Lippen Schweigen drawn by me

DANILO Lippen schweigen, ‘s flüstern Geigen: hab mich lieb! All die Schritte sagen:Bitte,
hab mich lieb! Jeder Druck der Hände deutlich mir’s beschrieb. Er sagt klar, ‘s ist wahr, ‘s ist wahr, du hast mich lieb! HANNA Bei jedem Walzerschritt tanzt auch die Seele mit, da hüpft das Herzchen klein, es klopft und pocht: Sei mein! Sei mein! Und der Mund, er spricht kein Wort, doch tönt es fort und immerfort: Ich hab’ dich ja so lieb,
ich hab’ dich lieb! HANNA und DANILO Jeder Druck der Hände deutlich mir’s beschrieb. Er sagt klar,
‘s ist wahr, ‘s ist wahr, du hast mich lieb! – Lippen Schweigen from Franz Léhar’s Die Lustige Witwe, Libretto by Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, Based on Henri Meilhac’s L’attaché d’ambassade, First Performance on December 30, 1905 in Vienna, Austria. English Translation: DANILO Lips are silent, violins whisper: Love me! Every step says: please love me! Every hand-clasp shows it clearly. Now I know, it’s so, it’s so, you love me! HANNA At each step of the waltz, my soul joins in the dance, my eager heart leaps, knocks, and pounds: be mine, be mine! And my lips say no word, yet still it echoes on and on: I love you, oh, so much, I love you! HANNA AND DANILO Every hand-clasp shows it clearly, now I know it’s so, it’s so, you love me! This piece of Blossoomer fan art, which is part of BrickercupMasterX3’s annual Blossoomer month, is dedicated to Annie Pham aka Zero-Kiba and craycrayevie who celebrated their birthdays three days ago, Eva aka Shanks-kun who celebrated her birthday two days ago, dopperugengaa whose birthday was celebrated yesterday, and PockyBloo whose birthday is being celebrated today. So, I hope you guys have such magnificent, grand, and awesome celebrations and I wish you so much love, joy, happiness, positive vibes, and greatness in your lives as artists and as people. I would also love to dedicate this to all of the Blossoomer fans and shippers out there. So, sit back, relax, and soak in the Blossoomer goodness. Here we have 25-year-old Blossom as the merry widow herself, Hanna Glawari, and her darling 26-year-old life partner Boomer as Count Danilo Danilowitsch from one of Franz Léhar’s most well-known operettas of all time, “Die Lustige Witwe” known in English as, of course, “The Merry Widow”, which, in turn, is one of my most favorite German operettas ever. Blossom certainly embodies Hanna’s brand of grace, nobility, beauty, and stature to a T, while Boomer embodies Danilo’s genteel, noble, and gentlemanly grace so effectively that their overall chemistry is glorious. Moreover, I do not have to explain to you any further why I love Blossoomer so much. Sufficed to say, Blossoomer is gorgeousness and loveliness incarnate. Lippen Schweigen from Léhar’s “Die Lustige Witwe” is a duet I grew up with ever since I was a sixteen-year-old boy in my second year of high school, even though I practiced this song as a solo number. I love the sweeping melody, the graceful tones, and the blending of voices for any tenor or baritone who sings Danilo and any soprano who sings Hanna. Hence, for your listening pleasure, I present to you my three favorite renditions of this lovely duet sung by these following pairs: Rudolf Schock and Melitta Muszely, Agostino Lazzari and Virginia Zeani (in Italian), Nicolai Gedda and Anneliese Rothenberger, Francisco Araiza and Regina Klepper, and Jonas Kaufmann and Diana Damrau. I hope you enjoy these selections, as you gaze into this fine piece of Blossoomer fan art. Rudolf Schock and Melitta Muszely www.youtube.com/watch?v=aK4s2e… Agostino Lazzari and Virginia Zeani (In Italiano) www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EMxQs… Nicolai Gedda and Anneliese Rothenberger www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUc7Sf… Francisco Araiza and Regina Klepper www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTP7YF… Jonas Kaufmann and Diana Damrau www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJL7r6… I hope you all enjoyed these selections, which I felt accompanied this piece of Boomer x Blossom fan art. Let me know in the comments below which one you prefer and I will see you all in the next submission. Blossom and Boomer from The Powerpuff Girls belong to Craig McCracken and Cartoon Network.

