#certified LIS rant™

[sapphicteaparty]

remember how in 2015-2016 nearly ALL wlw ships on screen ended with the bury your gays trope? there was a huge backlash against that and it sparked conversations about why representation mattered which is one reason why in 2024 it's normal to have queer stories of all kinds that aren't just the BYG trope.

so when the first LIS game came out in 2015 it gave players the choice to subvert that trope (even if it wasn't perfect) and that was significant. it really mattered! and going forward the LIS franchise has always tried to be inclusive of queer characters and themes which is great.

i don't have a stake in this fandom any more but it feels very dismissive and out of touch to deny max and chloe a hopeful ending after all they went through especially when LIS1 gave us that possibility. their story mattered to so many queer fans. it was canon. why mess with that memory?

maybe player choice and agency at all costs isn't actually great game design. this is especially true for characters like max that aren't blank self inserts that players can project their personality onto. she's her own character with her own history and motives (like in the first game).

i think it's also a mistake to try and please everyone and try to appeal to the biggest possible audience. it's also telling that they chose this specific segment of the audience and fans (who they think are a minority) to throw under the bus, and then say that don't worry, max can have other romances in DE so it's still queer! kinda missing the point when these characters have become emblematic and they represented something.

but breaking up with your gf is REALISTIC! a poor excuse in a game where time travel and alternative timelines and universes exist. it just points to a failure of imagination. there's really no world where max and chloe could be happy together? really?? not one? maybe don't write a multiverse story then because this is terrible.

[percocet]

Omg would u be willing to give like piano classical music recs? I just love how pianos sound but I don't know much classical music :(

HI. YES. i feel like i've been waiting for this moment all my life.

so first thing to note is that "classical music" as a genre, as the general public thinks about it, covers like. the 1600s to early 1900s. it's like saying mcr and golden era broadway music are the same genre, which drives me up the wall some days but i've also accepted it as like. general public insistence that all music composed before 1910 is somehow stuffy and elitist to listen to. ANYWAY rant aside this is all to say that the sound and style is going to differ a lot!

without further ado, here's my Certified Fresh™ piano recs for beginners <3

the famous composers you should probably listen to

rachmaninoff - piano concerto no. 2 in c minor. evgeny kissin (<333) has like thee recording ever of this (linked). it's the most famous piano concerto in the world. i've been playing this baby since i was 15 and literally every day i learn something new about it. gift that keeps giving!! and if you like this, then i'd also take a gander at the rhapsody on a theme of paganini, which is a whole piano concerto that's like theme and variations on the melody from the most famous paganini violin caprice (no. 24).

chopin - ballade no. 1 in g minor. krystian zimerman (linked) has probably the most solid recording, but i'm rlly partial to yundi li's interpretation! seong-jin cho is also incredibly impressive, i've seen him twice and his work blows me away... all of chopin's music is quintessential piano listening imo; his collection of waltzes, nocturnes, and études especially are foundational learning material! he's my fav composer of all time <3 (side note: arthur rubinstein is known as The chopin performer, but any of the people i listed will do a great job if you're looking on youtube on spotify for a version to listen to)

liszt - transcendental étude no. 12 "chasse-neige". and if you have time then wough ALL of the transcendental études and listen in order. i don't really like liszt but i worship at the feet of daniil trifonov's album i'm so serious. also gotta plug that i saw him perform live too and he is like the second coming of christ to me. my absolute favourite pianist atm.

beethoven - sonata no. 14 "moonlight". while we're in that fob mood! everybody knows the first movement but rarely do people play it well tbh 💀 the second and third movements are also very famous but they seem to fit on the second tier of the classical music iceberg, so i'll rec it anyway. harder to say who my fav beethoven performers are.. he has the most difficult repertoire for a reason! maybe claudio arrau or alfred brendel (linked), daniel barenboim for more modern recordings (and a complete set of sonatas) but he's not The best..

mozart - fantasia in d minor. sigh. so i'm not the biggest mozart fan, admittedly. but he's got an incomparable place in history, so here we are! this is probably one of the more underrated famous pieces (in comparison to like the turkish march or whatever). linked is trifonov again, but i would rec seong-jin cho's mozart album too, it's solid all around.

bach - partita no. 2 in c minor. probably the most dramatic and accessible of his partitas. you have probably heard of the well-tempered clavier at some point in your life, which is his collection of preludes and fugues! those are worth listening to if you're ever in the baroque mood. i'm so serious when i say bach's music is god to me. not the easiest listening, but worth it tbh... anyway. martha argerich (linked) is goated and one of my main inspirations in music. (and if you find yourself liking her, i'd rec her astor piazzolla interpretations like tres minutos con la realidad, great argentinian music by great argentinian musicians!)

stuff that goes so fucking ham i can only describe it as the closest humanity will ever touch divinity

godowsky - passacaglia. based off schubert's unfinished symphony but that's not super important all you need to know is that it's 20 minutes of insanity

liszt - erlkönig. this is like a veritable nightmare, musically. it's based on schubert's erlkönig and it's absolute hell. holy shit. it's so good. yuja wang (linked) is superhuman

bach (transcribed by ferruccio busoni) - partita no 2. in d minor. this partita was composed for the violin but naturally someone had to put it on the piano and make it go harder than it already does. literally a religious experience, ofc evgeny kissin had to do it to 'em

ravel (transcribed by beatrice rana) - la valse. beatrice rana is so goated, holy shit. this waltz is also musically difficult, but she just knocks it out of the park. every time i listen to this i get chills, esp towards the end. definitely worth watching as well as listening to, she's electric with it

liszt - mephisto waltz. did i say i didn't like liszt already? i feel like liszt is overrepresented here. liszt enjoyers come get your food ig. khatia buniatishvili is just crazy impressive, she's just so effortlessly virtuosic and i live in awe of her work.

this got kinda long but i think it's more bc i can't shut up.. anyway! hope you enjoy!! let me know what you think if you listen to any of this!