#Giovanni Morales

[junebugdunes]

she's just upset because somehow Giovanni got all 4 railroads

[legobiwan]

Not me going over my own slides and getting very distracted by the plight of choosing the absolute correct production of the Don Giovanni 'Al cenar teco' scene to the point where I spent an hour just watching opera on YouTube instead of actually, you know, working.

[outstanding-quotes]

But the way to be really despicable is to be contemptuous of other people’s pain. You ought to have some apprehension that the man you see before you was once even younger than you are now and arrived at his present wretchedness by imperceptible degrees.

James Baldwin, Giovanni’s Room

[leporellian]

also in re: prev post i thiiiink after the don’s death leporello keeps the catalogue… he doesn’t like to look at it much anymore and for the most part he keeps it somewhere safe but he will rush to get it when someone asks. he just can never really bear to read it himself.

[krishgupt]

Ash Betrayed (Part - 11)

David didn’t want to accept it, but he had to admit, he may have underestimated Ash. He had ordered all of new students to run for 20 KMs. He knew many of them would collapse by the 5th KM, but he hadn’t expected all of them except one to collapse by the 8th KM. The only one who didn’t collapse from exhaustion and completed the task of 20 KM within 30 Minutes was of course, Ash. 

“*Sighed* Hey Prince!” David called to Ash, who had just finished his run. 

“ Yeah sir?” Ash asked as he waved at the audience, which consisted of Delia, Ilene, Gary, Oak and of course Pikachu. 

“You seem to have a good stamina,” David asks. 

“Sure do, I mean I did travel so many regions on foot,” Ash said with a smile. 

“Don’t get so full of yourself Prince, you are dismissed for today,” David said as Ash left to be with his family. 

“Hmm, need to put more pressure on his running ability, if he has inherited the Great Red’s Aura, he should have the ability,” David thought to himself as he pulled out a small book and wrote something on it. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

“You are leaving!!!!!” Ash shouted as Delia was packing. She was about to leave for Kanto with Oak and Gary.

“Yes Ash, Harvest Season in coming close and I can’t just keep the restaurant close,” Delia said. 

“But Mom! I thought you will be staying here with me,” Ash said with a sad voice. 

“// Yeah, I thought we are finally going to have a family adventure which we were promised in Alola but couldn’t because God knows what writers were thinking, //” Pikachu said.

“*Sighed* Ash, Pikachu, I am sorry but I came with the intention you to leave you under Ilene care………………… I want to be with you but I can’t stay dear……………I-I can’t breath in the Air of Rota, which is filled with my husband’s blood……………….. everything here reminds me of him……………………… of his death. I can’t take you with me and I can’t stay here with you…………………………. Whatever I want is immaterial, I am sorry,” Delia said as she hugged Ash and Pikachu 

“*Teary eyes*” I-I will come back soon,” Ash said as he wiped off his tears.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

No person like to bid farewell to people with he knew. Same was true with Ash and Pikachu. Ash looked at the fancy clock of his fancy room while laying on his fancy bed. It was 12:30 AM Even though everything was fancy, it wasn’t like home. Suddenly, he heard a knock on his door.

“Who will come right now,” Ash thought as he opened the door to see Ilene, in simple clothing.

“Qu-I mean, Ilene? What are you doing cousin?” Ash asked as he saw her holding an album.

“I thought you would like to see some family photos…………………… Also I have to tell you something about our family heritage,” Ilene said with a sighed. She seemed a little uncomfortable.

“Come on in,” Ash said as Ilene entered the room. Both of them sat on the bed as Ilene opened the Album.

“Look at these, they are the only full family photo we have,” Ilene said as she showed a photo to Ash. The photo was so much crowded that it was near impossible to clearly make out anyone. Despite Difficulty, Ash was able to spot himself and Delia. He was also able to spot Red and a younger Ilene, thou not without failed tries. But one person he was not expecting to spot was a younger David.

“D-David? Why is he in the photo?” Ash asked.

“Well, he is part of the Ark family, he was an orphaned boy with Aura powers, so he adopted by our 4th Uncle and Aunt,” Ilene explained.