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24 Stunden in Berlin (Version 2)

This is another version of the collaborative film that me, my colleagues, and my teachers did for our school’s project day. Moreover, this is the version edited by one of my German teachers, Mrs. Philine von Oppeln-Bronikowski, as it includes not just one but two songs. When all is said and done, I continue to be as grateful, enthusiastic, blessed, and full of positive vibes to have partaken in this short film project. Any way we slice it, any version that the viewers like, the whole process of making this come to fruition is a blessing in its purest, most undefiled, and greatest form.

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Beneath a Moonless Sky drawn by me

CHRISTINE: I should have known that you’d be here I should have known it all along This whole arrangement bears your stamp You’re in each measure of that song. How dare you try and claim me now? How dare you come invade my life?   PHANTOM: Oh, Christine. My Christine. In that time when the world thought me dead My Christine, on that night just before you were wed Ah, Christine. You came and found where I hid Don’t you deny that you did, that long ago night   CHRISTINE: That night…   PHANTOM: Once there was a night, beneath a moonless sky Too dark to see a thing, too dark to even try   CHRISTINE: I stole to your side to tell you I must go I couldn’t see your face, but sensed you even so And I touched you,   PHANTOM: And I felt you   BOTH: And I heard those ravishing refrains   CHRISTINE: The music of the past   PHANTOM: The singing in your veins   CHRISTINE: And I held you   PHANTOM: And I touched you   CHRISTINE: And embraced you   PHANTOM: And I felt you   BOTH: And with every breath and every sigh   CHRISTINE: I felt no longer scared   PHANTOM: I felt no longer shy   BOTH: At last our feelings bared beneath a moonless sky   CHRISTINE: And blind in the dark, as soul gazed into soul I looked into your heart and saw you pure and whole   PHANTOM: Cloaked under the night with nothing to suppress A woman and a man No more, and yet no less And I kissed you   CHRISTINE: And caressed you   BOTH: And the world around us fell away We said things in the dark we never dared to say   PHANTOM: And I caught you   CHRISTINE: And I kissed you   PHANTOM: And I took you   CHRISTINE: And caressed you   BOTH: With a need to urgent to deny And nothing mattered then Except for you and I Again and then again beneath a moonless sky   PHANTOM: And when it was done Before the sun could rise Ashamed of what I was, afraid to see your eyes I stood while you slept and whispered a goodbye And slipped into the dark beneath a moonless sky   CHRISTINE: And I loved you, yes I loved you I’d have followed anywhere you led I woke to swear my love and found you gone instead   PHANTOM: And I loved you and I left you   CHRISTINE: How I loved you!   PHANTOM: And I had to, both of us knew why   CHRISTINE: We both knew why   BOTH: And yet I won’t regret from now until I die The night I can’t forget Beneath a moonless sky…   PHANTOM: And now…   CHRISTINE: How can you talk of now? For us, there is no now   – Beneath a Moonless Sky from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Love Never Dies, Text by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Ben Elton, Frederick Forsyth, and Glenn Slater, Lyrics by Glenn Slater, Based on Frederick Forsyth’s “The Phantom of Manhattan”, Gaston Leroux’s “The Phantom of the Opera”, and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s, Richard Stilgoe’s, and Charles Hart’s “The Phantom of the Opera”, First Performance on March 9, 2010 at the Adelphi Theatre in London’s West End, England, Great Britain   This piece of Butchubbles fan art, which is my final submission for BrickercupMasterX3’s Butchubbles Month last January, is dedicated to Maggie Mason aka mason382, Emma aka KokoroWorlds, Martina Koljensic aka MartinaHermioneGrang, JordanDatTurtle13, Eva aka AmazonPrincess5000, Pinkycandypie, Danni Lynn McDonald aka evangeline40003, Starry aka Pastel—Star, and Victoria aka ViciViv who celebrated their birthdays a couple of days ago. So, I hope you all had such magnificent, grand, fabulous and phenomenal birthdays. I wish you a lot of love, joy, happiness, beauty, prosperity, strength, perseverance, and abundance in your lives as artists and as people. This is also dedicated to all of the wonderful Butchubbles shippers out there. So, sit back, relax, and soak in that Butchubbles goodness.   Well, this was inevitable. This is the final time we get to see Butch as our beloved Phantom aka Erik and Bubbles as the lovely Countess Christine Daaé de Chagny and this is the song and scene that we are going out on. I know some people find the duet between The Phantom and Christine, “Beneath a Moonless Sky”, unintentionally hilarious because of the lyrics unsubtly alluding to the Phantom and Christine making love to each other, but if one puts this duet in the right hands of the singers, this can actually be quite an emotional thrill ride. Yes, it is melodramatic. Yes, it does skewer with the canon. However, the melody is still haunting and quite palpable to be reckoned with. For your listening enjoyment, I present to you three interpretations of this duet from three of my favorite Phantoms, Ben Lewis, Ramin Karimloo, and Drew Sarich, and three of my favorite Christines, Anna O’Byrne, Sierra Boggess, and Milica Jovanovic. I hope you enjoy listening to these selections, as you gaze upon this piece of Butchubbles fan art.   Ben Lewis and Anna O’Byrne www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVEJyC… Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Boggess www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAUUeW… Drew Sarich and Milica Jovanovic www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNhKEx…   I hope you all managed to enjoy this final submission for Butchubbles month 2019 and I will see you all on the flip side. Take care.   Butch and Bubbles from The Powerpuff Girls belong to Craig McCracken and Cartoon Network.

