#and oh man it looks pretty great

[sskk-manifesto]

Bungou Stray Dogs: Dead Apple and how “ability users” (opposite to “normal people”) learning to accept themselves through the acceptance of their own abilities is a queer metaphor of acceptance of own's sexual orientation and gender: an essay by me

[tyttetardis]

Macbeth Q&A 18th Jan 2024 Part 1

Was lucky enough to get a ticket for the Member's Event at the Donmar Warehouse that took place on the 18th...with the price of the patronages I sure never thought I'd have gotten the chance, but luckily, they also let in some non-members 🥹❤️

The brilliant performance of Macbeth was followed by a very quick cleaning of the stage - thought for sure it would've taken them longer to remove the blood than like 5 minutes - followed by a lovely, little Q&A session.

The Q&A was led by Craig Gilbert (Literary manager) who talked to Annie Grace and Alasdair Macrae (Musicians and part of the acting ensemble) as well as Cush Jumbo and David Tennant.

Anyway, just gonna write down some of the stuff they talked about :) sorry if it's a bit messy! Might be spoilery if you haven't seen it yet but are going to!

To begin with Craig remarked that he didn't think he'd ever seen that many people staying behind for a Q&A before (While I was just wondering why some people even left!? Stressful!).

David introduced himself with "My real name is David "Thane of Paisely" Tennant - while Cush introduced herself with "I´m Cush Jumbo - there's only one of me".

First question was Craig asking them what it was that brought them to the Donmar to do Macbeth - to which David pretty much just replied that 1. It's the Donmar! 2. It's Macbeth! One of the greatest plays of all time in an amazingly intimate space - and that the theatre is famous for its quality of work. So he found it quite hard to think of a reason not to do it!

Cush said she'd worked there before and loves the theatre, how it's so intimate but also a great workspace. Followed by her saying she said yes because David asked her. She talked about how important it was for this play to do it together with the right actor playing opposite you.

David says Max Webster asked him about a year ago if he wanted to do the play - he gave him the dates - and since there weren't any obstacles in the way, David didn't have any excuse not to do it.

He then said that he had slightly avoided Macbeth - there sorta being the assumption that if you're Scottish and has done some Shakespeare plays before you have to do Macbeth. Which he joked was a bit odd since it's not like every Italian has to play Romeo. Then he mentioned that Macbeth is probably a bit more of a jock than he is - that it seemed more like a part for big, burly actors.

Max had laid out his initial ideas to David, a lot of which are in the final production, and David thought he seemed lovely, bright and clever and inventive plus it being the Donmar Warehouse! To which joked that he had last worked there 20 years ago - when he was 8 years old! "It's just one of those spaces" - friendly and epic at the same time where it's such a pleasure to be on the stage.

When Craig asked his next question concerning the sound of the play someone asked him to speak louder as she couldn't hear them - to which David joked that they've gotten so used to whispering. But also said sorry, and that they would!

Alasdair explained a bit about the process of the binaural sound - bit I find it a bit difficult to decipher it all correctly, sorry. He did say that a interesting part of it is that it allows them a controlled environment where they can put all the musicians (and even the bagpipes!) behind the soundproof box so "Poor David and Cush" doesn't have to shout over all the racket.

Craig asked David and Cush what their reaction was when they heard about the concept of the binaural soundscape - to which David replied that it didn't quite exist when they first came onboard - Cush joking they were tricked into it. Then she talked about her and David going on a workshop with Max to get a feeling of how it would all work - and get a sense of how it would sound to the audience, as this was one of the few times, they got to hear that side of it. Their experience of the play being completely different to the experience the audience has.

Cush said they can hear some of the sound - like she can hear some of the animal sounds and David can hear some of the stuff from the glass box - but most of their cues and information comes from timing with each other. She said they won't be able to ever hear what the audience hears - to which David joked "We're busy".

It felt like mixing medias - as it all went quite against their natural stagecraft instinct - but Cush found that in the long run it made things very interesting - like they don't have to worry about getting something whispered to each other - as the audience will hear it anyway.

David said the odd thing is that they don't really know what the experience truly is like. He mentioned that to the sides of the stage there's a speaker for them where they will get any cues that they need to hear. Like they can hear the witches - but they can't hear where they are "positioned" - so they have to learn how to place themselves to fit with what the audience hears. They don't hear everything, though. And the audio they hear is quite quiet, so it doesn't disturb what comes through the headphones.

He thinks it's been exciting - that it's a bit like a mix between film and theatre. It's happening live - but it's also like post-production is happening between them and the audience as it's going on. They just have to trust that the audience is hearing what they are supposed to for it all to make sense.

Cush said she thinks in 10 - 20 years, as these technologies has developed, doing theatre like this will feel a lot more normal - not that they will do it ALL the time, but that they will be doing it - whereas now it's still like an experiment. What Cush really like about the concept is that if was done in a much bigger theatre - then people in the cheapest seats would be able to have an experience much more similar to those in the most expensive seats - they'd be a lot more immersed into the action.