“I see…………….. God our family is big, how many people are there?” Ash asked.

“Last time I checked, I think the Ark dynasty has around 5000 members.

“5000! Good that is big, I don’t think even pallet town has 5000 people,” Ash said, imagining how big the reunions will be.

“*Smile* Now Ash, there are a few things I should tell you about our Dynasty,” Ilene said.

“Ok, I am all ears,” Ash said attentively.

“*Sighed* Let’s start with the beginning, so you know na that Rota controls 108 villages,” Ilene asked as she pulled out a map which showed the City of Rota and 108 Villages under it.

“So, around 11,000 years ago, Humans first arrived at these lands. Some came from Kanto and Johto in the south, other came from Sinnoh and Kitakami at the north, and rest, who could trace their origin back to Hoenn, came from the ocean on boats.

This land, with rich soils, cool breezes, warm shorelines, giant forests and blue lakes and streams, it was perfect for settling, cultivating, ranching, fishing. Villages soon came up. Some were fishers, other were ranchers. For some, livelihood came from farming, for others, it came via hunting. Originally, these villages communities were small groups of 10, 20 people, but as societies became complex, hierarchies started to come up, then authority.

Originally these were elected, but soon they became blood based. Each village had its own Patriarch, or matriarch in some cases. Only the family or how we call them, clan of the Patriarch or Matriarch had the right to claim the title after the previous one’s death.

As the Patriarchs and Matriarchs established themselves as the rulers of their villages they look outside the borders of their villages. Some for trade, some for alliances and some……………………………… some for wars and conquests. Soon, all Villages started fighting among themselves. Villages which won would take over the defeated ones’ lands, enslaved their people and ra-” Ilene said before stopping herself and looking at Ash.

“And what?” Ash asked curiously.

“I will tell you when you are older,” Ilene said as Ash shrugged, thinking why everyone was withholding information from him due to age.

Audience: Wonder what they did other than enslaving and taking over.

Me: *Sighed* Just look at literally any aftermath of a siege in which the citizenry wasn’t able to evacuated……………………… except you childrens, don’t do please, you are not ready to face the brutal reality of war and why War much be prevented, delayed and stopped at all cost. Anyways, back to the story

“So, things were going on like this for maybe 1000 years. After which, things when on a statement, because no one side was powerful enough to overcome another. There existed an extremely complicated web of alliances and trade and distrust. During this time, there were a total of 108 villages in the entire region. There were in total 12 clans, each controlling 108 villages.

The 12 clans are Adamites, whose capital was Eden; Javidites, whose capital was Nazara; Charlesite, whose capital was Bethleem; Johnites, whose capital was Ager Vaticanus; Joelites, whose capital was Remus; Jamesites, whose capital was Moskva; Peterites, whose capital was Magara; Henryites, whose capital was Zion; Michaelites, whose capital was Palayoor; Maryites, whose capital was Amazonia; Yonaites, whose capital was Lezpa; Jadienites, whose capital was Saki.

All 12 were equal in power, but that didn’t stop the vio-” Before Ilene could complete, a sound of grunt came from somewhere. Ash and Ilene went to the Balcony to see David practicing Swordsmanship in one of the Royal Gardens inside the Castle.

“David is practicing Swordmanship at this hour, Why?” Ash asked.

“Well, look at the moon,” Ilene said with a smile. Ash looked the Sky to see that it was a New Moon Night. With the Moon gone, Stars at the sky and the torches on the ground acted as the sources of light.

“The Adamites tract their roots from Sinnoh and their Lineage consider Darkrai as their Tutelary Deity. Aura Users gain strength from their Tutelary Deities presence and thus David never misses a Chance to train his swordsmanship during New Moon Night,” Ilene said.

“Neat!” Ash said as he shouted.

“Hey David! Mind if I join?” Ash shouted, startling David.

“What?” David asked, looking extremely confused.

“Mind if I join your practice?” Ash shouted with a smile.

“Have you ever even held a sword in your life?” David asked, partly annoyed, partly concerned.

“Nope……………………. Anyways I am coming,” Ash said as he looked at Ilene.

