#number 21

[roachie-paradise]

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[vibesanonymous]

S2 Finale: Showdown at Cremation Creek! Parts 1 and 2 !!

[twistedtummies2]

Broadway's Finest "Foe-lies" - Number 21

Welcome to Broadway’s Finest “Foe-lies”: a tribute to some of the best villain songs from the world of musical theatre! (No Disney songs allowed; already did two lists for those.) All throughout October, I’m ranking up my Top 31 Favorite Villain Songs from Broadway, the West End, and Beyond!

TODAY’S LYRICAL HINT: “When you think he’s half-asleep, he’s always WIDE AWAKE!”

NUMBER 21 IS: Macavity the Mystery Cat, from CATS.

Most of the time, the villain song in a musical belongs to…well…the villain! They sing about their evil deeds, they sing about their dark pasts, they sing about their villainous schemes, etc. It makes sense that, in a musical, where every song is important to the characters and/or story (at least ideally speaking), the villain would get their own chance in the spotlight to shine and show their vocal chops. This is not always the case, however. It’s more common in movies and TV shows, but sometimes you’ll have villain songs that aren’t “songs performed BY the villain,” but rather “songs performed ABOUT the villain.” Probably the most famous example I can give is “Cruella De Vil” from 101 Dalmatians: it’s considered a classic Disney Villain song, but Cruella herself does NOT sing it. It’s more of an anthem to Cruella’s villainy that OTHER CHARACTERS sing. Such is exactly the case for today’s contender: “Macavity the Mystery Cat” from the Andrew Lloyd Webber spectacular, “CATS.” If you know anything about CATS, but haven’t actually seen it, then you probably know the following: it’s really, really popular, or at least used to be, and it was made into an absolutely APPALLING movie a few years ago.

And…honestly, that’s kind of all you need to know. “CATS” is not a very story or character-driven show. It was based on a book of poems, of all things, with nearly all of the songs being those poems now set to music. What little plot it has is this: a group of cats known as the Jellicles all gather together for a ceremony where one cat will be sent to what is basically “Cat Heaven.” To that end, they all begin performing songs about themselves and each other to decide which of them will be the lucky kitty to go up to that giant playpen in the sky. That’s kind of it; there’s not a whole lot of major conflict or story to speak of beyond that. Despite this, there IS a villain: the ever-mysterious Macavity, a rogue Jellicle who longs to take over the clan. In the original stage version, we don’t really see or know much about Macavity…and that’s the entire point. He’s built up a few times throughout the show before he finally shows up, and when he does show up, it’s only for a short time, and he never has any dialogue. He’s less of a main antagonist and more just this looming presence of danger; this element of evil and chaos in the world of the Jellicles they live in constant fear of. Think of him more in the vein of, say, Man from “Bambi” than a proper main villain.

Despite that, there is a song devoted to him. It happens late in the show, after Macavity makes his first big appearance: popping up to scare all the other cats before kidnapping their leader, Old Deuteronomy, and vanishing into the night again. Shortly after the song, he pops up once more to try and take the throne he so desires, leading to a fight scene between himself and some of the other cats. Eventually, Macavity is beaten, but escapes to bedevil the Jellicles another day.

The song that bears his name is fittingly titled “Macavity the Mystery Cat,” and performed by two female felines named Demeter and Bombalurina. In Macavity’s absence, they explain to the audience just who he is and why the other Jellicles fear him. Sticking to his mysterious demeanor, Macavity is described less as a cat and more like some supernatural demon: able to levitate, somehow always able to disappear without a trace or come up with an alibi for any crime he pulls, apparently the master of every feline that ever did any wicked deed at all, etc. A lot of allusions in the lyrics are actually references to Professor Moriarty from Sherlock Holmes, which naturally I find even more fun. (The two characters even have similar names.) It’s one of my favorite songs in CATS, and one of the catchiest villain songs I’ve heard from the world of theatre. Ultimately though, I just like other songs and other shows more, and I think it’s much more impactful when the villain sings about themselves, usually, than when others sing about them. Still, it’s definitely earned a spot in the ranks, in my opinion.

Tomorrow, the countdown moves into the Top 20!