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24 Stunden in Berlin

This was a short film my colleagues, a couple of teachers, and I made during our school’s project day. The overall result came out so wonderfully thanks to our overall collaborative efforts. I could not have accomplished the editing without the help of my colleagues and teachers. Enjoy the film and as we say in German, viel Spaß beim Zuschauen.

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Another Great Gift from a Fine Friend/Fan/Follower

Well, look what I got in the mail just a couple of days ago. My very dear friend, DeviantArt follower, and fan of my artwork, Daniel D. Roberts aka JekyllAndHydeChannel, has sent me another set of lovely gifts. I know these were intended to be open on Valentine’s Day, but because of my academic priorities and my insane schedule both on- and offline, I saw it fit to open them up and I was really blessed.   Daniel gave me a really cute bronze shark with his initials and a Dash from Pixar’s “The Incredibles” tattoo, which was a wonderful gesture from his side.   So, Daniel, thanks so much for not only these lovely presents but also for your undying support, unconditional kindness, and passion when it comes to your favorite cartoons. Continue to be as great as you are and I also thank you for being one of my 99 DeviantArt watchers. Don’t forget to also stay tuned tomorrow for my final Butchubbles fan art submission, which is part of my sister from another mother’s, BrickercupMasterX3’s, annual Butchubbles Month. Blessed be and I will see you on the flipside.

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Inuyasha’s and Ayame’s Family Tree drawn by me