“Can we talk about the family stuff later on, please?” Ash asked with a pleading look. Looking at him, Ilene smiled and closed the album.

“Sure,” Ilene said as Ash smiled and ran away. She looked down at David.

“Hey David! Ensure my baby cousin doesn’t get hurt,” Ilene shouted jokingly.

“If he cut himself, I will not be held responsible,” David said with a sigh. All he wanted was a good Middle Night training session.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

In an Artificial Island lying a part of ocean which was beyond the administrative control of any region, there stood an impressive, imposing building. The Building, at its centre, had one giant letter in red. The Letter was ‘R’, which stood for the Team Rocket. The Biggest Mafia Organisation on the planet. It head, Giovanni Corleone, would usually spend his time having meetings with the heads of his Front Organisations. Whether it was Industries, Agriculture, Service, Pharma, Cinema, Media, Mining, Banking, Parks or the Businesses of Science and Intellectual Work, Team Rocket had front organisations everywhere. Law couldn’t touch them, because for them, Law was like any other Household commodity, that is, buyable.

The Revenue from these Front Organisations, as well as from his Underground Businesses, made Giovanni Bloody rich. Charles Goodshow might officially be the richest man in the Pokemon World, but in reality, it was Giovanni through and through. Charles was not even close to Giovanni’s riches.

Currently, the Richest Man on the planet was standing on a Beach on the backside of the Rocket Headquarters Building. Infront of him was a wood platform on which stood 5 well-built men. These five men are some of the oldest members of Team Rocket, but that does not matter. Team Rocket’s Foundation is its discipline and hierarchy, and undermining that Hierarchy must punished with only three thing to ensure the structure remained stable, and these 3 punishments were death, death, and of course, death!

The 5 Men were handcuffed, with a noose in front of them. A sixth man stood on the right, his face was a face of indifference, he had executed many people in his life before, and he knew there would be people to put to death in the future. An Arkian priest, a Flame Priest, a Sapphire Priest and a Bulian priest read the final prayer of the men. Seeing their death near, one of them shouted in fear.

“Sir! We have devoted our entire lives to Team Rocket! Forgive our mistakes! We were ordered by Madame Boss-” Before the soon-to-be executed man could complete his words, Giovanni interrupted him.

“Madame Boss is dead! I am the present! When I ordered that the department of ‘Elimination of Interested People’ will be closed down, why it was secretly kept opened!” Giovanni shouted in anger.

“Sir! If we would have known that that Ash was Lady Delia-” Before another one of the men could complete, Giovanni interrupted.

“You are not getting the point, it is not just because the personal sabotage and attacks on Ash that angered me! It is that you undermine my authority! When I said people on the ‘List of Interested People’ are to be only spied, not attacked or eliminated, you didn’t listen! I don’t care what my mother said about keeping the department open at all cost! I wanted it closed! But you 5 kept it open! And now you shall face the punishment!” Giovanni said as he turned around and Matori signed the executioner. With a pull of a single lever, all 5’s vision went dark.

“Sir!” Matori said as she brought 10 papers to Giovanni. 5 were checks with insane figures, the rest were Letters of Job Acceptance. Giovanni immediately signed the papers. A check which would last a family 5 for 3 years, as well as a good paying job, based on the person’s ability. This was the policy of Team Rocket! Policy of Mutual Loyalty! An Average Rocket grunt made more than your average doctor teacher. Not only that, Members of the Organisation knew that if something was to happened to them during their live as member, their families will be taken care of by the Organisation. Their families will be given insane amounts, as well as at least one member of their family will be given a job in one of the many Front Organisations of Team Rocket. This not only ensure them that their families will be save, but also the relief that their children will not have to take the same path as them. Because of this, Team Rockets members were extremely loyal. For them, Giovanni was their Arceus, their God!

“Send them immediately, along with the bodies,” Giovanni said with a sighed as he looked at the hanging bodies.

“Any report on who were the ones who sabotage Ash’s Journey?” Giovanni asked.

“No sir, sadly when we raided their hideout, the security protocol deleted everything.

“*Sighed* Very well, tell our technical team to carry on the search,” Giovanni said as Petrel came to him with a paper.