LYRICAL HINT: “Maybe she holds the key, that little lady…to gettin’ more bucks…instead of less…”

[whateverisbeautiful]

♥️ Ranking Richonne

#21: Rules Keep Changing (S5E11)

This scene right here - so beautiful and also very telling. I love this heart-to-heart that shows how much they can reach each other. Scenes like this remind me that we really watched two characters so wholly fall in love with everything the other is. And not only fall in deep love, but deep respect, appreciation, and trust. They really saw each other, understood each other, and changed the game for each other. And of all their bonds in the show, Rick and Michonne were always the most emotionally vulnerable with each other too. The way they became each other’s best friend plays an important part in the way they became each other’s other half...

I love the staging of this scene with Grimes 2.0 staying by their car from a distance while team family fix the RV. Rick, Michonne, Carl, and Judith are so clearly a four-person family right here and now. Like Michonne is Rick’s best friend at this time, but she's his future wife too, make no mistake. And I just appreciate that when their group got bigger upon reuniting with the rest of tf in s5, Rick and Michonne still kept super close to each other.

I love that Michonne shares some wisdom with Rick. She tells him the fight is over, and it’s so vital that Rick has someone in his life like Michonne who sees him so clearly and can breathe life into him and remind him that while the fight keeps you warm and fed it can turn on you if you don’t learn to let it go.

Rick needed to hear that because, as we see, he still was in that Terminus train car mindset which was making him go a bit mad. It’s precious the way Michonne softly says she knows it’s hard cuz Rick needs someone to be this gentle, compassionate, and understanding with him. 

And the way that Rick, even in this PTSD state, really tries to hear her out. The best. Rick and Michonne always communicate from a place of vulnerability, leveling with each other and sharing their own experience to resonate and relate with the other. It’s a beautiful thing.

Michonne looks at him so sweetly in this scene. And when she says the fight turns on you - Rick will learn how true that is because not releasing the fight in ASZ leads to some messy situations.

Rick tells Michonne that the concept of letting go is similar to what Bob was trying to tell him back at the church. "What to risk. When it’s safe." Rick will always pull my heartstrings because, at the end of the day, he’s a family man who just wants to keep his family safe at all costs, and that can lead him to be on high alert, which is stressful. 

You can just feel how much he carries the weight of the world in this scene. But having Michonne here to offer a refreshing reminder that it’s okay to let go, shows he does not have to carry the weight alone. Rick and Michonne now have a true partner and someone they can be fully human with.  

And then y’all, it gets quite interesting when Rick says, “When to let someone in.” I’ve always liked that he says "someone" and not "people." It’s like Rick's been pondering a more intimate level of letting someone in. Even the way he pauses, it’s like he deep down knows that “let someone in” means something more personal than just letting strangers like Aaron into the group. And right now, he’s confiding this to someone he has let in and wants to let in even more. 

And again, Rick is the type of guy who seems to really value a soul-level connection, and he seems to be the type who wouldn’t act thoughtlessly when letting someone into his heart (unless suffering from extreme PTSD). Letting someone in would need to have a deeper meaningfulness for him, and I know that at this point, Rick is slowly but surely coming around to the fact that it’s the woman right here on this car with him that he most needs to let in.

Then Rick says, "The rules keep changing." And it made me think about how I've always felt that because Rick is such a dutiful guy, it seemed to be such a stirring rule change for him when he was so captivated by Michonne in their early days of meeting each other. I really think that was a part of Rick's s3 hostility with Michonne at times because he was shaken that he had this draw and attraction to her so soon after losing Lori when the "rules" would suggest he should just be grieving.

All that to say, rule changes aren’t always easy for him, but it’s sweet how he acknowledges they’re changing and is coming around to being more open to it.

And then Michonne just puts the ultimate cherry on top of the scene by saying, “It did for me.”

Now, y’all, watching this back rn um…I’m surprised Richonne didn't become official the very next episode. Like what? I’m sorry, but there was nothing platonic about this exchange...

The way she says that and smiles at him. The way he stays looking directly at her after and then stays quiet and looks away cuz you know he had some thoughts that weren't platonic. This was giving 'I’m in love with you' energy from both of them. Can’t tell me any different. 😌

I just need to take a moment to unpack what this could mean. R: The rules keep changing. M: It did for me. Like wow. I guess if I had to be completely un-Richonne-minded (which admittedly ain't easy) then Michonne could just mean, 'I never thought I’d learn to let go and let people in but the rules changed and I’ve took the risk to let all of you in and embrace team family as her family.'