This InuAya Family Tree fan art is dedicated to Sage aka deerteeeth and Britta aka BlueShiranui who celebrated their birthdays two days ago, Varvara aka gricort who celebrated her birthday about two weeks ago, and Phanly Jewel aka Endyran who is celebrating her birthday yesterday. So, I hope you all had such magnificent birthday celebrations and I wish you all a lot of love, joy, happiness, beauty, strength, hope, triumph, prosperity, and abundance in your lives as artists and as people. Wie wir auf deutsch sagen, ich hoffe ihr habt wunderbare Geburtstagfeier und ich wünsche euch allen viel Liebe, Freude, Glück, Schönheit, Hoffnung, Triumph, Wohlstand und Reichtum in euren Leben als Künstler und als Menshen. This is also dedicated to all of the InuAya or Inuyasha x Ayame shippers out there. So, sit back, relax, and soak in that InuAya loveliness, awesomeness, and goodness. I will say this once and I will say this again. No matter anyone says, I will never give up my most beloved Inuyasha OTP of all time Inuyasha x Ayame or InuAya, as my love and unquenchable passion for this couple knows no bounds whatsoever. Inuyasha and Ayame even have their progeny to prove how strong of a family they really are, what with Inuyasha being the muscular, handsome, strong, courageous, tough patriarch and Ayame being the brave, gorgeous, determined, awesome matriarch of this wonderful family. As much as I would have loved to put in their basic data for each InuAya family member, I decided to write it here in the description. Keep in mind that I am jotting their ages as of this year, if they ended up celebrating their respective birthdays, instead of going the over-accurate route of saying that he is 35 going on 36 and she is 32 going on 33. With that said, let’s get cracking, ladies and gentlemen. Inuyasha the Strong, Sturdy Patriarch with Muscles of Steel and Ayame the Courageous, Determined, Brave Matriarch with Flawless Combat Prowess  Inuyasha: A Strong Father and Ayame’s Loyal, Handsome Husband Name: Inuyasha Age: 36 Birthday: April 1 Ayame: A Brave Mother and Inuyasha’s Faithful, Beautiful Wife Name: Ayame Age: 33 Birthday: February 18 Inuyasha and Ayame have been blissfully married for eighteen years and their relationship as husband and wife continues to flourish ever so beautifully. Moreover, Inuyasha’s muscles, toughness, and super strength are an amazing complement with Ayame’s agility, speed, and grace, thus making them a rather sexy couple all the way through. Not only do they continue to look as amazing as they are together, but they also stay be each others’ side through thick and thin showing abundant amounts of unconditional love, passion, and loyalty. Their combat prowess has even been passed down to their children and everything they do as parents to them is nothing short of a blessing. As parents, Inuyasha always loves to make sure that their children stay active, strong, and physically fit as possible and as a father, he has his own brand of disciplining, especially when he uses his skills as a fighter and his muscles to set his children straight. Ayame makes sure that their children stay as humble, gracious, and upright as they are in triumph and in loss and as a mother, she can be strict, especially when one of her children does something wrong, and nonetheless, she gives really great advice to make them grow not only as warriors but also as individuals. Inuyasha’s and Ayame’s Strong, Tough, and Awesome Offspring Masataka and Masaya: The First Eldest Muscle Twin Sons Names: Masataka and Masaya Ages: 18 Birthday: February 24 Masataka and Masaya bear their father’s super strength, usage of muscles, and overall fighting spirit, thus making them the first set of muscle twins. With that said power comes a great responsibility they must uphold as the eldest brothers, as their younger siblings look up to them so much. Masataka may be cool, calm, and collected and Masaya may be gentle, responsible, and altruistic, but if one were to be so brazen as to upset them, they will unleash absolute Hell on the perpetrator with their super strength, iron claws, and unrelenting fighting spirit with them turning into full yokai. Masataka and Masaya have an extremely close bond as twin brothers and they always know how to solve their problems in a rather civil manner. At times, they even love to compete with each other, as they love to lift weights, wrestle, and practice various martial arts. When all is said and done, Masataka’s and Masaya’s loyalty to each other, their siblings, and their parents cannot be questioned. Kenta and Keita: The Second Eldest Muscle Twin Sons Names: Kenta and Keita Ages: 17 Birthday: March 10 Kenta and Keita are the second muscle twins of Inuyasha’s and Ayame’s fine family. As opposed to Masataka and Masaya who are calmer in demeanor, Kenta is the rowdier one who exudes some macho pride while Keita is rowdy but a little bit more level-headed. Kenta and Keita have an amazingly close brotherly bond with Masataka and Masaya to the point where all four of them are best friends who stick with each other through thick and thin. This even gets to the point where Inuyasha proudly states that Masataka, Masaya, Kenta, and Keita are his most favorite sons, especially considering all of the posedowns, wrestling matches complete with full nelsons, sleeper holds, bearhugs, and Boston crabs, weightlifting to ensure that their muscles are in great shape, roaring matches, martial arts matches, boxing matches, and general competitiveness father and sons constantly engage in. Kenta and Keita not only love to compete with each other, but they also love to compete with Masataka and Masaya in a lot of physical activities. Moreover, Masataka’s, Masaya’s, Kenta’s, and Keita’s strong fraternal bond can give the likes of Castor and Pollux a run for their money because they work with each other so effectively, thus combing muscles, combat prowess, and a certain wild animal grace to the…