David then talks about how it feels extremely counterintuitive to not go on stage and speak loud enough that the people in the back row can also hear you. And usually, if they can't hear you, you aren't doing your job right! But then it felt very liberating. He loves it.

Cush then talked about how it felt odd waiting in the wings for a cue you can't hear - where you traditionally wait backstage and you can hear your cues, you can hear the rythm and know when it's your turn - so it was quite disconcerting to hear silence. So it's basically down to them now knowing the show and each other's timings - like if David is standing at a certain point, she knows how long she has before she needs to say/do something. So you have to watch each other more closely and really focus on what the others are doing.

David asked the musicians if they can hear everything inside the box, to which Annie replied that they get everything except some extra bits in the soundscape. But they can hear the actors on stage. Annie said it's actually a bit of a mystery to all of them what the audience actually experiences - how the big pictures actually look like - they just have to trust that it's there "Is it there?!".

Someone asked if they had had any adverse reactions from audiences to having to wear the headphones. Quite a bit of laughter all around :P then David said "There's the odd person" and something about if someone hadn't gotten the memo before turning up...but not sure how he ended the line. Then once again says that yes, there's the odd person who doesn't like it and that's fair enough.

The same audience member then said he could see the advantage of it in a big theatre where the distance is big, but not in a small place like the Donmar - to which David very quickly, rather passionately replied that it's not about projection, it's about being able to do things you wouldn't normally be able to do live - where they can speak so quietly that they can't even hear each other when standing next to each other. So even in such a small place, people wouldn't be able to hear that. It's about creating a different play - which isn't to everyone's taste and that's fair enough. But for a play that's been done a hundred and seven million times he thinks it's very valid to try and find a new way into the play - even if it's not for everyone.

Part 2

[bmpmp3]

yesterday in vocal synth news

[lloydfrontera]

the webtoon may have left out a lot of things but they did yassify the orcs which is the funniest thing to me right now

*sigh* they did yassify the orcs <3

now i want to see what they'll do with the sirens and whether i should be excited or worried lmao

[doux-amer]

Revenant is soooo mid which is disappointing because I was looking forward to it due to the actors and writer (this isn’t a flop like Jirisan, which I gave up on after 2–3 episodes, but it’s not really good). BUT. BUT!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’m suffering from “poor little meow meow middle-aged man” deficiency and Professor Yeom Haesang suffers so much. I can’t believe I was like “Oh...okay” about his casting because I’m planting my palms against his windows, peering at him in his little cage and being fed because he’s had the worst life ever and it keeps getting worse. HAESANG *____*<3

[shiroi---kumo]

Misterican Memories || Accepting

expressionbean asked:

⏰ + Sumu

─── ⋆⋅ ♰ ⋅⋆ ─── "Smoke him out. I don't care what you have to do to get that little coward to show his face. The kingdom is already crumbling and it is his job to save us. So make him perform his sacred duty. Whatever it takes."

Cold eyes narrow down on the clergymen before him with a frown hanging on pale lips. The Kingdom was crumbling. Misterica in all her glory is falling into the deep dark that is spreading out from the sacred pillar. If something isn't done soon they'll all be lost and that damnable boy is nowhere to be found. 

He blames Aurinko for this. He blames Kuu. He blames himself too for not doing something about that wretched woman sooner because if not for her, he could have swayed the King by now and the boy would have completed his duty in battle against the demon gunman. 

If not for that, none of this would ever be happening. If not for her, he could have truly taken control of Aurinko ages ago. Then the boy, for as insufferable as he was, wouldn't have been able to refuse him. 

He should have been rid of them ages ago. The brat and his mother. Aurinko and Kuu must have whisked the boy to safety because for some inane reason they insist on protecting him. That doesn't make any sense. The boy should be protecting Misterica. The last thing their Holy Savior needed right now or any other time was to be coddled but that wretched woman ruined the Celestial Mother's vessel by giving him independence and choice. 

Now the boy thinks for himself and not the greater good. Now the boy thinks of himself as normal, which is the last thing he was in any sense of the word. How dare they take him from his sacred duty at a time like this?!

For being servants of the Misterican people, this is a betrayal at its highest form. The Royal Family should be bowing their heads but instead they have whisked the boy off to hide him from his fate. Undoubtedly those cowards are trying to avoid their duty. This is why his family has been taking on the task of trimming back the rot over these long to be sure that whomever was taking the seat of power was actually befitting of the position. 

Misterica should come before all else and that includes their wretched lives. 