Sure. But like come on, I feel it’s not pushing it too far to say that there’s an element of this being about the two of them specifically. Rick changed the rules for her and opened her heart up in a way she didn’t think would happen again, and Michonne absolutely did the same for Rick. There's an intentional reason this exchange is between the two of them and not anyone else from the group.

Plus, while I'm always unsure of exactly how much time has passed during any given season in TWD, I'd venture to say that this moment occurs less than two months before Richonne becomes canon so it feels like this scene does want to start setting up that these two are coming closer to fully realizing their feelings for each other.

This really felt like one of the closest Rick and Michonne ever came pre-canon to acknowledging the love they’ve developed for each other. It was a beautiful scene, and to this day when I hear their moment interrupted by that RV starting to work I’m just looking over at the RV like...

Lol just cuz I wanted Rick and Michonne to get to stay in this very telling private moment a little longer and elaborate. But I understand their precious slow burn had to continue its steadily rising flicker before the wildfire could truly ignite in season 6. So this scene instead concludes with Rick excusing himself. He says he needs a moment as Michonne watches him with this loving compassionate expression.

Rick then goes to hide weapons before they take the leap that Michonne motivated and go to ASZ. Rick hiding the weapons shows that he clearly still doesn't know if this Alexandria stuff is legit, but even still they pull up to those ASZ gates (oh we're gonna talk about it 😋) And why do they still pull up? Because Rick trusts Michonne. Even over his own hesitancies. Love it.

And I adore the lingering shot of Michonne watching Rick as he goes. It’s so evident that he means so much to her, and I love that she is the one who most gets to see Rick the human being. And Michonne is so equipped to love and support him in all his humanness, just as Rick is with her.

This scene is just gold and genuinely meaningful to Richonne and their soulmate connection if you ask me. Rick and Michonne changed each others' rules and each other's lives. Oh, and changed mine too. 😌👌🏽

I Wanna Know - Where Would This Scene Land On Your Top 30 Richonne List? 

Higher On My List ⬆

Lower On My List ⬇

#21 Is About Right 👌🏽

Not On My List 🙅🏽‍♀️

Voting ended onFeb 11, 2024

[howlingday]

I like to think of Jaune as the 21 from Venture Bros because he's that character that you can approach someone who's starting the show and just say ''this is the character with the greatest development in the entire show''.

I would agree that Jaune has the most dynamic change throughout the series. Everyone else is subtle with their changes, like Weiss being more relaxed than her Volume 1 iteration at about Volume 5 and 6.

Jaune, however, is visibly changing as we watch him. When he first showed up, he was throwing up on the airship, hurtling through the air from catapult, getting pinned to trees, and hanging from giant Grimm tails, AND YET he's made the team leader. This was all in the first four-five episodes of Volume 1.

Fast-forward to Volume 4 and he's depressed, he's taking more risks, he's HOLDING OFF A GIANT HORSE WITH HIS SHIELD! Yeah, V4 Jaune is nucking futso! Then you jump again to V7 and he's... better. He's happier, more charming, and in V8, we see him directing civilians to safety TWICE.

Comparing Number 21 to Jaune, Gary Fischer is the dumpy, nerdy comic relief who is challenging Dr. Venture's bodyguard with a plastic lightsaber, staging a coup with plastic toys, and arguing in public over whether or not the Smurfs are insects or mammals. Only person more nerdy than him was his partner, Number 24. And much like with Pyrrha, it's the death of their partner's that drive them to become a much more efficient fighter.

But here's the thing I love most about these characters, why they're my favorite characters of their individual shows; despite all of their dynamic changes, they're still the same. It's that Undertale mirror meme; It's you, and despite everything, it's still them. 21 is still geeking out about superhero stuff with The Monarch and Jaune is still as much of a goofball as Ruby is.

So yeah, I can see why 21 and Jaune could be described as having "the greatest character development," or at least the most dynamic that isn't just a new outfit and extra amenities to their weapons.

[samuraiedgedchance]

The Venture Bros.: Radiant is the Blood of the Baboon Heart | It's What I Do | Warner Bros. Ent

[weisscoldglare]

21 for the pride ask thing

I'd tell her love is hard, and that even if I chose to be with a man or woman, our mum wants to see us happy. Even if it didn't look like it at the time. She knew what she was talking about with our first ex.

[genericnamego]