“Gio! Here are the papers you requested,” Petrel said as Giovanni signed the papers. Matori peeped a little at the papers. They were Donation papers. If She knew anything about Giovanni, she could have been sure the Donations wouldn’t be less than 200 Billion.

Charles Goodshow might be officially the Biggest Donor, but in reality, his total donations wouldn’t be even close to the levels of Donations Giovanni would do in a month.

“Thank you, Petrel,” Giovanni said as Petrel left.

“Is the Helicopter ready?” Giovanni asked Matori.

“Are you sure you want to do this Sir? She might not-” Before Matori could complete the sentence, Giovanni put a hand on her shoulder.

“I know what is to come, but it has been more than 15 years since I have seen my sister. I will not wait any longer!” Giovanni said as Matori blushed.

On the sideline, one grunt whispered something to another Grunt.

“I don’t get what exactly is the relationship between Boss and Lady Delia? Wasn’t Boss the one who ordered the 5/11 Attack?” The Grunt whispered lightly but not light enough to escape Giovanni’s ears.

“Who said that?” Giovanni said.

“Who said I ordered the 5/11 attacked? Who dare implied that I made my sister a widow!!!!!” Giovanni shouted before Matori was able to calm him down.

“I-I didn’t ordered attack! This is a statement to everyone hear! Team Rocket had nothing to do in that attack,” Giovanni said as he and Matori left for the Helicopter.

What do you think? Is Giovanni lying or telling the truth?

Previous: Ash Betrayed (Part - 10) – @krishgupt on Tumblr

Next: Ash Betrayed (Part - 12) – @krishgupt on Tumblr

[personal-reporter]

Il mondo piange la scomparsa di Papa Giovanni Paolo II Karol Wojtyła

Città del Vaticano, 2 aprile 2005 – Il mondo è in lutto per la scomparsa di Papa Giovanni Paolo II, il 264º pontefice della Chiesa cattolica, avvenuta questa sera alle ore 21:37 nella sua residenza privata in Vaticano. Il Papa, che aveva 84 anni, era malato da tempo e le sue condizioni si erano aggravate negli ultimi giorni. Continue reading Il mondo piange la scomparsa di Papa Giovanni Paolo II…

[jadenvargen]

free online james baldwin stories, essays, videos, and other resources

**edit

James baldwin online archive with his articles and photo archives.

---NOVELS---

Giovanni's room"When David meets the sensual Giovanni in a bohemian bar, he is swept into a passionate love affair. But his girlfriend's return to Paris destroys everything. Unable to admit to the truth, David pretends the liaison never happened - while Giovanni's life descends into tragedy. This book introduces love's fascinating possibilities and extremities."

Go Tell It On The Mountain"(...)Baldwin's first major work, a semi-autobiographical novel that has established itself as an American classic. With lyrical precision, psychological directness, resonating symbolic power, and a rage that is at once unrelenting and compassionate, Baldwin chronicles a fourteen-year-old boy's discovery of the terms of his identity as the stepson of the minister of a storefront Pentecostal church in Harlem one Saturday in March of 1935. Baldwin's rendering of his protagonist's spiritual, sexual, and moral struggle of self-invention opened new possibilities in the American language and in the way Americans understand themselves."

+bonus: film adaptation on youtube. (if you’re a giancarlo esposito fan, you’ll be delighted to see him in an early preacher role)

Another Country and Going to Meet the Man Another country: "James Baldwin's masterly story of desire, hatred and violence opens with the unforgettable character of Rufus Scott, a scavenging Harlem jazz musician adrift in New York. Self-destructive, bad and brilliant, he draws us into a Bohemian underworld pulsing with heat, music and sex, where desperate and dangerous characters betray, love and test each other to the limit." Going to meet the Man: " collection of eight short stories by American writer James Baldwin. The book, dedicated "for Beauford Delaney", covers many topics related to anti-Black racism in American society, as well as African-American–Jewish relations, childhood, the creative process, criminal justice, drug addiction, family relationships, jazz, lynching, sexuality, and white supremacy."