Aurinko and Kuu were just children when they took the seats of power, and they were never fit to lead. He had assumed that the boy would have been easier to control considering how young their precious King of the Eclipse was when he took on the mantle of their true Lord, but he had that damnable woman on one side and he had Kenraali Taivas on the other. Both of them stepped out of their bounds and became far too much of an obstacle when it called for properly controlling Aurinko’s actions. 

Cold eyes can only narrow further as the men before him start to file out of the room a little bit at a time, lips to parting as teeth clench together as silver toned mist floods from between them as he growls. 

 “NOW! Find that boy NOW! I don’t CARE what hole you have to drag him out of! His life belongs to Misterica! He’s never had the will to choose his own fate! Drag him out to force him to perform his duty. I don’t care what happens to him, but we’ll all die if he continues to hide like a coward. Burn the kingdom down if you must. It’s already crumbling and it’s all his fault. He’s failed us all and disgraced Lady Tiamat with his actions. What kind of vessel runs from his sacred duty? He was never our Savior to begin with. The prophecy chose the wrong boy.”

[whysopasta]

day of the dead (1985) might be my new favorite horror movie

[thewritingpossum]

Forgot to mention it but there was a huge debate at my study group the other day about wether or not you could call yourself an historian after getting your bachelor degree and two of my favorite profs were defending opposing views and they were trying to keep it light and funny but you could see that they were getting lowkey heated and for a so-called academic I actually don't do that well with conflicts so I was like haaa mom and dad stop arguing!! T_T but anyway, my one german prof that some have called 'intimidating' went to see me me and my buddy who accidentally started the debate earlier (by joking that he was about to graduate and could finally call himself an historian), put his arms around our shoulders and kindly told us that we could call ourselves historians if we want so I guess that was some nice validation lmao

[quietwingsinthesky]

okay sorry didnt mean to go on like that i just have many feelings about this. As A Gamer.

[running-in-the-dark]

today was exhausting - my friend was here for about 7 hours and I just. oh man I love her and all but it's just a lot sometimes. it's probably for the best that we only meet up like 2-4 times a year now (gives me enough time to forget how draining it is so I look forward to it, and recover afterwards)

I don't talk to anyone but my husband most days, and he doesn't really talk. so that's maybe 15 minutes total of talking. and today it was literally. 7 hours. no breaks except when we were eating (but no even then someone was always talking).

first of all ouch, it hurts (my voice is very hoarse now). and also. it's so so so draining. like. we really have nothing in common at this point. but she's my oldest friend and I do love her so it's tolerable... but just barely. these days there's way too much diet/food/weight loss talk, and also she seems to be getting into alternative medicine which I cannot fucking stand (it's one topic where I can't pretend or be nice about it either). lots and lots of very preachy vegan stuff too (I don't have any problems with it, I admire people who can do it, but fuck dude you know I eat meat and that I've said many times that I *can't* go vegan (I would starve. there's not enough foods that would be left. seriously.) and it feels pretty shitty to keep going on about it every damn time. I'm not sitting there trying to convince her that she should really be an atheist or something, because I know what her thoughts are about that and I respect it.

when she hangs out with her other friends a lot it's mostly just talking about all the issues that come from that (they fucking suck). I don't know, it kind of feels like I'm her therapist. when I talk about something I'm interested in she doesn't ask many questions and it kind of sucks. like, dude I don't care about your plants either, but I'm interested because you care, so. maybe try that too. would be nice!

[lilacs-stash]

Idk what Trophy mains are doing but keep doing it

[veidelon]

Thanks @thestarsarecool for tagging me! As always your taste is much more esoteric and intellectual than mine (Sgt. who?). But I guess I should have expected as much from someone going to Paul McCartney University 🙄

So here are my 4 most recently looped albums:

Grace - Jeff Buckley: THE album of all time (for me). I ruined it for myself a little by listening to it on loop while working two years ago, but finally I can listen to it again without an impending sense of dread.

Venus and Mars - Wings: Every song on this album is perfect (except Medicine Jar... I have no room in my heart for non-Paul Wings songs.) No song on BOTR has anything on Call Me Back Again.

RENAISSANCE - Beyoncé: cun-ty. cun-ty. cun-ty. cun-ty.

Double Fantasy: Stripped Down - John Lennon & Yoko Ono: Superior version because you get to hear John make strange noises at the end of half the songs.

I'll tag @m1ssunderstanding, @big-barn-bed, and @bambi-kinos if you're interested and haven't already done it + anyone else who wants to!

[hoforwonho]

kpop stans are embarrassing

[gailynovelry]

Rereading your old work is good and fun and delightful and rewarding, actually.

[phoenixiancrystallist]

Month 3, day 7, got the nose done and since the guide helped a ton with that (and fixing some weirdness in the eyebrows), I'm gonna try animating the eyes and mouth at the same time and see if I can get them to agree with me. If they don't, it's no big deal; I'll just go back to animating one facial feature at a time :)

[astrxealis]

hi more rambles ^___^