin sticks around for a bit. He murmurs something to you, and you nod before leaving. Jisung doesn’t miss the nervous look in his direction, like you’re trying to work up the nerve to approach him. Jisung snaps his stare away.

“It’s at District 9 this time,” Jisung says, taking care to not include him. Hyunjin could have you, but he’s not going to let you take away his friends, too.

Chan groans. “Again? Their food sucks.”

“What’s at District 9?” Hyunjin says.

“Oh, right. I keep forgetting you’re new since you’re the lead. The cast and crew dinner. We all go to a restaurant and eat together after the final show,” Felix explains. “We usually go to District 9. Their food’s okay.”

“Their food sucks,” Chan echos.

“It’s not that bad,” Jisung counters. “You ate everything on your plate last time.”

“Because I was hungry! And because Jeongin ate my snack!”

“You let me have it!”

A side conversation starts up, and Hyunjin stands awkwardly at the side, not understanding the references and inside jokes. It’s petty, but Jisung wants Hyunjin to hurt as much as possible before next week when he won’t ever have the opportunity again. Mr. Gi finally finishes chatting with a colleague of his and starts tech notes. Hyunjin looks relieved to have an excuse to leave.

Notes are short, given that it’s a Sunday night and that they did well overall. They’re reminded that they have two more shows next weekend before they’re dismissed for the night. Jisung, feeling drained by all that’s happened, silently cheers before walking out to his car through the main doors.

Under the yellow streetlights, he sees you hold hands with Hyunjin as you make your way to his car. Hyunjin laughs at something you say and tucks one of the pink flowers from his fangirl into your hair so tenderly, Jisung has to look away.

Hyunjin is so in love with you, and you with him. It sickens Jisung to his core, but he has a remedy for this illness.

~ ad.gray

#stray kids #skz #han jisung #hwang hyunjin #stray kids han #stray kids hyunjin #stray kids au #theatre au #high school au #stray kids scenarios #stray kids imagines #stray kids fanfiction #skz scenarios #skz imagines #skz fanfic #stray kids x reader #yandere #20200920

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365days365movies · 3 years

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February 28, 2021: West Side Story (1961) (Part 1)

It all began tonight...and with one story.

The fact of the matter is, love stories wouldn’t be anywhere near the same today if it weren’t for one seminal text: Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. It’s one of the most influential of Shakespeare’s plays, and that’s true no matter what you think of the original.

But above them all, this adaptation rises. It’s one of the most publicly acclaimed Shakespeare adaptations and musicals of all time, and I would presume that that’s for a good reason! And I hope so, especially considering...the last musical...

Ugh. OK, let’s finish off Ramance February with a bang, and let’s finally get this shindig underway! Romeo and Juliet, take two! SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap (1/2)

Rather than Verona, 1961 New York City is where we set our scene. A title screen with bongos and other instrumentals set the musical tone for the film against a simple artistic background. Aerial shots of the city follow, and then...snap.

Oh, yeah, that’s the stuff. These are the Jets, a gang led by Riff (Russ Tamblyn), and our Montagues for the film. As their rest turns to amble, and their amble turns to dance, they run into Bernardo (George Chakiris), leader of the Puerto Rican gang known as the Sharks, our Capulets. Their amble also turns into a dance, as they cross into Jets territory.

To fully translate this, Riff would appear to be our Mercutio for the film, while Bernardo is almost certainly our Tybalt. And, as always, the two clash with their respective groups, and an initial dance-like fight between a couple of individuals soon escalates into a full-on brawl and dance battle.

Ah, but our Prince has arrived, in the form of Lt. Schrank (Simon Oakland), as well as his subordinate Sergeant Krupke (William Bramley). Schrank is not tolerant of the street fights between the two gangs, but he’s clearly far more reasonable to the white Jets, as opposed to the Puerto Rican Sharks.

See, if you look back this month, I mentioned that a lot of romance studies tend to take from Romeo and Juliet, specifically if there’s a conflict that separates the two leads. However, those films work to give a reason for the “old grudge” that breaks into new mutinies. And this adaptation of the original play decides to give a reason for that divide.

Race: an age-old struggle. And after the Prologue is done and the two gangs are warned, Riff brings his group together, and they pledge to prevent the Puerto Rican Sharks from taking over their territory. Riff brings up the idea to get their old co-founder involved. When the others note that he’s gone good and left the Jets, we get the first major song of the musical (”Jet Song”).

Riff goes to meet his friend, and co-founder of the Jets, Tony (Richard Beymer), to ask him to come to the dance hall tonight, where the Jets will meet the Sharks in a neutral space for both gangs. But Tony works for a living now, after having left the gang. Riff’s confused by this, and asks why exactly Tony refuses to come back. Tony explains that he feels something on the horizon. While he doesn’t know what that is, he knows that he doesn’t want to miss it.