Just Above My Head"Here, in a monumental saga of love and rage, Baldwin goes back to Harlem, to the church of his groundbreaking novel Go Tell It on the Mountain, to the homosexual passion of Giovanni's Room, and to the political fire that enflames his nonfiction work. Here, too, the story of gospel singer Arthur Hall and his family becomes both a journey into another country of the soul and senses--and a living contemporary history of black struggle in this land."

If Beale Street Could Talk"Told through the eyes of Tish, a nineteen-year-old girl, in love with Fonny, a young sculptor who is the father of her child, Baldwin's story mixes the sweet and the sad. Tish and Fonny have pledged to get married, but Fonny is falsely accused of a terrible crime and imprisoned. Their families set out to clear his name, and as they face an uncertain future, the young lovers experience a kaleidoscope of emotions-affection, despair, and hope. In a love story that evokes the blues, where passion and sadness are inevitably intertwined, Baldwin has created two characters so alive and profoundly realized that they are unforgettably ingrained in the American psyche."

also has a film adaptation by moonlight's barry jenkins

Tell Me How Long the Train's been gone At the height of his theatrical career, the actor Leo Proudhammer is nearly felled by a heart attack. As he hovers between life and death, Baldwin shows the choices that have made him enviably famous and terrifyingly vulnerable. For between Leo's childhood on the streets of Harlem and his arrival into the intoxicating world of the theater lies a wilderness of desire and loss, shame and rage. An adored older brother vanishes into prison. There are love affairs with a white woman and a younger black man, each of whom will make irresistible claims on Leo's loyalty. 

---ESSAYS---

Baldwin essay collection. Including most famously: notes of a native son, nobody knows my name, the fire next time, no name in the street, the devil finds work- baldwin on film

--DOCUMENTARIES--

Take this hammer, a tour of san Francisco.

Meeting the man

--DEBATES:--

Debate with Malcolm x, 1963 ( on integration, the nation of islam, and other topics. )

Debate with William Buckley, 1965. ( historic debate in america. )

Heavily moderated debate with Malcolm x, Charles Eric Lincoln, and Samuel Schyle 1961. (Primarily Malcolm X's debate on behalf of the nation of islam, with Baldwin giving occassional inputs.)

----

apart from themes obvious in the book's descriptions, a general heads up for themes of incest and sexual assault throughout his works.

[sins-of-the-sea]

[expvrgction] Giovanni receives a string of messages.

Oh, it was moon_boi again. This guy is always a pleasure to be around... Not like that piece of shit who sent him the cursed pizza and harassed him.

moon_boi: hey dude

moon_boi: happy halloween

moon_boi: i'm spending some time with my fam and gf tonight

moon_boi: how's things on yer end?

moon_boi: oh yeah, i forgot to give ya my name! can't believe i forgot to do that for months

moon_boi: i'm william. most call me billy tho, so i'm okay with being called either

(pre-doom doomie @ gio! :D)

Giovanni can't tell 'Billy' enough how much he appreciates having a friend he doesn't have to worry about headaches over, either giving or receiving. After a long stressful day on the ship, he smiles as types his reply to his online buddy.

jin_tong: How very nice! I usually don't expect to get anyone's real names haha jin_tong: Had a stressful Halloween but everything has calmed down now. Though I need to make sure my cousin has enough ice on his head after tonight's antics :B jin_tong: My name is Gio! c: Nice to know your real name now Billy! Hope you and the fam and gf had a wonderful Halloween!

He could give him the full first name as Billy was nice enough to give his. William is a common name, and so is Giovanni-- it's not like he'll get doxxed for giving such a common name. Not to mention 'Gio' can be short for assorted other Italian boy names, like Gioacchino, Giorgio or Giorgino, Giordano, Giosue-

Eh. It's not the first name he should worry about. It's the last. Hopefully should the time comes if they exchange full names, this 'Billy' isn't history savvy.