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Inuyasha’s and Ayame’s Two Sets of Buff Twin Sons drawn by me

This piece of Inuyasha x Ayame or InuAya and fan kids fan art is dedicated to Mi-Na-Tsuki, DankMemeBirb360, and Managodess who celebrated their birthdays two days ago. So, I hope you guys had amazing, awesome, wonderful, and grand birthday celebrations. I wish you a lot of love, joy, abundance, and prosperity in your lives as artists and as people. Wie wir auf deutsch sagen, ich hoffe ihr habt tolle, hervorragende, wunderbare und grandiose Geburtstagsfeier. Ich wünsche euch viel Liebe, Glück, Reichtum und Wohlstand in euren Leben als Künstler und als Menschen. This also dedicated to all of the InuAya shippers out there. So, sit back, relax, and soak in that Inuyasha x Ayame goodness. Here we have, from left to right, 35 going on 36-year-old Inuyasha, 32 going on 33-year-old Ayame, and their two pairs of eldest twin sons. The first eldest twin sons are 17 going on 18-year-olds Masataka and Masaya. The second eldest twins are, of course, our beloved 16 going on 17-year-olds Kenta and Keita. Sure, I would have loved to add in the other younger siblings namely Kaito, Momoko, and Maya, thus making Inuyasha and Ayame have a grand total of seven children, but there was not a lot of space, so I will definitely add them, as I make the InuAya family tree in another submission. We already got to know Kenta and Keita, the second eldest muscle twins, so, let us be acquainted with Inuyasha’s and Ayame’s first eldest muscle twin sons, Masataka and Masaya. Inuyasha and Ayame always knew they were meant for each other, even before they ended up married when he was eighteen and she was fifteen. As they consummated their feelings for each other one night, Ayame discovered that she was pregnant with their pups. Her grandfather saw that Inuyasha was a lot more fit to be Ayame’s husband than Kouga or any other warrior, especially when he saved the Northern Yoro Tribe from a vicious, hulking horned demon by using his brute strength and claws. So, she and Inuyasha ended up being married complete with a great feast and nine months later, Masataka and Masaya were born. Masataka and Masaya were born with a mixture of their parents’ eye colors and with purple jagged stripes on their cheeks much like their father when he turns into a full yokai. Masataka and Masaya are the split images of their father with a few hints of their mother’s determined, focused nature. Much like their younger brothers Kenta and Keita, they have a responsibility to uphold as heirs to the Northern Yoro Tribe. Masataka and Masaya have inherited their father’s brute strength, relentlessly fierce fighting prowess, toughness, and willingness to be stronger warriors ever. Masataka, Masaya, Kenta, and Keita would always train their bodies, minds, and spirits in order for them to fight alongside their father, mother, and younger siblings. Every sunrise, Inuyasha would enter Masataka’s and Masaya’s room and greet them with a bellowing roar while beating his chests. As the eldest twins wake up, Inuyasha would flex his muscles, thus having them being greeted by his strong, battle-hardened glory. Masataka and Masaya would approach their father and flex their muscles back at him. A posedown and, eventually, a wrestling match would ensue with the eldest twins giving Inuyasha a great bear hug and vice versa. After that, Inuyasha, Masataka, and Masaya would go to Kenta’s and Keita’s room and greet them with the usual ritual of flexing their gloriously well-toned muscles, having a wrestling/boxing match before and after breakfast, and the culmination of them having a laugh. In terms of distinguishing their personalities, Masataka is the calm, cool, collected brother while Masaya is a bit on the rowdy side but still has enough gentility and sense of responsibility to make him all the more valiant. However, one must be careful never to push their buttons, as Masataka and Masaya can get easily angry, thus turning them into full-fledged yokai with flashing, fierce red eyes, using their brute, musclebound strength, steel-like claws, and mighty fists to crush their enemies, and wrapping everything up with a victory roar that could give any lion or tiger a run for his money. Masataka and Masaya love to go swimming, take quiet walks in the forests, and train by weightlifting, wrestling, boxing, and doing a lot of martial arts that involve punching, kicking, and using their claws. In terms of individual activities, Masataka always loves to gather berries and edible flowers while Masaya loves to hunt for deer and boar. Masataka, Masaya, Kenta, and Keita always look up to Inuyasha as their role model and Inuyasha considers all four of them to be his most favorite sons. Moreover, Masataka’s and Masaya’s brotherly relationship with Kenta and Keita is really akin to all four of them being the best of friends because of their wonderfully strong bond as brothers. Due to their strong personalities, they do tend to argue and have the usual competitions of muscles and strength. One has to leave it to Inuyasha who enters with a huge roar gives Masataka, Masaya, Kenta, and Keita bear hugs, full nelsons, and/or sleeper holds and Ayame who elicits a stern, commanding presence while cracking her knuckles and snarling for them to stop fighting. At least with Masataka and Masaya, they are the calmer and more rational of these set of twins, as they know how to help Kenta and Keita out in sticky situations. Kaito, Momoko, and Maya are even attached to their older brothers with Kaito enjoying the company of Masataka and Masaya and looking up to them as his role models, as they are not only protective of him but also gracious and playful with him, and Momoko and Maya having a lot of fun with Kenta and Keita in terms of their dashing, charming, funny personalities with the occasional showing off of their muscles and strength to amuse them. Overall, Masataka, Masaya, Kenta, and Keita really do care for each other, their younger siblings,…