Riff leaves, and Tony sings on the fact that he feels something coming soon (”Something Coming”). In case you weren’t sure, Tony is our Romeo of the film. And as he looks towards the future, we get a glimpse into the life of someone on the other wide of this struggle, Maria (Natalie Wood), our Juliet. Her friend Anita (Rita Moreno), Bernardo’s girlfriend and the Nurse of the film, is making her a dress for the dance tonight.

Maria is potentially engaged to marry Chino (Jose de Vega), our Paris of the film, and someone whom she isn’t a huge fan of. Bernardo tells him to watch her at the dance tonight, and she puts on her new dress in excitement.

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Time for the dance! Both the white kids and the Puerto Rican kids arrive, but tensions begin to rise, until Glad Hand (John Astin) steps in and sets up a sort of dance that’s meant to bring them together. And it’s time...TO MAMBO! And lemme tell you, if you want to good showcase of dance in this film, look no further than the mambo scene.

And as the two cultures clash in dance in their own way...two eyes meet from across the room. And our romance begins.

This romance between Romeo and Juliet is one of the most iconic in all literature and cinema, and one can say that it’s foolish or young or whatever, but it’s an iconic romance. And I’ll be DAMNED if I’ve ever seen a better version of that romance than this scene. Sorry, DiCaprio and Danes, this is much, MUCH better.

The two speak with each other and the world around them drops away. They speak as if they’ve met before, but they know that they haven’t. And as the grow gradually closer, physically and emotionally, they begin to kiss...and then Bernardo steps in. He takes his sister away, and the connection surprises Tony. Chino takes Maria out of the dance hall, and Tony starts to follow. Before Bernardo can stop him (by force), Riff gets in the way.

Riff offers to meet Bernardo that midnight at a local candy shop, Doc’s, for a war council. He agrees, and they all part ways to continue dancing. Except for Tony, of course. Having just learned Maria’s name, he fixates on it as it echoes in his head (”Maria”). And it’s wonderful, and it’s iconic, and it’s...great.

Back at Bernardo’s and Maria’s place, Bernardo chides Maria for her dalliance with Tony. Anita scolds him, however, and the two make their way to find the others on a nearby rooftop. There, they speak on what it truly means to be an immigrant in America, especially in 1961 (”America”). And it’s depressing, truly depressing that this seems all too familiar today for so many. But, I digress, as this is a great song.

But once the boys leave for the war council, Tony finds Maria in the apartments, and they talk about their love for each other. Maria is afraid that their people won’t accept each other, and Tony says he doesn’t care. They pledge their love for each other with a duet, and another iconic song (”Tonight”).

It’s a gorgeous duet...but I need to acknowledge something: these two aren’t singing. Not on screen, anyway. The voices heard are Jimmy Bryant for Tony, and the ever-forgotten, ever-unerappreciated, late, great Marni Nixon for Maria. You have no idea how many times you’ve heard her voice, but you’ve heard it more than you think. The King and I, My Fair Lady, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, An Affair to Remember (YUP), The Sound of Music, oh, and MULAN. Marni Nixon overdubbed the voices for SO MANY people in Hollywood, and she wasn’t credited vary much back in the day. A lovely lady, and one who always deserved more credits than she got!

There’s one more person who overdubbed a voice: Tucker Smith for Riff, but only during the Jets Song. But now...now, it’s all Russ.

The Jets linger about, waiting around for the Sharks. As they do so, Sergeant Krupke pulls up in a cop car and interrogates the group for their doings. Once he leaves...we get my favorite song in the musical. The only one I know by heart, and my absolute favorite. This is “Gee Officer Krupke!”.

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It’s also this musical’s version of Queen Mab’s Song, cementing Riff’s role (and fate) as Mercutio, and I love it in every way. It’s just a fun song that also gives a lot of needed information about the time period’s treatment of teenagers judged to be delinquent. Also...I just fuckin’ love this song, AND how it’s performed in this film. I can never get tired of people bopping Russ Tamblyn on the head. I just love it.

At that point, they get into Doc’s Candy Shop, welcomed by Doc (Ned Glass), the kindly owner of the store and the Friar Laurence of the story. The Sharks also arrive shortly afterwards, and the parley begins. They set up a fight between the two hangs to settle things once and for all. However, as they start to bring weapons in, the newly-arrived Tony intervenes and gets them to use fisticuffs rather than weapons.

However, Schrank soon arrives to check in, and the group pretends to be getting along. However, the racist Schrank kicks out the Sharks, then attempts a peaceful discourse with the Jets. He also offers to help them with the upcoming fight that he suspects, saying that he’s on their side. Fuck Schrank, he’s genuinely a piece of shit.

Once the Jets and Schrank leave, Tony tells Doc about Maria, and he fears for both of their safety. Still, nothing can stop Tony’s exuberance, and he leaves that night with a smile on his face and a song in his heart.

Intermission! Let’s take a break, then start up Part 2! See you there!

#west side story #robert wise #jerome robbins #william shakespeare #romeo and juliet #natalie wood #richard beymer #rita moreno #george chakiris #russ tamblyn #romance february #user365 #365 movie challenge #365 movies 365 days #365 Days 365 Movies #365 movies a year #mygifs #my gifs

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