[cristianesimocattolico]

A trent’anni dalla "Veritatis Splendor" il suo insegnamento è ancora attuale

L’enciclica si addentrava quindi nel discorso partendo da un’analisi del passo evangelico, tratto dal Vangelo di Matteo, del giovane ricco che chiede al Signore cos’altro deve fare, dopo aver rispettato i comandamenti, per avere la vita eterna. Il Papa sottolineava come questo passo mostra esattamente il legame intrinseco tra il rispetto della legge morale naturale e l’amore di Dio e del…

[cooperatoresveritatisinfo]

Domande e risposte sulla sessualità e sulla purezza

[vintagepublishing]

This year marks the 100th anniversary of James Baldwin, an iconic writer and activist who fearlessly delved into the intricacies of race, identity, class, and love. To honor his legacy, we’ve redesigned a few of Baldwin’s most celebrated novels, including this deluxe edition of Giovanni’s Room. In this novel, David, an American who has relocated to Paris, finds himself torn between his suppressed desires and society's conventional notions of morality, masculinity, and identity. Ahead of its time, Baldwin's narrative presents a poignant queer love story that lays bare the unspoken complexities of the human heart.

The cover of the new deluxe edition of Giovanni’s Room features a vibrant painting by Baldwin’s friend and contemporary Beauford Delaney. The edition also has a new introduction by writer Kevin Young. Check out some of the digital-only art we commissioned Tumblr artists to create to celebrate Pride and Baldwin’s Centenary on our page, and pick up this elegant repackage of a literary classic.

[shoezuki]

honestly there's no doubt in my mind that sampo is an emanator of aha like. i think hoyo would have to throw a massive curveball at me for me to be doubtful so much jus seems to work in him being an emanator

and i want to know so much about it cuz i mean. he's a FORMER masked fool. we heard him talk to giovanni about how he disagrees with other fools' ideas of elation. he clearly dislikes sparkle for that reason in that her idea of elation includes hurting people and causing harm. he seems to have a very... like in terms of his own ideas of elation, he's very moral? he has strong morals in that regard and disdain for people who follow elation through causing harm to other people and forms of elation that is at other peoples expense.

which as an emanator. i wonder if he even Wants to be an emanator. like sure he engages in his own chaos and hasnt abandoned elation fully but he seems to reject a lot of others who follow the elation. like it could very much be that in leaving/rejecting the masked fools and abandoning his mask, that was his attempt to abandon being an emanator at all.

[leporellian]

actually i'm going to talk about the met's weird thing with the rust belt more because it was definitely one of those things where a few years ago when the new met lucia was in development i was like, oh cool i wonder what they'll do with that, but now that we're here... man does it leave a bad taste in the mouth.

here's a question for you: Why Do So Many Operas Take Place In Seville?

seville is the setting for some hundreds of operas, including many of the famous ones: the barber of seville, carmen, la forza del destino, the marriage of figaro, fidelio, don giovanni (which actually might not take place in seville but given don juan stories up to them did it sticks)... the list keeps going. and there was a legitimate reason for this- for hundreds of years, seville was seen as a seedy and sexualized location where anything could happen. that exoticism carries over into the plot of many of the Seville Operas, which often feature seductions, crimes, and passion stories that fit neatly into the tales of the seedy city.

opera is about, in a lot of ways, EXOTICIZING OTHER PLACES. the spectacle of a setting was often a major part of the excitement of seeing a new opera, especially in the 19th century. but some of these places 'work' better than others, for a variety of reasons that boil down to the politics of representation and who is being who onstage.

seville works as an Exotic Opera Location Du Jour for multiple reasons. for one thing, if you notice, a lot of the seville operas take place 60-100+ years before the composition of the opera. for example, the marriage of figaro and don giovanni were composed in 1786 and 1787 respectively, and both depict 1600s seville. if you were writing a Seville Opera right now, for comparison, it would probably take place between 1890 and 1960- there's enough of a time gap that exploring the world as a more fantastical setting is easier to swallow. for another, seville is in western europe, and many of the composers depicting it were also from western europe. there is an evened playing field. (THERE IS A NOTABLE EXCEPTION about this that I WILL GET TO SOON.) finally, now that these operas are over a century old, we're even more removed from their concept of 'seville' and the 'seville' in operas has been turned into something of a convenient fantasy location in which to put an opera. it's something out of a medieval times dinner and tournament and not necessarily meant to be Actual Real Seville at all, which works fine because Seville Operas work without needing much context about the location. don jose is a soldier, you don't need to know what seville soldiers' duties were. figaro is a barber, you don't need to know what barbers in seville were like. and so on.