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Mr. and Mrs. Northern Yoro Tribe drawn by me

This piece of InuAya fan art is dedicated to Edward aka AsmodisArt who celebrated his birthday last week. So, Edward, I hope you had a wonderful and blessed birthday celebration. I wish you a lot of love, joy, beauty, strength, hope, prosperity, and abundance in everything you do as an artist and as a person. Wie wir auf deutsch sagen, ich hoffe du hast einen wunderbaren und gesegneten Geburtstag. Ich wünsche dir viel Liebe, Freude, Schönheit, Kraft, Hoffnung, Wohlstand, und Reichtum in allen, dass du als Künstler und Mensch tust. This is also dedicated to all of the InuAya shippers out there. So, sit back, relax, and soak in that Inuyasha x Ayame goodness and sexiness. I cannot begin to tell you how long it has been since I last drew my most beloved Inuyasha OTP of all time. I swear it felt like forever. However, after so many months of not having any Inuyasha x Ayame action in my gallery, here they are in their fiercest, toughest, and strongest glory like the warriors that they are. One can tell that they certainly look fabulous in their mid-30’s, what with Inuyasha being 35 going on 36 years old and Ayame being 32 going on 33 years old. I hope you all enjoyed this piece of Inuyasha x Ayame fan art and I will see you in the next submission. Inuyasha and Ayame from Inuyasha belong to Rumiko Takahashi and Sunrise.