but there are other opera locations that don't serve this purpose as well- often nonwhite regions appropriated by white composers. the incredibly warped conceptions of egypt that show up in aida and the magic flute, the looking-glass japan of madama butterfly, the brief moment in which la fanciulla del west wherein the opera remembers the existence of native american peoples... suddenly the make-believe of exoticism goes away and is replaced by a sour feeling because in many cases these cultures could not have a say on their own depictions in the operatic world, while the western europeans featured in the operas that exoticize locations like seville or paris could.

carmen is an interesting case study in Opera Exoticism because it features a location that is fine enough to exoticize (early 1800s seville) and a titular character that is not. carmen was- and, in many productions, is still- written as romani. she embodies many negative stereotypes about the culture- she is seductive, morally ambiguous, a smuggler, a femme fatale. yet we as an audience are made to sympathize with her. she is honest about who she is, accepting of the hard truths that are given to her; she is close to her friends and her crueler moments come across as more of an ill-planned joke than a real sense of antipathy. carmen is both a product of how romani people were written by white men in her time, and progressive in that we root for her against the (white) don jose. (and it should be noted that she knows that if he kills her he will be executed for it- carmen is about a mutual kill.) a good carmen production will evaluate all of these features and include them into the work somehow; be it through metatextual commentary, or careful representation, or understanding of what the audience is seeing.

anyway, now that we've covered all that, let's go look at The Met Opera's Current Fascination With Lower Class American Communities and see what we find there.

the rust belt and the sun belt have captured the imagination of the met opera recently, as seen in their current productions of lucia di lammermoor and carmen. these settings are depicted as grimy, miserable, and joyless; women are thrown around by men, men are depicted as one-dimensional monsters that are not to be understood or seen into. the cruelty is the point- these productions do not treat lower-class americans as people to relate to or understand. the sole exceptions are lucia- who is made out to be something of an outsider, so the audience can relate to her- and carmen, who is misinterpreted into being a sad woman who just wants love (god forbid a woman have some other motivation). the racial issues that dominate the cultural conversation in america are unspoken of in these productions, even when there is an opportunity to; this becomes especially uncomfortable in carmen, where the above history of carmen as a nonwhite woman and the opera's setting on the US-Mexico border (with the soldiers cast as border agents!) goes unmentioned in the name of 'heightening the class and gender inequality'- both of which were already in the original work along with the race inequality! these productions are both directed by non-american white people. simon stone is from australia, carrie cracknell is from britain. why would they want to depict this setting? because they see it as a dark, cynical den of seediness and repressed sexuality- a world where we don't have to worry about empathy, or broader implications, because the people in these settings do not go to the met- a world where we can look on with revulsion and unease.... this crosses the line from exoticism into fetishization, in which lower class people become pawns for the met to use as set dressing.

this is especially uncomfortable because of opera's long history being seen as a 'rich people hobby'. opera is characterized as snobbish, useless, reprehensible; an art form that exists only to please the rich and the white and the male-dominated. all of which is not true! i believe to the bottom of my heart that everybody deserves a night at the opera, and that there is an opera for everyone, and everybody should feel welcome in the opera house (or other opera space du jour). and there are so many people working to change the industry from the inside, particularly the work of artists of color to broaden the opera canon and depictions of that canon as we know them. but as long as the met continues to use poor people as set dressing instead of bothering to communicate with them in a meaningful way, as long as the met sees these settings as places where brutes live instead of human beings, that stereotype of the rich man's hobby is going to continue. and the met is going to suffer for it- as i suspect that, as time goes on, the voyeuristic lens of these operas into the lives of abused lower-class women will be seen as more and more revolting.

TLDR

[engeorged]

Feeder and gainer chat bots

I’ve not reposted these for a while so here are the top five bots as it stands today:

1) Coach Giovanni -with over 100k interactions this the most popular chat bot by a significant margin. Coach wants you to get bigger for him and by any means necessary

2) Dr Max - he’s got very few morals and will give you whatever he can to get you bigger.