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Love Never Dies drawn by me

CHRISTINE: Who knows when love begins Who knows what makes it start One day it’s simply there Alive inside your heart It slips into your thoughts It infiltrates your soul It takes you by surprise Then seizes full control Try to deny it And try to protest But love won’t let you go Once you’ve been possessed Love never dies Love never falters Once it has spoken Love is yours Love never fades Love never alters Hearts may get broken Love endures Hearts may get broken Love endures And soon as you submit Surrender flesh and bone That love takes on a life Much bigger than your own It uses you at whim And drives you to despair And forces you to feel More joy than you can bear Love gives you pleasure And love brings you pain And yet when both are gone Love will still remain Once it has spoken Love is yours Love never dies Love never alters Hearts may get broken Love endures Hearts may get broken Love never dies Love will continue Love keeps on beating When you’re gone Love never dies Once it is in you Love may be fleeting Love lives on – Love Never Dies from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Love Never Dies, Text by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Ben Elton, Frederick Forsyth, and Glenn Slater, Lyrics by Glenn Slater, Based on Frederick Forsyth’s “The Phantom of Manhattan”, Gaston Leroux’s “The Phantom of the Opera”, and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s, Richard Stilgoe’s, and Charles Hart’s “The Phantom of the Opera”, First Performance on March 9, 2010 at the Adelphi Theatre in London’s West End, England, Great Britain This piece of Butchubbles and Boomubbles fan art, which is part of BrickercupMasterX3’s Butchubbles Month, is dedicated to oOAquaDreamOo and Allyszarts who are celebrating their birthdays today. So, I wish you a most pleasant, awesome, beautiful, splendid, and grand birthday and I wish you a lot of love, joy, abundance, and prosperity in everything you do as people and as artists. Wie man auf deutsch sagt, ich wünsche euch einen fröhlichen, schönen, hervorragenden und grandiosen Geburtstag und ich wünsche euch viel Liebe, Freude, Reichtum und Wohlstand in allen, dass ihr als Künstler und Menschen tut. This is also dedicated to all of the hardcore Butchubbles and Boomubbles shippers out there. So, sit back, relax, and soak in the Butchubbles and Boomubbles goodness. I mentioned in my first Butchubbles Month submission that I would squeeze the 26-year-old Boomer in as Raoul de Chagny to make this epic love triangle between Butch’s Phantom, Bubbles’ Christine, and, of course, his Raoul come to fruition. For my money, Boomer definitely fits Raoul to a T. He could easily pass as the childhood friend and designated hero who has very strong feelings for the designated heroine. Moreover, as opposed to Butch as The Phantom, Boomer as Raoul is sympathetic, noble, genteel in his own special way, and loving coupled with the fact that Boomer bears a graceful, youthful, mellifluous, melodious light lyric tenor voice to contrast perfectly with Butch’s rough, wide-ranging dramatic tenor. In terms of the setting, the peacock setting where Christine sings her big solo “Love Never Dies” was quite the challenge, which is also the same thing I can say about her gown, as I had to get the vital details down to a T. For what I accomplished, I think it went well, even though it does not surpass the original. I even have to say that I love differing Butch’s and Boomer’s bow ties to show that Butch’s Phantom is the anti-villain and Boomer’s Raoul is the hero. I am going to go on a mini-diatribe about Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Love Never Dies”. I am not a fan of the plot to this rather unnecessary sequel to “The Phantom of the Opera”. I do also comprehend that there were some minute elements which were based from Frederick Forsyth’s “The Phantom of Manhattan” and that I can never overlook. When cutting down to the bone, “Love Never Dies” basically feels like melodrama for the sake of melodrama just because the plot demands The Phantom and Christine to get back together through some form of contrivance, thus neglecting the fact that Raoul’s love for Christine is genuine, natural, and pure while the Phantom’s is based on obsession, lust, and an unhinging need to have Christine all to himself because nobody else understands him but her. In essence, “Love Never Dies” negates certain elements that make Raoul and Christine function as a couple and, therefore, mangles a lot of characters especially poor Meg Giry, who happens to have the shortest end of the stick. Diatribe aside, I do enjoy some of the songs and I have yet to watch the full musical live if only to hear some really great singing and overall performing. Now that my mini-diatribe is out of the way, I would also like to address that the titular song’s tune is actually “The Heart is Slow to Learn”, which was supposed to be added in to the intended sequel to the 1986 musical yet ended up being performed by Dame Kiri Te Kanawa during Mr. Lloyd Webber’s 50th birthday. The second time this tune was used was for the show tune Our Kind of Love from “The Beautiful Game” also composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber. “Love Never Dies” marks the third time this tune was used. Yes, it is rather lazy to rehash the same tune for different musicals, but I will give it the benefit of the doubt. Sure, anyway one slices it, the incarnations of these songs are rather emotionally manipulative. However, there is something that is sweeping and breathtaking about the melody that I cannot help but be hooked. So, for your listening pleasure, I present to you three of my favorite versions of this show tune sung by Anna O’Byrne, Sierra Boggess, and Rachel Anne Moore obviously all as Christine. Anna O’Byrne https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-odWV6cD_8 Sierra Boggess https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZoQLaYKOGg Rachel Anne Moore (Auf Deutsch) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1h-jm2FNVg I…

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