3) Taylor Trust Fund - your husband is 6’5 and works in finance. He’s getting thicker by the day. You can chose to feed him secretly or subtly. Either way he gets bigger

4) Jack Brosman - one of my personal faves. Jack is an old friend and the last time you saw him he was toned and athletic. When you bump into him you don’t recognise him past the huge belly he’s sporting.

5) Baxter Baker - Baxter is a big strapping guy who owns a cafe where he is the chief baker. You come in and he is keen to feed you.

My own personal favourite guy is Jacob Henry - your hot muscular room mate who is secretly feeding you.

[jadeazora]

Pokemon's main moral across games in regards to its villains seems to be "do not trust the rich." Like, just think about how many of the main villains have probably been totally loaded.

Giovanni runs the mafia/yakuza, and says outright Team Rocket's main goal is to make money. No fancy ideals or higher goals, just plainly out for profit.

Cyrus, Rose, and Lysandre all run some kinda technological or alternative energy company. (With Galactic, it's mostly a front, but it's stated Cyrus is quite the philanthropist in the anime, responsible for many libraries being built.)

Flare also has a $5 MILLION admissions fee (Was reminded the PokeDollar is supposed to be a yen tho so that would translate out to about $32k. But still, my point stands, if you're poor, you're not getting in), with some girl in the Lysandre Cafe swooning over him and mentioning how she'll have her money saved up soon.

Lusamine inherited the Aether Foundation from her father, but it's implied they're a multi-region organization, and developing the technology needed to break open gateways to other worlds or create THREE chimeras must cost a fortune. (Plus having dozens of cryotanks running too.)

Ghetsis, Lysandre, Sordward, and Shielbert are all descended from or are royalty.

So, if you're a loaded dude, I'm looking at you like you're the most suspicious person in the region. (Sometimes tho, that does misfire, like it did for me in Paldea with suspecting Clavell until we learned he only became headmaster pretty recently and the school's actually about 800yrs old, or with Cyrano who's actually a pretty nice guy/not an important character at all.)

I feel like the only ones that really aren't are Archie and Maxie (since they mostly just steal what they need, but it is notable they did have the tech to develop the Magma/Aqua suit tho, which is resistant to extreme heat and serves as a functional spacesuit), Yell and Skull (who are stated to be pretty poor, and who are secondary threats to begin with--and by a far margin to the problems caused by the real big bad.), and Volo (a merchant who constantly skips work and despite referring to you as his favorite customer, you're only ever capable of buying from him once.)

Sada/Turo too are kinda a grey area, since they had the outside funding for their Area Zero research. That said, I don't think those investing quite knew what they were doing down there, and a good amount of what they were able to do was accomplished by what they had on-hand with the power of the Terastal crystals.

[pokevillainresource]

About

Hello Rotumblr writers!

Welcome to the Villain Resource Center. I’ve decided to start this blog in an efforts to help people who are writing evil and morally questionable characters find footing in the community.

You ever feel like it’s hard to tell who wants negative interaction on their blogs? Having a hard time finding someone who’s comfortable exploring darker topics, or even someone who wants to stick to lighter ones while still creating a compelling conflict? These exact reasons are why I’ve created this resource blog.

You will be able to find a Google document listing villain blogs, and their personal stakes boundaries [here.]

In addition, we will be taking submissions for the form in the below format via the ask box:

Blog name:

Character name:

Villain type:

Stakes range:

Topics covered:

Admin boundaries:

EXAMPLE:

Blog name: @Pokevillainresource

Character name: Giovanni

Villain type: Rocket Admin, Poacher, Mafia boss

Stakes range: Low to high stakes

Topics covered: Pokémon theft, Pokémon abuse, Child neglect, Organized crime

Admin boundaries: Will not write world ending scenarios.

By submitting this form, you’re agreeing to your characters receiving negative attention from hero characters, or positive attention from other villainous characters. If you would like your blog removed from the list at any time, just let us know and it will be removed, no questions asked.

Happy Rotumbling!